Utah

Barry has season tickets for BYU football this year, so we went down twice with him in October to Utah and stayed with his brother Bryant and his family. We have a lot of fun staying at their house. During the second trip we were able to see Barry's cousin Steven and his wife Sabrina sealed in the temple. It was a really special experience and we're so glad we could go.

A young BYU fan.

Grandma and Grandpa Packer were nice enough to babysit while we went to the sealing.

Quinton discovering temple square for the first time.

Had to put this picture up. Clara can be a sensitive little girl sometimes.

The Greenbelt

We made it to the greenbelt in Idaho Falls one beautiful fall afternoon to feed the ducks and geese. Quinton loved it! He also loves playing in the leaves. It took Clara a few times to get used to sitting in the leaves, but she has warmed up to the idea as well.

Around the House

Getting two young children dressed, fed, changed, prepared, napped, and buckled into the car to go anywhere is quite an ordeal so we don't make it out of the house as often as we might like. So we spend a lot of time at home, which isn't too bad because Quinton and Clara keep life exciting. Here are some recent pictures of Quinton and Clara having fun at home. Above is a picture of their favorite thing to do: wrestle with daddy.

Keeping Busy

No posts for a while because we don't seem to have much time or brain cells to spare. Barry is trying to make it through his last year of school. He does well in his classes and works hard at his 3 internship sites. Heather got a job scheduling appointments from home, which has been hard to get used to. Now that Heather's sister Shari moved into the same apartments as us, we have been able to trade babysitting, which is very nice. We also have callings in our ward now. Barry is a teacher in Elder's Quorum and Heather is having fun as the assistant Wolf den leader.
Quinton turned 2 today. It's really crazy. He has been talking really well lately and growing up in so many ways. Our little guy isn't so little anymore, which is mostly sad, but it's also fun to see him learn so much so quickly. Because Quinton and Clara are sick and Barry is gone all day, we are postponing birthday celebrations until Saturday.
Clara is getting really close to walking. She took a few steps last night. Once she gets up the confidence, she'll be chasing right after her brother. She's also sleeping from 8 pm to 7 or 8 am, which has been a huge blessing.

Spud Days in Shelley - Who knew celebrating potatoes could be so fun?

The Last Days of Summer

We kept busy the past month as the end of summer came upon us. Barry is back to school now and we sure miss him as he goes from classes to internships throughout the week. Only two semesters left and no more school!

Last weekend we went to Oakley and Barry took his mom out fishing on a float tube for the first time. We went to Lake Cleveland, which was very beautiful and Grandma Jenks did a great job on the float tube. They didn't catch too much, but Barry did get a nice trout at the end of the day.

Grandma Jenks

Quinton throwing rocks into the water.

Quinton after falling into the water he was playing in, even though his mommy told him to stay out of it.

Quinton loves to help his daddy. Here they are making breadsticks and Quinton rolled his own.

We went huckleberry picking a couple times. Quinton really liked picking and eating the berries and even got a few in the bucket.

On Labor Day we went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. We didn't stay too long, but Quinton loved the animals and we loved the food.

Quinton is a big fan of eating corn on the cob.

We went to the splash park up in Rexburg one hot day with Shari, Triston, Connor, and Jeni. Quinton was pretty nervous of the big fountains, so he started off small. I was nervous too after Triston turned a wheel and I got sprayed from head to toe.

Clara even got in on the action. She loves water!

Quinton is really cute when he watches himself walk.

This is a cute sweater a nice lady in our previous ward made for Quinton.

We also went up to Rexburg before their school started for a celebration of youth. They had a fun train to ride, moon bounces, food, ice cream, cotton candy, and free carousel rides.

Clara who is now crawling all over the house. She's getting to be hard to keep track of and usually only stops to pick up microscopic crumbs out of the carpet. Next summer will be fun when she can run around with Quinton and do all the fun stuff he gets to do.

Gardner Reunion in Canada

The second week in August we journeyed up to Osoyoos, Canada to have a reunion with Heather's mom's family. We had a lot of fun at the lake, in the pool, and catching up with family. We also got to stay with Barry's sister, Amy, in Missoula on the way. The kids did really well traveling and we had a great time seeing everyone. We got spiffy shirts that say, "Once a Gardner Always a Gardner."

Most of Heather's family.

Here we are with Grandma and Grandpa Gardner.

The hotel had kayaks and canoes and Quinton loved going out with anyone willing to take him. Here he is with Shari, Trison, and Jeni.

Shari and Jeni being silly.

Quinton was of course entranced by the water, so we had to watch him very carefully.

Clara and her cousin Connor discovered how fun sand can be.

Barry taught Quinton how to plug his nose in the pool.

Relaxing in the hammock.

Barry's Hike with His Brothers

The first week of August Barry went on his yearly hike with his brothers to Iron Bog Lake near Arco. They hiked in and enjoyed a few days of camping and fishing. He went with his brothers Bryant and Charles and his nephew Jeran. Here are some pictures of their adventures:

Jenks Family Reunion

We had a lot of fun going up into the hills past Oakley for the Jenks reunion with Barry's brothers and sisters. We camped out for a few days and had a great time visiting with family. Quinton was a little grumpy for the first couple days, but he was loving it by the time we left.

Camping was fun, but very exhausting with two little ones.

There were lots of fun activities like a nature walk for the kids with musical instruments made out of things from nature, fishing, softball, chatting around the campfire, yummy food, a hike for the small kids, and a treasure hunt. We even had a celebrity show up in camp: Smokey Bear! Quinton was fascinated by him and kept pulling us by the finger to go with him to get a closer look. Barry's brother Joe and his wife Melissa planned it all and they did a great job!

Quinton and Daddy running the bases.

Clara had quite a little fan club.

Quinton and his harp.

The kids did a musical parade with all of their instruments.