March 25, 2012

March 25, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday I was still in California.  It was a quiet day.  We ran a few errands and got some projects done (altering some of my pants) and I thought it was nice and relaxing.  I had all my stuff packed and ready for my flight that night.  M and the boys had a tree cutting party for FHE.  They cut down a big evergreen that was on the corner of our house.  It was too big for the spot that it was in, and I wanted it gone.  It was a surprise for me though.   That night M’ dad took me to the airport.  The flight went really smoothly.  I had tried to be really prepared so that I could sleep as much as possible on the “red eye” flight.  Two things were snags in my plan; one was that somehow I forgot earplugs.  We have a million, but somehow they weren’t in my stuff.  The second was that I was seated right smack in the middle of fifty middle school kids on a school trip.  I was so worried.  Despite those setbacks I did manage to get some sleep.  I was either sleeping, or trying to sleep the whole flight, and I think that helped a lot. 

Tuesday M had to go to work.  We had a woman we know come over and watch the kids in the morning and then come and pick me up at the airport.  The boys were really happy to see me, and I was super happy to see them.  I was tired, but we just got going back into our normal lives.  It was a long day though…  We were all happy when M got home that night.  M has a new schedule at work, and so he is working much different hours.  I hated last week.  He would get home at 6:30 pm which meant we were all starving and waiting for him to eat, plus then the kids only got to see him for a few minutes before bed.  We all survived….

Wednesday was more of the same.  I had to get to the grocery store so that we could eat something fresh, and I worked on unpacking.  That night M had mutual.  They chopped wood for a sister in our ward to add to her woodpile.

Thursday was a slow day.  I can’t remember much.  We played outside and tried to enjoy the good weather that we were having.  That night once the boys were in bed M and I worked on some projects in our yard.  We had to work quickly because it was so late.  I was working on planting a bush, and he was working on cutting off the branches of the tree so that we could get the tree out of our yard.  We both finished before it was too dark.

First attempt at a Sunday picture.

Friday I went to a friend’s house in the morning and then stayed for lunch.  The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast playing outside in their backyard.  They have a sandbox, and RM loved being able to just sit and play with the trucks in the sand.  If we had a sandbox he would love it.  I am not sure I would love all the sand that would make its way inside our house though…  I then came home so the boys could get naps.  After school that day the boys played at a house nearby.  They have a “pipe stem” next to their house (basically a really long driveway to houses behind them) and the boys loved playing on all their various bikes and wheeled toys.  Eventually M came home and we had a simple dinner.  Really just RM, J, and I ate because B-man and M were doing a guys night with a bunch of friends.  Actually the same house I had been at earlier.  They took hot dogs and roasted them in their fire pit, and had a good time.  When B-man got home he told me he had fun, and that he had “a lot of soda.”  He loves soda, and he never gets it at our house.  One time B-man told me that he loves soda more than cake!

J's attempt to "help" RM in the picture.

Maybe the best shot.  They thought of it as the start to a race down the driveway.

Saturday was a very busy day.  M had to be up and gone early to help deliver mulch.  The youth in our ward had sold bagged mulch to help raise money for Scout/Girls’ camp.  Saturday was the day to deliver all the orders.  It was rainy pretty much all day, making for wet work, but at least it was a warm rain.  I got a babysitter and then took B-man with me to a basketball game.  We won easily and I rushed home to get the sitter home.  We had a fairly quiet rest of the morning, and we were thrilled when M was home shortly after lunch.  They weren’t done, but they had run out of workers for various reasons.  M got cleaned up and then we went back to the church for another basketball game.  My team played for the Stake Championship, and we won!  It was not a very close game, but it was fun.  We ended up staying and watching the next two games because both the Young Men and the Young Women were playing for the championship as well.  Sadly both teams lost their games.  We then came home and had pancakes for dinner, and got all of our tired boys in bed.

B-man trying to stay out of the pictures.

Sunday was quiet.  M had meetings in the morning. We made it to church on time, but then I realized that I had forgotten some things for Primary.  So I had to make a quick exit after the Sacrament to get them.  It’s a good thing we live so close!  The rest of church went well and then I brought the kids home.  M had more meetings, and I knew it was going to be a while until he got home.  I fed the kids and then got them to bed for their naps.  B-man and I had a good time while they were sleeping, and I tried to work on dinner some too.  After M got home our home teachers came by.  They always bring a book to read to the kids, usually a very cool pop-up book.  Today was no exception, and the boys loved it.   After they left we finished getting ready for dinner, and spontaneously invited over some friends.  Luckily they hadn’t started dinner yet, and were able to come.  After a great dinner the boys got in bed, and M and I were able to catch up on our days.

We love you all!

The Clark Crew