Bryce Stephanie Spenser Madison Parker Olivia Max

Finally!

2011-01-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'm embarrassed that it's been so long since I've posted...hopefully I can remember what has happened in the last 7 mths. I guess the first major thing that happened this summer was that Bryce was able to get $200K for the movie he wrote and was able to start filming 2 mths later. I was excited for Bryce that he could do something he was passionate about and it was a lot of fun to be involved and watch the process. Maddy and Spenser were able to be in a scene with Melora Hardin (the Office) and I played a polygamous wife. Bryce decided not to have the polygamous element in the movie because we realized that others outside of Utah might actually think that LDS really do practice polygamy and we didn't want to give that image, and frankly I was so ugly with the hair and dress, I'm a little relieved he cut it out. I've basically been a single parent the last 6 mths but it's been really good for Bryce to realize his dream and hopefully be able to do it long term. He wants us to move to California but he'd have to drag me away kicking and screaming!

Olivia turned 3 and started preschool and Spenser turned 12 and is now in Young Mens...I think he might even be growing a mustache...I'm a little scared...how do I raise a teenage boy!? I've also been homeschooling Maddy and Spenser. I was a little freaked out about doing it but it's kinda fun. I always told my kids if they wanted to be homeschooled I would do it, but honestly, I never thought they'd actually want to! Spenser is popular and has a lot of friends and he does great in school but I think waking up at 6am was killing him...honestly I don't blame him, I would die if I had to wake up that early every day. Spenser is doing the Karl G Maeser Academy online and Maddy is doing K12. They both are doing great! I love being able to spend time with them during the day.

I'm still going to school (7 years) and took an acting class. For those of you who know me well know that I have always been terrified of giving talks, teaching a lesson and anything that could possible embarrass me, including a game of Charades. But, the last couple of years I've kind of grown up and gotten over it a little so I started singing again and decided to do this class.

By far this was the hardest class I've ever taken. It took so much out of me because I was constantly doing things out, way out of my comfort zone, but I stuck it through. It helped a lot and I would love to audition for one of the school musicals next semester...we'll see.

For Christmas we went to Rexburg for the dedication of the student service building and conference center. It was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, the choir really did sound like it was surrounded by angels. I was crying by the end and didn't even know it. It was so powerful! The night before we got to go to a dinner and tour the building with Pres. Eyring, Elder Bednar and Elder Nelson. Everyone was telling me to take pics of them but I felt a little like a stalker. There were bodygaurds everywhere and I was a little nervous, but I got a few good pics in.

Top: Kim Clark, Sue Clark, Sister Bednar, Elder Bednar
Bottom Left: President Eyring
Right: Elder Bednar, Elder Nelson

We had an amazing 3 weeksover Christmas with Nana and Papa and I love how I feel at their house. It was so nice just to be able to relax and hang out with the kids. Well, I think that's pretty much it. Hopefully, I'll get to my next post sooner rather than later.

Kitchens

2010-07-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but for the last couple of days I've been obsessed with looking at everything that has to do with home design. I don't really know how to describe my style but I just love these pics, maybe someone can help me come up with a word that describes it. Anyway, I might just be posting home decor pics each day until I move on to a new obsession...

Birthdays...Graduation...New Job...Crazy

2010-06-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

Oh man, it's been forever since I've posted! We've had birthdays, graduations, babies, new jobs, new business and dogs! So I guess I should update everyone. The first thing that has been really exciting is that Bryce was able to get funding for his movie Ben Banks (keep in mind the picture is supposed to be cheesy)so he has been in pre-production this entire last month. I basically get to see him when we go to bed, but he's finally living his dream and doing what he loves so it works for both of us. For those of you who don't know about it, Bryce has started a production company called Signal Films with his partner Justin Lyons. He wrote and will be directing the movie. I wish I could tell you what it's about but you'll have to ask him. This week he will be gone because he's going to go and watch all the "beautiful" actresses audition for the role. Isn't he the lucky one! I think the actual filming will be in August down here in St. George. Bryce also graduated and I'm really proud of him for having the courage to go back even though he is an old man now. (just kidding honey, you know I love you

