Spencer is a Bike-Rider!

Spencer has had a 2-wheeler bike for a couple years now...but just hasn't been tall enough to ride it without training wheels! But recently he had a growth spurt and the spring sunshine came out and we decided it was time for him to learn to ride a 2-wheeler! I worked with him and he would get scared and I would get mad and it would turn ugly...that was for about a week...but finally after several tries, he told me I could let go and off he went! Hooray!!! Jake has been showing him the all-important steps of how to stop, get on and off by himself and how to hop on and and get going! Of course, as soon as he learned he LOVES it and told me, "I really am a 5 year old!". Also, the day he learned to ride all by himself he was wearing his "Stong Like Daddy" shirt and the next day he put it back on...when I said we should put on a different clean shirt he cried and said he couldn't ride his bike without his "Stong Like Daddy" shirt...so, let's just say he wore a dirty shirt, but was a happy kid!


I don't know why, but it makes me feel like a good parent that all 4 of my kids can ride a bike! That somehow feels like a big accomplishment and it just makes my heart happy to see them out riding bikes on a warm sunny day!


What do you think...does he look excited about his newest accomplishment?

Girls Night Out!

Well, Karlee has been reading the "Anne of Green Gables" books this year and after she read the books, she watched the movie (an old VHS that I have!!) and loved them both. So, when I saw that a production of "Anne of Green Gables" was coming to Provo I knew I had to take her...and then I thought it would be fun if I just took all the girls and made it a Girls Night Out...so we did!

We got all dressed up (and talked about how being dressed up shows respect to the people in the production)...of course, we were pretty much the only people dressed up there...oh well! We went out to dinner at Wingers and then headed to the Covey Center for the production.


*I am wearing glasses because I am getting LASIK surgery next week and you can't wear your contacts for 2 weeks before the surgery!

I didn't realize how small this show would be...literally the room the performance was in was the size of my family room!! There were 7 people in the production (several of them playing more than one role) and the stage was pretty much the only prop they used. But somehow it was just fantastic (I found myself teary-eyed and laughing through the whole thing) and my girls kept leaning over and saying "This is the BEST movie EVER!"...which I found funny since it wasn't a movie! It was also a pretty short production (about an hour and a half)which worked out great for us. The girls loved meeting "Anne" and "Diana" after the show ended and simply raved about the whole thing for the next 2 days!


*This is the girls sitting on the stage during intermission...just being silly girls!

It was such a fun night and I LOVED hanging out with my girls...they are the best! By the way...the boys had a fun night too! Dinner at McDonald's and then they headed over to Jake's soccer game...Spencer loved watching daddy and got to run around on the field during half time!

Nationals!

This weekend was Karlee's cheerleading Nationals! It's always a big deal...a whole year's worth of work really comes down to this one big performance! I get SO nervous for her...she's cool as a cucumber and did her routine with perfection! We were so excited because Aunt Sarah and Sadie came to cheer her on too, which made it extra special! Grandma GiGi was going to come, but had an emergency and couldn't make it...hopefully next time! Anyways, they took 3rd place and considering the great competition and that this is their first year competing at this level...we were super excited (oh and they beat their cross-town rivals!!). I love going with Karlee to her competitions, they are fun Mommy-daughter days and I am always a little bummed when the season ends...but Karlee had a blast this year and I think she wants to do it again next year! Can't wait to see what she does next!

P.S. Karlee was awarded the team "MVP" this year! We think that's pretty awesome and are so proud of her!

Artists in the House!

Spencer and Audree have been quite the little artists lately! It's surprising because Spencer used to hate to color...but now his drawings bring a smile to my face everyday! He just draws unexpected things...the girls always draw beautiful girls in a dress surrounded by flowers and a tree (which is fantastic, but predictable). Spencer draws all sorts of different things and surprises us with his creativity! He has also been working on writing his name and does a great job!

This one is a drawing of Daddy!


This is a drawing of a kitty standing in the grass.



This one is a tree...with roots and all!!



Audree brought home this note from her art teacher and this fabulous drawing of the sun today. She is very creative and LOVES to draw and color. She tells me all of the time that she wants to paint murals for a job one day!

February Fun!

We ended February with lots of good stuff going on...Karlee's science fair project was selected to go to the district fair. So, we spent an afternoon hanging out with her and she did a great job. She was a little disappointed that her project wasn't chosen to move on to the next level, but we were just proud she made it that far! During that week Jake was in Hawaii for work (fun, but still just work) and we missed him a lot...we were glad when he made it back home safely!

Then it was Dr. Seuss's birthday and the girls got to wear hats to school!! They chose these beauties...I loved Audree's construction hat, she liked looking like a "builder". Rylee thought she was "kiss'in Kate" from Holes...she even talked in a southern accent that day to make it more realistic! So funny!

Spencer had his Patriotic Program at pre-school and did a great job! He seemed a little nervous and admitted later that there were a lot of people there and it was a little scary...but he made us proud! He was really excited that Daddy could come and watch...especially because he REALLY missed his daddy while he was in Hawaii and was so excited when he came home (he just kept hugging him the day he returned!).

Karlee has been working on a stunt-group only competition routine this year and their big day finally arrived. It was really fun to go and see them...this time the whole Clark Crew came along! Karlee ended up taking first place and we all had a great day...now preparations for Nationals are fully under-way...and in just 2 weeks!

One night we actually had time to just hang out at home (a bit of a rarity!) and the kids wanted to make fondue! They were such great helpers...ha ha! I love these guys! I must be the luckiest mom in the world!

Annual Cabin Trip!

This is the 5th February that we headed up to the Ward's cabin for some fun with the Nemrows! Unfortunately, it was only us and Travis's family again...but, we certainly made the best of it. We weren't sure there would be enough snow to have some fun...this has been an incredibly dry winter...but our worries were quickly put to rest. In fact, we could barely get the truck up the driveway...it took 2 days! Anyways, we had a blast! It was the usual snowfest with tubing, snowmobiling, making tracks for sledding and then hitting the hot tub in the evening. This year we had a special treat when Jake and Travis rode their snowmobiles in their speedos...they neighbor women were BIG fans!! We played games...Yahtzee, Scrabble, Pass the Pigs, the "rhyming game" in the hot tub and some Ipad games...whether indoors or out, we were enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. It was the perfect escape and we were so glad that Travis and Katie's family could join us...let's do it again next year!