The Christmas Card

I tried to keep it simple this year.

We love you all.

Aaron, Julie, James, Anna, and Alden

The Clarks are Still in Wyoming

Most of you know that I (Aaron) was fired from my job a couple of days before Thanksgiving. I won’t go into any depth other than to say, I’m glad I’m gone. When the regular joke around the office is that it’s Friday, and the Management Gods need a sacrifice (meaning someone needs to be fired to appease the CEO), nobody functions to the best of their abilities. They’re all just trying to keep their head down and not be noticed, because he who gets noticed gets the axe. Anyway... I guess my head wasn’t down far enough or something.

So, the past three weeks have been some of the most antagonizing weeks of my life. Questions about whether I should go into business for myself, or move back to Utah, try to find a job in Big Piney, find a job elsewhere in Wyoming, and what to do with our family have been plaguing us this whole time. And it was hard to know what to do. Some of you have been in the same situation, and you know how hard it is. At first, I thought I needed to do my own thing, and work with some friends to get an accounting/technology practice going. But when I talked to my friends and neighbors and the local business people around here, they all said I was out of their league. They just needed someone with basic AR/AP skills, and who could keep their books. I’ve recommended some people I know, but there hasn’t been too much for a guy like me. Except for one guy.

Jay Anderson used to be a bishop here in Big Piney, and lived here with his family for 12ish years before he and a friend bought a little company in Lyman, WY. When Julie and I first came here, we met him, and he was interested in having me come to work for him if things didn’t work out with EnerCrest. Well, things obviously didn’t work out with EnerCrest, and so we visited, and he offered me a job with his company. After considerable prayer and fasting, we determined that his offer would be best for our family, and so we’re moving.

We’re very, very, very sad to leave Big Piney. Julie and the kids and I had a good cry yesterday when we broke the news to them. At the same time, we are excited to try something new that we hope will last for a bit longer than 18 months. We’re also excited to be a little closer to the temple and our families. That will be nice.

Christmas Questionnaire

We were tagged. These are Aaron’s answers.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.
2. Real tree or artificial? I prefer real, but this year, perhaps none.
3. When do you put up the tree? Whenever.
4. When do you take the tree down? When it’s brown and stinky.
5. Do you like eggnog? Heck yes I do.
6. Favorite gift received as a kid? Nintendo.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Human beings.
8. Easiest person to buy for? Me.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Depends on my mood. This year, email. Next year, who knows.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever recieved? There was a mix-up, and my Grandma Swensen put my cousin Ann’s gift in a box marked Aaron. It was pretty and pink, and I was probably 5 or 6. I’ve never really forgiven her.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? “A Christmas Story.” I mean, come on. Are there really any other Christmas Movies worth watching?
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometimes as early as August.
14. Have you ever recycled Christmas Paper? Probably so.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cashews
16. Lights on the tree? Not yet. When it was just Julie and I, we had white lights, but they’ve disappeared, and I haven’t gotten around to getting more.
17. Favorite Christmas Song? “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Silent Night”
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year: travel; next year: TBD.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Darn skippy. I know all 10 of them.
20. Angel on the tree or a star? I prefer a star.
21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas? Christmas.
22. What do you hate about this time of year? Commercialism.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Antique.
24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? Turkey. Mmmm.... Turkey.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A jorb.
26. Who is tagged? Dad and Julie.

My Brain has Movies

Jen talked about Breanne's brain having channels on her blog. A very interesting phenomenon, I must admit. Sometimes I'd like to change the channel in my brain.

My brain has entire movies. Andrew, Dad and I may be afflicted/blessed with the same condition, but if the mood strikes me, I can replay entire movies in my head. Julie laughs at me because sometimes I see a funny scene in my head ("Give him a seda-give!"), and I'll laugh out loud because I can see it and hear it in my mind. (I actually just laughed out loud because I replayed that scene from Young Frankenstein) I know that Julie says that sometimes Andrew and I don't talk about anything except for quote movies that we like.

It's a blessing, because sometimes I can just tune out the world, and watch a fun movie. It's a curse, because sometimes I'll do without realizing it when I'm in an important meeting, and then I'll miss a question or something that gets directed to me.

Is it just me, or do others out there share my affliction/blessing?

