Giddy as a Schoolgirl

The happy couple.

This post is going to be cheesey, so beware!

Seven years ago this week, I met Adam. For those of you who don't know the story, my parents bought a building-in-process house in Alpine in July of 2001 and we all worked on it night and day until it was ready for occupancy in late October (I was living at home after I graduated; what can I say...I was a loser!). My mom had met some of the neighbors and told me that the Young Women's President had a cute son who recently returned from a mission. "Right," I thought to my self. Like I really wanted to date a dorky RM who was a member of my same ward! I politely declined my mom's incessant offers to set us up, as well as her informative quip that our new ward had a YSA Sunday School class that she thought I'd like to attend. Dating "wardies" (as my sisters dub them) was soooo not my style.

Long ago when we lived in Rexburg, my brother had a friend who was my age named Adam Clark. He was a super nice guy, but totally not attractive to me. Brian always told me, "You're going to marry Adam Clark; I just know it!" and I vehemently denied it every time. I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when, on the first Sunday of attendance in our new ward, a devistatingly handsome guy approached me and said, "Hi. I'm Adam Clark. Do you want to go to Sunday School with me?" I couldn't even get a grip on myself because I was so stunned that a guy as hot as him would even talk to me, let alone walk right up and introduce himself (I was usually the pursuer...again, I was a loser). I think I stammered something ridiculous like, "Hi. I'm Sure, I mean, sure, I'd love to. I'm Natalie" and as we walked off, I pretty much tripped over both of my feet or my shoe fell off or something, but I was thrilled to be walking with such a dashing man who was polite to boot (he opened all the doors and helped me with my chair).

Nonetheless, we made it to the class and I was thrilled to hear the teacher volunteer Adam to drive the batch of YSAs from our ward to the stake fireside that night. Of course, I went (hello! Adam was driving) and Adam and I talked the whole time. I knew it was love at first sight, and after a month of dating, I committed the ultimate relationship no-no that any gal in her right mind would know better than to do: I said, "I am falling in love with you, so if you don't think you're going to fall in love with me, let's not date anymore." Can you believe it? I mean, what was I thinking? Obviously, the results were positive, and we got engaged in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympics.

Because of this momentus experience, fall always conjures up giddy, exciting, romantic feelings inside me and I love to reminisce about how awesome it was to know I had found Mr. Perfect. We had such a fun, fast, and exuberant courtship and I love that we are in love now even more than we were seven years ago. I am thrilled to be married to my very best friend and can't imagine a better life than the one we've built. So, here's to young love, Jazz games, CES firesides as excues for Sunday dates, songs by John Michael Montgomery, and making out in Burgess Park. Yeah baby!

R-Y-D-A-L-C-H Spells One-Third of the Earth's Population

My wonderful grandparents, the Rydalches, have eleven kids and a burgeoning posterity that is so massive, each of us has a number (don't worry...my grandparents still know everyone's name). We have more family gatherings than any other group or organization known to mankind. Don't get me wrong...the Rydalch events are always great fun, but as a second-generation family member who is parenting a few of the third generation, the weekly rendezvoux can be a little overwhelming. That said, I always look forward to the annual Halloween party because my aunties are fabulous cooks (I'd pit them against any Italian ladies), they bring the best treats for trick-or-treating, and my uncles are all hilarious. Add to this a multitude of adorable cousins, and it's always a magnificent party. Here are all of the cool family members who dressed up for this year's shindig:
We congregated at a park in Pleasant View (I want to move there...it's amazing!) to enjoy a glorious fall day and some delightful company. Dinner followed true Idahoan fashion (baked potato bar with spuds fresh from the ground...so yummy) and we had a great time admiring all those fantastic costumes. So until next week, this is Natalie Clark, number 17, signing off.

