New job!

We have been to 2 UW Cowboy football games. Both ending in losses, but we had fun anyway.

Clark carved this. If you don't know who it is, I'll give you a hint . . . "The Office"

Here we are at a Halloween party.

Well hello! I have been debating for a while now whether to keep up my blog and I decided I will, even though I can't promise I will post very often. I am posting today because Clark got a job!!!! I am so proud of him. He will be working as a Process Engineer at FMC. He had to interview with 6 different managers, but minutes after his last interview, the HR lady came into the room and offered him the job on the spot. We feel ready for this new phase of life. He starts the first week in January so we will be moving sometime next month!

Catch Up Time

I am bad at this blogging stuff. I forgot to add the pictures until the end. Look below for the details.

Steph, Clark's sister, had her baby. Allie Elizabeth. 8 lb 21 inches and straight from heaven.

This is Clark and I on the sailboat.

Here we are at Joe's Crab Shack. Clark has a crawfish hanging out of his mouth.

Here's my sister, Lainey, Evie, and I in front of the lighthouse.

A lot has happened in the past month. First, I got to see my sister, Carolyn. She lives in Boston with her husband and two daughters. I felt pretty adventurous yet nervous about going. I had never flown by myself before, I am terrible with directions, and I was worried that Clark and the kids would be alright. Everything turned out great! Since my trip was quick, we spent most of the time talking and hanging out. We did however see a lighthouse, eat at "Five Guys" (which I couldn't remember the name, I called it, "Five Brothers" and "The Big Five"), and Carolyn treated me to Coldstone . . .my favorite ice cream store in the world!! It was so nice to see my sister and nieces. They are all such beautiful and adorable gals.

Clark and I also celebrated our 5th Anniversary. Woo-hoo, the Big Five :) Betsy and Eric were kind enough to watch our kids for the weekend while Clark and I went to Denver. We stayed the night at a hotel (with a free breakfast). Unfortunately the pool didn't open until the day we left, but we still had fun. We went sailing at the Cherry Creek Reservoir. The man at the dock asked if we had sailed before and Clark said, "Oh sure." When in reality, he had only been on a guy's sailboat one time. You could say I was a bit nervous getting into that sailboat. It was a 14 foot dinghey for any of you that know much about sailboats. Clark managed to get us out of the harbor and into the open sea (so to speak). He did fantastic! We never tipped, though two times we came REAL close. It was wonderful to spend time together and remember what brought us together in the first place. Here's to many more years to come!

Will is 4!!!

Well, our little boy turned 4!!! It seems like most moms say this, but I can't believe how fast it has gone. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. After labor, I looked over at the nurse and saw him, my firstborn, for the first time and I knew my life was never going to be the same. Being a mother has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

To start off the celebration, we went to Chuck E Cheese with some good friends. Will was a little hesitant when Chuckie came out to meet the kids, but he loved the games. Here he is on Clifford the Big Red Dog.



Saturday morning, we presented Will with his gift. A fishing pole! He and Clark went out to Huck Finn Pond and Clark taught him how to cast and reel. When they arrived home, Will had a huge smile on his face. He said, "Mom, I caught 4 fish all by myself!" He was thrilled he caught 4 on his 4th birthday.

Since he has enjoyed riding his bike so much, I wasn't surprised when he told me he wanted a bike cake for his birthday. Three hours and six cups of frosting later, it was finished! (Note to self: Next time you make a cake, make sure you have the right bags for the frosting and make sure you have more than two decorating tips).

Blowing out his candles. He got them all in one shot! We sure love you Will.

Inspiring Video

I have seen this video on two of my friends blogs and it was so touching to me, I had to share it.

Will's First Ride

Will learned how to ride a bike today! He loves his tricycle and so Clark thought he would get him a little bike and see if he could ride that. Sure enough! We took the kids to the park tonight and Clark gave Will a little push and he was off.

i love my kids

Both of the kids are napping right now so I thought I'd update the blog while I had the chance! The kids are growing up so fast. Will loves to show how strong he is by picking up Rosie. They are great friends. Yesterday, Rosie was eating some skittles and Will said he wanted one so I asked Rosie if she could share one with Will. She said, "No because these are too yucky for him."
(Sorry, the pic is a little fuzzy)

I went to the gym during Clark's lunch break and I came home to this. It was so cute, I had to snap a picture!
For Easter, we got out the hard-boiled eggs and dye. The kids loved it. First, Will dipped it in the green, then he wanted to dip it into the red, then the blue, yellow, and orange. Most of our eggs ended up being a greenish-brownish color but they were so proud.

