Jenks Brothers Hike - Seven Devils

Barry went on a hike with his brothers this summer to Seven Devils near Riggins, Idaho. They spent four days hiking and fishing and doing all sorts of manly things.

Michael, Jared, Barry, Charles

Jenks Reunion

We had a great time with Barry's family at our reunion this year. We went camping at the usual spot at Father and Sons Campground near Oakley. We enjoyed wonderful company, tasty food, fishing, treasure hunts, and more. It was hard to keep track of Quinton and Clara because they were always off exploring with their cousins.

Watching the softball game.

Painting

Barry helping Quinton and Sidra play water balloon volleyball.

Warren had fun in the dirt with his cousin Cora.

There aren't enough baby wipes in the world to keep up with dirt while camping.

Around the campfire

I love this picture of Carolyn with her kids Clayton and Cora. Camping is exhausting!

After camping, we went to Oakley to enjoy the Pioneer Day festivities. I ran the Goose Creek Run-off and Quinton and Clara also ran the mile race. They did an awesome job. After watching the fireworks that night we headed home so Barry could get ready for his hiking trip with his brothers.

Warren's First Haircut

Warren's hair was getting a little wispy so we decided to give him a haircut. he was excited in the beginning.

He started to get a little fed up, though.

He just really wanted to be done.

Haircuts always make kids look so much older!

We also went on a picnic to the greenbelt in Boise. If you're good at dodging goose droppings it's a really fun place to go.

Warren catching a few winks before he woke up to join us.

Enjoying the Little Moments

Raising kids is no easy job. Sometimes during the daily chores, tantrums, fights, dirty diapers, and pure exhaustion it's hard to remember why we started all of this in the first place. But throughout all of that there are precious moments where I look at my kids and see them smile or act so grown up that I realize they won't be around the house forever and soon I'll probably be missing them. So here are a few of those moments from the past few months.

Here is Quinton at the dentist getting some cavities filled. I don't think he flinched once. In fact, he and Clara beg me all the time to go to the dentist. Crazy kids.

Nothing beats an ice cream cone face.

Warren enjoying some spaghetti...

... and the cleanup afterward.

We went on a date to Fatty'z pizza one night and Warren was with us. The slices were as big as his head!

Warren loves the sandbox and he has plenty of sand-filled diapers to prove it!

He loves the playhouse too!

Quinton and Clara loving the outdoors on a fishing trip with Dad.

Whenever we mention fishing, Quinton's face just starts glowing. It's his favorite thing to do.

Now that Warren knows wearing shoes leads to playing outside, he finds any shoes he can and puts them on his hands. He especially likes my new running shoes.

At first glance it doesn't look like he has much hair, but he can totally rock a mohawk if given a chance.

Quinton and Clara have been listening to these books on tape that I had when I was a kid. I'm sure very few kids even know what a Walkman even is anymore. One day Warren got a hold of a cassette tape and pulled out the tape. It took me quite a while to get it fixed so Quinton and Clara could listen to it again. I kept thinking, "This must be what parents in the 90's had to deal with!"

Clara earned an ice cream date with me one night. We went to the frozen yogurt place where you get to choose whatever you want for toppings. I think she had ten different kinds of candy in there. She was in heaven.

Independence Day & Camping at Big Trinity Lake

For the 4th of July we stayed in Mountain Home. They had a car show at the park with a free bouncy house and cotton candy that was 3 for $1 - can't beat that!

We had a few friends over for a barbecue and then went to the golf course to watch the fireworks. It was a perfect day.

The next day we headed up to the Trinity Mountains to go camping. This is the first time we turned Warren around in the car. He was pretty excited.

After the excitement wore off, the exhaustion from staying up the night before for fireworks kicked in and they all fell asleep. It was a nice, peaceful drive.

Our campsite was beautiful. It was right by the lake so there were a lot of mosquitoes, but we used enough bug spray to keep most of them away.

Quinton enjoyed catching dragon flies. 

He loved catching fish even more!

Here's Clara doing a leaf rubbing.

Warren cried ALL NIGHT LONG, but we forgave him the next morning when the sun came up and we saw his cute face again.

There were lots of fun rocks to climb. That was Clara's favorite part. 

Barry had a hard time getting them out of this little cave. They thought it was pretty cool.

It took even less time for them to fall asleep on the way home. The best sound ever is three snoring kids in the backseat.