Everybody Loves Bubblebaths!

Our Lilly: A Scientist in the Making

It's not uncommon in the South to have your children involved in PopWarner Football starting at at 5. Whether a boy, who dawns the uniform, hungry for action and yet bewildered on the field, or a young honey that dotes the little cheerleader outfit and lines the side of the field screaming cheers, there are lots of little kids out there who see a future in football. Many parents live through their children with hopes that their son will play Varisty football or lead the varsity cheer squad in High School and someday land sports scholarships to college.

I on the other hand am a skeptic of such a plan. You see, I was never blessed with great physical stature, nor above-average speed or agility. In fact I was 4'11" weighing under 100lbs as a freshman in high school, and realized that contact sports were not something I was ever going to excel in. So a plan for my future success did not involve sports. Then I got involved in bicycle riding. I did pretty well with the bicycle; participating in races such as the El Tour de Tucson while I was in high school. I recall finishing within the top 50 riders in one race. And that was earned while rising a mountain bike with semi-smooth tires. I had dreams of being in the Olympics when they were in Atlanta in 1996. Slowly my dreams faded as I realized I didn't want to put in the effort to achieve such dreams. It took more than I was willing to give for it, but I had fun riding. I would ride all over town as a teenage boy. I even recall my mom letting me "ditch" school to go for a ride if I could prove my grades were all A's.

Perhaps music would be my "thing". I played in youth Orchestras until I heard the high school orchestra "perform". They sounded so bad, I switched to the trombone. I played the trombone for years and had a great time doing it. I played for years in Jazz bands in and out of high school. I played in the Jazz Band at the University. I had a ball. But, again, I would never be a professional.

So what would my "thing" be? I still don't know. Chicken farmer? Vegetable Farmer? Tree Enthusiast? Home Improvement guy? Photographer? Through all my little hobbies that I have waxed and then somewhat waned interest in, I've learned that I enjoy the variety of life's opportunities. I don't have to be good at everything. I don't have to be good at anything. It's just fun to try different things.

So when Lilly came home one day from school and said her school was forming a Math club and that she wanted to join, we said, "Sure thing." Her club met twice a week for a half hour to an hour before school started. They just studied math! They practiced different problems, had quizzes, etc. Then she announced that their club was going to attend a regional mathematics competition. Great! She studied evn harder, asking us to quiz her and ask her math questions. We did until the day of the competition. She had a good breakfast, and then I took her to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. There, amidst hundreds of other children, I saw the future of America's science and technology. No offense against PopWarner football, but this event carried with it an efficacy unrivaled by other youth activity, regardless how noble they might seem. I saw children of many different ethnicities, backgrounds, and yes, even variety in the socio-economic class. But it didn't matter. These kids were all there spend their Saturday solving tough problems. Wow. Call them nerds if you like, but I call them the future of America.

Needless to say, we were proud Lilly was a part of it. So I said "goodbye and good luck" and "do your best", and "If you get stumped, say a prayer and move on" and I left her to spend several hours of her precious Saturday solving problems. What's even better is that amidst all those children, Lilly's little 4th grade team won 2nd place! We are so proud of her!

 

So if her interest in math or science fades, that's fine with me. She will have gained experience and tasted something she hadn't before. But if this is a glimpse into her future, I can only imagine what great things she will see and do and make and solve. Our Lilly: A scientist in the making.

The Huntsville Times - 6 November 2009

To start off, we've got some good news: we're expecting little Clark #5 in May of next year!  We're all excited.  The kids are all hoping for a little brother, so we'll see what happens.  I've heard several, "Are you crazy?" statements and seen a few questionable looks... "must be either Mormon or Catholic..."  To set the record straight, I'm Mormon.  And in several months there will be another little Mormon running around, terrorizing the world.  Dan has been so much fun, we just want him to have a little brother (or sister) that he'll hopefully treat with care.  Hopefully Dan hasn't learned much from Kate; who smothers him!  She pulls his cheeks, and doesn't realize that the reason he runs away is because he hates being smothered.  Though recently he's taken to fighting back.  He's learned that in some "games", the best defense is a good offense.  Back to the baby... We probably will not elect to find out the baby's gender prior to birth.  But who knows, we may cave in to the desire to take a peek!  So far, both Melissa and the baby appear to be healthy. 

Halloween was great.  No sick kiddos like last year!  At least not before the candy binge!  Melissa did a great job making the kids' costumes (as always).  Lilly was a '50s girl, dressed for a sock hop.  Morgan was a traditional Japanese princess in a kimono.  Kate was "Glinda", the good witch of the north (from the Wizard of Oz).  Dan was a monkey with a vest and fez-type hat (same costume as last year).  We went to a Halloween party at Church on Friday night.  It was a chili cook-off / Trunk-or-Treat party.  Melissa made that fabulous cheesy barley sausage soup instead of chili.  I ate about 27 bowls of it.  Really, it was more like 5, but if I had a bigger stomach, I'm sure I would have eaten more.  It's soo delicious.  I think we were introduced to it by Ben and Lesley, and it is definitely one of my favorites.  Well, Melissa won a prize for the soup.  No it wasn't a stupid certificate, she got a little decorative scarecrow.  And believe me, scare-crows are much better than stupid certificates.  Stupid certificates usually aren't worth the paper they're printed on.  Except if you're giving them to a kid.  Our kids love certiifcates.  I tell them all the time, if you behave yourself, you'll win the "daughter-of-the-week award".  Like most things, that practice will probably come back to bite me some day in a way I never could have imagined.

On Halloween, one of the local grocery stores advertised a "Monster Bash" Halloween party, with safe trick-or-treating.  Last year we walked areound the neighborhood, but many folks weren't home, and half-way through, Kate started whining about having to walk.  It was good that we had the wagon.  So we figured we'd opt for the close proximity trick-or-treating at the grocery store strip mall.  Upon arrival, there was ONE guy standing in front, dressed as Dracula, passing out three candies to each kid.  I'm positive that the other families that were arriving were thinking the same thing we were:  "This is the lamest excuse for a 'Monster Bash' we've ever been exposed to."  ONE guy.  Come on.  We could have saved our gas money and spent the time better.  Oh well, on the bright side, there was less candy for the kids to eat.

On Monday, the kids once again opted to trade-in their candy for a toy.  Melissa established that Halloween tradition a few years ago, and I love it.  A few days after Halloween, we offer to trade the kids a <$10 toy for all of their candy.  So we gave all the kids' candy to the local missionaries.  They can give it to little kids in the community... or just eat it and rot their own teeth and get fat.

We put out some fall flowers (mums) to add some color to our front planter.  Lilly and I enjoyed working together to plant them.  There's something fabulous about mulch and dirt and planting stuff.  It's just an awesome thing to do.  I recall bringing home a truck load of much and just standing by the truck to smell the mulch.  It just smells good.  I hit the jack-pot here.  Some time ago, I spotted a huge pile of mulch off the side of the road a ways.  After coveting it for some time, I decided to stop coveting it and just find out whether it was for the taking.  So I looked up property/plot maps and land-ownership records online, and called the owner (who lives in Michigan).  At first he thought I was asking if I coulod dump debris on his land, but then realized I was asking if I coul take the dumped mulch.  He said, "take it."  So I've been getting truck-beds full of it recently for use around the house & yard.

Dan celebrated his 2nd birthday and got some new boots from his 'kickin' aunts, Megan and Jojo.  Thanks girls!  He loves 'em!

The chickens a re doing well.  We're still getting 5-6 eggs a day.  The only problem is one of the Rhode Island Red hens is getting pecked.  She has a pretty bare back now as several other hens have begun pecking and eating her back feathers.  See the attached photo.  I think I'll make a set of "pants" for her (thanks for the idea Mom!)

Well that's it for now!
Josh & Co.

No Caption Needed

Secret Keeper

Every time Joshua and I found out that I was pregnant, we decided not to tell anyone until after my first doctor's appointment. Yeah, right. We were NEVER able to do this. Expecting a baby is just way too exciting to keep to yourself. This time We finally did it! Yes, we are expecting Clark kiddo #5! I had my first doctor's appointment today and everything is going as it should. I am a little over 8 weeks and am due on May 28th. What's also cool is that I kept the secret. Even though I was tempted many, many times over the past four weeks to tell someone, I kept the cat in the bag. I feel like a have reached a milestone--I am more deserving now to be called an adult.

Fat Man in a Little Coat

Here's Dan's rendition of Chris Farley's "Fat Man in a Little Coat"

Great Smoky Mountains: Day 4

The highlight of Day four was our trip to Cataloochee.  Cataloochee is a remote valley with a meadow that is frequented by an elk herd and other wildlife.  We drove the 16 miles along the twisty dirt road and it was worth every minute.  See for yourself: