Spring Piano Recital

In April Mills and Sam had their Spring piano recital.  Sam has been taking lessons for about 8 months and doing well, even though he is not a big fan.   He learned from the best {his big sister} how to argue and resist practicing piano.  But he has moments when I can tell he is enjoying it once he has learned to play a song.  We told him that he needs to be learning something musical and that he can learn to play a different instrument if he wants, or even take some break dancing classes.  It can't be ALL sports.

After 3 years of sweat and tears, my persistence with Millie is finally starting to pay off.  It has clicked with her and for the most part she can learn songs on her own and does not complain when it's time to practice.  {SIGH} She will thank me later, right?

William, however, has shown the most interest so far.  He has been asking to take "keyboarding lessons" since Christmas when he got his new keyboard {which he asked for}.  He just started lessons from my friend Allison and we will see how it goes.  So far, so good.  It's funny he was insisting that it is keyboard lessons and not piano lessons.

Good job guys!

Hair-Do

Look who did her very own hair today?
Isn't it lovely?

 I am very proud of myself...I let her go on errands with me and to dance class with this pretty hair-do.  I've come a long way :)

15 Years of Bliss & the sweetest kids ever!

The day after Easter was our 15th wedding anniversary!  It was a Monday night but thanks to Millie's awesome babysitting skills, we managed to go out on a hot date.  First we got pedicures (yes BS too) and then we ate at a really yummy restaurant, and then to the movies.  We saw "Water for Elephants" which I was anxious to see because I had read the book.  It was a great show.

About halfway through the movie, Millie texted me asking me to call home when we were 10 minutes away.  I didn't ask why and acted oblivious but I knew that she had to be up to something.  So we called and gave them the 10 minute warning, wondering what we were coming home to.

We walked up to the front door and saw this:

Then the door opened and we were greeted by the children dressed-up in their Sunday best clothes.  They had decorated the entry and family room with signs all over the place.  They sat us on the couch and handed us a drink and a freshly baked cookie that they had made.  Then they told us to watch the TV.  Soon our wedding video started.  Millie told us that they wanted us to re-live our wedding day, and that they were our wedding guests.  How sweet is that?

Rotated, this one says "every kiss begins with kay."  Will wrote this one :)

At the bottom says "May your love continue"  I love the spelling ;)

 BS has truly given me the best 15 years and the best 4 little kids I could ever wish for.  I can't even get started talking about him and how blessed I am to have him and how I feel about him because I will never, ever, ever stop.  It's okay because he knows how much {I love him}.  I am very lucky.

Easter!

I finally finished California so now I can catch up on everything else that has been going on.  I'll start with Easter.  This year was pretty low-key.  It seems like we are usually somewhere for spring break or with the cousins but Easter was late in April and didn't coincide with our school break.  And the cousins stayed in Minnesota this year because they only had one day out of school for Easter weekend.  But it was still a blast!

Saturday we went to the cabin to work on building and cleaning G-pa and G-ma's new place.  It is getting close to being finished!  The kids were great helpers at sweeping, wiping saw dust off of the new cabinets, and vacuuming.

Then we ate dinner and colored eggs at the cabin.  Always a favorite activity!

Sunday morning, the kids woke up and the Easter Egg hunt began!  The weather was really rainy and windy so we stayed inside.  They found most of their eggs in the basement.

Then they went on a search to find Easter baskets.  The Easter Bunny did a good job at hiding them because it took them awhile.  Finally they found them under Quincy's castle bed :)

They each got a "Pass of all Passes" to Seven Peaks, Trafalga, and local sports games.  Also a swimsuit with a rashguard/cover-up, some Girl Scout cookies, and all kinds of little toys and goodies.

We went to church then to Grandpa Judy's house for dinner.  Beside the unpleasant weather, it was a really nice day.  The kids seem to be grasping what Easter is really about.

 

The Easter Bunny brought Mom a really awesome Garmin watch that does everything :)  I love it.  It really came in handy the following week.

 The day before we left for California, we got pictures taken with real bunnies and chicks!  I will post them soon!  I am in love with will these Easter/Spring photos and will cherish them forever!

Spring Break part 5 finale

After 6 days at the parks, we were ready for the beach!  We picked Friday because it was the best weather day.  We stayed close and went to La Jolla shores which was a few minutes away.

Quincy was too young the last time she was at the beach so for her this was a new experience.  Of course, she fell in love!  She wanted to run and play in the water, build stuff and play in the sand, get buried in the sand, and bury everyone else in the sand.  

Quincy getting buried!

BS is buried...even has his man parts :)

We have taken the kids to the beach quite a few times before but there has always been a cool breeze and the ocean too cold to swim in.  This day it was finally warm enough!  We had a blast jumping over and waves and seeing how far out we could go.

 Later that afternoon, we went to Seal beach and Shell beach.  We enjoyed watching all of the seals relaxing and swimming while we soaked up some sun.  Next door is shell beach which is a small cove  with sand like brown sugar, rocky reefs, and lots of crabs.  The kids had fun exploring and trying to catch the crabs.

Perfect ending to a perfect family vacation!

 The next morning, we loaded up the car and drove all of the way home in one day.  These guys are such great little travelers.  Some books, some snacks/drinks, some movies, some I-touch games/music, and some coloring is all we need for a nice road trip.  With kids this awesome, we can do this easily.  Here is Quincy watching her show somewhere between Las Vegas and St. George:

Truly one AMAZING trip for the 6 Clarks!  It couldn't have gone any better!