Summer and Fall Recap session...

It's been seven months since our last post and we've had a lot of changes come our way in this time. How about we catch you all up?

We had a great time with Karli's sister Julie and her awesome kids during the Lehi Rodeo. This little cutie is Krista... and Katelyn too. Dustin had a lot of fun catching up with his cousin (and best buddy) Klora - they slept in a tent in our back yard and shot snakes in the middle of the night with air soft guns. Some fun. 

While Mom and Dad Craner have been on their mission, we've managed to commandeer their sweet raft and embark on frequent trips down the Provo River with friends .. (and in this case, a girlfriend).

... and Family! Here we are at the end of one of our floats with Brenda's kids! If you look hard,  you can see Alayna, Ariana, Saige and Eric Johnson. It's always a blessing when we can have Brenda and family can come and stay with us. 

Karli and I took a week out of our summer to accompany our ward's youth on Trek as a Ma and Pa.  Our ward went alone to a stretch of the Mormon trail in Western Wyoming, near the Utah border. There were lots of things to see along the way and this trek was a lot tougher than our previous experience in Martin's Cove, Wyoming. We just really enjoyed ourselves with our amazing kids and our amazing youth. 

As mentioned earlier - my awesome sister Brenda and  my amazing nieces came to hang out with  Natasha - oldest of the Hubner girls - in anticipation of her having a baby! And here he is with Karli ... Samson Johnson. 

And here's the proud Mama herself. This was taken about one week after delivering Samson. Mom and baby look great. 

We also learned during the summer that Dallin has a pretty serious case of scoliosis - and at his age, there isn't much we can do about it except stretch and exercise and hope he doesn't end up like his father. 

Like every year, Kristen played soccer in the summer and fall - just like her cousin Nicole Smith. We think they look a lot alike. Kristen's team finished fourth in their division with a 6-3-2 record. 

Katelyn worked hard for a spot on the Lehi High School Tennis team and made it. This is a picture of her  double's partner. She had a great season - winning about half of her matches. Great job Katelyn! She also benefitted from having her big brother as the assistant coach and mentor. Great job Dallin. 

One of the highlights of my summer was being able to see my rock and roll hero - Weird Al Yankovic in concert.  Jill and Mike Darrington invited us to Wendover to watch the show and we had so much fun. The concert was both amazing and hilarious. So funny. So enjoyable. 

After the show, we got to meet the man himself. He was very nice and cordial. We had such a fun night. Thanks to Jill and Mike for your awesome hospitality. 

Here's a picture of Dustin winning third place in our ward's pinewood derby race this year. Dustin decided to have a Portland Trailblazers car and aptly named it 'Rip City.' 

We were also blessed with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Craner in October for a few days - enough time to remind us that Grandma is just a big kid at heart... as evidenced by this picture. The other young kids represent the Craner senior class of 2013. Madison, Dallin, Jessica and Savannah. 

This picture represents what Dallin experienced during Conference this fall when President Monson announced that young men can serve a mission starting at age 18 - one year earlier. It made him think a bit about his future and he's  since been make plans to start his mission directly after graduation. That's a lot to think about for a young man. And his parents.... 

This summer, with the assistance of Grandma and Grandpa Orton, the kids were able to plant and grow a garden. We were able to harvest corn, carrots, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and PUMPKINS! The girls were so proud of these little beauties. 

Those same pumpkins were subsequently turned into the best looking jack o lanterns on the block!  Here's what Dallin and Katelyn came up with for their entry. The toothpick teeth were a nice touch, I thought. 

For Halloween, Dallin let me give him a bowl cut so he could look like a nerdy kid from the 80's. He also raided my closet to complete the look. Why must my clothes be the nerdy ones?

Kristen was a little stressed on Halloween Day because she wanted to go trick or treating but didn't want to spend a lot of time on a costume. She brought her dilemma to Katelyn, who helped her come up with this beauty of a costume - A Care Bear. I thought she should be Grumpy Bear. She went with a happier version instead. 

Zoey decided to be Bat-Dog for Halloween. 

Here is Krissy with her costume designer, Kate. Aren't they cute? 

Here is Dustin with a Mohawk. He wanted to be a crazy goalkeeper for Halloween, so we dug into my soccer gear for a goalie shirt, then we bought him some gloves and then bicked his head with my razor for an authentic crazy punk rock goalie look. All the house commented on his cool decision to shave his head. The next day, we shaved off the remaining hair and he attending school bald as a baby. He wants to do it again as soon as possible. 

Dallin got his braces off a few weeks ago and he was very excited for that. What a nice smile.