The Clarke Family

A Weekend with Grandma Jules and Papa Oren

2010-05-16T19:36:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we were so happy to have Grandma Jules and Papa Oren come and visit us. We haven't seen Julie and Oren since Christmas, so it was a visit that was long overdue... we missed them so much! We had such a fun time just talking, catching up, and spending time with eachother. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family who we love so much. We started our weekend out at Kyle's Medical School Clinician Ceremony. The ceremony signifies the end of the 2 classroom years of Medical School, and the beginning of his schooling in a clinical setting. We're half way done with Medical School - Yay, Ky-Bud!

Afterwards, we went to BJ's with Grandma and Grandpa and our buddies the Radmalls. And just so ya know, their fish and chips are FABULOUS!

The girls had so much fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa, and we had so much fun talking with, shopping, and hanging out with them... Grandpa Oren taught Ada how to really tease and bug Kyle - by calling him a "girl"! There hasn't been a day that's gone by without Ada jabbing Daddy. It is absolutely hilarious... she definitely inherited her Dad's and Grandpa's teasing skills!

Ada and Grandma playing Memory and Candyland... of course Ada just can't get enough.

One of the best weekends ever! We can't wait to live closer to Grandma Jules and Papa Oren, and look so forward to seeing them next month! We love you guys!

The Dreaded 3-0!

2010-04-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Oh, My. Oh, My. I can't believe it happened?! My big sister turned the big 3-0 today! Scary? Yes. Because where she goes, I will be. Fun? The BEST. We had the funnest girls' night out yesterday celebrating Natalie's Dirty Thirty Momentous Occassion. And by the way, she was such a good sport... she wore that birthday crown all night last night!

We started off at the Lucky nail salon and all got pedicures. Some rare royal treatment for us poor folk. It was fabulous.

Here is Kristin squirming and laughing her head off...

because her Pedicurist was doing this... the dreaded cheese grater! I must admit, it is REALLY hard not to squirm and laugh when they take the zester to your foot - anyone else have that problem?

Sexy, or what? I guess only if you have a foot fetish?

We were then off to Ichiban Japanese Grill for some yummy and pretty much the funnest food you can get - right?? We only had eggs, spatulas, and salt and pepper shakers hit us in the head a few times. It was great fun.

And then, I am ashamed to admit, the sinning started. Because when you mix a bunch of this...

with this...

and a few of these...

not to mention a pound of melted this...

the final outcome is this sinfully delicious masterpiece!

Salted Caramel and Chocolate Ganache Cake. THE. BEST. CAKE. EVER. Nevermind the fact that it took me 4.5 hours of mixing and measuring and using a candy thermometer and assembling. It was SO worth it. If you would like to be the committer of the most decadent, amazing, rich, sweet, and succulent sin ever - all you need do is go to MarthaStewart.com and download the recipe for the Sweet and Salty Cake. Yes, that is salt sprinkled on top... delicious.

Overall, it was such a fun night! Natalie, I love you so much. Thank you for being my best friend. I hope you had the Happiest of Birthdays because you truly deserve it.

... and p.s. - ha, ha... You're 30!

The Big "R" Mountain

2010-04-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

Last week Kyle actually had a little free time so we decided to make a family outing of it! We live pretty close to Reno's big "R" Mountain... close enough to make it a little 2 hour walk/hike from our front door. Can you see the R on the mountain in the photo below? That was our goal, and I wasn't quite sure if we were gonna make it having the clutziest 2 year old in the world, but we actually did okay!

We first had to walk through a few neighborhoods to get to the trail. While walking, we were trying to get Ada excited about getting to the R, but she was kinda having a hard time. There were a few times when she really got confused that we were even going to the R because she couldn't see it. We were definitely on the right path, but the view of the R was often times obstructed by homes or hills. I thought this was a great object lesson that she pointed out: the same is life. We know what our destination is, but there are so many things that can obstruct our view and divert us off the right path... we really just have to have faith in the path that has been outlined for us to arrive safely.

Just up the hill! We actually had fun when we got to this point of our little travel. Ada is obsessed with Dora, and I think she really felt like a true explorer trudgin' up the mountain! All of us were even singing Dora's song "Come on, vamanos - everybody lets go! Where are we going? Big R Mountain!" You definitely know you're a parent of a 2 year old when you have all the Dora songs memorized...

