handsful

The Clark clan (along with our church’s youth group) went to a Jacksonville Suns minor league baseball game on Friday night. There were times I barely remembered that the guy in the picture above was even with us. This boy loves sports, baseball in particular. He followed every hit, strike, and out.

Marley was there for the souvenirs!

No pics of Abbey and Payton! Blame Randy, he had the camera. Abbey would have loved to try each and every stadium snack there, but had to settle for just Dots ice cream. Payton just loved being out with us, and one of his best friends was there too. A nice bonus.

Yep, they won, in the 10th inning! It was “Jimmy Buffet” night, which might explain the team’s jerseys. I’d show you a picture Randy took of an older man wearing a stuffed parrot-head hat, but it’s a little disturbing!

Fireworks to end the night! We didn’t get home till 11:30. Yes, we all slept in today.

 

While we patiently (well, most of the time) wait for Lainey, we’re trying to get a few things done around the house. When we bought this house almost 3 years ago, we noticed that the baseboards didn’t have the 1/4 round piece along the bottom edge. So, we’ve been “meaning” to get that done (along with the zillion other things on our “do one day” list). We got inspired this weekend and began the project on Sunday evening. Randy measures, cuts, and nails in the boards (with his handy-dandy new toy…uh, brad gun. I fill in the nail holes and repaint. They’re looking great…it’s amazing how just a little piece of wood can really make a big difference.

This was a busy, but great week for us. We hosted a Power Up Club in our front yard! Rather than putting on a traditional VBS, our church, (http://www.christianfamilychapel.com/) takes VBS to our neighborhoods. Around 140 of our teen youth, break up into teams of 8 and spend all week traveling around to the 50 host homes in our city. The theme this year was Finding the Treasure (a.k.a. pirates!) and the kids had a blast! They played crazy games, watched funny dramas, sang songs, and heard student testimonys. They especially loved “Tidal Wave Thursday” which meant getting totally drenched in water games. Did I mention it was HOT this week? Despite the heat, my kids can’t wait till next year.

Marley had her 9th birthday party this past Friday. It was your typical pizza, swimming, presents, cake, craft, pinata, and sleeover birthday. Mom is still tired. Luckily, it was a small party, with only 4 guests (totally manageable!). All the girls had a squealy good time! Not much sleep (Randy was up at 2:30, asking them AGAIN to go to sleep…), but a great time. Here are a couple more pictures of her day!

She’s totally part fish!

See the palm tree in the sand cake that Marley and I made! Fun…

So, we’ve covered 2 out of 3 kids so far ;) The boys had their party yesterday. This is their cake, which Mom baked and frosted and THEY decorated with M&Ms, Skittles, Reeses Pieces, and Jelly Bellys. Sugar is good for 9 year olds, right? Enjoy the pics!

Bumper tubes?

Ethan looks happy that Dad (in the back) had this party idea!

Whose idea was it to have Payton drive the boat??

Nana helps the boys with their cake

After the party, Paw Paw and Ethan watch the Braves game

From here to… (Ethan, Marley, Payton)

…to here! (Marley, Payton, and Ethan)

9 years ago today, three preemie babies entered the world and our lives! Today is the boy’s party…Randy and their Paw Paw took them and 4 of their friends out on our ski boat, for tubing and kneeboarding. Perfect day, it’s sunny and HOT. Next Friday, Marley has her tropical paradise theme sleepover party. I guess it was easier when I could just have ONE party!

God sure surprised Randy and I when he changed our idea of “one more baby” into a three-pack. It was a busy, and sometimes rough ride in the beginning, but we can’t imagine our lives without these children.

I’ll be adding pictures of their parties later on!

Our 4th started on the 3rd, with fireworks at the World Golf Village. Thankfully, the day’s torrential rains subsided just in time for an awesome display! Last night, we had a great July 4th cookout at our friend’s house. Anne has about 10 dogs of her own, plus our dog Jack and 2 other dogs were there. Add to that about 8 adults and 9 kids, and it was crazy, but lots of fun. At sundown, everyone gathered at the end of Anne’s parent’s pier for fireworks over the St. Johns river. Randy was with the kids at the pier, I came back to the house with Jack (loud noises freak him out!). It seemed like every other house was shooting off their own fireworks, it was so loud!!

We talked to the kids about why we celebrate July 4th. It’s much more than an excuse to wear red, white, and blue and shoot off fireworks. We celebrate the fact that our forefathers had the courage to declare their freedom and begin the hard journey toward becoming a great nation. We love our country, and are proud to be Americans!