I absolutely LOVE November! This November ended up being extra special for four reasons. First off, we headed to Yosemite on Nov 1&2. A place I have always wanted to see and explore. I already journaled about that exciting journey :) Second, I took a quick trip to Utah to surprise Er at her baby shower. Third, this was one of my favorite birthdays I have ever celebrated! Fourth, we had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with the Clark side siblings in Bentonville Arkansas!!! It was absolutely perfect!
Our family loved every thing about this month. It was so much fun celebrating so many wonderful things. Here's a look at how our November unfolded with a few surprises along the way.
Dentist Visits
All three kiddos had check ups with the dentist. They always get a little nervous before but then do really well once it's there turn. We apparently have really bad teeth in our family. Come January we'll be back for two cavity fills on Beckham boy and two more teeth pulled on poor Jack man. Quinn we are holding out for ya sis. Crossed fingers your teeth stay great.
Erin's Baby Shower!
Once the date was set for Erin's baby shower, I jumped on Southwest to book a flight. I decided to make it a surprise rather than tell Erin and Angie. I called to give Mom and Britt a heads up that I'd be coming. I needed a ride from the airport and a place to stay, haha. Angie always hopes to be surprised for events like this so I didn't want to tell her. Of course I couldn't say anything to Erin either. I had to be careful when talking about and planning the shower on how I worded things. Luckily no slips, whew!
Pops and Mom picked me up from the airport late on Friday night. I got to hang with Mom, Britt and Pops for a little while in front a fire...ahhhh.... before calling it a night. That next morning we gathered all we needed for the shower and headed to Angie's. I knocked on the door and luckily she was the one that answered:) She was so surprised and oh so happy! Me too! It was so fun surprising her.
Next was Er. I was in the kitchen helping Britt out when I heard Erin and the girls come in. I didn't know what to do or where to go so I just ducked behind the island. Britt whispered that she'd let me know when to pop and yell surprise. I waited for a couple minutes and then Britt gave me a look. I popped up and said, "Oh hey Er!" She was SO surprised!! She started crying and then I kind of felt bad that I just did that to a pregnant woman...haha. Not sorry enough though, haha. We cried, we hugged and I loved every minute! I would not have missed this shower for anything! I am so happy I could be with my sisters and mom to celebrate our new little arrival coming in February. We had so much fun!
Oh how I love this girl!
There is nothing in the world like sisters!
Spung Girls :)
Love for the new Momma.
I cannot get over how great this shower turned out. Mom, Ang and Britt did such an incredible job. I helped from a distance but not nearly as much as these three accomplished for the big day. So grateful for them!
Er's having a baby!! Woohoo!
Erin with her girls.
These cuties cannot wait for their new baby brother to join the world.
I loved Ang's decoration. The pops of color were so fun.
Our buffet table.
Everything turned out amazing! It was perfect!
My people!
These two are incredible human beings. We are missing a fourth soul to complete this pic, but I am grateful I could get time with these two :) We missed you Kate!
One of my absolute favorite things about our family parties, events, weddings, etc. is that we all know each others friends. All of us girls and Jim (when he's there) get to catch up with so many people. This never gets old! Having a close sibling group makes for tons of friends and reconnections we look forward to.
Lots of love for our star of the morning.
Debbie and Mom!
Katie and Er
I hadn't seen Katie in years! It was so much fun catching up with her and seeing where her and Brant are these days. You know it's a true friendship when you can leave for years and when you see each other it's as if no time has passed at all. Love this girl!
The shower was a HUGE success in my opinion ;) We all had so much fun! I am so thankful that I was able to come.
Love this little man.
I had to get all of my Sammy time in that I could. Love to cuddle and kiss on this little guy.
Me and my Gram!
Another favorite part about going home is time spent with my Gram. I really love having her in Utah now. Every time I go home I stop to see this amazing lady. I love talking with her, laughing and eating coconut cookies. She always says, "We're just having a party aren't we?" Love this woman!
After a visit with Gram we headed to Angie's for Sunday dinner. We played Crack the Case and enjoyed some delicious food and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. That night Angie and I headed to a hotel in SLC. My flight was really early and I didn't want to make anyone get up SUPER early to take me to the airport.
I had so much fun hanging with Angie that night. I loved that one on one time we got. We stayed up probably later than we should have, haha, but it was totally worth it. I love my sisters! They are the best people that I know. They get me, they understand me and we can relate in so many ways. I can easily include my brother in that as well. There is no one in the world like Jimmy. He's the BEST brother out there.
My trip to Utah was very quick. I was back home early Monday morning so Pres could get to work. How grateful I am to have such a supportive husband. Preston Scott is by far the best decision I have ever made!
