October 28, 2012

Witchapaloooooooza 2012

You have all probably figured out that Witchapalooza is one of our official Clark Family Holidays.
Remember This? (2011)
and This? (2010)
AND THIS? (2009)
And THIS? (2008)
 It is something I look forward to literally all year long. This was our 5th year in a row and again, it did not disappoint. Can't express how much I love this family event. What's better than awesome costumes, scary makeup, fudge/caramel apples, window shopping at Gardner Village before the show, taking a million pictures, and a hilariously awesome dinner show? Nothing I tell you. Nothing. This year's show was the best yet. I don't know what it was, but even though it was the same show as last year, the actors this year had an extra dose of awesome-ness.

However, let me back up a tad as I have some non-witchy photos in this post. As a family we made a joint decision to go to Logan the day before the show (Friday) in order to clean Brad's house. He and the kids were headed to Boise to visit his sister, so we thought it would be a good time to help him deep clean a little. We cleaned the house shortly before Linda's death, (seen here) and Linda and Brad appreciated the help a lot. Of course Brad is busy with his four kids, so we thought it would be a good idea to do what we can to help again. The crew gathered Friday and we spent all evening Friday and the morning of Saturday cleaning. You know you have a pretty great family when they can make even cleaning a really fun time.
Looking so good...two days worth of grime...yippee!

Must have: a pose with our cleaning supplies. There are some pretty fabulous faces in this photo, if I do say so myself.
Just an idea of what can happen in the late hours of the evening when everyone is a bit loopy...so the back-story on this is that everyone was talking about the show "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" and talking about a particular episode called "Shhhhh, it's a Wig!" Apparently I was the only one there who had not seen this episode as the whole family was quoting it and basically in hysterics over it. We You-tubed it and I got to see some of the episode, which just got everyone rolling further. While watching it, Mari Ann disappeared and then reappeared wearing my Grandma's wig (not sure if that is supposed to be unmentionable). She had snuck into the room where Grandma was sleeping and returned with the wig. Hahahahah. She cracks herself up.

Lookin' snazzy
I also have to say how great my Aunt Angela, Uncle Shawn, and cousins Kenna, Karch, and Logan are. They moved to Logan recently and were willing to take my kids over night so that I could go help, un-distracted, with the cleaning. It was so nice knowing that my kids were in great care and that I could focus on the job at hand. So, thanks Frisbys! The kids had a great time-- Hallie got to stay up until 11 pm for probably the first time in her life, Flor had tons of attention from Kenna (whom she adores), and Jace had an unlimited supply of awesome flavored milk (banana anyone?). Win, win. Devin was working Friday night and Saturday during the day- if you are wondering why he did not just take the children. Poor thing has a pretty steady diet of weekend work. Blech.

Saturday after we finished the last of the cleaning, it was time to get in character. Our witchy characters just seem to get better and better every year. Next year we are going to need a full 12 hours to get ready if we are going to outdo ourselves from this year.
5 girls in front of one mirror...

Jennifer's awesome hair

Carlie and I

Good thing Brad decorates for Halloween-- the cobweb addition to my hair  was courtesy of his front bush. Thanks Brad!

The annual tights photo. I think I am due for a new costume next year-- I am pretty sure I have worn these tights every year since we started dressing up. 

All dressed and ready to go. I know, I know- we are a scary looking bunch of witches.


That red lipstick--whoa... a little much. 

Grandma and two of her girls. Of course we missed Linda so much again and my mom didn't come this year. 




Carlie and her handsome new boyfriend


Us and some woman's rear end. Lovely.
Post-show picture with the hilarious and super talented cast.



 Again, I highly recommend this for anyone in the area. Such entertainment and fun. Just promise me you'll dress up if you go. :)

October 27, 2012

doctors, hospitals, and tests- oh my

I am aware that I have not updated on Flor in a little while, so here we go! I actually can't remember what I last blogged about in regards to Flor's world, so forgive me if I repeat.

