Classy Pioneer Lady

Now I'm not sure she'd milk cows in this outfit, but Sharon makes a mighty fine pioneer lady. We were all amazed that Kami made this dress, apron, and bonnet without Sharon there, mailed it, and when Sharon tried it on, and it fit perfectly!!!

Here she is making her grand entrance down the stairs. Only thing lacking is some sturdy leather boots.

Bonnet closeup--will they let you take your makeup on the trek, Sharon!

West Jordan 65th

My family really outdid themselves for this milestone birthday! After we all went to dinner at Archibald's in Gardner Village (with Cody, his "friend," and Nalani joining us), we gathered at our house for cake and ice cream. Sam's mom, Fontella, had worked with Carrie on a beautiful cake. Then there were gifts--great ones--gift card from Christopher & Banks (my new favorite clothing store) for new clothes and a "Magic Bullet" blender from Carl; See's chocolates from Nalani and Jed; a wonderful entertaining ideas book and candle from Curtis and Shandy; I-tunes gift card from Darren, Susan and boys (I'm getting with it in technology)as well as a true treasure from Darren who had taken an old, beat-up photo of me as a baby with my mom--the only baby picture I had, and had cleaned it up, enlarged it, and framed it. Amazing. Then the finale--Carrie had worked her heart and soul out gathering "memories of mom" from her brothers, formatted them, printed them, included photos, and made it into a book. I was absolutely blown away. I have to say Carl and I have the best kids and grandkids ever, and our greatest joy is being with them (and that includes nieces and nephews). I'm still teary over it all.

Lucky for me we were out of candles, so all I had to blow out was one little tea light (and I had to have Carson's help on that!)

Carrie and Sam had placed these roses on our kitchen table for me to find when I came home from work on my actual birthday, and the book of memories.

The crazy group that contributed to the contents of the book!Darren and family's gift--another treasure to me.

Redmond Party!

Sharon and Rich organized a semi-surprise 65th birthday party for Pat. We were staying with them since we up in Washington for Lindsay's baptism, so it was a perfect time for a party! Phil and Paul (Paul has moved south of Portland) drove up, Kris came from Seattle, Daurell/Amanda/David/, Keith/Nick/Taylor/Brian/Audrey, Steve and Jacque, Devon/Lynette/Lindsey/Shawn,Jean and Reese (Grover)Turley.We had a good time reminiscing, telling stories (most of them true), and eating! Jacque has discovered that Martinelli's now comes in single serving bottles, as seen below. Pat was presented with a wonderful dutch-oven size LeCreuset pot that must weigh 20 pounds. Can't wait to do a Sunday roast in that baby!! Thank you to all.

Amanda's trying to keep us in line

Father and son--love 'em both!

Now this is serious cookware!

Jacque, Rich, Steve looking rather serious

Lindsey Ann's Big Day

Carl had the honor of performing Lindsey's baptism in Auburn last Saturday, 2/2/08. We had a wonderful time with the Loydens, including Devon's mom and dad, Judy and Dan. Sharon, Rich, Jana, and Amanda also came to support the great event.

Carl and Lindsey just before her baptism

Getting Shawn to cooperate was a chore--Devon is trying--but all in all we were a happy group!

Shawn and Lindsey later in the day--one happy/one not so much!

Mama Nalani

Nalani's baby shower on Saturday was so much fun. I'm so glad they let a couple of us older ones join in. This baby will not only be well dressed, but also well read.

Nothing beats a Nalani smile!

Long, Cold January!

This seems to have been a long, cold month; however, the temperature promises to be above freezing today. We are definitely looking forward to spring and being able to work out in the yard! Nothing really blog-worthy lately, but peaceful is good, too. Heading down to Lindon for Nalani's baby shower should provide plentry of excitement, however!

Just remember, this sign is at our door, and we mean it!!!

You Just Never Know...

Many of you know we have a part-time boarder. Shane Manwaring is with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's office and, until he and Tammy can sell or rent their home in Spokane, he stays with us during the week, then goes up to Pleasant View (north of Ogden) when he's off. He now is also part of the SWAT team and has some new toys--weapons. Last night he came upstairs bearing a semi-automatic rifle and pistol with laser beam tracking. Put that little red light on a perpetrator's chest, and he is ready to submit! He gave us a demonstration--kind of unnerving. I guess I just never thought I'd have high-powered weapons in our house. Actually, he doesn't keep them here. Wanted those of you who visit us with your kids to feel at ease! Here's our live-in Rambo!

Had a great weekend with Dexter while his parents played in the mountains. He truly was a joy to have with us. He slept good, ate good, and kept us entertained non-stop! Carson and Parker love to be with him, too. (Does Grandma look rather tired in this photo?!)

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!

The Project Continues

We now have a "real electrician" in the family!! Bless Cody's heart, he came and moved the disposal switch from a far corner where Pat couldn't reach it without a wooden spoon or long butcher knife, to just under the sink. He also did some magic with one of our lights! So Cody was under the sink, Carl was painting, and Pat was being the gopher!

The paint is a darker rust color than in this photo, and it looks wonderful!
Kind of tricky painting above the cabinets, but the resident expert got 'er done.

Sunday, Family, Food

Shandy, Curtis, and Dexter spent Saturday night and Sunday with us--such a treat! Dexter is a hoot, and really was happier than he looks in these first two photos! After attending Sacrament Meeting in Carrie and Sam's ward so we could see Carson do his part on the Primary program (all parts perfectly memorized, by the way!) we came home for the monthly cousins dinner. Theme this month was BBQ and man what a feast! Dessert was a birthday ice cream cake for Curtis.

We could hardly get Dexter out of this rocker
We caught Curtis after the candles were blown out--such enthusiasm

The Kitchen Project BEGINS

Finally, all the yard work is done, lawn mowed and mower put away, and the flowers beds all cleaned out. Since there is nothing to do outside anymore, we decided to do the kitchen. It has been one heck of a struggle trying to decide on a paint color. Last night, we said "let's go pick out a color, and just do it". That is what we did. We picked a color called "Rusty Nail". Of course, the biggest part of the project is the prep work and the mess. Here are a few pictures of our beginning. Carl filling holes and cracks. This is a very important job which requires lots of talent...(You will understand why I say this later).

Like I said, it creates quite a mess.

Here is the paint color. It is the middle one, and is called "Rusty Nail". If anyone is freaking out over the color, you better speak up now, or forever hold your peace!!

And here is Pat, doing her part to help. As I was doing my "very important job of filling cracks and holes", Pat was washing windows, etc. She said she couldn't reach the high part of the window and asked me to reach it for her. I said something like, "I am doing important work here, and can't be bothered with window washing". Wrong thing to say! ...I humbly assisted with the window washing.