The Cleggs

Soul Surfer

2011-05-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

I am lagging on blogs and probably will only continue to do so. Life is too busy and who really reads this anyway. But yesterday, Saturday, I ran a half marathon in Provo and as I got lost in the zone of my thoughts between miles 7 and 10 I decided I needed to post about something that happened this weekend. As I ran I thought about what I will say and now that's all forgotten (it was really poetic) but nevertheless I will attempt to capture my thoughts..

So we spent Friday night at my parents house in Provo. My family has been wanting to see the movie Soul Surfer together since before it came out. It hits close to home for us on many fronts- it is filmed in Hawaii, it's about surfing and it's about a girl, Bethany Hamilton, who got her arm bit off by a shark. My sister, Haylee, was born without one of her arms and shortly after this incident happened to Bethany we spent a summer in Hawaii. Haylee had quite a few people ask her if she was the girl who got her arm bit off. :) Anyway, we got a babysitter for the boys and went Friday night. My bros weren't able to make it but Spencer, my mom, my dad, my sister Haylee and I all went together. I loved this movie. I loved the clips of familiar places on the North Shore- turtle bay, sharks cove. I loved the surfing. Though I'm not a very good surfer, I sort of live vicariously through my sister Angie and she has become quite the surfer so the surfing touched me too.

But above all I was touched by watching this girl learn to live without her arm because that is my sister Haylee's every day life. I watched her try to do every day things I KNOW Haylee struggles with - things like cutting up fruit and putting a pony tail holder in your hair. I FORGET about this trial for Haylee. I forget because she doesn't make a big deal of it, like Bethany, she just gets on with her life and makes the most of it. I forget she doesn't have an arm! But as I sat through the movie I coudln't stop thinking about my beautiful sister who deals with this every day. Like Bethany, she must question "How is THIS God's plan for me?" Like Bethany she must want to give up on her dreams because she "cant' do it" with just one arm. Like Bethany, she must fear her future and want to look "normal" sometimes.

But also like Bethany, Haylee is an inspiration, an absolute inspiration to me. You should see the talent this girl has in sewing. She makes the CUTEST things and I am constantly a benefactor of her talent as she makes bath puppets, finger puppets, swimming suits etc for my kids. And once again I forget that she is sewing with ONE ARM! Imagine something as small as putting in a straight pin with one arm! Seriously, how do you do it? Like Bethany, Haylee has a quiet faith in God I know she relies on just as Bethany did. No one knows her trials, I do not know what it's like to be without a limb, but the Lord knows the pain and Haylee turns to Him. She has a goodness and a purity beyond anyone I know. Haylee has an amazing smile. As I watched Anna Sophia Robb, the actress who played Bethany and saw her smile at people, her hope, her faith and courage despite her challenge, I was just reminded of Haylee. Haylee is the same way. Life has not been easy to her and has dealt her so many challenges but she just keeps going, she just keeps trying and she just keeps smiling her beautiful smile.

I cried through the WHOLE movie. I haven't cried that hard in YEARS. I literally could not stop crying. It was one of those things where I had to sit and try to regain composure before I left the theatre and then the minute my dad asked me if I liked the movie I started to cry again! But it wasn't a bad cry. It was a cry because of the love I have for my sister, the sudden understanding of her trials and the inspiration of her life. Recently my mom and I were talking about trials and I told her that "life is not tragic because of trials, it is beautiful in spite of and sometimes even because of them." Someday because of Jesus's resurrection, Haylee will have a perfect arm, but while in this life she endures the trial of a missing arm. I am not going to say that her trial makes her life better but watching her and how she navigates this trial, how she smiles despite trying times and how she doesn't give up, sure brings more meaning and more beauty to my life. I am so thankful for her life, her beauty and her inspiration.

Go see the movie!! :)

Thoughts on LDS Conference

2011-04-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

It was conference weekend, the weekend where members of the LDS faith get to listen to our leaders, the 12 apostles and the prophet and his counselors give us direction and inspiration. I love conference. It's changed a bit as I've become a mom. It's MUCH more chaotic and that's taken me some time to get used to but I'm more accustomed now. In fact I think I’ve enjoyed this conference more than any other since I’ve had children. I’ve enjoyed WITH my children instead of in spite of them. I’ve loved coloring and Parker’s comments, Ben running around and playing and climbing on me occasionally or coming to color or cuddling. I have loved snuggling with Penny and making her laugh. I am less concerned about quiet and more concerned about the atmosphere and if my kids are enjoying it, and we have. It feels so good. But beyond that I really have been so inspired. I have found a few themes and of course don’t know it it’s just because they are things I’ve been thinking about or if they truly have been themes. But I have heard a lot about families. I loved a talk yesterday morning about women, it really made me feel the Lord’s love and the specialness of my calling as a woman. I wrote this in a notebook I was taking notes on:

“So many talks on children and women and now the song “I know Heavenly Father Loves Me” and it makes me cry.

My greatest role, my most important priority right now is these children and my wonderful husband.

Ben playing with tractor and bringing them to show me, Parker coloring his conference packet and counting words for treats. Penny sucking on her thumb and giving me a beautiful smile. Spencer’s righteous leadership in our home”

I have also heard a lot of talks about testimony, about how to gain a testimony, about doubts, about why people lose their testimony’s and how to avoid that. This is also so pertinent to my life lately as people close to me have doubted their testimony's, which in turn always makes you think more about your own. Elder Bednar spoke this morning about light and he talked about doubts. He said that if we have doubted we are NORMAL but that if we keep true to our covenants and nourish our testimony’s daily we will be okay. I have so found this, that as I read and study and stay true to what I know, the answers come. They come in quiet but profound ways. I hear His voice as I read my scriptures, as I teach my children the gospel, as I reach out to my neighbors. I know He lives. I'm so grateful for the prophet and apostles and the leaders who spoke, conference filled my soul.

A little late in coming

2011-03-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

So I'm a little late on this news but Ben's casts are off!! YAY!! He got them off 2 1/2 weeks ago. He screamed bloody murder while they sawed them off and was kind of afraid of his legs or something but I loved seeing his sweet little scrawny legs (even though they REALLY smelled). He didn't walk for a week and I had to carry him everywhere (he had actually gotten quite mobile with those casts) but week 2 he started to walk occasionally and now week 3 he's doing awesome. He's so proud of himself walking, loves that he can put on shoes and is really starting to keep up with Parker better. I LOVE it. He still has some pain and will cry out at night (I think after being on them all day it hurts him) or if I touch his feet in certain places he winces. But I guess that's normal, the doctors said his Achilles tendon is still healing. We have a check up in a few weeks and will wear the braces at night for 2 more years but we are on our way. Horray! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. Oh, and the day after we got the casts off we headed to Disneyland! :)

I chose to go on the ferris wheel and didn't realize the wind would make it FREEZING. We were all miserable. Parker said after we got off "You chose wrong mom!!"

We went with Bry and Cailin, my mom, Sadie and KC and all of us. We had a great time!

Sunday before everyone went home we went to church and then stopped at a park. I love this pic of my mom, don't her and Penny look so much alike! :)

After Disneyland I got to meet up with my two of my BFF's from High School- Summer and Megan. Summer just happened to be vacationing in San Diego so she drove up to meet me in Anaheim and we drove up to stay with Megan in Paso Robles. We had SUCH a good time. The kids played amazingly together and we just talked and talked and talked.

Penny's getting so big!! Love the rolls!

We weren't supposed to get Ben's casts wet and since they don't fit in shoes it was a little hard to do snow activities but the day before we got them off it snowed and so I took him out and we made a snowman. Notice Ben's bent knee, duck footed stance. Doesn't that look annoying and miserable.

Parker's been snowboarding quite a few times this year and is really starting to love it.

I've been running with three kids in my Chariot lately. It's pretty sqooshy so I don't like to do it (besides the fact that I'm pushing over 80lbs). But my elliptical broke so if i don't get up to exercise before Spencer leaves at 7:20 than my only option is the Chariot. The kids are troopers and we usually get a treat or something fun. They do look cute all snugly in there though. :)

Ben's Surgery

2011-01-25T20:14:00.001-08:00

Ben had his surgery today. They cut his Achilles tendon and put him in casts so that when it grows back it will be lengthened and his feet will be in a better position. It may not sounds fun but I was so grateful to have this surgery today. I feel like I have witnessed a miracle. I have been praying so so hard that this surgery would performed today. We had to reschedule two weeks ago when he had a runny nose and every time we reschedule it means Ben is recasted for an additional 2-3 weeks. We have quarantined him the past two weeks but he still managed to get sick and I have just been praying so hard he would be well enough for the surgery. Even Sunday it wasn’t looking good. But I have just felt at peace about it all. I have prayed so hard and I have felt the Lord would perform a miracle and He did. Ben slept horribly Sunday night- up all night crying like he was sick (Penny slept terribly too, it was rough for all of us). So Monday we stayed home and did nothing and I just prayed and I felt comforted. At 12:15 I put Ben to sleep. He slept for almost 4 hours. He NEVER sleeps like that and I just felt like the Lord was healing him. He was in bed last night by 8pm and slept soundly the whole night and woke when we got him up to go to Shriners at 8am. That really is something for Ben. Parker was hacking up a lung all night. Penny was coughing like crazy but Ben, Ben was okay. I had a prayer in my heart the whole way to Shriners hospital and all through admit that he wouldn’t cough or indicate sickness and that he would pass the check ups of the doctors to get clearance for his surgery. He did cough a couple of times but overall did really well. No fever. No runny nose. No other signs of the sickness he'd been battling for weeks. The anesthesiologist checked his lungs and said he was good to go. I was so relieved. Ben wasn’t very happy to be at the hospital and was very suspicious of everything from blood pressure cuffs to finger heart rate monitors. His favorite was "NO!" But we managed and the drugs they gave him kicked in quickly. Before I knew it he was a noodle. It’s always hard to see your little boy that way yet I just felt peaceful knowing this was a step to an end of the casts. I hated them wheeling him away from me, but I was so thankful at the same time. We are on the ownhill now and I know a miracle has been performed to get us here. We simply could not wear those casts longer. I know that yesterday and last night as Ben slept the Lord was healing Ben. The Lord has watched over us.