Adorable Boy, He Is

Rex is growing up so fast and lately he's been achieving relatively major accomplishments on a daily basis. He can sit up by himself for several minutes before toppling over, he wolfs down a jar of baby food in about five minutes, he swipes an adult's beverage quicker than you can say "I'm thirsty", and he loves to play with toys. Amy, my sister-in-law, loaned us this darling Yoda costume for Rex's Halloween adventures. I can't stop smiling when I see him in it; it's just so darn cute (it's even cuter with the Jedi robe, but you'll have to wait until Friday to see the entire ensemble)!

The force is strong with this one.

My baby is getting so big! Yay and boo hoo hoo all at the same time.

Murphy's Law of the Gospel

We were asked three weeks ago to speak in church; originally, they asked us to speak on October 18th, but postponed it by a week due to a mission farewell. Adam and I worked on our talks a bit over the extended preparation period, but didn't really have anything of substance put together until last night. We have both been sick recently and I worried that I'd be sniffling and sneezing throughout my quip, but thankfully I'm on the recovery end of my illness. I went to bed last night with a minor headache, but knew I'd be okay to speak.

Adam went to bed last night with a minor headache, too, but he's on the incubation end of his illness, and woke up every hour or so with a violent cough and major congestion in his throat and lungs. I didn't know it because he slept downstairs and worked on his talk between episodes of sleeping and coughing, but during my shower, he peeked in and mouthed the words, "I feel like crap today!" because he didn't have even a shred of a voice.

Oh, the horror! He couldn't speak, which meant one of three things: I'd have to extend my talk on kindness to fill 25 minutes (it was barely pushing nine minutes in my practice run), I'd have to give my talk and his talk, or I'd have to coax my dad or a member of the bishopric to give Adam's talk. Lest you think Adam was ducking out of speaking, he really had no voice, and when he could muster a word or two, it sounded more like the gurgling of motor oil in an engine than a human vocalization. I felt so bad for him because he was miserable, and he felt so bad for me because I was on the verge of performing a one woman show for the entire second half of Sacrament Meeting.

Things actually went better than I expected; Adam kept Karli and Rex home with him, and Marianne (my saintly little sis) arrived at 8:30 to help me get Amber ready. We even made it to church with time to spare (can you believe it?!) and Adam had his talk all written out so I could give it without too many hitches. Granted, I'm sure I didn't deliver it with the fervor Adam intended, but for the most part, I think it went alright. The panic I felt when I was seated all alone on the rostrum (where was the promised youth speaker and musical performers?) left me when I realized that the youth speaker was blessing the sacrament and that the choir was going to sing, and Amber even made some adorable monster faces at me from the audience to try to get me to laugh. I managed to fill up all but seven minutes of speaking time and Bishop Tintle kindly added a few remarks at the end of the meeting. I can certainly say that I am glad to have our speaking assignment over. Now, if only we could get over our stupid, everlasting colds, we'd all be peachy!

This Lady's Got Skills

For about ten years, I've loved to read "Undressed!" on MSN.com (don't worry...it's not like it sounds...it's a celebrity fashion faux pas website). Kat Giantis is one of the best writers whose work I've read, so if you need a good laugh and an easy-to-swallow vocabulary lesson, click here.

Could It Be OCD?

I feel like I'm fairly laid back; I realize that I cannot control every event in my life and for the most part, I can roll with whatever happens. There are, however, a few things that stay on my mind to the point of interrupting my daily proceedings. First, blogging. I obviously have an obsession that is bordering on unhealthy; I guess I need an outlet of some sort because I continually think of topics to blog and run to the computer every chance I get. Adam and the girls now call me Violet, as in Screech's nerdy girlfriend who is a total computer geek.

