Football

This weekend Connor had his first tackle football game, he is on the Eagles team and they played the Dolphins. It was a good learning experience, the other team dominated the field, but our team learned about working together, playing defense and not giving up. Although we lost, Connor had a great time and can't wait to play again next week.

We also started cleaning out grandma Archie's house. It was hard and there was so much to go through, but there was lots of family there so we were able to reminisce and hear a lot of different memories we've all had with grandma. Each of the kids were able to pick something to remind them of grandma. Connor picked some rocks she got from her trip to Jerusalem, one was from where David slated Goliath and the other was from the Red Sea, and he got 2 Utah Jazz pendants. Kadee picked a hanky, a white board, and a brooch, Kinlee was out of control, lol. She picked grandmas came, a porcelain doll, a necklace, a hanky, a stuffed animal and would have taken more if I would have let her. The only thing Matthew took was an old wind up dog you that used to be Derk's. It's so hard to realize she's really gone, but her spirit was strong and I can't wait for the day when I see her again. 

First Day of School!

Summer went out with a bang!  Friday I took the kids to the Castle Day pool.  We met Nana and their cousins and had pizza and played for hours.  Saturday we went up north to the mall, Sam's Club, a quick visit with grandma and grandpa Curtis and ended with the Bee's game.  The younger kids loved riding the train and rolling down the grassy hills and Connor loved watching the game.  It was super hero night so we all got capes to wear for the game.  Sunday we listened to Lance speak in church, he did a really good job!  Then that afternoon we went to grandma Rhea's for dinner, lots of family was there and the kids had a blast playing with cousins.

Yesterday Connor started his first day of 5th grade (and last first day of elementary school) and Kadee started her first day of 4th grade.  Kinlee had Kindergarten testing and we will find out at the end of this week who her teacher is.  They both loved their first day, but Kadee is very nervous for math, she said her math teacher kept giving her the stink eye.  They are rotating to different teachers this year and they both signed up for Musical Theater and Musical Majors so they are going to be doing lots of singing this year on top of all their other extra activities.  Connor was super excited to do the announcements, because he is Student Council President he will get to do them a lot and was pumped to be the one to do them on the first day of school.  I'm super excited for this school year but also very sad, the days are long but the years are short, it all seems to be flying by.  I hope I am raising them well and I hope they stay close to me when they are adults.  Kinlee can't wait to start Kindergarten and asks me every day if she has school yet.  Wow, it's crazy that 2 days a week all the kids will be in school (Matthew only goes Tuesday's and Thursday's).  Wish my babies would stop growing so fast!

First day of school!

Not her first day but she had to have a picture

Student Council President doing the morning announcements

Glenwood Springs Fun!

We had an AMAZING weekend in Glenwood Springs, CO.  Derk and Debbie paid for us to stay in a huge cabin that had a pool table, water slide, tee pee, hot tub, pond, deer, and much more.  They also took all of us (Derek, Nicole, Kyle, Candee, Rory, and I and all the kids) to the Glenwood Amusement Park and the swimming complex.  We all had so much fun!  Friday we hung out at the cabin, the kids played on the water slide, and we all just relaxed.  Saturday we went to the amusement park, it was way fun, they had an Alpine Slide, Zip line, 4d Theater, Cave Tour, and a roller coaster, just to name a few things.  We spent the day riding all the rides, eating, touring caves, and visiting.  We rode the tram up, but by the time we were leaving there was lightning so we had to ride a bus down, on the bus we sang Happy Birthday to Kinlee as loud as we could, she loved it and couldn't stop smiling, that night we celebrated her birthday, she opened her presents and ate cake, then the adults played a game, Rate your Mate.  It was so funny, we all laughed so much and Rory and I ended up winning, yay!

The next day we headed to the hot springs, there are a couple of water slides, a diving board, a cooler pool and the hot pool.  We rode the water slides about a million times, swam, sat in the hot pool and Rory raced Derk and Derek in the lap swim part and won so they had to buy him an ice cream.  After swimming we headed back to the cabin and made teriyaki chicken while the kids played pool.  The weekend flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to head home. 

It was a great weekend and lots of amazing memories were made, I'm so glad we got to end the summer with a relaxing weekend away!

Inside one of the caves

Enjoying her birthday cake

All the cousins

Logan, Kin, Kadee, & Con

Kinlee wanted to take a selfie for her birthday!

