BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Ya, so apparently I've been too busy (busy, busy!) to blog. I know, I know it's hard to believe that Amy is busy. But it is true. Let's just say I haven't quite got myself fully accustomed to 5 children. Just when I'm finally getting myself organized, they are going to be heading home! No, but seriously... it has been so much fun having time with these little ones. Only 3 more days, and then they're off, though. Time really does fly. We've had so much fun with them! And as luck would have it, Ross' computer isn't working correctly and I am having trouble uploading my newest pics... but since I'm so behind, I'll show ya a few older ones.

We went to the park just after our cute cousins arrived, and the boys had so much fun together. I'm so glad we have been able to get these 2 together. They have had a really good time. It will honestly be really sad to have to separate them.

Of course, we invited our "park buddies", Bells and Linc to come along. Landon warmed up to these friends really fast. It wasn't long before he was asking when we could play with Isabelle and Lincoln again! What can I say, we have fun friends!!

Rather than going down the slides, Ash opted to drop wood chips on them. It seemed to be her favorite activity while the others were sliding down them. Silly Ashie... she's always doin' her own little thing.

And of course, everyone quickly became bored with the actual "park toys" and moved on to gathering rocks from the hill and lining them up on this wall. It was so much more fun.

This happens everytime we go to this park. They always start out sliding and climbing, and then after about 15 minutes, they mosey on over to the big dirt and rock hill nearby.

Sometimes I wonder why we take the kids to the park. If you just give 'em some rocks, a little dirt, a grass hill and maybe a hose... they'd be content for HOURS (possibly even days?). Ya, parks are overrated.

Ashlyn was all over this activity! She quickly caught on to the "big kid" activity and joined in on the fun. She wanted a "big one" like Landon! I think this was the biggest one her little body could carry. It was super cute. What a gal!

And of course, ketchup (with a little corn dogs) for lunch. I like to keep things super nutritious. No junk food for this family! (Sorry Andrea) I wanted to be "fun Aunt Amy" who gives us yummy food, okay? After a few days, we added a few fruits and veggies into the diet. So much for "fun Aunt Amy"!

It was a fun day at the park! Stay tuned for some more pics. Ross is supposed to get his computer working a little better tomorrow. So... cross your fingers!

2 more munchkins

That's right... the tempo at our house has increased a bit in the last couple of days since we have had our buddies (cousins) staying with us. We are so excited to have Landon and Ashlyn here, finally!! It has been talked about for quite some time now, and we are happy to finally be spending some time with em! Mason and Hal couldn't be happier - they love a good 2-3 week slumber party!!
The boys of course started things off with some video games - that was the first thing Mason wanted to show Landon - we won't mention that Landon is already almost better than Mason at most of the games. (he still thinks he's the best) Don't sit too far away from the TV guys! (so, I guess if I'm not careful...I might send Landon home blind - sorry Chad n Andrea!)

Ashlyn's favorite toy at our house quickly became the trusty ol' rocking horse that used to be Ross' when he was little. That thing has been more popular at our house than any toy we have ever spent money on. If it ever breaks, I think I would pay good money to replace it someday.

So, the gigantic queen-sized raised aerobed we put in Mason's room might take up the entire floor space and leave absolutely no floor to play on, but it sure is fun!! They all camped out in here that night. It was really cute.

Obviously Hallie was thrilled to have her cousins here. Especially little Ashlyn. Hallie has always wanted a little sister. She treats her like her little pet. She follows her around and takes care of her every need. She strokes her hair and dresses her up like a doll. She is so funny. She's never been able to do that with her brothers. She's in heaven. The first thing she asks when she wakes up is, "where's Ashie?" It sounds obsessive, but it's actually super cute.

And of course, Ashlyn ended up in my bed after waking up at 3 in the morning that night. I don't blame her - she's a little out of her element! And "pony" is in there with her - don't worry.

