It's About Time!

Well, as you can see, Karlee lost her front tooth last night! That tooth has been loose since last April! I am not joking, I have had to feel how loose it is (at Karlee's request) every day for 9 months! I'm as relieved as she is that it finally came out! Jake and Kars had been trying to pull it out for days...but finally Jake just took her to Grandpa Clark's house...he is the tooth-pulling master! One little tug and it was out! Doesn't my little girl look all grown-up??? Thanks Grandpa!!

Close Call...

Here are the results of Audree's attempt at "decorating" the other day. All the girls like to pretend to "decorate" all the time by draping ribbons around the house on doorknobs, drawers, windowsills...etc. So, as I was getting dressed the other day I suddenly heard a loud bang. Audree started crying and so I ran into Spencer's room and saw this, as well as, black up the wall. I asked Audree what she was thinking and what had happend. She replied, "I was just decorating!" I noticed my silver necklace (half burned) laying on the floor next to the nightlight plugged into the wall. It became clear what had happend...she tried to drape the necklace around the nightlight that was plugged in and set off a nice spark. Anyways, luckily Jake has done a fabulous job on our electrical and besides having to replace the plug and cover...no harm done...Audree was fine too, no burns or anything.

P.S. I haven't had a chance to mention that we finally (after months of late nights and hard work) finished our basement!! It is so nice down there and we are so excited to have a nice place to send the kids to play! Hooray!

Queen of the Dance!

Audree had her Christmas dance recital last night. She did such a great job...no fear, big smiles, and she knew the dances so well! I cheered her on with tears in my eyes...I don't know why I get so choked up when I watch my kids do stuff like that...but I was so proud of her and I knew how much she was loving it! She was so excited that Dad, Aunt Brookie,her big sisters and little Bubba were there for her! Most of all...she LOVED wearing the ballerina outfit and make-up! She is such a little prima donna! Work it, Audree!

Our's Is the Real One!!

Last night we took the kids to visit Santa at the mall. Rylee was wondering how there can be Santa's at all the malls when there is only one Santa. We talked about how he has helpers...but you never know where the "real" one is! Well, after we talked to "our" Santa...we were throughly convinced that "ours" was the "real" one!! After all, we concluded...he wore bells and his beard was very real! Most importantly we gave him our lists, which Mom made us limit to 4 things, and we made sure to tell him how good we have been (most of the time). By the way...Spencer doesn't seem quite so convinced about the authenticity of our Santa in the picture...but I think he'll come around!

My baby is 2!!!

Well, his "real" birthday is the 18th...but we celebrated a couple days early this year! He really is getting bigger and talking like crazy! His favorite things to say right now are "Christmas Tree", "Hi, Santa", "binky" and "love you". He is just the studliest kid!!

We had planned to just get him a small truck for his birthday since it's so close to Christmas and he is still so young. We took him with us to Wal-Mart when we went to get the truck...with a small (fist-sized) truck in the cart, we suddenly noticed him playing with something a bit bigger...and he was LOVING it!! We just couldn't disappoint him...so the fist-sized truck wen back on the shelf and THIS came home with us...

He is a very happy little 2-year old and hasn't stopped pushing this thing around the house yet! I didn't think you could spoil a boy the way you can a girl...I was wrong...very wrong! Those adorable eyes and big smile get me everytime!

It was a very fun evening...we had quite a crowd of Clark's over for soup and rolls...thanks to Holly and Judy for helping with veggies and cake!! After all the birthday festivities we headed to the Spanish Fork drive-thru lights. Those of us who dared hoped in the back of Jim's truck. There were 7 kids, Jake and I, Candice and her friend, Doug. We piled in under a load of blankets and snuggled as close as possible. It was 17 degrees outside...but you would be surprised how warm it stayed under the blankets!! Our faces were frozen with smiles when we finished driving thru it the 2nd time! That excursion will have to be an annual tradition! Happy Birthday, Bub-a Bub!!

We Never Really Change...

Just when I think Rylee might start to grow out of her LOVE for dressing up...she proves me wrong. This is how I found her after lunch the other day. I guess we never really change...I am thinking that watching her dress herself as a teenager could be entertaining and frightening! She really is so creative and thinks pieces of scrap paper, left over strings and random items she finds on the ground are "treasures"...she will put them together to make the most interesting things...which means I am always running out of glue, tape and paper!!! Audree is also into dressing up...but only in dresses, nothing quite a crazy as Rylee. What fun it is to live with Rylee!!!

