Mountain Man Rendezvous

Jonathan had the opportunity to attend some sort of Mountain Man experience from December 29th through the 31st.  I can't even pretend to understand what it was all about.  Fred grew his beard out and went for one night.  I think they participated in activities that were reminiscent of the olden days.

Our friend, Tony, was nice enough to send me these pictures while they were away.  The climbing picture was accompanied with the message that read... "He was a little nervous going over the cliff."

I know that there was no running water, so he went three days without a shower.  THREE days.  I think they brought in port-a-potties for this thing, because-- well, no running water.  You can't even imagine how fast I washed his clothes.  He used his good UnderArmour IHS band duffel bag.  I Frebrezed it.

The best I can tell, Jonathan had a great time, and Fred was sad that he only went for one day.  Unfortunately, he just couldn't get off, because of the timing during the holidays.

We are so thankful for these experiences that both Fred and Jonathan have had over the last couple of years.

Survivors

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Girls Camp with our beautiful and amazing Young Women from church.  If I don't post about anything else that I experienced, I want to write a post about the hike.  It was the hardest part of camp and it was my favorite part.

For starters, our camp theme was Spiritual Survivors:  Envision, Engage and Endure.  We set out on our hike on Wednesday.  The 1st and 3rd year campers were supposed to hike 3 miles and the and 2nd and 4th year campers were supposed to hike 5 miles.

I started out the hike, with our 1st year girls, Penny and Claire.  Jaiden also was with us from the beginning.  The hike was hot and we walked in a single file line for much of the beginning of the hike.

The scenery was beautiful and the company was nice.  The girls were sweet and positive.  Sydney always has a great way of keeping everyone positive.  We sang songs and talked as we walked.

The hike was nice and flat, so there were no complaints about the terrain.  We got to a certain point and we were able to fall alongside our entire ward.  Up until that point, the 1st year Beehives had been hiking together along with Jaiden.

At this point, we shuffled around and I ended up hiking with Katelyn, Jaiden and Anndie.  Those three weren't feeling super awesome.  Two of them were struggling with allergies or a cold or something like that, but they were troopers. 

Then, we were told that we needed to hike a little bit more to complete our 3 miles.  Up to this point, we had been on flat land.  To me, they took us up a mountain.  To the rest of the world, it was just a rocky hill.  We hit a watering station, but discovered that there was no more water.  My three hike mates were not feeling very well and moving slow.  We started realizing that our stake leaders weren't quite sure of where we needed to be going.  They kept telling us that we needed to go just a little bit farther.  Some of the stake leaders would radio to other stake leaders and ask question, but it was apparent that there seemed to be a little bit of confusion.  Everyone remained calm and positive, though.  The common consensus was that they were setting us up to get lost so that we could learn a lesson, since our camp theme was "Spiritual Survivors:  Envision, Endure and Engage." (That was not the case.)

My three hikers found an area with a lot of flat rocks and decided they needed to sit.  As we sat, we started seeing most of the groups pass us by.  I kindly but firmly let them know that we were going to get left behind if we didn't get moving.  Even though they felt terrible, they bravely started moving.  They hiked on even though we didn't seem to know where we were going, have enough water or feel good.

I had rationed the water in my water bottle and would open it up and pour it into the girls' water bottles.  They were so thankful.  Every time I would do this, Jaiden would get so upset.  She didn't want me giving away my water.  I had to make her take my water.  This touched my heart so much that sweet Jaiden would worry about me when she needed that water more than I did.  We hiked and hiked and finally ended up with a small group and made our way to a road.  We ended up outside of camp.  We sent word of where we were at.  (We weren't the only group that ended up in an oddball spot and had to be picked up and bused back to camp). We sat on the side of the road with girls we didn't know - hot, thirsty and tired.  But, my sweet trio - Jaiden, Katelyn and Anndie were so amazing and positive. They made sure that we took a Survivor Selfie while we waited.  We decided that we had lived the camp theme on that hike - "Spiritual Survivors - Envision, Engage and Endure."  That hike was hard and sometimes miserable.  But, we learned that we can do hard things and it is so much easier if we keep a positive attitude when we do them.

I sure do love those Young Women!  What a great example they are.

A Grand View at Grand Lake

So, I'm seriously behind on posting. Here is the beautiful view from the house we rented at Thanksgiving.  (I took so many pictures that I have to divide the posts up into subjects. It might be Christmas before I'm finished.)

No Place Like Home

I am so far behind in posting about Girls' Camp.  It is not even funny.  At this point, I have waited so long that I don't think I can wrap my brain around the experience and really do it justice.

But, here it goes...

 First of all, I feel so blessed to have been at Girls' Camp with amazing leaders.  Our President, Dana Hicken is awesome and the girls love her.  The Camp Director, Jerilyn Arnold is just so funny and laid back and exactly what we needed for this camp.  I loved getting a chance to really get know Kristen Buhler, our Mia Maid Adviser and our Secretary, Kayla Parry.  

 We couldn't have asked for better Priesthood holders to accompany us.  Rod Moffitt and Matt and Jeff Hicken were all fun and helpful.  They cooked, helped put up tents, rescued girls from snakes and were especially helpful while kayaking!

Rod make a great Camp Cook.  He ended up with the nickname Big Mama, which will probably stick with him.  Emma Rivera was originally supposed to be our camp cook and her nickname is Big Mama.  She moved, so we bequeathed the camp cook t-shirt to Rod.  He wore it well and the girls loved calling him Big Mama - especially in public.

The girls were so great.  We had rain much of our trip.  They spent a lot of time in the mess hall, but not one girl complained.  They smiled and enjoyed the time together.  There was no drama.  We mixed up the girls and they did really well together.  We had all different age groups in tents together.  Frisco 7th Ward has the best girls.

The theme for our girls' camp was "Come Unto Christ For There's No Place Like Home."  Everything was Wizard of Oz.  It was so much fun!

We had one clear day.  We made the most of it by kayaking, ziplining and enjoying the rock climbing wall.  It was all so much fun.  So many of the girls conquered fears that day.

I was kayaking illegally for awhile!  I was so busy helping all the girls that I didn't realize that I forgot to grab a life jacket for myself.  Thankfully, Rod found a nice and dirty one hanging in a tree for me to keep in my kayak.  At least, I had it in the kayak so I wasn't breaking any laws!

The girls were great kayakers.  The scenery was beautiful, the weather was excellent and the water was calm.  What more could you ask for?

Everyone had a great time!

The girls said that they really enjoyed Ward Camp, because it gave them an opportunity to really bond with the girls in their Ward.  It also gave them time to take camp slow and easy and enjoy one another.  Despite the fact that we had to come back a day early, we had bad weather and wet tents, everyone loved girls' camp.  I am so thankful that I was able to go for the first time.  I am also thankful that I was able to go with my daughter.

Once we got home we were able to enjoy a testimony meeting at the Moffitt's home.  Such a sweet experience it was. The spirit was surely felt that night. 

Having the opportunity to go to girls' camp gave me a great appreciation and love for the girls we serve and the leaders that I serve with.  I didn't think that I could love these girls and leaders any more than I already did.  Until you spend four days with a group of people, you can't help but have a deeper love and appreciation for them.

Note:  All pictures were borrowed from Dana Hicken and Jerilyn Arnold.  I didn't take a single picture at Girls' Camp!

Kayak Adventure

After we finished our Sea World fun, we spent Monday, July 7th on the San Marcos River.  We met my Auntie Jan, Uncle Joe and The Palmer's for a fun day of kayaking.

Uncle Joe and Fred

Jonathan is usually a very slow paddler.  He did a great job keeping up with everyone.  There was a stretch where Fred had to hang back with him.  Apparently, I bumped into him and that threw him off his game. Other than that, he was right in the middle of the pack or sometimes ahead of the pack.

Jessie - super kayaker

Jessie was a super star!  She recently kayaked at Girls Camp and canoed on her Senior trip.  You might remember that she didn't do very well a couple of years ago when she and I went tandem.  You can go here to read about our misfortune.  I was very proud of her hard work.  In the very beginning, she got caught in a tree for a second, but other than that she was amazing.

Conner, Corbin and Fred

I personally like to continually stroke and never slow down.  It was hard for me to stay with the pack.  It is a problem that Fred and I have when we kayak together.  I am thankful that I stayed with the group and didn't paddle ahead.  I could have ended up with my Auntie Jan and Uncle Joe.  They missed the take-out point.  Never one to fret, my Auntie Jan just kept paddling until the river ended. We sat at the rental place for over an hour waiting for them to show up.  They finally came riding up in the back of a blue pick-up.  Auntie Jan was waiving - kind of looking like a Redneck beauty queen in her swimsuit and hauling her kayaks.

Tony and Kelly

We did the seven mile trip.  Usually our family sticks with the  five mile, so we don't have haul the kayaks around so much.  The first two miles you are up and out of your kayak more than you are actually in the water.  However, it was fun to add the extra miles with so many people.  I forgot to change out of my flip flops, so I was having problems walking on the wet rocks most of the time.  I was so mad, because I had finally found the perfect water shoe.  I felt like I was useless when it came to hauling my kayak around, because I kept slipping in my shoes.

Uncle Joe, Auntie Jan and Fred

We stopped and played during the first part of our trip.  There were chutes that you could go down.  I lost my glasses (thankfully they floated down and Fred found them).  I was pretty freaked out and determined to stay where I was even though there was no other choice, but to continue down the chutes.  I remember smiling at the kind lady that helped me flag down my group, but I was freaking out on the inside.  This portion of the adventure should just get it its own post.  

Jessie

Despite my adventure on the chutes and losing my Aunt and Uncle on the river, we had a great time.  I would like for Fred to always remember that kayaking was my idea.  Several years ago, I was the one that insisted that we go kayaking and he thought it was a bad idea.  Now, it is Fred's favorite activity.  I was worried about having to paddle around the tubers, but there weren't so many this year.

