August was a fun and exciting month. We headed to Utah to spend time with our loved ones. This year we switched it up and decided to stay for a couple weeks instead of the normal one. In the past we felt rushed to see everyone and we didn't get to vacate ourselves. This time we spent about 3 weeks at my parents house. We had such a blast!! Our trip mostly consisted of playing outside (Jack was in heaven!), chatting, taking walks in the canyon, drinking diet cokes on the deck and of course playing games till late into the night. So fun right?!
It felt nice to have a change of scenery as well. We love El Paso but it's nice to get out every once in a while. Bonus... it wasn't nearly as hot in Utah as it was in El Paso. I think Pres enjoyed his time while we were gone too. He was able to go golfing and hang with his buddies while we relaxed and stayed off the grid for a while. One great thing about my parents living in the mountains, I had no cell reception. I was able to enjoy my time. I had very limited access to social media, texting and no phone calls. It was so nice. I felt like I was in Mayberry and it was GREAT!
Before we left we celebrated Preston's birthday! We went to Chuy's for dinner. This is a favorite of ours. My cousin Kane came over and played games with us. Dessert was Preston's favorite....mint grasshopper pie.
Family Photo Op
We headed out the next day to meet my parents in Farmington, NM. They were awesome enough to meet us half way so Preston didn't have to make the full round trip. We stayed the night in Farmington and headed out the following morning. The boys did so good on the drive. Beckham slept the majority of the time and Jack loved watching his shows, reading books, playing with his toys, and of course snacking the entire way :)
On our drive back we stopped at Four Corners. It was pretty awesome to stand in 4 states at the same time. I can now check that off the bucket list.
We took a scenic route from Four Corners to Monticello, UT and as you can see it was GORGEOUS! We had to stop a few times just to take in our surroundings. Beautiful!
Jack and Pop on one of our stops.
Unfortunately on the way home we got about 15 miles from Mom and Dad's and hit horrible traffic. We were stuck for 2 hours due to a mud slide. That was not so fun but luckily the boys did great through it. It could have been horrible.
This is the canyon my parents live in. This is on the way up into their subdivision.
Another view of their canyon. It is breathtakingly gorgeous! They live in between the two mountains in the middle.
And.... he's off. As soon as we got home Jack wanted to be outside constantly. From sun up till sun down. In El Paso it gets so hot that we don't play outside for too long. He loved playing outside.
His face may not show it but he actually LOVED to swing! It was hard getting him off of this thing.
"Will someone come help me please?"
Mikale came down for a play date and we had so much fun. Jackson LOVED spending time with cousins. I liked the break myself and spending time with Mikale ;)
Sisters-in-law
Teagan girl. How cute is she?!
Dad took the kids for a ride on the lawn mower. Jack was so thrilled! Not to sure why his excited face looks like he hates life but he really did love this. Haha. Those earmuffs are too cute, right?!
Beckham swinging away.
Cousin Love
These two had so much fun together. I think they both enjoyed having a buddy. Miss Lydia was very patient with this boy of ours. He would randomly go up to her and just roar loudly. He'd also chase her around with a stroller. It was actually quite entertaining. He's very much a boy.
Playing outside and laughing at each other.
Wild turkeys what?! These turkeys literally just roam the neighborhood. The kids loved watching them. Jackson thought they were roosters so he'd cock-a-doodle-doo when they came by. It was super cute.
Checking out the turkeys.
Jackson Scott enjoying sprinkler/water time.
Beckham James just laid in the grass laughing and talking. He loved being outside just as much as his brother did.
While in Utah I was able to hang out and see these crazy girls! It was so fun catching up with Rhiannon and Jocelyn. Joce and I realized we hadn't seen each other in 10 years!! Gosh time goes by so fast. We were all roommates our sophomore year of college. Right before I left to go on my mission.
Me and my little namesake. Taryn Lesley! Such a cute girl!! Jack with photobomb.
We also celebrated Erin's birthday!! Ate dinner at one of her favorite places, Pizza Factory and came home to some delicious Rice Krispie treats for dessert. Jim came down with James and Er was watching Josh for the weekend. It was so fun!
The gang.
James and I at Pizza Factory. Love this kid!
Beckham boy looking so big.
This was one of the boys' favorite spots. Hanging out with Pop on the front porch.
It was great spending time with these three. They were in Anguilla for forever it seemed like. It was great having the time to catch up and spend time with these two little ones. We are also super proud of Drew for graduating from Med School!! Woohoo Drewski!!
We ate lunch on the deck quite a bit.
My Mom and I
We had a sisters night! What a blast it was! We went to Cafe Rio for dinner and then to a dollar bookstore. It was so much fun! Thanks so much to my Pops for watching the boys while I had some Mom time. Of course this was all followed by a late night of girl talk and treats. :)
Jackson loved playing peekaboo. He and Lydia would do this forever if we let them. To be honest it was very entertaining. Don't judge the outfit haha, we were on vacay.
Hanging out on the front porch.
