A Special Clark Reunion at Bear Lake!

We have waited and anticipated this week for three years!  We are so very happy to have Mom and Dad Clark back from their three year mission in the Philippines. How grateful we are for their service, sacrifice, love, dedication, and faith serving the Lord everyday for those past few years. I am pretty sure we were not the only family with a countdown for this week.

The entire Clark crew met up in Logan, Utah for some shopping and then off to Bear Lake.  Before we hit Logan though our little family had a few pit stops to make along the way.

Here's a look at one memorable trip...

Pres and I decided that this time we would drive straight through and stay at my parents place in Spanish Fork rather than stopping in Moab for the night along the way.  This was a tricky decision as you never know how a 3, 2 and 7 month old will do that long in the car. We started our trek at 7:30am, said a prayer and hoped all would go well.  About 40 minutes into the drive I saw cherries and berries flashing in my rearview mirror.  I thought, "Dang, you have to be kidding?!" We hadn't been on the road long and their I was getting pulled over.  I was kind to the police officer, answered his questions, explained that I didn't realize that I was going over the speed limit and he left us with a warning...WHEW! I did learn that if you get a warning from a police officer it stays on your record for 60 days so if you are pulled over again, you will likely get a ticket.  Thank goodness for safe and not so speedy driving the rest of the way.

We made a pitstop in Truth or Consequences so Pres could visit a hospital and another stop in Albuquerque for lunch at Chik Fil A, a favorite in our house. The boys played and got some energy out and then we loaded back up and were on the road until dinner for another small break.

              

              

After lunch we busted out some shows.  I try and wait as long as I can until I do shows so they feel entertained the rest of the way. 

A smiley girl in the back seat :)

                  

 

Woohoo!! Sleeping babes :)

Once we hit Moab all of our kiddos were fast asleep so we pushed on and made it to Spanish Fork at 10:30p. It felt great to sleep in a bed and not at a hotel.  I loved waking up and realizing we didn't have another travel day ahead of us. That afternoon we went to the Calderwood home and spent time with Ang, Cor and the kids. Er also came up for the weekend. I think everyone was in their happy place being all together, I know I was :)

Uncle Corey took everyone to Ridley's for some ice cream :) The boys got to ride in this cool thing and loved every single second! Love these people!!

We had another special treat this trip! Tami invited all of us over for Sunday dinner :) I have not seen this Calderwood crew in about 3 years, maybe even longer.  It was so great catching up with everyone. The best part...it felt like home being back up there. Thanks Tami for an incredible dinner and the great company :) 

                   

 

We witnessed a little wedding on the basketball court after dinner.  How cute is that?!  All of sudden a bride came out and started walking down the isle, hahaha.  I just love childhood!

Aunt Angie and her little namesake...Quinn Marie

Beckham loved Ruger. Yes, he is in the kennel with him :)

Every morning while at Ang and Cor's the boys woke up and wanted to see Ruger right away. Jack enjoyed him from afar, while Beckham wanted to help in any way he could.  He was completely fearless and Ruger is a very sweet dog.  I think Ruger loved having someone that was so interested in him haha. Beckham got to feed and water him and then would tell him to eat or drink when he felt it was necessary, hahaha. 

On Monday morning we packed up again and headed north to Logan.  We met up at a park and divided into two cars.  Some went to Sam's Club while a few others went to Walmart to get all the groceries this crew could ever want or dream of for a week at Bear Lake.  Most of the men stayed behind to watch the kiddos play at the park so we all didn't have to go. 

Park fun! That's Grandpa out there with a couple grand babies. One on his back while two follow :)

Cuz shopping's got me like :| Haha.  Love this pic of Bri.  This was after a good hour and a half of shopping for food.  I think it is safe to say we were ready to get to the cabin :)

Our foodie gang once we finished our shopping assignments at Walmart.  How cute is that sweet baby girl?! Little Miss Grace did such a great job during our adventures :) 

Once we had all the food, we had to figure out how to get it to the cabin, haha.  We had so much there wasn't any room for people! We did a lot of shifting around in all the vehicles and started putting things where ever there was space. All of the food made it, don't you worry about that ;)

The drive to Bear Lake was gorgeous! You drive through this beautiful canyon.  There's a stream that follows you most of the way and it was sooooo green! I absolutely LOVED this drive.

