Fun and Games!

The fun and games at the family reunion definitely showed us a good time! Whether you were 2 or 72! Kambriella is showing us "the ropes!" You go girl!!!

I love her little chubby cheeks and arms and hands... and how she looks like she's holding on for dear life with her "grit teeth" smile!!!

Part of the fun at our family reunion was made up of games, obstacle courses, and high adventure courses. It was neat to see how working together with our family in these kinds of situations helped us to see just how well we can work together and communicate with one another too;) Here we are waiting for the fun to begin!!

Kambriella had a thing for sticking her tongue out whenever we would tell her to smile!!! (So of course Clint had to encourage her;)

During this game, we had to work as a team and try to walk up the hill and back on these long boards that would obviously only move when everyone took a step at the exact same time!

Kambriella's little legs were just too short to join the group, but that did NOT stop her from trying it anyway!!!

And though it's NOT surprising, it was this team made up of all girls and one retired marine that had the best team work!!

During this game, each individual had to swing on a rope across a "shark infested water" to an "island" where everyone had to stay close and squish together until everyone was rescued. Wo!!! Don't fall off!!!

This was a giant swing that was super high and fun, but safe enough for the little ones!
(The same one that Kambriella was riding on!)

Here is Gavin on his way up! Once you get to the top, you have to let go of one of the ropes and then you fall into the swinging motion!Woo Hoo Buddy!!!

Here is a picture of Dallin just on his way down!!!

And of course all of the hiking in between had to consist of a ride on the shoulders of Grandpa! What a good Papa!!

The cutest part about these little rides from Papa is that Kambriella is so comfy that she just feels free to hold onto whatever part of your face that she wants too!!! Cheeks, ears, nostrils, eyeballs... Be prepared Papa!!! They're all game!!!

This was such a fun time with everyone and I don't want to forget a minute of it!!! THESE are what memories are made of!!! Love you guys!!!

Row, Row, Row Your Boat!

The first ever Clements family reunion was held this summer at the Heber Valley Camp that is owned and operated by the church and its missionaries. We started looking forward to this trip last year when all the reservations were made. It sounded like so much fun, and to our satisfaction, it was just that! So much fun! Here are some fun pictures of our time at the lake!

Here we have the 1st and 2nd mates Gavin and Dallin! Clint was in the rear of the canoe with a little extra arm workout trying to help with getting everyone going in the right direction! Even though they were first in the water, I think they were the last to make it out into the deep!

And here I am with my little helper! You can see the empty seat in front of me, right? That is where Kambriella started out, and then when the man helping us into the canoe gave us a push off of shore, Kambriella went flying forward (thank goodness not INTO the water!) and wouldn't stop crying for the first 5 minutes or so! Needless to say, the rest of the ride she loved and felt completely happy and safe on MY lap! (Kierra was my first mate in the front of the canoe although you cannot see her in this picture!)

After "perfecting" the canoe, (or should I say getting tired of rowing:) the boys decided to switch gears and try out the paddle boats! I must say that they seemed to make much better time in this boat than the canoe! I think it didn't really matter which boat they were in, or how fast they were going, they were all smiles and having the time of their lives with their dad out on the lake!

Here is a glimpse of what we saw at the lake! This deer was the first of many that we saw there, and we were able to get very close to them to take a peek! They are so used to seeing people there and knowing that they won't be harmed that they don't seem to be bothered by us at all! In fact, I think that WE might be a form of cheap entertainment for them as they watched us having our fun out on the lake!

Through a Child's Eyes...

As I have sat back and watched the summer days roll on, and have gotten to spend so much more time with my children, I have been blessed to see things on a different level. Through a child's eyes -life is new, life is exciting and adventurous -and life is wonderful and magical. It's the little wonders and everyday moments that can be so amazing to them. We have been so busy lately doing so many different family activities that it really has made me realize that the saying is quite true..."Each day is a gift..."