We Made It!

Views from the Mountain. O, Reno, Reno...

We are definitely going to miss Reno when we're gone!

Everything Easter

2010-04-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

So, I have, of recent, had an epiphany... Easter is my absolute most favorite Holiday-hands down. I'm not just talking about the BEST and most AMAZING candy that seems to only come out around this time of year - but everything about it! We get to celebrate Christ and his atonement and crowning ressurection! I mean, Christmas is great, but we tend to focus so much on the nativity and His birth when the real and most awe inspiring reason He came was to do what we celebrate every Easter - to free us from every bad thing that could ever possibly happen to us. To give us eternal life! Woo hoo! I love that at Easter time the ugly winter starts to melt away, and warmth and color come back into our lives. And to top it off, we get to watch General Conference at Easter time (which I get very excited about). Life is grand, isn't it? Here are some things we've been doing to to Celebrate our Easter Week...

Ada and Penny in their Easter Dresses.

Ada giving Penny a dandylion... what a sweet big sister. :)

Ada loves rolling her tongue...

Pretty Penny.

Thanks, Grandma Neibaur for the cute Easter Dresses!!

Dyeing Easter Eggs

GLITTER EGGS! My friend Rebecca gave Ada that cute little apron.

Although an artist, Penny refrained from helping too much knowing that her oral fixation usually gets the best of her in such situations... we know you'll nip it in the bud someday, Penn.

The Fam, as taken by the wall. It was pretty early... morning breath and all.

"Ta-Da!" Can't you just see her saying it in this picture?? It is definitely one of her favorite phrases...

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

We went over to Natalie's house to make our dessert for Easter dinner on Sunday. The best carrot cake cupcakes ever - with extra walnuts! Natalie, Cozette, Ada and I had such a fun time decorating...

and Ada planted a garden...

Ada - not so sure she can really eat it now... and cute Claire in the background.

YAY!! We love Easter!

New Moon Party!

2009-11-21T11:58:00.000-08:00

So, if you didn't already know, New Moon (the second book/film in the Twilight Saga) opened on Thursday at 12am... and oh, we were there! Jessica Jensen, Kristin Radmall, and I threw a little party to celebrate the momentous occasion!

My decorating skills are pretty much non-existent, but I did put some candles up the stairs leading to the party.

The Twilighters (minus Katie Simpson who is taking the pic.)

We got to the theater around 10:30pm to wait in line so we could get good seats to our 12:30am showing. It was AWESOME. We were all wearing glow-stick necklaces and totally lit up the back of the theater. We also had fun doing New Moon trivia together. I even started a few chants that some people participated in... Can't wait 'til next year!!

Thanksgiving Play Group

2009-11-21T11:35:00.001-08:00

We have a fun group of Moms and kids that get together every week for a little play group. This week we did fun Thanksgiving crafts including...

A marshmallow apple turkey, and...

Pilgrim & Indian stick people (can you tell which face Ada drew?), and...

Indian Hats!

I think Ada's favorite part was her apple feast.

Pow! Penny's Painful and Powerful Punch! It only comes out when she's feelin' a little savage.

an Indian Pow Wow!

We had a great time at Play Group this week. Thank you to Shanna for always making it so fun!

Who is Who??

2009-11-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

My parents are always saying how much Ada reminds them of me when I was little. After looking at this picture, I can totally see why... She is my clone. She even makes the same faces as me when I was little! Take a look at this.

That is little Heidi on the left...

And Ada 25 years later.

Wow! I need to find some more pics of me at Ada's age...

Love at Home

2009-11-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

It has been a super busy week in the Clarke Home! Baby Showers, Studying, Mutual Activites, not to mention getting ready for the Party of the Year next week.... our Annual Twilight Party along with a 12:30am New Moon movie showing! Yee Haw. (or as Ada would say, Weeee Haw!) But we still had time to just hang out and have fun at home. Here's a few pics...

Ada's hair is CONSTANTLY staticky. She hates it, but I don't think I could ever cut off her beautiful hair.