Second, loading of the dishwasher. I had such a struggle to bite my tongue and leave the room to avoid reorganization of dishes in the dishwasher when we had company last week. My Dr. Jeckyl personality realizes that it is so helpful to me that my guests actually load the dishwasher and that I should be absolutely thankful for their willingness to pitch in, but my Mrs. Hyde personality secretly screamed every time I noticed someone putting a dinner fork in the soup spoon slot of the utensil holder and dropping the butter knives in the slots with the blades facing upward. I mean, come on...what dishwasher unloader on this planet can grab those upward-facing utensils and put them in the drawer without getting hand germs on the surfaces that go into other people's mouths (not to mention avoid getting stabbed a zillion times)? How much time does a person waste sorting out the tangle of tines and blades of forks and knives that are intermixed while unloading the clean untensils? It's all about efficiency, people!

Last, folding of towels. My mom drilled into my head the "proper" way to fold towels, to resemble those found in department stores and hotels (I have since learned that each household has a different "proper" way...go figure). I cannot look in a linen closet and leave it alone if the towels are folded in quarters, say, instead of my half-half-thirds method. It's all I can do to keep myself from ripping the towels off every shelf and re-folding them. The same goes for laundry of any sort. I have my ways and I like them. I even almost told Adam not to fold the gargantuan pile of laundry today because I didn't want to have to re-fold my undies or turn the articles of clothing right-side-out. Why can't I be more like a man in the laundry regard?

So, here's the question of the day: What the $@#& is wrong with me?! I really do appreciate the help and would much rather play with my kids (or blog, he he he) instead of do laundry or dishes. Hopefully I can continue to squelch my developing OCD and learn to just chill out.

Hey 'Lil Mama

Always the multi-tasker, I spent bedtime folding laundry in my room while Karli tried to wind down and Rex screamed at the top of his lungs for about fifteen minutes while wriggling around in his crib. Karli said, "Mom, Wexy need to share my blantet. He want to." Since I had quite enough of the screaming, I lifted him out of the crib and laid him down next to Karli. She immediately spread her blanket across his lower body, snuggled up, and sang "Happy Working Song" from Enchanted to Rex until he fell asleep. It was so darling and I'm still impressed by her nannying skills. I have a new bedtime helper...yay!

Seven-Year Itch

I've been crazy about Aerosmith for fourteen years now, and my dad surprised Adam and me with tickets (awesome seats) when the band came to Salt Lake seven years ago. The concert was phenomenal and I loved them even more after I saw their live show. Yesterday I broke out some A-tunes for a major rockin'-out-in-the-car jam session and decided it's high time we see another Aerosmith show. Giddyup!

The Golding of the Leaves

While watching Thumbelina with my girls the other day, I was amused when the Fairy King and Queen participated in "the golding of the leaves." I found that phrase to be utterly charming because fall is my favorite season. I'm glad I took these pictures yesterday from our deck because they highlight the beautiful, golden landscape that I adore. Enjoy!

Grandpa Smith, M.D.

Growing up, I only saw a doctor when it was mandated by county code or when my life was in serious danger. My mom is a big fan of the phrase "Walk it out", so my siblings and I never really had regular check-ups after age two unless a bone was protruding from our skin or we couldn't breathe. Thus, I never had a flu shot until I married Adam and had free and easy access to the vaccine thanks to Adam's wonderful Grandpa Smith. Now, flu shots are an annual event in the Clark home. Grandpa is so nice to pay for the vaccine and administer them to all of the adults in the family after a nice Sunday dinner. It sure beats waiting at the doctor's office!

Here I am signing the roster and dreading my impending shot.

The older I get, the less I can stand having needles poked into me. I am naseous just posting this picture!

It's a good thing you can't see my face in this shot because I'm sure I was on the verge of tears and vomit. My fists were clenched so tightly that my fingernail cut the palm of my hand!

Grandpa Smith is one of the kindest and most generous people I know. He is over 80 years old and still works at the State Health Department. He's so talented and smart and I'm lucky to be able to have him in my life.

Choncho and Rexy

Rex made a new best friend over the past week: my sweet nephew, Hunter. They are about 18 months apart but I think they'll grow up to be great pals. Anytime Rex was awake, Hunter would saunter over and say, "Reh!" and tickle his toes or give him a kiss. Rex got a big kick out of all the attention.