Ben has to have his casts on for 4 weeks (I was thinking it’d be 3 so that’s kind of a bummer) but like I said, we're at the end, we have a firm date when they can come off and that feels so good! Ben is home and doing well. And I am grateful.

Excuse the picts. They are from Spencer's phone.

Recent Picts

2011-01-12T20:27:00.000-08:00

First of all, Ben didn't get his surgery due to a runny nose and had to be recasted and the surgery pushed back 2 weeks. Pray he doesn't get sick and we can do this darn surgery, get our last set of casts on and move on. He has done really well but I have also noticed moments of sadness and frustration in his eyes. Jan 25th is our new date for surgery and Feb 14th final casts come off- cross your fingers! And these two pictures are very dear to me. The first one is Ben playing with some Toy Story figures that a very thoughtful friend brought to me the first week Ben was in casts. She brought us dinner which was sweet enough but was also completely inspired to bring Ben a huge gift of Toy Story figures. They were meant for him for sure. I really think the Lord led her and I am so thankful! Ben was able to immerse himself in playing with those figures and just LOVED them- still does- but they were especially meaningful those first few weeks before he learned to get around with his casts on. Thank you Cami! The second picture is of Ben's nursery teacher, Sister Potter. She broke her leg the same week Ben got put in casts and we went to visit her the day after Ben was put in casts. I watched Ben crawl up into her lap, look at her leg, also in a cast, and feel understood and not so alone. I got embarrassingly teary as she took the time to read him stories, give him favorite treats and just dote on him. He SO needed it. In the LDS church sometimes being assigned to work in the nursery with the youngest kids is known as a death sentence. But the nursery leaders in our ward do NOT have that attitude. They really LOVE those children, they know them, care about them and truly LOOK AFTER them and I am SO SO grateful.

We blessed Penny the first Sunday in December

Greg and his girlfriend Kaylee

Bryant and Penny. Parker's lego Dragons he loves to make, Spencer pre-eye corrective surgery, Temple square lights with Grandma and Grandpa AtkinsonThe boys and snow men and ice caves, Ben precasts

Penny 3 1/2 monthes. Her new room with Aunt Angie's bumper pads and Grandma A's redoing the rocking chair to match.

Christmas at the Cleggs, the Polar Express with Grammy and Grandpa Clegg, Gingerbread houses and Christmas loot

Update

2011-01-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update. And i'm too lazy to do pictures. :) Ben is on his second set of casts- these are green and red candy cane striped for Christmas. He has done so much better and even learned to walk on these crazy things. You should see him walk- it's amazing and so funny. On Wednesday- Jan 5th- he'll have a surgery to lengthen his heel cord. It's a simple surgery and should be okay, but it's surgery nonetheless. Then he'll have his last set of casts put on and they'll stay on until Jan 31st. Then we'll be done hopefully (except for our usual brace at night). Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I think we're going to make it. :)

Christmas Casts

2010-12-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

It’s interesting how a days events can dramatically change your future. Penny had a PT appointment today for torticollis (when one side of the neck is tighter than the other so they lean heavily to one side) and for the flattening of her skull. She has mild torticollis and moderate plagiocephaly (flattening of the scull). The Pt was great and gave us some things to do and tons of info. I left feeling armed with the things I needed to help Penny and a resolve to put my efforts into helping her with that. And I went to Ben’s 6 month check up at Shriners for Ben. Little did I know that Penny's issues were nothing compared to what we'd be facing with Ben. Here’s Spencer’s recap on the doctor visit and details there:

Today we had one of Ben’s 6 month check-ups for his Talipes (club feet). We were expecting the usual short routine checkups and to be advised to continue his regular treatment. While the outside of Ben’s feet have shown great progress and have appeared to be normal, today’s x-rays revealed a different story. The bone and muscular orientation in Ben’s feet still shows significant deformation. Ben had both legs casted today (see attached pic) and will have a series of casts followed by surgery (Tenotomy) and another set of casts. This unexpected change has proven to be very difficult (both physically and emotionally) for Ben and our family.

I was totally shocked when the doctor told us he would need casts. I never ever thought we would go back to that. We’ve worn the braces pretty good and I just didn’t think we’d have a problem. My heart sank. We went into the room that was so familiar to me from Ben’s casting when he was younger. I remembered bathing him between casts in the little sink in the corner. This time Penny was on my lap and I was reading Parker a story (we wouldn’t have brought all the kids had we have known this was not going to be the routine visit we thought it would be). Parker picked out the color for the casts since Ben didn’t show a preference. Red of course- Parker’s favorite color. Good for Christmas too. Four of the doctors at Shriners gathered around Ben and begun the casting process. True to form Ben was cooperative and mellow. He wasn’t really sure what was going on and just watched the casts get put on. I knew though and my heart was breaking. This little boy who took SO long to walk now LOVES to walk and run. It brings him so much joy to dance, to move, to wander off away from me. It makes me crazy sometimes but it brings him joy, independence, purpose and I LOVE to watch him move. And these casts were going to take that all away. I knew that and it was breaking my heart. When the casts were finished Ben sat there for a moment and then tried to move his leg. Those things are heavy. He has probably added 10 lbs to his weight because of them and so he couldn’t really move his leg. Ben looked up and Spencer and I and with the sweetest little whimper simply said “off” My heart BROKE. I had to turn around and try to gather my emotions because I was crying so hard. I wasn’t so emotional when he was little. I dealt with it better. But this was different, casts on a 2 year old are so diferent than casts on a 2 week old. We carried Ben out. He wasn’t supposed to put any weight on the casts for awhile. We got something to eat. I took the kids upstairs to the toys at Shriners and luckily Penny slept so I could push Ben around on the bikes and trucks they have there. We had a good time. I had a heavy heart. Ben had a worried look. Parker was just wanting to race in the trucks.

Ben fell asleep in the car on the way home so I put him in his bed when we got home but he didn’t go back to sleep . I really had wanted him to nap. I needed the time to recoop, to think about how we would deal with this, how I would carry two babies, how I would meet the needs of a 2 month old, a 2 year old who can’t walk or move and a 4 year old who is struggling and in need of some attention. But Ben didn’t sleep so I got him up out of the crib. We sat for a minute and then he tried to walk and I lost it. To see him struggle to move, not even being able to crawl was too much for me. To see in his sweet face full of confusion and frustration and yet not anger, was so overwhelmingly emotional to me. I tried to contain my emotion but I couldn’t and before I knew it Parker was beside me giving me a hug. And I held Ben for a long time. He kept looking at me with these sweet eyes like “it’s okay mom, we’re going to be okay” And amidst a very emotional and hard time there was this sense of beauty and peace that I can only attribute to the sweetness of children and the peace of the Lord.

The rest of the afternoon was spent playing with toys on the ground and moving Ben from place to place. Parker shone as he helped his brother, playing toys with him and reading him stories, which made me even more emotional! It’s interesting how our trials teach us, how children teach us. Ben’s attitude is beautiful. He has not thrown fits or seemed too upset. Yes, he is sad he can’t move, but he’s doing his best, he’s giving me smiles and he’s trying. He has this feeling about him that things will be okay and it calms me. I am so sad for my little boy to not be able to run and dance and move, the things that truly bring this little boy so much joy, but I am grateful for what this is teaching me. I am grateful once again for Shriners Hospital and what it does for children. Spending time there is always a lesson in humility and gratitude. I am thankful for a husband who was worthy and ready to give Ben a priesthood blessing right before he was cast. I am grateful for a sweet little girl that Ben can sit next to and play by. I am grateful for my oldest son who is so aware of my feelings and is trying so hard to be good. I am grateful for what God teaches me as a mother. And I am grateful for the beautiful, pure smiles of a little boy in bright red casts.

Angie visits

2010-11-10T19:42:00.001-08:00

Angie came to hang out and help me a couple of weeks ago. It was a dream. We all LOVED having her here. It was a whirlwind 3 1/2 days of fun and meaningful things. The best parts were just time to talk and be together. A couple of days ago Parker said "Remember when Angie came to visit for like 4 days? I miss her. I like her" Well put. She did a little photo shoot of all of us and this is what she came up with. I HATE that I don't have any picts of HER! But I loved the picts she took of our little life. I think it captures it well.

this first picture is actually taken by a good friend of our family, Mike Steele but I had to include it because I love it. Now Angie's picts..

I was gone when she did these of the boys and I was AMAZED she got Parker to smile and actually take pictures- he will never cooperate for me. I found out later she told him she was taking pictures of his dragons, which you see pictured. I love it though because it so captures his obsessions these days. Ben had funny smiles but isn't he beautiful!

Fall 2010

2010-11-09T21:46:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween with kids. Parker was Spiderman, Ben was Robin, Spencer was Batman and I was Catwoman. Penny was a caterpillar. We had a scary movie projecting out from our window that Spencer rigged and it scared all the kids. It was awesome.