This morning I set Penny down in her swing so I could go finish up the dishes. Within a minute, she started whining, so I asked Ada to give her a toy... when I turned around, I saw this. Yes... that is basically our whole Toy Box sitting on top of Penny and taking a ride in the swing. It was pretty funny. Isn't Ada a good big sister?

Pretty Penny.

Sometimes I think Ada wishes she were a stuffed animal. The other morning, she got all of her stuffed animals out of the Toy Box and lined them up. Then layed herself down right in the middle of them. It kinda reminded me of that scene in E.T. when E.T. tries to blend in with all of Elliott's other stuffed animals in the closet. She is so funny... I have a good belly laugh with her atleast once every day.

Penny is by far the hardest baby I have ever fed! She stinks at it! This is honestly how she looks after every feeding. First of all, she wont open her mouth, then she grabs and pulls the spoon from me, and when I do finally get food in her mouth, she spits it out - everywhere! I have to like drape myself with a towel because she's already stained a few of my shirts with sweet potatoes and pasta sauce. Take cover! Penn is Eating!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

This Halloween was Super Fun for the girls! Grandma and Grandpa Neibaur came up to visit along with Uncle Nick, Aunt Rachel, and Grammadella. We had a great time! We started out the day with Cozy's baptism (yay Cozette!), then went to little Nick's soccer game, and hung out with family for the rest of the day. Ada understood more about trick or treating and what it actually is, and let me tell you... she LOVED getting that candy for nothin'! We started out at Aunt Natalie's house for pictures and dinner, then headed over to our friends' Kristin and Brandons' for trick or treating.

Penny begged me to be a penny for Halloween - and for some odd reason it seemed fitting, so we did it! I made her costume out of brown fabric, ribbon, polyester filling and puffy paint - super easy and fun. The only bad part is that Abraham Lincoln totally looks like a black man... Kyle liked it, though. He said it was just a symbolic costume signifying Lincoln freeing the slaves. Anywho - isn't she the cutest little penny you ever saw??

Ada was the cutest little Unicorn in the world for Halloween. Its too bad she hated wearing the Unicorn hood on her head, because it was super cute. I must have bought her costume just a little too small because whenever she put the hood on, she complained of her bum hurting. Yep, her costume gave her a MAJOR wedgie.. in the back AND the front. Sorry, Ada Bug!

The cousins... minus Claire.

Penny. Kyle's mini-me.

Hangin' with the girls. Addyson the mouse, Ada the unicorn, and Sadie the Tink.

Trick or Treat!

Penny, cruisin' in the money!

The Bishop Farms Pun'kin Patch

2009-11-04T13:43:00.000-08:00

This year we found the funnest pumpkin patch! It had huge slides, a sunflower field maze, the HUGEST pumpkins I've ever seen just everywhere, and even a train that we all rode on. It was so much fun! We only wish Jessica, Travis, and Connor could have been there with us - next year for sure!

Sunflower Fields, forever....

Cute Cozy, Kaden, Sadie, and Ada. Jessica, I'm sorry Kaden is wearing his Spiderman jammies... you were in the hospital and that was a battle I didn't even want to touch!

Kyle really wants me to grow out my bangs again.... after seein' these pics, i decided its just not an option. Cute, huh?

Pure Cheeze.

The Big Girls.

All Stitched Up

2009-11-04T13:12:00.000-08:00

Poor, poor Ada. As most of you already know, our first born is a bit of a clutz. But, we love her so much anyways.

The story goes like this: It was a mellow, sunny Sunday afternoon when Natalie called and asked me to make homemade rolls for our family dinner that evening.... rolls take forever, so I protested - wanting to just enjoy my family and husband (who was actually home). But, just like Natalie would, she kept on calling and demanding that I make them because her chicken gravy just had to have some kind of bread to go with it... I was weak and gave in. When I started making rolls, Ada had just gone down for her nap. She woke up crying wanting to come and help me, and again I protested - this time to Kyle- that she needed her nap and would be super cranky without it. Kyle, the softy that he is, chose not to listen to the wise mother and went and got Ada out of bed to come down and help anyways. So Ada pulls up a chair to the kitchen counter to help when all of a sudden I hear a loud CRASH! I look over and the chair has toppled over along with Ada- blood spewing everywhere! Literally... so much blood. She was screaming and when i picked her up, I saw her skull. Okay, so maybe not exactly her skull, but it was a super deep 1.5 inch gash on her forehead. We rushed her to the emergency room and spent 4 traumatic hours there getting her stitched up. In the end, no rolls, no nap for Ada. Moral of the Story: Next time, listen to Mom!