It is basically insane to me that it has been 10+ months since we have had Flor in our family. Unreal. I get asked all the time how things are going and my honest answer is that things have improved dramatically for us as a family as the months have passed. When I look back on the first few months of Flor being home, it just seems like a blur of chaos and crazy emotions. I think the hardest thing for me was not knowing how to communicate with Flor and not knowing how to meet her needs in the way that I could with Hallie and Jace. Now, though, I feel like we are in a place where I have that intuitive understanding of what she needs and wants, even though she can't usually express it to me. Feeling that I can provide for her and care for her in the way I want to (though of course there is always still work to do) has definitely had a positive effect on my bonding with her as well. Another positive thing is that I have noticed that I can now generally soothe Flor when she is upset; whereas in the beginning she oftentimes resisted soothing. Wahoo for that.

Flor is doing really well with following directions, understanding what we ask her to do, and has also greatly improved with her social boundaries. She can sit still on a chair by herself during appointments for the most part and if she gets up or moves into someone else's space, she generally only needs to be prompted once or twice and she will return to her seat. It's fabulous, so so fabulous.

Let me be honest and tell you one thing that has been harder than I expected in this process. That is being told all the time how "amazing" we are by other people. This makes me cringe and brings on waves of guilt. Why? Because no one knows what happens behind closed doors at all times. Having Flor has tested my patience in a way I have never been tested before. I still fight the tendency to become frustrated with her for little things. It has been such an eye opening experience for me to see such weakness in myself. Again this goes back to her lack of ability to communicate with us, plus the history she has that I will never fully understand. When I don't understand her behavior or what to do to help her not do certain things, it frustrates me more than it should. I  have learned that Flor responds well to time-outs and that time-outs for her are also a good time-out for me so that I can take a minute to breathe and calm down. The behaviors that aggravate me the most are hair pulling, biting (herself and others), scratching, and pushing. If left alone with other kids for even just a minute or two, Flor quickly and inevitably does one or more of these things. If she is supervised, she knows not to do anything, so of course we try to supervise her as often as possible, but watching her 100% of the time is just not possible. Anyway, so yes,  know that being told how "amazing" you are when you feel completely the opposite at times is difficult. I am learning more each day that Flor's coming into our family is for our learning and growth. What she provides for us is invaluable in our lives and the lives of our other children.

Appointment updates: Our insurance has still not approved Flor's blood sequencing that the geneticist recommended. Oh, insurance. Sigh. Hopefully we will have some answers on that soon. She had her psych evaluation a few weeks ago and what was supposed to be four hours ended up being one as the psychologist quickly saw that four hours of testing would not be necessary. The one hour she did have consisted of an nonverbal IQ test. Basically Flor was shown three pictures in sequence and then she had to pick from a row of choices which picture went next. Hahaha. Can we just say that again? Hahaha. She thought it was great fun and pointed at whatever picture (or every picture) that struck her fancy, usually while looking around the room and laughing. She got some right by pure chance, but it was mostly just a fun game for her. She lost patience quickly with this, so she got to play for a minute and then would come back to it. Anyway, the report has been filed with the state so that Flor can hopefully get qualified for DSPD services. We have one more step to complete (which will be happening this coming week--wahoo!) and then hopefully she can get on the waiting list.

We saw an orthopedist this week at Shriner's Hospital in SLC. She took x-rays of Flor's pelvis and hips to ensure that there are no physical issues that are preventing her from walking more steadily. Flor has a really wide and unsteady gait and she walks rather slowly, so we just wanted to see if something was going on. Everything looks perfect, though, so the doctor thinks that it is more of a brain-not-sending-clear-signals issue versus a physical abnormality. This doctor referred Flor back to Primary Children's for an MRI of her spine. She also wants her to start ST/PT/OT services at Shriner's as they are the best around. She has an evaluation for all three in two weeks and we will see what they want us to do. I am not sure that it will be practical to keep doing these services there as it is an hour drive, which will not be feasible on a weekly basis. If they think seeing her once per month will be good enough, we could do that, but otherwise we will probably need to see what they can do to refer her to services that are closer to our home.

So, phew. I think that's it in the appointment area for now.