PS Julie wants to make sure that her post doesn't get pre-empted by this one, so please look at it also. Much obliged.

Mommmmm!

 Much to Anna's embarrassment I had to take this picture. Yes, Aaron is curling Anna's hair. Yes, he did a better job than I do. And, yes, it was his idea to curl her hair in the first place. Don't be jealous Ladies but Aaron also cooks, cleans, and scrapbooks. In Aaron's defence the scrapbooking is digital so that makes it more manly, but James still makes fun of him! Thanks Grandma Christine for training my husband so well!

Interesting quote from Robert Herz, FASB Committee Chairman.

But just don’t look for others to fix problems that may be under your control. Keep the Golden Rule of “doing unto others as they would do to you” in mind. If you are a lender, don’t make loans that people may not be able to pay off just because you can sell or securitize them. And if you are in corporate reporting, don’t succumb to the temptation to try to structure around the standards or fail to properly communicate risks to your investors and the markets, just because there is no specific FASB or SEC requirement.

Doesn’t it seem like a lot of the crap in the world could be eliminated if we followed the true Golden Rule?

Thanks, Gromo.

 

We’re glad that Gromo could come and stay with us for a few days post-partum. She was really helpful, and we all had a lovely time.

Why Aaron and I are such good friends

See Aaron’s posts here and here.

Darn skippy.

PS Julie says Aaron needs to fix his blog so that she can comment.

Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired

The past three days I’ve had a cold. While not a real “kick my butt” kind of cold, it certainly isn’t very fun. I’d planned to take it kind of easy and leave work early so I could recuperate a bit. Ha, ha, ha. No go. I haven’t been home before 8:00 this week.

On the happy side of things, we’re planning a trip to SLC this weekend for the celebration of our 10th (10th!!) anniversary. We look forward to going to the temple, and seeing a play, and doing CPE. Well, at least two of the three.

Things that make you go hmm...

 

Is it wise to mix alcohol, high powered rifles, and bright orange? Methinks not so much.

Recent Photos, Part III

   

Recent Photos, Part II

       

Recent Photos

       

Yep. Still alive and kicking.

I’ve been pretty quiet for about the past month, but don’t fret, we’re still here.

I’ve gone fishing, worked a lot, played with the kids, and Julie is one month closer to having a baby. I’m at work right now, just waiting for a report to calculate. I can’t work on any other reports until it finishes, so I just thought I’d say hello.

Maybe a couple of photos? I’ll see what I can do.

Easy Family History Opportunity

So, I’ve been looking through my pictures, and there seems to be a lack of photos of Anna from her early years (ages 0-4). I know some of you who are related to us might have some pictures that you’ve taken. If you do, could you send some my way? If they’re digital, you can email them to me. Drop a comment if you need my email address. If you have a lot of digital stuff (more than 20 megs), I have a couple of methods we can use to trade pictures, so drop a line and I’ll help you out.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The Girl Who Nearly Made Aaron Bleed. Nearly, but Not Quite.

 

This is Rebecca Taylor. She looks innocent enough, but as I alluded in my last post, she’s the one who managed to kick a soccer ball straight into my face. She kicks hard. I thought my nose would have been broken, but fortunately it didn’t. My lip swelled up a bit, but other than that, I’m all right. She felt bad and apologized profusely. I'm looking forward to ribbing her about this all year during Seminary.

Soccer tonight

Played soccer... me, seven teenagers, two kids... scored one goal... assisted on a couple of others... hit hard in the face by ball while playing keeper... much running... exhausted...

Loved every minute... going to play again next week... Oh, yeah... Big grin.

It's Football Time!

I just thought everyone would enjoy a few photos of the kids playing football.

Aaron Searle is Getting Released from the Bishopric

I was called today to be on the High Council, and since Aaron and I seem to have a knack for picking up similar callings around the same time, I’m going to predict he’ll be a Dry High Councilor sometime in the next few months.

It’s exciting and new. I was baptized by fire today with a disciplinary council. I have no authority to discuss the proceedings thereof, but I learned that they aren’t the scary things I always imagined they are, except for the Stake Presidency and High Councilors. The lot fell on me to speak, and that scared the heck out of me. That’s the news today. I’m pretty tired.

