Samantha's first day taking the bus. We work together as a family to walk her to her stop and pick her up too. She is still too little to be there alone and it is not close enough to where we can see her from the house. So, of course, the daycare kiddos get in on it too. We both agreed that it kind of stinks. She is a trooper though and has not missed the bus yet!
Field day at Samantha's new school is in the fall...so that was a new experience for us. Here is our "lover of life" having a ball with her Peabody Elementary school mates.
Sleepovers are becoming a regular thing around here and this is a typical situation that I find in the morning. I love this photo-notice Emily's still wearing her necklace from the night before. Also, when I opened the bedroom door the light was still on, so they fell asleep with it shining in their eyes! So nice of Emily to "share" the bed with her pal, Megan. 
And then there is Sam...I had to throw this photo in with this entry. It's Samantha fooling around with our box of Halloween costumes. She put on a variety of things and came up with this outfit and wore it for the afternoon. 
The first photo I took of our new trek daughters. Aren't they sweet?
The river crossing! Refreshing!
Our first campfire with our new family. Very cool.
Our first morning...ready to face our first 15 miles. This is our family. 5 girls and 3 boys.
Breakfast before we left was 4 ounces of flour (a simulation of what each pioneer family had for the whole day). This is Katie feeling sad and Audrey adding some sage to give it some flavor. We actually had hot chocolate, muffins and breakfast bars. We ate really well on the trek.
Cousins! Taylor and Joe walking with their tin cans to get some hot chocolate!
Off we go and the first obstacle we face is a water/mud bog! It was black and stinky. Our family cruised through it!
I can't begin to express my gratitidue for Pa Acker. I was so glad that we were on this adventure together! 
We could always count on Pa and our boys to take over after a gruelling hill like that one! Garrett, Brandon, Pa and Jason.
Lunch time on the trail was always welcome. Here we are with our yummy carrots. The carrots we had that day were the best carrots we have ever tasted!! 
Nightime at last...Valerie, Katie, Audrey and Ma
Garrett Solomon
Valerie Evenson and Brandon Kile
The medical staff would fashion up flip-flops for those with blisters. They were made with duct tape and cardboard.
This is one of my favorite photos. Pa with Audrey chillin' in the tall grass. 
Chipper crashed on the way home. We were all wiped out!
There are a ton of pictures from the trek and if I had the time I would put them all on my blog...Sadly, I don't. Hope this gives you a glimpse of the fun we had.