Clement Family Reunion

Getting together with our Clement family always turns into a fond memory that we look back on for years. We always eat well, especially when we get to stuff ourselves with Mom & Dad’s jambalaya and scones. In their backyard we began our reunion devouring and socializing as much as time would allow. There have been many weddings and graduations, driving permits and animal additions to families over the past couple of years, so it was fun to catch up with everyone in their new stages of life and goals for the future.

The Clement family has always been very sport oriented, so after dinner we headed over to the ball diamond to play some softball. We have grown up quite a bit since the last time we tried to play softball so it didn’t take too long before we discovered the outfield was the hot place for all our big hitters. Thanks to Uncle Todd Mauger we couldn’t get too many runs in with his golden glove catching most of our pop flies in left field. We can’t forget to mention Uncle Joe’s triple hit too! The same evening we were able to celebrate Shane’s 22nd Birthday with some beautiful singing. We have a family with amazing talents all around the board.

After the evening darkness halted our play we went home for a firework show by Uncle Joe and Adam Packer. The wind was terrible, so they were a little difficult to shoot off. Good thing we were all bundled up. Then we roasted marshmallows over the fire, and here we can always find good conversation with anyone your with. Good times! That night we slept out in tents as best we could. We brought out all our blankets and sleeping bags to ensure we would be warm through the night, but it wasn’t as good of a plan as Dad’s. He had his earplugs in so not to hear the wind blowing down the other tents, tables and chairs outside from the cookout. I swear there were 50 mph winds that night. Who really was sleeping through that? I know that MaKayla and Merissa Mauger were dead through it all. Jacy and I, at 4:30 am, decided it wasn’t worth the effort to stay outside so we went in the house to get a couple hours of real sleep. The next morning it was fun to hear everyone’s thought process of why they all stayed out in the miserable conditions.

The next morning we met up at the church with everyone to eat breakfast and play volleyball. We stayed for lunch as well and had Uncle Steve VanOrden tell us about his half marathon that he had run earlier that morning in Bear Lake. After that we played some group games with Mom’s parachute she brought from school, had a hula-hoop contest, a human knot challenge, and boogidy boogidy boogidy boo which Aunt Jan Clement taught us. We really got to see a whole new side of some family members with every activity we did. Fun memories!

After a few low key games we all walked over to Grandma’s new house across from the church to watch all the men rip out her heavy barn wood fence so she can put in a pretty new white vinyl fence. It was great to do a service project with the whole family. I really admire our family and their work ethic. I really think it comes from all the years on Grandpa’s farm that our parents learned to work and have taught their children the importance of hard work in ourselves and in a spouse.

After, we went back to the ball diamond for another softball game and then back into the gym to play volleyball for the rest of the evening. What a great family to be able to have evenly matched teams with some blocks and kills on both sides of the net and be proud of one another’s efforts. Shane was nice enough to let me block one of his hits. It was awesome! Peter, Shane, Elias, and Adam were all monsters on the front row with their spikes. We really have an amazing family and it is always a blast to get together and make great memories and smile and laugh till we hurt. Until next time, we will keep these awesome memories with us.

Yellowstone in Spring

Just before I moved out to Boise, we took a day trip to Yellowstone with some of our good friends in the ward. By Idaho standards, the weather was cooperative: the skies were clear, the sun was warm and the wind was only gusting at 35 mph. Not too shabby! Although we have been to Yellowstone dozens of times, the beautiful vistas and the hopes of seeing wolves and bears continue to draw us in. Another reason we really wanted to go was because Barry, the father of the family we went with, is a geology major and we wanted to look at all the geothermal sites with him. Catherine and I aren’t too enthralled by the geological marvel that is Yellowstone so it was our first time seeing many of these things.

Barry was totally cherishing these “travertine deposits” near Mammoth Hot Springs. Our retinas were torched! These pictures don’t do it justice, but the travertine was as white as snow and the noonday sun made it treacherous to look at.




Catherine and I at Mammoth Hot Springs. I’m not sure why it is called Mammoth Hot Springs. The name is kind of a misnomer; it leads you to believe that there is a warm swimming area or something. FYI- as far as I know, there isn’t. Pretty area though…





This is one of the spewing geysers at the Painted Pots Geyser Basin. There are dozens that are capable of throwing heated water into the air; they just aren’t predictable like Old Faithful is. We happened upon this one.



We saw the standard wildlife that makes Yellowstone their home. This buffalo calf couldn’t have been more than three days old! It would not leave its mother’s side. It had to be touching her at all times. It didn’t help, though, that bone-headed tourists were out of their cars taking pictures. I prayed that the mom buffalo would gore them, but I guess that wasn’t a righteous enough desire…




We stopped for lunch at this picnic area and a herd of 20+ elk wandered into the field. Here you can make out some of them behind us. There weren’t any impressive bulls, just fat cows and scrawny rags (I think they call them).