Things that made me laugh today

I had a couple of really good belly laughs today, and wouldn’t you know, my dear, sweet sister was behind both of them?

Today at work I got an email from Emily. It was [allegedly] a compilation of metaphors and similes used in high school papers. “The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.” and “It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.” were a couple that made me wonder about life growing up in those home. The full list is available for those who wish to read it.

The second thing was her post about Mountain Lions. I just hope Drew’s OK.

Proper term for a person from Wyoming

It’s Wyomingite. Just in case you were wondering.

Excellent Trout Recipe

If you’re fishing in Wyoming, chances are pretty good that you’re going to catch trout of some sort or another. We were fishing yesterday, and caught a couple of nice rainbow trout. Well, I wanted to cook them today, but I’m the only one who really likes to eat them, so I decided to try a different recipe, and we found a winner. James liked it. Anna wouldn’t even try it on principle. (“Ewww. Fish.”) Julie was asleep so she didn’t get a chance to taste it because James and I ate it all up. Sorry, Jules. Anyway... I’ve tucked this away in my EverNote database of recipes that I will definitely use again.

Best. Trout. Ever.

Now, being a Sunday and not having a chance to go to the grocery store to get the exact ingredients, we did improvise by using dried ground ginger, garlic powder, and chopped onions instead of fresh ginger, minced garlic, and green onions, but overall it got a big “Woot!” from those who tried it. I served it with a side of greens and balsamic vinagrette, and it all worked well. I’m going fishing again this week, and I’ll probably try a different adaptation of the recipe where I bake it whole so I don’t have to try to filet the 1-pound fish we usually bring home.

Full disclosure: I still haven’t tried Drew’s recipe for trout with buttery crackers, which I hear is pretty dang good. Emily, who may be the pickiest eater I know, even eats the trout when Drew cooks it that way.

I Can’t Believe This is the First Post in July

Wow.

I feel bad.

Well, here’s what happened this month:

• Julie’s Birthday/Friends Visit
• Emily Visit
• Various Fishing Trips
• Quarterly Close

Julie’s Birthday/Friends Visit

On the anniversary of the Independence of our fair country, Julie also celebrates the anniversary of her birthday. Since the Fourth fell on a Friday, we got a three-day-weekend, and so did pretty much everyone else. Two of the families with whom we are friends trekked up to the Darn Stinkin’ Great State of Wyoming (with apologies to the merely “Great” State of Texas) to hang out for the weekend. We went to the Big Piney parade; the 12 minutes set a new duration record. Then we went to the county fairgrounds for the annual barbecue. Lamentably, they had nothing on Kansas City barbecue, other than it was free. After that, the kids needed naps, so we went back to the house and laid down for a rest. Then in the evening, we drove over to the church house, where we watched the fireworks show, which was absolutely spectacular. It looked like no expense was spared.

The rest of the weekend was spent fishing, picnicking, churching, and playing games. It was a lovely weekend, and we’re glad our friends could come up.

Emily Visit

The week after that, Emily and Drew drove up on Friday evening to spend the weekend. We had a good time hanging out with them. On Saturday morning, Drew, James and I woke up early and went fishing at Middle Piney, where we had a banner fishing trip. We kept three fish from our trip, and Drew prepared them for us on Sunday afternoon. They were delicious.

After fishing on Saturday, we took our naps to make up for waking up so dang early on Saturday, and drove to the lovely town of Pinedale to enjoy Chinese food, a trip to the park, and as it turned out, the Rendezvous Rodeo. The Rodeo was kind of a last minute decision, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Next year, though, we’ll go a little earlier in the evening to get a spot that’s higher than the fence. All during the rodeo we were moving our heads and backs up and down to see through the slits in the fence. Everyone enjoyed the bucking broncos and the bulls. After that, there were fireworks again. Expenses were definitely spared for this show.

Various Fishing Trips

One of the advantages of living in the high mountain nowhere, is that there are several excellent fisheries all over the county. As explained, we went fishing when our friends were here, and when Drew and Emily came to visit. This week I went fishing one day during my lunch break because there’s a Green River access spot about three miles from work. Then when Julie went to hang out with her parents on Wednesday evening, I went fishing at Middle Piney, and then this morning, I took the kids fishing up at Middle Piney again. For a guy like me, who enjoys fishing, this is awesome.