Carving pumpkins.

This is the Place Park with grandma, Cailin, the boys, Penny and I. It was super fun.

Gardner Village with Grandma, Bryant, Cailin, the boys, Penny and I.

I love this last picture of Parker - he is pretending to be a dragon which he does often these days.Ben turned 2 on October 14th and we went to Wheeler Farm and had a great time. Ben loves trains these days "choo choo's" so I made him a train cake. Grandma Atkinson was the only one who was able to come and we had a great time with her riding the trains, wagon, doing the corn maze and picking out pumpkins. This little boy is so sweet, the sweetest you will ever know. I love his squinty eye'd smile and how he greets me in the morning.

Scripture time with daddy before bed.

We went on a picnic up in the canyon (Parker's idea). It was one of our first outings with Penny and it was beautiful. So simple and just beautiful. It reminded me that it's the little moments that make our lives. We went to a little spot off the side of the road up Little Cottonwood Canyon and enjoyed PBJ's and tromping in the woods.

Penny at 3 weeks. Baths, brothers loving her and sleeping with daddy during conference. :)

A Big Week

2010-09-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

September 13th Parker turned 4. We had a big Dragon party themed after the new movie- "How to train your Dragon." Parker has of late been obsessed with dragons. It was a childs dream- well Parkers atleast- pizza, friends, a huge blow up waterslide (borrowed from my uncle), 2 jeeps to ride (that Spencer was up many nights fixing), candy, presents, cake and ice cream, music (Spencer set up his dj get up), and games. About everyone we invited came and we had quite a few random neighbors and siblings show up once word got out we had a waterslide bouncy house, so it was slightly chaotic with 20+ kids but super fun too.

I love this pic of Ben

I made a dragon cake that turned out pretty good :)

3 days later on September 16th, our little girl was born! She came a week and a half early but was a healthy 7 lbs 11 ounces and 20 inches long. We are naming her Penny Elizabeth (after my mom and I - we both have the middle name E;izabeth) Spencer works as hard during labor as I do- I love this man.

My mom was there the whole time and I loved her being there.

She's a great baby- by far our best eater and sleeper and just so sweet.

Parker and Ben adore her. Parker is really cute with "our little girl" and really knows how to be gentle and sweet with her. Ben LOVES her and cries to hold her but doesn't quite know how to be gentle. Parker's adjusted really well. But I can see Ben sort of questioning where he fits in now. He's more clingy and whiney. It breaks my heart but I know we'll adjust. Both boys are growing up! Parker's first week of preschool was this week- I cried when I dropped him off- such a mom! And Ben is no longer our baby. I rocked him the other night and cried again! He has been our sweet little boy and now he's our older brother. It's emotional to me. But it's wonderful too. Penny brings such a sweet spirit to our home, these kids are sent from heaven. I feel so thankful.

The week ended with my birthday on September 19th which was somewhat uneventful with a new baby. But Parker wrapped a bunch of his toys to give to me and Spencer took me out and that's all I need. So now we have 3 birthdays in a week in our family (not to mention my sister in laws that same week). Guess it's ALWAYS going to be a busy week for us. :)

End of Summer/Disneyland

2010-08-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Disneyland/California Adventure with my family. Parker loved it- though he was scared of some of the rides. He loved the rollercoasters but hated dark tunnels and real like monsters. Ben loved everything. Spencer and I stayed late with Parker one night and had a great time going on as many rides as we could, seeing the fireworks, and spending time with our favorite 3 1/2 year old. I had fun even being pregnant. There were lots of rides I was still able to go on!

This picture is for those of you who wanted to see a pregnant belly. :)

typical break- everyone on their phones. My fam was awesome though- so helpful and I really just loved being with them. KC and Sadie and Angie and Ajay and Cailin were the only ones not there.

Ben loved discovering and the petting zoo. :)

California Adventure before Spencer came. I loved it there- especially the new Toy Story ride. We went on it twice despite the wait in line and Parker chose a buzz lightyear gun for his souvenier. :)

On Sunday we went to Venice Beach before we left to go home. The boys LOVE having their picture taken these days.

Parker at the LA temple.

For the 24th of July we got to hang out with Spencer's two sisters, Lisa and Jeanette and their kids. Both were in town for the holidays. We went to the parade, took them rockclimbing and lit fireworks. Good times.

Kids hanging out while waiting their turn to rock climb. Parker is finally starting to really do it. It's fun!

The parade. Hot and fun.

Spencer ran the Burley, Idaho Spudman Triathlon with our good friend Ben Jenson. He did great and we had fun cheering him on.

I love this pic of Parker. At a community outdoor openair cinema night. Just captures his cuteness. And the car seat pictures have been common occurances these days in all our roadtrips. We thought Ben was hilarious with his hands behind his head.

Wheeler Park with my mom, Bry and Cailin. Ben fell in the canal and got super super muddy so he had to go naked. :)

Summer is almost over and I'm so sad. I have 5 weeks left of pregnancy. Done being pregnant but not really sure I'm ready for another. If you don't hear from us for quite awhile you'll know why! :)

Update

2010-07-21T20:38:00.001-07:00

Well as you can tell we have been very busy this summer. I seriously need a vacation from our vacations! But it's been fun too.
The boys and I started it off with a trip to Arizona to see Tasha and Josh and kids. I was nervous about going on the long road trip alone but amazingly it turned out to be one of the best trips ever. I LOVED time alone in the car with my boys and we had some fun stops- Jana in Vegas, Hoover Dam, Navajo bridge, Zion's with Sierra and Art on the way home. It was great.

And AZ was awesome. Parker LOVES Asher and they had fun. I loved being with Tasha and Josh.

We had a hot dog roast, swam, ate great food, shopped and had a lot of fun.

We once again ran the Wasatch Back, due to my large belly I drove a van instead of running- Greg took my place. Though I did run one short, easy, 3 mile leg. That was my last time running for this pregnancy though. :) We had a great and crazy time- I was delirous and very grumpy at the end because of lack of sleep. Spencer ran some great runs and I LOVED being in a van for over 24 hours with people I don't get enough of. Team: Van 2: KC and Sadie Atkinson, Angie Whittemore, Jana Went, Janae Rivera, Greg Atkinson Van 1: Sierra Brown, Scott Atkinson, Doug Clegg, Spencer Clegg, Sara Clegg, Jon Marshall.

This is not our team :) And believe it or not, we saw a guy running in less than this. 2am run. Black g string. I laughed forever.

Pre- Ragnar bbq at our new house on the new deck I LOVE. I got to spend a little time with two of my favorite people in the world this summer- Angie and Sierra (and fam).

Wish we lived closer to these boys (Sierra's kids- the boys are all like peas in a pod)

Since I married my HS sweetheart, I don't think I'll ever get away from Timpview (which is fine with me, I'm not complaining about going to Bear Lake for the weekend with some awesome people). We're friends with about 10 couples that almost all married Timpview people. We spent the weekend in Bear Lake with them and had a great time. Ben & Lori Jenson, Jeremy & Angie Wright, Rob & Nina Cary, Dave & Melissa Krantz, and Hannah Ryan, Rachel Ligairi and Sharon Rowan flying solo

I love the 4th of July in Provo and I think it's been three years since I was in Provo for that 4th so I insisted we go this year. We still missed the parade due to Spencer's family reunion but next year!

My grandfather, Chic Atkinson was honored at the awards gala for serving in the war with 4 other brother in laws (Henderson's, my grandma's brothers). So we went. It was really cool to learn more about my Atkinson/Henderson heritage. Here we are with my lovely grandma.

I love summer hair cuts!

I love my brother in law, Perry, and am so happy he married someone I love even more! (can I say that?!?) :) Perry and Sara Clegg

We had an Esplin family reunion (my mom's side) in Orderville and learned all about my Esplin heritage which was cool. Parker loved the four wheelers and camping, Ben loved the girls (my youngest cousins) who adored him and I loved being with my two sisters and my mom.

Clegg family reunion. Before I married Spencer I think I'd been to Idaho twice- by the end of the summer we will have gone 6 times! But they are all fun and worth it.. this time we went for a Clegg family reunion.

These two pictures SO characterize Ben these days. He FINALLY (at almost 20 months) learned to walk and he will NOT sit still now. I seriously follow him around all day long- I think I talked to 5 people that whole reunion. He also is OBSESSED with animals. And those boys love to wrestle as also pictured!

We had fun fishing, camping, going on a HUGE waterslide, making crafts and being with cousins. Ben and Parker are the youngest on the Clegg side. Ben eats up the attention. Parker tries to get in with his older cousins and loves to pester his girl cousins.

Beyond the bigger trips we've just had fun this summer...camping (pictured here in Crawdad Canyon, an awesome rock climbing canyon). I swam at the pool with the boys while Spencer and the Conner's rock climbed- I've got to stop being pregnant in the summers!

...Hiking and blowing dandelions...

..Throwing tantrums :) And spending time with friends (here at Thanksgiving point)...

..Going to the skatepark near our house during "elementary school hours"..

...hanging out at Cottonwood Heights rec center swimming and taking lessons...

...and eating lots of popsicles in the afternoon and cereal in the morning.

Our baby GIRL is due September 26th so we're nearing the end which my body is grateful for but I'm NERVOUS about three! Wish us luck!

