Run! Joe! Run!

This past weekend, our little family drove up to Spokane to see Joe (Sam's youngest brother) compete in the Track and Field Regional Competition. Joe was racing the the 110 meter hurdles, and the 300 meter hurdles. Unfortunately, Joe crashed in the 110 race. The hurdles were college ones, which are much heavier than high school hurdles. If your toe catches, the hurdle doesn't just tip and slow you down. If your toe catches, the hurdle doesn't budge and you go down. It happened to several people. But the good news is, Joe did come in 2nd in the 300's, so he will be going on to State this weekend. Good luck, Joe!

It was a rather warm...okay hot, day. The forcast was for the mid-70's, but it was much warmer than that and shade was scarce. By the end of the day, the kids were pretty tuckered out. The both caught some Z's in the stroller. Levi had a blast playing with his balls on the blacktop. He got so incredibly dirty from doing so, as evidenced by the picture above. The strawberry Levi is holding in the first picture was so huge! The picture really doesn't do it justice, but it was the biggest mutant strawberry I've ever seen! And doesn't Brinley just look stylin' in her pink hat?

110 Hurdles - Joe is in lane 3

300 Hurdles - Again, in lane 3

Levi asks to watch "Joe run" over and over and over. He just sits here at the computer watching this clip and then pushes the button to make it play again after it is over. He has probably watched it 50 times by now. Levi really loves Joe.

Projects!

I love to do artsy/decorative projects around the house, but since having two kids I haven't had time to do much in that area. Well, now I'm making time! Here are a couple of projects I've done recently. I can't wait to do more as time and money allow!

I made this for Sam for his birthday:

I tried out a new technique and I love how it turned out. I call it "black-washing." First I painted the board green, then I super-watered down black paint and brushed over the top, then wiped off the excess with a rag. I think it looks pretty awesome.

I got this chair at a garage sale for $2. Awesome deal, huh? I stacked a few coffee table books and a plant I got on clearance from Joann's on it, and it makes a great filler for the empty corner in my downstairs bathroom.

This is the project I am most excited about. I painted canvases the same color as the wall and then "green-washed" (I guess...maybe I should just call it "color-washing" since you can use whatever color you want...) them and painted the edges black. I love, love, LOVE how it turned out. This hangs in my downstairs bathroom as well. With the chair and this artwork, my downstairs bathroom is now complete...probably the only room in my entire house that I am satisfied with decor-wise. Probably also the least used room. Oh well. So exciting!

p.s. All the vinyl in my projects I got from my sister, Amber. Thanks Amber!

The First Roses of Summer

(This is Levi smelling the roses by blowing air out his nose :D)

I took these pictures last week. Since then, our rose bushes have gone crazy and are brimming with roses.... {sigh} I love summer!

Around the House Randomness

The first fruits (or rather vegetable) of our gardening efforts:

We were really rather surprised to see a bean on this plant from our windowsill that we still hadn't gotten around to transplanting. Hooray for beans!

How not to grow a radish:

The red stringy thing on the left is in fact a radish...one from our windowsill that did not get transplanted and was only growing in a couple of inches of soil. Not very appetizing. The radish on the right, however, is from our garden. Doesn't it look beautiful? Too bad I don't like radishes, but Sam is certainly enjoying them!

The Squirmer:

Brinley has got the whole back-arch-get-me-outta-here thing going on. This picture doesn't truly capture her talent very well, but that's why her feet are sticking so far off the end.

Mommy's Big Helper:

Levi can be such a great helper sometimes. I love it! Here he is helping me empty the dishwasher by putting away all the silverware. He even puts everything in the right spot!

What greeted me as I walked up the stairs:

Two things ran through my mind at almost the exact same time:
1- Wow! Levi has such a creative imagination. I wonder what he was thinking when he put the cars there;
2- This is why my house will never be clean!
(Hey, at least #1 did beat out #2...even if it was only by a split second!)

New Toy!

[Brinley got a new toy!]

I picked up this Exersaucer off of craigslist for $15. Brinley loved it from the first minute we put her in it! I can't believe she is already 5 months old!

Levi decided to give the Exersaucer a try. It was still in the compact mode, so it was extremely short. Levi looked so goofy with his big toddler body crammed in the baby toy.

Levi, of course, had to help Brinley out with her new toy. I think he was a little jealous, but he got over it very quickly.

Brinley just having a blast!

Here is Levi his first time in an Exersaucer. This is in our second Pittsburgh apartment with an Exersaucer that we borrowed from a friend. He is four months old here.

Brothers

Well...I'm falling a bit behind on my posts. I've been busy! Anyway--this post dates back to the beginning of the month, to the weekend Reuben got home from his mission. With Reuben home and Abe in town, all of the Clements brothers were together for the first time in a long time! I got some pictures, but my camera was being retarded and they are pretty blurry. Oh well...take them for what they are worth!

Joe and Sam getting cozy!

The boys, right after Mom said "Sit up straight!"
Asa(4), Joe(5), Sam(1), Ben(3), Abe(2) (and Tag)
Like the affinity for 3-lettered names?
p.s. The numbers are their birth order.

Dad joining in on the action.

Of course, that peaceful pose couldn't last long...it took about two seconds for the tickling to begin.

Goofy faces picture (Levi couldn't be left out of that!)