My Pops is a rockstar and built this gate one night. We needed something to keep Jack up on the deck so Pops whipped this up. Crazy awesome right?! Now Jack can't get down from the deck...or so we thought. The next morning Jack went outside and within seconds figured out how to open the latch on the gate. Haha. It was so funny. Luckily we rigged it so he couldn't get out.
Hmmm.... Where's Jack?
Enjoying the outdoors.
Loved feeding Geno. He would literally hand feed him at times. I'm not sure if Geno was thrilled when we left, or if he misses Jack haha.
Hiking Bridal Veil Falls
I lived in Utah for years and never did this hike. Yes I know it's madness. I have driven past this hundreds of times and even walked the path below but never hiked it. It was a lot of fun. Surprised I could do it in my flip flops hehe. However, I wouldn't recommend it :)
Jack and Haley Kay at the bottom looking for fish.
Hiking up. Yes, Ang carried Jack most of the way. She's a saint and quite the trooper.
Beckham was awake for a small part of it and then slept the rest of the time.
Aubrey carried Jack the entire way down. I couldn't believe it! She's amazing!! Love this girl.
After the hike we headed to the outlets for some before school shopping for the Calderwood clan. How cute are these 3? Jackson loved spending time with Cody.
Kami Mae and Beckham James waiting for our shoppers.
Jack got sick out of no where. He was sick for several days so we ended up taking him to a pediatrician in Spanish Fork. The doc confirmed our suspicions which was teething. He was not the most pleasant boy for a few days. We felt so bad for him though. Teething is the worst. I guess we were lucky it was at the end of the trip and not the whole time.
Grandma Spung and Aunt Steph flew in for a week of fun in Utah as well. We had such a great time seeing them both.
My Gram and Beckham boy.
Aunt Patty also flew in and surprised us! What an awesome surprise!!
Pops and Gram working on genealogy. Everyone else is playing games inside.
Me and my boy.
Meet 10 bears. The previous owner actually carved this into the stair rail. It's amazing work but very random. We decided he needed a hat and now he looks like a babooshka. Aunt Steph and I are admiring the awesomeness. Gram laughed so hard she was crying. I'm not sure I have ever seen my Gram laugh that hard. It was hilarious.
Me and Aunt Stephie Lou
Dad is one of 10 kids, yes, 10 kids and here's 3 out of the 10 with Gram. Aunt Patty (oldest), Pops (2nd oldest), and Aunt Steph (the baby).
Celebrating this guy!! Beckham James in his blessing outfit.
This day was all about Beckham James. It was his blessing day. For those of you who don't know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has blessings for babies. This is similar to a christening but is not a saving ordinance. One who holds the proper Priesthood authority performs the blessing, which in our case is Preston and all those that are among family that hold the authority as well are allowed to participate. It is such a great moment for all family members and a special time for Beckham. Preston did a beautiful job and Beckham was well behaved :)
Spung side
Jack was not feeling so well hence the awesome face. Poor kid made it through though.
From left to right... Jackson, Preston, Lesley, Beckham, Hailey, James, Jim, Mom, Dad, Aubrey, Angie, Corey
Front Row... Kami, Cody, Haley, Erin, Britt, Lydia, Drew and Lucas
Clark side
Left to Right....Ammon, Kai, Mikale, Teagan, Shelby, Brian, Alivia, Staci, Isaac, Judd, Claire, Sadie, Jackson, Lesley, Preston, Beckham, Grandma and Grandpa Curtis
Clarks party of four.
Some of the men that were in the Priesthood circle. I forgot to get one with Dad, Corey, Jim and Drew in it as well. Silly me.
Tarisai (half brother), Preston and me
We also celebrated this guy!
Lucas John Freeze
Britt, Lydia, Drew and Lucas Freeze
We waited to do Beckham's blessing so we could do a double blessing before this cute family took off to Chicago. It was so fun having babies close together with my sister. Our little boys are almost exactly 2 months apart. They'll be such great friends. I just know it.
We also celebrated two 1st Birthdays!! Claire and Teagan are ONE! Since Jack was sick, the boys and I had to stay home :( Preston went and represented the family for us. He said everything was super fun and went great. Wish we could have gone looks like such a good time was had. Here's a couple pics I stole from the Williamson's from this special event.
The Clark Clan
Birthday girls! Claire Koudelka (standing) and Teagan Williamson
It was a whirlwind of a month but so much fun. We are so grateful to have spent time with our family. So many people came to be apart of so many special events. We are so grateful for those that made the time to see us all while we were there. Our journey back was bitter/sweet. We loved seeing family but were excited to get back to life here in El Paso.
Getting ready for our long drive home.
Made a stop at the Albuquerque LDS Temple
Daddy and his boys.
Walking the grounds.
I can't even begin to explain how much fun we had. Thank you to everyone who made these past few weeks so wonderful!! We loved seeing and spending time with our loved ones! A big thank you to those who flew in and drove down to spend time with us. We are so grateful to have so many people who love and support us!
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