Let's see... besides that my brother Colby and his girlfriend Shana had a baby they named Jaxston Alan Ashby. )
My sister had her fourth baby she named Leah Marie Iverson. Parker turned 7, Max turned 1 and has 12 teeth but 4 more are coming in!Oh, and we got 2 new dogs. I vowed I would never get a dog, but both puppies were at the no-kill shelter in Ivins and they were so cute! They are both a little of German Shephard, Rottweiller and maybe some Austrailian Shepherd. The older one Zip is totally housebroken and he doesn't bark it's awesome. The younger one Daisy doesn't bark either and pretty much sleeps the whole day. The only thing that makes me gag is the hair...I haaaate dog hair, it grosses me out so bad, but I love them now, so they are here to stay.

Bloggerwicked+fun+sports+&+fitnessBlogger

My Maddy...

2010-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a little bit about my sweet daughter Madison. I missed blogging about her on her birthday and thought it was about time I did it. When I had Maddy, I was a little worried that I wouldn't know how to be a mom to a little girl. But, Maddy has been so easy from the time she was a baby. Maddy by far was the happiest, most easy going little girl I had ever known. I have just adored her. I absolutely cherich the relationship Maddy and I have, she's my best friend and besides Bryce she could probably tell you anything you needed to know about me, because she is always so interested in how I grew up and what I was like. We have such deep conversations that it amazes me that she is only 9. Madison loves her siblings and is a mini-mom to Max and especially Olivia. Madison has always been obedient, caring and nurturing. She has so much empathy for others and I love how she is always first to comfort and take care of those who are hurt or been left out. Maddy you are a beautiful, amazing, young woman and I love you!

Mom

Here is a pic of Maddie's "totally awesome" 80's birthday party.

Maddy loves singing, Taylor Swift, dancing, peace signs, 80's music and fashion, Taylor Lautner, The Notebook, swimming, bobby jack, horses, the color black, skulls, edgy clothing, mashed potatoes, stuffing and Thai food. Unusual things she likes are feta cheese, and the smell of gasoline. Maddy is a wonderful artist and would do well as a fashion designer. She loves to shop for clothes and wishes she could do it more often. She hates girly girl stuff and likes things that are a little edgier and usually black. When Maddy grows up she wants to be a mom and have atleast 4 kids. Maddy is Awesome!

HaLLoWeeN!

2009-11-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

Our mother and son outing. Timpanogas & Navajo Lake

2009-09-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weekends ago I took Spenser camping up at Navajo Lake. Right after we set up our tent the Ranger comes to all the campgrounds and tells us that a bear has been spotted right across the lake and that we need to make sure we kept our food in our car...needless to say I couldn't sleep and had a knife clutched in my hand all night. I grew up camping but I've only gone once since I've been married, so this was quite the adventure for Spenser and I. It was nice to spend time with him there.

The next day I took Spenser up to Timpanogas. I remembered doing it when I was about 10 but really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Just know that you never know how out of shape you really are until you climb Timpanogas. I've heard that it's hard for those who are in shape. So they tell you it's about a mile and a half up but what they need to do is say " see the top of that mountain? That is where you will be hiking". Well they don't say that so I assumed we were almost there because I was about to die... and instead I see a sign saying 1/4 of the way. I honestly thought we were almost there and we still had 3/4 of the way to go. My calves hurt for like a week. Anyway it was pretty amazing once we got up there.

Off to school!

2009-09-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Max, 3 mths old!

2009-07-30T15:52:00.001-07:00

Max turned 3 mths old! He's a chunk and I love it!

Our summer vacation in Rexburg, Idaho

2009-07-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

We just got back from spending 2 weeks in Rexburg, Idaho, it was so much fun! The weather was perfect. We had the opportunity of blessing Max in Bryce's parents ward, where we were able to have several family members participate, it was a beautiful blessing. My dad and his wife Debbie along with my brother Colby and his girlfriend Shana were able to come up and spend time with us. We enjoyed having them. Well here are some of the things we were able to do along with some pics.

