Robert's Birthday of HORROR, Favorite Animals, and a Hint of Halloween

We realize we've been remiss in our posting. Our humble apologies. Hopefully we'll make up for it here with a rather lengthy update.

First, Robert's Birthday.

What can we say about Robert? Well, Cassie put it this way: "He's a cross between the Energizer Bunny and a ping-pong ball. He just bounces back and forth between things he's not supposed to get into!"

 You'll soon notice that in most of Robert's pictures, his mouth is always wide open. This is because he is usually emitting some kind of brain-melting noise.

"Yo, yo! It's my birfday!"

Here's Robert waiting patiently for his cake. He doesn't know what he's in for. (Cue dramatic music.)

"You expect me to eat that whole thing?"

 At first all was well. He touched it lightly, testing the texture. 

(Music rises.)

Only then does the HORROR begin, as he realizes the frosting DOESN'T COME OFF! 

(Dramatic pause.)

 But it's too late! He's covered in the stuff! Trapped! The more he tries to wipe it off, the worse it gets! And Mom and Dad just sit there, laughing!

(Full Psycho crescendo!)

 To save himself, Robert mangles his cake into submission and then uses the plate to shield himself from another portion. (Notice the hand prints on his head.)

"If you give me ONE MORE PIECE . . ."

One bath and a few brightly-colored, noisy, flashing presents later and all is forgiven.

"Now this is more like it!"

We have a tradition that each of the kids have their own little puppy dogs. Jason and Ellen started this with Eric on his first birthday and we've continued it. Robert really loved his husky . . . and promptly tried to chew its nose off. Welcome to the family, pup.

Next, favorite animals: So at breakfast this morning, I asked each of the kids about their favorite animals. The conversation went kind of like this:

Me: Beth, what's your favorite animal?

Beth: A unicorn!

Me: What about you, Eric? If you could be any animal, what would you be?

Eric: A whale.

Me: Why a whale?

Eric: Because they're the biggest animal in the ocean.

Me: Cool, cool. And you, Beth? Why unicorns?

Beth: Because they're pretty and girly!

Me: They are at that. But what about boy unicorns?

(Beth sticks out her tongue in distaste. I guess boy unicorns are yucky.)

Since Robert couldn't really answer this question, Cassie and I came up with an animal for him. Maybe you'll recognize this little critter from The Dark Crystal.

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you: Fizzgig

 Lastly, a hint of Halloween.

We figured there's enough from Halloween for another post. But here is a taste of things to come:

Behold, Baby Vader!

 Tune in next time

Hunting Camp Video Re-Post

Ryan here.

It's that time of year again! The mountains turn fiery red and yellow, the air is crisper, and the elk emerge from their mountain hideaways.

Yes, it's opening day for the traditional Clines Family Hunting Camp. To honor that occasion, we're re-posting the Hunting Camp video Cassie and I put together a few years back.

So turn up the volume on your computer and enjoy!

And if this video gets your blood pumping, leave us a boisterous "Arrrgh!" in the comments.

P.S. If you have any particularly fond Hunting Camp memories, I invite you to share them with us in the comments as well. Thanks.

All about Eric

As you can tell by the title, this blog post is all about Eric! So of course we're going to kick things off with a cute photo of Robert (but it was taken on Eric's birthday, so . . .)

Our little monkey-man.

On the Fourth of July, Eric and Beth were enjoying popsicles on the back porch. Unfortunately, their antics stirred up the wasps who had built a nest on the stairs. A nasty one came out and stung Eric twice in the left hand. If you've been following this blog, you know Eric has a pretty intense reaction to bites, be they wasp, mosquito, whatever. 

This photo was taken two days after the wasp stung him.If he had a white glove, he could stand in for Mickey Mouse.

Here is Eric feeling much better, munching on cantaloupe (his favorite) in style.

Here are pictures from our big boy's big day. He asked for waffles for breakfast: chocolate waffles with frosting.

Later we had his birthday cake: funfetti with strawberry filling, blue icing, and gummy-savers. Of course he only a few nibbles from the ice cream and then hurried back to play with his presents (they're featured in the photo: a set of Scooby Doo action figures).

 To wind things up, here's Eric playing with the box from Robert's new car seat.

He's pretty good at it, right? But wait, there's more.

What would we do without this kid? I ask you.

Giant Balloon Limbo

Ryan here.

Macy's has their Thanksgiving Day parade, and Salt Lake City has the Pioneer Day Parade, but for the 4th of July, you want to be in Provo. All the neighboring cities send floats and representatives. There are celebrities (of the Utah variety), fancy floats, all kinds of music, and a rare glimpse of giant balloon limbo.


