If only I had known

6 Dollars in fabric
+
1 Dollar in elastic
+
2 hours sewing and watching The Office reruns while Claire is taking a nap
=

A new carseat cover
And that is all it took to instantly go from Claire hating her carseat to this....
"My carseat is so pretty"
"Can I sit in my new carseat"
"I want to show...(grandma, daddy, Rilynn, Brittnee, Kinlee)... my new carseat". And my favorite was "I love it, mom.", something that she has never said before about anything.

I have been wanting to make a carseat cover for quite awhile and then I stumbled onto a tutorial on how to do it. It was seriously easy!! I don't love the fabric that I used but Walmart didn't have the greatest selection and I didn't want to drive to Salt Lake to get something different. But Claire loves it and that is all that matters.
Here is the tutorial http://thequietcrafter.blogspot.com/2010/07/car-seat-fitted-cover.html. The only thing I did differently is that I only made slits for the top straps.

I can't get enough of this girl

Clark Family Campout

Last weekend was the annual Clark Family Campout. The turnout was small this year but we still had alot of fun. And the dutch oven chicken and peach cobbler were amazing!! I will admit that me, Luke, and Claire ended up coming home instead of spending the night but hopefully next year we will be able to stay over.



It takes talent to unintentionally get a a face this dirty within five minutes of arriving in the mountains.

This was Claires first attempt at roasting a marshmallow. Yummy!!! Maybe she will have better luck next time.

Proud to be an American

Some of our favorite things about Independence Day....

The Parade - Nothing is better than a small town parade. Especially when all the family gets together to watch it. I remember watching the parade with my aunts and uncles and cousins when I was really young. Everything is still the same after all these years except for the fact that all my cousins are married and have kids so now there is quite the crowd sitting outside for the parade. I love it!!

The Candy - Why is it that taffy thrown at the parade tastes so much better than if you just bought a bag of it at the store? We did have to coax Claire out to the street to get candy. She was just as happy as could be just sitting on Grandma Holly's lap eating an otter pop.

Fireworks - This year we decided to stay at Uncle Butch's house for the fireworks instead of heading to the park like we normally do. I think we might do it again just so we don't have to deal with the big crowds. It took quite awhile but Claire finally decided that she likes sparklers.

5k race - Several cousins spent the night in our backyard so that they could run the race with Luke the next morning. Luke took 13th overall and got 3rd for his age group. Cameron took 3rd for his age group and Spencer took 1st for his age group. Maybe next I will run it too. (And yes, I do say that every year.)
Claire stayed busy during the 5k by pushing her stroller around and filling it with pinecones, playing with roly poly bugs, and looking for ants.

Red, White, and Blue - I love seeing all the American Flags everywhere. I love seeing the little kids in their patriotic clothes. It seems like sometimes we forget how fortunate we are that we live in such a great country. We truly are blessed!!

More Summer Fun

Swimming Lessons....something that a friend of mine and I started planning a year ago since at the time both our little girls were too young. And it almost didn't happen since I waited so long to get us signed up. How was I to know that the Parent/Child lessons would fill up so fast.

Today was the first day and we really enjoyed it. Lucky for us, Luke had the day off and was able to come and watch. Claire did so good!! She blew bubbles in the water, jumped in, went completely under the water, and kicked really good. The only thing she struggled with was pushing off of the side of the pool with her legs and I think she just wasn't sure what to do. It is going to be a fun two weeks....and I am looking forward to hopefully getting a good tan too :)

June

I can't believe that it is already July.

June just flew by.

We had a great time spending it with those
that are most important to us...our family.

What is better than hanging out and playing games in the backyard (I decided that horse shoes just isn't my game),
having bbq's on the back patio,
going to girls camp, playdates with Claire's friends, swimming in the kiddie pool and running through the sprinklers when it is hot outside, reading books and playing games when it is raining, going on bike rides and long walks, playing basketball in the rain, planting our garden, enjoying the first ripe strawberries since we planted them last year, stopping by the local snow cone stand, eating yummy watermelon, wondering why Claire likes to wear her helmet while in her kiddie pool, spending the day at Bear Lake, and so much more.

And I can't forget celebrating Father's Day with our fathers and most importantly with the best daddy that I know...Luke.
Claire adores him and he is so good with her. She gets so excited when he walks in the door after work because she knows that the next little while will be spent on the swings, playing basketball, playing hide and seek, helping him work on a project, and basically just treating him like he is her own personal jungle gym. I knew that he would be a good daddy before we had kids but I am constantly amazed at how great he is. As Claire puts it, "I like daddy. He is pretty nice."







Life is just wonderful!!

Now we are moving on and looking forward to another great month and one of my favorite holidays, Independence Day!!