Ada was probably the farthest from the best patient the ER at St. Mary's has ever seen. We had to wrap her up in a sheet like a burrito and pin her down to get those 5 stitches in. When you ask her about her hurt eyebrow, all she'll tell you is that the doctor looked in her ears. Good thing kids bounce back pretty easily huh??

Five days later the stitches came out, and thankfully it looks like there wont be too much of a scar on her perfect little face. We love you so much, Ada Bug!

Penny's Blessing Day

2009-08-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

Penny May was blessed by her dad on August 3, 2009. These pictures were actually taken a few weeks later because she decided she wanted to EXPLODE in her blessing dress 10 minutes before her planned photo shoot. Luckily we were able to get most of the mess cleaned up.

Doesn't she look like an angel? We are so blessed with one of the most beautiful, happy, smiley babies ever. We love her so much!

T minus 10 minutes before Penny's explosion... the only picture of her the actual day of the blessing.

Lake Tahoe

2009-08-13T10:26:00.001-07:00

We LOVE Lake Tahoe! The girls and I have gone 4 times in the last 4 weeks. Its so beautiful and the weather has been perfect. Ada just sits for hours and plays in the water on the beach while I relax and Penny sleeps... doesn't get better than that.

Ada's got major ghetto bootie. Mom forgot to pack the swimmer!

It looks like she took a poo the size of China!

Perfect Penny.

Look! Ada found Gilligan! Kyle can't go to the beach without his especially cute beach hat.

Rawesome Reno

2009-08-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

It was good to be home after a long trip! Here's some pics of the everyday cuteness and catastrophes occuring in the Clarke home.

Ada is usually pretty good eating on her own with a spoon. I left her at the table with some banana yogurt and came back to find this... she thought it was pretty funny.

The brainwashing has begun! Penny is already learning what it means to be a Cougar fan.

and Ada's Elmo Obsession Lives On...

She's Gonne Be a Socca Playa! Here's Penny doing her morning exercises. She literally has worn holes in her socks from kicking so much in her car seat and swing.

Hangin' In Henderson

2009-08-12T16:21:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks after Penny was born, we decided to head to Henderson and show her off to the fam. We ended up staying a month while all of us (except Penny - thank goodness!) were visited with a crazy Bronchitis Bug... eeeww! We were so happy to be able to spend a few days with our friends Sarah and Cory Smith while there!

Their son Peyton and Ada are only a month apart.... Nudie Swimmer Babies!!

Peyton trying to show off his mad gymnastic skills... Ada's really impressed, can you tell??

Ada's 2nd Birthday!

2009-08-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ada turned two on June 8th! She's growing up so fast! Here's a few pictures of her at her birthday party at the park. Yes, that is a huge shiner on her left eye... bathtubs, Ada, and Grandma Neibaur just don't mix too well sometimes.

Ada is OBSESSED with Sesame Street. Can you guess who her favorite character is? I made a special cake just for her with fiery Elmo boogers and all!

The Whole Family! Even Pa Pa Pa and Great Grandma Annie Crockett were in town from California. I've never seen a child love all of her Grandparents and Great Grandparents as much as Ada does. She is a love child.

Ada adores her cousins Brynlee and Rylee. There are 4 girl cousins on the Clarke side - and soon to be 5 in October when Katrina and Regan's Harlee enters the world! This family is not capable of having boys... but we like it that way.

Our Shiny New Penny!

