It has been a wild and crazy 3 weeks, but we are slowly moving into something that resembles a routine. We had a big weekend of races over Memorial weekend, we didn't fare quite as well as we had hoped in several, but did qualify for a decent race in two weeks. It was really nice to see all our friends from last summer and you an imagine their surprise when we showed them a new baby! They never knew we were expecting. Fisher is quite a trooper for travel and Drake is still a great big brother. Home again for about 10 days then off to the mountain again.!

we have survived our first week at home!! we have had some wonderful visitors as well. we had Fisher's 2 week de appt today, a bit early due to our trip, and she weighed 7lbs 6.5 oz! almost a pound over birth weight at 10 days. needless to say, she is very healthy.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!! Our newest addition is Fisher Joy McKinney. She weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 18 inches long. Born at 7:15 am on Friday May 14. We are so excited. Knowing how the world works, I always anticipated having to drive to Austin in the middle of the night, and for once, I was right. We went to bed on Thursday night and I told Micah that I would probably make it through the night but not the weekend. I could not get comfortable so I called the Midwife and talked to her. We decided to wake Micah and probably drive to the hospital, just for checks. It is a two hour drive for us. So, at 11pm we loaded everything up and woke Drake and off we went. By the time we got to Austin, about 1am it was definitely time to be there! The contractions became more intense and as we got a room, Micah we got Drake situated with toys and Micah called Gary, who happened to arrive in Llano just hours before, to come sit with Drake. We were so grateful he was there! It was a long nite for sweet Drake and he finally fell asleep on the couch at 430am only to be woken by nurses at 630am to leave the room. It was time to have a baby! Things moved very quickly from the dilation standpoint. I went from a 5 at 530 to a 10 within two hours. Baby Fisher came and is super healthy. And, I survived, which is ultimately the goal.

Fisher is so sweet. She has dark hair and a dark complexion, a perfect tiny little head and long toes and finger. Drake is completely in love with her, as we all are. He cannot stop stroking her hands and head and giving her kisses. We were able to only spend one night in the hospital so home we came on Saturday. It was such a whirlwind! But, now that we are at home, we are all getting good sleep and learning how our little family works. Dad was here til Sunday and BG is here today and they are both such big help. We can't wait to introduce her to all of you. thank you all for the well wishes. Our first trip as a family will be to Ruidoso for opening weekend of racing. We'll spend a week there for Memorial Weekend. Maybe we'll see you there!

I tried to update this crazy thing the other day, and my computer ruined it, so I guess I'm behind now. We finished up racing meet at Manor Park with a nice finish from We Have A Secret. All of the horses and track crew made it to Ruidoso, NM earlier this week and are settling in. We are looking forward to getting back to the mountains. The bluebonnets were absolutely gorgeous around here this year. of course, I didnt take many pictures, but here are a few. We have slowed down to a crawl as we wait on Baby McKinney #2 to arrive. I had my heart set on last night's full moon, but no such luck. We will head back to Austin for another appointment and sonogram tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Drake has been enjoying everything around here. We have begun using the pool regularly and he has been fishing almost daily.

We'll keep ya updated!!!

so many things to post about! First, Tyler and Avery came to play and the guys and kids enjoyed their first day in the pool! Needless to say, it was a bit cold, but the kiddos loved it anyway. We also had such a fun Easter weekend. The Manor Downs Derby and Futurity both had trials at Manor Park so Micah, Drake and I were joined by Gary and we went to Austin for Saturday night. We had a really fun time at the track. Fredericksburg Too, We Have A Secret and Charm Dance (whom I don't have a picture of) all raced and We Have A Secret did in fact qualify for the finals!!! We are very excited. They take the top 10 times of the trials, so April 18 is the Manor Derby finals; purse $100,000. Hey Say Neigh (also no picture) raced for his first time on Sunday. It was quite a learning experience for him as they backed them out of the gates twice. Once, a horse flipped over and they had to start over, and secondly a different horse refused to enter the gates. Anyway, he ran well and decided to buck and kick when the jockey hit him with the bat which threw him way off. He did not qualify for the futurity, but we have high hopes for Ruidoso beginning in May.

Easter Sunday began with us with a visit from the Easter Bunny in our room! Drake thought that was wonderful and even though he brought presents, Drake still decided it was in his best interest to not hug the bunny. The Four Seasons had a wonderful Easter brunch and then an egg hunt. Drake hunted with kids 1-4 in age. They were all cute. Drake finally figured out the object was to pick up the eggs and put them in his basket. I think we may spend our next Easter there as well!

We visited the San Antonio zoo last week and had such a good time. Drake was very excited to see the "bazoo".

We have had two weekends of races and, thus far, had some bad luck. Four of five starters have stumbled out of the gates. In quarter horse racing, that is something almost impossible to recover from. So, we'll work on the starts and hopefully be in better shape for Easter weekend. The weather has been gorgeous! Even with the bad luck, we have really enjoyed the race days. Here are some pictures of my little ropers.