Weekend of Dance & Gymnastics

This past weekend was jam-packed full of dance and gymnastic activities and had us on the go! It was the weekend of their Winter Dance Show and their Winter Challenge at gymnastics - their very first gymnastics competition! The girls competed on Saturday afternoon and had a great time. In fact, Taylor took 5th place and Lindsey took 4th place and we were SO very proud! Then Dylan competed on Sunday morning and took 3rd place which made all of us beam with even more pride. The best part, they each received REALLY COOL trophies which are prominently displayed in their rooms. They LOVE gymnastics and we really enjoy Elite Gymnastics Academy and their coaches. They do an excellent job of coaching and making it fun and challenging. 

On Sunday afternoon, the girls had their Just For Kix Winter Dance Show and liked the idea of being able to put full make-up on for the event (mom and dad, not so much). They did such a super job!!!  They performed both a Jazz  and a Kick routine and both were impressive. Their coach, Cristi, is the head coach for the Prior Lake Dance Team (Lakers) and she really does a fantastic job. The girls are getting better each day and SO enjoy watching the big girls dance (they are excellent!). The BHS Demonettes have always been my favorite to watch but I believe they have some serious competition. Ironically, one of my high school friends was there and her daughter is a senior who dances for the Lakers. She told me it goes SO fast and remembers when her daughter was our girls age. We look forward to many years of "activities", enjoying the journey and savoring each and every moment!

Practicing their floor routine

Getting ready for the event

Taylor practicing her forward roll on the beam

Taylor on the beam with her coach looking on

Ready for the floor competition

Lindsey prepping for her floor routine

One proud brother

We LOVE gymnastics!

Dylan getting ready for the high bar routine

Goofing around with other gymnasts

Graciously accepting his 3rd place trophy

Our brother makes us proud!

Lindsey ready to shine

Taylor shaking it

Future Prior Lake Dancers

Dylan trying to be cool with his "girls"

LOVE my little girlies!

Camp Clark

Lindsey showing off her moves

We still believe in Santa!

Last week, LTD had a day off from school so I got to share the ENTIRE day with them which was so perfect! The kiddos had gift money they received from their 8th birthday and had their choice of where they wanted to shop and they chose Mall of America. So, of course we had to stop and see Santa! LTD proudly shared their Christmas wish lists with the jolly man and even got their picture taken with him. It was a magical day filled with lots of fun and sweet memories.

Birthday Present

With all the madness of the two birthday parties this past weekend (one for Dylan; one for the girls), we forgot to mention we will soon have a new member to Camp Clark. Everybody, meet LTD's 8th birthday present, a little white furball. Name is still TBD but the little girl will join our family at the end of December. We will make sure to include updated photos and video once she is welcomed into her new home. She is an AKC registered Bichon Frise, fully hypoallergenic, so Dave can continue to breathe without using an inhaler 3x daily (like he had to with Shaq). AND, no shedding!!! Millie the Cat has a new friend. We shall see what she thinks of all this :)

LTD are 8 Years Old!

It is hard to believe it has been 8 years since our angels were born at 35 weeks! I still remember the day they were born; Dave rushed me to Abbott Northwestern hospital driving 100mph at 4:30am in the morning due to a partial placental abruption (I was supposed to go in for a scheduled C-Section at noon). My mom was on her knees praying, our dog Shaq was pacing around the house in hysterics (since I was losing loads of blood and was rushed into the car without saying goodbye to him), Dave assumed the role of Mario Andretti and shocked the hospital staff when we arrived within 12 minutes of his frantic phone call from our home in Savage, and I was praying to God from the moment I awoke until the moment I heard the 3rd and healthy cry (then I passed out from exhaustion). Not only was God listening to our prayers, but he blessed us abundantly with 3 amazingly healthy angels that have brought SO much light and love into our lives. 

Lindsey, Taylor and Dylan - you are loved beyond words or expression. God has had our family wrapped tightly in his arms from the day your father and I met and he continues to guide us, teach us and love us unconditionally, even when we fall down or go through difficult times. We are forever grateful and look forward to many more years of sharing memories together as "Camp Clark" with God as our pilot. May God continue to bless our families, our friends, our neighbors, our church and congregation, our school and our country. Thank you, thank you, thank you to each of you and especially to you, God! 

Boys being typical goofballs

A boy can dream

Home Alone "look-a-like" (or so we've been told)

This is SO AWESOME!

Giddy gymnasts ready to shine

Taylor flying high on the trampoline

OH, just what I wanted :)

I have the best friends EVER!

Girl Power + 1 (Dylan managed to sneak into this one)

16 of the sweetest girls on the planet

We are SO proud to be 8 (although mom is a bit teary)

Camp Clark Survives The Storm

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on how grateful and thankful we are for our family, our friends, our church, our school, our home and neighborhood, our country & freedom, and our health. However, the last week has been very challenging regarding our health. Unfortunately, our entire family was hit with a nasty virus and right over the Thanksgiving break. Thankfully, we are finally at the tail end of the recovery process and just in time for the kiddos 8th birthday celebrations coming up this weekend. We had no idea my "cold" I caught the Monday before Thanksgiving would end up being the ugly virus it became. Worse yet, it ended up being shared with those we love most! So very sorry to our loved ones! We truly had no idea it would escalate like it did. We hardly took any photos since we were all down and out and in our PJ's most of the holiday. On the bright side, at least we got to see all the grandparents and Uncle Ken and his children. Tis the season!

