Steamboat-- Back with family

What a cute bunch! It was so fun to have the kids together again.
The last stop on our trip was in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Jared's family had a condo reserved for a family retreat!

Our first few days in Steamboat were pretty rainy and cold. Susie had some neat projects for the kids to dig into. Tie-dying!



We swam a few times! Uncles are great!!


We walked across the street to a carnival and tried a few rides....




Grandma with two bachelor uncles...
She did her favorite ride -the "Tilt a whirl!"

Cam isn't a bachelor for long. One of the biggest moments of the trip was learning the news of his engagement! Cam skyped Haylee and we "met" her. Then she waved her hand on the camera wearing a big sparkly diamond ring! It was a very exciting surprise for me --another sister in law! They are a very cute couple!!

Then we had nicer weather for a few nice days and took a hike to a waterfall called Fish Creek falls. We really enjoyed being in the mountains again!


Grandma knew how to make the hike fun. --The kids had a special snack to bring in their lunch boxes.


We went back to the botanical garden with the whole clan. (But without good batteries in my camera. Hope to get some of those cute pictures later.)


Our last big dinner before we left to meet the moving truck in SLC was lobster and two kinds of delicious fish. The Clarks love seafood! My pictures may not be wonderful, but it gives you an idea of the feast!

The trout were fresh from the boys fishing trips that weekend.


good food, family, and fun.

Our Trek West

Our first stop on the road was in Atlanta with the Dance's. My cousin Tina took us to the park and made a really nice dinner too. We played "the foot game," the bag game, and the stick game! Three really cute girls!


Then day two, in St. Louis the kids played at the park again (anything but sitting in the car!) and ate up kids meals from McDonald's. We loved seeing cousins, Scott, Faith, Monroe and Beckett! Our family is so spread out that it is usually years in between visits. They were great to host us!


On day three, I was so glad that we were able to stop along the way to the Independence Visitors Center and Liberty Jail in Missouri. They are some great places in the history of the Church where the plan of God unfolded.

To sum up the significance of those sites I want to include a quote we read from Elder Neal A. Maxwell.
"It wasn't until the prophet (Joseph Smith) was physically confined that his mind was fully liberated ...The double walls, four feet thick, kept Joseph and his companions in, but they could not keep the spirit and revelation out."

That third night of the trip was spent in the middle of Kansas --at a Roadside Inn... nothing really exciting. But all the in-betweens were so nice. The kids did well and Jared was even able to study a bit along the way.
then (a little slower) into Colorado!

Thanks

to Kellye, Edith, Anne Marie, Emalia, Carolyn, Stephanie, Lacey, Jenilyn, Shannon, Stacey, Tricia, Amelia, Emily, Wendy, Sierra and ....
I have to list a few names to remember.

People change us. And our family was definitely moved by many wonderful associations we found in our last years. Although we enter new stages of life, we can't forget.

Also, moving away is a challenge and I hope these ladies know that their efforts to serve made a huge difference to us in the last weeks. Thank goodness for the great ladies around us!

Also, a few last photos to remember...wish we had more:

We leave Florida richer

Thanks for indulging my sentimentality...

Happy Graduation!

We are happy to announce that Jared finished law school!


On May 15th, 2011 Jared C. Clark graduated from Ave Maria School of Law and earned his Juris Doctorate Degree.


The graduate with proud (and goofy) family!!


some fellow graduating students



Jared has learned so much in the past three years. We are grateful for the opportunity to gain an education. May his efforts be an investment for eternity.

And now Onward!

Fish Tales

The first weekend in May, I took the boys downtown for a fishing clinic. Fly tying, instructions on safety and regulations, and free poles and tackle boxes! It was great!!


The only part I couldn't hack was putting the live shrimp bait on the hooks.


Success! The fish loved that bait and kids were catching things all along the pier.


The same morning Jared was invited to go on a half-day off shore fishing trip with some men in the ward. It was a major treat for him! (Our concert date night and Jared's fishing trip made pretty great celebrations to finish our time with law school in Naples.)
We enjoyed the fish he brought home for the rest of the week...!

Then Jared promised the boys to take them back to the pier for one last fishing trip before we left. Sorry to say that I didn't send the camera with them. They came back with some great stories about a goliath grouper bigger than a man....

Beach Days

One of our last trips to the beach was so neat --forever to be remembered. It was low tide at Clam Pass. And we saw so many different kinds of life. Yes, I had to coordinate the kids' outfits. Jared's was his own idea....

Here is the nice walk through the mangroves.

There were lots of birds ot watch. I enjoy Michael's and Jordan's fascination with all things.

The beach was covered with these live "olive" shells burrowing into the sand.

The previous owner of this shell is now another link in the food chain. The hermit crabs were feasting. The big shallow tide pool was filled with hundreds of crabs. We collected a few beautiful shells-- uninhabited.

Hope to be back soon...

Easter 2011

We enjoy this hunt at Jared's school with other fun families. Tessa is just the right age now to enjoy finding an egg filled with "treats."

cute homemade baskets courtesy of Grandma

Jordan wanted me to take this picture for Grandma Clark. He really liked the fish and special egg in his Easter goodies!

We enjoyed a yummy meal with some neat friends. Inez is our adopted family away from family, and Lenka and Ana are young ladies from Germany.

our humble efforts at dying eggs

We met Lenka on our campout in Key Largo. She and her friend are some of those irresistable people you meet and wish you could hang on to.

It was a special holiday for sure.