{A little love for Aunt Che}

While poor Che is away for the summer she is always missing out on all of the fun stuff we do. So here are a few video clips just for you. We love you !



The end of the video got cut off so here it is.


Check out the underwear and Carlie in her robe on this one. HOT!!!!!!!! (sorry Carl)

{Koyle Family Reunion}

{Koyle Family Reunion}

The kids and I (and of course Neil) attended our very first Koyle reunion. It consisted of all of Neil's mom's siblings their kids and grand kids. This reunion happens every year. When I first heard about it I thought it would be a nice little family get together. Then, I learned what a HUGE production it is. Gladys has ten brothers and sisters who also have had fairly big families. Basically it is just a huge family.
The reunion was over by Boise, and the first night Gladys tricked me into coming over and getting introduced (or more like spotlighted) in front of the whole family. It was a little embarrassing but at least everyone knew my name after that. It was also a little funny because afterwards one of Neil's cousins came up to me and told me she already knew a lot about me because she is friends with one of my old babysitters brothers. (Becca Wright) (Che and the strobels I am sure you are really getting nervous right now hoping that she didn't know about us putting underwear on our heads and chasing her around with a baseball bat.Because, if she did know about this my reputation would already be ruined. I was very relieved to find out Becca had kept this unfortunate event a secret. Poor Becca we love her so much but man we were bratty kids. :)
Anyway, we had so much fun. The first night we mingled and shared cookies. Which the kids loved. Then the second day there were all kinds of crafts and games. The kids made necklaces out of fruit loops (which we enjoyed eating), we had family races (which the Parkinson's won by cheating), and there was a huge homemade slip and slide down a fairly big hill. It was a huge hit. My kids were a little intimated at first so they would walk up the hill holding hands and didn't let go until they reached the bottom. After a little while they started getting a little more brave. Then Camille (Neil's sister) and I had this great idea to just go down in our clothes. Neither one of stopping to think that we were wearing light shirts. It looked like a white t-shirt contest. WHOOPS! We ended the day with a huge barbecue.
The next day we packed up had a family meeting and headed home. Before we left town we stopped to see Neil's Grandma and Grandpa Koyle. His Grandpa had been admitted into the hospital a few days before. It was so good to see them. We had so much fun with the Koyle family. I am so glad to be a part of it now and enjoyed getting to know everyone. I can't wait to go every summer. Thank you for all of the hard work that went into it. (and thank you Lori for letting us camp in your nice trailer, it was sure nice to have a hot shower)

{Craft Day at our House}

We are going to a family reunion this weekend for Neil's family, and I had to take something to auction. I was a little intimidated because I always thought I was kind of crafty until I became a Parkinson. They are all very creative. This is what we came up with, and I think they turned out pretty cute. I just can't wait to buy what the other really creative people bring to auction. :)

{Fun in the Sun}

The kids and I have has so much fun this last week. It has finally gotten warm enough here to go outside. (We have decided that the Idaho weather is bipolar.) Everyday we have headed out on our bike to various destinations. We usually end up at either Porter Park or the nature park, and the kids love it. Saturday we even took our bike up to Ashton. We started out from Chris's house and stopped at every grandma's house for a little visit. I was pretty tired by the time we got to Mike and Kim's and had to call Neil to pick us up. :) While we were at Grandma Parkinson's Avery was bitten by a mosquito. We found out that she is allergic. By the next day her eye was swollen. She thought it was funny, and would laugh every time she looked in the mirror. So we weren't to concerned. Here are a few photos of our weekly travels.



The kids playing spiderman at Porter Park.

Avery's poor eye



Reading books with Grandma Kim. She had the kids stay the night on Sunday, and they had a lot of fun.



Jumping on the tramp at Grandma Kim's.


Riding the carousel at Porter park.