And, to end this beast of a post, let's save the best for last- a few pictures of this darling girl.




PS. Her tooth is coming in! Really crooked, but coming in. Do we see braces in the future?? Yes...not sure how that will go, but her teeth could definitely use them...

October 25, 2012

Gooooo Cougars

So this post is way late in coming, but I am finally getting to it...wahoo. A few weeks ago, my sister and my cousin Shawna, along with their families, came to P-town so that we could all go to a BYU football game together.

Jennifer and Steve came Friday and we had a great time staying up late (Devin and I killed them at hand and foot- their own game...) and eating a lot of good food (of course). Saturday, we got the crew up early and met Shawna and her family at Brick Oven for lunch, where we even got our own room because we had so many kids with us. It was lovely. We also got to meet Cosmo at the restaurant before we all headed to the game. Most of the kids liked that.

The game was a lot of fun and the kids actually did really great-- Jace even fell asleep within a half hour of it starting, which is such a miracle. When things got a little rough later, we fed the kids some popcorn and that bought a little extra time. We had to leave before the 4th quarter as Devin had to be to work, but that turned out to work for the best as BYU fell apart in the 4th quarter. We saw the best part of the game and missed the awful-ness. I'll take it.

Now for a few pictures of the event:
At Brick Oven

The kids got to watch part of the parade outside before we ate

Cosmo thinks he is cool riding on top of that van

Like father, like son. Such handsome boys

Cute group of kiddies!


A family shot? 

Add caption


I could not believe he just fell asleep like that...

Gooooooo Cougars (you can just see them doing it, can't you?)
Thanks Jen and Shawna for coming! Let's do it again next year! (one game a year is good for me...especially with the kids)

October 18, 2012

Brilliant

Thanks to Anna for the awesome comment on the last post about taking off word verification for comments on the blog and just moderating the comments before they post. Why didn't I think of that!? So, now rest easy knowing that commenting on our blog, should you choose to do so, should be easier than ever. Not that I expect you to- I know there are a number of people reading the blog, but sometimes it is almost easier to feel like I am talking to myself as I tend to be more real that way. Ha ha ha. That said, will someone comment please and so I can see how this new process works?! Thanks a million.


Things to be grateful for

So I know it is not quite November (the month of gratitude) yet, but as I reflected on my day yesterday, I realized that I had an exceptionally good day and that thought caused me to think about how blessed my life is. Sure there are things that are not perfect and there are days that are serious struggles, but in reality, I am truly blessed in many ways. I think too often my focus slips to thoughts of 'I wish we had the time and money to add baseboards in our basement" or "I wish we had another bathroom in this house" or "I wish I were 10 pounds lighter" or "I wish I knew where our life was headed..."  you know, those types of things, instead of focusing on what really matters and what IS going well in my life.

I have three beautiful kids who are healthy and doing well. I have a husband who is dedicated to me and my family. We have the Gospel. We have a home, (who cares that there is only one bathroom for the five of us- it's a home nonetheless). I have a job that I love and a renewed desire to further my talents and abilities in that area. We have the potential to grow our family more when the time is right. We have tons of extended family members and friends who support us and love us for who we are, not for the kind of cars we drive (clunkers) or for the money in our pockets (not a lot). Anyway, life is good.

A few everyday blessings (from yesterday):

*Participating in a beautiful face-to-face meeting with an adoptive couple of mine (this means they were meeting an expectant mother who is considering placing her child with them). The room was on fire with the Spirit. I am embarrassed to admit how often I cried in the two hour meeting (I am supposed to at least TRY to keep it together), so I won't. It is just such an amazing privilege to be a part of such sacred work.

*Meeting a dear friend for lunch to catch up. Great food & great friendship- doesn't get much better than that. I love knowing that certain people in my life will always be friends, no matter the distance between us or the amount of time it has been since we have seen each other. This friend is one of those. She lives in Alaska and I live here, but regardless, when we see each other, it is so good.

