Amid the Chaos

July was kind of a stressful month with selling a house, buying a house, and planning a reunion. We tried to enjoy our last few weeks in Pocatello. The kids read a ton this summer. We made bug houses at Home Depot. We swam at Lava Hot Springs and ate lunch at the park with Triston and Connor. Shari was very kind to watch our kids while we were house hunting. Sawyer didn't always cooperate at bedtime, though. After he'd hide under the bed crying she had to take him for a drive to go to sleep! We also found out Baby #5 is another boy! 

At the end of July we attempted to go huckleberry picking at Green Canyon, but there weren't very many. We also went to Bear World with Grandma Packer.

Brothers Hike to Iron Bog

This was a special year for the annual Jenks brothers' hike because Quinton and some of the other younger cousins got to go.They hiked Iron Bog and had some great adventures including fishing and playing in the snow. Quinton had some weird allergic reaction to something that caused his ear to swell up.

Jenks Reunion

The Jenks reunion was extra exciting this year because Barry and I were in charge. Our theme was "Lift Where You Stand" and we held an Olympic competition which was a ton of fun. The kids just love camping in the mountains with their cousins. It's a good chance to get close to everyone else without all the distractions. Quinton and Clara were rarely even seen because they were always off keeping busy with cousins. Some of my favorite parts were the cherry pit spitting contest, the campfire, and devotional.

We left the mountain on Friday to head into Oakley. My mom and Shari came to see what Pioneer Days were all about. The kids did great running the 1-mile race (Quinton was 6th or 7th!) and we visited the rest of the day while waiting for the fireworks that night. It was exhausting, but lots of great memories were made.