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

This is what I got for Mother's Day:




Isn't this piano bench beautiful? Sam made it himself from an old mahogany bookcase. Pretty amazing, huh? I love it!

Softball at the Park

While Connie, Abe, and Ann were in town, the Clements fam went down to the park to ball a little softball. Instead of playing an actual game, though, we just took turns hitting and fielding the balls, which working out great since there were no bases and we really didn't bring anything to mark them with. Plus also, that allowed us to come and go as we took care of our kids. Sam's youngest sister, Arina, surprised us all with her hitting skills.

Another surprise was our little Levi. He is seriously just a natural athlete. Jared and Rhonda brought a little t-ball set with a wiffle ball and plastic bat. Levi watched us hit the ball a couple times and probably watched Nate hit the t-ball a little, then he picked up the bat and started playing t-ball. No one had to show him how to hold the bat or anything, he just picked it up from watching. I'm pretty sure Levi must have specifically watched how his dad hit the ball, because even though he is right-handed, he batted left-handed. Hey, what ever works!

Manly Stuff

Sam has taught Levi the fine art of chest bumping:

Unfortunately, I stopped the camera too soon, because Levi went in for a big hug. I sure do love my boys.

Welcome Home Reuben!

Sam's brother, Reuben, just returned from serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. Siblings Connie and Abe (with his wife Ann and son Taggert) were able to come up for the occasion. When Reuben first saw Sam and gave him a hug, the first words out of his mouth were "You're 30!" It was pretty funny. We are so glad to have Reuben back home and are proud of the honorable mission he served. Levi is especially glad, as he is having tons of fun playing with his uncle. Here is a picture of Reuben and Levi the night Reuben was set apart:

I'd say Levi has changed a bit! :-D Actually, since Levi, there have been 5 other niece and nephews born with 3 on the way! Reuben has lots of new relatives to meet!

Rolling, rolling, rolling

Brinley has started to roll over!!!! She had been super close, and had even done it a few times without us watching, but last Friday with Aunt Connie watching, she did the real thing! Brinley rolls from her back to her front, just like Levi did. But once she gets to her front, it only takes a few seconds for her to start fussing. She's not big on tummy time--I guess she'll just have to figure out how to roll back!

Here's Brinley in one of her previous attempts. She was doing so well, but then her thumb ended up in her mouth and that pretty much halted all progress!

Not great cinematography, but oh well!

Puddles!

Sam's brother Asa has introduced Levi to the wonders of puddle jumping. Now, whenever Levi sees any water on the ground, no matter how slight, he says "splash! splash!" Last week, while I was exercising at my parents shop, Levi and his cousin Jace got out the hose and made a puddle of their own. Then they discovered something even more fun than jumping in the puddle--running their cars through the puddle! They were soaked! Levi's bum was even soaked because when he squatted down to push the car, his bum ended up in the puddle. Oh, the joys of childhood. This is why we have kids...so we can remember what it is like to be young.

How could that be comfortable?

I love how little kids can fall asleep doing just about anything in just about any position!

No place out of reach...

Levi loves to love his sister... and he loves to bug her. So sometimes, when we are working in the kitchen, we will put her up on the counter in her bouncy seat to keep her away from him. But really, Levi wouldn't let a little thing like that stop him. No, he simply pulled his highchair over to the counter and climbed up in it. Where there's a will there's a way... and Levi definitely has a will!

Football? Inside? Crazy!

(Click to enlarge)

Feet!

Over the last couple of weeks, Brinley has been discovering her feet. So fun! She is such a cutie, and it is so much fun to see her really come alive and begin to discover her personality!

What we look like at 2am

The beginning of this past week, Sam was on a business trip in Houston. The first night he was gone, I took the kids out to my parents house to pass some time. While we were watching a movie, both of the kids fell asleep, so my parents suggested that we just stay there for the night. I agreed, so we moved the kids into one of the extra bedrooms and I got settled into bed. I read for a little while, then Brinley started waking up so I nursed her...again and again and again. And then Levi started waking up, so I brought him in bed with me, but he kept waking up. Finally, at 1:30am I asked Levi if he just wanted to go home our house, and he said yes. So I tried to get dressed while holding both kids to keep them from crying and waking everyone up. I was sure both kids would zonk out on the way home and I'd have a great night's rest. Nope. We were home by 2am and both the kids were wide awake. I have to admit, I was pretty awake myself, so I wasn't too bothered by it. I just put on a movie and we snuggled on the couch. Finally, around 3am, I was able to get Brinley asleep and in her crib. Then I came downstairs and snuggled with Levi on the couch. I'm sure we were both asleep by 3:30am, and at 4:30am I woke up and carried Levi to bed and got in bed myself. Then wouldn't you know it...Brinley tried waking up at 6:30am!!! I wouldn't have it, so I just got her some toys and let her play on the floor by my bed. I was able to doze on and off until 10am...around the time Levi woke up. Having a parent out of town totally changes everything...especially our schedules and routines. I am so grateful to have Sam, and I stand totally amazed at how single parents can even begin to do what they have to do! I was even more grateful for Sam the second night he was gone--when I really was tired and the kiddos still didn't sleep well!

p.s. The horrible picture of me is me trying to pull a "I'm so tired" look even though I really wasn't. I just had to post it though, because Levi is making such a funny face!