Bouncin' Bears!

Posing for the camera- the one good shot I got!

Treycen, Alexis and Kalin.... going a little fast!

I think one of the highlights for Kalin during our time in Anchorage was going to Bouncin' Bears with our cousin (s) Alexis and her little boy Treycen. We had so much fun and the kids bounced and bounced until I was ready to bounce on out of there.... haha :) A little Shannon humor for you.

So if you have never been to "Bouncin' Bears" in the big city of Anchorage it is basically wall to wall inflated slides and 'buildings' to bounce around in. Basically a toddlers' view of heaven.



Here's a little clip of fun!

Tubing at Arctic Valley

The Gang

One of the highlights of our Anchorage time (before Kolbi came) was going tubing at Arctic Valley. Kiley, Kalin, Olivia, Landon, Rikki and even Matthew and Kici came to meet us. It was about -3 in Anchorage and I thought Jon was crazy to think that we would go tubing for the day and stay warm doing it! When we got to the Lodge, which was about a 40 minute drive for us, it was about 15 degrees warmer!

Matthew & Kalin

I don't think the kids really knew what to expect but once we got there and got the tubes they were all for it. They sure had fun! You can tell from the picture the kids got towed up to the top of the hill and then sledded down, and then did it all again! I think Richard and Jon had as much fun as the kids did!

Landon & Kiley

Up- click, click, click! And then down with giggles and shouts- Woosh! Over and over again!

It was so nice to have all the cousins together- they sure enjoy eachother's company!

Olivia, Kiley & Rikki

We also loved being with our Anchorage family!

Richard, Rikki, Olivia, Kalin, Landon, Kiley, Shannon & Jon

Introducing......

The newest Clouse!
Kolbi Paige was born on 2-1-12 at 6:00 p.m., weighing 8 lbs, 15.5 oz and was 22 inches long.

I ended up waiting in Anchorage for the full three weeks, and Jon and Kiley made it in to be with Kalin and I with plenty of time to have some Anchorage fun. Even thought Kiley wrote in her journal that in Anchorage, "All we do is shop, shop, shop and it is so boring" that wasn't the case. They got to have a ton of fun- I'll have to do some belated blogging about some of the fun times we had.

Over all it was a wonderful time- the Bed and Breakfast we stayed at was wonderful and we were really close to my sister so we got to see her every day. We also got to see many extended family members and spend some quality time with them. Despite the cold, cold temperatures in Anchorage Kalin and I were busy every day (except those days she had the stomach flu and sky high temperatures!).
Both of Kolbi's sisters have been extremely doting and loving towards their little sister. She would be held 24/7 if it were up to them. Whenever we have company Kalin wants to hold her and then pouts because she never gets to.... which is not the case.

All in all I am so happy she is finally here!

37 Weeks!

I am 37 weeks and off to Anchorage to "board" until Clouse #3 comes. Kalin and I were supposed to leave last night but delay after delay would have gotten us into Anchorage at midnight and to our B&B at about 2 a.m. We rescheduled to this morning.

Has it sunk in that we are going to have another baby in about 3 weeks...?? Um, kind of!
Wish us luck!

What we do at -20 degrees.....

We had a tropical heat wave for the past few days- it was at least 20 degrees (above zero)! We woke up yesterday to temperatures hovering around 18 degrees (above zero) and through the day they plummeted slowly down. By 5:00 p.m. it was below zero. This morning we have a whopping -21 degrees (that's below zero). So anyway, we are used to it... to some degree. Here's a clip of some of our fun out in the winter sun.

Frosty

It's been, to sum it up in one word, a bit frosty around here. We have been averaging somewhere around -20 for what seems to be about a month now (as in 30 days!). That isn't factoring in wind chill- which some days will bring the temps down to about -30. So, needless to say, I haven't been getting out and about much.
We try to get the kids out every day- but at these temps they are only good for a few hours at a time. And with my growing mid-section the warm winter clothes are not fitting as well as they should. To sum it up in one word again, they are snug.

So we have gone on walks.

Walks that include hitching Oscar up and having Jon run like a mad man (pulling the girls) so he will follow him. Fun had by all, except Oscar.

Did you know that children still like to eat snow, even when it is -20 outside? It's true, they do.

Proof....
Even Frosty the Snowman has been cold, poor guy. I hope it warms up soon!

By the way, happy 2012 to you and yours!

Merry Christmas from the House of Clouse!

From our house to yours, hoping you had a safe and fabulous day filled with fun, family and lots of laughter. Our house was filled with all of these, and more!

It was -15 at our house this morning and warmed up to about -5, and about 5 hours of daylight.. I am hoping that this time next year we wake up to 75+, lots of sun and warm sand.