More News

2010-03-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

So we are having baby #3! I am due September 26th- a very busy month for us already with Ben, Parker and my birthdays and Spencer and my anniversary (not to mention TONS of extended family's birthdays and anniversaries). Oh well, guess we'll all be celebrating together! I'm coming out of the crappy can't eat anything but have to eat somethign phase and the being tired 24-7- though it is still lingering. Guess it's time we got into that house! :)

And here's a few updates-
This picture of Parker cracks me up every time. Parker is scared of the dark so he sleeps with a "wand" or "lawn-d" as he calls it despite our trying to correct him. It's usually this huge pencil stick we cut off the end to but sometimes he chooses other objects. This time it was a 2x4 apparantly. At least he'll be safe!

Big Parker.

Sweet Ben

We took the boys snowshoeing a couple weeks ago. Parker was stoked about it until we got out in the snow- he always wants to be carried in that back pack and we have finally told him he's too old. So he's walking now. We didn't go far but it was fun anyway. And he always likes it in retrospect. I'm glad we do it despite the tantrums. Last time we went snowboarding with him (last week) he didn't even complain about his boots! Finally!

The first weekend in March we did a half marathon in Las Vegas. It was a tough one- lots of hills so I was especially proud of the three first timers we ran with. L-R: Sara Thomas (Spencer's brother Perry's girlfriend), me, my dad (first timer, did great), Spencer, Jana (first timer- also did awesome) and Sadie (first timer and rocked us all!). It was a fun weekend.

Ben in the hotel room with Grandma watching on.

Spencer and I and Jana (my cousin) who ran her first- good job!

Our First House

2010-03-01T19:25:00.001-08:00

Spencer and I just bought our first house. It is in Cottonwood Heights/Sandy area. We close March 29th and will move in shortly after. We're stoked and I can't wait for the backyard! But we are going to miss our little apartment a lot actually. I actually started to cry one night thinking about leaving because of all the memories this place contains for me- having our first child, Spencer in school and finally graduating, church callings, managing apartments, our second child, running everywhere with a huge stroller, going to the library, playgroups, parks, the zoo, our amazing ward and great neighborhood. So ironically, leaving is sad for me in so many ways. I have loved being poor (not that we'll be rich now!) and living in this small aparment- in close quarters where I can hear my boys everywhere I go. And I am so grateful for the opportunity we've had to manage this place and make it through school.

But what can I say, we're excited too. We'll let you know when the big house warming party is! :)

California

2010-03-01T14:50:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago the boys and I took a trip to California for a couple different reasons. The first was to hang out with two best friends from high school (and college and beyond)- Megan and Summer and kids. It was awesome. Meg lives in Paso Robles and Summer and I left Monday morning and drove the entire 14 hours to get to her house. The boys did awesome! Megan, Summer and I. We used to call ourselves the "MES"- and some people thought that was appropriate- mostly our parents. How I love these girls.

The boys all asleep in the back of the van on the way there. They seriously did so well.

The kids had tons of fun together. Parker was in heaven with all of Dallin's (Megan's-6) toys. William (Summer's-3) and Parker shared really well and said the funniest things to each other (their final days were full of "I'm in charge of you" "no, I'm in chare of YOU!" "NO, I'M in charge of YOU!"). Dallin (Megan's-6) was a great host and leader. Marin (Megan's-6) played with ALL boys very well and Ben tagged along quite nicely. Pierce and Mayzie were great little babies.

We had a lot of fun going to parks, candy stores, the beach, In n Out, and just hanging out at the house. Megan lives in a beautiful part of California and I wish I could live next door.

The second part of the trip was spent in Santa Cruz with Angie and Ajay. Summer drove up with me and spent a day hanging out in Santa Cruz on the pier and then left the next morning to go to AZ. I stayed with Angie and Ajay and my mom who flew in and met us. The occasion turned out to be a bit different than anticipated. Angie and Ajay were going to be adopting a baby there in California. They spent a week with a little angel they named "Belen" before the birth mother changed her mind and decided to keep the baby instead. Needless to say it was emotional and very hard for all of us, Angie and Ajay of course above all. But they handled it with more love, understanding and charity than I will ever see displayed in my life and are an absolute inspiration to me. I am grateful to have been there- to have been touched by their examples. I am unsure why this trial continues for them- I feel like they have already lived through the death of two children, one when they were told they would probably never have their own, and one when they willingly, though heartbrokenly, handed over a baby they had prepared to parent with all their hearts. But I know the Lord has a plan for them and someday we'll all look back with understanding.

Angie and Ajay stayed with Justin and Syliva McCleod (friends of Ajay's from college and a friend of mine from college too- one of those small world things) and Justin's sister and husband and fam. They were awesome friends, hosts and support system. They took us to visit some redwoods and Parker loved climbing around in them.

He also of course loved the train yard we had to pass through to get there.

I love this girl. God really gave us each other. She teaches me so much.

COSTA RICA!

2010-01-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

I am at the end of a trip of a lifetime. I just got to spend an entire week in the sun with my best friend of all time- my sister (she and Spencer of course). It is late and we are leaving at 6am tomorrow to try to make it to church before we have to catch the plane home but I know I'll be catching up with my little boys so I'm trying to post a few picts before we leave. I'd also like to try and make these pictures do justice to the beauty of this place with a little photoshop or something, but once again, I know how time will be when I get home so I just thought I'd say a few things about this week. It was heaven.

The first thing Angie wanted to do is head to the beach- I love the way you feel her energy rise as we near the coast. We spent 4 glorious days in the sun, surfing in the morning and in the evening- two days in Tamarindo and two in Playa Avellanas. Awesome. the waves were perfect, the sunset amazing and my sis is an incredible surfer these days. I remember Hawaii and the beginnings of surfing. I am still there but now I watch her and am amazed. She charges. I love it. Someday I'll be half as good.

Drinking fruit juices, yummy!

We stayed in such a cool hostal in Playa Avellenas- we slept in treehouses! This dog followed me on my morning run and though I usually hate when dogs follow me, this guy was super sweet and kind of protective. I love hostals. I love the energy and meeting all the travelers. The Pot picture is self explanatory

After the coast we made the much-longer- than-expected trek to La Fortuna and spent three days in the jungle.

Did the canopy tour- this one was awesome. AMAZING views, huge cables, AWESOME. I tried to load a video I had of it but it wouldn't load. Sorry. We had the coolest views of the volcano, the huge lake and the forest below.

We checked out the volcano and saw lava

We went to a hot tub heaven- I have to bring Spencer back for this one. It was heavenly. And Angie and I laughed for 20 minutes straight about this waterslide that...oh I won't ruin it for you, it is just funny and very unexpected. I haven't laughed like that in I don't know how long. We were choking on the water we were laughing so hard.

Saw beautiful waterfalls- and yes we are wearing zebra and tiger print in the jungle. :) Ate amazing food, stayed in a cute little cabin in the rainforest, got to know such cool, sweet people and loved the beauty of the rainforest.

It has been amazing. More than anything I have loved a week of uninterrupted talking time with my sister. She understands me better than I understand myself. She is such a gift to me. I am so excited for the next phase in life she is entering. She will be a wonderful mom. And I am so so grateful to my wonderful husband who would so willingly, without batting an eye, encouraged me to go on this trip while he held down the chaos at home. I owe him big time.

Christmas

2010-01-17T21:48:00.001-08:00

We had a great Christmas. Parker was ALL about Santa this year and loved to play "Santa"- He would knock on the door and ask me to call him Santa. "Oh Hi Santa, come on in!" We had a nice tree and just a wonderful season. We always have our own little Christmas a few days before we go to the family's house- this is when Santa came and brought the boys a BIG HUGE Truck. They were stoked.
Here is Parker playing on it with some of his friends.
This thing is WAY too big for our apartment and has made me want to look for houses more actively. :)

This is how santa transported it from Pleasant Grove, where he bought it, to our home in Salt Lake.
Here are Ben and Parker on Christmas day. You should see Parker drive- he looks behind him when they reverse and everything- how do they know how to do that!

We also went sledding and had a great time. Parker liked it but was even more into playing with his trucks in the snow. Ben had fun but can't move in his snowsuit. :)

We had Christmas with my family this year. Angie and Ajay came and the whole fam was together. I loved it.

We went snowboarding at Snowbird, had dinner with friends, went to temple square and had family parties.
Our Ward Christmas party. Parker loved talkingn to Santa. Ben was a little scared but loved the candy and as usual tried to steal Parker's. Parker cried when we had to leave the train.

We made a snowman. I love this picture of Parker. So classic. :)

Catch up

2010-01-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Been awhile. In an airport with no kids on the way to Costa Rica with Angie (more on that later I'm sure) and using the time to finally catch up. I love this pic of Parker. He spent three days perfecting the art of domino building fences around his cars. So cute

This is Spencer "putting Parker down for a nap." :) I used to always hear stories of Spencer's dad trying to put him down for a nap and Spencer waiting til his dad fell asleep to escape and play. Glad history is repeating itself. :)

More domino building
Ben asleep in his high chair

Parker hiding in the cubbards.
Ben learning to open doors and smiling.
My parents and us at the top of Snowbird for a September birthday celebration. So pretty.

Back in November we went to the Thanksgiving point pumpkin festival with the Cary's and had so much fun. Parker loves Alli. I think she's his first crush. Parker and Ben rode tractors, bounced on a big baloon, Parker got his face painted and Ben wore my coat because it was freezing!

Camping and Hot Pots

2009-11-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

Spencer and I took our annual camping trip up to the Brighton Lakes in September. It was awhile ago but I wanted to blog about it because we loved it. The plan was for PArker to walk and Ben to be carried in the backpack but Parker insisted on being in the backpack and since Spencer already had ALL our gear in his backpack and we didn't have enough time to switch things around, I ended up carrying BOTH kids, the tent, water and a couple pads. I seriously think it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. We moved things around on the way back and it was MUCH better. I got a good workout, that's for sure.

