Clark Family Campout

 We headed up to Grandma Clark's for the annual Labor Day family campout. Paul cooked some delicious hot dogs and hamburgers while I set up the tent. It was fun to sit around the fire and visit while we ate.

The kids loved playing night games all night!

Some of us went inside to play Ligretto. We used to play that all the time, but haven't much since we've had more kids and needed to keep our eyes on them. They're old enough now, the game-playing can commence again. :)

I used to be the one to beat at Ligretto, but feel like I've slowed down in everything I do over the years. Paul was cheering me on to win again and was very proud when I did. :) So much so that he made this picture and sent it to Gramps. Haha! He's in Russia right now for work, and we all missed him being there with us.

We spent some more time around the fire and made s'mores. I love a good fire and good company!

Paul got up when the roosters started crowing the next morning and made us all a delicious breakfast. We hung around for the morning and kept visiting and playing. It was a great campout!!

Big Boy Asher & Baby Liam

 Matt and Marissa came to Utah in between their move from Denver to Pennsylvania. They came to Tessa and Damon's gymnastics meet. The kids were so excited to see Asher and Liam! Rockwell loved getting time with the kids while Tessa and Damon were competing. 

They have always called Asher "Baby Asher," and have been practicing calling him "Big Boy Asher" now that Liam is the baby of the family. :) It was so nice of them to come watch the meet! They came over for dinner that night and we all loved spending time with them.

It was so cute to see the cousins playing together and hear Big Boy Asher laughing his head off. We all loved holding Baby Liam, and may have fought over whose turn it was all night. :)

We were so glad we could see the Cheney's before they move back east!

"Olympic" Gymnastics Meet

 Arete did another meet for their own gymnasts. Tessa and Damon both wanted to compete. This one was the Olympic Meet, and they started with running the Olympic torch around the gym and lighting the "flame." A lady that ran the torch in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake helped the kids pass the torch. It was a fun way to start the meet.

Damon's only been doing gymnastics for a few weeks, but he was excited to show us what he's been learning so far. 

He likes the rings and the bar. He loves going to class every week and practicing at home. It's been fun to see him develop new skills.

Tessa's first event was vault. When we were driving to the meet Tessa said, "I'm not going to mess up on my vault this time!" She sure didn't mess up! She hit the springboard just right and did a beautiful handstand flat back on the mats. Her coach was there to spot, but Tessa didn't need any help. It was beautiful!

Her next event was beam. She looked great throughout her routine, but she did fall off once. She recovered well and didn't let the mistake get in her head. 

Next was the bars. I was watching from up on the stairs, so I didn't have a great view. She did great though, and it was fun to see her do some things on her own that she needed a spot on at the last meet. I love to see the progress she's making!

Tessa's last event was floor, and she did awesome on this one too.

While the judges were totaling the scores, they had a "javelin" competition with pool noodles. Damon won the gold medal in javelin for the younger kids age group. :)

He tied for 3rd place in the all-around for the boys events, and was thrilled with his bronze medal!

Tessa took 1st place in the all-around for her level again. She was so excited to earn another gold medal!

It was so fun to watch Tessa and Damon both do something they love. We're very proud of them for working hard at class and practicing hard at home. Great job Damon and Tessa!!

The owner of Arete called the week after the meet and said that Tessa's coach let her know that Tessa and Morgan are ready to move up another level already. They've only been in The Jets class for about a month, but their coach said they both work so hard and have just connected with this sport. Their form is awesome and they're progressing quickly. Tess and Morgan are excited to move up because the next level is even longer class time. Tessa wishes she could go to gymnastics every day of the week. :)

This & That

 Tessa loves dog-sitting Sadie! 

She does a really great job taking care of her and remembering all the things that Roxanne is trying to train her on. 

We all enjoy playing with Sadie when Tess brings her outside.

The kids thought it was so funny when Paul put the blower on them. :)

The kids wanted to watch The Princess Bride. I loved showing them my favorite movie of all time! It's been so fun to hear them quoting it ever since.

We went to the THS Welcome Back Faculty BBQ. Tessa and Damon loved getting their face painted.

Rockwell loved playing 9-square. It was a fun night!

We have all been very busy lately. I feel like my calling is a full-time job right now, and it pulls me away from my family a lot. There was one day where none of us had anything after school and I was so excited. We ate dinner together and then went and saw Paw Patrol. It was great to spend time with just the 5 of us!

Of all the things going on with my calling lately, this part has been my favorite for sure! A friend in the ward, Jamie, has been put on bed rest for 3 months. I've set up a schedule of help and dinners for her, and I get to help out every Wednesday. I get to put her baby, Maddy, to sleep for naps and I love it! She cried the first few times, but this week she just cuddled right up to me as soon as I picked her up. She's getting to know me and it's been so fun.

Damon asked me to take a picture of him upside down doing a flip on the tramp. We nailed it on the first try. :)

First Day of School

Rockwell ~ 6th Grade

Tessa ~ 3rd Grade

Damon ~ 1st Grade

School has started again and the kids are back to the full time schedule from pre-Covid. The district got rid of the early birds and later gators, and now everyone is on the later gator schedule. We have always chosen the early bird schedule, so this year has been an adjustment for sure. I'm very glad that they're back in school full time, but we're all trying to get used to it being so late. This is the only year the kids will all be at the same school, on the same schedule. Damon loves when he gets to see Rockwell and Tessa at school. I'm glad that they all have great teachers this year, and are enjoying their classes.