Cornbelly Day

To celebrate the season, we went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point with some friends.

The kids did slides, and went through an inflatable dragon as sort of a spook alley.

We also had tractor races (some more intense than others)

There were even some princess things for the little girls!

Overall, a super fun day with family and friends!

Arizona Easter Trip

This year we spent Easter in Mesa, Arizona! The kids had a whole week off of school for Spring Break. It was nice and warm and sunny and perfect! We spent lots of time outside: hiking, swimming, going on walks, going to the zoo, we even had our Easter egg hunt outside...in shorts!

We hiked to the Wind Caves in Usury Mountain with our friends the Ludlows.

The girls loved dressing in shorts and sunglasses. Sidney took the dressing up to a new level!

One of the days we went to the Phoenix, AZ zoo. It was gorgeous! The animals were active (that seems to be a problem at the Hogle Zoo here in Utah sometimes) so it was a treat to see them actually move!

At the house, Sidney did get stuck in front of the TV once or twice, but found an interesting way to watch it, always in her swimsuit, and sometimes with a leg up on the sofa!

It couldn't have been a trip to AZ without eating at In-N-Out! The kids were mostly interested in the bike rack and the hats!

Just being outside relaxing was fun and unusual for us! But swimming was definitely the most all-time favorite thing we did! We had put the kids in private swimming lessons early this year, so by the time we went on the trip, Jane could swim on her own without her lifejacket, though I still made her wear it when I wasn't in the water:(

There are a few parks in the area we stayed, so Jane was working on crossing the monkey bars everywhere we had the chance to try! Ashlyn, Tori and I kept trying to 'hop' from bar to bar without putting our feet down. Tori got it after a few tries, but no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't do it. I HATE reality when it means I can't do things I used to be able to!

This was Sidney's 1st Easter she could really participate in. And she had a blast! The idea of walking around the backyard finding brightly colored eggs that opened up to reveal candy was a welcomed surprise!!!

We didn't pack baskets, but it didn't dampen any of the fun for the kids! I usually hide their baskets in different places around the house. Hiding them outside was way more fun for me! Alex's was between the garbage cans! Sidney's was in a plant. Jane's was in between some rocks, and Ashlyn's was in the outdoor fireplace!

I am not totally sure, but the trip may have been more fun for me than the kids! I love love love the stages my kids are in, all potty-trained, somewhat responsible, and fun! Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us stay at the house and giving us the chance to make such great memories!

missing out

I absolutely HATE missing out on things: friend get-togethers, family dinners, even free lunch and CE credit for Dental Hygiene! This is surely at least one of the reasons I get teased in my family about my socialiality (is that a word meaning: a need for social gatherings?), and why my brother and sister are convinced I am Cortney Cox in Friends and in Cougar Town.

That said, I have lately been obsessing over the fact that Sidney will likely be my last child and I can't stand the thought that I am missing out on time I could be better savoring my kids' childhood. Now that may seem dramatic, but a church lesson on "Enjoying the Journey", really got me thinking that this is the only time my kids are going to be kids. I mean I know these years are formative, but when I am focused on folding a pile of laundry right out of the dryer so the wrinkles wont set in and make me add more clothes to my ironing pile, I truly don't enjoy the time I have to take to clean up lotion (literally) all over my Sidney's hair (which if I were a good mom, I would make a whole blog entry about Sidney's first mischief like I did for Jane).

Nor do I normally stop scrubbing the dried on Apple Jacks that Sidney spilled the night before (yes they had cold cereal for dinner while Ben and I went out to Ruby River with friends) to take a picture of Jane's crazy black eye before it fades.

I am determined to turn over a new leaf! I am going to blog about my kids, play with them more, and make our Family nights a bigger priority once again, because I cannot stand missing out on this part of their lives!

Some stupid things I am now going to blog about:

1. Jane's constant need for food. "Mom, I'm so so so hungry!" With a very serious look on her face, "All I have had today is breakfast, a snack, lunch (which she called dinner) and dessert!" It's hard as I was just sitting down to write this blog, not to laugh. She is so unknowingly cute with her yellowing bruised eye and raised eyebrows to show the severity of her hunger.

Also, her fetish with dressing up to go to bed. Crowns, fluffy hair bows, layered matching clothes along with, of course, pajamas!

2. Sidney's potty trips and constant singing. She now wants to go potty in every store and neighbors house, whenever anyone else needs to go, or just when she is bored! She is extremely funny about doing everything herself! If I forget this, she has to undo then redo everything herself, when she is in a bad mood, she cries and gets very red in the face and tattles on me to Ben or whomever will listen, "Dad, mommy did it!" or "Daddy, mommy said no!"

3. Alex's creative Harry Potter playing at recess. No sports for him right now, no no!

Ben asked him what he has been playing at recess, and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Harry Potter".

"Like reading the book at recess?" Ben asked alarmed.

"No, we play Harry Potter."

"How?" was all Ben could ask.

"We all get an un-sharpened pencil and run around the playground putting spells on each other."

"WHAT?!" Ben turns to me like I am going to explain more, but I suddenly remember when Alex was playing with Jane and Sidney, running around the family room yelling, "Stupify!" and then pushed Jane over when she didn't respond appropriately to the spell.

4. Finally, Ashlyn's funny stories of chasing boys at recess, and how upset she was when I said something to Ben about how she liked a boy in her class. I truly didn't think that was the bit of information she would be embarrassed about! I didn't say his name or use a teasing voice or anything, but when she stomped out of the room crying, I knew I was in BIG trouble!!!