California Turkey Day!

Alright...so I have been SO bad at keeping up the blog the last couple weeks! Then we went on a trip to California for Thanksgiving and I didn't take a single picture of all the fun things we did...I needed a photo break!! Sometimes I feel like I have to be the photographer on our vacations instead of the Mom...so this trip I just left the camera in the bag!

Luckily, Shanna brought the camera for our trip to Magic Mountain! I tried to surprise Jake with a day at his absolute favorite place ( I am NOT a good secret keeper!)...so we went without the kids and had a BLAST! My mom and dad and Katie (Travis's wife) watched the kids while Blair, Shanna, Brooke, Travis, Jake and I went on a big date! It was really fun to be together and everyone besides me loved the roller coasters too...I took some Dramimine that wasn't very effective...so I was on the verge of throwing up most of the day!!

We also took the kids bowling with Aunt Brooke one day! They love to bowl...and we practice our patience as their balls move approx. 2 mph down the lane!! I won the big bowl-a-thon and have taken many an opportunity to remind Jake of this ever since!!

Turkey day was a great one! My orange rolls (an absolute MUST for every Thanksgiving) turned out pretty well this year and the food was perfect! Thanksgiving really is one of my favorite holidays!!! Perhaps it is my obsession with food...but I like to think it's just getting together with the family!

We made a quick trip to the beach where Jake taught the kids to louer the seagulls with bread and then try to hit them with foam balls...they never got close, but we got some disturbed looks from a couple watching them!!

I also went to Katie's baby shower...her and Travis are having a baby girl in January!! We can't wait to meet Bristol Ann Nemrow!! While we were gone, Jake's sister, Sarah had her baby too!! Welcome to the world Sadie Groneman...we can hardly wait to meet you!!!

It was a quick and crazy busy trip...but going to California for Thanksgiving is one of my favorite things...now we are back and I am trying to get started on Christmas preparations!

The First Snow!

Today is the first day we woke up to snow in the yard! The girls were so excited to get their snow clothes on and make snow angels! I think what they really wanted was the hot cocoa they got when they came back in!

Trick or Treat!

Karlee wanted to be a cheerleader...and not just for Halloween, if you know what I mean. In fact, the day before Halloween she did her first round-off/backhandspring without any spotter. I am totally impressed!! I had a great time going to her school to watch her Halloween Parade. She is such a sweetheart and she loved Halloween this year!

Rylee went trick or treating as a witch! This was the second year in a row that she insisted on being a witch. She looked great and Jake and I loved going to watch her kindergarten Halloween program...they sang some very spooky songs! By the end of the night we were sure she would have diabetes from the incredible amount of sugar she ate...she is a bottomless pit!

Audree loved being a princess this year! She made us put her church shoes on instead of her tennis shoes...afterall, that's what a princess would do! She was sick in the morning (somehow that always happens on the holidays)...but a little nap went a long way and she made it out for the big night!

Spencer was excited to wear his hat and boots...but even more excited when he discovered what happend when you said, "Treat & Treat". Jake couldn't even unwrap the candy before it was in Spencer's mouth! He was a big fan of the whole evening.

After trick or treating we went to Me and Jake's cousin, Skot & Anjerie's for a Halloween Spooktacular. They really went all out and the kids had a blast playing games and hanging out with kids and family. It was a great Halloween and stuffed full with great costumes, treats and fun!

Little Kicker!

Today was a big day for Rylee! She had her first karate test to advance up a belt. She was totally nervous because she was told that the testing guy would "attack" her and she would have to use the self-defense skills they had learned. She was scared, but wanted to tough-it-out! She did so great and remembered everything she had learned...in fact, if you ask her to count to 10 in Korean...she can do it!! I am so proud of her for sticking it out and really getting into this...she is one tough cookie! Oh, and yes, she advanced to her white belt with an orange stripe! Work it, Rys!

High School Musical 3

The girls got really lucky and had no school on Friday...which just happend to be the opening day for High School Musical 3!! We couldn't resist...my friend, Amber, and I just had to take the kids to see it together! They have been so excited and counting down the days to see it! Karlee got sick the day before and was terrified she would have to miss the movie...but she felt well enough and we went!

