Super Dad

Look how cute Quincy looks. Only her mother could dress her so cute and do her hair so cute, right? Nope. Her dad did it, all by himself. Holly started a new job at IMC in Maternal/Newborn and because Sam was leaving for 2 weeks, she had to work last Sunday. I (Holly) was worried about Sam getting all the kids ready for church because I hadn't laid out any outfits. I didn't even tell him how to do their hair, let alone to do it at all (I usually have to remind him to comb their hair). I know, you're probably thinking "who cares if their hair is done or if their clothes match," BUT I can't help it, I do. Especially for church because it's a special day. Anyway, about 10 hours into my shift, Sam called and told me that he and the kids were on their way to visit me at the hospital! I was happy but I have to admit I got a bit nervous because I realized that they would be meeting my co-workers for the 1st time and I had no idea what they would look like :)
So when I saw them walk through the doors.....I was pleasantly surprised! I couldn't believe how darling they all looked, every single one (and Sam looked hot himself). I was so impressed with how his skills have developed over the years. He has had some practice but this time he actually used the curling iron/hair dryer on Quincy's hair. He even put a bow in. And he put together an outfit that I wouldn't have even thought to put together and it was adorable! I was very proud to introduce my family to my working world. Even some of my patients had the pleasure. After taking a tour of the maternity unit, we went downstairs to get ice cream. The kids think my work is the coolest place and keep asking when they can go again. I have a feeling that this visit was the 1st of many to come. I love it.
Those of you that know Sam, know that he is Super-Dad. He really is. I can't say enough about how much help and support he gives me. And the thing is, he wants to be. It's not about me nagging him to do this and that, he just "gets it" and he's happy to do it. We make a great team. Cheesy, I know. But it's true. I love him. I'm posting this so late because he is gone tonight and it's no fun going to bed without him.

Back to Quincy. Here are some recent pics, just because. She found a lost Santa hat and came around the corner looking like this. The other pic is her looking cute in another hat....she LOVES hats and I love that she does. She put both hats on herself.
I have tried and tried to catch her in action singing the ABC's (entire song!), Twinkle Twinkle, and a few other songs but everytime I turn on the video camera she stops. She also counts to 13 and tells me before she poops. Were it not for her toilet fear, she would probably be potty trained. I could go on and on. And she's not even 2. She is amazing.
I know, I know...enough about Quincy!

Quin's new doo

The boys have been needing haircuts so bad and have been begging us to take them to a place called Cookie Cutters. Cookie Cutters is a great concept. Think of this place as the Chuck E Cheese of barbershops. This "fun" does not come cheap. In fact I can get 2 haircuts at my regular joint for the price of 1 cookie cut! Millie was at dance, so Holly and I had the younger 3. The boys went first and loved every second playing playstation while getting their cuts. After seeing the boys, Quincy wanted her haircut too. Holly and I decided it was time to take care of the Mullett. Here are the pics from Quincy's first haircut. She is getting to be such a big girl!!!

Our baby is now 9

Happy Birthday Millie you are beautiful! We can't believe how fast the past 9 years have gone.

Snow(shoe) Bunny

As stated in the previous post, we were up at Snowbasin yesterday. While the 3 kids skiied, Sam and Holly decided to pack-up the Quincess and do some snow-shoeing. They have a great area for that and cross-country skiing. It was a gorgeous day...just 10 minutes into it, we were stripping down to our base layers, even no gloves! The best part was that Quincy was so happy and really enjoyed herself. She kept saying, "fun mom!"
It didn't take long before the "swooshing" sound of our snow shoes (thanks Sam for getting me a pair for Christmas) sang her to sleep. It was a GREAT day.

Ski Skool

The kids have been skiing, and loving every minute of it. Here are some pics of the nuggets in action at Snowbasin. The only drama we have had so far is the first lift ride for Will resulted in his partner falling off the lift. When I asked him about it he said "it is okay Dad, she was just a girl". It was almost as if he expected the 'girl" to fall off. He was very cautious once he graduated from using an "edgie wedgie" but did awesome! We are so glad that these kids love skiing as much as us!

New Car

Here is a little background on the family autos for the past 9 years (some are Sam's freebie work cars) :

Ford Explorer-green
Ford Explorer-Blue
Dodge Caravan-Blue
Land Rover - Tan
Dodge Caravan-White
Buick Rendezvous-White
Pontiac Montana-Nasty Brown
Suburban-White
Nissan Titan-White

If you notice all of these vehicles are SUV or minivans.