We saw this lone antelope. Not too exciting for us, but you might find it neat…




This was the wildlife moment of the day. We saw this enormous bald eagle scouting out fish in this tiny lake. Look at the size of that thing! Eventually, he took flight, hovered over the lake, and dove down for a meal! He misfired, but it was rad!
All in all, it was a pleasant trip. They say that the spring is a good time to go because the snow has melted in the valleys so you have a chance to see a lot of wildlife as they come down to feed. Although that is true, we discovered that many of the best sections of road are still closed because of snow.

Frisky Felines

A few weeks ago we were down visiting Catherine’s parents for the weekend. While we were there, that tricky Idaho weather treated us to a few inches of snow! Although we weren’t too delighted, the cats took advantage of the situation to enjoy some recreation.

Here, Fritz is playing on Shane's car. I love the part where he knocks the snow off of the car and he cranes his neck to see where it fell! Priceless...

Mittens, the smaller black cat with white paws, has joined Fritz. The more nimble Mittens rather easily scales the windshield but then gets a little too close to the edge. Don't mind Catherine's dad's advice about resumes in the background unless you are interested...

I think this one accurately shows the "randomness" of cats. Fritz jumps up on top and nestles down into the snow while Mittens paws at the little snowballs...! I love this video!

Dad's Very Own Peter Cottontail

This weekend, while we were down visiting at Mom and Dad’s, we perchance caught a glimpse of Dad’s unofficial “pet” rabbit. We’d heard that Dad had a pet rabbit that occasionally visited him in the yard, but we hadn’t seen it for ourselves. As work in the garden progressed, we happened to glance off in the distance to a neighbors shed, and what to our wondering eye should appear but our grey, fuzzy friend with its two floppy ears! Being that it is a lop rabbit, it must have been tame at one point (we don’t have wild lop-eared bunnies in Utah). However, with the passage of time, he has become skittish around people. Dad has purchased rabbit food and sets some out for him each morning, along with a sliced apple (any food left by the bunny gets eaten by deer, apparently). The bunny has learned that Dad is the deliverer of all things delicious and has allowed Dad to get fairly close, but he has yet to touch him. I asked Dad if he had named it, and he said that he just calls him “Nunny”.

As we continued working in the yard, Nunny made a mad dash to the shed in our yard (probably because he was hungry and came to eat the rest of his food). From a distance, I was able to snap some good pictures. When I got up close, and attempted to hand him a chunk of apple, he darted underneath the shed. Little by little, I was able to coax him out just enough so his nose poked out. In fact, I got him to snatch a piece of apple from my outstretch fingers at one point. Nunny has been caught munching on Dad's spices, so we'll see if he lives up to his progenitor Peter Cottontail and gets caught snatching tomatoes and strawberries. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for animals, but I have an even softer spot for animals that keep Dad company. Nunny does that quite well!

Futsol Action!

Shortly after returning home from his mission, Catherine’s younger brother Shane decided to transfer up here to BYU-I from Utah State. It’s been such a delight having him around. I didn’t know him all that well before he left on his mission. While he was gone, Catherine and I started dating, got engaged and married. She’d occasionally say that something I did or said reminded her of Shane and that she was “excited for me to get to know him better when he got home”. Again, it’s been so nice having him around because I’ve discovered that we do have quite a bit in common and because of that, we’re pretty good friends (I’d say).

Since he’s been here in Rexburg, he’s gotten quite involved in the intramural sports program, particularly in soccer and futsol. Recently, he’s been playing in the intermediate futsol league and this past week they had their tournament. Futsol, so you know, is like miniature indoor soccer: the court, ball, goal, and teams are all smaller. Because the court is smaller, they score considerably more goals! We get a kick out of it (pun intended)! We’ve made an effort to make it to all his games this semester, not just to support him but also because he’s fun to watch; Shane is really a stand-out in soccer. As I said earlier, the tournament has been these past couple of weeks, and Shane’s team made it to the championship game that was played this past Wednesday. As a side note, the winner of the intramural leagues is awarded a T-shirt. For those of you who have been involved in athletics, you know that one of the best parts about invitationals, districts, or state is the shirts you get. T-shirts from BYU-I intramural leagues have become as coveted as the original G.I. Joe action figures; in fact, many consider themselves failures if they graduate from BYU-I before having been adorned with the robe of champions (the T-shirt)!

The championship game wasn’t all that one would have expected it to be. The opposing team was somewhat of a Cinderella story, making it through the semifinals by beating the better team. Fortunately for us, the clock struck midnight and the true colors of our opponents were revealed. Mustering little competition, the “Kamikazes” self-destructed in a 6-1 defeat, that one goal being a miracle! Shane, and his “Gold Toe” teammates vaulted themselves to BYU-I stardom by winning the championship and gaining possession of an intramural T-shirt.
For Catherine and I, it has been really enjoyable being involved as regular fans at Shane’s game. Thanks for bringing home the championship, Shane! Here’s to you: Shane El Conquistador. Vene, Vide, Vince - He came, he saw, he conquered!

Take a "fall" with me down memory lane!

Catherine and I are pleased to present to you (whether living or yet to be) our blog. We have been introduced to the gloriousness of blogs by my wonderful sisters and we are excited to join the ranks. Although it is just the two of us, there is never a dull moment; since we are a bit disconnected from the rest of the family, we thought this would be an excellent method of sharing our lives with you.
Winters seem to be eternal in the upper Snake River Plain! It’s troubling to think that I would rejoice at a forecast of 30, but that is what I’ve been reduced to. Another oddity is my new-found obsession with “overcast” days. Commence pointing the finger of blame at Ryan: overcast days are much better fishing than sunny days! I wake up with the excitement of a child on Christmas morning and trudge to the TV, hoping that the weekend forecast reads “30’s and overcast”. As many of you have noticed, Catherine posted a movie and pictures of one of our recent fishing trips on one said “30’s and overcast” day. The story to accompany the media is essential for understanding…
Catherine was luckily willing to accompany me on one of my first outings of the New Year (in hindsight, what a blessing that she came!) because none of my fishing friends could justify coming with me. As we ventured to Ashton, we passed a sign for “Fun Farm Bridge”. Earlier in the week, I read a fishing report that recommended fishing at Fun Farm Bridge. I always hesitate fishing in new places because returning home without having caught a fish is like walking away from American Idol without a golden ticket to Hollywood! However, fishing 15 minutes closer to home was appealing on a day that Catherine was willing to come with me. We turned off the highway and inspected the locale. To me it seemed shallow, lacking structure, and a waste of time. However, as we tromped down to the river, it became apparent that it was NOT shallow. I couldn’t see the bottom. Because of the arctic air of SE Idaho, there was a significant outcrop of shore ice (frozen over section of the river) that supported our weight. I “girt up my loins”, manned my arms, and proceeded to cast into the slowly creeping water. As I presented my flies a second time, my indicator dropped like the popularity of health care reform! I set firmly and amazed Catherine that I had hooked a fish in so little time. And thus began our disaster, my demise…
The fish was of considerable size and began to run downstream on me. As he tired, and I worked him slowly back my direction, he darted for the darkness created under the shore ice. Fearing that the ice would cut my line, I attempted to coax him out but I couldn’t step out any farther on the ice. I decided to work my way upstream to an area that appeared to have no shore ice, a spot where I’d be able to land the fish easily. However, as I walked upstream, the ice broke through. To my surprise, however, my feet quickly struck ground and I was only in four inches of water! Assuming the water in this area was shallower, I thought it would be possible to break a path in the shore ice so that I could drag the fish to me! As I chiseled away as the ice with my heel, my foot broke through. Much to my chagrin, it was not shallow under the shore ice and I fell into water up to my armpits. I would have been alright and able to land that fish had I not panicked. Cold water rushing over my waders, shivering my innards didn’t help much. As I gathered myself back onto the shore ice, resembling a wet rat I’m sure, I was amazed that the fish was still hooked! However, now my line was tangled around a portion of ice I had jarred lose! Inevitably, this time my line broke and I lost the fish.
The disaster doesn’t end here. I would have been alright losing the fish without having taken a picture first. However, the stars must have been aligned in such a way so as to induce a magnetic field that caused an even worse run of luck. Somehow the fish had managed to get stuck on top of the ice I jarred lose! We have no idea how it happened. So here’s this beautiful brown trout, with my flies in his mouth, stuck on an iceberg floating down the river to meet his Maker! I must admit, I occasionally keep the fish I catch because Catherine likes trout. I’m okay killing a fish, but I’m not okay sending one down the river to freeze on a chunk of ice! I acted fast, reaching for the iceberg with my rod. The recently broken ice was weak, and I fell in again! No matter! I had to get that fish back in the water. I managed to hook my reel onto the iceberg and pull it ever-so-slowly to me. Still out of reach of my hand, I had to poke the fish over and over until he realized “Hey, I think I can make it off this ice” and that he did. Off he swam like a flash, obviously in good enough condition based on his speedy departure. Frozen solid, very frustrated and quite humiliated, I hung my head and decided to head back home. In all, an hour was spent on the river: 20 seconds to hook the fish, 20 seconds to climb out of the river, and 59 minutes 20 seconds to save the darn thing's life.
In hindsight, what better fishing memory could we have wanted. Even if we’d caught a dozen 12” fish, a more memorable experience wouldn’t have been created. As we drove away, I told Catherine: “At the beginning, everything that could have possibly gone right did. Then, everything that could have possibly gone wrong did.” What a twist of fortune! What a morning! What a memory!