We made it! Our new digs for the next 6 days! Woohoo!! 

Our view from the cabin.  It was so peaceful and just breathtaking at times.  Preston and I thoroughly enjoyed our time here. 

The cabin garage was full of toys! We had to check out everything we could the first day. Jack and Beckham absolutely LOVED anything that you could ride on and were usually with anyone willing to take them for a ride :)

A scene we saw often. That is pure joy on Jack's face :) 

 

I loved catching the other cousins talking and playing with Quinn.  She loves when people will just talk to her.  She gets so smiley :) It melts my heart every time!

Teagan got her laughing pretty good. It was so stinkin cute. 

The Koudelka clan and a bowl of popcorn = happy place :) 

Day 2 we hit a cave. It was definitely an interesting experience with seven kids under the age of 5 :) My two oldest had a rough time but it was an experience to remember, right?!

How cute are these people?! Aunt Staci with her two cuties, Alivia and Claire and Quinn.

          

Ammon, Mikale, Kai, Teagan, and baby Lincoln before heading into the cave.

Brian and Shelby

Grandpa and Grandma Clark with Jackson Scott :) (another little name sake pic)

The gang all heading to the mouth of the cave.  Jack stayed with Grandpa most of the time and then with Aunt Staci for the majority of the way back.  I think everyone got a really good workout through having to carry kids along the entire tour.  The cave was a guided tour and you couldn't just go on your own which made it very hard for our little people.  A lot of stopping and talking and wet stairs.  

Koudelka's at the mouth of the cave.

Getting ready to head in :)

A shot of the cave and the stairs to the right. Here we go!

On our way back to the car.  I think this was the only time the boys walked.  Like I said, quite a workout. Pres was caring both boys at one point, yeesh. Thanks to all Aunts, Uncles and Grandpa for taking turns caring the boys for us ;) We sure LOVE you guys!

Group One: Ammon, Judd, Sadie Belle, Staci, Me and Pres

Mikale booked us all an escape room. It was soooo fun! We split into two groups and the fun began. Ammon and Mikale were the only ones who had ever done this before.  It was such an exciting adventure.  You kind of feel like Sherlock Holmes going through the clues and trying to figure out what to do next or where to look.  We had a blast! Our group may have beaten the other group in time escaped ;) 

They had this little gem outside of the escape room so we had to grab a pic :)

 Group Two: Brian, Dad, Mikale, Isaac, Shelby and Mom

Mikale booked it so that one group went while the others watched all the kids and then switched. Our group was first and when we went home to switch we were like a vault of information...locked down. We didn't say anything or give any clues since both groups did the same room. It was fun to talk about each others experience afterwards. 

That night all of the Clarks enjoyed Pickleville's very own Juanito Bandito. A small town comedy. I opted to stay home but these five had a good time I think. 

Everyone has their mustaches on :)

Day 3... raspberry picking and watching the deer.  We had deer in our front yard almost everyday. One morning we had a moose and her baby in the yard across from ours.  Everyone was soooo excited.  It was so cool to see.

More riding and driving.  It really just didn't get old :)

Love these 3!

Pres and I took the four wheelers for a cruise down some trails.  It was so fun to get a little crazy winding around and through trees and crossing a stream. Nothing like the great outdoors.

All of us girls were spoiled with a little Filipino jewelry. Thanks Mom for thinking of us :)

I just love this pic of Mikale and Linc.  We did our best as a family to exercise everyday.  We did a 7 minute workout one morning, Mikale and I did tabatas another morning and we walked almost everyday.  It was so fun having people to work out with.  Nothing like a good sweat to start your day!

                

 Making some awesome monster puppets! 

We had all the youngins make these little puppets.  I think they were a hit! They really enjoyed it :) I loved seeing everyone's creativity. 

         

                     

                                    Kai guy with his green monster and Miss Alivia with her pink one ;) 

Jack went rogue and decided to make his very own monster. Hahah, too cute ;)

Teagan with her umbrella monster and Claire with her pink monster. 

While we made monsters Sadie Belle made us cookies :) YUM!!

