Girders & Leveling

We brought two girders out to the cabin property.  I couldn't believe how heavy they were! I was afraid the whole time they would plop out of the boat and into the water- and we wouldn't be able to get them out. Luckily we were able to get them to the island without any problems.

Once we got them to our cabin site we spent the rest of our time leveling the gravel and the pads.

Now the pads are level, and we have two girders up there.  We are ready for the next step.  I can see the progress we are making now, and it sure is exciting!

Gravel

 Getting my aunt's four wheeler made hauling gravel so much easier, I wasn't exaggerating when I said it was a lifesaver.

It still hurt my back, but made the process move so much faster.

With my sister Jeanette's help and Missy's we were able to haul 77 loads of gravel and finish up that part in one day!

We sure appreciate all the help we have gotten so far! Aunties, Amma's, Gram's & the kiddos too.

Cabin Progress

We started working on the cabin in July 2017.

It was exciting and fun, at first.

Then the real work began.

First we had to square and map out the cabin.  Took us three days but we did it. Next Jon had to dig (I did not dig a single hole) 10 holes four our foundation. That took about two days.  After the holes were dug we had to fill them each with about 20 buckets of gravel (each weighing about 70 pounds each).  This was done by going to a gravel bar about 10 minutes away and filling up the 20 buckets and bringing them back. It was back breaking, grueling work.  G r u e l i n g I tell you.

Luckily my mom and aunt came for a day to help us and my aunt said we could use her four-wheeler to load those heavy buckets to the top of the hill. A total life saver.

Cabin?

It's been a while... but as always the Clouses are busy. School, work, travel, sports, extra curricular activities, it never ends. It's fun but tiring too. 

Our latest project is a dream come true- a cabin on Huckleberry Island! We've owned this land for about 10 years and finally decided to bite the bullet and build a cabin.

Last summer we cleared a trail and decided on where to build. It was a labor of love.

Lots of labor.

 

  

So we cleared land, found our perfect spot and started again this summer. I thought I had worked hard last year... boy was I WRONG!

Star Wars!

 Han & Leia

You might say we are kind of Star Wars fans.

We were a little excited that the new Star Wars was finally out on DVD.

So we had a party. A Dillingham premiere party, and we wore costumes.  We also had Star Wars themed FOOD people. It was an awesome event.

But we didn't stop there! Jon decked out the garage and transformed it into a "mini-theater."  It was amazing. A great time making fun memories with some other crazy Star Wars fans! We can't wait for the next one!

 

Battle of the Books

Both girls participated in Battle of the Books this year; reading and rereading about 15 books for the 5/6 grade level and about 10 for second grade.
Kiley's team of fifth graders placed 12th out of 36 teams this year. Kalin's team won for the second grade level teams, by a very close margin. So proud of our girls.

Student of the Week!

We are back!
Kalin was selected as student of the week today for her class. We are so proud of her. Her teacher had so many kind things to say about her.
We are going to Subway to celebrate!!