My Favorite Christmas Gift

Dear Zach-

Today you touched my heart and left a mark that will always remain. As I was putting together the scrapbooks for your school class I came across your file. Inside was a writing assignment entitled "My Favorite Christmas Gift". This is what you wrote:

"The best present I ever got is my family. I got it from God. I like my family because if I didn't have my family it wouldn't be the same."

As I sat there thinking about what you wrote, tears streamed down my face. What a wake up call for me. You have taught me a very valuable lesson and one that I will always remember. I love you and our family and indeed that is the best Christmas present I could ever have.

Love, Mom

Wedding Bliss

In June, Erik and I both had brothers get married. The nicest thing about it was that they scheduled them for the same weekend so that Erik and I only had to make the trip once. It was a very busy and exciting weekend.


Here is Grandpa Cantwell with Carter. Grandpa loves holding Carter and Carter loves having Grandpa hold him. The facility where Devin and Lauren had their reception was gorgeous with flowers everywhere. It truly was a spectacular event. The coolest part was they had a photo booth there and the boys loved going in and having their pictures taken. What a great idea! Here are Zach and Luke in their reception attire. Lauren's colors were cream, black and red and I think the red ties look stunning on the boys. I got an awesome deal on their vests and pants over Easter and so they worked perfectly for the weddings. Devin and Lauren's sealing was amazing and the spirit was so strong in the sealing room. All of Erik's brothers and their spouses (all except Andrew's spouse, who is oh so close to becoming a part of the family) were in the temple and it was such an emotional moment for everyone.

Now onto the Clark wedding. Mike and Jessica had their reception in Jessica's backyard and it was an amazing backyard. As you can tell from some of the photos it was so beautiful and the day could not have been better for a garden reception. It was absolutely gorgeous. Here is our little family in our pink attire. I love this picture of the boys. I think they all look so handsome, even if they are wearing pink. Erik wasn't too thrilled about the whole pink attire but I think that pink can look great on boys. The boys actually loved being a part of the wedding and thought that they were pretty special, which of course I think they are.
Here are all but three of the Clark boys. Peter was working in Alaska and couldn't come home for the wedding. Andrew had a police interview in Los Angeles that he had to be to and then Ben was in Pennsylvania serving his mission. But even though there were three boys missing there were still four, plus Erik, holding strong. As you can tell, boys definitely dominant the Clark name.

We are so excited for Devin & Lauren and Mike & Jessica. We love it when we can add girls to the family!!!!

Kindergarten Graduation

Zach had a great first year of school and absolutely loved his teacher, Mrs. Ireland. This is a picture of Zach on the last day of school. It is amazing to go back and look and see how much he changed in a year. He not only grew academically, but physically and socially. I love watching how inquisitive he is and how happy he is when he learns something new.I couldn't believe when I walked in and saw this sign that Zach will graduate in the year 2021. I hadn't spent the time to figure out when Zach would graduate but it seems like it is far away but in all actuality it really will come way too fast.

Here is Zach with his teacher, Mrs. Ireland. She was such a fabulous teacher and really helped Zach so much. She is the perfect kindergarten teacher. She was always so patient with the students and I loved going in every Wednesday to help with centers. Mrs. Ireland had each of the parents write a note to their child that she read to them during graduation. Here is what Erik and I wrote:
"Dear Zach, We have loved watching you learn so much this year. You even taught us a few things - like the center of a daffodil is called a trumpet, and now we know what a palindrome is. It is so nice to have a son that loves to learn. You have set a very good example for your younger brothers to follow. We love you! Love, Mom and Dad."
I can't believe that I will now have a first grader. Why does time seem to only get faster? Please slow down!!!

Zach's 6th Birthday

Zach actually turned 6 back in May but I'm just finally getting around to posting about it. Now that summer has ended and I can't just sit by the pool all day anymore I hope to get back to the blogging world and catch up on the events of summer. We threw Zach a birthday party this year because after being in Idaho for 2 years and being in school and sports, there was finally enough people to invite to a party. We went with a golf theme for the party and I think the kids had a good time. The above picture is some of the kids that we're invited including McKay and Kobe who are a couple of Zach's best friends. We took the kids to the golf course by our house and let them hit golf balls off the driving range and then took them over to the putting green and putted for prizes.

After going to the golf course we came back to our house and fed the kids lunch, which consisted of hot dogs, watermelon, nachos, chips and of course cake and ice cream. The only requirement Zach had for the party was to have a pinata. His friends, Bryton and Zegen, always have pinatas at their parties and so he knew that he had to have one at his. I could not find a golf ball pinata and so since it was baseball season we went with the baseball pinata.

Here is my lame excuse for a cake - thank you Sam's Club. I decided that I didn't want to stress myself out any more than necessary and so we bought a cupcake cake from Sam's Club that had golf balls holding the candles and then a golf bag on it as well. And really, what kid really cares about what kind of cake it is. It served its purpose and as you can tell I'm trying not to feel too guilty about it.

Here is the classic birthday photo holding up the fingers to signify how old you are. As you can tell from the picture this is what we and the grandparents gave him for his birthday. Erik and I gave him the tennis racket, tennis balls and extra Wii numchuk. Luke gave him the lego set. Grandma and Grandpa Cantwell got him Mario Party 8 for the Wii and then Grandma and Grandpa Clark gave him money to go buy what he wanted (he ended up purchasing goggles for the swimming pool and has the rest saved in his bank to save up for a bigger purchase.)