Day 4 was a relaxing day.  Some of our group went and toured an old tabernacle in a little town called Paris but our little family opted to stay behind and rest.  The boys and Preston took a ride in the Ranger and Quinn and I rested for a minute.  We sat out on the balcony and just enjoyed the view. That night we took family pictures.  We had every one dolled up and ready to go for a 4pm shoot. Our family was in charge of dinner that night so as soon as we were finished we darted back to get the meal going. For some reason Jack had a hard time with pics.  When I asked him why he was sad after we left he said, "Mom, I just didn't want to take a picture." Well, I guess that's just how it goes sometimes. Crossed fingers for one good one of the whole group at least.  

A scene we saw everyday.  As many grands could fit in the Ranger with at least one or two adults to take everyone for a ride :)

Grandma got all of the kiddos these little masks from the Philippines. The people that drive the trikes wear these to keep from breathing in exhaust fumes from other vehicles.  Very cute Jackson Scott!

 

We also celebrated these two cute princesses!  Happy Happy Birthday Grace (1) and Claire (3)! 

Day 5... 

Boat Day!!

The amazing couple that owned the cabin we were staying in came up on Thursday night to take us all boating on Friday.  They are a sweet couple that served in the Philippines with Mom and Dad. They were such a fun couple to get to know.  The night they got in they took a couple of us out on the boat for some skiing and wake boarding.  I had not wake boarded in 6 years so I was a little nervous to try again.  I actually got up the first time I tried but fell shortly after, haha. It actually scared me that I could get up so fast, haha. I wasn't ready to succeed right away...not a way to look at life PS, haha.  I fell the next few times but then was up and stayed up for a good amount of time.  It felt good to be back on a wake board and it is definitely a full body work out. Pres got up on his first try and stayed up.  He did such an awesome job.  My phone died on the boat so I don't have any pics of our awesomeness on the water.

That following morning we all got up and ready to head to the beach.  

My little floaty boys! Jack is showing me a cool rock he found :) Beckham is just flaunting those baby blues. 

Nothing like a little beach time.

Dad rented some paddle boards and there were several little people that were ready for a ride.

We took a boat full of kiddos to do some tubing. In all honesty I was a little nervous how Jack and Beckham would do but they LOVED it!  Pres, Jack, Beckham and I all got on and went for a ride. Jack made sure everyone was holding handles and they both just loved the ride. They even went a second and third time.  It was a lot of fun.  I forgot a phone to take pictures so I had to get one of them on the raft when we got back :) 

Little Miss Claire building a sand castle.

Beckham boy soaking up the sun ;)  He actually fell asleep on the boat when we were driving other people around on the raft.  He fell asleep on me, that never happens.  I enjoyed those sweet cuddles while I could.

All clean after the beach.  When you have two older brothers, sometimes you find stickers on your head :) 

Day 6 we packed up and said our goodbyes. I find with most vacations that when you are packing up to leave you feel like in so many ways you just got there.  We had so much fun spending time with the Clark side of our family and loved the quality time we had with everyone.  One thing that I have learned over these last 6 years of being a Clark is that I REALLY lucked out with having incredible in-laws all around.  I could not have asked or even hand picked a better family to be apart of! How grateful we are for each and every member of the Clark crew! 

Clarks take on Bear Lake 2017

After we finished packing we headed back down to Spanish Fork to spend time with Er for her birthday.  Woot Woot! We took her to one of her favorite restaurants for dinner...Pizza Factory (mmmm) and it did not disappoint.  It was delicious! Nothing like pizza, salad and breadsticks.

The birthday girl with this cutie putootie :)

The 3 Musketeers ready for bed :) 

We had such a fun night catching up with Er and spending time with her before we headed back down to El Paso.  Another nice and sweet tender mercy is that one of my best friends is renting out my parents house while they are in Philippines serving their mission. I got to catch up with Wyn and her little family.  I loved watching our kids play together.  There is nothing like hanging with your besties from childhood. Love you Wyn! 

The next morning we took off at 7a and headed south to Texas.  About 30 minutes into the trip and you wouldn't believe...flashing lights in the rearview mirror, hahaha.  Couldn't believe it! Luckily Pres was driving :) We talked with the state trooper and got the sweetest tender mercy called a warning. Now we both have warnings, haha.  That means no more speeding from us...well for 60 days :) hahah. 