*I got to attend an advisory board meeting for my office of my work yesterday in place of my boss who is out of town. I didn't know that such a meeting could be so cool. I loved getting a glimpse of the overall scope of the services our agency provides and how it fits into the overall plan and goals for the church. We discussed a lot about missionary work and how, with the new announcement that young men may serve full-time missions at age 18 and young women at 19, the work is hastening forward. It was an indescribable feeling- getting a little glimpse of what is to come.

*Coming home to one of my girls getting her nails painted a rainbow of colors, the other tucked safely in bed, and my little guy shouting "mama!" as he saw me. Nothing better than coming home to a happy (and perhaps chaotic) scene at home.

*Just before hitting the sack, I heard my baby (not so baby anymore, but still my baby) crying and went in to comfort him. He stuck out his hand and as I held it, his crying stopped and his breathing slowed. What a precious moment with my son.

*Checking on my girls before going to sleep and having one (the one who is the lightest sleeper in the world) pop her little head up and give me her biggest grin before laying her head back down. Melt my heart.

*Reading a few chapters of a good book before falling asleep. I love reading and I love having this time to unwind before bed...I know reading time can be a rare privilege for busy moms, but I am usually lucky enough that I can get enough "me" time in this way.

Just a few little things that were on my mind as I went to bed last night. Any fabulous "everyday" moments that you had recently? (you don't really have to answer that here as I know that commenting on blogs is a pain these days--but you can if you want!)



October 11, 2012

Flashback Thursday (2006)

So I know "Flashback Thursday" doesn't sound quite as good as "Flashback Friday", but well, today is Thursday, so we are going with it.

I was looking at old pictures today (specifically EFY 2002-- and all I have to say about that is "MY HAIR!! Someone should have helped me with my hair!" Holy embarrassing...) Anyway, this picture was tucked in that album for some reason and I thought it was too awesome not to share. This is the first time I saw Devin post-mission. For those who don't know our love story  (I am pretty sure I have told it time and time again here on the blog), we met the summer before his mission to Portugal and became good friends before he left, but didn't date at all (though someone (ME), dropped a lot of hints that I wouldn't have minded...). We wrote consistently throughout his mission (but not obsessively I would say-- like once a month or every two months).

 Anyway, once he came home, I knew he was home because he had written me telling me exactly when he was coming in, etc. I waited a few days and hadn't heard from him, so I begged one of my roommates to call him for me (Stef?) (Isn't that what roommates are for?) So, she did, and then I mustered up enough courage to talk to him on the phone as well. He invited me down to his homecoming where he would be speaking in his ward about his mission experiences. I of course had to drag my roommates along (as I did when we went to his farewell) because I couldn't handle the pressure of going alone. I knew I was into him and I didn't want to make a total fool of myself..so Camille and Stef were kind enough to accompany me.

Here we are in Devin's parent's backyard after the church meeting ended. Isn't this the most awkward!? I am clearly leaning toward him as if to say, "here, put your arm around me!" while he has dutifully shoved his hands into his pockets to avoid any such move. Lovely. And naturally, the picture would not be complete without my ever-faithful roomies being a part of it.

Don't be too alarmed though-- the love was to be reciprocated. He did marry me, afterall.





P.S. Happy birthday to my amazing mother-in-law-- the woman I have to thank for giving birth to and raising such a stellar son. 

October 7, 2012

Tid-Bits (and photo dump)

*Devin's Birthday: 
I like to tease Devin about getting old, but the truth is that I am older than he is...by a whole two weeks. So I guess I had better quit that. :) Another year down for both of us and we have hit the ripe old age of 27.

For Devin's birthday, he had the joy of going to work all day. He did get off in time for us to go to a session at the temple (thanks to Devin's parents for watching our kids-- at his sister Mesha's house because they were staying with her kids for the week). After the temple, we ran to pick up some pizza for dinner, which we enjoyed along with cake and ice cream back at Mesha's house. He opened his presents at home right before the kids went to bed because I forgot to bring them to Mesha's. Oops.


I know the cake looks like a hamburger- though that was not the goal (clearly my cake decorating skills are  abysmal). It was a good cake though-- pumpkin pecan with caramel topping. Devie blew out all the candles in one go! Wow. 

2/3 of the kids looking happy--we will take it! My whole world, right there in this picture. 
*BYU Study: 
Flor is being studied by a professor and some students in the psychology department at BYU. She was in a study over the summer during extended school year, and now in another. I quite like these things because people watch her and see what triggers certain behaviors and then give us techniques and ideas on how to prevent them. It is fabulous. I met with the professor and two of his students last week (they came to my work--which is on campus-- and the receptionist called me and said "your clients are here!" I am thinking the professor loved that...since he clearly has many more clinical skills than I do...) Anyway, we talked for a while about Flor and some of what she has been through and what we are working on with her. It surprised me how emotional I was just talking about her. I cried a little and while it embarrassed me, I thought about it later and recognized it as a really good sign that things in the bonding area have solidified even more. I cried when talking about her needing to rock herself to sleep at night because that was a habit that she developed as a little one when no one was there to do it for her. Pull at a mother's heart strings, right there. Anyway, I am excited to see how this new study goes! Also in other Flor news: She has two, two hour appointments this week at the local mental health facility to start a full Psych Evaluation and IQ test. Wish us luck on this...

*Fall:
Who doesn't love FALL!? I love it. The changing colors, the drop in temperatures, the baking..oh, the baking. I wish I didn't love it so much, but I do. I just made these with the kids the other day and holy cow, are they good. But then again I love anything with pumpkin...do yourself a favor and make some. I also love the re-emergence of boots, sweaters, and soups. Yay for fall!

*General Conference:
What can I even say about this, except for that it was amazing. During Hallie's computer class on Friday, I was talking to my friend Kellie and she was asking what I do to keep the kids entertained during conference. The answer- nothing. She said that all she does is take a ziplock bag and put an activity or treat in for every one of the 15 in the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12, and then when that person speaks, her kids get to go find the bag with their picture on it and play with that activity or have that treat. I thought it was high time I do something as well, so on a whim I decided to copy her idea and roll with it. She told me that she got all of her prizes and activities at the dollar store, so I headed there right after computer was over, eager to get going. Well, what do you know, I had left the house without my purse- therefore, no money. I'm such a dork sometimes. Luckily, though, Devin was on his way home from work, so we just had to wait a few minutes and he came and purchased our supplies for us. Thank you, husband. And, can I just say that the dollar store had some pretty awesome stuff for this sort of thing? Yeah...score.

Anyway, Saturday we canned salsa back at Mesha's house (I needed her equipment and Devin's mom's expertise because I can honestly say that I have never canned at thing in my life. Next year I want to do tomatoes and peaches too (Nort I plan on you helping me:) )) Things were a little more chaotic during conference there, but the kids really enjoyed the activities and today while we listened, they were quite the lifesaver, so we will definitely be doing that again!

I loved EVERY bit of conference. It was so needed and so uplifting. I remember as a child just dreading when conference came around because we sat and listened to every session and I just couldn't sit still that long. Funny how things change, right? Conference is definitely my favorite time of the year and I anticipate it each time. I really, really love the messages that were shared- many spoke hope and comfort directly to my heart. I will be re-listening to some in the coming days and of course re-reading when the Ensign gets here. I just feel such a sense of unity and love during conference time, too, like I am not alone in my beliefs and my convictions to live what I know. Anyway, certainly did not intend to ramble that much about conference, but well, it was just what I needed, so there it is.

*Instagram:
Yeah, I am giving Instagram a category of its own. hahaha. My work provided me with a fancy new phone (thanks work) and so I decided to give Instagram a go. Well, sorry to the 5 of you who are following as I am posting multiple pictures per day. I know I am a little late in the game, but it is a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from September for your viewing pleasure and then I will quit with this post, promise.

Hallie's pre-school field trip- nature walk at the park

love our daily trip to the backyard with the neighbor kids

Love him. that's all.

Such a beauty (with crazy hair!) (P.S. Should i be worried that her tooth has not come in yet? I think she lost the other one in March or April! Someone please notify me on this--these mothering questions i have no idea about...)

