St. Edwards State Park

Since the weather was beautiful today, we decided to head out for a family hike. Mike found a state park that is about 15 minutes away from us. It use to be a seminary, but is now owned and operated by the state. There were a bunch of trails, a kids play area and just a beautiful surrounding.

We decided to take the easiest walk (.62 miles) down to Lake Washington. Samuel walked the whole way by himself! Once there, Bailey got to play in the water and Samuel crawled around on some of the rocks. We watched the little waves come in and looked for ducks. After a few minutes we decided to start the trek back up.

Samuel made is quite a way before signing and telling us he was all done. He then got a short ride on mom's back before daddy took over. It was a great little outing!

The Sun is Out

The weather has been really nice here the past couple of days. Yesterday, Samuel and Jase went on a walk around our complex. We have a really nice walking trail that is far enough off the road that the boys can run and play on it without me constantly worrying.

Today, we decided to try a couple new parks out. Neither of them had really good play areas that were young enough for the boys, but they both had really nice walking trails. We set out on the trail and discovered all sorts of neat things. We heard and saw ducks, we heard lots of birds and heard a very excited dog. They boys did great. They even wanted to hold hands for part of the walk.

Hopefully the weather will stay nice through the weekend and we can take our first official family hike of the 2007!

Congrats Uncle Mike

Well, its officially official. Last Monday night, Uncle Mike signed his scholarship to play golf at Indiana Tech.

Indiana Tech is a small, private college located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and compete in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. This year, Indiana Tech is reestablishing their golf team. It should be an exciting year for them.

To say the least we are all very proud of Mike. It is amazing to think that my little brother is going to college and being able to pursue a dream at the same time. Samuel talks about and to (his pictures at least) his Uncle Mike constantly. I am so excited that Samuel will always have Uncle Mike to look up too. I guess we will just have to hurry up and get back to Michigan so we can see some college golf matches.

Keep up the good work bud. We miss you bunches and are so very proud of you!

Congrats!

Happy House

Well, there is a happy vibe in the Clark household this afternoon. The Chicago Bears are going to the Superbowl ! Around 12:00pm we all took our places around the tv. Jenn on the couch, Mike pacing nervously and Samuel finishing up a much needed nap. There was lots of clapping, cheering and even a few grumbles, but in the end there was the Superbowl Shuffle.

Samuel and Daddy after a touchdown dance.

Samuel wasn't happy with all the calls...

...but in the end there was dancing!

Go Bears...two weeks to plan the party!

Fun in the Snow

Well, the weather has not yet taken a break out here in Seattle. We got another ice and snow storm before I left for California giving Mike both Thursday and Friday off. This week is a bit better with him having an hour delay both Tuesday and today. At least they count as days. Right now they will have six days to make up at the end of the year. Uhhh!

This afternoon the boys were driving me a bit nuts so I thought we would head to the grocery store. I soon discovered that I only had one car seat since Mike had Samuel's in his car from last night. Since I couldn't really tie one to the roof we voted against the store. Instead we bundled up and went on a walk.

The boys were relatively good. Of course they don't stay together and each have their own agenda about which direction we should be heading. After about a twenty minute walk around our building we made it over to the little park. They ran around and played in the snow a bit.

Once little hands and noses were cold we made our way back to the apartment. After a snack they are both really calm as they watch good old Elmo. I guess we will have to take walks more often!

California

This past weekend, Trish and I took a much needed weekend away to California. This was the first time that I have spent more than a night away from Samuel. I know I should have done it sooner. Anyway, we had a great time. Here is a brief summary of our trip through pictures.

We flew into San Jose early Friday morning and drove up to San Fransisco. We visited Pier 39. Lots of shops and barking seals!

We had to have Fish n' Chips for lunch at Bubba Gump's.

Since we are chocolate lovers we had to head to the original Ghirardelli shop at Ghirardelli square.

We decided on hot chocolate. Too bad it was soooo sweet we couldn't finish it!

We then drove up to Golden Gate Bridge. We walked halfway out to get some good pictures before we headed to Monterey. It was windy and cold!

Picture of the city from Golden Gate.

Once we arrived in Monterey, we drove around to some of Trish's old stomping grounds. We saw her old apartment and language school. We couldn't leave without eating dinner at Michael's.

A view down Cannery Row.

Sand dollars at the aquarium.

We did a lot of walking on this trip. We took a three mile hike through Point Lobos.

This deer was literally this close to us. There were actually five total wandering around eating.