Hunter seemed thrilled to be able to hold Rex.

See how excited Rexy is?

Hunter is no small fry; he's not even two yet and he dwarfs Karli and Gracie. Hence, his oldest sister Brooklyn dubbed him "Choncho" after the darling little boy in Nacho Libre. I love that nickname and I adore Hunter!

Potty Progress Update

I made it through a whole day without changing a single one of Karli's diapers, which means she used the potty about 14 times in one 24-hour period! I'm thrilled! I know this picture is of a somewhat questionable nature (Hope Floats, anyone?), but I'm so excited about her newfound skills and it's so cute that I just have to post it. Please pardon my attempt at censorship; Karli is proud to show off her token look: nudie.

Potty Progress

Today was a joyous day; Karli wore panties for several hours and even came inside from playing (on her own volition, mind you) and used the bathroom ALL BY HERSELF! She recognized that she had to go! Hooray! I didn't even care that she pooped all over in her panties five minutes later. I will be thrilled when she's totally trained.

The Birth of a Ya Ya Tradition

For all of you doubters out there, I'm here to testify that the Ya Ya Sisterhood sale at Thanksgiving Point is a blast and I'm making it a tradition! Aside from the fantastic bargains on tons of great furniture, decor, etc., there was lots of delicious food samples, fun booths for glitter toes and lip/eyebrow waxing, a burning of woes, a lantern decorating contest, door prizes (I won two free cooking classes at the Emporium Kitchen, yay!), chocolate-dipped fortune cookies and great music.

I met my dear friend Tiffany there and we had fun catching up on our families' crazy lives, checking out all of the darling fare and wishing we had an unlimited supply of cash so we could let loose and purchase everything we loved. Isn't Tiff's witch hat the best? She is an amazing woman and I love spending time with her. I had originally planned to leave all of the kids home with Adam, but as I walked out the door, both Amber and Karli said, "We want to go to the girl party, too!" and cried and sobbed until I caved in and let them tag along. It was actually really fun to have them there, and they looked adorable in their Halloween costumes (Amber was Ariel and Karli was Tinkerbell). I am definitely making this event a tradition in my family, and maybe next year I'll have some funds to buy something really fabulous like the black leather Queen Anne chair that was screaming to me "buy me right now!"

Nothing makes me feel like a hot mama more than fake eyelashes, a hot dress and stiletto boots!

One of the ladies working at the party gave me the name Countess Fiesty Pants. I got a cool sash and everything. Me, fiesty? Nah...

I borrowed all of my sisters' cool makeup and even some false eyelashes encrusted with rhinestones. I LOVE funky makeup and had a grand time creating and sporting this multi-colored look.

I'm already thinking about what to wear to next year's party, and I'm certainly going to make time to decorate a lantern according to the plan I had for this year (which was unfortunately squelched due to lack of kid-free time over the past week, but oh well). So, bring on the competition and the sisterhood. Ya ya!

A Blessing in our Lives

Adam blessed Rex on Wednesday night at our house. It was great to have Greg, Jake, Rob, Ryan, Brad, and Bishop Tintle here to stand in the circle, and Adam gave Rex a good and interesting blessing. I don't know if it's dumb to think so, but I always stew and worry over possibly problematic phrases in my kids' blessings, like when Adam told Rex "you'll have sorrow in your life". Perhaps it won't be any more sorrow than everyone else experiences, but I always wonder if it means something awful will happen. I guess I'll just have to wait and see (and be prepared for the worst!).

Rex was fairly well-behaved thanks to Rob, who volunteered his thumb for Rex to suck on during the blessing. Afterward, we all had brownie sundaes (why does that word have an "e" instead of a "y" on the end?) and chocolate chip cookies. It was a wonderful evening!

This our family picture, Clark style, with no one smiling.

Notice how hard I'm trying to keep a straight face? I guess some

people feel dumb smiling in pictures and I feel dumb not smiling in pictures.