It was a really fun movie if you like music and dancing...the kids had a blast and ate all the snacks before the movie even began...no big surprise there! What was really funny is that it turned out to be like a ward activity there. We knew almost everyone in the theater...even the whole Bishopric was there with their daughters and 2 of our favorite babysitters!

Then I had a big surprise for the girls when I returned from my "witchy weekend"...we stopped at East High in Salt Lake and took pictures! Brooke thought it was the best part of the weekend (she's a big Zac Efrom fan!). So here I am ... a big East High Wildcats fan!!

Witchy Weekend!

This weekend was a Girl's Weekend Out for me, my sister Brooke and my Mom! We had been planning this little getaway for several months! There were actually 9 of us...aunts, cousins and ourselves. We went to Gardner Village for "Witchapalooza!" and definately dressed for the occassion. Jake said my costume was more "pirate" than "witch"...but I think it turned out alright!

We did lots of shopping, stayed at a really nice hotel, had dinner and a show, and that was just the first night! There is a LONG story of my slightly crazy Aunt Laura and her daughter Kortney who somehow ended up dressed as a man (with glued on hair from her hair brush!!??) and a white trash woman (red heels and a cheetah print robe). Long story short...they roamed the halls of the hotel yelling out random things and causing trouble. The next morning we discovered that the 3 men in the hall all night (that we thought wanted to party with us) were body guards to none other than...Hillary Clinton! Yep, she stayed 1 door down from us and will probably regret it for the rest of her life!! ha ha!

The next morning was more shopping in Park City, sushi for lunch, dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant. We had such a blast! Thanks to Mom for providing all the fabulous accomodations and to everyone for lots of laughs (I am talking pee-your-pants/tears streaming down the face- type of laughs)! Sometimes it's good to remember that even though you are an old lady with 4 kids...you can pretend to be young again!!

Home from the Hunt!

This weekend was the big deer hunt for the Clark Boys! Spencer can hardly wait until he can go up and have some "man time" with the big boys! This year the weather was very cooperative and the guys had a great time!
The ladies and the kids decided to go and pick the guys up at their trailhead on Sunday afternoon. The kids really just wanted to ride on the horses! They really enjoyed feeding the horses grass and apples...which warmed them up to idea of climbing aboard!

Yee haw!! They all loved the horses and made their daddy so proud! Spencer is definately a cowboy at heart! It must be something about growing up in Utah! He's such a "man's man".

Even Rylee...who is usually terrified of such things...loved being on the horse! Uncle Sam was a trooper and made sure everyone had a safe ride! We are glad that all the men made it home from one more hunting trip...they all missed Sean and will be so excited when he comes back!

Pumpkin Day!!

Today was all about the pumpkins! We went with Audree's preschool group to "PumpkinLand" in Orem. We went through a corn maze, played on some toys, saw farm animals (Audree's favortite was the "doo-doo-doo-doo-doo" aka rooster!) and walked through a spooky halloween lights barn. It was a great way to enjoy the fall weather!

Oh, and yes...as a photographer it completely drives me crazy that my kids will NOT look at the camera for pictures!! I mean really...what are they looking at??

Audree loved this ghost because she is a big fan of Casper the Friendly Ghost! We looked for him in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and who knew we would find him at PumpkinLand??

Then this evening we took the kids to the local pumpkin patch to pick out their pumpkins for Halloween decorating. Our kids do NOT like to get all gross and dirty cleaning out pumpkins...so they just wanted some to paint. I don't understand...Jake and I still like to cut ours open and cut a jack-o-lantern...but the kids just watch and think it's disgusting. Oh well...at least they don't mind getting a little dirty while we pick them out at the patch.


Notice Audree...she is totally famous for this looking into the wild blue yonder face in pictures! What is a mother to do??

Hee Haw Farms!!

For Family Home Evening we went to Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove with Jake's family. The kids had such a blast!! Even Spencer just LOVED running around...he especially loved this red tractor he found and was the smallest kid riding by himself on the farm animal train!!
The girls loved the farm slides (built on hay) and the haunted farm house. Audree loved the hay maze too! We went on a hay ride where people in costumes threw candy at us...that was a whole family favorite!! Mostly they just loved being with their cousins! It was really fun because Sarah and Kade came with us...we are so glad they could come to visit from Arizona!