                                     

Home Sweet Home!

We did the entire drive in one day again but ended up pushing it a little more than the last time.  We got home about 830p and I think we were all ready to be out of the car.  We only took 20-30 minute breaks for lunch and dinner so it was much longer car time. Everyone did awesome until the last 30 minutes.  We started to hear a little more crying and complaining from Q.  I think she was ready to be out of that car seat.  I think the next time we'll take longer breaks for the kids like we did the first time but it's great to know we can do the trip in a day if needed :) 

Quinn is 6 months...and a little more :)

This baby girl is getting so big so fast! Time is cruising by and I am about three weeks late in posting her six month pictures. She turned 6 months old on June 30th. She is healthy as can be and loving life.

Quinn is an incredible baby and we all absolutely adore her! She is eating like a champ (anything and everything), best sleeper, sitting up, loves grabbing everything she can reach, plays with her toys and brothers, and is just a happy happy baby all around. She has her two front teeth and I think there will be more coming very soon.

She loves when people will talk to her because she will try to talk back.  She started saying "Dada" and loves to make noise.  Pres and I tried so hard to get her to say our name first because she was our little tie breaker.  Jack said Mom first and Beckham said Dad; looks like Dad won this one :)

This little one of ours absolutely loves jumping and playing in her bouncer.  She bounces and watches everything going on around her which is usually her brothers playing and rough housing. Quinn will just laugh and laugh at Jack and Beckham and she is always smiling with them. Jack enjoys talking to her and Beckham is always there if she needs a little pat on the back.  He thinks it's fun to burp her :) They continually take turns throughout the day holding her or hugging her. Yesterday they sang to her and she just lit up. Her brothers absolutely LOVE her and Pres and I sure do too!

Baby overload...I couldn't stop taking pics ;)

                   

Oh those giggles...My heart! 

 

Pearls

Precious

Wonder what she's thinking? :)

            

Big smiles

Seriously though...Adorable!!

We sure love our Quinn Marie and look forward to watching her grow in these next few months! I just hope the time starts slowing down!! 

Les' Trip To The ER

What a crazy June and July it has been in the Clark home!  I feel like it has been a whirl wind and just non stop these past few weeks.  I finally had an evening that I could sit down and write all about my little ER visit that escalated into a lot of doctor appointments and one crazy diagnosis! 

Last month I started getting daily headaches.  I was very aware that it was happening each day even though the symptoms started out slowly with minor pain.  These little headaches started the week before Father's Day and were progressively getting worse each day.  I would go to bed with pain in my head and wake up with the same thing.  No over the counter meds seemed to work. 

On Father's Day we left church early because I just couldn't focus and my head was killing me.  I figured I just needed to sleep.  It had now been a week of headaches and I knew something just didn't seem right. I came home and slept a couple hours and still woke up with pain in my head and with a new symptom... pressure behind my left eye and temple.  I took some ibuprofen because it was the only thing that made the pain tolerable.  I tried to go to bed that night with very little success.  I felt so bad that on Preston's day, Father's Day, I was just feeling miserable.  I kind of butchered the whole Father's Day for him, haha. He of course was very understanding and took the lead playing both roles for several days. 

The pain in my head increased so badly that night it woke me up at 2am.  I woke up Preston and told him that I had to go to the Emergency Room.  My eye had a ton of pressure behind it and my eye started to swell and water.  I felt like Will Smith in the movie Hitch, haha.  Everything started swelling and getting crazy. Haha. My head was pounding and just wouldn't stop.  It was the strongest the headaches had been thus far. I drove to the ER, even though I was not sure it was smart to do in my current state but, I got there safely since it was 2am :) Honestly, I think the Lord just helped me a ton with that one. When I got to the ER they admitted me right away.  They hooked me up to an IV and did a ct scan of my head.  I was worried I had a blood clot or aneurysm at this point so I was grateful for all that the doctor and nurses were doing. 

Luckily the ct scan came back with everything looking normal.  They diagnosed me with a tension headache.  When they explained what a "tension headache" is I knew in my heart that that wasn't it. It was something else but I didn't think I should argue with the doc. He asked how long my eye had been watering and swelling.  I told him that it was new as of just a few hours.  They gave me benadryl for the swelling and crying eye and some strong migraine meds for the headache.  When they unhooked all the cords they asked if I had felt any better.  "Honestly, not really," I told them. I still have a headache but it went from a 10 to a 3 and my eye is still puffy. They told me to get some rest and take a day off.  I thought, "Hmmmm. Sure." haha, with three little people and just normal life I am not sure that was possible. They also told me to see my primary care physician for a follow up. I left the hospital a little disappointed but understood that they were doing all they could. 

I woke up the next day with a headache and a puffy eye...AWESOME! haha. I called my primary care physician and set up an appointment for that Thursday.  The headaches, pressure, swelling and pain continued.  I got to my primary doctor and she had me go and do some blood work to see what she could figure out. She then told me she wanted to see me in a week to discuss the results. She asked a lot of questions about my recent trip to the eye doctor which was no more than 3 months before.  I took that as a hint when I left her office and called my eye doc to do a follow up appointment just to make sure. I saw him that Saturday.  He prescribed me some ointment for my swollen eye and told me to wear glasses for a full day to see if the headaches go away.  He thought it best to at least start ruling things out. Sunday night my vision seemed to be a little blurrier. I figured that to be normal since I had half an eye now due to the swelling. Haha. 

Monday morning I woke up with double vision...YES, double vision! Ok I thought, this is getting pretty serious and pretty fast.  I called my eye doctor right away but he wasn't in the office. Thankfully I go to church with my eye doctor so I called him on his cell :)  I may have pushed the boundaries for doctor/patient relationship a bit but I figured it was pretty serious :) I left a message and he called me back within the hour.  He asked a couple questions and told me he would get me an appointment with an ophthalmologist that afternoon. He called me back and told me where to go that afternoon and who to see. 

Preston came home from work and picked me up since I couldn't drive with the whole double vision thing now. We had my girlfriend, Jess come and sit with our kids while Pres ran me to the doctor. He was unsure as to what it was as well but ordered a MRI for the next doc to see. He wanted me to see a specialist.  He told us that my eyes looked fine so it had to be in my brain. He called a neuro ophthalmologist on his cell and told him that he needed to see me right away. He set me up with an appointment for the following afternoon right after my MRI.  I was starting to get a little worried now since all of these docs were calling each other on their cell phones and trying to get me in so quickly. I had no clue what to expect or what was going on, I just knew that what was happening felt right. It had now been about two weeks of headaches so I knew something had to be wrong.

I did my MRI the following morning which took a good hour and 20 minutes laying straight, no movement in a really loud huge plastic tube. They ordered with and without contrast so I had to do two MRI's basically. Once that was over we headed home and had our friend Jess come and stay with the kids again while Pres and I drove to our next doctor. When we met with him, he immediately knew what was going on. He diagnosed me with an orbital inflammatory pseudotumor.  Yep, I had no clue what that was either. It is really rare as there are less than 200,000 cases a year. It's basically swelling behind the eye that causes the body to think that it is a tumor and your body responds as if it is one. They are nasty little guys. They mimic malignant tumors both clinically and radiologically. They are tricky but I am so grateful my doctor caught it. He prescribed me a medication right away and told me he wanted to see me again in a few days with my MRI that I had gotten that day. He wanted to confirm his diagnosis.  

Pres and I grabbed my meds and went home.  Within 12 hours of medication my double vision was gone, my headaches subsided and the swelling in my eye decreased drastically.  I could not believe how effective the medication was.  When we went back to the doc for my follow up, he was even impressed with how rapidly my body responded. He confirmed the diagnosis and we are now on the up and up of getting everything squared away and back to normal. I am now doing blood work and having a few more tests done but feeling great! As long as I take my meds we are in the clear.  The doctors have no idea what causes this or why it happens but this specific pseudotumor can come back. The doctor will have to monitor me for at least six months to a year.  I have high hopes that all will be well and we will get it completely fixed.  

Me and my swollen eye! I was even trying super hard to open it as wide as I could, haha. Don't mind the no make-up...I didn't want to accentuate that beautiful left eye ;)

A few days later Pres and I celebrated that I could see again! We decided to hit up a movie and enjoy having normal vision :)