A Week of FIRSTS!

So this was a big week for the Clark family - as I'm sure it was for all of you. It was the beginning of just about everything. We are just getting back into the swing of things. After the craziness of summer, it sure is tough getting used to a regular schedule and routine again. But here is our list of "firsts" for the week.

First Day of First Grade!

What the crap is wrong with me? I am like sobbing just blogging about this day. If you saw me you would think someone must have died. It is so hard for me to watch my kids grow up and transition. Why can't we just push "pause" and make it all stop for a while? It is times like this that I am reminded to slow down a bit and cherish the sweet moments of motherhood. Time just goes way too fast!

He looks happy, doesn't he? Well, don't let him fool ya. The kid has bawled and screamed everyday so far, begging me to let him stay home. I'm tellin' ya - It has been bad.

The principal has literally had to physically restrain him to get him to stay at school. I have left the school every day this week, hearing him crying - my heart being ripped apart. Keep your fingers crossed for us that he can get the hang of this! Any advice anyone might have would be great.

First Day Back to Dance!

So, we all know how much Hallie loves to dance.... but what these pictures don't show is how many times she bawled on her first day back after summer. What is wrong with my kids? Seriously... do I coddle them to much? Why do they have such a hard time with separation and new things? I feel like I must be failing at something. Anyway, she will get the hang of it again...

She's a natural, though... don't ya think? ;)

First Time Eating Watermelon!

Don't go thinkin' that there was any chance of takin' it away from him either, because I tried. He wasn't havin' it. What kid doesn't love watermelon, right?

First Day Back to Soccer!

And of course we would have to start Soccer this week. Naturally it would all come at once, right? Let the routine begin!! So, we had our usual melt down about the name of the team. Mason's team name ideas never get the majority of the votes for some reason. He really wanted to be the "UTES" because they were red... but majority ruled and they are the "Red Torches" Mason says "that's stupid!" - but I think we are over it now. He's just thrilled that he finally got to be RED (his very favorite color!).

It has been a physically and emotionally exhausting week - but we made it through. I'm glad it's a holiday weekend now. I can already use a day off.

Hope y'all had a great week!!

Not to brag or anything but....

Could he be any cuter?

Arizona in August...

...and we survived!

Okay, so as most of you know, we just got back from Arizona. I know, I know, we are crazy to do that in the middle of August! But when your husband is doing business down there, and your family lives there... you can't miss the chance to tag along. So, we spent a little bit of time in the sun, but most of the time, we tried to go from one Air Conditioned place to the next. It's the only way to survive, I'm afraid. So, here are some pictures from our trip!

So, first of all I need to paint a picture for everyone. My parents house is like our favorite place. When we go there it is always just a magical little experience.

My mom has her house fixed up perfectly with a toyroom that looks like Santa's workshop just for her grandkids. She always has everything so nice, with chocolate truffles by our bedside and everything. It is better than any hotel or B&B you could ever find. Trust me.


We usually walk in to see signs like this. These are just a couple of the cute things that we usually see at Grandma and Grandpa's that make things so special. Thanks mom and dad!

We decided to take the boat up to "Canyon Lake" for a little fun in the sun. We had so much fun being back on the Lake again. It was just like old times. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Chad, Landon and Mason Check out the rocks behind them - this lake was really pretty!

This was Cole's first boating trip! He seemed to like it!

SUMO TUBE BABY!

Okay, if you've never had the chance to experience the "Sumo Tube", you need to! This is Chad, Ross and me kickin' some butt at it. Turns out I'm pretty dang good at it. It is so much fun to do. If you need a fun new boating toy - get one!! So fun! But nobody kicks butt quite like my brother on the wakeboard. But then again, he usually kicks my butt at everything. What can I say?

And of course, we had to go to a Diamondbacks game while we were there. It was really fun to go to a MLB game - Mason loved it! It was a good game, too - it was close. But the D-backs pulled through!

GO D-BACKS!!

And then to thank us for watching Landon and Ash, Chad and Andrea gave us an awesome night out without the kids at an amazing restaurant called Roys. If you are ever somewhere where you have the opportunity to dine at Roys, do so, because it is amazing food and super fun atmosphere.

Thanks, Chad and Andrea! It was not necessary at all, but we LOVED it!

We even got to spend some time with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins that was long overdue!

So, all in all it was a super fun trip that as usual, went way too fast! We had a great time, though. Too bad we can't live closer to our family. But it sure makes vacation a party!! Love you guys!

Attention Twilight Fans!!

Okay so if you are like me, counting down the days until the movie is released... you'll be happy to know that the release date has moved up to November 21st. That's like 3 weeks early!! I'm so excited. Anyone interested in joining our midnight showing group, feel free!!

For more info, check out http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/. K... I'm a loser, but whatever!

Memories...

Okay so my cute friend Teri did this TAG and I think it looks like a lot of fun! Do as you wish with it... but let's keep it alive!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, just anything you remember.