I have so many things to catch up on and to write about, but before I even try to get started, I just needed to take a minute and share a little moment that I had with Gavin the other day that I feel really sets the tone for how I feel about my time with them as a mother.

We were gone camping up at the Heber Valley Camp for our family reunion and there were about 50 or 60 of us there. We had a great time together (and I will write more about that later) but when the time came to tuck everyone in bed, it took all the little ones a bit longer to settle in. (With all those cousins to play with, do you blame them?;) We were in a cabin with 3 other families and so we were trying to be quiet as to not disturb anyone else. But, at about 1:30 in the morning, little Mister Gavin quietly tip toed over to my bed and tapped me on the shoulder. His little legs were bothering him with growing pains and he couldn't go to sleep. I got up out of my bed and tip toed with Gavin back over to his bed and snuggled in with him. I had forgotten to pack any Tylenol so I didn't really have anything to give him to help with the pain, so I just layed down next to him and tried to rub his legs for him in hopes that the pain would go away. I thought for sure that this would relax him enough that he would be able to fall asleep pretty quickly, so after what seemed like a long time, I was surprised when Gavin whispered to me, "Mom, this is so fun."

Isn't that amazing? I was concerned about him getting to sleep and helping his pain to go away, and he was deep in thought of what a wonderful time we were all having together up there in the mountains. I smiled and snuggled a little closer to him and said, "Yes Gavin, this IS so much fun..." ;)

Bountiful Handcart Days

For Pioneer Day this year our family decided to celebrate in a different way. We all decided to enter into a 5K race together (the little ones did a 1K) and enjoy a little bit of healthy and "friendly" competition! You see, Clint's mom and sisters have started entering these races pretty regularly for a great motivator in staying fit AND receiving some great goody bags and T-shirts with each one they enter. Of course Clint having the competitive spirit that he does, made a comment that "he could walk faster than all of them were running!" Well - the rest is history! With a comment like that, and competitive sisters to boot, the race was on! They all entered the race to see who could really win!!!! Can you guess who won?;)
So here is my family AFTER we had all run our races. Medals for everyone! Red faces too!

Here are the kids with some of their cousins and "Pioneer Pete" who led the 1K while running bare foot! These little ones could really turn on the boosters! I told Gavin that I could see smoke coming out of his shoes cause he was running so fast! ;)

Here I am with my "Tree Trunk Trophy!" What would you expect the trophy to be made of when you are entered into a Pioneer Day race?;) (Definitely affordable for the city budget!) It was a good challenge for me to try to do my best and I ended up winning 1st place overall for the women at 19:52. Not my best time ever, but good enough for this one I guess. I think that averages out to be about a 6:25 pace. Not bad for a 34 year old! Especially when the 2nd and 3rd place girls were about half my age!;)

Here I am with "the Winner" himself! After only going out running 3 times total before the actual race, Clint was able to beat his goal and beat all of his sisters and his mom! I think his time was about 25:21. Not bad for a first time runner! The funny part of the whole thing is that next year, Clint and I will both be in the "older" age groups and so I think Clint really wants to try and do it again and try and take the old farts trophy! Woo Hoo!!

I know this picture turned out dark, but I still wanted to put it on here so that we could remember all of the family that was there to join in on the fun! I think we might have started a new family tradition! Almost everyone that ran had their personal best times. (I think in part because everyone wanted to try and beat Clint!) Now I think Clint is just waiting for his sisters to all take him out to dinner for beating them. I'm proud of everyone who ran, especially my kids! Good job Clint, way to run! -But just remember, it's a good thing you caught me when you married me because I just don't think you can catch me in a race!!!;) Love you all!

Fun in the Sun...

