February - Camping in Napa, School, Jack Gets Braces, and a slower February

I tend to embrace February more these days. It's a chance for life to slow down a little and for our family to enjoy some time together.

School has continued to keep me on my toes. I am working through one of my final classes before earning my Entrepreneurship Certificate. With my schooling, the goal is to earn three certificates that build toward your degree, along with some lower-level classes to fulfill the requirements for an associate degree. Since I already have a degree—woot woot!—I am cruising through my classes and focusing solely on the certificates.

This is me with my Perk for the morning to keep me motivated as I read more about the business life.

Taking a quick break to have a lunch date with Preston at Jimboy's Tacos. It was SO good!

Quinn had been asking for awhile to do a spa date with me. We had so much fun doing facials, painting nails, and relaxing.

Pres has been the one to take Jack to the temple for the most part so I can stay with Beckham and Quinn at home. This time, I took Jack to go with the ward, and it was so fun being able to be in the temple with him.

Jack took on volleyball, and we were so proud of his efforts. He is not a "sport guy," as he says, haha, but he actually enjoyed himself! His Uncle Bri would have been proud. This was more of a basic volleyball camp that Next Level put on. He learned how to volley, bump, set, and spike as well as the different positions on the court.

We have a kid in braces! I think there were some nerves going into this next step; however, most of the kids his age have braces, haha, so he fit right in. He is learning how to function with them especially flossing and remembering what not to eat. I think he looks pretty good with those bad boys on. 

Sometimes Mama just needs a break and giant Coke Zero to push through the day. :)

Our little MVP took a cleat to the face! He was such a trooper, though. Pres and I didn't even know it had happened until after his game. He had a touchdown and a few complete passes today. We are working a little more on defense. Beckham can be a little shy about pulling the flag, but we are learning that he is great at rushing and defending the quarterback.

Here we go!! 

Another camping trip under the Clark belt! We chose to head to Napa Valley for this weekend adventure.

The campground was awesome! We weren't too far from the bathroom, the ground was flat enough for our giant tent (haha), and the fire was SO welcoming. We were quite chilly that night. Our crew could definitely tell that we were camping in the winter. It got down to the high 40's while we slept...EEK!

                        

Snug as a bug in a rug. Once we left the fire, it was quite cold. We tucked everyone in as much as we could, but this was by far our coldest camping night. Quinn and Jack both ended up with me to keep warm. We slept ok considering how chilly it was, but we all looked forward to the morning fire. 

Family photo op of survival! :)

We found a mill close to where we were camping called Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park. 

We walked the trail that led to the mill. It was so beautiful as it followed along the path of a stream.

Since we had camped at the campground up the road, they gave us a "camper's" deal to enter. We went back and forth about whether or not to do the guided tour of the mill, and I am so glad we did! The guide had us join a Boy Scout group that was going through.

This was still a working mill, so we got to see all aspects of how it operated. The guide taught us how they separated the wheat, ground the flour, and even started and stopped the wheel so we could see all of the mechanics in action. It was a really cool lesson.

Pres was showing Quinn what wheat looked like before it was ground and then what the final product looked like.

Watching the wheel move with the power of the water.

Family photo in front of the mill.

This building was used as part of the original family's accommodations on the property.  

We then headed to one of my favorite places. :) The CIA, as they call it in the foodie world! We stopped in and talked with a few students who were currently enrolled there. The students taught us that this is one of the only institutes that offers on-site room and board. Most of the students choose to live in the on-campus housing right next to the school, but they said there were a few who chose shared housing off campus.

Of course, we couldn't leave without a couple of goodies either. We bought a chocolate chip cookie and a giant brownie to share.

Bouchon Bakery is the best bakery I have ever been to. This is my third, maybe even fourth ;) time visiting. They have THE best croissants, macarons, sandwiches, muffins—literally anything you get is absolutely incredible. Their bread takes me right back to France. I absolutely LOVE this place.

The restaurant on the right is the famous French Laundry. Both Bouchon Bakery and The French Laundry are owned by world-renowned chef Thomas Keller. We have yet to check out The French Laundry because the experience costs around $300 a person, haha. Looks like that will remain a pipe dream unless we somehow win tickets to it! In the meantime, we will happily eat from the bakery. :)

Spring is in the air!

Quinnie taking photos for gymnastics. We may or may not have known that it was picture day, haha. 

One of Jack's projects for 6th grade was to make a fast food representation for his group. He chose Little Caesars Pizza. I thought it turned out quite nicely!

This was a great month for the Clark family. We had some new beginnings, like braces, and an incredible adventure in Napa Valley. I will say that we all would love to head back to that campground one day...but maybe not in February. :) 

Looking forward to our next month when we have visitors from Arkansas joining us!