CLARK CABIN

We had such a fun weekend up at the cabin with the Clarks. It turned out to be a really great experience for our family. The kids had so much fun with their cousins. We don't do a lot of camping. (actually - we never camp) But I absolutely love it. There's something so calming and peaceful about being secluded in nature with the ones you love. I am a firm believer that you need to make time for the ones you love - regardless of how hecktic life can seem. You just can't miss out on time to bond with loved ones. This cabin is the perfect cabin to just fit our needs. It doesn't have too much - yet it has what we need. I like the feeling of roughin' it a bit, and I like that this cabin gives you that feel. Anyway... here are some pictures of some of the fun things we did.

I don't know if this picture portrays the look of sheer terror on Mason's face - but it took everything in his power to get the courage up to go down the river with Pania and Logan. And what you don't see is how they all got dumped off not even 5 seconds after this was taken. Poor Mason. But like his daddy always says, "It'll make him tough". Whatever - he did end up loving it though.

No swimsuit? Not a problem for Ross! He still took his turn headin' down the river. He only did it once, though. Weird. I must say, I was tempted to give it a shot, but decided against it for fear of humiliating myself in front of Ross' family. ;)

Even Molly did a little splashin' around with us. She loved it when the kids would splash the water up in the air - she would try and bite the water. But don't go thinkin' she was brave or anything, because if it was anything more than about 1 1/2 feet deep, she wouldn't even go near it. Silly Molly. We were really glad we brought her up with us this year. She was a lot of fun to have along.

And of course, we had to do pedicures on all of our dirty feet! These were just the toes that got painted. We didn't take a picture of all the men's feet after they got a little pampering done. It turned out to be a really fun activity - I thinkwe need to make it an anual tradition!




And of course, it wouldn't be the same without a little ATV action! (thanks Rob!) We had a lot of fun on the 4-wheeler as always. Mason would really like to drive it on his own. We told him to give it a few years. I am becoming quite the pro, if I do say so myself.

And my sweet Cole was a trooper as always. He just went with the flow of things and kept a smile on his face. He is such a great kid. And yes, the wet spot on his clothes is ALL DROOL! I go through clothes like mad - but if that is all I have to complain about with this little guy, I think I'm doin pretty darn good!

We love ourselves a s'more here and there. Hals enjoyed roasting the marshmallows by rolling them around in the dirt a little and then lighting them on fire. And then she would get upset when I wouldn't let her eat the ones that she roasted. "What's wrong with eatin' a little dirt, Mom"? A little dirt never hurt, I guess... right?

And so 45 mosquito bites, and 3 days later, I am home and still not done catching up with the laundry from the cabin. But we sure did have fun! Looking forward to next year! - Thanks for the fun time everyone.

St. George Sunshine!

So, as we all know, the clarks like to cram as much stress into one small time span as possible. So, in order to keep with tradition, we just buzzed on down to St. George on Sunday for a quick 2 day trip. Ross had to go for work (or was it golf?), and of course the 4 of us tagged along as usual. We hate being home without daddy - so we usually just crash the work trip and come along.


Can I just tell you how much we love St. George? If we had the opportunity, we would love to live there. It is getting to be quite the popular place now days, though. The small town feel of it isn't quite the same anymore. But we still like it. And it would be a perfect middle point between both of our families. Our trips to St. George usually include a visit to the Pizza Factory and of course some shopping. (duh)



And if you ask Mason where he loves to go on a trip, he would tell you "to a hotel" - which pretty much means it doesn't really matter where the hotel is located. As long as he's staying at a hotel. He loves everything about it. He loves being able to wake up and just walk down to breakfast and chose whatever he wants... swimming to his heart's content... and staying up late, watching the hotel TV.






So, needless to say, we spend a lot of time just vegging at the hotel while the kids jump from bed to bed trashing the place.

I'm sure anyone who's a regular visitor to St. George knows the famous red phone booth - it's a picture opp every time. Not sure why - we just think it's cool.

And of course, we did something we rarely do... we did a little bit (or a lot) of swimming. Weird.

Anyway, I'm sure we'll be back soon - and we'll do the same ol' stuff we always do. But we love it. It's a heck of a place!

