Finally...

We finally got Sam his graduation present -- a Wii! Wahoo! Sam was pretty excited about it... okay, okay, we were both pretty excited about it. The night we got it we stayed up until Midnight playing. I'm not a huge fan of video games. In fact, I swore that I wasn't going to buy them for my children. But then we played the Wii, and my mind was changed. Rhonda (Sam's sister) told us that it is a video game system for people who don't like video games. That is sooo true. I love it because it is so interactive. I've woken up sore a few times from playing. So I've decided to use the Wii as an exercise program. In the mornings I'll wake up a play a game of tennis. :) Anyways, congrats to Sam on finishing his Masters and earning himself a Wii. He definitely deserves it!

Camping with the Thurgoods

The last weekend in June, we went camping with my side of the family. Everyone ended up being able to go, so it was a lot of fun to see the whole family. My parents own some land up by Cle Elum, WA so we headed up there for some camping and fun at nearby Lake Cle Elum. It ended up being a HOT weekend (near 100) and almost everyone got sunburned... nevertheless, we had a blast! Levi especially loved being outside all day long. He was in heaven! We sure have an athletic, outdoors sort of little man.

This little chair was just the right size for Levi. He really liked it. Too bad it was a pink Barbie chair... we'll have to get him one of his own so he doesn't have to steal his girl cousin's chair.

Levi and Aunt Amber chilling in the water. Levi was so relaxed, he almost zonked out.

Amber, Lacey, Madi, Dad, and Ben cooling off from the blazing heat in the freezing water.

Levi LOVED LOVED LOVED the jet ski. He got to take a couple rides with both Mom and Dad, and every time he would be totally mellow.

As you can see, Levi loved riding the jet ski whether it was moving on the water or not. He was just as happy riding it while it was on the trailer back at camp. :)

Yikes! Check out that nasty tan line.... yeah, only that's not what it is. It is a dirt line. Before he met us down at the beach, Sam went four wheeling up the mountain with Ben and Evan. He came back so fifthly! His socks did a good job of blocking the dirt, though.

Not only did Levi love the jet ski, he also loved the four wheeler. Sam and Grandpa both took him on a few rides around camp, and every time he got off he would cry. I think it is safe to say that Levi is the adventurous type.

Okay, I didn't get a picture of it (and I really wish I would have now), but our new tent was insane. We bought it on our way across the country at Sierra Trading Post and thought we were getting a pretty awesome deal... then we set it up. This weekend was the first time we pulled it out of the box and when we did, we realized that it was a "solar" tent. The windows did not have mesh, just clear plastic. So there was no way to vent the tent - it was sealed tight! It got so hot in our tent, I couldn't breathe when I went in there. What a stupid design!!!! On top of that, the door and the windows closest to the door had no coverings... just the clear plastic. There was a divider for the back of the tent, but it was shear white fabric. And the coverings for the back windows could only be zipped and unzipped from the outside. Basically... there was no privacy AT ALL in this tent. I'm just grateful we had somewhere else to change. Needless to say, we are returning the tent. Beware of anything marked "solar"... it will be horribly designed.

Calling All Bloggers

Hello fellow bloggers! I just wanted to invite any of you who have blogs (and I don't have them listed under "Blogging Buddies") to send me a link. I want to be able to keep up with what is going on in your lives as well. So send me an invite, leave a comment with the url, or drop me an email (kmthurgood@gmail.com). Thanks!

p.s. Alli... I updated my playlist just for you. :-)

Mr. Cool

Levi is starting to have a shoe fetish... he loves to "try" on other people's shoes. And by try, I do mean try. He still struggles quite a bit, so we usually have to put the shoes on for him...er... rather put him in the shoes. And with his awesome shades, Levi is one cool looking kid!

FEED ME!

Every once and a while, your child gives you a hint that you might be slacking on your parental duties. Case in point: The other day I found Levi sitting under his hook-on high chair eating peanut butter using a measuring spoon. The peanut butter was the only food in the kitchen that he could reach, and the measuring spoon was in a lower drawer than his spoons. I guess I probably should have gotten him some lunch, but hey, I'm glad he can help himself!

Finally Caught Up!

Whew... I'm finally caught up on my blogging. So here is the current update on the Clements Clan. Right now we are living in temporary housing (paid for by Sam's work... yay!). It is a pretty nice, furnished two bedroom apartment about 5 minutes from Sam's work, so we are happy. Since we've been back in the Tri-Cities, we have celebrated 3 family birthdays (one more next week), attended one graduation, and eaten several family dinners (thanks for feeding us, fam!). Yesterday we helped my parents lay sod in their backyard. Redoing their backyard is a project my parents have been working on (along with several other large projects) for the last 4 years. Seeing green in the backyard again is quite the delight.