I'm afraid Mason has hit a little bit of an annoying stage. He won't take a normal picture anymore. :)

{Attention all Clark Fam}

As I was going through my morning routine today of making my bed, ignoring my kids screaming in the tub, and watching Regis and Kelly I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. Neil Baby was today's featured guest. :) I was cracking up all by myself as I listened to his new HIT! I'm sure we will all have it memorized soon and will be performing it on grandma's lawn with a dance that will be equally amazing. So here is the link, and Jen I expect to hear a solo from you and Chris next time I see you. Maybe we can practice up and all serenade Linda's new baby with it. I'm sure she will be filled with joy at such a gift. :) Enjoy this little clip of our beloved Neil Baby.
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1155295679/bclid1213922331/bctid1620682397

{Father's Day}

This year was Neil's very first Father's Day, and it was a really fun day. We started it off by serving him breakfast in bed, and along with his gifts the kids had made him a poster message out of candy bars. Then we went up to Ashton for Lori's (neil's sister) baby blessing.






After sacrament we walked the kids over to the cemetery to see Nic. Every year they write him a letter, color him a picture, tie it to balloons, and we send them to heaven for Father's Day.




Then we watch them float up up and away until they reach Daddy Nic. (unfortunately this bunch got stuck in the trees and we had to let them off again.)



We then went to Neil's parent's for a barbecue and played with all of the cousins. It was a fun day, and it was so good to spend time with everyone.



Mason also had a few firsts he rode a horse for the first time. This is Gus Neil's horse and Mason wanted to ride him so uncle Curtis put him on. Also, later in the day I realized we hadn't seen Mason for a while so I went on the search and found him out front riding a bike WITH NO TRAINING WHEELS! He had decided he was sick of them so he found a bike at grandma's without them, and taught himself to ride it. We were amazed. It amazes me how much he is like his dad. When Nic was little he would go jump dirt piles on his trike and ended up with a broken arm, and Neil was the same way. I'm afraid I will always have to be on the edge of my seat with this kid.

We ended up the day by visiting Grandpa Mike. The kids ended up staying the night there, and Neil and I headed to St.A to visit Judd the dud. :)

Since I know that all of our dad's secretly look at the blog. I just want them to all know how much we love them. I am so grateful for how loving and supportive you have all been these last few years through our losses, changes, and additions to our family. I love you so much and appreciate all of the love and effort you show my kids and us.

To my own dad. I couldn't have asked for a better one. I am so grateful to you for helping me hold my family together. Thank you for always being there for advice and to listen to me. I just wouldn't have survived without you. Even though you are Judd the dud I love you so much.

For my two amazing Father-In-Law's (Mike and Max) I always hoped that I would find one great husband and father, but I have found two. Thank you so much for raising them and teaching them. The kids and I are so blessed to have them both in our lives. The kids have two amazing men to look up to thanks to you. Also, thank you for being so accepting of our new family. Neil and I could not ask for anything more perfect with our situation. We are so grateful to both of you, and hope you know how much we LOVE you!

{Tagged}

I am going to attempt my first tag. (thanks Che) So here it goes.
JOYS:
1. My Family
2. Reading in the bathtub
3. pulling my kids behind our new cruiser (bike)

FEARS:
1. Getting another phone call that someone in my family is hurt or has passed away.
2. Not having my kids turn out decent
3. Having someone steal my kids while I am in Maverick (I thought I saw someone drive off in my car today. Luckily it was my car's twin. I guess this is a sign I shouldn't leave them in the car, no matter what.)

GOALS:
1. To get a house SOON!!!!! And not get divorced in the process
2. To not be so indecisive (I am the very worst. Che'Lyn doesn't know how I live with myself)
3. To start cooking again (I have gotten so bad at takeout Poor Neil)

CURRENT OBSESSIONS:
1. BLOGGING (Neil is looking for a hot line for me)
2. Brownie pudding and ice cream
3. Twilight Series (isn't this just about every body's)

RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS:
1. I am still a huge fan of Rosie O Donnell even though she has gone off the deep end. I still have her barbie hidden away in a safe place, since those who shall not be named have tried to dispose off her in brutal ways more than once. Poor Rosie.
2. I still get nervous when my mom or dad (especially dad) calls my cell phone, because I am afraid I am in trouble. (like I usually was in high school)
3. When I got married I decided I would bake bread. Because, that is what good wives do. I have tried about every recipe, a bread maker, a new mixer, different ovens, and have still not had one loaf turn out. It is becoming the family joke. Oh well I can make a mean pie.

