Christmas 2007

Another great Christmas has come and almost gone. Everything from attending the Tabernacle Choir Sunday morning Christmas concert; being in charge of the ward Christmas breakfast; hosting the dessert end of Carl's Verizon HR progressive luncheon; the appetizer part of the ward Relief Society progressive dinner; Christmas Eve festivities; an incredible Christmas buffet created by Shandy and her mom; and Christmas breakfast with the Sweets. We LOVe this time of year and the feeling of gratitude and joy it brings (amidst the stress, but that's OK).

P.S. Carl wants you to know all the Christmas decoration are down and put away!

Variations of this table setup were used several times this season

Carl finally got has often-requested chef's jacket!

This is probably about the 39th year Pat has made crepes for Christmas Eve

Carl has also become a master crepe baker

Carl has convinced Sam it's fun to use a snow thrower

(hmmm, nice way to get someone else to do your work, Carl!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the silver-haired West Jordan Clarks!

Snow, Kitchen Update

This has been quite the couple of weeks! Fun part was visiting with Sharon and Nalani after Sharon had been there for a few days and helped unload boxes and put things away. We haven't dared ask about the couch outcome, but are looking forward to a good story! Here are the two little mommas.

Then the mess started, Since our stove had died and the dishwasher was close behind, we decided to replace all the appliances. We donated the fridge and microwave to some friends of Carrie and Sam's, so they went to a good home. That meant the old appliances had to be removed. Here's Carl supervising Jake as he dismantles the dishwasher.
Of course, the whole thing had to be done in the middle of what ended up being a major snowstorm. Again, Carl supervised while the Sam and two friends hauled the fridge down the icy stairs.

Next morning Carl was out blowing snow are 7:30 a.m. so the appliance guys could get to the house. Having a snow thrower is not luxury in Utah--it's a necessity!

After working Sam nearly to death installing the microwave and, bless his heart, figuring out a way to plug in the stove since this stove is both electric/convectionand gas, and struggling with the dishwasher, things are getting back to normal, Carl gets to enjoy the "mean" stove. Here he's making a batch of his famous nougat. He is lovin' life! Having two ovens is going to be a treat when we have all those big dinners.

Thanksgiving Craziness

Crazy and wonderful--that's how it always is when this family gathers. This Thanksgiving we only had Curtis and Shandy for Thanksgiving dinner since Carrie and Darren were scheduled at their "other" family for this year, so we invited Lybberts, Morris, and Amelia to join us. Craig (Shandy's dad) made his famous sauerkraut, and we had so much food it lasted all through the weekend (as planned!). Only one major crisis--our oven died!! Thanks goodness we had the turkey in the electric roaster, so we ran the rest of the dinner over to Carrie and Sam's...timing is everything.

Here are the two family chefs

Ethan having his macaroni and cheese--to heck with all that other stuff...
This is as calm as it ever gets when these six are together! Parker, Ethan, Carson, Kevin, Jacob, and Dexter (top of his head...)
Here's trouble!!!

Sharon came down so Jed and Nalani stopped in on their home from picking her up at the airport. We had homemade hot fudge sauce (in their honor), and these two bypassed the ice cream and went right for the good stuff!