Isn't Rex the cutest? He's so jolly and adorable and I love having a boy.

Cousins, Sleepovers, Mayhem and Bliss

We've had lots of family here for a week and it has been a blast! It's great to have almost everyone here (we miss Dave, Maren, and Libs) for Brooklyn's birthday, Greg's birthday, Rex's blessing, and Jessica's baby shower. Aside from the aforementioned events, we've had tons of fun just hanging out, eating way too much yummy food and being goofy. We will be so sad when everyone goes home (the worst thing: I won't have an excuse not to do laundry anymore!), but hopefully we'll reunite for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

The girls each got a pair of these crazy glasses in their

goodie bags at Brooklyn's birthday party.

Karli, Ashley and me being silly.

Amber's silly face.

52 Hours of Hell and Happiness

We are lucky to have lots of guests at the house this week: Amy and Rob, Brooklyn, Alyssa, Ashley, Hunter, Jessica and Jaxon, and Grandma and Grandpa Clark. We spent several days decorating, cleaning, making beds, folding towels, and excitedly gearing up for the hours of madness and delight that inevitably brew when we all get together. Sadly, though, we also noted the arrival of our not-so-welcome house guest, Sickness, who plagues us with its presence every year from October to June, and sometimes even pops up unannounced for a weekend stay in July or August. If you are related to a child under the age of six, you certainly know of whom I'm speaking and I'd wager Sickness has even made a place for itself in your home, too.

Thanks to this annoying visitor, Amber, Karli, and Rex's stellar sleeping habits have been upended, and we are yet again facing three kids in the bed with us each night. As if it weren't bad enough to have a few gunky, runny noses sliming our pillowcases, there are also twelve flailing limbs, convulsing involuntarily with every cough and sniff, that disrupt the twenty-three-or-so minutes of sleep Adam and I get between episodes of crying by one or more of our poor, miserable kids. Needless to say, these wonderful moments create poor, miserable parents who can't cope with the daytime symptoms of children's colds. Thus, our great friend Sickness plunges us into a cycle of whining, yelling, crying, nose blowing, not eating, not sleeping, and bothering all of our patient and gracious guests who are tolerating the ruckus with remarkable kindness and understanding.

Our wonderful friends (the Larsons) blessed their adorable little baby today. We have not seen them for a month and a half, so we excitedly began preparing for the ride to Grantsville early on Saturday to be sure we made it on time to the nine o'clock meeting. The car was packed carefully with snacks, sippy cups, toys, blankies, and plenty of diapers, and I dodged a humongous mess in the kitchen (caused by a major faucet malfunction/replacement) to make some cinnamon rolls to contribute to the post-blessing feast (gotta love Mormonism, huh!?). While I baked, Amber woke up first (around 12:30 a.m.), but Adam valiantly tucked her back into bed and assured her she'd be fine. Ten minutes later, Karli woke up and spent the next three hours, yes...that's right...three hours, whining, "Mommy, hold me" and reaching up to me as I removed dough from the racks and coils after my too-small bowl failed to contain the burgeoning yeasty mass that rose magnificently in the oven. Since multi-tasking is one of my talents that motherhood has magnified, I formed the rolls and baked each of the three pans using only one hand and held a sobbing, sniffing Karli with the other. Once the rolls were frosted and wrapped securely for the journey ahead, the two of us headed upstairs to catch two hours of sleep before the Sunday activities commenced.

Upon realizing that I had snoozed through my alarm clock for an hour, I jumped into the shower and promptly awoke everyone to get ready to go. At 8:00 a.m., we were out the door (only 15 minutes behind schedule, which isn't too bad when Sickness is along for the ride). Rex's car seat was malfunctioning, Amber had green snot all the way down her face, and Karli was yet again whining and screaming because she wanted me to hold her. Finally, when we were all secure in the car, we backed up to the accompaniment of loud grinding and flopping noise coming from our rear tire. It looked fine, so we headed down the road. Five minutes later, Amber (I need Sarah Palin to say "Bless her heart" right now) notified us that she had an accident in her car seat. If you haven't read any of my previous posts, an "accident" is one of major proportions involving bodily waste. Since I had packed everything in the car except a portable shower, a washing machine, and a change of clothes, we had no choice but to turn around and head home. Can I just tell everyone right now that Sickness is no longer welcome at the Clark home? I've had it!