Quarterly Close

June is the end of a fiscal quarter for my employer, and so we’ve been cranking through financials for the past three weeks. What a blast. Or not.

So, that’s the quick summary of life up here. Hope things are going well for all of you living in the big city and especially for those of you who are stationed in a remote army base. Be good and stay safe.

Live from Kansas City International Airport

This morning I’m at the airport in Kansas City, Missouri (pronounced “Miz-UR-ah” by the locals). I’ve been in training this week for a new system that we’re implementing at work, and I’ve been accompanied this week by Ernie Lovato, our IT guy. It’s a very cool system that allows you to integrate document management with your business applications (like accounting, HR, and so forth). We’re looking forward to getting that up and running over the course of the next few months.

Kansas City has been a nice town to visit. It’s a sizable metropolis on the border of Kansas and Missouri built on the banks of the Missouri and Kansas Rivers. We stayed on the Kansas side of the city, but we ventured out into other parts this week.

Last Sunday, we took a trip out to Independence and Liberty, both suburbs of Kansas City. Independence and Liberty are significant sites to members of our faith.

Now, let’s jump into the Wayback Machine for just a moment: After persecutions in Ohio became too severe, the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints moved to Jackson County, Missouri. At that time, Independence was on the western frontier of the United States, and the Saints perceived the area as safer from persecution. They started buying land, which drove up land prices, and so many moved in that they started controlling the vote in Jackson County. The locals were quite displeased with both of those facts, and this displeasure resulted in further persecution of the Saints, including the jailing of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., in the Liberty Jail.

So, Ernie and I decided that we’d go out and see some of the sites in the area. We tried to find the visitor’s center in Independence, but we got lost, so we headed up to Liberty, where we found some tourist signs that directed us the the “Historic Liberty Jail.” We got there and were able to take a tour of the jail where the Prophet was held for a little more than four months. As we looked at the dungeon, I came to appreciate the nearly 800 square feet of space we enjoyed in our old condo a lot more. The space they were held in was about 120 square feet, and was home to four grown men; the ceiling was only six feet tall, so a couple of them could never fully stand up. The missionary sister who gave the tour bore a very powerful testimony of the restoration of the gospel, and the spirit we felt was very strong.

After our tour, the missionaries gave us directions to the other significant historical sites in and around Jackson County, so Ernie and I headed south to Independence where we found the Visitors’ Center. We toured the Center, which is laid out similarly to the Visitors’ Centers in Salt Lake City. We got to hear a presentation on families, which was a really good presentation. They showed a film about families, and in the film they talked about missing their Grandma and Grandpa, and I cried a little because I miss mine. It was a nice presentation. I’m glad I went.

We walked around a bit and saw the temple and large meeting centers that belong to the Community of Christ (formerly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Reorganized), and the temple site held by the Church of Christ (also another break-off sect from the Church). According to the Sister Missionary we met with, there are 25 different sects in the Jackson County area that are broken off from the Church. She kind of smiled as she told us about her missionary experience, and not having to have people pray about the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith, because they already have a testimony of both. The big missionary task in that area is helping people understand that President Monson is the prophet. That idea is so foreign to me.

After our excursion, we returned to our hotel, and relaxed. We stayed in a Residence Inn in Olathe, Kansas (pronounced “Oh-LAY-thuh”, and not “Oh-LAH-thay” as I had guessed). It was a very well-kempt hotel, and we enjoyed our stay there. There was a Bass Pro Shops store accros the street (very similar to Cabela’s), and we visited it one evening. There was an Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue place down the street, and we visited it on two occasions. The barbecue was absolutely fabulous. Wow.

Well, they just started boarding for our trip, so I better get this posted. Have a good weekend, and maybe we’ll talk more about this trip on another occasion.

Movies I Should See

So, I don’t have TV, and I don’t go to any movie theaters, so I really don’t know what kinds of cool movies have come out over the course of the past year. Yes, I know I could do something like look on Yahoo! Movies, but I don’t.

What kinds of movies could you, oh faithful readers, recommend? Please note that the movie has to have been released on VHS or DVD, because I won’t be heading to a theater any time soon. And why would I? Who needs a crowded, sticky theater when you have Dolby 5.1 Prologic and HDTV... Oh, doctor...

