Clark Christmas Gathering at the Balke's

Papa and Grandma Clark stopped in Mpls on their way to sunny Texas for the winter and we had a gathering at Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jeff's house in Edina to celebrate Christmas with Dave's sisters and their families. Unfortuantely, Uncle Ken and his 4 angels couldn't make it and they were greatly missed. We had a great time! Uncle Jeff was the life of the party! Poor guy works much too hard as an MD at Allina so we will give him a break :) Aunt Lisa is always such a gracious host and we love sharing time with the Clark family. Miss you already, Papa and Grandma!

 

8 Year Celebration at MOA (Looking Back)

We're back!!! After a month of hiatus amd chaos, Mama Bear is finally back in her Director chair at Camp Clark and hunkering in to get caught up on memories from December.

I believe I mentioned that 3 little varmints recently turned 8 years old. NOOOOOOO!!!!! We celebrated with parties and with a certain furball of a gift which we will talk about later (aka Tootsie). I took the kids to the MOA (Mall of America) on their birthday, let them visit Santa, took them out for lunch at RainForest Cafe and let them buy themselves birthday presents with the money they received from their grandparents. It was the girls very first trip into an American Girl store. Holy Cow - so little for so much ($$$)! The girls were in awe; Dylan not so much. However, he was SO patient and his is eyes brightened when he saw the hermit crab kiosk and the games store. Of course, we had to go on a few rides but the favorite was the sky high tightropes and slides (5 stories high!). There was no way Mama was getting up there since I have a fear of heights but LTD had absolutely no fear. The girls had the perfect climbing attire on with their skirts and furry boots :)  Regardless, they had an absolute BLAST! Check it out.

 

 

 

 

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)