We love it up at Lake Katherine. It's so beautiful.

Parker loves camping.

The morning was rainy so we hung out in the tent for a long time. It's was kind of fun to cozy.

Ben was sad. Such a cute little sad face.

In September we also hiked up to the Diamond Fork hotpots with Greg, Grandpa and Grandma. It was a great time.

Fall Celebrations

2009-11-21T22:44:00.000-08:00

We have a lot to celebrate in the Fall with Parker and my birthday in September and Ben's birthday and Spencer and my anniversary in October. So yes, I'm still catching up.

Spencer and I took a trip to St. George for our anniversary. We spent the time rock climbing in Snow canyon and loved it (though the climbs were a little tough for me). It was so nice to be with Spencer. Our 5 year (married- but like 13 since we first kissed). How lucky I am that it worked out, he is my dream come true. There was a time in my life I let go of "us" and thought I had to move on with my life. I'm so glad God brought us back together. Anyone who ever knew me (including other guys I dated :)) knew he was my one true love. :)

Ben celebrated his one year birthday. He didn't eat much cake- only played in it- and was sort of put off by all the attention, but he LOVED his new toys. :) Ben is the best cuddler, has the cutest smile and is a stranger stopper- everyone always has to stop and comment on how cute he is. Can't believe he's one!

We had a party for Parker at Chuck E. Cheese. He loved it, especially all the presents and going on the rides over and over again. Spencer probably put 30 coins in that merry go round until he discovered all of Parker's friends were doing other things and he was giving random kids free rides. :) It was a great 3 year old birthday.

Parker is a chatter. He talks all the time and wears me with his never ending conversations, but I absolutly love it. He says the greatest things and nothing gets passed him. He's incredibly smart and has an amazing memory. He is full of energy and passions and life and I would not be the same without him.

Weddings

2009-11-10T14:48:00.001-08:00

After our summer in Hawaii we had a couple weddings I never blogged about that I wanted to. We came home from Hawaii on a Saturday and that Wednesday my brother Kc was married (see below). Then that weekend Spencer's sister Minette got re-married. Both weddings were awesome. Minette remarried an awesome guy and added four cute kids to her family- totalling 7! It was a beautiful wedding- really touching- for two people who definitely deserve the best.

This is Ben and his cute cousin Mason, who was here visiting. They are about 6 weeks apart- can you tell- as they are both doing the exact same thing- putting the balls in their mouths. :)

KC and Sadie were married in the Manti temple in August. It was a beautiful wedding, a super fun ceremony and I love my new sis in law! All my siblings (minus 2) were there to witness the sealing and KC recieving his endowment. It was a beautiful experience and really made me cry. It's a day I've hoped for for a long time. And sooner than later all of us will be together in the temple. I love the temple and all it represents of the Savior and being together forever as a family.

I love this pic of Sadie. So her. She is of course gorgeous and KC looked awesome.

The bros

Ajay and Angie stopped in Utah on the way home from Hawaii for the wedding. Always love them being here.

Ben and daddy at the reception- dancing the night away! :)

Happy Halloween from the Ghost Family

2009-11-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Check out Parker's scary ghost face. So him these days. He LOVES to be anything that growls, howls or scares.

Hiking Maunawilie's- a tribute to my mother

2009-10-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write about an experience I had in Hawaii hiking Maunawillie's-Maunawillie's was muddy and Parker was super slow and struggling. I've realized that hikes beyond about a mile and a half are too much for this little guy. Spencer and I were frustrated, the mud was bad and my shoes weren't working well so I took them off. Parker then decided he wanted to go barefoot too. When we told him he couldn't, he threw a fit and we were at a standstill. It was a frustrating moment. I was frustrated that we were so slow, that Angie and Ajay were so far ahead of us, and that we were taking so freaking long. I had really wanted to hike Maunawillie's, it was one of the things I really had wanted to do and I was just frustrated that it wasn't working out. Finally we decided to have Spencer (who had never been there) take Ben ahead and finish the hike while Parker and I played in the stream below. It was a hard but growing thing for me, giving up something I wanted to do for my child. That still doesn't come as naturally to me as I always hope.

And I thought about my mom. I have thought about my mom a lot on this trip, recognizing her sacrifices and thinking about who she is, what she has given. After a few groups of people passed me and smiled sympathetically, I realized what I looked like. I was covered with mud from carrying Parker- from his muddy bum on my shoulders, my hair was a mess from lifting him over my head over and over again, my clothes were frumpy and I had on these old nasty, dirty reef booties. I looked the sight. I was also going about 1 mile an hour. And I thought about my mom. We always tease her for being such a slow hiker. We laugh at the story of her coming off the Na Pali coast looking like a homeless person, carrying her belongings in a garbage bag because her backpack rolled off the edge, covered in mud and wearing old tattered pajamas. And now here I was, THAT mom. I realized though in those moments, a few things I never completely understood before. I used to wonder why my mom was such a slow hiker, why her clothes didn't quite fit the fashion, and why she didn't seem to have much to show for herself. But now I know. Now I understand. As I become THAT mom, the muddy, slow one you smile at as you hike by, I realize she hikes slow because she got used to helping little feet climb over the rocks, learning patience to wait for little legs to come at their own pace. As I realize more and more how void of fashion I am, how I'm so "old school" (and not in a good way), I realize my mom doesn't know the trends because she was too busy clothing her children and getting dinner on the table. As I have less and less to "show" for myself, no glamours trips or big promotions, I realize my mom isn't always going places and doing huge amazing things because she has given all of that to her children. She has given her life. But I also see that in that giving, she has become something incredible in return. I watched my mom at the luau, when she got up to say a few things. I thought she looked so beautiful. Tan. Simple. Her moomoo on. Her sweet testimony penetrated my heart and her eyes sparkled. She has become something much more beautiful than anything I used to think was beautiful, because she has given. As I hung back with Parker, the frustration melted away and I realized letting go of “getting there” was really beautiful. Parker and I were able to find a passion fruit in the middle of the trail that all the other hikers trying to get to their destination missed. We put our feet in the river and the fish nibbled our toes. We found bamboo and walking sticks and learned how to cross streams on the big rocks. And I loved it. I didn't even miss going to Maunawillie's. Andy maybe just maybe I am starting to be a little bit like my mother, I hope so.

2009-09-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted in a long time and since we took a month long trip to Hawaii this summer, be prepared for LOTS of pictures. My mom grew up for part of her life in Hawaii - my grandfather taught at BYU-Hawaii, or what was then CCH, so every five years we have a huge reunion over there. This summer there were about 60 of us over there. We all rent houses and hang out for anywhere from a week to 2 months. And lest you think that this is extravagant, keep in mind that we also live on pbj's and powdered milk, well okay we didn't do powdered milk this year, but we have plenty of other times! It's awesome though. We look forward to it for those 5 years in between. This was Spencer's first "Esplin Hawaii trip", my first time being a mom there and of course Parker and Ben's first time in Hawaii, so lots of firsts! The boys and I were there for a month and Spencer came for 2 weeks.

The whole fam- everyone but Mindy and Cailin

The boys- my dad, Spencer, Bros KC, Greg, Bryant and Ajay

The girls-my mom, Angie, me, Haylee and Sadie- kc's fiance at this point (they were married a week after we got home)

I loved being with my family. We all stayed in one big houseand I seriously loved being with all of them. There were crazy times, but that's what makes it interesting!

Kc and Sadie

The parents who made it all possible. How I love them both. Aren't they beautiful?

Angie and Ajay

The kids and spouses

Bryant, Angie and Greg

Sandy Beach. I loved being in Hawaii with Spencer. Five years ago when I was there he was just coming home from his mission. In fact, I came home a little early so that I could be there when he got home. I was so freaking nervous. So being in Hawaii with him reminded me of that and made me glad he was with me this time!

Turtle Bay. I love this girl- she is the surf queen and totally got us going. We went out a few times before she got there but when Angie came it was every day. It was awesome. I LOVE dawn patrol with her- talking until a set comes in and then picking up right where we left off once we're both out in the lineup again.

KC helping Parker attempt to touch the turtles at Turtle Bay. He was so cute with Parker and is seriously such a caring brother and uncle. I loved seeing him with Sadie. They are perfect for each other.

Sadie picked up (and fell in love with) surfing like no other. And Ajay was awesome.

Bry, Sadie and Ang checking out the surf.

Sunset- Bry, mom, and Hay.
We went and found the "Others" bunkers from LOST. We loved it.

Then we went and skated Sunset Beach skatepark. Parker loved it. Here's the fam all on skateboards. :)

Ang doing her thing-loving it.

Parker's not bad eh?

We spent a couple of days in "town" towards the end of our trip. I've been kind of a north shore snob but those few days in town were super fun. Angie and Ajay watched the boys while Spencer and I surfed Waikiki. It was great.

Pearl Harbor

HIKES: I love hiking in Hawaii- so many cool places to go. Parker was a great little hiker and Ben LOVES his front pack. I tallied Parker's hikes for the summer and he had TEN- 6 of them in Hawaii. We did have to carry him on our shoulders sometimes-which was hard when Spencer wasn't there and I was carrying BOTH kids but really he did great. Here we are at the rope swing after hiking Kahana Valley

Diamond Head

Maunawillies

Jack Ass Ginger Pools

Spencer on the natural slide. He was awesome on it.

