First Day of School

We are homeschooling this year!  We begin class at 9:00 and go straight till lunch.  We usually have some things to finish up after lunch as well.  We are using mostly The Good and the Beautiful curriculum, but our math is from Saxon.  So excited to start a new year and excited for something a little different!

 

Boys' Backpacking Trip

 

Girls Weekend

The boys of the Cropper family went on a fun backpacking adventure so the girls got together to have some fun too.  Wade was too young to backpack, so he joined in the fun at Grandma's house.  Chloe and Nanette brought some fun things to do.  We decorated cupcakes, colored pages, made necklaces and bracelets and painted our nails.  We brought our pool and got outside for a little bit on both days.  We ate a lot of yummy food!  We had BLTs, Southwest Wraps, French Toast with Caramel Syrup and Pizza.  Annie loved the watermelon that was at almost every meal and snack time in between. :)

When we got back home from our weekend, we found much produce in the garden.  Some of the zucchinis had obviously been neglected!

All About Annie

Annie got a bug bite on Monday.  Tuesday she woke up looking like this:

Our neighbors and best playmates, the Finleys, brought over some of Eleanor's clothes to hand down to Annie.  She had a lot of fun playing dress up the first couple of days.  I was worried she would never want to wear her own clothes again.  

She got this Moana doll for her birthday:

Annie got a picnic set up with all the dolls and Lucy helped her. 

It took a few days for the swelling on her eye to go away, but in the meantime, everyone enjoyed calling Annie Baby Zuko (a character from The Last Airbender).  Luckily, she didn't seem affected by the swelling, so she went about her days as normal as could be. 

 

Flaming Gorge

The Monday following the reunion, Jake and Brittany treated us to a day at the Gorge.  They had found the perfect spot for having lots of fun.  The kids all tried out the kayaks, paddle board, and cliff jumping.   

Dad skiing!

Lucy's first time skiing!  I was so proud.  It was fun to see all of the cousins getting up and enjoying!

 

Anderson Reunion at Sheep Creek Lake

We were "hosting" the Anderson Reunion this year.  We had begun plans for a pack trip, but that did not pan out.  Steph had suggested a camp in the area around Spirit Lake.  We settled at Sheep Creek Lake and had a great time.  Grandpa and Clark brought horses, and all the girls had lots of fun with that.  The lake was fun--especially because folks brought their paddle boards and kayaks.  

Eli took this picture of the kids waving their glowsticks:

Sam found a frog first thing when we arrived.

The lake was so beautiful and had a nice trail around it.  Jace and Sam:

Grandpa and Annie on Blue Lu:

We had a little art session, and Rosie created this kindness rock:

One night we played Four Men on a Couch and the Name Game:

Steph, Mom and I walked around the lake one morning:

The girls had so much fun riding horses any chance they got.

Lake time!

Eli's sweet sweet skills came in handy.  Fetching Annie some leftover pancakes from camp:

Annie loves Clark's horses!  Here she is on Dan.

We had a treasure hunt and got a picture of almost all the cousins involved.  Luckily Eli joined the fun and helped with some of the clues.

We had a nice relaxing Sunday at Lonetree in between adventures.  We played Little Bear with Annie several times, which was right up her alley.  We picnicked with Jake and Brittany and explored The Maze.  And we played lots of corn hole and enjoyed our time with cousins.

This is Brittany's kitten, Dina.  She is feisty and sassy, but Lucy doesn't have a problem with her.  They had some good cuddles.  Sam found a frog as big as his hand.