Dear Friends and Family,

We went into our last month of summer break full throttle and fit in as much as we could before the kids started school!  For the first week we enjoyed Matt and his family (Travis’ brother) who were in town from Tulsa, Oklahoma.  They stayed at our house for almost a week!  All the hard work the previous weeks of preparing freezer meals and homemade popsicles paid off, which made for less time in the kitchen and more time to play.  And play we did!  We did a whole lot of horseback riding and roping; and made time for swimming (both in a pool and the canal ditch), dug potatoes, ice cream shop, shopping, the movies, and played many tiresome games of freeze tag!

That weekend, all the Klingeman’s met at Carl and Peggy’s (Travis’ parents) for our annual Klingeman reunion.  There were over 50 people including adults and children who stayed in tents, campers and homes and hotels.  For 3 days we jam packed in the fun with swimming, volleyball, a birthday party, the zip line, horseback riding, a scavenger hunt, and dancing.  On Sunday morning we enjoyed a beautiful time of worship outside led by our sister-in-law Jessica; followed by words from Travis’ heart as he encouraged us all to walk with God on a personal level each day.  In closing we ended with the traditional song “Praise God From Whom All Blessing Flow”.  It was a wonderful end to our time with the extended family.

From there (Spokane) we drove to the other side of the state, Vancouver, WA to our 3rd Rodeo Bible Camp of the summer!  Travis took his usual role as one of the team roping instructors and spoke at some of the chapel services.  Of course, the kids just absolutely loved every minute of it.  And I was able to connect with some of the ladies who have become good friends.  At the end of a week filled with camp food, chapel services, “clinic time” learning their desired rodeo event; there was a full blown Rodeo.  So many young lives were touched by the Holy Spirit and many were re-directed on a road of life and peace in the Lord.  And to top off the weekend Travis won the team roping with one of his students (he was so proud)!

While we were in Vancouver (only 20 minutes from Portland, OR), the kids and I met up with my sister, her kids and my parents (who were also visiting Portland)…for a trip to the zoo!  The kids hadn’t been to a zoo since they were little, so this was a big treat for them!  If you look closely at the photos from this month you’ll see animals in the background of all the zoo pictures!

When we weren’t traveling, we spent most every night riding and roping in our arena.  And with the lights up we have enjoyed the perfect temperature of summer even after the sun goes down!  Many different folks have joined us to take advantage of having an arena close by.  We have been very excited to open it up to the public by holding different events: Monday night Bible Study in our back yard at 7pm then with riding directly after;  Thursday night roping practice at 7pm; and we also held our first 3 (ACTRA affiliated) team-ropings! 

It has been a dream of ours to hold our own team-ropings so this was quite a big deal for us!  We prepare the cattle, put out our parking signs, set up a little snack shack, computer, table and microphone and we’re ready to go!  It was a great learning experience for me (who runs the timer, computer and announces).  We had a pretty good turnout for our first ropings and look forward to hosting several more next year!

Please keep Travis and me in your prayers as we travel to Oklahoma the end of Sept-Oct.  As you know, we take several annual trips.  The kids have joined us from time to time, but Travis and I have decided to make it point to start bringing at least one child on each trip (if possible).  Travis will be driving down with some friends, then Kendra and I will be flying together to meet up with him.  We are excited to have some one-on-one time with her!  There are several speaking engagements on the schedule, as well as a conference to attend, and friends and family to visit!  Thank you for your support and prayers.  I look forward to sharing what the Lord does on this trip; I expect great things!

With Love,

Jennifer