Midnight December 23, 2009

The head of security at the Fresno airport is in our ward,

and he graciously escorted Marvin and I through back doors so we

could greet Jordan at the gate as soon as he walked off the plane.

What a handsome returning missionary.

After we walked up the terminal to the rest of the family,

Jordan went over and gave Brandon a big hug saying,

"Devin, how you've grown!"

The second Jordan got in the house he went to the toilet and

gave it a hug!

We think Jordan is now part Peruvian.

Smartie Pants

Sierra just got her first report card for Jr High. She got the first of many, (hopefully) straight A's. She was really excited, which you can tell by her "happy eye". We are really proud of her.

What's up?

To find out what's been going on in the Bingham house, click here

Also, it is okay for people other than me to leave comments. It's actually even nice so people know you are reading their posts!

The Mighty Hunter

We went to Bear Lake for the Deer Hunt again this year. Steven was given strict orders, by me, not to shoot anything smaller than a 3-point. He came home at lunch time and had not seen any buck. I thought I was safe. He went out again after lunch and promised not to be too late. Well, you can tell by the pictures, he came home late and he shot another 2-point. He got so excited about seeing any buck that he shot first and asked questions later. Oh well, I guess I get to try out my new venison recipes.

Jordan's Birthday Celebration

Well, my birthday was on Tuesday, but I suppose my zone couldn´t wait that long so they egged me on Monday, I totally wasn't expecting it Monday. Monday we went to San Bartolo, which is a rocky place by the beach that is very scenic. The waves are huge right there and there are geysers when the waves get big enough. Afterwards we went to eat in a restaurant as a zone, and I got plain old arroz chaufa (fried rice). They eat a lot of fried rice here, must be because they have a lot of rice. It is kind of wierd, but I am not sick of rice yet. I just eat what I get I guess. So then Tuesday I did a visit to Villa Alejandro with Elder Van Duyn and my old pensionista made a cake for me, and I got egged again. I was expecting that one. Then in the night we went to visit the Quintanilla family, who are members, and they made me another cake, and I got egged again. I was expecting that one too. Then Wednesday when I was back in Lomas my current pensionista made a cake for me. I got egged a again as well, but this time it was different. This was the first time that they poured flour on me too. So that is my birthday story. Lots of cake, lots of eggs. 14 eggs in all. The cakes were good, but I am sure my German chocolate cake back home was even better. Save me a slice, ok.

A Mckell-a-Date

Yeah, I'm dirty. I took this while I was writing this and taking a break from homework.

I haven't written on the blog for quite a while so I thought I would give an update on whats going on with me.

1. I have moved! After nearly 9 months, I finally was able to move to Downtown Salt Lake. I'm living with my best friend Cara and here two cats. Its a older apartment, but it has alot of charm. Wood floors, small closets and a kitchen that is so small that I can't even open the fridge without it hitting the stove (it doesn't open all the way). But so

far, its been great! I can ride my bike everywhere and I'm only two blocks from school!

My dirty small room. I love it though! I has two windows!

My little Kitchen with no dishwasher or garbage disposal. We've gotten good at washing dishes!

2. I am currently working on surviving my second to last semester of college. Everyone get ready to come to my commencement in May 2010!

3. I'm still working at the law office as a Legal Assistant. I need another job, but I've been too lazy/busy to apply. Oh well, the bright side is I'm becoming my boss's favorite.

4. Utah lost. I was sad. But BYU's lost soften the blow a little bit.

5. I have become a really good knitter! In fact, my girl friends and I even have knitting nights! One day I'll knit you all sweaters. As of right now, I can only knit you dish cloths. : )

Well thats all I can think of as of right now. I love you guys!

More Pictures from Jordan

A pet we found in our room one morning.

Me. I found the tree of life while hiking two weeks ago.

Me again. In space.

A look at what Jordan is doing in Peru.

Do you get it?

See, it says it right there.

Jordan and Elder Van Duyn with their latest convert

Silly Jordan

On the Beach

To save you a click...

Participation fee: $45

Spandex: $15

Knee pads: $15

Sweats: $70

Shoes: $70

Equipment bag: $35

Socks: $10

Game day t-shirt: $15

Practice t-shirt: $15

Numerous camps leading to this point: $$$$$$$

The look on Amaya's face when she found out she made the Sophomore volleyball team: PRICELESS!!!!

(This was not the priceless look, it is just a tired reenactment)

CONGRATULATIONS AMAYA! We love you and are so proud of you!

Erik skied on 1

Erik skied on 1 ski yesterday. He has been skiing on 2 and jumping the wake for a while, so we told him that he had to try and drop. Well, he did on his second try. On his third try he dropped and skied for a good long ways. Next time we go out I will take my camera and get a picture to post.

Oldest & Youngest

Sophia was blessed today. It was a really neat, special day. Thanks to everyone who came and supported us. Mom wanted to make sure we got a picture of her oldest grandchild with her youngest. Here it is. Cute cousins.

Aspen Grove!

Hey, just letting everyone know what I'm doing for the summer. I am a counselor for the Bobcat group (5 and 6 year olds). That means every week I get a new group of kids to work with. I generally have about 20 kids in the group. We take them swimming, go to Arts and Crafts, hike, rock climb, play on playgrounds, go on treasure hunts, sing songs, and face paint. Tuesday nights is Frontier Night, when I get to dress up like a cowboy and drive families around on the train. Fun stuff. Here's some snapshots of camp life.

Just in case...

Just in case you are too lazy to go to our blog... Here is the latest!
Get in, sit down, buckle up and get ready for the ride of your life! Amaya is on the road! I can hardly believe it myself, but it is true... she is old enough and yesterday she passed the test, earning her learner's permit. She is very excited to finally be able to drive like all of her friends have been able to do for a while now. Just watch for more gray hairs to be appearing on my head soon!

Preschool Graduate

Ashley graduated from preschool. She is sad to leave her fun preschool class, but is looking forward to kindergarten. She has already started asking "How many more days until I get to go to kindergarten?"

8 is Great!

Erik got baptized on June 6. He was so excited about getting baptized and becoming a member of the church. He even got up in Sacrament meeting and bore his testimony. Steven and I are proud of his decision to follow the commandments and be baptized.

I have been home in Norway for three days now and the jet-lag is hopefully wearing off soon. I just had to write a little note here on the family blog to thank the whole entire family for being so nice to me these last 10 months. It really meant a lot.

And thanks to Melissa and Steve for naming the baby after me (I know you did, no matter what you say), because now there will always be a Sofie (well technically Sophia) in the family.

We all know I posted this post just because of this not so pretty picture of Sophia and Sofie...

oops.. Almost forgot to tell you how much I'm gonna miss all of you, well, already do!

Klem fra Sofie

Newest Ashcroft #34

Sophia Spencer was born Friday, May 22, 2009, at 11:16 am. She weighed 9 lbs 9 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

Steven was in charge of naming her. He complained all threw this pregnancy that I named the first four kids and it was his turn to pick the name. He found that it wasn't as easy as he thought. We were thinking about Emily or Emma, but the just weren't right. So, two days after she was born he chose Sophia.

She looks a lot like Ashley did when she was a baby. Same chubby cheeks and hair style, but Sophia's hair is a little lighter than Ashley's.

Sophia does need a playmate so people better start having their oops!

Devin lost a friend.

Saturday night I woke up at 11:30 and saw that Devin was upset. (Actually, I heard him crying but he doesn't want me to say that.) He told me that he saw a news report on TV that night that told of a dad and his three daughters who were killed in a plane crash Friday night.  One of the girls was his friend.  His friend Kaitlyn and her two younger sisters were often picked up by their father Friday evenings to spend weekends with him in Nevada. This time, only a mile away from the airport the father's twin-engine Cessna started moving erratically and crashed.

Devin is so sad.  He said Kaitlyn was a really nice girl, kind of shy but friendly.  He had talked to her during lunch at school on Friday and then she was killed that evening.  Devin was concerned that she had never heard the gospel, so on Sunday we talked about missionary work in the spirit world and baptisms for the dead (which our youth just did a couple of weeks ago).  It is very sad for us when we lose friends and family members, but we know that we will see them again.  How grateful we are for the atonement and resurrection of our Savior.

EWWWWW!!!!

New and interesting entertainment over at the Bingham blog, as long as you aren't eating anything right now.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Julia did a fantastic job as Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  She was absolutely hilarious with her expressions and acting (and ballet) as she pursued Demetrius and rejected Lysander.  The production was very high quality;  I was impressed.

This and that

Brandon's home! 

Well, he was for five days.

Devin loves his brother. 

He even missed the quad stake pioneer trek

 to spend more time with Brandon.

We waited a week for Devin to be ordained a priest

so Brandon could participate.

Can you see Devin's new bright blue ear molds?

They are way cool.

Brandon is our punch maker, 

although this time he just had to defrost

 some frozen punch and add soda.

He says Grandma Ashcroft is the best punch maker ever.

Where did he get his sense of style?

Not from me!

He brought this shirt home and said he hadn't worn it for a year.

Why not?  Because it had a stain on it.  So why did he bring it home?

So Mom could get the stain out, of course!

Can you tell which of the following flowers are real?

One bouquet I got about 21 years ago while I was visiting my sister

 Carolyn in Federal Way, Washington, 

when Brandon was just a wee babe.

The other bouquet Julia got a few days ago,

 after opening night of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

(Aren't the pictures of Marvin so cute?)