Continued Blog

Please go to   www.benandjillcluff.blogspot.com   to see our new blog ;)  THANKS-Jill

Some Vacation time with the Family!

I mentioned in the previous post that Grandma and Grandpa Baker were able to come and spend some time with us!  It was GREAT!  We had a great week and they were able to help in so many ways!  Kimber had her CF appt. and they stayed an extra day to watch Cody while I took her in.  

Kimber was a superstar!  She had to have 3 x-rays of her stomach and chest, and also it was time to have her annual labs taken. So she had to have her blood drawn AND get her flu shot, AND her throat swab.  All of which she HATES!  I don't know who was more nervous, her or me! At her last appt. she only had to do the throat swab and she locked her mouth shut!! The RT and I, had to hold her down and pry her mouth open while she kicked and screamed!  I did not want to have to go through that again!  It was AWFUL!  I was definitely dreading this appt too! 

Luckily, she was a little prepared for all of these....or at least she knew they were coming.  Ben was able to swing in for the first part of her appt. and he gave her the pep talk she needed.  He just told her to be brave!  He had to leave before the poking began...so it was just her and me.  She did GREAT!  She wanted to tell everyone she knew that she didn't even cry!  She held so still....and wanted me to hold her tight so she couldn't move.  She kept telling me to squeeze her tighter.  Her big brown eyes filled with tears, but she didn't make a peep.   She sat up and was SO PROUD that she did so well! She kept saying that she remembered what daddy told her.  She decided to just be brave!

 I just love this little gal!

Here are a couple last pictures of Grandma and Grandpa's visit.  The girls LOVED playing the Princess Match game with Grandma, and making the spiders you see hanging from the light.

We enjoyed flying some kites playing on the grass at the park.

Daddy and Cody spent awhile looking for 4-leaved clovers.

Ben has had this last week off and we did what we could to make the VERY best of it!  

My visiting teacher had season passes to the the Tram.  She gave us two for last Friday and we took the family on up.  It was really fun!  The girls loved having their picnic and hiking and especially riding the tramcar. 

Here we are on top of the mountain after our 15 minute tram ride!

You can't tell these two are sisters ;)

At the top of the tram!  There was a great view.

The girls watching the tram car come up the mtn.

Daddy and Cody ready for the tram ride down!

Here is the other tram car going up.  We passed them at the halfway point as we were going down.  

We've loved having Ben home for the week!  

2012 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!

We were VERY excited to be able to witness this year's Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque, NM!

For about 10 days we got to see the morning sky filled with balloons.  We also got to see many of them landing wherever they could find a vacant spot.  It was GREAT!

 We were also fortunate to be able to share this experience with Grandma and Grandpa Baker!

They came for most of the week and spoiled us rotten!

We woke up at 4am on Thursday morning to get to Balloon Fiesta Park in time to see the morning launch up close and personal.  It was a cold and VERY fun morning!!!

 We bundled Cody up nice and tight! Before we left home we heated some rice packs to stick in his stroller with him.  He stayed toasty warm!

 We got to see the Dawn Patrol launching before sunrise!

 We thought these two looked like fun!  Holdyn ran up and let them know she is going to be a cowgirl for Halloween.  They were super friendly and made Holdyn's smile grow just a bit bigger!

 Here we are by the Spiderpig gondola.  As they were preparing and launching balloons we got to be right there and talk with the pilots. We could touch the balloons as they blew up, and watch up close how these things work!  It was very entertaining!

 Holdyn liked to get close and run away as they blew up. It looked like they were going to run her right over....they probably would have if she wasn't so fast ;)

 Me and my girls as the first balloons were blowing up.

 Cody sporting his Halloween teeth ;)

 One of the Dawn Patrol Balloons...  We could watch them glow from the fire as they went up and up.

 Grandma and Cody watching the balloons fill up.

 When the mass of balloons were clear to launch they sent off the fireman balloon with the flag as they played the National Anthem.  It was a really neat opening!

 As soon as the Anthem was finished playing they started off!

 We were there on the morning of the Special Shapes.  We all had a blast watching the fun different balloons blow up and take off...some of them really are HUGE!!

 Most of the balloons were handing out little trading cards with pictures of their balloon.  The girls loved collecting them and trading them back and forth.

 Here are a few of our favorite shapes!

 Cody was, as usual, a champ!  We really couldn't ask for a better baby!

Kimber couldn't take it any longer. As soon as we picked up Cody from the stroller she claimed it for herself, cuddled right down and crashed.  

We were so thankful Grandma and Grandpa could come enjoy this with us! We are hoping next year Ben can have some time off and we can take him to see them up close too! We could see them spotting the sky each day, but it was really an experience to be right there when they blew up and took off!

7th Anniversary and family fun!

Ben and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Sunday.  We stayed home with the family and just had a great, relaxing day!  We told the girls about some of our dating experiences and they LOVED it!  It was fun to see them so interested in our lives before they were born.  WE showed them some pictures of our wedding and their comments were hilarious.  They couldn't stop laughing about Ben's mustache. They also kept reminding us that we once weighed less.  "WOW MOM, you were skinny!" was a frequent one ;)   

On Saturday, we got up early and chased some balloons from the Balloon Fiesta and in the afternoon we spent a few hours at the park. It was a wonderful day!

 These two pictures are a week or so old, but they were cute so I put them in too. It is finally getting cold enough that we may have to stop letting them play in the water.  They have sure LOVED this little pool!

 Cody is such a happy little guy!  He is always game for whatever we do!

He even lets the girls dress him up in their pink stuff.

 Perfect day to fly some kites!

 Up and in the car early to see the balloons!!

It was really a fun couple of days!  WE are So excited to go into the Balloon Fiesta Park on Thursday morning with Grandma and Grandpa Baker to see the Special Shapes Rodeo!  Stay tuned for that!  It is going to be EPIC!  :)