January Catch-up 2013

Hobie loves Clayton because Clayton likes to snuggle and pet him. Even though he gets squeezed really tight, Hobie always comes back for more Clayton love. Especially at bed time when we read and pray. I love the look in his yellow eyes in this picture. He's so big and fat.

 Dylan is getting better at eating food. He's never been very interested in mush and spits it right out. I've been giving him some finger foods and he enjoys eating them much better. Clayton is a good little helper.

 On New Year's Day, Dylan learned to crawl by following Clayton's Police car. Now he's mobile! 

 I am usually a stickler about not letting my kids eat batter with raw eggs. I know it is silly, but I just know they will get sick if I let them and then I will beat myself up over it.  I bought an egg free batter and Clayton loved liking the utensils.

 "I'm going outside."

 Thumbs up.

 Blake's Christmas Elf was so cute. I like his beady eyes.

 Blake snuggling Dylan at Ethan's baptism.  What blue, blue eyes! I wished for Warren's blue eyes when I was pregnant with Blake. I never imagined my wish would come true 3 times!!!

 The annual Tree Party at Farfar's wasn't as crowded as usual due to a huge snow storm. It was still pretty packed though.

 Dylan looks a little surprised by all the dancing and loud singing.

 I'm sure he was wondering if we had all gone crazy! 

 My dear friend, Brandie, came to visit for a day and I took her to Temple Square. I figure if you are only coming to Salt Lake for one day, you better see the biggest tourist attraction. The boys were so good, even though it was only 19 degrees outside.

 It is just so beautiful. I love it!

 Over Martin Luther King Jr.weekend, Warren went up to the cabin with the boys. Amber, Kristin, and the kids all came over for dinner and fun cousin time. 

 Ashley LOVES little D. She just can't get enough of him likes to bring him toys. She even gave him a whole chunk of mandarin orange once. Fortunately, I caught it quickly and scooped it out of his mouth. She was just trying to share with baby!

 Amber and the kids stayed over for a sleepover. There was much giggling and it was VERY late before everyone was asleep.  Blake and Ethan also broke the first rule of sleepovers at my house and jumped from the top bunk to the air mattress! I knew it was just a matter of time. Lil' stinkers;)

 Dylan was so tired, he fell asleep in his little bouncer. So cute.

 I just love him so much!

 All the girls went out to Olive Garden for a BOY baby shower for Kristin. 

It was fun to get away and enjoy endless soup, salad, and bread-sticks. YUMMY!!

 I can pull myself up now.

 Only Clayton insists on riding his bike through the snow.

 Warren traded in the ol' Yaris and upgraded to a Nissan Titan. He was so happy to have a truck that he hopped happily out of bed for a month.

 MLK Jr. Weekend with the boys.

 "Al Nino"

 Warren took the boys on a winter camp-out and they were so happy. They stayed warm and loved playing with their cousin, Ethan.

New Year's and late Christmas 2012

We went to Warren's parents for a late Christmas/ New Year's celebrations a couple days before New Year's.  Little D is so cute in his Santa hat and Spidey jammies.

 Clayton got some awesome toy airplanes from Granny and Papa.

 He was pretty excited.

 Dylan and Natalie.

On New Year's Eve, I had our neighbors, Jeff and Melanie over, and Elliot and Kristin for a nice dinner and games. It was pretty low-key, but we all had a good time.

Christmas 2012

For Christmas we drove to Castle Rock to visit my family. It was a perfect holiday.

 Here's a couple shots of the kids decorating Christmas cookies.

 Here's the newest addition to the Clark side of the family....Codey. He is a little Yorkie that Jaden received as a Birthday surprise. He is pretty cute and wiggly. We call him "Codelita" for short for some reason. I think Kim is addicted to the Dog Whisperer.

 Christmas Eve

 I love these little boys with all my heart. 

 Kim's house was set up so beautifully. It was their first Christmas in their new house. She did an amazing job with the tables and decorations. Brian made a Prime Rib roast that was the best I have EVER tasted. It was so delicious.

 I put together some Reindeer games for the group to play. The first game was called "Snowball fight." The room was divided into two sections with blue tape. We drew names for the teams and each team decided on a Reindeer name. Each player received a white piece of paper to crumple up and throw over the line. The team with the least amount of "snowballs" on their side after a minute, won. It was fun and crazy...but I forgot to get pictures:(  We used the blue line a lot and could get all the kids to run to the blue line when we yelled, "BLUE LINE!!!" I guess that is why there are lines in the gym at school. It was awesome.

 Grandma gave all the kids new jammies

 They are all so cute. I love that Lexie is pulling Gavin's hair.

 The second game was a pretzel eating race. Brian barely beat Blake.

 I think it is cute that Lexie's little mouth is open. She wanted to try.

 Rand and his best friend Jess.

 Kim and Jess had to shake the jingle bells out of the boxes as fast as they could....It was a tie.

 They all laughed at the video of them shaking their Reindeer booty's.

 Of course, Claydog wanted a turn. It was some unforgettable booty jiggling.

 Rand competed against Brody playing "Nut Stacker." They had to stack a pile of bolts with a candy cane.

 Warren and Grandma competed against each other in the gift wrapping race. Warren won by speed. Grandma's were pretty, but incomplete.

 Uncle Brian had an app on his phone that could show exactly where Santa Claus was making his visits. He was somewhere in the East coast when we told the kids about it. They all of a sudden got really worried and had to go to bed right then. Brody was nearly panicked and was halfway up the stairs before we could get him to come back down to leave out cookies for Santa.

 The kids all slept together in one room which made Christmas Eve extra special.

 We got the most beautiful, peaceful snowfall on Christmas Eve. I don't know if I have ever seen such beautiful snow. The whole world sparkled. I think it must have been the Christmas magic. I spent a few minutes outside in the peaceful, falling snow and thought about the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Him and the peace and love I feel in quiet moments like that.

 Santa came, of course, and the kids were delighted. 

 Lexie's reaction was really cute as she saw the presents piled around the tree.

 All Clayton wanted this Christmas was a Web Shooter. He started yelling with excitement when he saw that he had gotten his wish. It was really too bad when the web missiles were NOT in the box! Santa must have been really busy to overlook something that important.

 Dylan cared more for the paper than the presents. Either way, he was happy.

 Just as I was complaining about my camera not working well, Warren urged me to open his present to me. To my surprise, it was a new little camera! I was so happy and started using it right away. I will get so much use out of it. Thank you, Sweetie!

 Precious Dylan

 Playing Blake's new game, Headbandz.

 Oh, he is just so PRECIOUS to me! I just want to EAT him up!

 Gavin and Dayne

 Warren and Brian took the kids sledding on Christmas day.

 Little Clayton picked up Ryan's Cat, T-Rex when Bear was nearby and the cat got scared and scratched him. His face is so sad.