The Christmas Party

Family picture #1

Family picture #2

and....Family picture #3

So after looking at our three attempts at a good picture- I am wondering what the heck were Blaker and Kalin LOOKING AT?

Our district office Christmas party was a big hit again this year. The girls were super, super excited to see Santa. Why over-the-top excitement you ask? We made a point to tell them that when Santa comes he will bring a present for them that they get to open early. I also had to make the point that if they didn't start getting along better that when Santa brought the presents they weren't going to get to open them. Just keepin' it real people. I am 8 months pregnant after all.

Kiley told after we told her Santa was watching her, "Santa never brings me what I want anyway."
Let's just say that Santa is going to rock her world this year. How do we know? We're the parents, we know everything. Anddon'tyouforgetit.

Blaker even got excited about his present from Santa....

Fun was had by all, even the parents.

No matter how good the pine smells, don't try to smell it! Ouch!

Cookie making and tasting

K-2 Christmas Program

I have never seen Kiley so excited for a program before. I hit a home run with her "Christmas Outfit"-- lots of sparkles, black pants and NO dress in sight. That might have been a part of it. I think a big part of it was the fact that Papa, Gram, Coleman, Kalin, Amma Bossy, and Mom and Dad were there to see her sing her little heart out.

We have been hearing her sing the assigned first grade songs since about the beginning of November- "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" as well as "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." The latter she liked to sing directly to me, got a kick out of it, she actually told me, "Mom I know you wouldn't do that!" I didn't have the heart to tell her Santa was her Daddy.... we'll wait a year or two for that revelation. It was so cute to hear all the first graders singing together. Pretty soon Sis is going to be up on that stage!

The obligatory Sister picture, love it every year.

Speaking of.... Sis was pretty excited about the Christmas program too- she loves excuses to wear her pretty dresses. What? Tuesday isn't a good enough excuse anymore? But MOM it's ONLY -20 outside!

Wolverine Wrestling, 2011

Our wrestler finished up his last week of wrestling last weekend. He finished his first and last season of Wolverine Wrestling fifth in the region in the 182 pound class. It was a grueling weekend chocked full of wrestling match after wrestling match! Jon and I both took the day off to watch, and for Jon to volunteer. The girls and I didn't leave the gym Friday night until after 11:00 p.m.!
I wish my camera took better picture- but these are the best I could do.


Below is a picture of what I consider to be the best match of the night. Blake wrestled against a KNW Eagle- so I had to cheer against my old crowd. Whew, it was loud but I got my voice heard! Blake won by points and right at the end the kids parent he was wrestling yelled, "At least he didn't PIN YOU!" haha, it was awesome. Highlight of the weekend for me!

We are super proud of Blake for joining and finishing wrestling this year, it was a great learning experience for him.

Frosty Walk....

We have had the weirdest weather here in SW Alaska.... well I guess its only been atypical for the last week or so. Dillingham got a ton of snow and then some seriously cold temperatures fast this year. Over Thanksgiving break we had temps down to -20, this week we have had temps in the mid + 30's, and RAIN! That is weird, and I don't like it very much. Both extremes make it hard to get out and about... especially for this pregnant Mama. My winter clothes are getting awfully tight and the rain gear has been packed away, for a while now.

So anyway, even though it was freezing cold outside we got out to take a walk. It was hovering around -15, but we managed to dress in enough layers to stay warm for a little while. Jon's 'stache got a little frosty as did Sis's hair.


Kami and Oscar had a blast running around.... the cold doesn't seem to bother them much when they are with us! Jon rigged up the sled to Oscar's collar and he pulled the girls for a bit, as long as Jon was running with him. Winter fun... that's what we are about!

About 30 weeks....

Can you guess which one? :) We had to coerce Sis into posing with us... she wasn't in the best of moods. I love the picture of Kiley and I posing together when Sis was inside, priceless. Clouse Baby #3 will love this picture too.

I've been altering between this type of a mood (see above) and this....

We don't have much longer to wait.... so I hope everyone is patient with me, and my moods swings!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Our health, happy family, extended family, great jobs, good friends and so much more. We were missing my sister and Matthew this year, but our niece Camryn got to be here from Anchorage, if only for a short time. What a wonderful day- full of great food, family and laughter. What more could you ask for?

We have one more thing to be thankful for. Our nephew Coleman Cael, celebrated his first Thanksgiving today. Next year at this time we are going to have a little girl crawling around at just about his age, celebrating her first Thanksgiving!
Hope yours was as happy as ours!

Date Night!

It doesn't happen very often, but we clean up pretty nice when it does!