"What is in your ear?!?!?!?"

One day (October 12th to be exact), Levi walked past me, and I noticed something in his ears... a lot of something. Upon closer examination, thie is what I found:





Blue marker. Seriously, where does the kid come up with this stuff?

Camping at Tucannon

In September, we were thinking about how we did not (1) go camping and (2) go on a trip with just our little family. So we decided to pack our bags and try out a new adventure. We picked a campground out of book and came up with Tucannon Campground on the Tucannon River. It is in the Blue Mountains near Dayton, WA. The trip there was longer than anticipated, and as we got near it was... ugly. I was not too thrilled. Then we couldn't find the turn-off because the sign was gone. But then, when we pulled into the campground, it was actually quite pretty. We found the perfect campsite: it was down off the road and pretty secluded, had several flat places, and had a shallow stream flowing through it. Although short, it was a very enjoyable camping trip. We wouldn't be sad if we ended up there again.

These pictures are in a totally random order, but I didn't feel like organizing them. So here they are!

Oh my goodness, Brinley loved the dirt! Thank goodness for Shout Advanced Gel and Tide with Bleach!

The Tucannon River at the entrance to the campground.

My kids love LOVE water!

Throwing rocks in the water... what is it about this simple thing that is just so great?

Daddy and Daughter

Levi at the stream in our campsite.

Sam, the fire guy.

Brinley loved sitting in the camp chairs. I wish I could have left her there, but I was way too afraid she would fall off or the chair and she would fall together. FYI, Brinley was 9 months in these pictures.

I set out this tarp with intent of having a clean place for our crawler to play. Good intentions... laughable ones, but good.

Mommy and her baby girl.

In the tent, getting tucked in for the night.

I think Levi is a total stud!

The night we got there, after setting up in near dark, we had tinfoil dinners for dinner in the dark. They were very yummy, if I do say so myself!

Look how filthly! Camping is a kid's best friend!

Levi played with this brush and dustpan almost the whole time. He swept the tarp, the bench, the table, the dirt, everything!

Farewell Asa!

The middle of September we said farewell to Sam's brother, Asa, who left to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 2 years in Boston Massachusetts. We miss him much, but we know that he is doing a great work. It is so awesome to read his emails and to hear what incredible experiences he is having. I'm looking forward to looking at these pictures two years from now and seeing how much everyone has changed!

Brinley (9 months), Asa (almost 20), Sam (30), Levi (2 1/2 years), Kelsey (26)

Lauren (15), Joe (18), Dad Clements, Mom Clements, Arina (12)

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?!?!?!?

Once again this fall, if it was a Friday night we were most likely at a football game. Sam's youngest brother, Joe, played his senior year of football this year. There were some good games, some bad games, and a couple of VERY exciting games. They made it to the second round of playoffs this year... the best they've done in a long time. Joe was number 88... you can see him in the top right picture. Brinley and Levi did great at the games. I'm pretty sure Levi is planning on playing football when he gets bigger... okay, really there's no doubt in my mind about that one. That kids loves football! Check it out:

Momma's Helper

Levi is really into cleaning lately. These pictures were taken back in September, but it is still something you will often see at our house. I actually mixed up a solution of water and vinegar that I let him use to clean-I mean "wash", as Levi says- everything from the fridge doors to the table and chairs. After a while, the vinegar smell starts to get to me, and I have to distract him with something else. I do appreciate having a clean kitchen, though!

Bet you're glad you didn't hold your breath...

After just over a month... I am finally getting around to posting that news I was talking about. I'll let the videos tell the story...

Here is Brinley at 9 1/2 months old:


And 3 days later:


And another 3 days later (October 5, 2009):


That's right... my ity-bity teeny tiny little girl is a big walker. She was one week shy of her 10-month mark when she officially started walking. All 18 lbs and 27 inches of her. :-)

Of course, that was well over a month ago (getting close to two months now), so Brinley is totally cruising all around. It is so fun to watch her and to hear people comment when they see her. In the words of my friend "it just messes with the mind to see someone that small walking."