August 07

Family & Friends,

I think I have missed a few months. Oh well.

We have had a great and busy summer and it is now over for us. The kids start school tomorrow. So, we really tried to get some work and fun in over the past couple of weeks to get it in. The summers are now full of camps, trips and events. The first week of summer started with me gone for a week for an camp for 16 -18 year old Young Men in our Stake. We call it Helaman's Camp. With my assignment in the High Council over the Young Men I was very busy this Spring with the lead-up to that and spent the week there. We held it up at Lareen's family property and the Walker property that is next to ours. It was great and the YM came home with stronger testimonies. Well worth all the effort.

I had 2 business trips in June and then the month was over!

July started with the Hansen family campout/reunion up at the same property that we had the Helaman's Camp. We had a great time, worked hard (built a big pavilion for shade, shelter, etc.) and how have a great place for eating and cooking outdoors. We spent a lot of time in the river or sliding down our waterslide to cool down (every day in upper 90's or over 100 degrees - even in the mountains).

The next week Logan went to Girls camp, then Jarom went to Scout Camp - another trip for me to Canada for work and July was over.

So, we were looking at 2 weeks left of the summer with a whole list of stuff we planned on getting to. Lareen's twin brothers (Tad and Chad) are doing landscaping and have helped us get sprinklers for our pasture so we don't flood our basement when we try to flood irrigate (had to stop after the first 3 years here). We have worked had and played hard this summer.

Big news - we bought a Motor Home on eBay! I have been looking for a while to prepare for the big trip back east next summer. I wanted to get it so we could get used to it and make sure we worked out the kinks before the trip to Ohio and NY next summer. Well, we got it just in time to trek over to IF for my 20yr class reunion last weekend. It was awesome. We could park it right outside of my parents apartment at Lincoln Court Senior Center and it worked out great. We took our time heading over there and saw some of Idaho's fun stuff that we usually speed by. We stopped at the Malad Gorge, Shoshone and Mamoth Ice Caves and Craters of the Moon. We had such a good time we went to Garden Valley this past week for a quick overnight trip to go see "Pirates of Penzance" at the Starlight Mountain Theatre (a really great outdoor theater that reminds me of the fun Theater in West Yellowstone we used to go to as kids).

Everyone is doing well, we are blessed, happy and healthy.

Love the Brian Packer Family