CaUtIoN!!! Roadkill moose photos= YuCk!!!

Watch out~ there are some nasty pix coming up in this post.  But believe it or not, it's a family memory that I want to have included in our blog books!  

Last winter, we became true "Valley Trash" and signed up for the Roadkill Moose.  We were fortunate enough to be called at 5pm on a Sunday and they delivered the poor moose to our clean and warm garage!  Then, we got to spend the next 6 hours with our dear friends, the Novaks!

Savannah and Noah were all about helping Kep in any way he needed.  I was grossed out by the flesh but it did not phase these true AKan kids!

Parker took it upon himself to to saw off one of the hooves so Mrs. Sarah could take it into her Kindergarten class.

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Ha~ here he is pretending to be Mr. Tumnus from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

Gross, gross, gross!

Tbots with Parker's class

Kep is an "Industrial Tech" teacher at our local middle school.  I put quotes around his job because it's really just the trendy name for Shop teacher!  Although, he is teaching much more than shop projects.  One of the middle school projects is to build "T-bots" so Parker's class got the privilege of using Tbots as third graders instead of waiting til 8th grade.  Noah and Savannah, I mean Ping and Pong, were there as Kep's helpers.  We had so much fun hanging out with Parker's peers as a family!

carving pumpkins with Gramps

Random trick or treaters!!! Shrek, horse and a Seahawk!  Ha!

random summer pic

I love this picture of my kids and I because it's so rare that I get one taken with them.  Kep was still out fishing in the bay so the kids and I joined Momo on a day outing up to "Aunt" Hannah's lake cabin.  We had a great time playing games, eating and the kids went for a swim even though it was rather chilly!

Noah and Savannah's 1st day!

my little girl= Kindergartner!  another sigh from me.  Savannah was so excited to wear her new shirt and pack her bag for her first day of Tuesday classes at their Charter School.  She has been listening to her brother's stories for the past 2 years.  I was glad I was only dropping her off for 2 hours on Tuesday mornings~ or else I would have been a mess!

Noah~ the PROUD 1st grade brother.  I could tell that this helpful and selfless guy was excited to be the oldest Kroon on "campus".  He kept assuring Savannah that he would show her everywhere to go! Love my Noah!

garden success

It was fun to have my parents here to harvest our garden and to help eat all these carrots and potatoes.  We got a TON more than last year!

bday backpacking

Kep, Parker and Rosco went backpacking to test out 2 of Parker's bday gifts… the bivy sack and the flint stick from Noah!  Both were a success and perfect for our adventure loving son!

Ha~ isn't that a cool tent!?!

The boy and his dog!

Parker turns 9!

Our firstborn turned 9 this August.  It's his last year of living in the single digits and that just seems crazy. Here are 9 of the things we love about him:
1. He is one hard worker
2. Parker is a tough dude~ proven with his stitches in the knee
3. Brave~ started public school with excitement
4. Adventurous~ loves to camp and do anything outdoors
5. Friend~ easily made new friends in a new classroom
6. Contagious laugh~ enough said!
7. Natural teacher~ we are always amazed at how he teaches his siblings.
8. Helpful!!!
9. Lover of the Word~ he loves reading his Bibles and we pray this continues all the years of his life!

His "friend" Batman party!

#4 was "Adventurous" and this picture proves it!!!  This is not a sleeping bag… it is a bivy sack, a tent! Parker saw his "Uncle" Keeton using one of these while they were backcountry camping and that is all he could talk about.  He was soooo excited!

His family Batman party.  This picture will always be a special one~ our last party with Gramma Elmer.  Parker, she was your biggest fan!  We love you son! 

Parker's 1st day at PUBLIC school

3rd grade!  It's hard to believe he is already a third grader!  Parker is all smiles in this pic and I was all nerves and tears!  Back before we had children, Kep and I decided we would homeschool during the K-2 years and then prayerfully consider each year afterwards.  AHHH!  My eldest was done with 2nd grade and after many prayers, I knew it was time for him to try out our local public school.  BUT~ my heart was oh so sad.  I barely slept for the 2 weeks prior to school starting.  I was sad to let go of him.  I was nervous he wouldn't use all the manners we've taught him.  I was scared of him being affected by the world and not remembering the spiritual Truths we've read/sang to him since he was a babe.  I didn't know if he would mesh with his multiage 2-3 classroom since he would be the "NKOTBlock"!

Well, all my insomnia and worries were a waste of time!  Which I knew would be the case!  I was completely humbled during that first week of school as every single worry was completely taken care of by our loving Lord.  He worked out every detail.  I am forever grateful for the smooth transition to Shaw Elementary!

The Fair 2013

We had a fun fair day with our Gelatt friends.