Along with all the family festivities, we've been incredibly busy house hunting. And it looks like all that hunting might actually pay off. We have a contract on a house. We just had the inspection and now the homebuyers are working on fixing the minor repairs that need to be done. Thankfully, the inspection did not turn up any major defects, and the inspector actually said it was a really well built, sound home. We could be closing in as soon as 2-4 weeks. Don't worry... I'll get pictures soon.

As for each of us individually, Sam is getting into the groove of us new job. It has been a lot of reading and meeting people. I have had another bout with morning sickness... not fun. But I'm now 13 weeks along, so I'm hoping it will go away once and for all! Levi has loved having tons of cousins around to play with. He doesn't love our apartment because his toys are in storage, but he loves being at either of his grandmas' houses. Most specifically, he likes to be outside at their houses. Well, now this blog is all current and up-to-date. I'll keep you posted on our home-buying adventure. Here's a couple random pictures of Levi since we've arrived in the Tri-Cities.

Rewind: One Adventure Ends...

After stopping in Nauvoo, we drove to Omaha, NE. We were really planning on staying in Council Bluffs right outside of Omaha and seeing the Church History site there, but our map of the area was NOT very detailed and as we were trying to figure out where we were and where we were going, a huge thunderstorm opened up on us. We turned on the radio to hear about the weather, and they were giving tornado warnings... not the most comforting news. So our primary goal was just getting off the street. But wouldn't you know it, as soon as we checked into the hotel, the storm stopped.

The next day (Day 4 in the car) we went from Omaha to Cheyenne, WY. In Cheyenne, we missed a turn looking for our hotel and ended up in Colorado (a state I had never been to), so we added ANOTHER state to our already epic journey. Day 5 was from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City. In SLC, we were able to see lots of people from Sam's family: his sisters Becky (with husband Eric and son Isaiah), Connie, and Tedi (with husband Doug). It was so great to be able to see family... especially since most of them hadn't seen Levi since he was less than 2 months old (it had been even longer since they had seen Sam). We even got to pick up Sam's mom at the airport the next morning before we headed out!

On Day 6 we drove from Salt Lake to Boise where Sam's brother, Abe and his wife Ann live with their little boy, Tag. While there, we all went to dinner at Richard and Ericka Andrus' house (one of Sam's best friends dating back to their childhood). And finally, on Day 7, we traveled from Boise to Richland, WA... OUR DESTINATION!!! Amazingly, Levi did an awesome job for being in the car for 7 days. He only came close to having a meltdown once. The trip really wasn't that bad, because we kept the days short and went swimming every night at the hotels.
Oh yeah, one funny story I forgot to share... We drove past a SUV that had vanity plates that read BLNDSXY. As we passed the driver, it turned out to be a big, dark, hairy guy. Talk about false advertising! We're guessing that it was his wife's car. Here are a few pictures of Levi in the car.

We bought this toy for Levi specifically for this trip. It completely held his attention for the first 2 or 3 days, so it was well worth it. It didn't take him long to discover that the microphone really works. We were thoroughly entertained by his being entertained, so we had to catch it on film.

Rewind: Nauvoo

We started out the third day of our trip by spending a few hours in Nauvoo. We didn't have enough time to even see a fraction of what there is to see in Nauvoo, but we did get to see a couple things. Nauvoo, IL is where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered after being driven out of Missouri (and other areas) and before they were forced to move West. In Nauvoo, there are several missionaries who demonstrate how early Saints lived in the 1800's - everything from weaving and baking to blacksmith(ing?) and wagon-making. And the temple there is absolutely beautiful! What a tribute to the great sacrifice the early Saints made to build the original temple.

(Can you see the Mississippi River in the background?)

You'll probably have to click on this to make it bigger,
but it is the plaque on the above statue.

At the Blacksmith's Shop, we got a horseshoe and prairie diamonds
(rings made from nails) made by the missionaries there.

Brigham Young's Home. It was huge!

Isn't Levi styling in his sunglasses?

Rewind: Day 2 of the Trek Continued

After the excitement of the high speed chase, the rest of the day was BORING! I think we drove on the absolute straightest road in the world. We were so bored, we had to stop and play at a rest area. There was a big farm behind the rest area, and Levi loved all the big tractors that drove by. We actually ended up sending an hour at the rest area... a much needed break in the middle of our 8 hour drive.