After I left my past job to go to what I thought would be greener pastures, I surrendered the brown (nasty brown) Pontiac Montana minivan. It was replaced with the Titan. Millie was so stoked when I pulled up in the driveway in something other than the Montana. She then revealed that she was not a fan of that van. Well the plot thickens. Holly and I went away for the weekend about a year ago and our friends Megan and Josh Chase stayed with the kids. When we got home, Millie went on and on about Josh's awesome "sportscar". Josh will have to refresh my memory, but I think he was driving a Dodge Neon.
It occured to us that the kids have never really been in a normal size car! So naturally, they think that small cars are way faster and cooler than the big cars we drive around. Thanks to my new job, as of this past Friday I am now driving a "sportscar". I had a Toyota Camry delivered, and when Millie got home from school she asked me to take her for a ride around the block to show off her new wheels.
Enjoy it while you can sweetie, because 30,000 more miles and my new "big car" gets delivered. That won't take long, especially for the 6clarks.

The gift of love

As mentioned in a previous post Holly and I had birthdays a couple weeks ago. On my birthday Millie told me she had a present for me, but it wasn't quite ready yet. Well for the past 6 days I was at a sales meeting in Miami and when I got home (10:45pm) Millie greeted me with an elaborately wrapped box and this card. She was sooooo giddy when I opened the present. She even said "dad you will LOVE this present. It is just what you have wanted." Well Millie, you were right, it was everything I ever wanted. Check out these beauties!
It turns out Millie had Holly take her to the fabric store where she picked out fabric and paid for the materials herself. She told her Mom that she wanted to make me something special for my birthday and with her help totally pulled it off. Big props to Aunt Heidi for teaching her great sewing skills. I will always have a special place in my heart for Jazz sweat pants! Love you Millie and thank you for the best birthday present I have ever received.

Bad Beginning

Now it's 2009, and it came, without us (Sam and Holly) hardly noticing. We traveled back on the 31st and left Millie, Sambo, and Wilbur with Holly's parents because we had one more surprise in store for the kids' Christmas/birthdays (Millie and Sam's this month). We tucked Quincy into bed and got to work. We put her in the basement because we anticipated much loudness with hammers, drills, etc.
Their surprise was a new bedroom (Millie), and a renovated bedroom (boys). Millie has mentioned over the past year that she is too grown up for her castle bed. The #1 item on her Santa list was a new bed. We moved her to Quincy's room, and vice versa.
We changed the boys room a little bit so they would feel included, and also because we already had a twin bed available to use, as well as another "buck" deer head from grandpa.
Anyway, we got started at about 10:00 pm and before we knew it, Holly looked at the clock downstairs and said, "Oh it's 12:48, happy new year". And Sam said, "Oh yeah, you too". And that was it. Back to business (not business time).
Holly had a horrible stomach ache and Sam was tired and grumpy. But we carried on, assembling furniture, decorating and such until 3:30 am. We awoke at 8:00, and spent most the day finishing up. To top it off Holly had major anxiety that she would get called into work because she was on-call. We knew the kids were going to be dropped off around 5:00. By 5:00 we were both so tired, grumpy, hungry (we didn't stop to eat) and probably smelly because we hadn't showered in a couple days. I think we were even wearing the same clothes since we had left Island Park! What a bad beginning of a new year.
BUT...
It was all worth it when we saw the looks on the kids faces when they discovered their new bedroom surprise! They were thrilled. Even better, they brought with them fresh strawberry cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory.
Just a sampling of their grins when they crawled into their new beds that night...

Winter Wonderland 08 - Part 5

As if we needed more to celebrate, we also celebrated Holly's birthday on the 29th. Luckily the weather cleared up and so another snowmobile excursion was in order. Riding through the snowy pines and smooth powder trails was just awesome. The best part is that the kids were begging to go too, even after the freezing ride we had the other day. That makes us very happy that they love it as much as us! Even little Quincy got some time on the snowmobile.
We had a birthday lunch at a local restaurant...it's great because you can hop on the snowmobile, ride around for awhile, and end up at some joint in the middle of nowhere to eat and warm up. There are tons of places like that up here.
Anyway, here are some pictures to sum up 6Clarks fabulous Christmas break. The kids were good kids and had a blast being with their cousins, uncles, aunts, and of course grandpa and grandma!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Nativity

About a month ago, Holly and some friends got together and made nativity costumes. Look how cute the kids (and grandpa) look when they performed the nativity on Christmas eve. They love to do this every year! Millie still wouldn't give up her spot as the star so my niece Alix was a bit ticked off. Holly told Alix that stars just stand there and that angels get to twirl around so then she was happy to be an angel (she's 3).
Sambo was Joseph for the 3rd year (last year he even acted out pulling the baby out from under Mary's dress...it was hilarious), Will was a donkey, and Quin was an angel. How does she know when she looks so cute? I swear she knows.