Happy Halloween!

The kids had a great time trick-or-treating last night. Brayden and Ellie went with Bryce while I passed out candy at the house. Tyler went with his friend Parker around the neighborhood. They didn't even have parent chaperone's. He is getting too old! Brayden went as Incredible Hulk. Tyler was a haunted skeleton. Ellie was a spider. At first she wasn't sure about getting on her costume, but with some candy as a bribe she was more than happy to get ready. She definitely has a sweet tooth. The weather was great. We have had 70 degree weather all week.

Like I said I was the one passing out candy at home. There weren't a lot of trick-or-treaters this year. We still had candy left over. Oh and thanks to Grandma Clark's fun Halloween book she gave me, I was festive enough to make pumpkin stew. It is a stew with meat, potatoes, carrots, and onions. But the fun part is you bake it in a pumpkin. I was a little worried it would taste like pumpkin, but it was really good. The kids even had seconds. Thanks, Grandma!!


So cute!


Already diving in, she hasn't even went trick-or-
treating yet.


Ellie the spider.


SCARY!!

Fun Family Night

Well, last night after our Family Night lesson, we were able to carve pumpkins. The boys look forward to this each year. I think Bryce does too. He is really good at it. He helps the boys clean the seeds out and then carve cool things on the pumpkins. Ellie got involved this year also. She enjoyed digging into the pumpkins and pulling out the guts too. She even enjoyed tasting it. Yuck!! We all had a great time and the boys were very proud of their finished products.

Canning fool!!

Well, this summer we were able to grow a garden and we had tons of tomatoes and peppers. We were also able to grow some beans. So I figured I needed to use this abundance of produce and do some canning. I have Jennette's pressure cooker so I had everything I needed. It was nice to be able to spend my days doing something useful for my family that we can enjoy all year.

I did about 3 batches of salsa- 50 quarts. I also did 40 quarts of stewed tomatoes, 40 quarts of spaghetti sauce, 12 pints of enchilada sauce and 12 pints of pizza sauce. I was able to bottle 20 pints of green beans and about 20 quarts of peaches. I actually enjoyed doing it. It made me proud of myself for accomplishing it. I always remembered my mom bottling when I grew up and we always enjoyed the fruits of her labors, so now my family can enjoy the fruits of mine.

Weekend in Jackson

Bryce and I had the opportunity to get away without the kids to Jackson Hole last weekend. I had never been to Jackson and we had wanted to get away together so we decided that would be the perfect place. It was our fall break at school so I had Thursday and Friday off. We left Thursday afternoon and returned on Saturday. Bryce's brother Jim and his wife Brandi were nice enough to watch our kids for us. The drive to Jackson is beautiful. It took us about 4 hours, but we enjoyed it. You go through Logan Canyon to Bear Lake and then drive along the Snake River and through a canyon until you reach Jackson. With the fall leaves and the pine trees it made for a beautiful drive.

We had a very relaxing time in Jackson. There is not a lot to do in the "off season" in Jackson, but we were able to shop, go to nice restaurants, catch a movie, and see some wildlife and the Grand Tetons. I even got a massage. It was just nice to be able to spend some quality time with Bryce. We always seem to miss our kids while we are away, but we still enjoy our time together.

The weather was good but cold. The highs in the 50's and the lows in the 20's. However, the place we stayed had a heated pool, jacuzzi, and sauna all outdoors. We were able to enjoy them on Saturday morning after breakfast. A year ago, we spent 10 days in Hawaii. Jackson was no paradise like Hawaii, but overall we had a great weekend together.



The Grand Tetons- what a sight!!

We call this our moon shot of 2 antelope


The cabin we stayed in- very nice!!

The Snake River on our drive home

He's Back!!

Well, Bryce has returned from Alaska. Finally!! 10 days was a little too long for all of us, including Bryce. He had a good time overall, but he did miss his family a lot. The weather wasn't too great while he was there. He said it rained all but one day. The fishing wasn't too great either. He caught a total of 3 salmon. Now I know that sounds bad, but they were good size and we should be able to enjoy them for a while.

Bryce actually got sick the last couple of days. He wasn't able to eat much and he said he slept a lot. He was glad to get home to his own bed and a meal cooked by me, not by his roomies. They cooked most of their meals while they were there and there were some guys he said definitely didn't know how to cook.
He told us a funny story about going to church in Alaska. They went last Sunday to a small branch. There were 27 people there and 7 of them were from Bryce's group. During the sacrament a black bear ran across the parking lot of the church and someone yelled "bear". Bryce figured everyone would swarm to the window to see and they would have to start the sacrament over again. But actually only 2 people went to the window, a 4-year old and the branch president!!