We love Zach very much and are so happy he is a part of our family. He is a very good big brother and sets a great example for Luke and Carter. He always wants to do his best and still has an absolute love for any sport. It is going to be hard when the sports become more demanding and he is only able to choose one.

Trip to California

Since it has been eons since I last posted there actually have been some things that have happened and that we have been able to do. For Zach's spring break we were able to take a trip to California with my parents and some of my siblings. Unfortunately Erik couldn't take time off work so he didn't come with us. I was lucky enough though to have lots of help from my parents and siblings. We managed to accomplish a lot of things during our four days there and we were exhausted when the trip was over but it was so fun to be able to take the kids and see their excitement with each new place we went.

Here are the boys and I waiting to get on a ride at the Sesame Street Playland at Sea World. The kids actually loved Sea World and seeing the dolphin show and Shamu. They were still chanting the Shamu chant weeks after we got home.

I absolutely love this picture of Carter with my dad. My dad was always a trooper and volunteered to take Carter while I did things with Zach and Luke.

Here is everyone that went on the trip. We are at Legoland in front of one of the amazing exhibits made out of legos. Zach was in heaven with seeing all the legos and actually was able to take a souvenir home - a lego spider set. The kids had fun riding the rides and just looking at the amazing creations that were there.

Zach was so very excited to see the beach and the ocean for the first time. When he started kindergarten he had to fill an all about me poster out. On there was a spot where you needed to name three wishes. His three wishes were that he had a Wii (which he got for Christmas), that he had a pet (which will probably never happen, such a mean mom I am) and then his last wish was to go to the beach. I'm so grateful that we were able to help him fulfill one of his wishes.

It was actually an overcast day but that didn't stop the boys from getting their swimsuits on and playing in the sand. Luke and Zach both helped my dad build some sand mountains and then my dad took a teaching moment to talk to us about relating it to my brother leaving on his mission.

Here is the clan at Disneyland. The boys enjoyed going on the rides but it was really crowded the day that we went and so we did have to stand in some pretty long lines. Zach's favorite ride was Space Mountain. After the ride was over he was pumping his arms in the air and saying that was the best ride ever. Luke really liked Pirates of the Caribbean. Zach and Luke both went on the Tower of Terror as well and Luke looked almost as white as a ghost when he got off the ride.

Overall it was such a fun vacation and I really appreciate all the money and time that was spent by my parents to ensure that my kids had a wonderful time. The entire family really helped me with the boys and I know we will always remember the memorable time we had.

Carter's Baby Blessing

We blessed Carter on January 4, 2009. We had a wonderful showing of support from both of our families. Everyone made the trek up to Boise for the special day. We really appreciate all of the support that we received and the effort that went into driving 5 hours on Saturday and then turning around and driving 5 more hours on Sunday. Everyone at church was amazed at how many men stood up to stand in the circle and yep they were all brothers. That's what happens when Erik has four brothers and I have seven. Here is Carter on his blessing day. Erik hated his outfit but it was all I could find that wasn't formal. I'm not into the whole tuxedo thing and Zach and Luke both had sweater type outfits. I would have used one of their blessing outfits but I pulled them out and they had started to turn yellow. I didn't mind the outfit and I guess that part really isn't the important part.

Here are Melissa's parents with Carter. I love this picture because in its bigger version Carter has a smile on his face.

Here is the Clark family. I had three brothers that weren't able to make it due to one living in Florida, one being away on a basketball trip and one being involved in a fight (he's a boxer) on Saturday night that he couldn't miss. But the rest came to show their love and support.

Here is the Cantwell family. Everyone is here in this picture even though you can't really see Bob and Rose because they in the back shadow. Erik and I are both very lucky to come from such wonderful families. My kids are even luckier to have grandparents and aunts and uncles that always want to be a part of their lives.

Here is the five of us. Carter doesn't look too happy but we had to snap the shot anyways. We just want to thank everyone who came and supported us. Erik had a couple of aunts and their families that live here in Boise that also came and that meant a lot as well. Erik gave a beautiful blessing and I hope that Carter will live up to the blessings he was given.

Christmas

Since it has been two months since I have posted anything, I figured it was high time that I do. Here is my Christmas tree this year. I absolutely loved it. A big thank you to my mother-in-law who decorated it for me. Trust me, I will never be able to get it to look like this again. But I did love sitting in my favorite green, piano room with this beautiful tree to look at. Here are the boys with basically their only gift from us - the Wii. They were so excited. That is the only thing that Luke asked for. Good thing my boys have grandparents who spoil them rotten. Zach really wanted Legos this year and so Grandma and Grandpa Cantwell made sure that he had some to open on Christmas Day. They also received MarioKart, Wii Play, BYU sweatshirts. Grandma and Grandpa Clark showered them with Pixos, TinkerToys, some books, HuskerDu and some art stuff. My boys are very blessed to have such wonderful grandparents on both sides.

Here are the boys in their Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve. We were fortunate enough to make the last minute trip to Utah for Christmas. Part of the roads were closed and so we had to take a detour through Pocatello but it was well worth it. It really only added an hour extra of time and the kids slept right through it. It is nice to have family only five hours away so that we can enjoy spending holidays together.

Last but not least are the boys with their Christmas sweaters on. I wanted to try and get a picture with them all in similar but not matching sweaters. I think the ensemble went together pretty well. I am so grateful for the Christmas season to remind us of the importance of our Savior and all the many wonderful blessings we enjoy. I loved getting Christmas cards from so many of you and it is so fun to see how everyone's families are changing. 2008 treated us right with the addition of Carter and we are so blessed to have three boys! We love them all.