We got to Carthage around 8:30pm, and the visitor's center was still open. (Surprise! And Hooray!) Carthage Jail is where Joseph Smith was martyred. It was really great to get to tour the jail and to feel the spirit there. The grounds of the Carthage Jail were so peaceful, and it really was a beautiful area. The walkway is lined with large stones engraved with quotes from the Prophet Joseph Smith. What an incredible man and servant of the Lord!Carthage Jail

Sam with Joseph and Hyrum

Kelsey and Levi. The top window
is the one Joseph Smith fell through
after being shot.

Rewind: The Trek West

So we left Pittsburgh the afternoon of May 23, after the movers came and loaded all of our stuff onto their truck. The first day we drove about 300 miles to Columbus, Ohio. The second day we made our way to Nauvoo. Somewhere just outside of Indianapolis we witnessed something we probably will never see again. Here's the story: As we were driving down I-70, a police car driving faster than I've ever since whizzed past us. A couple minutes later another one did. Then about 10-15 minutes later, we started seeing cops flying down the other side of the freeway. About the time that enough cops had flown by that I felt it necessary to make the comment "Wow, something big must be going on," I saw a white minivan coming towards us on our side of the freeway. Well... it turns out it wasn't on the freeway, but beside the freeway flying up and down the little hills. Traffic obviously slowed and then stopped. When the minivan was right by us (we were in the middle lane, but still had an awesome view!), the passenger door opened and a guy in a white shirt jumped out. Then the driver stopped the van, and he and a girl jumped out of the van. They all jumped a wire fence and started booking it across a big farm field. While that was all happening, cops were flipping across the median behind us and then a few got out and started chasing after the teenagers. Well... after the fact, we learned that the three crazies were all caught. The driver was 18, the other boy was 15, and the girl was in her teens somewhere. They were being pulled over for a seatbelt violation, but started a high speed chase because the van was stolen and the 15 year old boy had just escaped from Juvenile Detention. We got a picture of them running across the field (the girl was just giving up), but didn't get the cops in the picture.

Rewind: Moving Day

Compared to our other moving experiences, this one was HEAVEN! Sam's new job paid to have us moved, so for the first time we used a moving company. On day one, three guys showed up at our apartment and boxed up all our stuff. It was interesting watching how professionals pack. The next day, two guys and a lady showed up, inventoried all our stuff and loaded it onto the truck. The hardest part for us was just sitting there and doing nothing. I am especially grateful that this moving experience was so easy because I was feeling a bit under the weather with morning sickness, so it was nice to not have to work hard. My parents were in town, so my mom took Levi both on packing and loading day. He was a bit surprised to come home and find piles of boxes instead of all our stuff. Luckily, they did not pack his bigger toys until loading day, so he still had toys to play with that night. In fact, it was pretty cute to see his face light up with recognition and relief when he found his toys among the boxes--whoever took all our stuff had left something behind for him! Moving has gone smoothly so far... we'll see how we feel about it after everything is delivered and unpacked.

Rewind: Carnegie Science Center

The one thing we really wanted to do before we left Pittsburgh was visit the Carnegie Science Center. We finally made it the Saturday before we left. They had a really great Tot Lot with activities specifically designed for children 6 and under. Levi loved the water table and the ball factory. Another highlight was the real submarine that we got to tour. We all had a lot of fun, so I'm glad we made it there before we left the 'Burgh.

Rewind: Sam's graduation

Here is the video of Sam receiving his diploma. I recorded his entire program for memory-sake, but that is only about 10 people so it is less than 2 minutes long. (And if you are really impatient, Sam is near the beginning, so you can just stop watching after that :) ) Sam's school commencement (Heinz School of Management) took place in a Jewish Synagogue. It was really beautiful.

Rewind: Master Sam

Alright, I'm finally getting around to updating the blog. It may be a slow process, but I promise to get it done. Back on the grand day of May 18th, Sam graduated with his Masters of Science in Information Security Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Wahoo! My amazing husband graduated with Distinction and was actually only .01 point away from Highest Distinction (not bad for becoming a father in the middle of finals one semester). Check out how HUGE the diploma is!

Just a little post... We are alive!

Since it has been ages since I last posted, I thought I'd better write a quick one. WE ARE FINALLY BACK IN THE TRI-CITIES! Hooray! After 7 days in the car and crossing through 12 states, we have arrived at our final destination. In the (almost) week we have been here, life has been crazy busy visiting family, meeting with mortgage lenders, seeing houses, and dealing with getting our 'Early Out' stuff from the movers. So, life has been extremely crazy. But we are all super excited to be back home and near our families again. Levi is loving the attention of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As soon as I can get pictures off the camera and onto the computer and find the time, I will post about our journey across the country and our house hunt.