Yahoooooooooo Job Offer

Just offered a job at White Pine Elementary. Doing the happy dance :D

Cameron received his mission call.

Well, my little boy will be 19 in June and will leave for a mission shortly after. He will be serving a two year mission to Richmond, Virginia. He will report to the MTC on July 20th. I don't think I have ever been so happy and sad at the same time. I am excited for him, I think he will love it there.

Fun Fall Pics

Fall cannot us pass us by without getting the kids all gathered up and having Mindy go to work snapping some fabulous pics. Thanks to her I always have fabulous pics!!!

Highlights of September & October

September started out with the annual trip up the hill to Thompson Flats. This is always the last camp out of the season. Part of the weekend was pretty decent, but of course the one night Hank was able to come up and stay the wind had to BLOW!!!! I couldn't sleep so I tried sleeping in the van, this didn't work out either. So, Hank & I came home for the night. Cameron & Kambrie were warm and cozy in Les & Kim's trailer. This trip spurred a new purchase for the Clark family. We were on the hunt for a camp trailer. We searched, and searched and finally found a nice one that would suit our family. Now, we can't wait to use it. We have all winter to long to get supplies for it.

September was also busy as all the activities start up. Kambrie is tumbling this year with Topflight Tumbling and played volleyball with the 8th grade team. September also welcomed a sweet new family member, a nephew Maddox Welton. He was quite a big baby. He was born on September 19, weighed 9 lbs 3 oz and was 22 inches long.

October was about the same as September just running to volleyball games, tumbling lessons, subbing, and working at Burley Glass. We did squeeze in a trip to Lagoon. The guys took their annual trip Elk hunting. They were not successful in bringing home any elk but Hank did manage to get a deer this year. Think that is about it for September & October.

Nellie Hits 300,000

Nothing overly exciting but I found it to be. I have put on a bunch more miles since then. LOL!!!

Kambrie Princess Comp Speech

She did an awesome job on her speech and received many compliments on it. I enjoyed writing and it, but most of all watching her deliver it.

August

Oh, August is always so stinking busy and this year was no exception. Our 4-H books were completed and turned in at the first of the month. I was able to secure Cameron some housing in Twin since he is attending the College of Southern Idaho this fall. Signed him up for classes and he is set to go. :D

Mom, Mindy, and I took a Geology class and got to explore a little bit of Oakley and Albion. Who knew there were star garnets along the road to Mt. Harrison. Found my self an AWESOME sample.



Fair week was a busy one with our normal 4-H projects. Horses on Monday, sheep on Tuesday and Wednesday, then you throw in all the Princess competition events and is a BUSY, BUSY week.

Kambrie struggled this year in her showing classes with her horse Ally. They did their best and did a great job considering she usually just rides him for barrels and poles. She also did a great job showing her lamb this year and placed in the top 10. The Princess competition was stressful but also a lot of fun. It is always fun finding new clothes and designing new shirts to show in. Deanna does a great job in outfitting Miss Kambrie.


Kambrie did absolutely wonderful on her speech, she did win the speech competition, but struggled with the riding portion. She did a great job competing and are very thankful that Brandon and Carie let us borrow an awesome horse Miss Kitty. We had planned on using Jake, but he never did heal up throughout the summer.

She competed against some really tough girls and ended up 1st attendant to Hallee Hitt. Hallee did a great job riding. I was glad to see Hallee do well, and hope that they remain good friends. I believe her favorite part of the whole competion was going to the Jake Owens concert. She loves going and always comes home with a souvenir or two.

Grandpa Rod was able to fly up and stay with Cameron for a few days. He related that where Cameron had been living was not a overly roomy or clean. LOL!!! They had a great time sight seeing, fishing, and meeting people. Cameron had met Wild Bill from Deadliest Catch earlier in the month. So while Grandpa Rod was there Cameron introduced Grandpa to Wild Bill. They chatted for quite some time. Grandpa & Cameron returned on the 25th of August. Cameron started classes at CSI the next day. Crazy, Crazy, August days.

July

July was not too eventful, it actually kind of just flew by. We stayed busy riding horses, working with sheep, keeping up things around the house, and staying in touch with Cameron.

Cameron started working really long hours, so talking to him cut back some. He often expressed how he really missed home and really missed having his own space. :D I was glad to learn he was getting along really well with his supervisor and had made some new friends. He bought himself a little netbook so he webcam home. It was a little tricky getting caught up with him sometimes. It was nice to webcam him and be able to see him and his shaggy hair. He was thrilled when I took him for a walk around the house and outside. Amazing the little things you learn to appreciate, what is even more amazing is the technology that allows us to enjoy these things.

In the meantime Kambrie decided to run for Cassia County Princess. Which was kind of unexpected and we were not prepared. We were hoping she could ride Jake, but he ended up being unrideable. Then, we tried Ally, he just has too much get up and go for this kind of riding. So, thankfully Brandon and Carie Brackenbury let us borrow Miss Kitty, she was a great little mare and Kambrie LOVED riding her. Needless to say we kept busy practicing patterns on two different horses (one for 4-H and one for Princess competition), gathering together a wardrobe (thanks to Deanna, her clothes were adorable), and continually practicing her speech.

June ~
Part of my spring has been busy trying to help Cameron get all the necessary paperwork and testing done for his job this summer. I can’t believe he left us for the whole summer, I was hoping to have one more summer with him at home. However, he had decided he was going to go to Valdez, Alaska and work for Peter Pan Foods for the summer. A fun and great adventure for a young boy.
Cameron turned 18 years old on the 13th of June; we had a little backyard BBQ on the 20th and celebrated many things at once. Cameron’s birthday, Cameron & Jeremy leaving for Alaska, Grandma Joyce’s 75th birthday, and Father’s day. It was wild and crazy but a great time.
We to take Cameron to the airport on June 21st. I was filled with mixed emotions as I sent my first and only son off someplace I didn’t know anything about, other than what I saw on the internet. He was excited and nervous. Hank went back with him until he boarded the plane; he came out excited for Cameron to have this experience. I just wanted him to stay home in the nest for just a bit longer.

The rest of June was spent doing our usual summer routine of messing around with Kambrie’s sheep and horse projects. We did squeeze in a little dance camp and some swimming when it finally warmed up and stopped raining.

Cameron called frequently and expressed much appreciation for his home and his own room. He lived in an 8 x 8 room with two other boys. At first their only mode of transportation and access to the internet (facebook) was to peddle their bikes down to the local library. At the library they were given a pass that allowed them on for 30 minutes at a time, LOL! He didn’t work much at first because the season had not begun yet. This gave him an opportunity to explore his new surroundings as he went out on a glacier and whale watching tour. He would also go to harbor and try his hand at fishing down there. I would always ask him if had seen any bears, for a while it was not yet. Finally, I received a phone call from him; he had been down fishing and caught a few fish. A while later he had moved so they could sit back and watch to see if the bears would come in. They didn’t have to wait too long before a mama bear and her three cubs moved in. He talked to me as he watched the bears walk right where he had been. I remember hearing him say “This guy is nuts mom, one of the cubs just sniffed his pant leg.” He was a photographer that either had no brains or no fear. When I saw the pics I couldn’t believe how close they were. What an awesome experience.

I absolutely love this last picture!!!

Trying to catch up, May & June

I cannot believe how time flies by anymore. It used to drag not sure why but I DON’T LIKE IT!!!

May ~

It has been awhile since I posted so I am trying to play catch up, so bear with me. :D The last I posted it was the first part of May, Cameron was getting ready to graduate and there seemed to be so much going on. We worked all winter to finish the basement, which turned out great. I love it, still need to furnish it though. A little patience and little time and it too will happen. ;)

This was a little extra bonus for ordering too much shelving. Hank & Cameron built in a little food storage for me in my pantry.

The end of May was busy with Graduation plans, subbing, dance recitals, etc. Cameron’s graduation was an exciting and sad day for me. I was excited for him as he was soooooo ready to move on and discover life beyond high school. It was a fun and exciting day as we had a big party with family and friends before the Graduation ceremony that night. I helped chaperone the Senior Party that night. The kids had lots of fun and were given some great prizes. I got to bed around 5 a.m. then got up to sub for Mrs. Hartwell the next day, talk about tired and dragging.

Kambrie had fun dancing with En Pointe this year and learning how to dance in Pointe shoes. She really enjoys dancing and making new friends. This year they performed Anastasia, I really enjoyed watching their performances.

Kambrie also tried her hat at running barrels and poles at different competitions here close by. She is fun to watch and has a lot of work to do but does pretty well for the amount of time she has put into it. Dad is always watching to see when to sign her up and where. I am glad they have something to do together they both enjoy.

The end of May always ends with a bang as we all set out for our first camping trip of the season at Indian Hot Springs. This year definitely didn’t let us down, LOL! It was nice to get away from everything and spend time with family. Hank & I had gone for a ride on Sunday, just for fun. He had seen a bunch of cars headed out past the campground and down a dirt road. So, we were curious where everyone was going. We followed dusty, winding road for a quite a way before we finally discovered where everyone was going. We have gone to Indian Hot Springs for YEARS, and not until this year did we discover that every year the hummingbirds migrate through this area. Tucked back in the mountain there is a little house and every year they catch and mark the hummingbirds migrating through the area. I couldn’t believe all the people back there watching the humming birds. They would catch them, and then mark them with a small dot of paint, then place them in the kids hands and allow them to let them go. Some of the humming birds took right off, while others lay there still for a moment or two. I have never seen so many humming birds flitting around; it was really kind of cool. So, Hank and I headed back to camp to gather up anybody else that was interested in watching the humming birds. The kids enjoyed watching them and letting them go.

Today it FINALLY hit me............

So I haven't blogged in awhile been keeping pretty busy with substitute teaching, working at Burley Glass and running around to the kids activities. So what has happened since January we worked most of the winter on the basement. It is now finished just need to furnish it YAY!! Cameron & Kambrie have kept us busy running and working, but today I finally had a day of nothing really pressing to do. Kambrie is upstairs sick on the couch, Hank is sleeping because he is working the graveyard shift, and Cameron went to the City of Rocks with Grandma Marilyn. So here I am........... thinking of all the things that have happened in the last few months and the reality of my little boy graduating in 16 days hits me. I am a MESS!! Cameron has had a good Senior year, he has gone to his last Preference dance, been to the East Coast for a week, attended his last FFA Convention, competed in California with the Trendsetter group, danced at his last Jr. Prom, completed an AWESOME Senior Project and now things are winding down...... I am proud of him for working hard to graduate, I am proud that he takes pride in his work. He is a hard worker and a majority of the time an all around good kid. I love him dearly and wish him the very best as he takes this new step in life. Even though he won't be very far away, I will miss him.