A few weekends ago, we got to spend the weekend with my little sister, Amy (14) and brother Josh (10). We went to the pinewood derby where Josh's car won 1st 3 times and 2nd one time. Amy and I went to the YW broadcast and afterward, I felt so blessed and excited to be a woman. Here is Amy with the kids after Rosie put stickers all over her face.

I want to write down a few more stories before I sign out. . .

• Will made a list of things to do and I asked what was on the list. He said, "Go to Wal-Mart, ride a train, and work hard." I thought, "Wow, he's such a great mix of me and Clark.

• Will thinks deeply about things. After watching "The Princess and the Frog" he asked, "Am I going to become a star when I die?" (For those of you who haven't seen it, the firefly, Ray, dies and becomes a star at the end). After I said no, he asked, "Is Ray going to be a star forever?" I didn't quite know how to answer that one. Does anyone know about a firefly's afterlife? :)

• Rosie loves to pray. She likes to say the same prayer whether it's for dinner or for bedtime. She says, "Heavenly Father, we thank thee that we can bless the food. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Lately, if someone is blessing the food and she thinks it is going too long, she will interrupt it by saying, "In the name" . . .

• Rosie loves playing with her 3 bears: carebear, blue bear, and brown bear. I overheard her say, "Don't worry, I will protext you."

good bye mullet

Yes, it has snowed again. Will wanted to make a snowman as big as him so here he is. Rosie liked eating the grapes we used for his eyes.

In other news, we cut Rosie's mullet. As much as I hated to see her curls go, I love her new do!

A cute story: I asked Rosie what her Mom's name was and she said, "Maria". Then I asked who her brother's name was and she said, "Willie". Lastly I asked who her Dad's name was and she said, "Daddy-O!"

January Jubilee

Best buddies!

Our good friends, Casey and Ashley have decided to leave us and go to Hawaii. I don't blame them, but we sure will miss them!
Here's me and Ashley.

Clark and I went on a date! He won sportsline live and got a free dinner at the Prarie Rose Cafe. We had homemade french fries, steak and shrimp, and the chicken cordon bleu. Afterwards we went to the high school boys basketball game. I gave Clark a a tour of the high school and it was a little weird for me. This year is my 10 year high school reunion and I can't believe it's been that long. Sometimes I still feel like a 17 year old!




Whenever Rosie gets warm, her cheeks get . . . well rosy! I think it is the cutest thing!

Much needed energy has returned

I am feeling great this morning! The past week has been quite the week. We were visiting family for the holidays when Sunday morning, Clark and I rushed to the ER. He ended up having surgery and staying over night. Then Monday, Will got the stomach flu. We decided to come home after that. Since we've been home, Rosie and I got the flu. However, when I woke up this morning, I felt energetic. I'm hopefully turning over a new leaf.

A little update on us:

Clark is feeling much better. He is on a "soft foods" diet for one more week. It has been really hard since he loves steak, chips, and other banned foods. But, he's been such a good sport. I'm guessing after next week though, we won't be having pudding or soup for a LONG time!

Will is the sweetest kid. Every day he hugs me and tells me he loves me, even when I've been less than patient with him. His new interest is dinosaurs. He and Rosie like to play "T-Rex and Maisaura" (the mother dinosaur . . . I learned this from one of their library books). He will start Sunbeams next week. How can he be that old?!

Rosie loves being funny. She likes to say "Shnikes" to make us laugh. She is talking very well. She told me a story two nights ago about a blue rabbit with floppy ears who she and Dad touched, but Will and I didn't touch him. Last night, I put Rosie to bed around 8:30. At 9, I was tired, so I checked on the kids and then went into my bed. As I was getting comfortable, Rosie comes out of my closet and says, "Hi Mom!" I started cracking up!

I wanted to add pictures to this post, but I accidentally left the camera in the car overnight and it's still pretty cold. I'll try to upload some pictures later in the week.