The Girl Who Never Stops!

I know that I was a tom boy and I'm sure Michael was full of energy as a child as well, but I don't know where this child gets all of it! She has played hard all day long and then after dinner we found her outside flipping side aerials and doing back flips. She makes me tired!

Uncle Kent the Chef

Uncle Kent felt sorry for Courtney who was patiently waiting for her mom's help to make a special treat. So, he put on an apron that says "Martha Stewart Wants Me" and started helping Courtney with her treat. They made a special pink fudge treat that Courtney found in one of the cook books that Curtis and Shandy got her. She's such a little Betty Homemaker!

Courtney's Summer Softball

Courtney enjoyed her softball this summer. She didn't love the practices so much, but she loved the games. She played second base. She did really great and almost always got on base. I think the worst part about the whole experience this year, unfortunately, was dealing with out of control parents that needed to get a grip on kids softball. Some of them acted like their kids were playing in the major league, instead 8-11 year old girl's summer softball. It made for a bad feeling amongst the crowd. But, we just tried to ignore them and make the best of it... and have a good time! We spent many hours this summer sitting in lawn chairs watching games. Michael said now he understood what his parents went thru for him. He said they came to every game of his to support him even though they probably had better things to do. So...thanks Mom and Dad Clark for being awesome parents!

Camilla's Summer Softball

Camilla enjoyed her season of softball this year. We were really proud of her. She was on the six to eight year old team, so she was the youngest on the team, but she held her own. She didn't let any of those older girls push her around!

Movie Night

Courtney decided it was time for us to have another family movie night. So, of course, we couldn't just sit down and watch the movie. She made a whole movie theme. Kinsey (Courtney gets her creativity from her) helped her find the appropriate outfit to "manage" the movie experience. She handed out tickets and created an assortment of candy and popcorn. She even scanned the movie and hung a sign to the entrance to the room. She cracks me up. And she made her little sister help her. It was fun!

Clearing Ground and Cleaning Up

We should have taken a before shot of how this side lot looked before today. Just ask Carl and Sam; it was a mess! We had a pile of brush; wood, leaves, dead plants, parts of the fence, and a huge hundred year old tree stump. So, thanks to the help of Stan and our incredible neighbors we got it cleaned up. Our side lot is an unusual shape. It is really wide in the back. Our property line goes from the small tree on the left to our fence, but then it gets narrow as you get up to the front of the house. Anyway, it looks so much better. Next year's project will be to move the fence over to our new property line.

The Addition is Done!

This month has been a whirl wind! We have spent every night Mon-Friday at Courtney and Camilla's ballgames or practices. Michael has been doing a huge job for the Country Club in town that has turned into a big pain in the bootie. We took a trip to Kentucky for three days for our Ray Family Reunion. And somehow we managed to get this room done! Michael worked hard on the structure of installing the trim while Kim painted everything. It was crazy busy, but we are happy with the end result.

Room Addition Update

I came home from the church to find the girls had

put on their knee pads to help dad!

Alex came in to check out the new space too!

Kim agreed begrudgingly to put the old furniture in the room

until the new furniture comes in, which could take a few more weeks!

Finishing Touches!

Michael did such a great job on the crown molding! We looked at some books with different styles and got a good idea of what we wanted, then he just figured it out and went for it. I was really proud of him.