Happy Birthday, Sunny and Stitch!

It's November 29th and our doggies are 4 years old. My, my, how time has flown! In January, it will be four years since we adopted Butch (our German Shepherd, who is now a Search and Rescue dog, belonging to another family) and Sunny (a.k.a. Sundance). We named the dogs after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Stitch, Sunny's brother, belongs to Marc and Angi Pelissie. Sunny and Stitch were the cutest of black lab puppies and we're so glad to have them in the family. Their birthday treat consisted of a whole bowl of hot dogs each. What GOOD BOYS!

This was also an opportunity for Jean-Marie and Berni to see all four of their grandsons. It was good to see them!

Hanging out at home...

It was so nice to be with family for a relaxed visit (well, as "relaxed" as Clawson's know how to do!). Cooking, playing, talking... it was really a lovely visit.

Kiko Running the Mendon Ponds 5-Miler

This park was one of my favorites to run in when I ran cross country. Chris really wanted to do a race, since we knew they'd be doing one on Thanksgiving weekend. Dad (Kevin) originally had registered for the race and then didn't think he would do it because of feeling under the weather and the fact that it was FREEZING cold. Chris and I procrastinated registering him, and so he was able to just take Kevin's place. I was the supportive cheerleader and documenter. See if you can find Kiko in the pictures wearing his white long sleeve and silver shorts! Yeah for hot chocolate!













These ladies and another spectator were classmates of mine, who we had seen just the night before at the reunion. We didn't even know they were running until the finish line. :)

10-Year High School Reunion

The impetus for this trip was significantly for my 10-Year High School Reunion. Chris liked that he just needed to smile, meeting people and then he could tune out. No one was going to say, "Hey, do you remember so-and-so" or "remember that one time when..." I enjoyed having those reminiscing conversations. :) It was a pretty common feeling for me and many of my peers to think and say, "I can't believe it's already been 10 years! It feels like just yesterday we were all at Fairport High School..." I loved seeing several old friends, most of whom I haven't seen since June 1997. Amber, our class president, is still as lively and genuinely friendly as ever. We really enjoyed talking with a friend of mine from orchestra, Aimee and her husband, Paul. It turns out that she's a french teacher in the area - smile, smile!

I was pleasantly surprised to see everyone "grown up" and talking with each other, not just in clicks like it was in high school. Amber organized a poster signing and donation collection for our classmate, Megan Markus, who was in a bad car accident at the beginning of our senior year. I was able to call and talk with her mom, who still amazes me with her positive attitude and great faith. It will be great to see everyone in another 10 years. :)

Sam is SITTING!

What a champ! He's still using the boppy for support, but look how well he's sitting up! I know I'm biased, but I think he is just darling in this first picture.

Kates got MARRIED!

My dear friend Katie Amsden got married on the day of Bran and Ashton's open house. I was able to attend her sealing. What a privilege! She was married to a great guy by the name of Aaron Zsembery by our stake patriarch, Vic Mylroie. Katie was so sick the day of her wedding, but made it through like a champ. It was also nice for me to see her siblings, Susan and Kevin, also friends of mine, as well as friends Mary and Ron Harris. A week later, on November 24th, Katie had her reception at the Palmyra Stake Center. I am so thrilled at how perfectly "Katie" everything was, from the ice cream sundae refreshments to riding away in a tractor from the reception. Congrats, Katie and Aaron!

"Hi, my name is Aria, and I'm a reading addict."

I really thought my parents were kidding about Aria needing to be punished for reading too much. Honestly, I saw for myself. She reads ALL the time! The punishing part comes when she's supposed to be doing something else, but is reading - kinda like when the rest of us were growing up and we'd watch TV when we were supposed to be cleaning, except in Aria's case she's enriching her mind. :)
Here, we were watching a movie and she chose instead to read in the same room where we were, but obviously fell asleep. Notice her thumb still holding the book open, even in her sleep. I think it's great she loves to read. Good for you, Aria!

Visiting USA Karate

Brandon, Michael, and I have all had a black belt education, courtesy of Sensei Kathy Faust. She continues to be an excellent role model and friend of our family. It was fun to go into the studio and take a class. Ashton got to throw Brandon and I got to be thrown by my orange-belt partner. It was also good to see old friends. In the picture, L-R, Chris, Genn, Sensei, Teal Schlegel, Ashton, Brandon, Sensei Countryman.

Family Boggle

We love giving dad a hard time about this. We all enjoy playing Boggle, even dad. However, he often makes comments about how mom "wipes the floor" with him, so he may as well be doing something "productive". Now that we have several word sleuths in the fam (namely mom, Bran, Ashton, and now Chris), he has all the more legitimacy to back up his claims. We're all getting pretty good at the three-letter-word-pool, though not nearly as good as my Grandma Clawson, I hear. Anyway, dad's preference is to "be supportive" by being in the same room with us working on something productive while the rest of us play Boggle. We kid him about his rationalizing spending "quality family time" in such a manner. One time, though, it worked very well. Chris and I were going head to head for a few rounds, just the two of us, and when we'd go over our words, dad played the role of judge. He was very fair in his judgements, much to the dismay of the losing party. :) It was a fun family activity during our stay. We should play more at home!

Sam starts solids

We had quite a time starting Sam eating solid foods. Mom and Dad actually had more success than I did, perhaps because they are "Not the Maman". Great job, Grandma Toi and Papi! Oh, yeah, and Sam!

Aria, Nicole, Julia, & Niko

Aria's two friends joined in entertaining Niko this afternoon. Quite a circus, I'm telling you. Nothing beats how cute it is to hear Niko expanding his vocabulary ("Nikki?? Joooolia??")

Budding Pianist

Niko really enjoys playing my parents' piano... and having his milk when he's tired. :)

Deer in the backyard

When I come home to NY for a visit, one of the things that I remember that I miss are deer in the backyard. Even now, after the "pretty" part of fall has passed, it is still beautiful in upstate NY.

Bran & Ashton's Open House

The house was mostly clean upon arrival, but it was fun to finish tidying and decorating for our friends who came to congratulate Bran & Ashton. Yummy food, Il Divo playing in the background, and lovely company made it a great evening.

Fun with Aria

As you can tell, Niko and Aria are having a great time. Papa is working as much as he can as well. :)

Travel to New York

We made it to NY safely, although our travel here ranks as one of our worst experiences yet. Instead of boring you with all the details, I'll just hit the highlights, or perhaps I should say the low points. ;) Sleep-deprived and often sleepLESS boys, air sickness for me, then spilled a full cup of hot chocolate all over my lap (on the first of the two flights), no sleep during the 3 hour layover, Kiko miserable with strained back muscles and a horrible headache, and overall insanity traveling like pack horses with everything for us and 2 kids (mostly the 2 kids). We did survive, however, and were welcomed by a couple of excited grandparents and an extatic little 10-yr-old auntie.

Loving the leaves

There were piles and piles of leaves to play in. So fun for Chris, who remembers playing in the leaves in Connecticut growing up. It was fun to see Niko enjoy them, too.







I'm not sure how well the audio will come out on this, but the highlights were playing in the leaves and Niko finally saying "dehors". !!! Progress! :)