Round 2 of Birthday Week

Enchanted Castle- approximately 4 hours to make!

Kid friendly unicorn pinata
Such joy! Robyn said she is the most expressive present opener..... :)
Kalin and I had fun too!

We had Kiley's kid party on Saturday. It was a much anticipated event. All her best best friends were there- well except for Olivia, Rikki and Ryn :(. But the day turned out to be gorgeous- blue skies and sunshine. We had fun playing "Pin the Horn on the Unicorn", since it was a unicorn themed party, and we had a kid friendly pinata (meaning we didn't have to whack it to get the candy out, we pulled ribbons).
I think I put in about 4 or 5 hours making the "Enchanted Castle" cake. Phew, what have I gotten myself into? These cakes sure are a lot of work- and Jon reminded me so kindly that I will be doing this for each child we have... hopefully I will be a pro by the time the last one is here! :)

Once we had cake and ice cream,and opened presents the kids were ready to head outside and play! The swings (tire and saucer, thanks again GB you have awesome ideas!) were a big hit as well as the swing set. They also enjoyed playing in the "Doll House", Kiley's clubhouse of sorts. Great memories, Kiley is lucky to have such good friends!

The Best Day EVER!!! Happy Birthday Kiley!

Kiley brought in her 4th birthday with a bang! It was the best day ever! She started the day by Skyping with Papa and Gram, they both sang Happy Birthday to her over the " 'puter ", and watched her open her present. THEN she got to open some presents and Daddy watched her from work..... it was awesome. One of her presents were "fizzies" that she loves, so her and Ryn had to take a bath- a TWO HOUR bath!

We got to take the birthday girl to the only restuarant in town that was open for her birthday, and she and Camryn got to have milkshakes and chicken strips. The phone seemed to ring on and off all day- Lori, Auntie Jeanette, GB and Papa Paul, it was awesome. Morgan got to come and play for a while, best friends need fun time! We ended the day with her favorite dinner of the week, tacos, and then had cake and ice cream with Amma Bossy, Uncle Max and Dean and Karen.

Kiley got her biggest, biggest surprise out in the garage- a new bike! Her daddy led her out to the garage blindfolded and you should have seen the look on her face, it was priceless!

Picking "ponanoes"

Kiley and I decided it was time to hit the garden and pick our "ponanoes" aka potatoes. I don't really have a garden of potatoes, but instead decided to use the tire rims that surround our driveway as mini potato gardens. It has been a long cold summer but amazingly our potatoes did grow! Most are pretty small, but all turned out delicious! Next year I am going to try to plant more and in a sunnier spot. Hopefully I will get more for my buck.

Darling Diva

I was on the phone with Aunt Jenny when Kiley shouted, "MOM, come look!" I ran to see, thinking the worst.... and this is what I found. Awwww!! Isn't she adorable? Kiley can dress her up anytime now!

Baby Log or Mrs. Butterworth's?

Yes, that is me in t he picture above at about the same age as Kiley below. I am holding my Mrs. Butterworth's "doll."

And yes, in the picture below Kiley is holding a log- her "Baby Log."

The "Baby Log" as she is now fondly called was created this past winter when Kiley decided to pretend that one of the logs we would have otherwise burned in our fireplace was instead her baby. So it got painted, and named.

My brother asks for Baby Log every time he comes over, which is about daily, and tells Kiley she might need to give her to him so he can heat his house.... My mom thought we had bought Kiley a log someone else had turned into a baby... "What will they come up with NEXT?" she said. After I stopped laughing I told her what exactly Baby Log was and she said it made sense.......

My Mom said I just started carrying my syrup bottle around like a baby and combing her hair.

So this weirdness of a log turned into a baby? Yes, it comes from me. I admit it, the weirdness started early. Kiley Jeanette what will you think of next?

It's a boy!!

Kiley and Matthew- wrapping Kiley up to send to the grandparents.

Jumping on the trampoline

Will somebody please just hold me?

We are proud to announce the newest member of our family - it's a boy! A 5ft 5 inch 135 lb boy with dark hair and brown eyes. His name is Matthew, or "Wee Man" as he is called by his friends. He is a senior this year and a wrestling fanatic. He fits right in.

As you can see in the pictures Kiley is already smitten. Matthew is quite the social child and has friends over all the time, since Kiley loves the "older" kids as she calls them, she is their new best friend whether they like it or not! Somehow she manages to sneak into his room when they are watching movies, and the look on her face! Just pure joy, let me tell you. Kalin seems to have them all wrapped around her little fingers, she lets Matthew hold her so that is a bonus. Our little 5 month old is now able to sit up by herself, she is still a little wobbly but is getting stronger every day.

The phone rings more and we sure have a lot more traffic around our house, but it is really nice. It is different having a teenager in the house, but so far we like it!

First day of Preschool!

Kiley Jeanette had her first day of preschool this week. I think it was harder on Mom than it was on her. Both Jon and I were there for her first day, I had to leave first and Jon stayed with her for a while longer. She had fun painting and playing at her school. Her first week seems to be flying by, she misses going to her friend Morgan's house but seems to be adjusting to her new schedule fairly well.

Teeth!

After several attempts Miss Kalin finally allowed me to take a picture of her new teeth. She's had them since about 4 1/2 months and just lately learned how to use them... if you catch my drift. The screams of pain from her mother don't seem to deter her much from chomping down on me. But she looks so doggone cute it is hard to stay mad for long! :)

Jumping! Jumping! Jumping!

This child is so active...... just looking at these pictures tires me out! :) She is literally like this ALL day!!

Here are some great pictures of Kiley jumping with Morgan from our neighbor Kari.

For Lance and Stephanie.....

Steph and Lance we thought of you when we saw this at the AK State fair.... thought you would like it! Yeah baby!!

The second day at the fair....

Shoulder rides were a must

Faces got painted again

Kalin was there too... getting held and sleeping!

By our second day Kiley and Olivia were pros. They weren't falling for the tricks Jon kept trying to pull like, "They don't have candy at the fair." This day was filled with more rides, face painting and about a million more people! We stayed until the very end- the fireworks extravaganza was amazing! We ran into so many old friends, it was nice to catch up with family and friends. We might have to make this a family tradition! :)

More fair pictures....

Somehow I got talked into going on the rollercoaster

Such big girls!

She loved getting her face painted, as soon as Rikki and Camryn got theirs painted!

Camryn "princess", Rikki "cherry princess", Olivia "fishy" and Kiley "unicorn"

After the fair.... look who crashed out on our way home!

Alaska State Fair 2008

Animals!

Horsie Ride

Best Friend on her horse

We all go to go to the state fair in Palmer, my third time EVER and Jon, Kiley (second if you count the times she was inside of me and we went) and Kalin's first time. Talk about a busy place! We went the second day and first brought Olivia (Best Friend) and Kiley, then went back to Anchorage to get Camryn and Rikki. It was a nice day filled with petting zoos, animals, face painting and rides. We were brave enough to go again....

A Visit to Camryn's School!

While we were in Anchorage we got to visit Camryn at her new school. Kiley got to eat lunch with her and play on the big kids playground, she had a blast! Camryn is so good with her little cousin, and Miss Kiley eats up every second!

Oh My!

Just a few cute pictures of my girls for the grandparents..... (mainly Gram).

4 Month Well Baby Check Up

It is official- Kalin Dawn is as healthy as a horse! We had her 4 month well baby check up yesterday and all is going so well! She is 14 lbs 12 oz and meeting all her developmental milestones. Kalin is in the 95th percentile for height, 75th for weight and 95th for her head circumference. In the last few weeks she has started to reach for everything and is getting closer and closer to rolling from her back to her front.

I have been back to work since August 1st, and Kalin is coming with me. So far it hasn't been easy, this is a crazy time with inservice and the preparation that goes along with it. I know it would be so much easier if Kalin would just sleep on her own for a while and/or just chill out for at least 20 minutes at a time..... but try telling HER that!

Seven Years and look at us!

WOW! The Clouses just celebrated seven years of marriage on August 3rd- SEVEN YEARS! It is really just the tip of the ice berg since we have known, and dated one another since 1993! We kept looking at each other and saying, really who would have thunk it? :) It is so gratifying to know that Jon and I have come so far together, are just so much in love and just plain happy. I am such a lucky woman to have found such a fabulous man!

Enough of the mush... we had a great anniversary at the Lake. We spent the afternoon with Max, Camryn and Jackson having a picnic and riding around Lake Aleknagik. We couldn't have asked for a better day- it was so gorgeous and warm with nothing but blue skies every where we looked. We haven't had too many days like this around here and we try to take advantage of every one! Kiley and Camryn had a blast "swimming" in the freezing (and I mean freezing) cold water, and running up and down the beach finding special rocks. The rest of us enjoyed sitting around the fire and just soaking up the sun. Here are some great pictures from our day.