Tony's Run 2011

Jon and Kiley decided to bike the 5K this year for Tony's Run. Tony's Run is the only yearly "run" in Dillingham, sponsored by a local organization. You have the option to run, walk or "roll" a marathon, 1/2 marathon, 10K or 5K. I typically try to do something, but Baby Clouse just isn't having Mama do much in the area of continuous activity this year. There is always next year.

Pep talk before the bike race

It was a beautiful day- not perfect, but just right for your first bike race. There were some clouds in the sky and it rained a few times, but overall it was beautiful.

Ready!

Here they come!

Finished! Phew.

Kiley was pretty stoked that she came in before her dad, the highlight of the race. Our family is getting old enough that next year we might all be able to participate in Tony's Run!

Potato Harvest

Two of the biggest potatoes they could find

It was a good year for potatoes this year, at least at our house. We dug up about half of our potato garden this weekend and had a total of 51 pounds when all was said and done. It was like digging for gold we discovered..... red and yellow gold.

We grew some of the biggest red potatoes ever. Ever. I was amazed at how big some of these potatoes were! Pretty proud of them too.

They make Sis's hand look little!

Let me tell you... they taste as delicious as they look!

Spruce Chicken Hunting

Some girls take ballet lessons, learn how to cook, take up knitting or play dolls.

Not the Clouse girls!

Alaska girls learn how to shoot guns- booya baby.

Clouse girls hunt, in Alaska anyway. That's how we roll. We're all about subsistence in this neck of the woods- fish, moose, berries and now SPRUCE CHICKENS!

We have moose hunters and now Spruce Chicken hunters at our house. A Spruce Chicken is a grouse for all you non- Alaskans. Jon was walking around telling everyone he was going to take Kiley grouse hunting.... until Matthew asked him, "Why do you keep calling them Grouse? No one knows what you are talking about! They are Spruce Chicken." There, record set straight.

Kiley shot her first Spruce Chicken this weekend..... she was pretty dog gone excited, and mighty proud of her first hunting success.

See Uncle Will? Right through the head!

That's how it's done boys!

I must say her Dad and I are pretty proud of her too! She looks good with a gun, it matches her.

Strawberries!

Kalin got to pick a "big" one

Kiley filling her bowl

It is mid-September and we are still enjoying the fruits of our Spring labor!

We planted our strawberry garden last year and we were so excited when we were able to harvest 9 strawberries. Nine, yes nine. This year we started picking our strawberries in August and have continued picking those juicy little bad boys well into September. They are so gorgeous.

We have picked from our garden three different times so far this summer/ fall (along with some sampling on my part and I'm sure some secret picking sthat I am not aware of)- I would guess a total of at least 40. There are still so many waiting to ripen, I am hoping that first real frost hangs back for just a little bit longer.

The girls get so excited whenever they see red ones that are ready to pick, and aren't so willing to share.... so I need more sampling before they are gone until next year.

We don't feel quite so jealous now when Papa and Gram tell us about all the berries they are picking in WA. Gotta love Alaska and this long harvest period, it sure is fantastic this year.

My Moose Hunters

It was another Labor Day weekend spent hunting, not for me but "the boys." They traveled up the Nushagak and spent Friday night to Monday afternoon looking for a moose to fill our freezer for the winter. Why didn't I go you ask? I am a huge supporter of subsistence hunting and fishing, just not so big on the shooting and killing part. I would rather go and pick berries.... which I did. So I made jam this weekend, I was productive at home!

So anyway the boys got a moose, a very big moose. It just happened to be Matthew's first moose too. Matthew acted like it was just another day hunting, minimal excitement. Who wouldn't be excited about that rack? This moose will fill our freezer and give meat to another family to boot. Not to mention really, really cut down on our food bill. We already had our first taste last night, and it was delicious!

So hunting can be a little boring..... but it can also be full of wrestling too.

First Day of First Grade.....

Boy was she ready! Just look at that smile...
Kiley said the first day of first grade was awesome, the whole day was "the best day." She found out today that her teacher was taught by her Papa, not once but three times! Her teacher was also her Uncle Max's teacher, and her Uncle Max was her sons' teacher too! She thought all of that was combined was pretty stinkin' cool (so did her Mom).

Sis was ready too, not for school but for Auntie Babe's!

Alaska State Fair

We only made it for one full day this year, and to tell you the truth one day is enough! We picked the best day to go- plenty of sunshine and during the week so there weren't a ton of people. It was also Kid's Day so the kids got in free, gotta love that.

We met up with the Johnson's and got to spend the day with them. The kids were in heaven hanging out with their cousins. We showed up a little early- only two hours! Hahaha, we thought, or I thought the fair opened at 10 but alas, it opened at 12. We ended up finding a Fred Meyer and finishing up Kiley's school shopping.

