School is in session!

First Day of School!

2nd grade and 3rd grade at the new elementary school!

Preschool at Little Learners with Miss Emily!

And with school comes Fall SOCCER!

Andrew played in the spring, also, and scored 2 goals for his team!

Ellie was very hesitant to play at first, but looks forward to practice with one of her best pals, Kenya.

Family Photos

These are just the casual pictures I (and my brother) took after our professional sitting with my parents, grandparents, and siblings. We were long overdue for a huge family portrait - last one was before I had kids!

Vacation in Yellowstone - Mid-August

Steven and I hadn't been to Yellowstone for 12 years, and thought it would be so neat for our kids to see. My parents happily joined us (and provided a trailer). We hadn't known beforehand that President Obama was going to be visiting during the same weekend. We caught the Old Faithful eruption after he and his family watched it. This was also our first family camping trip since Andrew was a baby. Alexander woke and cried for an hour the first night in the trailer, but thank goodness the next two nights went ok.

Waterfall in the canyon

This day it rained quite a bit, but didn't dampen Zach's spirits!

Sunset at the end of our last day in the park.

August Birthdays

This year, with so much going on, we had parties quite late for the kids - in September, to be exact. What was first thought to be a small gathering turned out pretty big. There are just so many kids in the neighborhood and at church who are the same ages as Andrew and Ellie (unlike St. Louis). Plus, I had the parties back-to-back. Andrew's first, then lunch with all party guests, then Ellie's party.

Andrew chose a Marvel Superhero theme and wanted cheesecake this time (my personal favorite). So I made a chocolate-marbled (marvel) cheesecake. Unfortunately, about half the boys don't care for cheesecake. They were pretty excited about the pizza, though. Every time the doorbell rang, most of them charged toward the door, nearly scaring off the visitor, as they yelled, "PIZZA!" Superhero Bingo was also a big hit, though Xander kept stealing the prize candy.

Elizabeth just loves dogs, so she got a pink dog cake. The girls enjoyed making cute buttons to wear, and dressed up with plenty of jewelry during the Princess game.

(Mom had a long nap afterward!)

Getting our Yard Done - A Slow Process!

First thing was the cement driveway and walkways; then a fence; then grading and a drain pipe; then weeding and planning the front; planning the garden area...one of these days we'll have grass! But at least the kids have a fun playset and plenty of dirt!

The kids loved helping with this part!

Time for a haircut!

For several months, Steven let his hair just grow and grow. When he'd finally had more bad hair days than good, he asked Sara to cut it off.

We could have made a wig with all this hair!!!

Summer Activities

The kids had several great experiences this summer: They all joined in super fun Croft Cousin Camp (separated by older/younger/boys/girls this year). They all participated in gymnastics classes. Andrew took a digital photography class; Ellie joined in a Princess Camp; and Zach had a "Pirate Camp" set up by Mom, complete with a treasure hunt.

One of the things learned at Princess Camp was, of course, how to act like a princess.

Alexander wanted to join the fun when Zach dressed up for Pirate Camp.

Catching crayfish/crawdads with cousins!

Andrew's first catch!

Elizabeth has no fear...she'll hold snakes, too.

"Gimme some of that raw chicken!" insists Zach's crayfish.

A fun hike with cousins when they visited our home with Steven's parents over Labor Day weekend.

Pioneer Trek - June

Steven was asked to be the medical person available for IV's, etc. on the trek. He took Andrew and Elizabeth along. They spent 3 days walking with handcarts from 4-6 miles each day along parts of the Mormon and Oregon trails. They also visited Martin's Cove. Andrew and Elizabeth walked some of the time, but seemed to end up in the handcart a lot. At least they weren't stranded in the snow without food to die and be eaten by wolves, which was the fate of some pioneers at Martin's Cove. In fact, nobody in their group required IV hydration, and there were only a few minor injuries.

Riding in the cart - the best way to travel!

Leading the group

Steven did a lot of pulling.

A way to prevent the children from drowning while crossing the river.

One afternoon they took a break from the heat and mosquitoes and drove to the nearest town for ice cream...Too bad the pioneers couldn't take breaks like that!

Sand Dunes - part of Easter Vacation

These were on Steven's camera, so I'd forgotten them. The kids really enjoyed playing in this gigantic sand box. While the older ones each got buried, Xander mostly enjoyed just pouring sand on his own head...over and over. It was hot, but they were determined to stay and play for a long time.