School Times

The girls are back to school. Camilla is a big first grader and attends school all day. This was a little adjustment for her, but she has been very brave. Courtney is a big 5th grader which means her class is the oldest in the school... so she thinks she's pretty hot stuff! I don't know what school is like out west, but they have to be in school by the first bell that rings at 7:50 a.m. So, it is back to a routine and no more late nights... which is very hard at the Clark's house.

13 years ago...

Nothing has changed much in thirteen years...

except a "little" grey hair, a few kids and some unwanted wrinkles,

but other than that we are going stronger than ever!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Birthday Michael

Michael celebrated his 36th Birthday on Saturday. We had the family over for cake and ice cream. I think he had a fun day! His big present is going to the Reds Baseball game next weekend. We have seats right behind the Red's dugout...so he's really excited.

Furniture Has Arrived!

On Wednesday our furniture finally arrived after seven weeks of patiently waiting. The only thing missing is our lamps which are ordered, but not in yet. The "motion" sofa, loveseat and recliner have the most comfortable fabric we've ever felt. You just kind of melt into the fabric. And all of them recline. I have a feeling this picture of Michael (and Alex) will be a familiar sight from now on. Even though my expression doesn't show it in this picture, I am very happy with the way it turned out.

You Gotta Love Summer!

I love watching kids play in the summer time! I get such a kick out of looking out my window and seeing what these girls are up to next. Watching their creative minds at work is so fun. Whether it be climbing trees, having a "biker chic" parade, or playing in the sprinklers...it is just so fun to see them not have a care in the world and just be kids!

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.

Update!!!

Ok. As usual...we have been running around like crazy and Carl has called with threatening words because he wants an update.

So here we go....

Here is Louise and his helper finishing the drywall.

Then...

Kim left for Stake YW Girl's Camp for a week.

Can you figure out where Kim is in this picture?

Our Theme for Camp this year was Inspiration Island..."Treasure the Truth"

On our Bishop's night we had a Luau. This is me and my friend, Candis,who was the camp specialist for Crawfordsville. We had a good time!

For our service project we went to the Lafayette Humane Society and did whatever service we could do for them. However I refused to do what this girl was doing....

This is sooooooooooo gross!

Ok...so Kim gets home from camp on Friday and Michael is patiently waiting for her to come home to start painting!! So, Saturday morning we start the painting process.

Here is our family project priming everything.

So, here it is all primed and ready to go...but, it was only 4pm so Kim thought...what the heck... and went ahead and started putting the final paint color on. Michael was very concerned about Kim's color choice so he had to leave the room for a while. But, when he came back he liked it better.
Here is where her inspiration came from and her color scheme plan. (Maroon, Browns, Olive Green, Light Blues, and Black)
And Finally, our last work today was hangin up the ceiling fans and adding the electrical outlet covers. We had neighborly help from Kirk Allen, Joel Sommer, and Brother-in-law, Greg Price.

So there you go Carl!!!

Good Times!

A trip to Kings Island (Cincinnatti OH)

with Patrick, Carl, Michael and Sam

We got home from taking Carl and Sam to the airport and found these cards from Sam. They were the nicest, generous, and most sincere cards ever. He even left a card for Alex, which made us laugh really hard. Thanks Sam! You are so awesome. We knew you were, but getting to spend so much time with you made us realize even more why Carrie loves you so much! Thanks!...and of course we think you are awesome too Grandpa Clark!!

Real estate is cheaper here...even on the Lake!!

While we were playing again...

It's so fun to come home every day and see what progress has been made on our room. Here is what happened while we were at the track today.