Mmmm...coookie

Hallie made a "bed" on Jace's dresser. I imagine it was very comfortable.

Going down the slide over and over all by herself! Big girl!
The end.

October 3, 2012

Jace- 19 months

Okay so I know that I am totally inconsistent with these posts, but oh well, right!? I really love looking back to what Hallie was doing at certain ages, so I am glad I keep these.

So, I might be just a little bit obsessed with this boy. Devin probably gets sick of me saying things like, "You know who is cute? Jace." (Well, actually he now just answers "Jace" before I can even say). I just think everything he does is adorable and think he is just so stinkin' cute. Every mom feels this way about their kids I think, but I also think that he is in a really fun stage.

I don't have any height/weight updates since he won't have another appointment until he is 2, but here are a few things he is up to at this age:
He loves  hats and goes around saying, "ha, ha" (hat, hat) while patting his head. 

Um Nursery? Going okay. He went once and then we skipped a whole bunch of weeks because we had stake conference, a farewell, the Brigham City Temple dedication, and then he finally went once more last week. He had a harder time the second time and didn't want Devin to leave. I am hoping he adjusts a bit and becomes a lover of nursery just as Hallie was.

Love those blue eyes! Jace is still a bit of a "mama's boy" but who are we kidding? I like it. 

This kid is into EVERYTHING. Can't turn my back for a moment. We have had eggs cracked on the floor recently, salt and pepper shakers dumped out more times than I can count, diaper rash cream smeared everywhere, tons of toothpaste consumed, and on and on. He really is just so busy. He sometimes tells me "show" like he wants to watch a show, but who are we kidding, that lasts about 2 seconds at most.

Sitting on top of the table is his FAVORITE thing to do. He will not sit still in his chair during meal times, but prefers to climb on up and sit on the table while he eats. It's a losing battle.

He sure loves bath time. He hops right in and lays on down for a nice relaxing bath (I know you are still jealous of the blue tub. It really is something special...)

He and Hallie play really well together most of the time. They have a lot of time with just the two of them while Flor is in school and they can be found doing all sorts of things with their spare time, including climbing into Jace's crib and pretending to nap. 

This kid is also obsessed with the phone. He walks around and has conversations with who knows who. His conversation basically consists of "hello? hello? hi? blah blah blah blah blah hello?"

Jace loves to be outdoors. He especially loves dirt. He and our neighbor, Ethan, are about  6 months apart, so it is fun that they are starting to interact and play more.

Following Hallie's lead, Jacer has taken to hauling around a baby. He particularly likes pushing them in the baby stroller or play shopping cart we have, but he is not opposed to taking them with him for nap time. 
Other things about Jace at 19 months:
* I feel like Jace has had a major vocabulary explosion this month. I am sure I will miss some words, but he says: hi, hello, bye bye, no-no, up, down, eat, outside, inside, handsome (my favorite), book, baby, ball, blankie, I love you (with prompting), mom, dad, Hal (for Hals), Flor, bus ( said BU-his favorite-- anything that sounds like a bus, he will shout "Bu, BU!!!), car, show, some (meaning, "I want some!"), hat, hot, cookie, Simba (his toy Simba is in his crib, thus he learned this one), phone (whenever it makes a sound, he shouts "phone, phone!"), teeth, sock, shoes, and I'm sure there's more. He still signs drink, please, and more. He also tries to repeat almost anything you ask him to-- some things more successfully than others.

*He has a little sense of humor, and a boy sense of humor at that. For example: The other day I walked into his room to get him up from his nap and it was very apparent that he had done some business in his diaper. I asked, "Jace, did you go poop?" He stood up, pointed to his bum and said, "poop! poop!" And then laughed hysterically. Oh boy...He is also a clever little thing as he will use the sign for "potty" when he has done his business and then go get a diaper and wipes himself.

*He is great at following commands and will get his shoes, bring a diaper and wipes, go get a certain toy, etc. Jace thinks he is really helpful and will bring me my shoes when he wants to go outside.

This is a little video of me trying to get him to say "I love you". He apparently wasn't having any of it as you will see. "no, no, no..." What a stinker.