Dylan - 2nd Grade

Lindsey - 2nd Grade

Taylor - 2nd Grade

Thanksgiving at Papa & Grandma Kemmet's

The End of America - 11/6/2012

It is with a very heavy and sorrowful heart that I write this blog post. However, I feel it is extremely important to document this moment in history, for our children's sake, the time when America took a final, wrong turn for the absolute worse. They will never know the America we once knew and were privileged to grow up in. Since this is our blog,  we can say whatever we want without people personally attacking us or spewing liberal bias like we hear every day thanks to the mainstream media. YES, we are conservative, YES we are Christians and YES, we try to live by God's words as written in the Bible.  What we say NO to is BIG government and stealing from hard working Americans to pay for government and entitlement programs, NO to massive spending rather than living within our means, NO to increasing taxes on hard working, successful Americans and entrepreneurs, NO to crushing capitalism and creating class warfare, and NO to allowing illegal immigrants to cross our borders, VOTE and get government handouts; get in line like the rest of the immigrants who are coming here legally! Let me just say this, AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! 

We are INCREDIBLY upset and thoroughly disgusted with our country, so much so that we feel sick to our stomachs and are having a hard time grasping it all. How clueless can Americans really be? Where did our values go? When did we give up standing strong for God's word vs. live by our own personal beliefs (vs. God's) and because it is 'culturally acceptable''? Let's see......abortion, birth control, government health care, ALL at the tax payer's expense (yet a very large percentage of Americans don't even pay taxes!), putting up with 'good enough leadership' that has made empty promises, failed us, lied to us and deceived us. AND at state level, gay marriage and voter photo ID amendments - all of this was at the forefront of voting decisions. Yet, here we have high unemployment, a declining economy, highly jeopardized foreign relations, increased illegal immigration AND a MAJOR deficit that our government has no problem sticking to our children AND they just keep spending.  How seriously messed up can one country be? God must be so disappointed!

Below is something a dear, respected friend shared with us I had to post. It perfectly captures the essence of our feelings and so many other hard working Americans who wonder 'what just happened here and now what'? Lindsey, Taylor and Dylan, we are SO sorry. We did what we could to protect you and reverse this path of the self-destruction that America is on. We will keep praying and keep our focus on Above. This life is so temporary and it is in God's hands. We take great comfort knowing we will all be saved to live together in Heaven for eternity.


"After turning off the election coverage and realizing the outcome, I wanted to take a few minutes and express my thoughts. I am sorry and a bit embarrassed to say that I simply no longer have hope about the future of America and how this country functions! If the majority of the people in this country have really decided that Barack Obama and his policies have done a good enough job to earn four more years as the leader of this once great and proud country I am no longer interested in following him, or this government. This election cycle was a cut and dry choice as to the direction of this country. In my opinion we have traveled over the waterfall and there is no possibility of recovery. I have lost all hope for this country and my patriotic spirit has been crushed. This evenings election results, and its long term ramifications, will be recorded as the turning point when the final chapter of this great democracy was written. Soon America will no longer be blessed as being the world's superpower. As history will look back on it, America had a pretty good 236 year run. Due to changing demographics in this country we are now on an irreversible journey. Today there is a large, growing segments of our population that have been given certain privileges and unsustainable social programs by politicians whom they have elected. This very powerful group of elected officials have seduced and manipulated these voters and will continue to reward them as long as they continue to harness their votes in future elections. Unfortunately my vote and my opinion are no longer relevant in this country. I, as a 53 year old male Caucasian that has struggled to support my family, no longer have a voice in this country. I am simply a source of income to fund various entitlement programs that were initiated with good intentions but have unfortunately spun out of control. This was expressed perfectly by an unknown author when they phrased it like this ... "We have transformed ourselves into a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers." Read and re-read this statement and it's truth will become evident. I will continue to help my fellow man in a personal, one on one manner when I can, as opposed to watching a prostituted governmental system siphon off my earnings and pass them along to individuals I have never, nor will ever meet. I will more passionately pray to God asking Him to forgive what had become a morally bankrupt America and also ask Him to continue to bless this country, even though we have removed Him from increasingly more and more facets of this society. I have written and expressed these views because we are still in a country that allows freedom of speech protected by the Constitution. Unfortunately, like the founding fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence concerning our unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, I fear this privilege will also be only a memory."

Halloween Weekend Fun!

This past weekend was perfect with nothing planned except sharing quality time together, relaxing, snuggling and enjoying the festivities of the Halloween season. The kids enjoyed carving their pumpkins in preparation of the big night this week. LTD are SO proud of their creations (with a little help from mom and dad) and the jack-o-lanterns  are now glowing brightly out on our front step. The neighbor kiddos and a few classmates pitched in over the weekend to help Dave collect firewood and finish the firepit area in the backwoods behind our home. They all did a fantastic job and last night we hosted a bonfire and invited some neighbors over to enjoy a lovely evening outside under a sky lit up with bright stars and gorgeous full moon. Even Milie the cat joined us :)

Taylor's Cat Pumpkin

Lindsey's Owl Pumpkin

Dylan proud of his Ghost Pumpkin

Showing off their creations

Glowing brightly at Camp Clark