2009-05-20T20:49:00.001-07:00

D-Day

2009-05-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The last two days have been absolutely crazy for the Clarke family, a roller coaster ride of emotions encased in glass, if you will. It all started when we went to the hospital on Tuesday at 6:30 AM Pacific Standard Time to be induced. Upon arriving, they told us that there was no room at the inn and that we needed to come back at 9:00 AM. Talk about anticlimactic. Devastated, we returned to our humble abode, only to be called by said hospital a little before nine telling us we could come back. But upon arriving again, they informed us that our room had been maliciously pilfered by an emergency patient. So, we didn't even end up getting induced until 10:45 AM. And Barack Obama hasn't even taken over health care yet! Heidi progressed pretty slowly throughout the day. We passed the time by playing games and making out like wild mongeese. The anesthesiologist came in at 6:00 PM to give Heidi her epidural. In mid-poke, my mother, Julie Denise Clarke, called my phone, setting off Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" at 700 decibels, scaring the anesthesiologist, and forcing the needle into a vein. Blood sprayed everywhere as if coming from a fire hose. Thanks a lot, mom. The second attempt was successful and to make a short story long, Heidi was finally ready to push at midnight. You may be thinking to yourself, "Self, that took a really long time for Heidi to be ready to push." Lest I remind you of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady does in fact win the race. But as our luck would have it, the doctor was at another hospital and we couldn't start pushing until 1:38 AM. My amazing and perfect wife pushed her little heart out for two and a half hours, had entire hands inside of her trying to help the baby out, but to no avail. Penny was staring up at the sky, sunny-side up and enjoying herself, and just wouldn't twist around. She was stuck like a baby pterodactyl in the La Brea tar pits. The doctor decided that the baby's safety was the number one priority, so Heidi needed to get a C-section immediately. Some women get the joy of pushing, others the joy of getting the baby cut out of them, and my poor wife got both. I love her so much, it's ridiculous. At 4:50 AM on Thursday morning, Penny May Clarke emerged from the womb against her will. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. She's our little slurpee, if you will. At 20.5 inches, she has her dad's height and stunning good looks, as well as her mom's rockin' body. Both mom and baby are doing fine. Thank you for your prayers. We love you all. More pictures are coming!

A Fatty Mothers' Day and a Pointy Belly

2009-05-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

This Mothers Day was a simply splendid day including homemade waffles by Kyle, a wonderful day of rich chocolate brownies at church, a family steak dinner with my prego sister Natalie (due in August) and banana split ice cream pie... talk about FAT. Not to mention my belly is as pointy as a freshly sharpened #2 pencil. Why is my belly sooo pointy!? Overall, it was a fabulous day, but could have been even better if the little girl in my belly had decided to rear her head. I seriously feel like I'm prarie doggin' it! We hope you all had a great mothers day too! Pray for me!

One Month Countdown!

2009-04-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

On the brighter side of things, we are officially down to the one month countdown of our new Baby Girl. (And hopefully that countdown will only last 2 or 3 weeks) Woo hoo! As you can see, I'm getting huge, and am looking forward to the day when she's sleeping next to me instead of inside of me, kicking all night! D-Day is approaching... and I'm ready!

Dorothy is Dead!

2009-04-22T08:57:00.001-07:00

We are so sad to announce that Dorothy has joined the world of Spirit Fish after a short lived life of 23 hours at the Clarke home. Upon arriving home from dinner last night, we noticed that she was floating a little more than swimming. Ada seems to be handling it okay... we just told her that Dorothy had to take a bath in the potty. She seemed to understand that because to her Dorothy was always "takin' a baf" (taking a bath in her fish bowl). Farewell, Dorothy! You are the best and most beloved fish we ever had!

Dorothy the Goldfish

2009-04-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a milestone day in the Clarke home... we (well, Ada) got our first pet!! She's a pretty goldfish with a white belly and Ada calls her Dorothy (just like Elmo's goldfish from Sesame Street). As you can see Ada just loves her, and every time she walks by Dorothy's bowl, she has to say "Hi Dorty!". All this fun and excitement for a mere $.26... who knew?!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday was gorgeous here in Reno... a welcome change from all the snow we've been getting. After church, we spent the day at Aunt Natalie's and had fun searching for Easter Eggs. And just for the record, no, we do not abuse our daughter! Ada pulled a table onto herself a few nights before and has a few flesh wounds to show for it... poor baby.

Static... It Happens!

2009-04-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this picture of Ada in the slide... If you know Ada, she is constantly pushing her hair out of her face or back into place. After a while, she just stopped fighting the static.

The Newest Blogger on the Block

2009-04-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

Yes... the time has finally come for me to join the 21st Century and start a BLOG. Took long enough, huh? Anywho, pictures and fun things are soon to come! Stay Tuned!