I may live in the wilderness, but there’s no need to live like an animal. Leave your movie ideas in the comments, if you please. And thanks in advance.

Happy Fathers Day, Charlie Brown

I used to have an orange shirt with a blue stripe in the middle. There wasn’t any sort of zig-zag pattern, and the shirt was orange instead of yellow. But every time I wore that shirt, Julie called me Charlie Brown. There are certain things Man was never meant to understand, and Woman is definitely one of them.

This is my eighth Fathers Day as a father (I don’t count the June when Julie was pregnant with James, otherwise this would be number nine.) and so far, this has been one of the most fun for me.

On Friday night, James and I got to go camping for a Fathers and Sons outing with our ward. We had a really great time. Our poor Elders Quorum President, Gary Ferrin, drove his Honda Accord, and from the stories I’ve heard, lost both a muffler and a tie rod on the rough dirt road. Fortunately, our 4Runner, while not techincally a truck, has a high clearance and a good skid plate, so we didn’t have any of those problems. One of the major (And I mean major; I doubt they get any more major than this one.) oil companies bought a few gorgeous tree-infested acres of land out in the foothills of the Wyoming range and created a small camping spot for its employees and their guests. One of the guys in the ward works for said company, and was able to reserve it for our group. The company, in conjunction with Trout Unlimited and a bunch of other groups, created a pond on the property for the raising of native cutthroat trout, and we got to fish in the pond on Saturday morning. James and I had a great time trying out his new rod, and catching a small mess of fish. We weren’t allowed to keep any, but we had fun anyway.

After we got home from our camping trip, we lazed around a bit, and then James said to me, “Dad, can we go fishing again this afternoon?” I told him I wasn’t sure, but that I would ask Julie. She thought it was a great suggestion, so we all piled into the 4Runner again, and drove up to Fremont Lake. Some of you may remember the design of this blog in one of its earlier incarnations, and Fremont Lake is the lake featured in the header photo. Here is a photo of Fremont Lake for those who don’t remember.

Lamentably, Fremont Lake was too windy for fishing. We would have been casting into the wind, and it just wasn’t feasible. So we tried the next lake up, which is Half-moon Lake. The kids asked why it was called half-moon lake, so I told the the legend of Aloucious Weizenheimer, the discoverer of the lake, who in his youth, was attacked by a grizzly; he survived the attack, but the grizzly got one of his buttocks, and Alouicious got a new nickname and that’s how the lake was called Half-moon lake. Julie tried not to smile, but she snickered a bit. The story went right over the kids’ heads, but hey, they’re seven and five; what can we expect? Half-moon lake wasn’t any better than Fremont lake, so Julie suggested that we try the CCC ponds, which are smaller ponds at the southern end of Fremont lake. Now, (put on your best professorial voice for this one) if we step back into the wayback machine, we’ll recall that CCC stands for,... what? That’s right Civilian Conservation Corps. There was a large CCC camp in Sublette county during the depression (one of the first in the country, according the BLM.), and the CCC built the ponds. They were nice little ponds, and there were plenty of fish, but we didn’t catch any. The scenery was lovely, though, and Anna learned how to cast by herself, so it wasn’t a total loss. We stayed up there until the sun went down, and then drove home where everyone crashed.

So, anyway, that’s what we did this weekend for Fathers Day. I don’t have any cute videos of kids singing, but I have great kids who love me and hang out with me and have fun even when we get skunked fishing, and that’s the best part about being a dad.

Well, here we go again.

It may astound and surprise you, but here I go again. I’m posting for the second time in as many weeks. Work has been busy, as predicted earlier, and I imagine that it will be even more busy over the next couple of days. Tomorrow’s tasks include the reconciliations of debt and fixed assets. If I were smarter, I would probably do a weekly update to keep my schedules in balance and be more aware of what is happening, but I don’t. So, I’m looking forward to a couple of long days. Such is life.