Back to Mom life.
Nap time with my Beckham boy. He asked if he could sleep next to me and I of course said "YES!"
Watching Monday Night Football.
I decided to decorate for Christmas early this year. I wanted to come home from Thanksgiving with our house completely decorated and ready to celebrate Christmas time. I had two little helpers helping the entire time.
I love FIRES in the fireplace. They are so welcoming, cozy and warm.
The boys love getting close up to the fire and chatting for a while. Then they scoot back as they get warmer and warmer. Haha. They love propping the chairs up and taking it all in. They are just like their Momma. I love sitting next to the fire. Luckily, there's a curtain that keeps the fire from getting too close.
I put some Christmas lights up in the kids room this year. It ended up being to bright, haha. I let them keep them up for a few nights before taking them down. Quinn still slept so well during naps, even though it was like the noon day sun in there, haha. She cuddled up to her stuffed animals and slept peacefully.
Beckham James
This kid! He is super into football right now. He counts down to Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights. He knows all of the teams and some of the players. He loves to yell along with Preston. He always chooses a team to cheer for. When I come down in the mornings I will most likely find Beckham re-watching some of the games. It's hilarious and a little unreal since he's four. Maybe we have the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in the making...who knows?
Jack is our magnificent mathematician!
Jack's little Kindergarten Class.
Mrs. Meadows invited all of the parents to join in the award ceremony. Jack was so excited to have all of us there. Pres was able to join as well. Jack couldn't believe his whole family got to be in his class with him :) Jackson received an award from his school for acing the state math test! This kid has a bright future ahead of him. I just know it! We are so proud of you Jack! Keep up the awesome work!!
Jack with Mrs. Meadows.
Mrs. Meadows has been such a great teacher for Jack. She's been the best person for me as well. She's made the transition of having kids in school easier for me.
Lesley's Birthday!!
Cheesecake Factory...of course!
The week before my birthday Pres and the kids took me to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. Preston was on call for my birthday which meant we wouldn't be able to go on my actual birthday. That didn't bother me one bit though, I LOVED the time we had here.
The kids think it is the coolest thing to call Preston and I by are names. They think it's so funny. I woke up on my birthday to a fun sign decorated by my sweet family. I of course started off the day with delicious donuts! My favorite! The kids came running up to me with presents yelling "Happy Birthday Mom!" I just love my life!! They got me two books that I had been wanting to read, Ray Ban sunglasses (I've never owned a nice pair) and a Chicago Bears shirt. It was an absolutely perfect morning!
Cafe Rio for lunch!
We found out recently that there is a Cafe Rio only 25 minutes away from us in Stockton. Who knew?! Now we don't have to wait to go to Utah for this fine dish. It was just as delicious! We are so happy we have one so close to us now.
Quesadillas for the win!
After lunch we headed to the mall. We saw this cool Christmas tree and new a picture was needed.
Jack wanted a chance to take a picture too. Not bad Buddy Bear!
Pres took the kids while I did a little shopping in the Calia by Carrie Underwood section at Dick's Sporting Goods. I of course found a few things that were needed in my closet :) Pres spoiled me and I let him :)
When we got home Pres ordered sushi for dinner (a fave) and fed the kids their dinner. He went and picked up our sushi, put a movie on for the kids upstairs and handed me the remote for the TV downstairs. I was in heaven. He made homemade chocolate chip cookies with the kids later that night while I watched girly Christmas movies. Eating sushi and chocolate chip cookies while enjoying a little Hallmark is the BEST birthday EVER! Pres got the kids showered and in bed and then we watched The Finest Hour before calling it a night. I had such a FUN filled birthday. It honestly was one of the BEST birthdays I have EVER had! It was everything I love with the people I love.
Quick trip to Urgent Care...
A before and after picture of Jack's head.
We went up to Ikea in Sacramento one day to shop around for a few things we needed. On our way home we stopped at RC Willey to check out some couches. Pres took the kids to the bathroom while I looked around. About 10 minutes went by and I wondered where they were. I headed towards the bathroom and out came the crew with Preston holding a towel on Jacks head. I ran over to see what happened and there was an open cut on the back of his head. We hurried to the car and checked out the injury and decided we needed to head to urgent care for peace of mind.
We got to urgent care and waited a few minutes before being seen. When the nurse practitioner came in and examined the wound our minds were put at ease. She said that she could just glue the cut back shut. She took his hair and tied it causing the skin to close and then glued. She repeated this until the whole gap was closed.
Jack was extremely brave! I couldn't get over how normal he was through the entire process. He just asked her questions and they chatted while she closed his head up, haha. Such a fun kid. Luckily he's back to normal after sporting purple hair for a few weeks.
All fixed!
Thanksgiving!
On the way to the airport I gave Quinn her snack bag to pick a snack or treat. She decided one sucker and one snack wasn't enough, haha. This girl!
Once we got to the San Jose airport, we parked the car and shuttled to the airport to check our bags in. We ended up hitting a situation we did not see coming. We checked into our flight and put our bags up on the scales and the agent turned to us and said, "You will most likely not make this flight." I turned to Preston wide eyed and he came up to the counter. We talked with the agent and found out that there was a massive blizzard getting ready to hit Denver. Our flight had a lay over in Denver so we would most likely be stuck in Denver or we wouldn't even leave San Jose. We couldn't believe it.
We started going over possibilities and any options we may have with agent. He then informed us that he could put us on a flight that had a lay over in Chicago if we'd like to do that. We said, "Yes!" He clicked his buttons and then looked up with a sad face and said, "Unfortunately the Chicago flight has been fully booked." Most likely from others trying to do the exact same thing we were. He went on to tell us that he didn't have any other flights he could get us on. Our only option was to come back the next day or wait there to see what happened. Pres and I were so surprised. This was not how we saw this trip going. I then mentioned to the agent that there were direct flights that left San Fransisco. He looked at me surprised and said, "Is that an option? Can you guys do that?" I turned to Pres and he agreed. He started clicking buttons again trying to get us a direct flight out of San Fransisco. He said, "We won't be able to do that because the shuttle won't get you there in enough time." I jumped in saying, "What if we drive?" He said, "Let's try it!" He clicked more as we waited there anxiously waiting to hear. He finally looked up and sadly said, "You guys won't be able to do the last direct flight out of SFO because there are only five seats left open." I looked up at him and smiled, "That's all we need!" He looked at our crew again and said, "Oh! You only need five seats! Do you guys want them? It'll be your only chance to get to Bentonville tonight. The flight leaves at 5pm. It's 3:25pm right now." I looked at Pres nodding while saying, "Yes, book us. We'll leave right now!" The agent checked us into our flight and we grabbed the kids and ran to the shuttle as fast as we could. Meanwhile we started to do the math in our head. It takes 40 minutes to get to the SFO airport from San Jose. We still have to shuttle to our car, drive to SFO, park at SFO and shuttle to that airport, then stop to check bags before hitting security and running to our gate with three kids five and under. Are we crazy?! Probably. But we both felt this trip was important enough to try our best to get there.
We had two people tell us the fastest route to SFO (which was luckily the same route). Once we got to the car we took off. On our way to the airport Beckham asked to say a prayer to Heavenly Father so that we could get on our plane. I knew after we all said, "Amen," everything would work out just fine. My entire body felt at peace. We arrived at SFO at 4:10pm. We parked and headed to the shuttle. The bus pulled up right as we were walking to the stop. We got to the ticket counter around 4:20pm and checked our bags. The agent mentioned that our bags may not make this flight due to being so late. We said it was ok and then headed to what we were dreading the most....security. We got to the security line and there was no line at all! We went right through. As we came to the gate I couldn't believe that it was right next to a Burger King. We put our things down at the gate just in time to hear, "Ladies and Gentlemen there has been a slight delay for the Bentonville flight. We will be boarding as soon as we can." I looked at Pres with a huge smile. We now had enough time to grab some dinner for our kids before getting on the plane. I jumped in line at the BK and grabbed some food for the crew. We ate while we waited to board our flight. The flight ended up being delayed by 20 minutes.
While we ate something hit us....our return flight is to San Jose not San Fransisco. How will we get the car back? Haha. We decided to take it one step at a time :) We finished our dinner just in time to board our flight! How grateful we are for the sweet prayer of Beckham boy and for our Father in Heaven listening and answering that prayer in a way we never expected. It worked out so much better than we could have imagined.
We made it!!!
Jack's picture from the air. Good bye California...Whew!
Watching videos and playing games the whole way there. These three were in heaven. Thank you to Brian and Isaac for coming to pick us up at the airport! :)
Ready for some cousin fun!
This littles had so much fun together. Dancing, building, playing and running all around. We sure do love these people!
I think someone stole my phone for a selfie ;) Love this kid!
Chillin like villians
I made everyone play charades one night. It just seemed like the right to do :) It did not disappoint! These guys were absolutely hilarious! I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Girls vs. Boys...girls won :)
The following morning the girls left to go get pedicures and have a little girl time. It was so great to have a few minutes with the sisters. We loved our pedicures but I think we loved the company even more. It's nice having people you can talk to, trust, and lean on. Love my sisters-in-law. I have been so blessed to have the in-laws that I do. They are incredible people doing incredible things. I'm so happy that they let me in to be one of them ;)
Happy Birthday Staci!