Jonathan

We were thankful for sweet Corbin and Conner for constantly helping with our kayaks.  Every time I looked up Corbin was at my side helping me.  Jonathan thought Corbin was coolest guy ever.  Jonathan likes most people and can talk to anyone, but there are some people that he just really likes and that was Corbin. Jonathan sat next to Corbin and talked to him ALL weekend.  

I made Jessie, Jonathan, Corbin, Conner, Fred and Tony pose for a picture.  Actually I was making the kids pose and Fred and Tony photobombed the picture.  So, it looks like I left Kelly out.

Cute Kids!

We had a great time on the river and a great time with our fun friends!

Kelly

Sea World Fun

The Fortenberry Three (Jonathan was at EFY in San Antonio) traveled to Austin on July 4th.  We grabbed breakfast at our annual church picnic and began our trek to Auntie Jan's house.  We spent the night there and left Mollie with her Dachshund friend, Josie.  She enjoyed having her own vacation. 

Pick-up time at EFY in San Antonio was at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday.  We were so happy to get our boy back.  He had a great time, but that is a separate post.

After picking up Jonathan, we had breakfast and then met our friends - The Palmer's - and made our way to Sea World.  We spent two days at the park.  We watched lots of great shows and spent time at their water park.  At first, Jessie was humoring us and didn't really want to go.  She had watched Blackfish which is a documentary detailing how Sea World mistreats their animals.  If you have known Jessie since she was a little girl, then you know that Sea World is her most favorite place on earth!  Well, once we got there she lightened up and absolutely enjoyed herself.  She was still concerned, but took in all the shows and enjoyed seeing all of her favorites.  I don't think she enjoyed the orcas as much as she once did due to all the awful things she learned on the documentary.  

Jessie's favorite was the Sea Lions and her second favorite was the dolphins.  Jonathan loved the roller coasters.  He couldn't get enough of them!  Thank goodness for Corbin and Conner. Those sweet boys went a few extra times with him.  I went the first time.  The Steel Eel was right up my alley.  I rode the Great White twice in a row (as in we didn't even have to get back in line).  Thankfully, I didn't have very much in my stomach, because I was quite queasy!

Jonathan, Jessie and myself at the dolphin tank

Bottlenose Dolphin

Jessie being silly

Mama with her baby!

Jessie and Jonathan sitting front row at the Sea Lion show

Sweet little seal (Jessie, Tony and Kelly in the background checking out the sea lions and seals)

Jonathan, Fred and Jessie on the left 

with Corbin and Conner on the right

Arkansas Weekend

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas to see Fred's family.  We headed that way for a memorial service for Fred's Grandpa.  We left Frisco at 5:00 a.m. on Friday and rolled into Horseshoe Bend just in time to drop the dog off and change for the service.  We cut it just as close as you can.  I was scared we were going to miss it, but we said a prayer before we left and Heavenly Father watched over us the entire trip.  There was some rain, but no severe weather or traffic issues.  Thank goodness.

The memorial service was beautiful and we had a wonderful time visiting with family.

We were excited to visit with Dawn, Cody and Matthew for just a short time before they left for Branson.  They were kind enough to rearrange their morning and leave later on their trip, so that we could have breakfast together.  We hadn't expected that and we were grateful.  The kids enjoy each other and we love Dawn.

We had a great time at Grandma and PawPaw Larry's.  I had technical difficulties with my camera and didn't take any pictures - other than a few with my phone.  The kids fed the miniature horses.  We bowled in a tournament that benefited an animal shelter.  We went for a boat ride and fished.  So much fun and I didn't capture any of it.  That is so unlike me!

Hiking Fools

The Fortenberry's (minus Jessie) decided to be nature lovers for the weekend.  We arrived in Austin Friday afternoon around 2:00 or so.  Our GPS thought it would be hysterically funny to have us exit the freeway and run the service road in downtown Austin during a music festival!  We lost a few minutes, but jumped back on the freeway and landed at our destination in no time at all.  We hiked McKinney Falls State Park.  A beautiful state park that is right, smack in the middle of Austin.

You'll notice that Jonathan's sunglasses were off kilter in every picture.  I think his cap was pushing them up. That would have driven me crazy!  I didn't notice it until we were pretty far into our little adventure.

I strapped on all kinds of gear around my waist.  It made me look like I had a big belly roll.  I think this is a big fashion-don't!  Next time, maybe I will try a drawstring backpack.  

It was a beautiful day for hiking.  The sun was up and perfect.  The temp was in the high 70's - just right - not too hot and not too cool.

Jonathan loved sitting in front of the cactus (or is the correct word cacti) and acting like he was in immense pain.

There were some sections of the park that were prettier than others.  I think the not-so-pretty sections will be nicer once Spring sets in.  At the last minute, we decided to hike another little section.  It was only about a mile long.  It was completely worth it, because it was beautiful.

We discovered that Fred has long legs which make for a super-fast hiker.  Jonathan is a slow-poke hiker and I think I am a medium hiker.  I don't really know, because I tried to stay behind Jonathan most of the time.  

We had lots of fun!  I'm ready to go back.  I'm not sure if the boys are so ready, but I am!