We had an enjoyable week this week. We got to travel down to Green River yesterday (Saturday) for a cub scout day camp. Julie is one of the den mothers in the area, which is why we got to go. An interesting aside: the Church is the chartered organization for purposes of scouting, but there are actually fewer LDS kids involved in cub scouting than there are LDS kids. I think it’s great; in Utah it seemed like everyone was afraid of scouts because it was a “Mormon” thing, but everyone up here is pretty comfortable with it.

Green River is about 2 hours south of Big Piney, on I-80 between Rock Springs and Lyman/Fort Bridger. It’s actually quite a pretty town, with lots of trees and grass (which my wife and kids so graciously pointed out [rubbed in my face], is quite unlike the barren desert where they live), built in a sort of wide canyon surrounded by tall sandstone cliffs and high desert hills. The town derives its name from the famous Green River that flows through the town. I learned yesterday that the town is the site where John Wesley Powell originated his famous float trip down the Colorado. I also saw for the first time in my life, municipal horse stables. Apparently the town makes available (I don’t know if you rent or buy like timeshare or what) stables for the folks who like to keep horses. The area taken up by these stables was quite large; it seemed big enough to cover all of the area held my the Midway Mall, and then some. But I digress.

For not knowing where we were going, nor how to get to the camp location, we got there with little incident. I missed one turn, but was able to save that with minimal loss of face, and then we drove right past the turn to the park where the scout camp was, but realized that quickly, and got to our destination a few minutes later. The weather was not cooperative yesterday (we saw a few snowflakes at home after we returned from camp), so the activities were all done inside a large barn that had been transmogrified into an archery range. It was dusty and noisy (oh boy was it noisy), but the kids all had a lot of fun. The leaders were all ready for whiskey and sleeping pills afterward, but we all survived. After I get a chance to do a little resizing and retouching, I’ll get a couple of photos up here for everyone to see.

Today we all enjoyed church together. Everyone, that is, except the congregation who had to suffer through my poor attempts to substitute as an organ player. Yikes. I played the first two hymns according to the direction of the chorister, as an accompanist ought to do, and boy did they drag. There are few things I hate more than hymns that are played slower than they should be. After the sacrament I sat down with Julie (who is friends with the chorister), and she explained that the chorister doesn’t really know how to lead, and she just follows the organ. Well, I tried to perk up the last two hymns of the afternoon, but I wasn’t very familiar with the last (I’ve sung it, but this may have been the first time I ever played it), and I hit several sour notes. Blech. I can tell it’s been a long time since I practiced regularly.

Well, that’s all I’ve got to say about that. I’ll sign off with a quick plug for Big Piney as a vacation destination. We’ve already got people making reservations for the summer time (and it really is gorgeous during the summer), so hurry and let us know when you’re coming before the dates you want get filled.

Life in Marbleton

Life for the Clarks in Marbleton continues. We haven’t gotten stuck in the truck, or lost any children to the wolves. I am always amazed by the wildlife that I see while I’m out running errands. I used to think that eagles were mystical creatures that nobody every saw except on the nature channel. Nah. We probably see either a bald eagle or a golden eagle every other week (and they are stunning to see, even when you do see them regularly). Every twice in a while I see deer in our neighborhood. Back as it started to get cold, I saw a huge 5-point buck browsing in our neighbors backyard. And pronghorn antelope are so plentiful, that you’d pretty much have to be blind not to see one. Moose are a little more rare, but in the nearly 12 months that I’ve lived up here, I’ve seen more moose than I saw in 30 years living in Salt Lake.

It’s hard to believe that we’ve already been up here a year. I’ll celebrate my one year residency on June 11th, and the kids and Julie celebrate theirs on or around the 27th. The time has passed quickly; I guess it’s true what they say about time flying when you’re having fun.

For those of you readers who may not know, or have only heard rumors, Julie is indeed with child. We’re expecting number three sometime in November. We’ll actually get to go on June 11th to the doctor for an ultrasound. I can hardly wait. When James was born there was huge anticipation for the ultrasound. We had it scheduled weeks in advance because our doctor didn’t have equipment in her office. It made the whole experience exciting. With Anna, we showed up at the doctor for an appointment, thinking that we might get to listen to a heartbeat or something like that, and then the doctor wheeled over an ultrasound, said, “It’s a girl” or something like that, and that was that. There wasn’t any anticipation, so it wasn’t quite as exciting as the first time, but it was still a great memory.