Ted's bakery. Parker loved it obviously.

Waimea Bay

Angie and Ben. So cute

Stairway to Heaven. This is a crazy hike on a ladder up the side of a huge huge mountain. I did it when I was at BYUH and rememberred too late that I had decided to not ever do it again. :) Because it's technically "closed" you have to do it in the early morning hours to avoid the guards, though I hear they really don't care if you do it. So we got up at 4am to hike it and at one point htought we were being chased by the guards. So funny..anyway, I was scared for my life for half of it- the heights thing really came to a head on that ladder. Some people aren't that sccared- for instance Spencer and Angie were fine but Ajay and I were terrified. It was awesome though, an incredibly hike for sure.

Matsumoto's Shaved Ice

Lighthouse hike and tidepools

We have lots of hot dog roasts with extended family at Kakela. We have devotionals and FHE lessons. My aunts do the dances they learned as children and we "talk story." In so many ways these moments are what taught me about Christ and life and the gospel when I was younger. I am so grateful for my aunts and uncles and cousins who have been such great examples to me. And I am so glad I get to pass this on to my boys- like their matching rash guards?

Angie, Jana and I. Once long ago we were roomates. Seems like yesterday. I loved being in Hawaii with Jana, as we have so many years throughout our lives.

The Pali lookout- always really windy but super pretty.

Asher (Tasha's boy) and Parker. These two LOVE each other and I love it because i LOVE tasha! When they see each other they get these mischenious smiles and just go nuts. It can be a little intense but it's awesome.

Pupekea (aka Shark's Cove). A great place to snorkle or scub dive. Spencer and I had a fun scuba dive with my uncle Don there.

Ask Parker who his favorite uncle is and he says "Greg" (and then gets a treat from Greg on the side). But seriously he is an awesome uncle, and brother and friend.

True to form Ben was super smiley and so cute. He loved the sand - ate it all the time.

Parker was my big boy- learning to play in the waves, build sandcastles, pull in the nets from the Hukilau, dance the hula, bury people in the sand and do all kinds of things. It was so fun.

My beautiful mother

My Aunt Jill and Ben

Greg. How I love this boy. He was my "husband" when Spencer was still in Utah. He was so helpful and I seriously just love his company. I am so amazed by him- he'll make some lucky girl very happy someday.

The Hukilau- we helped pull the nets in and Parker got to see the fish the nets caught. When my grandfather was at BYUH, this is how the students made money to go to school- doing a Hukilau for tourists. Eventually it turned into what we know as the PCC, but once in awhile they'll do a real Hukilau and in celebration of Laie Days they did one while we were there.

We always get Esplin Hawaii shirts to remember our year there. Here we are in our shirts.

The aunts dancing

All 70 or whatever of us.

The cousins (all grandchildren of Ross and Olive Esplin) -oldest to youngest, with a bunch missing.

Parker was a little tired. :)

Ben and Brinley Stringam

Jana and Kellen

Waimea Falls

Luau. Some good friends of my aunts and mom put on a legit luau for us and taught us all how to make Hawaiin hats.

Grandpa and Ben. My dad didn't get to come for long but he made sure that the family had a wonderful time even though he was home working. He's so giving.

Ajay and I in our hats.

We had a cousins dinner at Cholo's. It was fun to be with everyone.

We had weekly Sunday "devotionals" with all the extended family. This is during our devotional about temples and family.

The lovebirds surfing.

Paddling out with KC

Las Vegas and the 4th

2009-07-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

We spent the 4th in Eden with Spencer's family. They have a fun little parade. Parker was terrified last year by all the loud noises. But this year he got the hang of grabbing the candy that gets thrown and he LOVED it! :)

After the parade we went to the little carnival they have there with Uncle Perry and cousin Breyden

Parker got to bounce on the bouncy slides and won his first pet- a little frog!

That night we lit off our own fireworks outside on the street. Parker loved it half of the time and hid in the van for the other half of the time. :)

Afterwards our own fireworks we watched the Wolf Creek fireworks from the balcony. It was a great fourth of July!

Grandpa, grandma and Aunt Camille enjoying the show.

We also went to Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago for our good friends Allan and Rachel's wedding. It was really nice. We also stayed with my cousin's Jana and Joe and their cute family. I loved spending time with them. Playing in the hot Vegas sun.

Love the Vegas fountains

Parker and his 2nd cousin- Livy Went

Ben and his second cousin- Kellen Went

The kids: Parker and Ben. Zoey, Livy and Kellen Went. It was so fun to be there with them. Parker terrorized the girls and the two little boys had fun interacting. The adults went out and had good conversations. Jana's father, my uncle, passed away the week before we got there. It was good to talk to Jana about him and life in general. With his passing I realize all the more what is most important in life. He was a simple, genuine man and left a beautiful legacy.

Allan and Rachel Enlow.

Parker did pretty good considering we had just driven for hours and hours in the car and he was supposed to sit quietly at a restaurant but finally we had to get out the laptop and let him watch CARS. Afterwhich we hardly heard from him. :)

Allan, Rachel and their little girl, Gracie. The happy married family.

Summer Times

2009-07-12T19:53:00.000-07:00

We love summer and it's been especially fun this summer as Spencer is no longer stressing on school and can come home and BE home after work; Parker is at an age where everything is new, fun and a great discovery, I'm not pregnant! And Ben is an easy, happy baby. We've had lots of fun adventures. Here we are at the Bees Game- Parker loved the train of course!

Ben is such a cutie

Game, What game? Parker just wanted to run up and down the hills.

We have been having playgroups with some of the women in our neighborhood and ward. We love it. Gateway Fountains, Fishing at Silver Lake, Hike the Ensign Peak. etc.

Parker and his cute friend Gio at the Gateway Fountains

Ben eating a cracker in the sun.

Some of the women we go with- Mel Bullock, Sam Smoot (Leslie's Son), Leslie (the RS president in our ward who I work under) and Melisa Steele (Gio, Parker's good friend's mom)

petting a snake at the zoo.

My good friend Lindsay and her two little boys. They just moved to Oregon and we are going to miss them so much!

Parker with kids from the ward playing pooh sticks at Silver Lake.

More sticks in the water.

Ensign Peak with Lindsay, Eli, Gio, me and the babies.

Top of Ensign Peak- the three little amiogos. These boys have been so fun to play with- Gio, Eli and Parker. Best Buds. Parker's hair really wasn't that high- it was super windy!

More rockclimbing! We actually got Parker up at the gym. He was scared but he tried it out.

Our little smiler.

Parker's messy face after climbing- love it.

Good friends Donny and Leanne came out from Minnesota and we got to hang out with them and climb. It was super fun to catch up. We love these guys.

Ragnar Relay

2009-07-12T19:24:00.001-07:00

Spencer and I, along with a lot of my family ran the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay race this year. It's 198 miles from Logan to Park City. You basically live in and out of a van for a day and a half. Running 3 legs of anywhere from 3-9 miles anytime of day. I ran a 3 mile in the late afternoon, a 9 mile at 3am and a 3.5 mile straight up hill (1700 foot gain) of which I ran the whole thing and was pretty proud of myself. Slow, yes, but I ran it. It was great. The start of the Ragnar hill- everyone laughing because this is the hill I had dreaded. :)

Jon (my cousin) and I both ran half of the Ragnar hill and Spencer ran down the other side. We rocked it! :)

My good old dad ran the race- his last leg was in a horrible rain storm, poor guy. He did awesome though.

Jeni, Brittany and Ashley, my cousins who ran with us.

Spencer had tough runs and he did awesome.

Right after my 3am, 9 mile run. I loved it actually. A huge moon, run around the lake, good music, great weather. It was perfect. Good times.

Thank you

2009-06-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

Our bishopric was just released and for FHE last night we made a thank you video for them. I watched it and thought it was hilarious for some reason (just watch Parker sing!) so I thought I'd share..

Rock Climbing and Skate Boarding

2009-06-10T13:25:00.001-07:00

Since it's my summer off (not pregnant) we're trying to take advantage and we've been trying to get out and go hiking or rock climbing a couple times a week. It's been great. I still am a wuss rock climbing but I'm getting the hang of it better and Spencer finally trusts me to belay. We went with our friends Liz and Brett this week and these are some picts she took.

Brett and Liz. Liz held Ben and even fed him messy Graham crackers while I climbed. He obviously loved it. She's pregnant and going to be a great mom!

Parker's got the Clegg tongue- always out!

And skate boarding- no pictures of this one but Friday afternoon after Spencer came home, we went to the skate park with Parker and Ben. It was one of those “where is my camera” moments watching Parker and Spencer walk skateboards in hand toward the park. I stayed in the car with a sleeping little Ben until he woke up and then I joined them. Parker was red faced from working hard and he was loving it. Spencer was taking him in the pool to avoid the crowd. I got down and did a little skating too- I'm so rusty and felt self conscious being #1 old and #2 a girl. But I loved doing it all the same and there was a minute where it flowed and I remembered how fun it is. Then the bad part- I was trying to get Parker out of the bowl- I had to run and try and lift him up. Right as Spencer warned not to hit his head, it happened. Slow motion. Oh it was a horrible feeling. His face came down and hit the coping. Smack. Oh I was dying. Afraid to look..I checked and his face was okay -”check his teeth, are they there?” Spencer yelled. All there. But his chin- a big huge gash on his chin. Parker was bawling, though I was still impressed with how brave he was. He really was very brave. It looked so horrible. So we spent the next 5 hours (no exaggeration) in the emergency room of Primary Children's. It was jam- packed and smelled like throw-up. No fun at all. But we made it out eventually with 7 stitches. Parker's second set and he's not even three. My fault though. I seriously felt terrible and was so bugged with myself. Looks like we're going to have to buy some helmets and pads- and maybe I'll need Daddy to help him out of the bowls.

