Grandma Chickens House

 We made it to Idaho after an 11 hour drive through the middle of nowhere Nevada. It wasn't a bad drive, and only one mishap of Gordon peeing on his car seat toward the end. Thunderstorms helped break up the endless expanse of desert. 

 A favorite story book Grandma keeps at her house. 

 It was around 100 degrees most of the time we were here, with Ben venturing out in the heat of the day. On this particular ride, he didn't make it far. It was just way too hot. 

 Trying out Grandpa's guitar. 

 Thank goodness Grandpa and Grandma bought this pool for everyone to play in. The kids were in it almost everyday. It was as good as swimming lessons, considering how comfortable all the kids got in the water. The girls were going underwater, and Evelyn is doing a pretty good doggie-paddle. 

 Grandma found some flashy fabric scraps and the girls created their own dresses with them. 

 Grandma bought tickets for us all to attend the Starlight Mountain Theater, where we saw a production of Roger and Hammertstein's "Cinderella." Here's the Fairy Godmother. 

 Here is Cinderella. During the intermission, you could pay a small fee and have a ride in Cinderella's pumpkin carriage. The girls were in awe when meeting the actors. Jilly's favorite actress was one of the stepsisters. We all had a good time, and didn't get eaten alive by mosquitoes. One memorable moment of the outdoor play was a bald eagle flying over the stage with a small sparrow or other fierce little bird chasing the eagle off. Gordon's favorite parts were the musical portions with lots of actors moving across the stage. Otherwise, we had to keep re-directing his attention. 

 Evelyn's birthday occurred during our stay, and she requested a Brazilian dinner of feijoada (black beans and rice) and pao de queijo (cheesebread). 

 She also wanted eclair torte for her cake. 

Evelyn asked for science/chemistry kits for her birthday, and was excited to see this one. 

 While I was putting Gordon to bed, the girls thought they'd take care of the last piece of eclair torte. I guess it's more fun sucking the pudding off the base and eating with your fingers. 

 Grandpa Chickens likes making homemade soap, so that's what we did the last few days of our stay. It was a cool process. I chose a citrus blend for my soap, and it turned out really well. 

 Smoothing out the soap mold. 

 We visited some old friends who live in the mountains north of Grandma and Grandpa, around Lake Cascade. It was hot enough to do some swimming. 

 There were little minnows swimming in schools near the shore, and Gordon and Jilly had fun chasing them. The bigger kids headed out to the edge of the marked swim area. 

Jilly's my sunbather. 

Gordon was in heaven with all the dress-up stuff 'Tank' had. 

Thanks for letting us crash your afternoon! 

Other memories: The kids gathering the eggs out of the chicken house every day and feeding the chickens food scraps, eating dinner with the Gurneys (why did I not take a picture?), and hanging out with Uncle Nate, Aunt Chelle, and their chihuahuas. We also spent time helping get the garage cleared out. 

Las Vegas, take two

 Gordon enjoying the map on the drive. 

We got there a bit early, and so we found our way to the monorail and Ben led us over the Bellagio to check it out. 

 This was so, so, so, cool. From a distance, it look like a fancy glass sculpture, but upon getting closer, I saw that it was a very fancy chocolate fountain. 

 Gordon was trying to figure out how he was going to get into all that yummy chocolate. 

 The fun botanical garden. 

 Gordon's favorite Chihuly glass sculpture in one of Bellagio's many little shops. 

 Shortly before we arrived at the main entrance to Bellagio, I figured out why Ben had wanted to come here. I really like the glass sculptures and he remembered the large one contained within this hotel. :)

 On the monorail.

 Gordon wanting to pose with the glass but not wanting to look. 

We got two fireworks shows right outside of our hotel window at the LVH. Very cool. It made up for the fact we waited in the hotel check-in line for an hour. (Ben waited, I entertained the kids). And then there were the 7 year old exhibitionist dancers in the swimming pool. That was not awesome. We think we've had our fill of The Strip for a little while!

June Remnants

 Grandma Chickens had some business to take care of in Southern California about two weeks before we left on vacation, so we headed to the beach as an after-dinner treat. 

We saw a small pod of dolphins that played quite close to shore for a few minutes, which was fun to watch.  

Soon it got a little too cool to be wet and sandy, so we headed home.

Ben was gone for about 10 days on a trip to Mexico during the middle of the month, and I was busy with all the usual stuff, like the garden. 

I was a little sad to leave it while on vacation. 

Dad came home, and we were all happy. He took Jilly and Gordon on a shopping trip while waiting for the new tires to be put on the van. It took quite a while. 

 This is at Lowe's. 

 Giant Costco pizza. 

Giant Costco hot dog. 

Father's Day Newspaper Project: My Dad Rules!

Ben is in Mexico and gone this Father's Day. We had carne asada tacos the night before he left. This post was a project Evelyn completed last week in school. There was a hand-drawn picture of Ben on each page doing some activity, and a sentence or list as well. I would have just scanned it, but the printer's not complying and it's eight pages long. So here it is, in all it's 1st grade-edited glory.


Dear Dad,
Thank you for letting me do fun things. I love you so.so.so.so.so.so much. Love, Evelyn

Top 10 Things About My Dad
10. Kisses my Mom alot 9. love his bike 8. loves junk food 7. really funny 6. nice to family 5. goes t gradschool 4. teaches us things 3. lots of hugs 2. tickles me 1. loves my family

Dad, you rule because...you are the biggest one in the house.

Dad, thank you for...careing for me

Dad, It is funny when you....make me do a lift on that thing you pull your self upon. (He's got a pull-up bar he helps the kids with sometimes)

Dad, I appreciate....that you love me.

Dad, Someday we should....move!!! get out of grad school Dude!!!!

Dad, You work really hard to....finish your homework.

Dad, I think you are out of this world....because I love you

(Picture of a giant red heart on the back)

May and June (so far) in Pictures

Evelyn, the "Most Improved Player" at her softball team party.

Newport Beach LDS Temple. The Young Women's organization babysat and we got to go together for the first time in a long time.

Zooming down the hill. Jilly is quite the speed demon.

Evelyn trying out her new wheels, she likes 'em.

Cluff kids on the go!

Silly Jilly

Gordon "being cool" at church.

Gordon Cluff, male model. He likes to put on Ben's bike gear and "be like Daddy."

Making silly faces while riding the trolley at a local mall.

Gordon wanted to know how big Mommy's smile was.

This is Jedi Evelyn piloting a spacecraft. Astronauts Gordon and Jillian are in suspended animation.

Going after diving rings is much less intimidating in a hot tub. 

The boy wanted to try out a friend's fins. They're a little big, kid.