Friday, December 26, 2014

Enjoying Life

We found this great place called Just Jymnastics.  It is a great place to burn off extra energy and it only cost $3 for an hour of open gym time. :)




Can you tell Clark loves it!?


He wanted to make juice so then we had to clean out the juicer. 


He is so cute!

And he gets sick of me taking so many pictures of him. 

Loves cutties. 

Yep, pretty disgusting outside at times! 

Want to build a snow man?


He loves our snow shovel. 

I love this hat!

I got too cold, but Clark wanted to keep playing. 


He managed to get down this time. 

Love our window markers.  I have to remember to close the screen door when it snows so it doesn't build up so much on the door into the house. 

South Dakota is interesting in that the wind blows a ton and we get giant snow drifts. My neighbor had snow up and over her 4 foot fence because of a now drift. 


One of my favorite pictures of him! 

Yummy!

As you can see we are still working on the smiling thing...

Wesley loves to watch T.V. with us!

Enjoying the Legos he got for his birthday. 


Snow Angels! 


Wes wasn't the biggest fan of the snow. 

Tada! 

This hawk landed on our front porch! 

He totally beat me at Monopoly the first time we played it! 


Clint decided that instead of making snow men, he would build a snow fort! 

Pretty sunsets. 


Clark pretending to sleep. 

Best friends. 



Experiment time. We tried to grow lettuce in the fish tank, but it only got about 2 inches tall before the bottom started to rot. 

Riding bikes in the snow. 

Yes it was cold! 

We found another gymnastics place but we liked the first one a little better.  

Shaving cream writing. Clark spelled ROCK all by himself! 


Yummy, just kidding. 

Our neighbors daughter came over with a hat full of pacifiers and Wesley found them.   He has a thing for plastic items. 



Along with the insane cold, we have also had some days this December that have been beautiful!  On this day our temperatures were warmer then Tampa Florida! Can't beat playing in the snow in shorts! 

We all needed the time outside and in the fresh, wonderful air! 



Don't worry, this wasn't blood. I filled up a mayonnaise bottle with water and food coloring so that Clark could write in the snow.  

This was a cool experience. I got to bring Clark to work with me! I have been selling Juice Plus and he got to tag along at an event one weekend!  How many jobs do parents get to do that?  He was so cute trying to get people to come talk to me. Loved it. 

We had a field trip to Clint's clinic with our preschool group. The kids loved it. 


Making gingerbread houses at a friend's house. 

There is a great smile! 

Cat in a box. 




Transforming cat. 





He said, " Mom, is this how Papi wears his pants?" It was funny. 

Playing around at the Outdoor Campus. 


Clark being down right silly! Boxers on his head and pants on his legs. 

My cuddle bug. 

Snow Fun


This was a pretty tree we saw in the fall when we first went to Outdoor Campus. 


Clark loved the Mud Kitchen. 

Playing. 

Helping Mom make bread. 

Wesley really loves going outside. 

One of my favorite things to do with Clark is craft. 

Thanksgiving

Funny how since we got this table in 2006 I have always thought it was small when it came to big dinners when we have friends and family joining us.  There have been years that we have added a card table to it to make more room for guests.  It wasn't until this year that it seemed GIGANTIC! But I am truly thankful that we have a table to eat at, and a roof over our heads and delicious food to eat.  


This is also one of those things we take for granted. While in Korea the red casserole dish barely fit in my oven!  Look how much extra room our standard American oven has! 


Clark was so happy to be able to drink out of the fancy glass!




We totally made too much food also. In fact, the smallest turkey I could find at the commissary was 18 lbs.  It worked out well for us because we saved half of the turkey for Christmas dinner. 

Hiking the Black Hills in December!

Such a treat to be able to enjoy nature in the middle of December AND in South Dakota! Growing up in CA we always had "perfect" weather and often enjoyed Christmas in our shorts and t-shirts. Living in places that have seasons and snow has definitely made me appreciate the "nice days" a ton more! 


I almost didn't bring my jacket because it was so warm at my house, (the 40s have now become sweater weather) but I  ended up needed the coat AND gloves! 

Cool fungus growing on the side of a stump. 

Collecting pine cones to make a fire so we could cook lunch. 

We really weren't that far from the road, but it was so peaceful and pretty here. 

Fire prep. 



Spark!

And we have fire!

Oh wait, let's try that again. 

That's more like it! 

Happy boys!


Love him so much! 

So blessed to have him in our lives and that he make a hike a fun experience not only for Clark but for me too! 

Clark has days that he has to be touching me in some way or another. Today it was having his hand on me while eating. Others it is just sitting next to me, or in my lap.  

Case in point. 

Clint got a little hangry. Clark was having a hard time understanding why Mom didn't get her food first, well after him, but before Dad, but it was a good lesson in teaching him to take care of those in need. 


Beautiful views. 





Caught you! 


Clark turns 5!

Yes I realize the date of this post is Dec. 26th and that Clark turned 5 in November.  Maybe I am in denial that I have a 5 year old now! Also, I haven't had much time to do my blogging like I usually do. But here is to catching up! 
He didn't really know what to do with this. I had to tell him that it was real money from his GiGi and that he could buy a toy with it.

We had a few friends over for cake. I love celebrating birthdays but some times parties seem to drag on, especially when you have a ton of wild children running around. So I wanted to keep it simple and start with cake and open presents and if people wanted to leave after that, then they could, and if people wanted to stay and hang out, then that was great too.  Plus it saved on planning games and entertainment.  Just seemed to work out.

Clark requested a rainbow cake with blue icing.  Wesley wanted cake too! Really healthy for the diabetic gato! 


It was relatively easy to make, just required mixing colors into multiple bowels. 

Complete with fish shaped sprinkles. 



SUGARRRRR

We did a lego themed party. 


Then we were blessed with wonderful weather and got to play outside for a while with our friends.  It was awesome!