Sis got her face painted like a puppy and also got to ride her favorite ride- the Merry Go Around. She kept telling her Dad she wanted to ride the "horses", so he hiked across the fairgrounds to take her to the pony's. "DAD! NOT THOSE HORSES!" haha, she wanted to go on the Carousel.

Pretty design- she surprises me every year.

Sis ran in the Toddler Trot this year, and got third place!

What a great day, I wish we could go to the fair every year! So many memories, such good times!

The more the ride spins, the more Kiley liked it!

Pregnancy

I sure am happy every time.

Kiley...3 months

Kalin....3 months (I look huge, but she was 9 lbs 3 oz!!)

and, drum roll please!

Clouse Baby #3..... I look huge again. Jon says this one is a 10 pounder for sure!

How does your garden grow?

Our garden is doing fabulous this year!! Despite the cold temperatures and tons of rain, we have a great production of produce right in our back yard. We are so impressed with how well everything is doing, we actually feel like we are doing things right this year. Finally our chickweed isn't out-performing everything else in our garden (although it is remarkably healthy)!

We started eating spinach salads in mid-July and have been eating our mixed green salads for about a month now. Check out our romaine, gorgeous! The salads we have been eating are just delicious.... too bad we didn't have a longer growing season. I need to figure out how to get some of these greens into the freezer so we can eat them during the winter months, hmmmm.

Here are a few other veggies that we are proud of:

Monster cabbage! What we think are the largest carrots we have grown thus far..... the last picture is of our broccoli, which we have just started to eat.

We have our own Farmer's Market right in our back yard, amazing! Wait until I show you what we grew in our green house.....

Snake Lake Climbing Expedition 2011

We made it to the top of Snake Lake Mountain again this summer, its become a family ritual. Everyone goes. We try to go on a sunny day, or on a day when it just isn't raining. There weren't many of those this summer.
Some of us hiked.....
and some of us rode the whole way (it wasn't me).


There were a few casualties.....

But we made it to the top!!

All in one piece and pretty happy to be at the top. Can't wait to do it again next summer. Maybe we'll have enough energy to go back, maybe next time to pick berries!

Sockeye Slugger!

You can already tell just by looking at her face that she had another successful year playing Little League baseball. Despite a summer filled with rain, wind and more rain she went to practice every week and played in every game while she was in town.


The Sockeye Sluggers have placed #1 for two years running.... and they were pretty psyched about it. I think about half the team is moving into sixth grade next year so we'll see how they do in the future. I'm optimistic!

If you can't tell by the pictures it was a pretty gorgeous day to have a baseball tournament- mid 70's with barely a cloud in the sky. A little slice of summer heaven. On another note Kiley's mother's team ALSO won first place this weekend- in the softball league. We had to play three games in a row to win, and it was so much fun. I swear the field hit 80 degrees, I bet the first time all summer!

Yeah, the Clouse women had a pretty good weekend!

Something is a little fishy.....

It has been a crazy, very busy two weeks, as it always is in August for the Clouses. Long hours at work and just life leave no time for blogging. But I am back!

GB is back in Alaska, and has been here for ten days already! I thought I had better sit down at the computer and do a little catching up before she has come and gone.

We went and did some fishing up at Lake Aleknagik in July on a gorgeous day (rare for this summer!). Auntie Jen, Missy, JC, KJ, KD and ME...... it was awesome.

We ended up at the Agulawok fishing for Dollies, and all came home with sunburned faces.

Kiley caught her first fish! On her Barbie pole even....

Auntie Jen caught the first fish and had the best pose of the day!

Sis could care less for fishing- she wanted to sun bathe!
I even caught a fish!

Missy was proud of her fish too- I think it was the biggest one of the day!

Fish!

Jeanette- stoked on how good her fillet looks!

I look forward to fish every summer- more explicitly of the KING SALMON variety. There is nothing like Wild Alaskan Salmon fresh out of the water- don't every let anyone tell you any different!

I even cut my fish with my new ulu

I have issues with my ability to fillet and put away the fish for our long winter, I'm embarassed to admit my fillet-ing ability is not what it should be. That, however, changed this summer. Practice makes perfect after all.

I hired (ha not really) two very experienced teachers for my Sister and I to walk us through step by step on how to fillet, brine and hang our King Salmon to make a yummy three day smoked fish (which we can and then use in dips, casseroles, soups- you name it). My Mom and Aunt Emily stepped in and walked us through the process.

Mom hard at work with the monster King Fillet's

Aunt Em with the strips in brine

We spent a few hours processing 7 Kings- they were big suckers. Filled up our smoke house. On the third day a bear decided to sample our hard work. Yes, a bear. He was not invited. The bugger got about 2/3 of our hard, hard work. He's been coming back to visit just about every night since..... but we are done so haha Mr. Bear!

Regardless of our little bear episode we still got quite a few cans of fish made and they look gorgeous. Play your cards right and you might just get one.