When I was a little girl, my family would go camping a lot. I have so many fond memories of having fun outside and on family vacations, and I finally got to take my own family to a place that we camped at when I was little - Cherry Hill! Not only did I enjoy all of the fun things to do, and seeing my kids having a blast, but it brought back a flood of memories too! All good ones except the one when my little sister Tiffany fell off of the bunk bed in our trailer and cut her nose open on the kitchen counter on the way down. (I'm pretty sure my parents spent that night in the E.R. at Hill A.F.B.) I am happy to report that even though we didn't camp there, Cherry Hill was a big hit for my family and we came home all in one piece!;)

Gavin , Kambriella, and Dallin had so much fun splashing around in the wading area and in the fountains too!

Kambriella loved the slides and although I had to hold her on my lap for the first few runs down, she eventually got brave enough to go all by herself!

Mr. Gavin cruisin' on down!

Dallin and Carew loved this giant dragon slide! They rode down together, and seperately, and of course racing down! ( I wonder where they got that from!)

Kambriella became so comfortable with the whole slide thing that she even loved going down the big dragon slide too! That even included a spray of cold water and going through a completely dark tunnel, and every time she came out with a big smile!

Kambriella and Kierra were great buddies on the slide too. I honestly think they went down it at least 20 times. I lost count after a while! What a fun day we had, and what a neat thing to actually get to take my kids somewhere fun that I got to go to when I was little myself! - And although many years have come and gone, I still feel like I am a kid at heart! I love spending the time with them no matter what we are doing. I love you guys, and thanks for the fun!!!

We had a "Hay Day" at Carver's Farm!

A couple of weeks ago we went with our family up to a cute little farm in Eden and had a wonderful time seeing, petting, and even riding some of the farm animals. These sweet moments of discovery and exploration are some of my favorite things to experience with my little ones. I am not quite sure who enjoyed themselves more - them, the animals, or me!;)














This little baby goat was so cute! I'm not sure how old it was, but to Kambriella it was just the perfect size to hold, squeeze, and love! She kept going back for more and more love!

It was fun to watch the kids feed the animals too. They each had their own little bowl of food for them, and the expressions on their faces when they would get a wet and slimy tongue up their hand was pretty funny to watch!

Kambriella had the biggest grin on her face when she saw that she not only got to see the horsey, but actual ride him and love him too!

Kambriella was also feeling concerned about all of the bugs that were going to "eat the horsey." She would say, "Oh no, horsey's sad..." So she would pat them and try to cheer them up;)

Even though Dallin tried not to act too excited, I think that actually riding on the horse was the highlight of the day for him! YeeHaw!!

Cute cousins! Carew, Desiree, "Horsey" (not a cousin;), Cohen, and Dallin.

Here we are all together on the tractor at the end of the visit. We are so blessed to have such a fun and loving family to enjoy spending time with! We love you all and thanks for the fun!

Beautiful Mount Timpanogos

One of my favorite things about summer is how beautiful the sunrises are. You can step outside early in the morning and get a breath of fresh air right along with a good dose of mother nature's natural beauty. The Saturday that we got up early to go hike Timpanogos has been one of my favorites of the summer. Not only did I get to enjoy the exquisite view from above, but I got to enjoy it while I was holding Clint's hand;) (Ooo He's so cute;)















Kierra and her best friend Valerie really enjoyed hiking together. They talked and laughed and tried to beat her "old" parents up the mountain...but of course THAT didn't happen!

This is inside the mountain - they call it "Chocolate Falls." It looks like a gigantic mound of ice-cream with carmel or hot fudge on top. Really it just looks that way because of the mud that once ran over the top of it from a river a very long time ago...

Squeezing through the cracks...(Cute boy!)

Valerie, Clint, and Kierra in the darkest part of the cave! (Plus, it's a little chilly inside, about 40 degrees all year long!)

Thanks for going hiking with me you guys! I love being in the great outdoors but especially with those that I love!!! You guys are the best!!!

P.S. Kierra and Valerie: In case you didn't know, Daddy loves a good competition! Even if it is to see who can make it to the top first!;) P.S.S. Clint, did I tell you how cute you are?;)