(I will try and refrain from writing about our 12 year anniversary and how we spend most of the time in a very crowded Texas Roadhouse, finally giving up, we ate at Fuddruckers! 12 years! Really Fuddruckers!)

I am also going to write about the time Jane and I spend playing memory on the friend.lds.org website, and the time I spend with Sidney playing Polly Pockets and making up songs for everything we do: brushing her teeth, going to the bathroom, getting dressed, making her bed...everything! (Most songs have the words, "doodily doo" in them.) I will write about how fun Alex is with the girls, how well he plays made up games with his sisters and how he and Ashlyn are real-life best friends (which is a serious treat!) I will be writing about Ashlyn's want to do everything: student council, swim team, dance, piano, singing, gymnastics, sports.... And how I LOVE doing things with her. Last week we went shopping together with her cousin and an aunt. She and her cousin loved trying on clothes and just driving in the car with us! They said over and over, "This is so much fun! This is the best day ever!"

These are the important things in my life and I am committed more than ever to not miss out on anything they do!

Draper Temple open house

We were all up early one morning in the beginning of March, and were discussing what to have for breakfast. Ben suddenly suggested we keep the kids out of school for a couple of hours, so we could all go to the Draper temple open house.
I showered and got the kids ready, did my makeup in the car on the way (as usual when Ben is driving), and we were in car in less than an hour! I absolutely love that we can be spontaneous, it makes things so fun sometimes!
It had snowed early that morning, so it was chilly, but clear and beautiful and clean looking all around as we drove. We arrived in the church down the hill from the temple and watched a movie about the temple and a little about the history of Draper, then took a quick bus ride up to the temple. Jane was thrilled! She has "always wanted to ride a bus, and it's white too!" I guess yellow is not her favorite color. In my journal, I wrote about a woman who told us how cute our family is and she didn't think I was old enough to have these kids, wow! What a complement! I just thought I'd mention that shallow part too!
Going through the rooms of the temple, I tried to whisper little things to the kids, but I wonder if they'll remember any of what I said. I hope they will at least remember feeling the spirit and the want to come back. In fact, while we were waiting for the bus on the return trip, I asked the kids about their favorite part. Ashlyn said, "the baptismal font" Alex said, "yeah, and just all of it, I want to go again!" and Jane said, "the sparkles!" The chandelier in one of rooms made her so happy, she forgot to whisper when she said, "Oh, Mom! Look!"
When I was a kid, I vividly remember going to the Jordan River Temple open house and thinking, "Wow, this is where my parents go on dates!" Now I get to be the one who goes on dates there, who got married there, and who gets to feel closer to my Heavenly Father there! I know there has been some controversy over the temples and I love what our church has put out concerning them on lds.org. I pray my kids do get to go back many times in the future and they will remember the experience they had at this one!

Lake Powell 08

Lake Powell 2008! I get a little sad this time of year with shorter days and no upcoming vacations. I am finally ready to play catch up on my blog!
Almost the entire Clark clan got together (we missed you Cami and Joseph) in Antelope Point this year (in Page, AZ). It was the first time in more than 20 years we didn't go to Bullfrog, but we made the best of it!
We had a few themes this year:

1. bucket bathing:

Cara and I found it was the best way to let Sidney play in the water (which she loves), but not get splashed by the other kids! It quickly became the thing to do. Jane, of course, wanted in, and Zack found that it suited him just fine as well!

2. exercising:

Yep, that's Alex, one-arm push-uping and my sisters doing a triceps move he is trying to copy in the background!

3. showing off talents:

We had a talent show one night where Ashlyn showed off her hip shaking, Alex sang a song with (no kidding) 7 verses, Jane tried to do the splits with the help of Brittany and Cara, Sean showed off his now famous switch leap and the younger girls danced to "Fabulous"!

4. Arm-wrestling:

My sister, Brittany (20) went head to head against the best of the kids (first Connor, then Shailee, finally Rilee) and won (barely). Sean thought he'd show Christina that he has quite an arm too!

5. Wrestling:


Those who couldn't arm-wrestle, showed their skills on the mats! Ashlyn and her cousin Saydie got down and dirty! Alex and his cousin Spencer leg-wrestled.


We also spent time swimming (Alex can find a "sword" anywhere), boating (Sean's boat), playing games (the boys: Alex, Spencer, and Zack at the table playing with dice), just relaxing together (my brother Jeremy and his son Carson).
Lake Powell is one of our favorite destinations! Last year, I realized my kids were just getting to were they loved doing all the things I like to do! This year they were a whole lot of fun! Both of them waterskiied, (Ashlyn is the only one pictured, since I had to feed Sidney when it was Alex's turn), cliff-jumped, tubed, knee-boarded, and went on the wave runners. We went down the slides, made up games in the water, and jumped off the houseboat. Yay! I love my family!

How else can we get everyone together in one place? For almost all of the cousins to be together and really love each other is quite a treat! I will also admit, I really enjoy being with my own siblings and their spouses, we just don't get to see enough of Jer and Meg's family.

These kids are always going to have great memories of LP! Thank you Mom and Dad!!!

Side note: I see pictures of my friends on their blogs, and I think, "It's so great to see them!" or, "Look how great her hair looks!" These are the only two pictures I made it in! Sweet!
The end!!!