The Cluff Family

The end of Summer

9:53 AM

This is a catch up post for the rest of Summer before entering the Autumn season. The month of August went by so fast.

One day while visiting Grandma and Grandpa, Chloe secretly opened some purple nail polish and was painting with it all over her body and the wood floor. I was busy decorating for Aunt Gina's baby shower and my dad was reading the newspaper and my mom was upstairs doing the laundry.... it only takes a minute. I frantically picked Chloe up, ran upstairs to tell my mom, and dumped Chloe in the bath tub. The only result of putting her in the bathtub was that I spread the nail polish more on her body and got some on the tub. I came downstairs and my mom and dad were rubbing the floor with gasoline which magically worked (thank goodness!). After the floor was fixed, then we worked on Chloe. We used about twenty nail polish remover pads and finally got her purple free. It was a crazy morning but everything turned out fine and now it is just a fun story to tell.

I took a photography class and as a result we got a free head shot from the instructor (below).

Chloe loves her poof that Grandma made her and sometimes we spend lazy afternoons watching movies.

This poor girl has learned the skill of sleeping in her car seat. From various trips down to Arizona and up to North Salt Lake she has got it down pat.

We love going to the Payson Pool. This picture is one of the last days it was open. Chloe had to have her companion (her bear) with her at all times.

While spending the afternoon at Ikea with Uncle Andrew, Chloe was tired and just wanted to read her book... on the cement floor of Ikea.

We ended the summer with a big birthday bash for Great Grandma D'Agostini. Pictured above is D'Veda D'Agostini with most of her great grand children. Pictured below is herself with her five children.

Sadly, I don't have pictures from when Tanner and I spent the weekend in St. George. We went with another Couple and stayed at their parent's town home. We saw Tuachan's production, "Marry Poppins" which was very good. We played at the pool, went out to eat, saw "The Butler", and had a very relaxing weekend. I would say that Summer of 2013 was a good one.

Loon Lake

9:18 AM

The memory card I used in my camera mysteriously broke so the pictures I have for this post are all from my camera... thank goodness for the iphone. A big event this summer was going to the lake with Chloe. Tanner stayed at home so he could save his vacation days for Christmas. I am writing this post about two months after the trip so hopefully I can remember the highlights. The picture above is Chloe getting prepared and ready for her long day of flying the next day. The movie, "Tangled" was a lifesaver during the flights. I am grateful that my mom flew with us because she helped a lot. By the end of this trip, Chloe became a professional at traveling.

This picture was taken of Chloe the day after flying so she was a little jet lagged. She loved riding in the boat and fell asleep a couple of times.

Chloe loved being outside and in the water. She thought she could swim already and wanted to explore the water on her own but she had to settle with this yellow floaty.

Chloe and I were lucky enough to tag along with my parents on a quick trip to Portsmouth, NH. We drove by my childhood house and it immediately flooded my mind with so many memories. I love this place. I didn't realize how beautiful Portsmouth was until I came back. It was definitely a wonderful place to spend my childhood and I can't wait to bring my family back in the future (since Chloe won't remember).

I have been craving the beach for a long time and we finally made it! This is Chloe and I standing on the Atlantic Ocean coast (Chloe's first!). We arrived in the early evening, so we didn't really enjoy the beach until the next day.

This was the view from our hotel room. We stayed at the Marriott Wentworth Resort. I was so excited to find out that my dad booked this hotel because it is so nice. I don't get to stay in nice hotels like this very often so it was a treat for me. My dad and I later drove around and searched for some lobster rolls and finally found a restaurant that was open. Almost every restaurant closed at 9:00 PM. I didn't realize how sleepy this old port town was.

This is Chloe sleeping in her crib at the Hotel... she really was a good sport through all the traveling and new places.

The next day, my mom and I, went to Pirates Cove. This is the beach I remember coming to the most growing up. It was only about 3 miles from our house. Chloe was unsure about the sand at first but she got used to it. We only stayed an hour but it was an hour of heaven.

Before heading back to New York, We went to the Beach Plum and had some more lobster rolls. You can't come to the coast and not get lobster rolls... so that is exactly what we did. Yum!!

This old rickety bouncy horse was the same horse I used to play on. W e pulled it out for Chloe and she loved it! She kept wanting to go outside so she could ride the horsey.

Paul arrived which made it four people (plus Chloe) so we played hearts. Hearts is my favorite card game. There is something about being in a cabin and playing card games with family. Love.

Jaclyn and Andrew were the last to arrive to the lake this year. Chloe loved cuddling with Aunt Jaclyn and watching "Mickey Mouse" or whatever Jaclyn was watching.

Loon Lake at sunset

One of Chloe's favorite things about the lake were Uncle John and Aunt Linda's stairs.

Campfires and s'mores were a must do.

The last boat ride of the year

This year was the last year in the old Cabin. We spent a day clearing out the furniture we wanted to keep and leaving the old to be torn down. It is very bittersweet to see this cabin go. There are so many memories from my childhood in this cabin. I am excited for the new house though because hopefully there will be less mice, spiders, and mold. Loon lake will always be there and I am anxious to share it with my family in the future with Grandma and Grandpa Hales. I hope my children love it just as much as I do. Thanks Mom and Dad for an incredible Lake trip this year.