No problem, let's work through this together. We're starting with 8697 and 2296 and adding them all up.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 6 in column 1 and get 13.
We'll write down the last digit 3 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 9 & 9 in column 2 and get 19.
We'll write down the last digit 9 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 6 & 2 in column 3 and get 9.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 8 & 2 in column 4 and get 10.
We'll write down the last digit 0 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 8697 + 2296 = 10993.