Lava Hot Springs

2009-05-30T16:02:00.001-07:00

Since our last trip to Lava Hot Springs was interuppted with an early delivery of our little Ben we decided to make another trip- this time with the whole fam. We met Tasha and Josh there (it's a great meeting place between Rexburg-where they are living right now and SLC) and Ben and Lori Jenson. We rented a little house on Main street and experienced Lava at it's fullest-

We rafted the river, watched the motorcycle rally, ate at the gas-station-converted Thai restaurant, sat in the hot pots, and ate great ice cream. Parker and Asher were their crazy selves when together and Brandon, Parker, Bridger and Ben got along great. It was a fun time.

Thomas the Train

2009-05-30T15:48:00.001-07:00

Thomas came to Heber Valley Railroad and Grandma was nice enough to take us all. Parker was in HEAVEN. He seriously could have stayed there all day long.

We rode Thomas, got our faces tatooed, took pictures, played with all kinds of trains and had a great time. Cailin and Ben had fun together and are really interacting cute and Parker is SUCH a sweet older cousin/brother. He really takes care of them. I enjoyed being with Mindy and always love talking to her. She had a nice shiner from being hit in the face with a softball. A week later she found out the bone in her face had actually BROKEN and has to have extensive dental work done. She is one tough chick. She didn't even act like anything was wrong and has been running 18+ miles with a broken face. It was a great day at Thomas- thanks Grandma!

Summer Fun

2009-05-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

I love the summer, especially now that Parker is old enough to want to go on adventures with me. We've been hiking a lot and going up in the canyon and he LOVES it. Ben does too. Here we are on a hike up to the "H" by us. We also did a hike up to the "living room" with daddy-about 3.5 miles round trip and Parker did AWESOME.

I went running one Saturday morning and came back at 9am to ALL of my boys still asleep. I didn't even know Parker and Ben could sleep that long! Here they all are on a lazy Saturday morning!

We love the zoo- which is about a 1.5 miles from our house. Come and go with us! The Cary's came and went with us and we had a lot of fun. Parker could ride the train all day long and be 100% satisfied. Here he is with what I think is his first crush- "Alli Cary" (He NEVER just calls her Alli- but always her WHOLE name). He loves her.

Spencer Graduation

2009-05-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Although I doubt we're done for good, it was good to celebrate and make it real that Spencer graduated. It was nice with lots of supportive family. The bbq broke and we waited in colder than expected weather for an hour to get the food on but it all worked out- thanks to my mom's van full of blankets!

The graduate

2009-05-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Spencer graduates (well walks- he has really already graduated) this Friday. This is a little write up we put in his grad anouncement. We're having a bbq after the graduation and if you want to come email me and I'll tell you where to meet us- anyone is welcome! (erinclegg@gmail.com)

Spencer started his college career at Utah Valley State College (now UVU) majoring in computer engineering with a year off to work for Sawgrass Systems, Inc. in South Carolina and some time in Park City as a lifty at the Canyons. In 2001 he transferred to the University of Utah, still studying computer engineering. Then from July 2002- July 2004 Spencer served in the Illinois Peoria mission and while on his mission decided computer engineering wasn’t the path he wanted to take. Shortly after his mission he married his faithful girlfriend and went back to school at the U, this time studying biomedical engineering- a tough major because it requires an understanding of both medical and engineering. Despite the challenge, it seemed to be the perfect fit for Spencer. He worked very hard but also enjoyed what he was learning (for the most part). He gained valuable friendships and learned a great deal from his professors. In December, after lots of late nights on the phone with his dad working through physics problems and pulling all nighters for projects due the next day, he successfully completed all his classes for his biomedical engineering degree. Though he graduated in one of the worst job markets that our generation has experienced he was offered and accepted a position at Numira Biosciences as a medical image processing associate. Numira Biosciences does µCT scans for researchers and pharmaceutical companies. They use the scanned data to generate quantified data and three dimensional images and movies. Spencer spends most of his time at work processing CT datasets and developing biomedical imaging applications. Spencer graduated a month before his 30th birthday (his goal!) and shortly after the birth of his second son, Benjamin Mark. We plan to remain in our little apartment on foothill drive, where we manage the apartment complex. This way we’ll be able to save money for a house someday. For now we are glad to be here and feel very fortunate to have a job! Spencer is busy as the stake scout master and has amazed me with his ability to be an extremely attentive and nurturing father and husband while balancing church responsibilities, the demands of school, and now two jobs- Numira and the apartments we manage. We sure love our daddy (and husband)! We’d like to thank all the family and friends that have helped and supported us all along the way. We literally could not have done it without you. Thank you for your love and your support.

Big Boy

2009-05-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is a picture Parker's nursery leader took of him. I think he looks So grown up it makes me sad! Yet, he's so cute grown up too. This is only the second picture I have ever seen him LOOK and SMILE! He is potty training too and finally really doing it! So he really IS growing up!

Concerts

2009-04-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

My awesome dad took his kids once again to a concert so he can watch the mosh pit (love that man). We went to Fall out Boy, All Time Low and Metro Station (though we missed them) on Monday night at Saltair. I got in the mosh pit for all of 5 seconds and I'm pretty sure I fractured a rib. I am not joking at all- I'm going to the doctor on Monday but from what I've read, it's definitely a fracture- sucks because all I can do it WAIT for it to heal and it hurts! Guess I'm feeling 30. Then on Tuesday Spencer and I went to Brittany Spears. Yes, you heard right, Brittany Spears. My sister Haylee got 6 free tickets and let us come with her. It was super fun to be with her and her friends but the concert was much worse than I could ever have envisioned. Seriously, a strip bar would have been less dirty. The only cool part were the circus acts. I have felt for Brittany Spears with all her bad publicity but after that concert I don't feel bad for her anymore.

EASTER

2009-04-18T19:07:00.001-07:00

I love Easter time and it was so fun with Parker this year becoming more aware of holidays in general. It's fun to start our own traditions and start teaching Parker about the real meaning of Easter. I went through pictures of Christ's final week with Parker and i was really touched with his interest and insight. The final picture I showed him was the of the resurrected Savior holding out his hands. I told Parker that Jesus Christ was telling him to come to him. Every time after that when I would show that picture to him I would say "What is he saying Parker?" and he would say "Come to me, Come to me Parker" It was really sweet.

Easter Egg dying with the Clegg cousins

Parker's first Easter Egg hunt- the famous Summer Whalen Easter party. Once Parker caught on he LOVED it- candy in eggs- what could be better!?!

Ben practicing his sitting skills while he reaches for eggs

The loot

My cousin and good friend Jana came to visit (from Vegas) with her two cute girls and new little son. Here are her girls, Olivia and Zoey. I loved having them here.

Friends Stephanie, Jenni and Jana (and cousins) catching up at the Easter Egg hunt

My mom

NYC

2009-04-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

My sister had some disappointing news last week. My beautiful parents, recognizing our connection, paid for me to go out to New York to spend the weekend with her. Although the trip was supposedly taken as a support to her, I feel like I gained more than she ever could have. Interesting how most of my life experiences with Angie have been that way. I learned that life goes on despite disappointments. I learned that it really is good to listen to a prompting (before I knew the whole story I felt like I should go out there the next day and I am NOT usually a last minute person)- I'm so glad I did. I learned that Ben is an amazing little angel of a baby - he was an unbelievably wonderful traveler despite a 12 hour trip and being I toted all over the streets of NYC. I learned that God was really watching out for Angie when he gave her Ajay. I learned I can wear skinny jeans- my high school self would be mortified- and I still love H&M. I learned that even though we live on opposite sides of the country and are in very different places in life, there is this God-given connection that I can not live without. I learned we all have different paths and to more sensitive to those not on the "typical" path. I learned I am lucky to be a mother- and she will be too someday. I learned that Angie remains the rock of humility and faith I have always been inspired by. And I learned that God takes care of us- he gave us each other.

Easter

2009-04-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had "General Conference" for my church. All of our leaders speak to us in four different sessions of 2 hours each on Saturday and Sunday. It's a lot of time, but it's totally a spiritual feast. I love it. It's not exactly what it used to be when I could sit and really listen to what is being said. A lot of my time now is dealing with tantrums and messy diapers but I also get to teach my children about the gospel of Jesus Christ through conference and I wanted to share an experience I had in doing that that was so beautiful to me:

Parker had been missing his "Lightning McQueen" cars for a few days. I had looked everywhere for them but just could not find them. During conference I was really thinking about Parker and how he is so receptive right now and there was a talk on teaching our children faith and I realized I needed to say a prayer with Parker to find his toys. I have said many prayers like this for seeminly trivial things I have lost or am in need of throughput my life and the Lord has so often aswered me. Though it may seem insignificant, these experiencse have been a foundation of my faith. I remember that happening as a very young child, being taught by the example of my mother, and finding something that was lost. It really was a foundation of my faith, that God knew me and really listened to me, even when it seemed so unimportant. So Sunday afternoon, after the morning conference session, I explained to Parker that Heavenly Father can help us when we need him, even when are missing something important to us. So Parker and I knelt down and with the faith of a child, he gave a beautiful prayer- "Heavenly Father, help me to find my Lightning McQueen toys. Name of Jesus Christ Amen." "Where do you think we should look Parker?" "in my closet" (said without hesitation). In the meantime I offered my own silent prayer to Heavenly Father. I really did want to find the toys, but mostly I wanted my sweet son to have his own faith promoting experience and I didn't want him to be let down. I was really putting my faith in God that he would come through. Like I said, I had searched the house for these toys for two days and they were nowhere to be found. But we went into Parkers room, looked in the closet, then under the bed and then in a bag I suddenly thought about checking and within 4 minutes we had found the cars. The bag. "Look Parker!" A smile lit up his face and tears immediately sprung to my eyes. "Let's go show daddy!" We raced out into the living room where we showed daddy what we had found (he had been looking too). "Now Parker, we need to say a prayer and thank Heavenly Father for helping us." So all three of us knelt and said a prayer of gratitute to Heavenly Father. My voice choked at the end. These were the beginnings of my testimony when I was a child and now my son, the beginning for his testimony too. This morning as we were talking about the purpose of Easter I asked him what Jesus does for us and he said "Helps us find our Lightning McQueen toys. I prayed"

The faith of a child.

