Our action packed Labor Day weekend!

Last week Meg & Dave decided they wanted to come for Labor Day weekend, & of course we were very excited! We definitely did A LOT, more than usual, for our weekend trips with them, but it was so much fun. However, I think we were all very tired by the end of the trip.

These pictures are in reverse...so I guess I'll give the lowdown in reverse too.

First of all this cute little tutu, we made for McKelle, to take her pictures in, but forgot it. So we had to snap at least one picture of her in it. Good thing it still turned out cute...even with our ugly wood floors. On Monday, we played some soccer-golf (these Clark's come up with soccer everything, soccer-golf, soccer-tennis...jk) & played on the playground at a nearby school. Then we headed to downtown Cleveland to do some shopping at Tower City (mall), only to find that it was closed!

But, The Taste of Cleveland was going on & it only cost a buck to get in so we did that, thinking we got FREE samples of food-like it said so on the website. It was a trick, you have to buy tickets & use the not-so-cheap tickets to then buy the food. A little lame, but still fun. This was at the Taste of Cleve. Don't they all look way excited?

On Saturday, we ventured out to get some great finds at the garage sales. We got a few good things, we were pleased! A little later, we headed out on the pier to watch the Air Show...which was AWESOME!
I definitely recommend it! We saw a hovering Harrier & the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Luke loved watching the planes too. I love this picture of him & Matt (even though, Matt thinks it makes him look really bald).

Towards the end, Luke learned to cover his ears. Those air planes were extremely loud.

They did a lot of amazing tricks that were just AMAZING!
I can't describe how cool it was.

Friday, Meg & I took little McKelle out to get some cute pictures of her. They turned out so cute...I'll post a few later. Matt had to work & Dave worked from our house most of the day.

Later that night we picked up some snacks & went to an Indian's game. And surprisingly, they w

Thanks for coming, once again, Dave, Meg & McKelle! We can't wait until next time....especially Luke!

Finally, Utah Part III

Here is the last part to my Utah trip. I'll keep it short.
My best friend Liz was getting married, & I wasn't going to be able to go. Then we found out we were going home & I was able to stay the extra week & make it to her wedding. It was great!Liz & Aaron were married in the Manti temple. It was a hot, but beautiful summer day.

The best part, for me, was being with all my girls!
I was flying solo, since Matt had gone home, but they didn't make me feel like a 5th wheel, with their spouses. It was so fun to see all of them & spend most of the day together.

Here we are (minus Jamie).
The photographer loved our "sass!"

We had a luncheon where we all, including Jamie, were together with their spouses.
My awesome in-laws watched Luke all day long-THANK YOU!!!
Later that night we headed back down to Salem, where the reception was.

Late that night Luke & I drove to Salt Lake to stay with my sister & then woke up at 3am to catch our 5am flight. Thankfully, the flight was much better than I expected it to be!

It was so great being home with friends & family, as it always is. We were grateful we could be there for Grandma Clark's funeral, to spend time with family & for Liz's wedding.

It's time

Today Matt submitted his residency applications. The waiting game begins!
He applied to 20 programs.
Will we end up in:

• Utah
• Texas
• California
• Arizona
  
• Colorado
• Washington
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Massachusetts
• Virginia
• Hawaii
• Minnesota
• Or stay here in Cleveland????

Unfortunately, only time will tell.
Looking forward to Match Day in March!

Utah Part II

After the busy weekend, Matt flew home & I switched over to stay at my mom's house.
Sunday night all my family came in to see me. It was great to have almost everyone (except the Forsey's) together.

Luke had so much fun playing with his cousins.

Me with my Grandma & Pa Hales.

The lovely Johnson sisters.
(Except Mandy).
And us again, but with my mom & Grandma.

My best friend Liz came by & joined in the BBQ, she's practically family.

Throughout the week we did a lot of fun things.
Some of the highlights were:

• Shopping & out to lunch with the Clark girls & mom.
• Swimming at the sweet new Payson pool w/Rachel, Mckay & Sarah.
  
• BBQ & swimming in SF with my sis, Susie.
• Doing a session w/Liz at the Provo Temple, followed by breakfast.
• Shopping w/my mom (& finding two great dresses, spending $40 total..I love great deals!)
• Topping the week off with Liz's wedding (pics soon to come).

This was at the Payson pool. It was so much fun!
The coolest thing about it was the ground was like rubbery & soft to walk on, way cool.Luke & me at the SF pool with Susie, Burkley & Jack.

This is Liz & me after doing our session. This was the best picture we could get of us, with the camera propped up on our purses.

Boys will be boys...

What do you think he did this time?

Well, I bet you weren't thinking a 1 1/2 year old could do this?

It's a GOOD thing he is so cute.

Utah Part I

I have several pictures I want to post from our Utah trip, so I'll do them in parts.

The reason we that we made a sudden trip home was because of the passing of Matt's Grandma Clark. It was definitely a bitter sweet occasion. She was 90 years old & had been very sick for the past 6 or 7 years, hardly speaking throughout those years due to Dementia.

Grandpa Clark is stilling going at the age of 108 years. When I met him over 3 years ago, he was still very sharp & on his feet, seeming quite independent for his age. However, he has been beginning to show his age the past year or so, & even though we didn't hear him talk too much, he still had such a charming way about him.

It was so nice to be home with family & to get to see most of the Clark relatives. I'm so thankful to be married into such a great family, I love them all!

Us, Meg & Dave, Rachel & Charlie all flew in around the same time on Thursday...first item of business was, of course...a SOCCER game! We all stopped to watch Matt's littlest sister, Adrienne's, HS soccer game & cheer her on, it was a lot of fun. We definitely had a full house at the Clark's that weekend with 17 of us there (we were missing 6 others).

Friday night we had the viewing in Orem. It was a very lovely funeral home. It was fun to see all the Clark cousin's. It was especially neat to see Grandpa Clark with his youngest sister LeOra who I believe just turned 101 years old.

We're not quite sure if Grandpa realized that Grandma had died, if he did, he may have forgotten quickly. At first I thought that was so sad, but after thinking about it I think if Matt died I'd rather not know, or forget quickly. That would definitely ease the pain at least.

Saturday morning (after a very early game of soccer) we had a very nice funeral service held at the church, with a luncheon following. Here we were able to snap this awesome 4 generation picture. The three doctor's. Maybe Luke will decide to be a doctor someday too? We'll see.
The burial took place in a lovely cemetery in Salt Lake City. Matt gave the dedicatory prayer & did a great job. I really like this picture of the grandsons as the pallbearers. It was a beautiful day.
Afterward we headed back to the Clark house to have a yummy BBQ & had a blast playing Chocu (sp?) on the tennis court. Sunday we all were able to go to church together (we were only missing Doug M, the kids & Cam-on his mission).

After church, Matt, Emily & Dave had to fly back. Matt had the "adventure" of sleeping over night in the airport. I was able to stay the next week & had a lot of fun with family & friends....

To be continued.