Cassie and I usually haven't made the hike up to see the parade. I say hike because there's nowhere to park. Hiking it would take less time and gas.This year, however, we decided the kids ought to experience the parade, so we waded into the sea of humanity. We squeezed into a spot next to the  7th East traffic circle.

Take a gander:

If you've ever experienced the Provo parade, you know the folks here start staking out their spots early. Days before the parade, you see people camping out, pitching tents and pavilions, and cordoning off spots. I've seen college students planting a ratty couch or two along University Avenue.

A year ago, the city council took some steps to limit this practice. You can read about some of those measures here.

The parade began with a police motorcade. Eric was impressed.

Then came the fire engines.

And who is that looming, furry figure perched on that fire engine?

Why yes, it's Smoky the Bear.

It's almost 100 degrees here. I feel so sorry for whoever is in that suit.

Next came a string of Utah officials, including Provo mayor John Curtis . . .

. . . governor Gary Herbert . . .

. . . Congressman Jason Chaffetz . . .

. . . and the Mighty Thor.

Those crimson-clad miscreants from the north even put in an appearance.

Then came the musical acts. Here's a barbershop quartet the kids really enjoyed:

For my brother-in-law Tyler, here's the Payson High Piper Band.

 

They even had a Madagascar float. Eric got the lion to wave at him.

Finally, I give you giant balloon limbo. Our location near the traffic circle gave us a unique view into giant logistics. When planning out your parade route, consider any  low-lying power and phone lines that might hamper your giant balloon's style. The volunteers made it work, though.

Here they have to squeeze a giant Tom (of Tom and Jerry fame) into the traffic circle.

 

Jerry gave them similar grief.

 All in all we had a fantastic time. After two hours, however, I figured Beth had gotten enough sun. 

We hope you're all having an amazing Independence Day. Despite the turmoil in our country, we have so much to be grateful for.

April, May and part of June Update

I guess because we are now in June I should try and update the last few months. They have been busy, stressful, fun, nuts, and happy. All in all we have had a great time. So here are a few of the key moments, along with some fun pics.

Here's our family photo for Easter. Believe it or not, this is the picture where the kids are "most" looking at the camera.


 Eric has been doing some great Lego creations. Here are some of my favorites.

(Yes, that is Thomas inside his own personal space ship.)


One thing I love about Eric is his wholehearted laugh. This is enough to make anyone laugh.

Robert really enjoys food. Can you tell? (I have no idea where he gets it from . . .)

Happy Boy.

 

Here we have our local superheroes, complete with Crayola body markings and aggressive fight-stances.

It makes a father proud to see his children following in his footsteps.

We also had a birthday in the house and tried to spread the celebration out to last as long as possible. Ryan and I had an amazing day out with friends up in Rock Canyon for a BBQ and games on Sunday (and to watch the eclipse), then on Monday we went out to see the new Avengers movie, followed by a night of phone calls, steak, ice cream and cake. We love you Daddy!

What birthday would be complete without a Muppet movie. (That really depends on who you ask in this house.)

We have also discovered that celery is the best soother for teething. Just ask Robert.

We had a great visit from Kacey, Tyler, and little Leah. Here are the cousins showing off their matching clothes. (Poor Leah had to sport some of Robert's stuff while hers was in the wash.) We had a great time and the kids are already asking when Uncle Tyler and Aunt Kacey can come again.

Brother, sister, and cousins. All good looking.

So that is a quick sum up of the past few months. Yay for me! (It only took 3 months.)

Emotionally Vested

This morning we had on Animal Planet and were watching the Crocodile Hunter. Eric has a tendency to get very emotionally vested in what he watches. Case in point.

85 Years Young

Ryan here.

Grandpa Alleman (Great-Grandpa to the kiddos) recently turned 85. Grandma said, "Don't bring anything. Just come and draw on our driveway." Eric and Beth were thrilled with this, and we have some real artistic types in the family. Here are some of their offerings.

This is Eric and CJ and Megan's boy, Alastor, playing with Great-Grandpa's cannon.

"I can't see anything in here! Light a match!"

Here, Beth picked some flowers for Great-Grandpa.

After the art show, we retired to Aunt Kris's place for sandwiches, then an "over the hill" cake and some ice cream. It was loads of fun, and a great opportunity to celebrate Grandpa.

For those of you who don't know my Grandpa, he's worn many hats over the years: missionary, soldier, teacher, historian, author. But most importantly, he raised some incredible kids, including my amazing dad. Looking at Grandma and Grandpa's kids, you see a track record of discipline, hard work, dedication to family, and devotion to God.

So I don't think I'm alone in saying: