Utah Trip

Last weekend we had a fun vacation to Utah. Barry had tickets to the BYU-BSU football game on Friday so we all decided to tag along. We stayed at Bryant and Shauna's and Grandma and Grandpa Packer, Shari, and Jeni were down there visiting as well. It was a fun-filled weekend!

We went to the BYU creamery before the game and tried their yummy ice cream and french fries. Then we went to some of the pre-game booths with Barry where the kids got to play some games and win a few prizes. 

The next day we met my family at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. The kids could have spent hours just in the first room where they have lots of "tinker" stations. Their favorite was making flying contraptions out of paper and sticking them in a tube of air to make them fly.

Then we got to see all of the dinosaurs!

Quinton was especially excited to see all of the dinosaurs - his favorite is the T-Rex!

That night we went to see Despicable Me 2. Here is Warren riding a train with Connor in the lobby. Warren was sick and miserable for a lot of the trip, but he loved going to the movie.

On Sunday after church we met again near temple square at a park to have a picnic. Connor, Triston, and Quinton had fun posing for the camera.

We took the kids to see the conference center. We went on the top to see the gardens and the view.

Quinton and Clara loved all of the water fountains.

We had a blast on our trip, but as always, traveling with kids is exhausting. Clara and Warren were asleep minutes after we pulled away from temple square and slept for a long time in the car.

Soccer

Quinton and Clara begged us to play soccer this year. Luckily they were at the right age to be on the same team. They both played really well and each of them made goals at their games.

Warren cheered them on from the sidelines.

Pumpkin Patch

Warren and I got to go with Clara on her preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch. We went on a hay ride and Clara got to choose a pumpkin. And they had lots of other fun things to do -

Climb a mountain of straw bales.

Sit on a tractor.

Jump on a hidden trampoline in the straw bales.

And play with chicken feed. It doesn't get much more fun than that!

Riding Bikes

We made it a goal this summer for Quinton and Clara to learn to ride their bikes without training wheels. We probably didn't practice as much as we should have, but one evening we went to the church parking lot and they figured it out! Barry was such a good dad to help them learn. They both figured it out within minutes of each other. Clara was very determined to do it and as soon as Quinton saw her going, his competitive side came out and he was  doing laps around the parking lot in no time. I'm proud of them for not giving up!

Hike to Thompson Peak

Barry spent last weekend on a hike with some friends from Mountain Home to Thompson Peak, which is near Stanley.

Barry never forgets his fly rod. He caught this beautiful cutthroat at the base of the peak in Thompson Cirque Lake.

End of Summer

School started, but the weather stayed warm for a while. Here are some of the fun things we did before autumn came.

Clara spraying Quinton in the face with the hose.

We got some big boxes one day and the kids decorated them and made a little home to sleep in.

Warren was just so tired one day he fell asleep in his high chair.

Barry went fishing at Crane Falls with his friend, Daniel.

Here we are at the Air Force Appreciation Day parade with our friend Zannah. We actually made it through the whole parade this year (it's super long). Each kid had a grocery bag FULL of candy and other goodies.

Chowing down on some caramel popcorn.

Labor Day at the Sand Dunes

For Labor Day we went with our friends the Rekows to the Bruneau sand dunes. They have a little lake there that the kids played in and we ate a picnic. It was lots of fun!

First Days of School

On August 14th, Quinton started kindergarten. It's hard to believe he's already so big! This is a whole new phase of our lives we're entering now. It's strange to have him gone five mornings of the week. He had a tough time the first little while, but he seems to be getting the hang of it now and he's making lots of friends. His teacher is Mrs. Burningham and you can tell she really loves teaching kindergartners.

I went with him the first day to an orientation. This is the second day when he got to walk through the gate all by himself. He was a little nervous, but did great!

A couple weeks later Clara got to start preschool. The first day when she came home she was more talkative than I'd ever seen her. I think she's really going to love going to the Little Sunbeams Academy with Miss Sas.

Surprise for Grandpa Packer

Grandpa Packer turned 70 this year and we celebrated with a surprise party! My mom worked hard to put it together and a lot of people came to see him. Trent fought a tough battle last year with esophageal cancer - a cancer that is pretty hard to beat. He underwent two major surgeries that removed parts of his esophagus and stomach. He couldn't eat food for a very long time. We were all so grateful to learn that the second surgery was successful in removing all of the cancer, though. He didn't even need chemotherapy, which was a huge blessing. So the party was a superhero party because Trent is a superhero to all of us who love him.