Stake Pioneer Trek

Matt and I were called to be a Ma and Pa for our stake trek in 2020 and it got postponed two years and finally happened last week. I honestly was dreading it! I hated the last trek I went on and was super sick. This trek went really well! Our kids spend two days at home with Grandma Davis and then two days at Meredith's house. They had a lot of fun. Matt and I left at 6:00 am on Wednesday morning. Our trek was at Deseret Land and Livestock. I liked that is was only an hour away. We had eight kids in our trek family, two from our ward that I kind of knew. I alway dred working with the youth because I don't feel like I am at all good at it, but Matt is amazing and it went great. It was definitely not as structured as our last stake trek in Ogden. There were not as many rules not as strict of a schedule and really that was good and bad. I felt like it made it much more fun, but not quite as spiritual. They did feed us really good with meals, snacks, and dessert every night, so that was wonderful. Our family worked really well together. There was one boy, Calvin that never took a break. He was definitely the strength of our family. There were two who were sick at one point, but overall they all worked together and got along really well. 

The first day was slow going to start. We met at the stake center at 6 am and were there for a while and then drove up and had to get everything ready and be trained for a bit. It was hot, but at least there was usually always a breeze that made it more bearable. The second day was the women's pull. It was super hard and hot. My family got split up so I was on a cart with girls I didn't know, but they were awesome. I helped them for a bit and then the trail boss asked all leaders to step to the side. The girls pulled up the last hill alone and did amazing. They were definitely able to push through hard things. That night we had the best discussion in our family. Two of the girls really struggled through that and it helped them have some spiritual insight I think. President Ryan talked a lot about women and their strength after the women's pull so I bore my testimony about my Savior that night as well. 

The third day it rained for hours. It was so muddy and slippery on the hills. It was also super cold. I don't think the temperature was really way cold, but we were trekking completely soaked through and the wind was blowing a little. It rained the whole time we trekked. We had to all hunker down under the tarp just to eat lunch. Luckily it stopped shortly after we made it to camp and we were able to dry out before bed. Everyone's shoes were still wet in the morning, which was a problem for the few people that only brought one pair, but luckily it was short the last day to get to the buses, less than four miles. 

 We had a lot of people from the 23rd ward on trek. Our ward boundaries got split the day after we got home so we lost a few of these wonderful ward members. 

Overall it was a good experience and I would even go again. I never thought I would say that!

4th of July

I made it out to Plain City just in time to take Claire and Van to the kids bike parade. I tried to get Kent to do it with us, but he whined and complained about being too old so after about five minutes I sent him back home. Claire loved being with Jack. They thought they were in a race. 

Corbin was in the North Ogden Parade for office so he missed Plain City's. I only had my four in the morning. Matt went and dropped Corbin off, came back and watched Plain City with us and then went back up to North Ogden and watched that parade and then brought Corbin and MaKenna (who cheered for Orion in the North Ogden parade) back to us. It made me really sad to not have everyone together, but I guess this is just the beginning of that. I do love the Plain City parade though. They had a few of the old Plain City elementary teachers in the parade this year and it was fun to see. They also had all the current teachers.

Matt and Corbin also missed the Jenkins breakfast. Matt kind of took the lame jobs this year. He brought Corbin back to me just as we were headed to the square and I switched him for Van who needed to go home and take a nap already. My kids each get $10 to spend at the square. I did split Van's up between them so they a little extra. It is kind of fun to see how they chose to spend it. Maggie bought bath bombs, hair dye and a snow cone. Claire bought a purse and cotton candy. Kent bought a cotton candy sword that took all his money. Corbin bought a Nike shoe keychain. We were at the square long enough for everyone to spend their money and then we spent he rest of the afternoon hanging out at both of our parents houses.

My family always stays up so late on the 3rd of July that I make them go to bed before the 4th of July fireworks. Corbin really wanted to stay up and go with friends this year. He didn't end up finding anyone to go with him so he and I just watched them from the backyard. Matt was already asleep too so I didn't dare leave in case Van woke up. It ended up that North Ogden's got cancelled anyway, but we saw a lot of pretty good shows just from our neighbors. It was actually super fun to stay up with just him and watch.

July 3rd

This year on the third of July Marianne had little bags for all the kids to decorate to hold parade candy. I thought it was such a cute idea and the kids loved it. We ate dinner and played for a while and then me and Van left before nine. He watched one firework and hated it and he was super tired so I left to put him in bed at home. The rest of my family stayed up late and did fireworks and slept outside. My kids had so many mosquito bites the next morning. I think it was the worst year ever for them. I know Kent counted 34 and the other kids were all similar. I have never slept at the Jenkins, but it is one of my kids favorite traditions. Good thing Michelle is so good at taking pictures since I am not there.

Davis Vacation 2022

 My family went to a rental house in American Falls, Idaho this past week. I love our yearly vacations! The house was huge, 7000 square feet and super friendly for Van to just roam the whole thing. It had a game room, theater room, play house, and a ton of open space. The first night we just hung out in the back yard playing games. Shannon and Jed brought their climbing gear so we climbed all morning on Thursday and ate lunch at the climbing park. This was definitely my kids favorite part. I did it once and it really was fun. Claire and Kent both tried it, but they had the most fun just climbing around and playing on the low rocks. 

I brought the stuff to make tie dye pillow cases. I brought shirts for Claire and Van and accidentally mixed them up. Luckily they are so close to the same size that they were still able to wear the shirt that was tie dyed for them. 

Friday we went to the local aquatic center for a few hours and then just hung out the rest of the night. The rest of the vacation was spent playing games and hanging out with cousins. I really love that we just had time to chill and do whatever we want. My favorite part of these vacations is all the time spent with cousins. The late nights are not my style, but my kids sure had fun!