A trip to see Frozen II!! It was so much fun to go with this group. We LOVED the movie! It is still talked about in our home. You did it once again Disney...well done...seriously though, well done.
Wheel barrow racing with Stace and Pres. Everyone was so excited to have a turn. We laughed and laughed. Fun times in this Clark home.
November birthday girls.
Thanksgiving Day!
Shelb did such a great job decorating for us :)
The kids all exercised with Aunt Staci. Getting in a little burn before eating a ton of food :)
Cooks and bakers in the kitchen.
DELICIOUS!
The food all turned out amazing! Everything was so yummy. I was really impressed with our crew.
Puzzles!
Great job guys!
Friday morning we took off to the bowling alley. The kids were looking forward to this. We had so much fun with the Koudelka's!
The bowling gang.
Chick-Fil-A for lunch and then homeward bound.
The Williamson family headed back home that afternoon. That night we took a drive to Fayetteville to check out the lights on the square. We did a little shopping at the market as well. It was fun to see all of the lights. We stopped for some ice cream before heading home.
Beckham and the lights!
Clark families with the lights!
Ice Cream for the WIN!
Pick a flavor.
How cute are these kiddos?!
Koudelka's left the following Saturday afternoon. We stayed a couple more days with Bri and Shelb.
These four played so well together. They had so much fun!
On Sunday afternoon we played with building blocks. The kids made castles and towers so they could knock them down. They'd throw a ball at them and watch them fall. They thought it was so funny. They LOVED it!
Gracie and Quinnie were so fun to watch. I think they had a lot of fun talking and playing together.
On Monday morning we went to the Buttered Biscuit for breakfast (absolutely delicious) before heading to the Amazeum.
Playing with blocks.
The pulley was a favorite! How cute are these two dolls?!
Taking turns pulling themselves up. I was impressed they could do it. Great job you two!
Taking pictures.
Quinn on a bridge.
We got to experiment with chocolate :) Everyone loved this exercise.
Beckham was our scribe. He would circle what each one tasted like.
Dad and Jack working on the experiment.
PAINT
This was a favorite by far. The kids spent a lot of time in this area.
Building houses.
Discovering with Dad.
My life!
Wrestling...always.
The Amazeum!
We loved our time here even though Gracie's face may not agree ;) She had a ton of fun too :) It wasn't packed at all. We go to explore every section in the museum. This was definitely a favorite stop from the trip.
Love these three littles of mine!
On our last night we checked out the Christmas lights.
There was one house that had music playing along with the lights. It's a pretty cool light show.
Everyone was amazed by this house.
And just like that our trip was over. Our time in Arkansas went by so fast! We had such a great time! We couldn't be more grateful for that time we had together. There is something to be said about a family that gets together. There is this love and friendship that grows each and every time. I love this bonus family I get to call mine.
And we're off! The boys enjoyed catching up on what we would need to do in case of an emergency.
Once we got to the airport we realized we left our "airport bag" at the Clark house...EEK! Everything for the kids to do and all snacks were in that bag. We called Bri but we never would have gotten it in time for us to catch our flight. We grabbed a few snacks from the airport and just prayed that the electronics would be enough for them. Luckily it was. The kids did really well. The flight ended up being longer than expected due to a head wind that pushed us away from our destination. Quinn got a little antsy at the end but Pres kept her entertained. She did awesome for the remainder of the flight. I think we were all excited to get back on the ground.
Pres called United Airlines and they booked us on a direct flight back to SFO so we could pick up our car at the airport. We are so grateful for the miracles and tender mercies we witnessed on this trip. How grateful we are to be loved and known by our Father in Heaven.
One last stop at Shake Shack for lunch before heading home for a much needed rest.
We did it!
What started out as the impossible for this trip, it all worked out in end!
The day after we got home we went back to normal life. The time change did not agree with little Miss Q. She fell asleep on our way to pick up Beckham from school. She was so tired. Love this baby girl of ours!
This month was full of LOVE and AWESOMENESS! It was seriously such a great month. We enjoyed our adventures and time with family. We are so grateful to have such incredible people around us. I think it's safe to say that the favorite moments lie in the conversations we have while all sitting together. I loved hearing where everyone was in life and sharing where we were as well. Families are such a great support system. It's a group of people you can be yourself, 100% and not feel judged or less cared for. Family is unconditional love always :) Pres and I are so grateful to have both sides of our families in our lives. We grow, learn, laugh, love and move forward together.
