A Summer Day at the Sand Dunes

Now that the rain has finally stopped (at least for now) we took the opportunity to head for the local sand dunes with our two horses and Grandpa with his new and old four wheelers. Cindy was able to put Kipper through his paces and give some riding tips to Aubrey Jo and Deena with Destiny. Jenna and Christopher particularly liked riding on the four wheeler and because they followed Uncle Kevin, they discovered a little jump. Thankfully, Christopher was able to hang on but he got a pretty good bounce. Isaac was able to go on some good rides and Emrie enjoyed both sitting on Kipper playing in the sand. It was really great to get enjoy the sunshine and to see the Rexburg area desert being so green because of all of the rain.

Rexburg Air Show

Each June the Legacy Air Museum hosts an air show, with lots of vintage planes and skydivers. We were able to catch the last hour of the show and Christopher, Isaac, and Emrie enjoyed the fly overs and playing at the Rexburg Nature Park.

Jenna's California Adventure

Jenna and her Ballroom Dance Team (Idaho Ballroom Academy) recently went on a tour to Southern California where they performed at Disneyland, Universal Studios, California Adventure, and Medieval Times. They also visited Sea World and of course spent some time on the beach.

Christopher's Scout Camp

Christopher attended his first official boy scout camp in June at Little Lemhi in the Palisades region of Southeast Idaho. It rained nearly every day so he was plenty wet and muddy. He did have a great time and earned 10 merit badges, 2 of them required. Dad was happy to join him for two days and enjoyed watching the scouting program in action, featuring a couple of great scoutmasters and some very good boys.

A Little Landscaping

We have recently been giving the front of our house a bit of a makeover. Gone are the 4 big evergreens that adorned each side of our front windows and overgrown junipers. Grandpa Davis was a big help, as were Isaac and Emrie. Matthew was kind enough to hall off all the limbs, branches, and logs in the city truck -- officially part of the city sponsored "spring cleanup" so it was all legal. The house looked pretty bare at first, but the new plants, though small in comparison, add some variety. We do have to spend a lot of time watering, which both Isaac and Emrie love to help with and they get pretty soaked in the process.

Isaac, Jenna and Tim sing We are the Champions

A Visit to the Zoo

On our way home from the McInelly reunion, we stopped in Salt Lake City and the Hogo Zoo.  Emrie, Isaac, and Christopher enjoyed the animals and rides, but many of them were asleep during the heat of the day.  We did see several varieties of monkeys and of course the large elephants, rhinos, and giraffes. 

McInelly Family Reunion

For Memorial Day weekend we travelled to Southern Utah, specifically the town of Kanosh to participate in the annual McInelly family reunion.  We had a wonderful time with the greatest highlight spending time with our 97 year old grandmother and great grandmother Grandma Mack.  She was in great spirits and is doing remarkably well.   The activities included a picnic, horse drawn carriage rides, an auction, and talent show.  Lauren was a great friend and babysitter and Isaac made a new cousin friend, Jordan, and they played together for many hours over the two days.

Jenna's Graduation

Sorry for the very large number of pictures, but your oldest daughter only graduates from high school once.  Jenna graduated last week from Madison High School with high honors.  She was very busy during the ceremony, singing with Vocal Spectrum in the prelude program, singing the national anthem in an all girls choir, playing the cello in the orchestra, and finally singing a special musical number with the Bel Cantos choir.  Like all graduations, it was truly bittersweet as she said goodbye to her school and many friends, but now launches a new phase in her life.  She will be starting as a new freshman at BYU-Idaho this fall majoring in music.