I have been SOOO busy with photography lately (I recently did an advertisment and it was VERY successful...which has been great, but I am just trying to squeeze a whole lot into the regular old 24 hours!). I really appreciate any time that I have to just hang out with the family! This night at the farm was really great and gave us a chance to be together without homework, cooking, cleaning or any of the other things we are always doing! HOORAY FOR FAMILY!

His Daddy's Boy!!

I don't know why I found this so funny...maybe because this is a total Jake!! This afternoon Spencer has been begging me to open the fridge for him. I kept saying "no" because I made some caramel apples and I just knew that's what he wanted in there. I was making him wait until Karlee came home to break them out. After awhile I gave in...the screaming, flailing and tears were draining me. I opened the fridge and to my surprise he said, "hot dog" and pointed at a package of hot dogs!

Sure enough, the tears stopped and he has been happy ever since! Jake is the only other person I know who thinks a hot dog is a good afternoon snack instead of a meal. This little boy is so hilarious to me...although the new onset of tantrums doesn't stay cute for very long. I can't believe that he is going to be 2 in December!!

She's Seven!!

Well, my little Karlee isn't so little anymore! She turned 7 years old this week! She has always seemed a little mature for her age...but now her age seems to be catching up! I have never done a "friends" party before...mostly because I didn't want to and nobody ever begged for one...but Karlee really wanted one this year, so I gave in. She wanted to have a dance party and I allowed her to invite 6 friends.
They had Friday off of school, so we decided to do a lunch picnic and dance party. We had pizza and then the girls learned a Hannah Montana dance (we used a video that came with a dance mat...in case any of you thought I might have enough of the old skills to teach them my moves...uh, no!) and then they made bracelets. The presents were a big hit (Karlee got an alarm clock/radio from Mom and Dad...she is so easy to please and was totally excited about it!!) and the cupcakes turned out quite yummy!

I have to say that this was one of the most well-behaved party groups ever assembled. Karlee has never been one who enjoys noise...so this quiet bunch was just what she would have wanted...I just had to laugh because I expected a bunch of giggly girls and in the end I was begging them to get crazy!!

These parties are always completely stressful to me, so they will only be coming around everyOTHER year...but last night Karlee gave me a huge tight hug and said, "Mom, this was the BEST birthday EVER!" and that made it all worthwhile!

Is this appropriate??

Having Rylee in kindergarten has been great for so many reasons! She is really happy there and she is learning a lot! One reason it is great for me is that when she gets home...her and Audree really enjoy playing together! Everyday they have some new crazy scheme or game. Yesterday they were making houses out of books and cardboard boxes. Usually, I see what they have come up with and just laugh...but today, it was picture worthy!

I am not even sure if this is an appropriate picture for a "family" blog...but they have been like this for about 1/2 an hour and they are thoroughly enjoying this game! Don't ask what the game is exactly...because I don't even know...but they have been laughing and bouncing around and have no plans to put clothes on!! I think this all started when I told Audree to get out of her dance clothes...I was hoping she would actually put something else on!! I guess I need to be more specific!


Anyways, sorry this blog has been quiet for awhile...this week has been busy! First of all, I had a terrible cold...thought it was a sinus infection...but nope, just misery! Jake was out of town most of last week...so I didn't have any help. Also, my little sister, Brooke, has moved up to Provo!! I am so excited to have her close by and I think she is just going to love it here! So, I have been helping her get moved into an apartment and find a job! Anybody who knows of a good full-time job for a H.S. graduate...give me a call!! Also, those of you who are hair stylists...let's try to get her into beauty school...any ideas? Well, I hope you enjoy my children's completely unsupervised play time...this job is never boring!

Jake's Worst Day!

Alright, I haven't had anything "blogworthy" happen in awhile...that is, until Jake woke up yesterday!! It all started on Sunday actually. Jake was supposed to fly to Virginia for some business meetings. He was a little concerned because he had a lay-over in Houston..and we knew that Hurricane Ike had caused some problems. He drove up to SLC thinking that he could find some way to switch flights or something and get to Virginia...but no luck! He drove back home with a flight to Virginia the next morning. I can't say I was sad...one less night by myself!!