Now I tag Dez, Jillian, Vic, Brook, and Jen York

{Mani or Pedi anyone?}

Avery got her very first pedicure and manicure, and she LOVED it. We went to Evan's Beauty College to celebrate my niece, Kiley's last Saturday before she graduates. Most of Neil's sisters, sister-in-laws, mom, and nieces were there. We had so much fun, and Avery has been showing everyone her nails and toenails ever since.





Not the best smile, but she was loving it.


Mason and Neil showed up to see how we were doing, and Mason left with a blue spider web painted on his thumb. He was pretty excited.

{Graduation}

We had three big graduations this year! Neil had a niece and nephew graduate, and my little brother graduated. It was a lot of fun to watch them all walk across that stage. I remember how grown up I felt that night, and it was amazing how little they looked. Here are some of my favorite photos of the graduates.

Colby
graduated from South Fremont High, and I don't know if he has any idea what he wants to do. For now he is going to farm for the summer.

You might be shocked but we actually do all love each other :)

They look cute, but they were absolute devils through the whole graduation.

The proud parents! I don't think they thought they would ever see this day.

Crystal
Crystal graduated from Clark County High School. She was the salutatorian and we are very proud of her. She is going to go to Boise state and is planning to major in education.




Koyle
Koyle graduated from North Fremont, but none of us were able to go because they could only have a few tickets (and the Parkinson family is super huge). He turns 19 in September, and will be leaving on a mission.

We are so proud of all of them. We love you.

{Wedding Photos}

One of my best friends from Texas reminded me that she had never met or seen a pic of Neil until I posted the few that are on my blog. She requested that I post some of our wedding pictures since I was to lazy to email them to her (or anyone else for that matter). So here they are Melissa I hope you enjoy. Love ya tons.




Bishop Carlson and our first family photo (it's not that great though)







These are two of my favorite pictures from the wedding. Avery looks terrified, and have you ever seen Mike (nic's dad) smile so big.



The two sets of parents.




My sister Che and her husband Landon. Nic's sister Gabriele and his cousin Lindsay

{Memorial Day}

Well we made it through our second Memorial Day, and I am so grateful to say that this year was a little easier. I have been so worried all winter Nic's headstone wouldn't be set in time. It seemed like the farther we got into spring the more snow we were getting. Thankfully it was set about two weeks before the holiday. It turned out beautiful and I think that he would be really happy with it. The saying on the back of it was from his most spiritual experience on his mission. He had written it down and closed with this statement.







Neil and i took the kids up on Saturday. He is such a great guy and always helps me take the kids up to see their dad.



The kids picked out this hanging basket because it had blue for Mason and pink for Avery.



My mom and dad also went with us.



We went again on Sunday, and there were a few more flowers.

Also I was going through some of Nic and I's stuff the other day and found an old memory card that had pictures I had never seen (since the day I took them) on it. There was some really cute ones. I decided for memorial day I would post them so that everyone could remember what Nic's smiling face was like :).

This picture made us all laugh so hard. My Grandma and Grandpa Daniels were on a mission in Nauvoo this Christmas, and they had knitted us all these hats and scarves. They were amazing, and as you can tell Nic loved his. (Maybe a little to much)

This is our very first snowman.



I just loved this pic of him with Mason. It is a classic Nic picture. Do you like Mason's pants? Nic pulled them clear up to his chin.

Well I hope you enjoyed my Nic memorial post. We all miss, and love him very much. I have to say though how grateful I am for Neil. I know that this was Nic and I's plan, and I am so grateful that there was also a plan to take care of the kids and I until we can all be reunited. I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge it gives us. Thank you so much to all of you that thought about and remembered Nic on Memorial Day.