This is the first week of June, which means that I’m looking forward to a very packed week at work. The first week of a month is always busy because we’re trying to close our books. Last month was particularly hectic because of the board meeting. I’m hoping that this month will be a bit smoother, but I hear that there is lots of new debt and new assets, so I’ll be busy for a little while with reconciliations.

So, that’s what’s happening up here. I hope your life is just as exciting as ours. It looks like our next definite travel date in July 24th. We’re looking forward to the parade and seeing some people we haven’t seen for a while.

Catching Up

Well, I guess I need to fill everyone in our the Clark Family’s escapades for the past couple of days weeks months. The last few months have been nothing if not eventful.

On the anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous ride, I celebrated another birthday. On the anniversary of Lexington and Concorde I participated in a 5K run with Andrew and Emily. While none of us did very well (I came in third... from last. Incidentally, we were all outrun by an amputee.), we sure had a good time thinking about doing well. Emily reminded me the other day of some of the silly things we did.

I was laughing with Aaron and Andrew before the race that we should be an episode of reality television or that we should have been part of a documentary film. I imagined the film of Andrew and I training in Logan versus the film of Aaron in WY. Then the morning of, the anxiety and anticipation, our amature outfits, the car ride over pumping up to a fast paced song, and then us getting out of the car to a victorious soundtrack. Slow motion, ready for the course that lies ahead. I told the boys about that and we had a good laugh. Andrew added the camera shot of Aaron puking in the bushes 10 meters in. (Which by the way did not happen.) Aaron finished right behind Andrew and I. It was a good experience and I’d like to try it again. reprinted without permission

We really had a fun weekend, and we really appreciate Andrew and Kristi’s and Drew and Emily’s hospitality and giving. They let us hang out with them for a couple of days, and we just had a really great time.

 

---

On the work front, we celebrated Administrative Professionals’ day on the 23rd of April, and I was surprised to receive a gift from my boss. I still remember when it was called “Secretaries’ Day,” so I thought it was still sort of a chance to say thanks to your Administrative Assistant. Well, I do work in the administration department, and you can hardly get much more professional than CPA, so I suppose it’s fine. Just surprising.

---

The Saturday after the big run, we (the Wyoming Clarks) decided to meander up to Middle Piney lake to see if the ice had melted. We took off in the late afternoon, and enjoyed the ride immensely. The roads were clear, the trees were lovely and green (they are pine trees after all), but When we got to the National Forest, the road up to Middle Piney hadn’t been plowed. Most of the snow had melted, but there was still a good 4-6 inches on the road. Julie turned to me and said, “If my dad were here, he’d try it.” Well, after having the gauntlet thrown down like that, I threw the truck into 4WD, and we headed up the road. We had scarcely gone 40 feet, when I knew that the snow was still too deep for us. I started to turn around, but about 4 inches from the unsnowy dirt, we weren’t moving. It felt like a scene out of some Patrick McManus short story.

Well, I threw the truck into 4WL, thinking that we just needed a little extra power to get us up and over. No such luck. Rear-wheel differential lock didn’t do any good either. Down in the valley at 7,000 feet, the day had been pretty pleasant, but up in the mountains at 7,500 feet or so, it was right cold. Fortunately, we all had coats and jackets, so we weren’t worried about that. We said a prayer to ask for help, and then got out and started working. We shoved rocks and dirt under the tires, but that didn’t help. We stuck the floormats under the tires, but that didn’t help. We tried jacking the truck up to get rocks and mats directly under the tires, but the jack just sank into the snow and mud. We put James in the drivers seat so Julie and I could push together, but we couldn’t budge the truck. We worked at it for the better part of an hour. Then, as I was sitting in the truck wondering how the kids would handle spending the night in the truck, the Spirit brought a little something to my remembrance.

I heard a story once on NPR about a group that was touring in Iceland, and once they got off road, in order to maintain better traction through streams and snow, they let most of the air out of their tires. So, I got out, dropped the pressure in the tires by about 15 psi. Julie shoved the floormats under the tires again, and we said a quick prayer. Julie drove, and I pushed, and that did it. We were out! I can’t tell you the relief we felt when we got onto a patch of snow free ground. It was great. We said a prayer of gratitude, and headed home.