So, Monday morning Jake left early (7:00 a.m.) for his 9:45 flight...he didn't want anything else to go wrong! He got on the flight and flew for over 5 hours to Washington D.C. (this flight was long and rather uncomfortable since he was sitting inbetween two strangers). As he was getting off the flight they told him he would have to run to make his connecting flight! So, he booked it and ran (the distance of a 5K from his description) to the connecting flight! As he ran up to the gate, sweaty and out of breath, they informed him that they thought he wasn't coming...so they gave his seat to someone else...he was out of luck! After some intense discussion it was clear that they were NOT going to let him on the plane...he was told he could get on the next plane in 7 hours!!

So, he wandered about, ate some "disgusting pizza", charged up his computer and sat around the airport for 7 hours. He finally boarded the plane and was quite surprised when they announced it was a 15-20 minute flight! He had no idea that the whole time he sat at the airport he was a 1 hour drive from his final destination!! He finally arrived at the Richmond, Virginia Airport at 12:30 a.m. local time. Then he went to get his rental car...

When he got to the desk they told him that he had arranged a car pickup for Sunday, not Monday, so he had no reservation! He got lucky on this one and they had an extra car he could have. He got the car and started on his way hoping that his memory would serve him on how to get to the hotel (he was there back in March). Well, it was really dark and he was pretty tired...so his memory was not what he had hoped. He made an illegal u-turn as he was trying to find his way around town and you guessed it...

Police lights started glaring in his back window. It is now 1:30 a.m. local time...he has been traveling 16 1/2 hours. He explains to the police officer that he is lost and the officer lets him off with a warning and helps him find the hotel. I thought for sure there would be no rooms available once he got there...but by some miracle he had a room. So, at 2:00 a.m. local time he got into his hotel room...I hope he fell asleep fast, because he had meetings at 7:30 a.m.!! Yikes!

Anyways, I had to write this down in case he ever tries to tell me what a bad day he had. Now I can always say "Well, it isn't as bad as Sept. 15, 2008!" I love you Jake...I hope your trip home is a lot better than your trip out!

Dancing Queen!

Audree is so dramatic! I don't know if she gets it from watching her big sisters... but I have to think it's something that is uniquely her! That is why this dance class is so great for her! A portion ( her favorite portion) of class is "creative dance"...they dance around like butterflys, with hoola hoops, and pretty much act like she does all the time!
She is going to the same dance studio Karlee and Rylee went to...they have all LOVED Miss Tresa! In fact, Karlee and Rylee still give her huge hugs everytime they see her...so Audree has become another big Miss Tresa fan!!
Here is Spencer being a trooper...he doesn't seem to mind going to dance, karate and gymnastics. This is good news for me...we just can't wait until his big sisters become cheerleaders for his own big games!

Watch Out!!

Rylee is my girliest girl! She loves to dress up, do make-overs, and have her nails painted...so it was a big surprise when she recently became determined to take karate classes. I couldn't argue with her, she was inspired by my cousin's wife (a black belt) and really wanted to try it! The more I thought about it, the more I thought it might be the perfect fit for her personality. So I signed her up!

Today was her first class and she was so pumped to go! Everything from the uniform, to the studio, to the woman coach was perfect! She seemed to enjoy every second and when we left she said, "Mom, can I go again tomorrow?" Then on the way home she said, "I want to get my black belt!" I don't know if she will continue to enjoy it this much...but she seemed hooked to me!

Even though it's a challenge to have all 3 girls involved in different things (Rylee=karate, Karlee=gymnastics, and Audree=dance) I am glad that they are not competing with one another...this way they can always be eachother's biggest supporters and cheerleaders! It also makes it fun to allow each of them their own time to shine...plus it's fun to watch them each grow in something different. Being a Mom really is becoming more and more fun! I am just so proud to be a part of their lives!

Labor Day!

Well, our original Labor Day plans of taking a hike to the Timpanogos Caves were destroyed by a crazy storm! We had to be flexible, but we wanted to spend time together as a family...and with my Dad and Brooke, who are in town visiting. So, we headed out to our favorite hamburger joint, JCW's (their hot ham & cheese sandwich is to die for!!!) and then to Cabela's (a sporting goods store/museum of sorts).
The kids loved the animal exhibits...especially the fish aquarium!
Spencer and Dad even found these great matching hats! So, even a crazy summer storm won't stop us from being together and having some fun! Thanks for coming with us Dad and Brooke! It's always fun to have you out to visit...we just hope Mom can make it next time!