The Lone Cypress at Pebble Beach.

One of the golf courses in the Pebble Beach area.

A view of the coast.

The beautiful sunset over the water.

Love of Puzzles

Samuel loves doing puzzles. Here he is with a collection of four of his favorites. We do all of them at least 10 times a day, more on a good day. He is so proud of himself each and every time he completes one.

18 Months

Last Saturday, Samuel officially turned 18 months old. Last night we made it in to have his pictures taken. Here are a couple of our favorites.

What's new for Samuel this past month...

2 stitches to the forehead wound he suffered while playing the piano with daddy.

Way too many Christmas gifts.

10 hours of flight time for our trip back to Michigan.

18 hours of driving time on the trip down to Georgia and back to Tennessee.

A large obsession with puzzles. He does different puzzles at least 20 times a day.

A continued love for books.

Bob the Builder has become another favorite cartoon he gets to enjoy.

Continually dancing around the house sometimes to his very own music.

Many, many more words and a few new signs.

The discovery of candy! We gave in and gave him a sucker after the stitches. Now he knows and asks for it whenever he sees it.

A new love for coloring. He has even tasted a few crayons.

Beginning to learn the difference between cars, trucks and tractors.

Samuel continues to amaze us as we watch him grow. This is one of the best stages we have experienced so far. He is so active and has such a pure joy for life. I know we may be a bit biased, but we still believe he is the best little boy ever...not to mention the cutest!

The Joy of Coloring

Samuel loves to color. For Chirstmas he received several coloring books and some crayons. I have to hide them around the house because the moment he sees them it is non-stop begging to color (accompanied with many pleases).

Once we get all the stuff out and the table protected, he has to have Mike or I help him. He starts by choosing the crayon he wants then gives us the one he would like us to use. Since coloring if so much fun, we willingly sit with him and color whatever picture he has chosen.

The only question we generally have at the end is whether more ended up on the paper or on him. Oh, to be a kid again!

Our Christmas Story...Part 3

The rest of the story...

Wednesday afternoon we all packed up the car (8 suitcases, 4 adults, 1 child in a car seat, lots of candy and several extra bags) and headed down toward Georgia. We were all meeting there to celebrate the marriage of Ashley (Jenn's cousin) and Chris. After spending about 7 hours in the car accompanied by a two hour stop at Cracker Barrel, we arrived in Nashville, TN where we would spend the night. Thursday morning we got up and drove the remaining 5 hours down to Conyers, GA. Lots of family gathered at the same hotel for what promised to be a weekend of fun.

Friday morning Nana, Mom, Dada and Samuel headed into Atlanta to get Aunt Angie from the airport. She was thrilled to see Samuel and he was finally starting to feel a bit better so had a bit more life in him.

Friday afternoon we met more family at the Atlanta Aquarium. It was a beautiful aquarium, but way to crowded. I think we all would have enjoyed it much more with about half the amount of people there.

Saturday morning we spent time relaxing at the hotel and preparing for an evening of dancing. At 5, we went to the wedding which was immediately followed by the reception at a beautiful mansion. We had a wonderful dinner and Samuel enjoyed dancing all over the dance floor.

Sunday morning we packed up and headed back. After dropping Angie back off at the airport we made our way back to Nashville were we would leave Monday morning. We made it to the hotel in time to watch the Bears play. It was not a good game at all and everyone ended up falling asleep long before the ball dropped to bring in the new year. Oh well!

Monday morning we all got up, ate breakfast then headed to the airport. Since Nana and Papa had a long drive ahead of them we arrived at the airport plenty early for our flight which ended up being delayed. After a very long wait and a very long flight we arrived back in Seattle around 6:00pm. We were very excited to all see our own beds after many days of travel!

And that is the rest of the story.

Christmas Day Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Christmas day...

Santa brought Samuel the Little People Barn and a boy Cabbage Patch Newborn.

Santa brought Uncle Mike a new PS2. Just what he needs for college next year!

Opening presents was fun this year. Samuel enjoyed tearing the paper and discovering what what inside.

Samuel opened all his presents very quickly then helped everyone else with theirs.

Samuel and Daddy in front of the tree. Samuel loves both Elmo and Cookie Monster!

Samuel with his baby. We didn't see any smiles from Samuel since his mouth hurt so badly.

A friendly game of Euchre for the boys.

Mike and Matt enjoying presents.

Samuel and Uncle Mike enjoying some chicken and biscuits. Samuel just helped play since he wasn't eating at all.