I couldn't even call Leslie to tell her we couldn't make the blessing because I was crying too hard, and then the girls started crying, and then Rex started crying, and Adam wasn't crying, but he was uttering some choice phrases. Finally we were all back inside the house, warming up and cleaning up (did I mention it snowed five inches last night?), and everyone enjoyed some yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. It is great to have family that is so understanding and helpful, because they all diffused our anxiety to the point that we could function enough to put the kids down for early naps. My nieces are great with the kids and they make me so excited to have "big girls" who can help me like they do. Now, I just need to find a way to give Sickness the boot and resolve to have a blast with our out-of-town family members despite our horrifically whiny kids, and I think the rest of this week will go swimmingly. After all, what can be worse than the last two days (knock on wood for me, please!)?

Any Takers?

I received a delightfully funky flyer in the mail on Saturday inviting me to the annual Ya-Ya Sisterhood gathering at Thanksgiving Point on October 18th. It looks like it will be a hoot, and I'm wondering if any of you have attended in the past. If so, is it worth going? I must say that I am thoroughly excited to dress up in crazy regalia, decorate a lantern for the contest, and head on down to Emporium (one of my favorite shops) to view the spectacle that is hundreds of housewives decked to the nines. If anyone is interested in going together, I'd love to have a companion or two or ten. Check out the Ya Ya Sisterhood Gathering website and let me know if you want to attend conmiga.

UPDATE: I went in to Emporium today and aside from seeing about a million amazing things I want for my bedroom and kitchen, I found out that all Halloween/Fall decor will be 40% off during the Ya Ya event, and Christmas decor will be 25% off. They are having the Glitter Toes ladies there as well as food from Melting Pot (come on, Amy!). It will be great fun and I'm for sure going!

Eight Things

I was tagged by Elaine. This post is fun for me because I can hardly ever choose one favorite thing.

8 TV shows I love to watch- Project Runway, Ace of Cakes, The Shield, Dr. 90210, America's Next Top Model, Top Chef, Top Design, Red Eye

8 things I did yesterday- Did the dishes, watched conference, decorated for Halloween, changed lots of diapers, cooked hamburgers, played with Ryker and Stephanie, sat in the hot tub, hung out with Adam

8 things I'm looking forward to- Rex's blessing, pay day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, the day after the Bar exam (in February), California in March, eventually buying our own house

8 things on my wish lists- a vacation with Adam, to be out of debt, a Corvette Stingray (shiny red, of course!), 2 extra hours in each day specifically for my workout time, a new wardrobe, a total-body lift/tuck/straightening/ehnancement by a top surgeon, a great job for Adam, a cute house in the mountains

8 people I'm tagging-Jessica, Stephanie L., Stephanie C., Kacey, Tiffany, Maren, Amy, Kallie

Sass-A-Frass

Amber loves gum, and is usually very good not to take it out of her mouth, leave it anywhere but the trash can, and spit it out before she goes to sleep. This morning, though, I found a lump of pink ABC gum embedded in the bottom of her hair. Since she's been needing a hair cut for quite a while, I asked her if I could do the honors. She thought about it for a minute and said, "Sure. I don't want to have long hair like Kinzi's any more...I want to have short hair like LuLu!" (She was referring to two of my adorable nieces.) I trimmed her hair and here are the darling results:

After taking this picture, I said, "Okay, now do a cute pose" and this is what she produced:

I think Amber has watched waaaaaaay too many episodes of "America's Next Top Model" (thanks to my shameless addiction), but even so, she sure is a fierce little cutie-pie!