 

---

Last weekend, the kids and I headed back down to Logan to be a part of Andrew’s graduation, and to celebrate Cuatro de Mayo with Emily and Drew. We had a great time with the piñata, and it’s exciting to me that the Clark siblings have all earned college degrees. Now I’ve got to figure out how to help Julie finish her Bachelor’s degree. We’ll get there soon enough. We’ve got other important things to do right now.

So, that’s the way things are going here in Marbleton. Thanks for your patience with us. We promise we’ll write more often. Don’t worry a bit.

Quick update

Some of you had commented about wishing we would update more often. I wish I were updating more often, too.

We do have a story to tell about getting stuck, but that will have to wait for the weekend.

Anyway, we’re here, we’re alive, we’re having fun, enjoying the beautiful spring weather, and we love (or at least like) all or most of you.

Hello again from your long lost friend, brother, son, father, and so forth

Just so you know, I am still here. I’ve just been busy doing things that have gotten in the way of my blogging.

My auditors issued the final audit last week, so they’re out of my hair for another six months or so. Hooray! It’s a wonderful feeling to know that the audit is finished this year, and that we’ve got several months of audit-free bliss to enjoy now. It is, in some ways, easier to be on this side of the table.

Tanya, our accounts receivable specialist decided to go work for her sister’s new diner. So, two weeks ago, I got trained by her so I could train a replacement; last week I was the replacement; this week I’m training her replacement. I’m glad that we were able to find someone quickly, because there was no way I was going to keep up with everything that was piling up in my inbox.

This weekend, I’m participating in some 5K run in Logan. You’ll notice I didn’t say running. I haven’t run more than a mile for several years, and I have chosen to use my time for other things.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know we are still here.

Disneyland Photos and Such

Well, I’m certain that you’re all dying to hear about our excursion to the happiest place on earth. I promised that I would tell you a little bit about it, and post some pictures to go with it. Here you go.

This was our hotel room. The kids thought it was fun, but the adults found things a bit uncomfortable. What are you going to do?

This, of course, was James, feeling less than comfortable about riding a ride that includes a 50 drop into a big puddle of water. It turned out to be his most favorite ride, and he asked to ride it at least every day. We didn’t ride every day, but we did ride it a few times.

Everybody else was pretty excited to take the dive on splash mountain.

We met quite a few pirates on our trip to Tom Sawyer’s Island/The Pirate Lair.

James and Anna found the treasure. Too bad it wasn’t real, or I would have let them pay for the vacation.

The Beast wonders where he dropped that darn contact lens.

Some of Pinocchio’s sisters. They haven’t yet met the blue fairy.

Here’s Rafiki from the Lion King. He’s helping the Beast find his contact lens.

I have to admit, sometimes I felt like a paprazzo taking pictures of the characters in the parade. The park was pretty busy, so getting a photo opp with the characters was tougher than I remembered.

Here the kids are enjoying everyone’s favorite Disney pastime. Actually, we found a way to get around the long lines, and we spent very little time standing in line. Thank you RideMax!

There was so much brotherly love to go around, even the kids found time for an affectionate moment.

Here I am, totally excited to be standing in The Longest Line in the Park®.

The aforementioned line was to get onto the Finding Nemo Submarines. Even with our early entry opportunity (we got in an hour before most everyone else), we still ended up waiting 40 minutes for this one. I don’t feel too bad, though. Most of the time we were there, there were 90-120 minute lines. Yikes!

Julie got scared on the rocket ride. James and Anna had that thing flying up as high as it could go. "Thank you for riding the rockets, where every trip is a round trip." I do enjoy the awful jokes that the cast members make. The Jungle Cruise is the best (or the worst, depending on how you look at it).

Our favorite performers, hands down, are Billy Hill and the Hillbillies. These guys are hilarious. They are definitely not in any of the brochures for Disney, but their show is one of the best.

Additional paparazzi-style photos of Goofy.

One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is kind of the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other? If you guessed Anna, you're probably right. That's my mom jab for Andrew. Seriously, though, we're glad she was there. It was a lot of fun.

We had a wonderful trip, full of laughs and excitement. Maybe next time, we'll even get James to ride a roller coaster with Anna and me. Maybe.