Oh, it's the old age...

(I look at other's postings and keep thinking I need to update my blog. I put it off until I finally realize my last post says "winter already" and that was like a month and a half ago....what is up with time?!!)

Okay, so it's November...correction, the MIDDLE of November even, and I swear it seems school just began not too long ago...Then it hits me, as I realize one semi-depressing fact: Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind mainly, because, well, I AM! You see, I just turned 35...and was graciously informed by a friend of mine that I am now officially in the "high risk" pregnancy group...!!! Are they serious?! Since when does 35 seem old? I thought this was the day of 60 is the new 50, 50 the new 40, yet somehow 35 is just too old to safely have children?!

I realize I am exaggerating a bit, but it really is weird--it feels like I just graduated from BYU not long ago until I see a REAL recent graduate who looks like they are about 12 years old!!! Is this how it's going to be the rest of our lives? Our minds keep thinking and our bodies keep feeling we are "so young" and we forget how we actually age when time passes until we see someone who really is, well, young! Basically, I feel like I am in a time warp that speeds everything up and I'm just trying to keep waking up to go through another warp speed day before dropping into bed! I know I'm not the only one who can feel this way...

Fall Highlights:
*Cornbellies at Thanksgiving Point with the cousins:

*FHE in the Canyon with Grandma:

*Halloween was great, as always, for the girls! (It is funny how, even they, described how "Halloween just kind of snuck up on me, Mom!" when asked about their costume choices this year! Which is why they were super creative: Shai was a soccer player--thank you Sandy City, Rilee was a vampire--black cape and teeth pretty much, and Eden was a "cheetah"--not a leopard, a cheetah, because somehow that is cool, tying her to the cheetah girls someway...!  Avery was a  hula girl--we couldn't resist showing the fleshy side of her!  When else can you get away with wearing coconut shells, I mean, really?!)

*Grandma Judy's Halloween party is always a HUGE event, looked forward to by one and all (except perhaps Grandma herself? once one sees all the effort/energy it takes to put it on!)
And, the girls came home with a STASH of candy! It's so fun to see their faces, so excited of their hard-earned loot. But I admit, it is such a temptation to buy it off them, as that is a small price to pay in leiu of the dental bills that will, no doubt, be in the future...! Yet, I hope they have a childhood with Halloween, candy-filled, memories as fond as mine--so I resist, (and try to save for the future!) Ah, childhood is bliss!!

Snow Already?!

Here it is, the beginning of October, and SNOW has arrived already! Not that I have a thing against snow, per say. I mean, it's nice and all...it's beautiful, blankets the world, and helps one appreciate times when seeing the sun out coincides with a degree of warmth, and I love the fun it provides. But, what happened to FALL?! You know, the crisp air that requires only a light jacket, carmeled apples, candy corn, scarecrows, and mainly: the 60-70 degree weather Fall?! Instead of going from hot, to dead cold, let's have some weeks of high sixties and low seventies, just for fun. Who's with me?!

Well, October means a half a year has gone by since Avery arrived in our life. It's funny how it's hard to imagine life without her here, as if it never existed, or that she always has existed in the family, even though she'll only be 6 months! Looking back, it is amazing how quickly babies change in such a short amount of time:

Here are a few photos from each of her months! She is amazing, and we feel lucky to be her parents!

Now that I have actually posted this, the days have gotten warmer, and I am LOVING it!! I hear the cold will return shortly, so I hope to enjoy the warmth while it is here! It's all perspective to not complain, but enjoy what you do have, right?

Avery also reached a milestone: she has begun to say "da da", which Scott, of course, LOVES! My favorite is when she just babbles as loud as can be, almost with an urgency to her "DA DA", down to a small, cute whisper you have to lean in to hear "da da da", with a huge smile on her face! (We've been told she smiles with her whole face...it's great!)

She also thinks it is funny to cough, since Scott laughs at her when she does, and mimics her until she starts to laugh/smile. This leads to her "fake" coughing, and you can feel her tummy forcing in, and such a fake sounding cough coming out, in between smiles! I love that the smallest things were so entertaining...who knew?! She also likes to growl to herself in between her jabbering...so funny! It's like since she found her voice, she just "talks" all day long, loud/soft, deep growling, and everything in between! Honestly, what would the world do without kids?!

THE CLARK CLAN!!!

SOOOO, I FINALLY broke down and started a blog! Never thought I would, but all you friends who have bravely gone before me, gave me courage and hope, that a crazed, sleep deprived Mom like me could do it too! Hopefully I will figure out how to do cool stuff like you all, but for now, a few pictures and journal entries will have to do!

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2008:
This winter seemed to last forever, maybe it felt that way since I was counting down my last trimester of our 4th girl, Avery Marie Clark. (Yes, fourth! Good thing Scott is a great girl Dad! He toughens them up, gets them to all play sports, and can calm them down immediately!) Avery came two weeks early in April and has been SO much fun! Of course, she really has FOUR mothers, as the others are 9, 8, and 5 1/2! I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as she officially slept through the night this week! I had been a walking zombie (as all moms, right?!), but now, I think 5 hours in a row is a treat! Avery is a chunky, er, healthy baby weighing in at 15 lbs 15 oz at four months! As long as she is taking it from me, I think the chunkier, the better!

OTHER highlights include: Dance Concert/Competitions for Shailee, Rilee, and Eden; Las Vegas with dad's golf;




Vacations to Breckenridge, CO outside of Vail with my family to meet up with Jeremy and his family. Gorgeous views everywhere we turned!;









and our yearly Lake Powell trip with my family, to name a few.

Also, Rilee got baptized and we blessed Avery the same day, very cool. They had great family turn out, which made them feel very special. To make it even better, their cousin, Ashlyn, got baptized too--very fun and unforgettable for them!




For us, school is already in full swing as our year round track started July 28 this year! It seems crazy that 3 of my 4 girls are in Elementary together! (Can't wait for Parent Teacher conferences...!) I am amazed at how well they all adjust and seem to excel and and love learning! Eden, 5, especially has been excited to start Kindergarten. She can't wait to do her "homework" and loves reading already. It is weird to not have her around with me all day, which is an adjustment, but I'm getting through it! I certainly have enjoyed the time to spend doing just Avery, 4 months. And just when I get through a feeding and a nap for her, the girls are home, all fighting for their turn to hold her again!

I love summer and the looks on my kids' faces when they are beet red and panting from running too hard, or from riding their bikes, or from getting their "exercise". (Rilee, 8, especially seems to love anything to do with exercising! In fact, once we were at Grandma's and all the Aunts wanted to do a workout together. Rilee decided to join in and by the time we met her in the gym, she was running on the treadmill on her own at 6.2 mph! Gotta love her energy!) I also love how they get to play all day with their many friends, since there is usually about 10-12 kids in our greencourt in front of our house every night playing games. So fun!

We're especially excited that summer will last a bit longer as our year round track will take another break the last 2 weeks of August and first week of September. Oh, to be a kid again, and only worry about how to quickly do your chores (or pretend you did and try and trick Mom), so you can decide who to play with that day! Sprinklers, ice cream, BBQs, s'mores, vacations, swimming...how can one NOT love summer?!