What a week!

TUESDAY


Wow! That's my "one word description" of my past week. It has been crazy... but fun. See, as most of you probably know, The Clarks like to cram as much activity into one small time span and see how stressed out we can get. (Okay, maybe it's just me that has that problem) Regardless... as much fun as it was, it wasn't without a bit of tension and stress. I guess it comes with the territory. So, our week started off with Mason & Hallie wanting to have a swim party. So, of course we made that happen. The original pool popped and Ross had to run and get a new one. (just a minor bump in the road) But of course we forged ahead!



Ok, so it might have rained a bit too... (just another bump in the road), but we didn't let that spoil the fun. Besides, I think 2 little ones (1 particular 6 year old) would have been devastated had anything put an end to this excitement.

Tina & Payton thought they could hide, but I found them!

So this was our Tuesday. It turned out great - all in all.

Thanks for coming everybody and making our day!

WEDNESDAY

Yep! We finally did it - we bought a new car! We've been talking about it for some time now, and it finally happenned. I'm really excited. So, I decided I am somewhat drawn to "BLACK" cars. They just look classy to me. (when they're clean of course) I know, I know... you all think I'm crazy cuz they're hot, and are hard to keep looking clean. But for now, I'm loving it. So, don't go givin' me buyer's remorse y'all! I told my sweet husband that I wanted a black car with leather interior, a third row & a DVD player. And he made it happen. Thanks babe. It's a 2004 Toyota Sequoia. (in case ya couldn't tell)


And the kids LOVE it!!







THURSDAY


On Thursday, we went to Kyle & Kristy's for some brats and some homemade root beer. Brad & Julie & the kids came along too. After dinner, we made the trek up to Eaglewood for the fireworks. Kyle knew the perfect spot to park and head up - and we sat right on the golf course. The kids had a blast together. It turned out to be a great day! (I'm still waiting for pictures of this to be emailed to me - so stay tuned! ) Thanks, Kyle & Kristy!


FRIDAY (4th of July)


So... our tradition is that we get up at the break of dawn (not exactly my forte') and pack up the kids and head out to Murray for the 4th of July parade. We sit and bake in the sun and watch the kids have a blast, (which is what makes it worth it) hurrying to get as much candy as possible and laughing with their cousins. It's always fun once we get there, but as we all know, it's a bit of a struggle for Amy to make it places in the A.M.!


D. Will, gettin' himself some H2O! Always in a Jersey. And usually with shorts that don't match. (not my choice... I usually lose that battle) -

This was little Cole's first parade experience, and he was a trooper! But would you expect anything less with this little fella? LOVE this kid. He is my perfect child... always happy!! (okay, almost always)

After the parade, we went to Aunt Julie's park & ate lunch followed by a little slip n' slide action! It was so much fun. We set up a huge plastic slide down the hill and just let the kids go nuts! I couldn't even get Mason's attention for hours. This kid loves water! And he's got the tan line to prove it!

It was all fun & games for Hal until she slid off the slide & scraped her leg up a little. It was all over for her after that. I'm not sure if it was the humiliation of having everyone's eyes on her, or that it really hurt ... but either way it was traumatizing enough to end her sliding for the day! Don't go thinkin that she was the only injury of the day, though. Ross managed to blow his knee out (again) while trying to play some soccer with the kids. We try to stay in one piece, but somehow we always manage to hurt somethin'. What' ya do?


And of course, it wouldn't be Independence Day without a little fireworks action back at home with some friends. Preston wasn't a huge fan, but he warmed up eventually... & everyone else had a great time. Ross, Jake & Scott really knew how to put on quite the show. Next time we'll try and remember to buy some matches!

SATURDAY

And of course we would have a family reunion to go to first thing Saturday morning. Why not throw that in the mix of things? The kids had a blast once again with their cousins and it was fun to see everybody. Even though I don't know 3/4 of them. (probably more) Here's Hallie and Uncle Steve at the park.

And Cole cuddling with Aunt Cari. What a sweetie.

All in all - it turned out to be a really fun day. We finished up the reunion that night at Aunt Mary Lou's for an all adult dinner. It was fun to get together with that side of that family and see how everyone was doing. And of course we did some fireworks again that night down and Jake and Angie's.



SUNDAY

So... to finish the week off, we went out to Rob & Mary's for little Joshua's baby blessing. It turned out to be a fun-filled week with family & friends. I think I'll try and stay home a little this week. (sigh)

**Looking forward to seeing my cutest little niece and nephew from Arizona this week! Can't wait to squeeze 'em!**