My dad and his wife Debbie

My brother Colbe and his girlfriend Shana

Our newest little bundle of joy

2009-05-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

Nothing new to report, just some pics.

2008-12-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

Halloween!

2008-11-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

This will be a quick post... I just wanted to post some pictures of Madison & I on Halloween. I know it's kinda gory, but Maddy begged to look as bloody and scary as possible. So here they are.

This bottom picture was my first attempt at a bullet hole.

Spenser on the Ghost Rider roller coaster.

2008-10-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

O.K. so I may of offended a few people with my Disneyland rant. But, atleast I got it out of my system. Here are my recommendations of parks if you are going to go to California.

Ages 2-8 Legoland
Ages 6-12 Knott's Berry
Ages 10+ Six Flags

I've been to Sea World but I don't really remember it.
If you are into special effects and not roller coasters Universal Studios is good.

So, here is a video of Spenser on the Ghost Rider roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm. I was laughing so hard I was crying, anyway, I just had to buy it. Hope you like it.

Our little Photo Shoot

2008-09-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

I did it! I finally got over my fear of learning how to take pictures manually. Anytime I even thought about trying to learn about aperture, exposure, ISO's etc. my brain literally start to melt. But, I've been taking a photoshop course at school and knew that I just had to learn how to take pictures, so I read as much as I could online, and went to an awesome blog http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ and decided to go for it. So here they are.

We're expecting!

2008-08-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

Just thought we'd tell everyone...I'm pregnant! I know this is kind of a weird way to announce it, but it's kinda fun too. So far the due date is May 5th, and Bryce is already sure it's a boy. Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well.

Love the Clark

In Memory of my mom: Katherine Sue Ashby (1956-1990)

2008-08-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

It just dawned on me that I've never really written about my mom or honored her in any way. So I've decided to do a little memorial to my mom. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of memories about her. After she died we weren't really given a chance to grieve for her or think about our life with her. Also, most of her pictures and belongings were burned in a fire not long after she died. Our memories of our childhood kind of slipped away. What I do remember is what she was like. I don't know if what my perception of her is how she actually was or not, but a lot of what I remember about her is what others remember, so I think it's pretty accurate.

One of the things I remember about my mom was that she was pretty and outgoing. She usually planned all of the family get togethers and didn't seem content with just being by herself. She was heavily involved with the YW and played all of the church sports: volleyball, softball & basketball. She was also on a bowling league. The thing she was most involved in and seemed to give her the most satisfaction was her involvement with the Sweet Adelines, a barbershop chorus in SLC. She loved to sing! She was always trying to get me to sing with her in church.

Things my mom liked:

Billy Joel

John Denver

Banjo

Singing

Camping

Sports

Little Ceasars Breadsticks

Reeses Pieces Buttercups

Clothes & Shoes

Getting her hair dyed different colors like burgandy & red (when no one else was doing it at the time)

Playing board/card games

Having parties/get togethers

Babies

Although my mom was confident in her appearance and talents, I remember she was always insecure when it came to her intelligence. I know she was smart, but I don't think she knew that. My dad told me it took years before he could get her to sit and read a book, once she did she couldn't stop. Every time my mom was home relaxing she was always reading, just like my dad.

My mom liked to do anything that was fun or adventerous. One vivid memory I have is of her running with us to all of the rides at Lagoon before they closed for the day. I also remember going river rafting with her. My mom loved to camp and tried to be involved with Girls Camp any chance she could get.

In some ways I was intimidated by my mom. I was insecure and shy, so it was hard for me when it seemed like everyone loved my mom and paid attention to her. I had an easier time talking to my dad about things than her. My brother adored my mom and always found a way to snuggle with her when she was laying down. It wasn't until after she split from my dad, and right before she died that I developed a better relationship with her. For me, not having my dad around kind of forced us to work on things. But also I think she really started to reevaluate the decisions she had made in her life and started to appreciated us a little more. Her friends kind of abandoned her when she left my dad and we were all she had.