2. Next, repost these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's pretty fun to see the responses.

Happy blogging friends!

It's DONE!

Okay so as many of you know... my kitchen is FINALLY done! I am so excited about it. It doesn't even feel like my house. The process seemed like forever, and camping out in the basement was not my favorite... but I must say it was all very worth it in the end. Here are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

So, after about a month and a half of camping out in our basement, lots of fast food and extreme messiness... we are finally enjoying our new kitchen! It is awesome, I must say. If you want to see more pics of the kitchen before and after... check out facebook!

The BIG DAY

Ya, I know I'm almost 30 years old... and reading books about sexy vampires might seem a little immature to some - but what can I say, I'm still a little bit "high school-ish" inside. So, yes... I got up early on the morning of August 1st and went down with my buddies (also my age, I might add) to Barnes and Noble to get my "wrist band" so that I could get my reserved copy of "Breaking Dawn" at midnight! Yes, I am crazy - and a little lame. But it was fun. I'm glad I did it. And the book rocks, by the way. (but I'm not finished, so don't ruin it for me!)

So, the girls all went to the cheesecake factory for dinner. After which we headed to Barnes and Noble for the release party. I must say, we felt a little out of place and lame being there, but after we took the test (and ACED it!) we decided it wasn't so bad. I'm not sure why we waited up until Midnight to get it, when we could have just gone to Costco the next morning and picked it up - but what can I say, we like to get a little crazy, right girls??

Here we are waiting outside - eating our cheesecake...

Here we are waiting inside - getting a little tired of waiting...

And FINALLY ... we got our books!
(and yes, mine is upside down - it was a little late, okay?)
So, thanks to Stephenie Meyer, our houses are all a mess, laundry is piling up and our husbands are all ticked off at us and hate anything to do with "vampires" or "warewolves" - but ya gotta hand it to her - the books rock!! Next we'll be the immature idiots at the midnight showing of the movie in December. Stay tuned for that!

It's What Fun Is!

Okay so we go to Lagoon only ONCE a year - and that's when we can all get in free. That's right - STAKE LAGOON DAY! So, when Ross got home from work, we hopped in the car, grabbed a pizza on the way and headed to Lagoon. The kids were so excited they could hardly stand it. We shoved a little pizza down everybody (in the Lagoon parking lot - in the tailgate of our car), and then we went in for some Lagoon fun.

the DINOSAUR EGG DROP!The Helicopters!BUMPER CARS!The DRAGONFLYThe TIDAL WAVE

Well, after running to every ride we could possibly fit in before they kicked us out, it turned out to be a really fun day at Lagoon. I taught Landon to say "It's what fun is" every time I mentioned Lagoon. It was so cute and funny hearing him say it. We were all exhausted when we got home that night. I don't think Landon and Ash knew quite what hit them. It think it's the best night's sleep everyone had since they got here. But not until we got our Slurpees that they were promised on the way home. It doesn't matter how tired children are - they always remember when you promise them something - especially when it involves sugar!

LAGOON - IT'S WHAT FUN IS!

SURPRISE!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, ROSS!

So, of course I couldn't let my husband turn 30 without doing something BIG, right? That just wouldn't make sense for me. So... of course I did a lot of planning - and with a lot of help, we had a rather large surprise party thrown together. It ended up being perfect... thanks to a lot of help from good friends and amazing family!! (Thanks, Cari & Garrick!) I seriously couldn't have done it without them. But after accepting a lot of help and spending the entire day setting up at the park... we had a very successful and fun surprise birthday party. Ross was completely shocked. I can't believe I actually pulled it off, to be honest.

After quite a bit of arguing and persuading, I rushed Ross to get ready and got 5 kids ready in less than an hour... I was practically shoving everybody out the door. Ross kept saying, "What's the big rush?" as I was hurrying things along. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a pretty wound up person normally, he probably would have known something was up... but he just thought I was in one of my hurry modes. So after a little bit of a fight and arguing the whole way up to the park, this is what he saw when he pulled up. His exact words were "Happy 30th Birthday... oh crap" - and then the party began!

THE GUESTS:

THE CHEF (and party planner!) :
Cari is missing in action... but without these guys, this all would not have happened. - Thank you guys for all your help!!


THE SPEAKERS:

..THIAGO..
..ANGIE..
..SEAN..
..STEVE..
..KYLE..

..JULIE..

The CAKES:

http://www.nothingbundtcakes.com/

Might I suggest Nothing Bundt Cakes for your next celebration? These cakes were so super good! I was so happy with them. We had Chocolate Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate, White Chocolate Raspberry, Carrot, and Red Velvet. They were to die for!

Here's Kristy helping me serve them! Thanks, Kristy!

The ENTERTAINMENT (for kids, anyway):

Thanks for coming, everybody! We had a really fun time - and it wouldn't have been successful without all of you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSS!