It's About Time

Clark has had a milestone week...

After one year of having his permit,

he finally decided it was time to get his license.

Curt and I were in no hurry for this kid to be legal,

as we all know that teenage boys are expensive to insure.

After two loooong hours at the DMV,

he did it and here's the proof!

Now, rewind two years to the day he got his braces on.

(I wish I had the picture that Dr. Mason showed us 

of when he was 10 years old and just beginning treatment!)

 The "before" picture with THE BEST ASSISTANT, Haley!

I didn't realize they put in the permanent bottom retainer

before they even take the braces off.

Clark warned me before his appointment,

 that one of the things that he truly can't stand

is the feeling of tugging on his teeth. 

 I thought he was being dramatic!

Look at those squinted eyes and clenched fists...he was going crazy!

He did discover that he loves this little sucker!

Impressions for the top retainer.

Just hoping he wouldn't gag!

Everytime I see Haley at work,

 I am amazed and impressed at everything she can do and how well she does it!

The group that made it all happen!

The "after" picture.

I think it is one of my new favorite pics!

Love what orthodontics can do for the smile.

All the money, pain and patience is soooo worth it!

We are now officially done with braces...YEA!

Now it is time to get those darn wisdom teeth out!

Conference Weekend

Conference Weekend is the BEST!

Especially when it involves TWO new cousins!!!!!

Saturday evening while the guys were at Priesthood,

Haley, Cassidy and I cuddled Carson and Jen's new identical twin girls!

Jen is amazing!  She carried the babies to 37 weeks, gained only 50 pounds

and delivered without complications two of the cutest little babies we have ever seen!

Haley with Claire who weighed 7 lb 4 oz

and Cassidy with Tessa who weighed 6 lb 12 oz.

 It was hard to leave these little munchkins!

Cassidy was loving every minute of the choir during the Saturday afternoon session.

Of course the camera didn't show Elder Archuleta until the very last second!

 Cassidy, as usual, took notes with an artistic flair!

Sunday Brunch included the traditional egg omelette, cinnamon pull-apart rolls and fresh fruit

We loved watching the messages from our prophet and apostles in our jammies,

but we kept the tradition of attending the final Sunday afternoon session at the Stake Center.

We ended the day with dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Clark's.

We loved all that we heard and now have a lot of work to do!

Hunger Games Hangover

Last night was THE night...

the long awaited and much anticipated release of

The HUNGER GAMES.

Bennett went to the 7pm showing, Cassidy to the 8pm,

and Haley to the midnight showing.

Clark opted to stay home and sleep,

but the rest of us are feeling the effects of a later than usual night.

We had a great response to our T-shirts!  We sold every.single.one!

Thanks to all those who bought them and wore them!

 Cassidy and Sydney...Katniss wanna-be's!

Katie, Cassidy and Ally

They all had a great time in packed theatres with their friends

and LOVED the movie!

My plan is to see it in a couple of weeks at the I-pic!

Comfortably relaxed in my reclining chair and popcorn on demand!

Flag Football Championship

Bennett played flag football on the Poston 8th grade competitive team.

About half way thru the season, the coach,

(who happens to be the Mountain View Head Varsity Coach),

realized Bennett has a great arm and can really throw the ball.

It didn't take long until Bennett was playing quarterback.

At first, very timid and nervous, we watched Bennett

gain the confidence that comes with experience.

It was really amazing to watch him progress throughout the season.

He was awesome and Curt and I were more than impressed!

We played Taylor for the City Championship,

 but ended up losing in a nail-biting game.

Bennett has assured us that he is going to swim, not play football, at Mountain View.

I told him that Coach D might drag him out of the deep end

when he doesn't seem at football practice this spring!

Great season, Bennett!  We are proud of you and look forward to those swim meets!

Sky Harbor Picnic

Our Boise cousins, enroute to their Spring Break destination,

 had a three hour layover in Phoenix yesterday.

Lucky for us, it was early release for some of the kids

and we made it a lunch date in the middle of Termnal 4.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for the yummy Tia Rosa's burritos!

Echo's First Haircut

Bennett had been reminding harrassing me to make an appointment for Echo to be groomed.

I kept reminding repeating that he was lucky to even have a dog.

 I was beaten down once again and the appointment was made.

Echo BEFORE

and AFTER

I must admit, he does look and smell so much better!

I tease Bennett that in my next life I want to come back as one of his animals.

There is no messing around with THIS boy and HIS dog!

Toro Hoops

The seasons these days are measured not by Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall,

but, rather by the sports seasons:  Basketball, Track, Swimming, Football

and basketball season has officially ended.

Thanks to our awesome neighbor Robert Sirrine for capturing these photos.

He is the photographer I wish I was.

Check out his website http://www.memories4lifeonline.com/ for more images of MV sports.

Love watching this guy play!