A week before she died I flew on her boyfriends plane to Denver to see some friends. On our way back I had this sinking feeling that we would die. My mom had flown somewhere every year to competitions and I never thought twice about it, but this time it felt different. It was snowing and it was really turbulent and I remember studying my mom's face while she slept, and I still remember what she looked like. We got home safe but I still had this sinking feeling, and then I remembered that a month before that I was saying a prayer, because I had a fight with my mom and during the prayer I had a deep impression that I needed to start getting along with my mom or I'd regret it. A week after our flight to Denver and one day before she was supposed to fly to Colorado for a singing competition I really had this overwhelming feeling that my mom was going to die, so I would just look at her and try to capture things in my mind so I wouldn't forget. The night before she died I told Travis and Krista what I thought, and we all tried to convince my mom not to go on the trip. But, she just told us that if it was her time to go she would just close her eyes and think of us. The next morning I started walking to school but knew if I just lagged behind she would see me and pick me up and drive me to school. She dropped me off and I looked at her knowing it would be the last time I saw her. As soon as school got out I ran home and turned on the news waiting to hear something, and sure enough there was a report that a plane had went down near the Continental Divide in between SL and Denver. I just knew and I called my grandma then walked over to tell my dad who was at his fiancee's apt. Neither of them believed me but I knew. The whole day went by without a call from my mom, and it wasn't until the next day that the news reported it. When my brother found out he was crying and screaming hysterically. My brother was twelve and it was his birthday. Right before she died she made ammends with many people and made comments about wanting to see her two babies who had died. She also gave a picture of herself to my brother saying, "Remember the good times". He actually didn't even see that she had written that until after she died. My brother said that picture helped him make it through that difficult time in his life.

Every birthday or holiday I always think about what a great grandmother she would have been, that's probably why I'm doing this today, since Olivia's birthday was yesterday. I miss her and I wish I could of known her better. There are so many questions I have for her. But, I am grateful that I had 13 years with her and I know that the upbringing they gave me is why I came back to the church and have the life I have. Love you mom!

Steph

Olivia's 1st B-day!

2008-08-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated Olivia's 1st birthday yesterday. It's amazing how quickly a year goes by. Olivia has just been the sweetest baby and her brothers and sister just adore her. I love to see how they dote on her, we all do.

We took the kids swimming at the new Washington City Recreation Center, which is amazing! And then we took them to Jumpin Jacks which has several inflatables that the kids can play on. As you can see in the pics Olivia loved her first chocolate cake! I wish that we had some family near us, it feels kind of weird not to have any family at the birthday parties, but it was nice and very low key. We didn't even bother to wrap the presents, we just handed them to her. Sorry this is so short, but I'm exhausted. Hope everyone is doing well!

The Clarks

My first blog...scary!

2008-08-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well since this is our first post I figured I'd tell you a little about us. Hopefully I'll be consistent about posting since I'm not very good about keeping in touch with everyone. For those of you who don't know us very well here is a little bit about our family.

Bryce and I met and married 12 years ago in Boston, Massachusetts. We've lived in So. California, Boston, and now live in St. George, UT. Bryce is a screenwriter and a student at Dixie State College. He is currently working on a TV show that he hopes will start shooting in the fall.
I am a stay at home mom and I am also going to DSC. I've just started a face painting business, which is a lot of fun. I pretty much want to learn how to do everything but at the moment I'm dabbling in woodworking, photography, photoshop, and digital painting.
Spenser just started school and is very excited. He loves to golf with papa, and loves learning...about anything. This fall he will be playing flag football, piano, and starting Jiu Jitsu.
Madison loves Hannah Montana and tries to dress just like her (atleast she dresses modestly). Madison enjoys singing and performing but will only do it in front of the family. Madison will be starting hip-hop dance and possibly start taking guitar lessons.
Parker, where do I begin? Parker is a handful, and has quite the vocabulary. He is definately the comic relief of the family and also the little terror. He just started kindergarten and will be starting some sports this fall as well.
Olivia is a little sweetheart, she brightens everyones day. She has been walking on her own for about two months and gets into everything!

I'm not sure whether I should keep this blog strictly about family or if I should include other things too. Well we'll see how it works out... I'm always finding fun and interesting things online and I like sharing them with people. I just hope I can be consistent about posting.