Christmas

Santa had many fun things in store for the Clark kids this year. We spent the Holidays here in Hurricane and Grandma and Grandpa Mills came down to spend it with us. On Christmas Eve Brianna woke up with a very nauseated stomach that lasted throughout the night. She finally settled down at 4am. Santa did definitely deliver this year and all the kids were pleased. Even though we were feeling a little blue from the flu. The virus seemed to trickle through everyone in the family. So we spent the whole break housebound!! It just forced us to rest and take it easy which was not such a bad thing. However all the loads of laundry seemed to be a drag for the Holidays. Through it all we were able to really talk to the kids about the true meaning of Christmas and reflect on all the things we are so blessed with as a family. This year has been eventful and another year of growth. We have learned much and laughed often. And we thank the Lord for our every blessing as we know that it is His hands that have made it all possible.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we spent the week at a condo timeshare in Snowbird Resort. The pool was outside and very warm so the kids got to swim in the snow. They loved it and thought it was so "cool". We spent time with both families and made some really great memories. This is also a really great time to reflect and ponder on all the things we should be grateful for. I know that Brian and I truly feel blessed and know that we couldn't be more blessed with health, love and happiness.

Mason turns 1

Our baby turned one this year. We were up in Salt Lake for our "turkeys" birthday so we celebrated with family. It was so fun to see him dive into his cake. I have never had a baby enjoy his cake so much!!! We are so lucky to have such a cute squirt in our home and enjoy his sweet spirit. Aunt Kathy was also celcbrating her birthday on the same day. Mason we are glad that you are our Baby!! Happy Birthday little man!

Brianna has a Birthday

Brianna and Mason's birthdays are only 3 days apart. We were in Salt Lake and celebrated with family. Brianna got a lot of great gifts and love. We are so grateful for her indivualism in our home. She truly is herself all the time. And she is constantly reminding me to count and take a deep breath. Despite all of the counting she is a really sweet little girl with lots of sensitive feelers. Brianna we love you just the way you are and are glad that you are part of our family. Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Joshua's Baptism

Joshua got baptized and so we went to Idaho Falls to support him in his great decision. We are so proud of you Joshua. We are so lucky to have such great family that sets such a good example for us. We spent time swimming at the hotel, eating at fun restaurants, and spending priceless time together as a family, such fun memories. It also was my 3oth birthday that same week and Linds was nice enough to make me my own personal cake.

Goblins and Ghouls

A monkey, cheeleader, fairy, ninja and keebler elf taboot!!!

Our new family hobby...

Geocashing has become our new hobby as a family. We love to spend time together and this involves everyones efforts to find the treasure.

Fun with the Howards

We spent some really great vacation time with our family. Howards traveled a long ways to spend time and it was well worth it...well at least we think so. We are so grateful for all the memories.

Ear Pain?

Hunter had complained of ear pain for almost two weeks now. We had started and continued treatment for swimmers ear. We had been doing so many water activities that for sure that was the problem. It would wake him up at night and he would cry and squirm for hours at a time. He would end up sleeping next to me every night. During the day the pain was off and on and never consistent. It was so hard to know what to do. We took him into the doc on Sunday night for a second look to see if the treatment for swimmers ear was not right and if we needed to do something else. The doc looked in his ear and told us there was a lot of wax, I questioned to see if we should get the wax out so that the drops would be more effective. He told me that we just needed to use more drops and the wax would work its way out. So we continued on this viscous cycle of waking in the night, random tears and so forth. This was not right to me and I so I called our regular doc on Tuesday and insisted that the nurse make time for us to see him. We went in and he said the same thing at first "there is a lot of wax in his ear" However he wanted to remove the wax unlike the other doc. He went to remove the wax and he scraped at something much harder than wax. He took his light and it reflected back at us. There was something much more than wax in Hunter's ear. With mom holding his hands and head and dad holding his body we cleaned his ear the best we could and then attempted to look again, there was definitely an object in his ear. We held him down again and the doc pulled a watch battery out of his ear. The battery had been put in his ear at some point and continuously caused pain and pressure. His ear was inflamed and irritated. This could have been really damaging to his ear. We were treating it with steroids and drops that were eating and rusting the battery in his ear and causing acid to sit in his ear. We are so lucky and grateful that he had no permanent damage and NO more pain. Hunter has yet to admit that he put something in his ear so the mystery remains how it got there. My hope is that he will listen better now that he is all "charged" up!

Fourth of July

For the fourth we went to Idaho Falls. That is where the Smarts live. The fireworks are claimed to be amazing, set to go off with music and all, we hear it is quite a show. We really enjoyed spending sometime with family and enjoyed a little R&R too. We spent a day with Grandma and Grandpa Olsen too. We went to the river, had a little picnic and fed the ducks. We played in the water and slip'n slide. And we went to the Chukars, baseball game. The parades, food and company made for a great trip! Thanks for hosting us Ben and Linds!