Ben gets his braces off!

2009-03-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

Tuesday we went to Shriners and Ben has officially graduated from his braces- aka his snowboard. Now he only has to wear it for sleeping and he is LOVING it. Seriously, he is so happy. His feet look great. What a blessing!

SF Hot Pots and Feeding the Ducks

2009-03-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

We've had fun taking advantage of the weather recently. We tried to hike to the Spanish Fork hot pots but the gate on the road was closed 4 miles from the trailhead. Bummer!

So instead we just hung out and threw rocks in the river while Uncle Greg, Grandma and Grandpa went on a little run.

This is a HUGE LOVE sign in the snow.

Nina Cary came up with her two girls and we went to Sugarhouse Park to feed the ducks. They were pretty agressive, but we had fun.

St. Patty's

2009-03-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's day was fun. It's so fun with Parker because it's all so new to him and he doesn't have any expectations but is just so excited about all the new discoveries holiday's bring.

We had a little Leprechan named Larry come and turn our milk green and all of our meals- green milkshakes, fishies, chicken, mashed potatoes, salad for dinner etc. He also hid a pot of gold for after dinner. Parker had to follow the clues and at the end of the treasure hunt there was a big pot of yummy cookies. It was so fun. I think Larry the Leprechan will return next year. :) Here is Ben in his bumbo on our kitchen counter while I cooked green dinner. My mom thinks I'm way too scary putting him up there but he's in so tight he's not going anywhere but maybe I should be more careful. :)

Sporadic

2009-03-13T13:55:00.001-07:00

So I am a sporadic blogger. What can I say...oh well here's a recap of the past couple months..The boys, Parker and Ben. Already becoming buds. I love it.

No one can make Ben laugh like Parker can.

Ben's "snowboard" We're getting this off in two weeks! Then Ben will just have to wear it at night for 2 years. Ben's feet look very good. They are totally normal now (besides being a little swollen and sqooshy). We feel very blessed. I'm sure there will be more on this to come.

Buds.

This is Parker getting Ben to smile. - no one does it better.

We took my Jewish neighbors to see the Draper temple open house. We met up with Haylee and my mom and it was really nice. Ben slept and Parker ran all over, he was actually very good. Our neighbors, Ruth and Bob, enjoyed it and we were glad they came with us.

A couple of weekends ago we went to Spencer's parents place and met Tasha and Josh and family and went cross country skiing. It was a great weekend. Asher and Parker always wreak havoc together and it's awesome. They just get these mischevious looks on their faces and go crazy. It's fun. :)

We attempted to pull the kids behind us in sleds but Parker wasn't so into that so we mostly just stopped and played in the snow. Good times.

Spencer and I with our LOVE sign on Valentines Day. Spencer planned an awesome (and unique) Valentines date. We couldn't find a babysitter so I thought we'd just be home but Spencer surprised me with a beautiful candlelight dinner in the empty apartment above us (perks of being managers). Monitors were on for both boys but we were out of our apartment and it was perfect. Spencer always plans the best dates.

Ben and Mommy

Our Big Brother Parker, smiling for the camera

Parker as Bob the Builder (with crooked goggles).

Our big, huge, giant Ikea shelf that we got for Christmas from my mom and I LOVE it. It's a little more organized now than this but
it sure helps Parker's tiny room become a little bigger (toys off the floor). It's great.

Parker's train we made from a great big box. And loving being inside in the box. Choo Choo.

This is Parker falling asleep in his "big boy" lightning McQueen bed, the ONE time he did. And then the next picture is him in his crib tent, where he is safe from the monsters. He asks for his crib after being in his room about 15 minutes. Poor Ben, he's going to always be in his bassinet! :)

Ben in January-when he still had his hair. Learning to smile, loves to suck his thumb and has a great laugh, especially at Parker.

Awhile ago we went to the Coldplay concert with my family and Perry-we get spoiled from my dad! It was amazing. I love those guys. Their music has narated much of my life. It was great.

Graduated, Employed and 30

2009-01-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

Spencer's been busy. He graduated at the end of December (will walk and we'll celebrate in the Spring) in biomedical engineering. It's been tough finding a job in this market but we just got an offer last week. He will be working for Numira biosciences doing medical imaging. The company is literally a mile from our house and it's the perfect job for us right now. We'll stay in our little apartment for awhile to save some money and then see where life takes us. We feel very lucky. And he turns the big 3-0 on Monday (the 26th)! So he's just barely making his goals (to graduate and get a job before he turned 30). Good job dad!

Brothers

2009-01-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

It's so fun for me to see these two little boys of ours start to interact. Ben smiles and smiles at Parker and Parker is so cute with Ben. I can only hope that they will be to each other what my sister is to me.

so they aren't ALWAYS happy with each other.

And Parker doesn't always know how to hold Ben.

But aren't they cute?

Someday they'll be really embarrassed by these pictures. But classic aren't they?

Firemen and Ben

2009-01-23T20:25:00.001-08:00

This week daddy took Parker to the local firestation. They let him ride in the truck and gave him his own hat. He LOVED it. A dream come true for this kid.

Ben and I hung out at home. He tried out his bumbo.

Just in Case

2009-01-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Just in case you didn't get a Christmas card from us...this is it.

Since our last Christmas card two years ago, Parker has become an energetic toddler and we’ve added another little boy to our family - Benjamin Mark Clegg - born Oct. 14th, at 6lbs 6 oz and 17 inches. He surprised us 3 weeks early while we were in Idaho celebrating our anniversary. We drove a fast 2 ½ hours to the hospital in Salt Lake just in time! Ben was born with club feet and we’ve spent some time over the past few weeks at Shriner’s Hospital (an awesome Children’s hospital run entirely on donations). He’ll wear casts for the first two months of his life followed by braces for awhile. We’re grateful he’ll be able run someday! Parker has spent the past two years learning all sorts of things - from walking, to talking, to learning to be a big brother. He has traveled all over the place, thanks to Grandma A’s travel bug, and has already been on 7 airplane trips - Florida 3 times to see Aunt Angie and Uncle Ajay, Mexico for Christmas last year, California twice, and Nauvoo to see the Atkinson’s in the Nauvoo pageant. Spencer and I had fun following Parker on these trips and taking a couple ourselves. We hiked to Havasupai Falls last summer (which was awesome) and I was able to go to France this spring for a Clegg sister’s trip of a lifetime. Our favorite, though, was this summer’s trip to the farm Grandpa Clegg grew up on in Grace, Idaho. Parker was in heaven with tractors and farm animals galore. Mostly though we just love staying local - hiking, and snowboarding in Cottonwood canyon, playing at playgrounds, going on runs in the stroller, and outings to the zoo. Spencer is graduating this month with his degree in Biomedical Engineering. He is interviewing for jobs from Salt Lake to Flagstaff and by the time you get this card we’ll hopefully know where we’ll be! He also just got his braces off. Erin turned the big 3-0 in September and Spencer will follow in January. We’re both busy managing the apartments we live in and working in our church assignments - Erin as Relief Society Enrichment Counselor and Spencer as Stake Scout Leader. Spencer ran his first triathlon in August and Erin plans to train for some runs now that pregnancy is over. It’s been a wonderful two years we’ve had together as a family of three. Now as a family of FOUR we’re excited to see what life will bring us. We’re so thankful this Christmas season for the Savior and His sacrifice and for the joy and peace His gospel brings us. Merry Christmas! Please keep in touch! erinclegg@gmail.com, spencer@spencerclegg.com, or check out our blog: erinclegg.blogspot.com. Love, Spencer, Erin, Parker, and Ben Clegg

Snow Sports

2009-01-23T20:06:00.001-08:00

We took Parker snowboarding last week. We were going to buy him stuff for Christmas but decided we'd try a season of renting a few times first. Good thing we did. He loved it at first- hanging on to daddy as we went down this mini hill at a park by our house. But after an hour he was done and the next day he didn't even want to try it. But we'll go again and before we know it he'll be better than mommy and daddy!

Ben cozy in his carseat while Parker snowboarded.

This is how we went down. :)

We also attempted a little snowshoeing trip. Ben was bundeled UNDER a huge coat and in the baby bjorn while Parker was perched on top of dad's back. Parker loved it and hated it all at the same time. As you can see below.

Unfortunately we got a bit of a late start and by the time we got back to the car it was pitch black. Parker wanted to be in the car so much he wouldn't let us get him out of his carseat to take off his snowpants. Poor guy. That may be our last snowshoeing trip for awhile. But it was fun and beautiful. Next time we just need more daylight.