We are all really glad to have him home. The kids were really excited to see him. Ellie took a while to warm up when he got home, but she didn't want him to leave for work this morning. She loves her daddy!!

He was able to take only a few pictures. He had to take the old digital camera instead of his really nice Canon because the battery was at work when he left on the trip. So the pictures aren't all that great. Also, he got the camera wet while he was fishing one day and it had to dry out for a few days.

Gorgeous scenery!!

They saw this bear at the city dump.

Bryce and his salmon!!

What's new

Well, it has been about 6 days since Bryce left for Alaska. Everything is going remarkably well here at home, but I don't think I could be a single mom forever. For those of you who didn't know Bryce was going to Alaska, here is how it all happened. Our neighbor, Cory, called Bryce about 2 weeks ago and told him he had an opportunity of a lifetime. Cory's dad was supposed to go to Alaska but had to back out at the last minute, so Cory invited Bryce to go in his place. The trip had been planned for about a year and so everything was paid for. All they needed to do was transfer the plane ticket to Bryce's name for $75. Well, of course, Bryce couldn't pass it up so he told Cory yes and started to arrange things so he could be gone for 10 days.

It stressed both of us out. Bryce because he was trying to arrange to be gone for that long from his job, family, and church calling. He even got out of speaking in church this Sunday, but I don't think he was happy about that. I would be!! I was stressed out thinking about him being gone for that long and me having to take care of the home front, ie running kids to baseball, soccer, etc. I have to admit overall it has not been bad.

Oh ya, for those that didn't know, about 2 days before Bryce got the call from Cory he had signed Tyler up to play fall baseball with a No. Ogden team. I wasn't very happy about that because it meant 2 practices a week and 2 games on Saturdays. And Bryce was leaving. But with the help of Tyler's coaches they have helped get him to the games so that I can take Brayden to his soccer game, also on Saturdays.

We have heard from Bryce a few times since he left. He said that it has been rainy and cloudy in Alaska, making it hard to see all the beautiful scenery. The fishing hasn't been too great either. On Monday, they went deep sea fishing for halibut and out of the 6 people on his boat, all but 2 got sea sick. Bryce was unfortunately one of the guys puking over the side of the boat. And they didn't catch one halibut. Bummer!! Bryce said that Tuesday they were chartering a plane to a lake to go salmon fishing. I didn't hear from him last night, but hopefully they had better luck.

I have luckily not had to work much this week. I do work tomorrow and Friday but we are on the downward slide for Bryce to get home. The kids have done well, but we are all starting to miss Bryce. I don't think Ellie even realizes her daddy hasn't been around, but I am sure she will be smiling when he gets home. Ellie has been really great lately. She is starting to entertain herself with her dolls, strollers, and other toys. She is so fun to have around.

Well that is what's new with the Clark Clan. I am sure when Bryce gets back there will be more to tell about Alaska and hopefully some great pictures to show.

Life has been busy!

I finally have a few minutes to sit down and do a post. Last week was the first week of school. The boys love their new teachers and seem to be doing well. We are getting back into the routine of homework each night, which hasn't been too bad. Brayden did have a case of the hives last week. We were not sure what caused them but they drove him nuts for a few days. We don't know if the stress and excitement of starting school was the culprit or if it was his new school clothes that made his skin sensitive. But they are gone and we are all glad.

Last week I went to get my hair cut, yep I chopped it. I seem to always want to do something drastic at the end of summer. Anyways, I took Ellie with me and Rachel my hair dresser told me how cute she would look with an A-line bob. So I did it. I let her chop off her hair. It was getting pretty long too. I think Bryce was wondering why I did it, but he likes it now. It is really cute on her, but she doesn't like to keep the cute barettes in it. Oh well, enjoy the pictures. I hope they show up okay. I took them with my phone.

I also started back to school/work last Thursday. It was nice to have the first few days of school off to be with the kids. My class seems to be good. A few squirrels, but life would be boring without em, right? Anyways, I go back to work again tomorrow. I feel a cold coming on too, it must be those germy 6th graders. Hopefully, it goes away soon.

Well, I guess I better go. Ellie just woke up from her nap and is calling my name. See ya!