SHY? (I don't think so.)

Okay, so in an effort to clear the record.. I'd like to give you a little bit of proof that my daughter (whom most of you think is extremely shy and unsocial) is actually quite the character. Give her time to warm up to you, and you never know what you're gonna see! I'm sure that each and every one of you at some point or another have asked Hallie a question, only to find her looking at the ground with her bottom lip out like she's about to burst into tears. I promise that isn't a result of child abuse or lack of personality. This girl knows how to ham it up and she actually loves an audience. She loves to sing at the top of her lungs, while looking out of the corner of her eye to make sure you are enjoying the performance. She really enjoys dancing and twirling... with lots of pointed toes. She loves to show you her "tricks" (which usually involve winking, thumbs up, and maybe a kick here and there). Dresses are her favorite attire, and it needs to be pink most of the time. She is great at teasing her brothers - usually until screaming occurs.

You always know when she's smiling, because her eyes sparkle. She has the most contageous laugh you've ever heard... and she never holds a grudge. She is our only girl, (or should I say "princess") and therefore just a tad bit spoiled. Her daddy is an easy pushover when it comes to this face. She's great at talking her way out of pretty much anything.

I doubt that we will get another girl, because it would be impossible to top this one. She is and always will be our little angel. Just give her time... she'll show ya!

Love ya HALS!

FISH

Did I mention that my children are pretty much FISH? Well, they are. I must say, our swimming lessons are most definately paying off. They LOVE the water. I try and get new pictures of us doing other things, but all I have pictures of are my little fishies in the water. Oh well. What do ya do, right? I've learned to embrace the chaos of summer and the mess that comes along with it. That's just life - and I need to enjoy what it is and stop trying to make it different. So... here are some pictures of my little fishies. (and some of our favorite fishie friends!!)


Yes... even little Cole is a big fan of the H2O! He's one of us.

Even little Ashlyn holds her own out there. She was so stinkin' cute, swimmin' with the rest of us at Aunt Joan's pool. (even though it was freezing cold)

K, can I tell you how much I love this kid? He's so easy goin'. He may not have gone nuts (like us) in the water, but he never once complained. He's just a laid back, go with the flow kinda kid! Love ya Landon!

What a champ out there, swimmin on her back! If you only knew how hard this was to get her to do in the first place, you'd be proud too!

And don't go tellin' Mason that these goggles aren't cool. Because to him, they are the definition of "cool". It is a rare occasion when you see the kid without them. And don't ever forget to bring them along ANYWHERE, because you never know when he's gonna need them. "Let's bring them just in case, mom!" or "Mom, did you get my goggles?" (in a very panicked tone) are very common phrases around here. And we all know that when it's a big deal to Mason, it's a big deal to all of us. I just make sure the dang goggles are in the car at all times.

We love the water! Come swim with us!

Introducing...

Alrighty, well as many of you know... we have the privelige of having my adorable Niece and Nephew come and live with us over the next little while. We are so excited to be able to spend some time with them & get to know them better. Landon and Ashlyn live in Arizona and we don't see them nearly as much as we would like to these days. They're mom is fighting cancer, and had to undergo some radiation which resulted in mandatory separation from her children for at least 6 weeks (most likely more). It has been a really rough road for her, but she is my hero and we have no doubt that she will pull through without a problem. So, that's the story. If you see us with a couple of extra "kiddos" over the next couple of months, don't you go thinkin' that we popped out a couple more babies or nothin'. We are just enjoying some bonding time that has been long overdue with our cousins! Anyway... we went and spent the day with them yesterday and had a blast. So... meet our cousins, Landon & Ashlyn.

We had a great day at the ZOO with our cousins & their cousins, Hunter & Stockton. It was so much fun!

Afterwords, we went over to Ryan & Sarah's for a BBQ & a little "trampoline action". As you can see, we had a blast - thanks for letting us jump on the tramp, guys. We had a great time.

WE LOVE YOU, ANDREA!

(hang in there)