Carriage rides and cake

Yesterday we celebrated Kinlee's 5th birthday.  We will be in Glenwood Springs for her actual birthday, so we decided it would be easiest to do her party a few days early.  She was ecstatic and woke up in the morning ready to go.  She had her cousins (who are also identical twins) Calista and Alyssa, her cousin Jocelyn, Kamberlee, and Lexie help her celebrate.  She really wanted her very best friend Kaydree there, but unfortunately Kaydree was home sick.  Once all her friends arrived we had a tea party with Koolaid, danimals, sandwiches shaped like stars, strawberries, strawberry salad, and chips.  The girls were all so cute and so polite.  After the tea party Kinlee opened her presents and then we headed to Sam and Sandra Brown's for the horse carriage ride.  The kids got to pet the horse then everyone got to hope on the carriage and go for a ride.  They had a blast, but Kinlee thought it was hilarious that the horse was gassy, she whispered in my ear that the horse had the toots the whole time!  After the horse ride Sam and Sandra presented all the girls with princess wands, crowns, ring pops, bracelets, and bubbles.  After the carriage ride we went back to the house and sang Happy Birthday and had delicious cake.  Kinlee was worn out by the end of the night but said it was the best birthday ever, she said she wants to do the same exact thing next year, silly girl.

Pioneer Days 2015

This year Rory and I were in charge of the parade for Wellington Pioneer days.  It was a lot of work but I think it was a huge success.  We had approx. 34 entries and tons of people showed up to watch the parade.  The local paper was there and got pictures of 3 of my 4 kids that were in the parade.  After the parade we had activities in the park and stayed busy for most the day.  It was so strange not having grandma Archie there, she was always with us at Wellington days in the park.  I bought some stuff from the DUP because I was missing her.  Connor, Kadee, and Kinlee entered a Water Wise picture contest through Wellington City.  Each of them drew a water saving picture and turned it in to city hall.  Connor and Kinlee both took 3rd place in their age groups and won a t-shirt and Coldstone gift certificate.  After all the festivities we went home and rested for a minute before we were off to Travis and Sandy's for fireworks.  It was so fun playing outside, visiting, and watching fireworks with friends.  I'm so grateful we can make these memories with the kids and hopefully we are making a positive influence on the community. 

Matthew riding his bike in the parade (taken by ETV10 News)

Kinlee in the parade (taken by ETV10)

Connor (taken by ETV10)

Connor and Matty playing at the park Friday night. 

Rory and I at the dutch over dinner in the park Friday night.

Clark Family Reunion

This past weekend was awesome!  Friday my mom and I went to Provo so Rory took the kids to see and ride the Monster Trucks at Basso's.  The older kids loved it, but it scared Matthew, he didn't like how bumpy it was.  Saturday my grandparents came to visit, whom I haven't seen in what feels like forever, and we had our annual Clark reunion.  It was a blast!  We had a huge water slide, bounce house, our annual auction, and a color fight.  That night we went to Uncle Smokes to watch fireworks and visit with some family that wasn't able to make it to the reunion that day.  It was a wonderful weekend of catching up and seeing everyone.  Sunday I made dinner for grandma and grandpa before they headed back to Salt Lake and had Derk and Debbie over as well, Derk left for Virginia so we wanted to see him before he left.  This week the kids have enjoyed their 2nd session of swim lessons (just Connor and Kadee, the little ones just swim on the side) and have been diving great!  They are about to pass Shark, which is the last level in swim lessons.  We also got a miniature rabbit (pictures to come)  Kadee named it Pixie and the kids love playing with it and cuddling it. 

Monster Trucks!

Happy Birthday Connor!!

We had a great time camping with Derk and Debbie and the Branch families over the 4th of July Weekend.  The weather was wonderful and the kids had a blast singing, playing games, fishing, playing in the creek, riding four wheelers and so much more.  On July 4th we had our annual parade in honor of Grandpa Denny's birthday.  We sang happy birthday to him and the kids marched in a parade.  Kadee, Marquessa, and Lexie sang "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy" and Jamie Branch played the Statue of Liberty.  Great memories were made!

This last week we celebrated Connor's 11th birthday.  On his actual birthday we had swim lessons and McDonald's for breakfast and a dinner of his choice: hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, corn on the cob, and Coldstone Ice Cream Cake.  On Saturday we had his friends over to play ping pong and watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 3D.  The boys were wild but had a lot of fun, I was exhausted by the end of the night!  Then on Sunday Matthew decided to ride his bike with no training wheels!  He told Connor, "Me do it Connor!" so Connor took his training wheels off, helped him once and he was good to go!