At the Days Inn...our room had one big bed! hahaha! We also had a couch bed and the room was huge, so that was good. I slept in the king bed with Ethan, Daria, and Alia. Jenika and Karina were in the hide-a-bed, and Tirsa was on the couch cushions on the floor....what a site! RaeAnna and her kids stayed in their own room just upstairs.
On Sunday morning, we woke up and had the continental breakfast offered by the hotel...your standard carb packed breakfast! ugh! Everything was bread or cereals...muffins, doughnuts, toast, cold cereal....I guess there was some fruits. Anyway, the kids enjoyed it and it was complimentary so I suppose I shouldn't complain!
After breakfast we all showered and got ready for church. Thank goodness the ward didn't meet till 1pm! We were there in the first 2 pews by 12:30pm waiting for the other family members to arrive. They did and we fast filled up those 2 front rows. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and Chris blessed his newborn son, Abrams, in company of Great Grandpa Clark, Grandpa Clark (my dad), my brother Craig, and my brother Scot. It was neat to witness 4 generations of Clark boys!!! My brother Chris bore a great testimony, my grandpa too. Then Clarky and Jenika got up as well....it was nice to hear from the younger generation as well.
After church we all met in the Relief Society room for pictures...it was difficult to get us all together! geesh! But we did it!! Annie and I went back to the hotel to change into more casual attire and then we headed up to Noblesville to my parent's house. It was perfect weather: no humidity, no clouds, warm with a slight breeze. We had all the food outside on the newly finished deck. We had a great dinner of Lasagna, meatloaf, salad, and garlic bread. Later after that settled in our bellies, we had an assortment of pies and ice cream.
Uncles and cousins played in the yard with the frisbee, croquet, and rugby balls.
It was fun to everyone together. Unfortunately, Craig and Scot had to leave....I guess they only had the Saturday and sunday off and had to get back to work and school....Scot had flown into Chicago and driven down with Craig, so they had to get back before it was too late!
We had fun talking and reminiscing and listening to my Grandpa's stories. In the evening we had a little presentation by all the grandchildren. Clark was in charge of announcing each act. They sang a few songs: I'll Seek the Lord Early, The Lord needs Valiant Servants, Little Purple Pansies, and a few Pioneer songs. They did well. We talked of some old family vacations as well and had fun reminiscing. We ended the night with cookies and milk...of course!...Clark Family tradition!!!
Saying goodbye is always hard for me, but we had to do it and went back to the hotel. Such good memories!
Showing posts with label cousins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cousins. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Day 2 (Fri. July 31, 2009) Roadtrip
We rested well at the Roylance home in Vincent, Ohio!!! RaeAnna and I of course talked, looked at catalogs and clothing styles, cooked and cleaned together! And the kids played of course. It was kind of a rainy, glum day so they played inside mostly. They played with legos and gameboys and downstairs. They also lined the upstairs steps with pillows from around the house and then broke out the sleds!!! It was hilarious to see them come flying down and land in the pile of pillows at the bottom. hahahah!
We did some laundry too and just hung around and had fun. By the afternoon it was beginning to clear up, so they took us to the Marrietta Water Park. We were very excited until we got to the entrance and noticed they were holding everyone there. They were considering closing early since no one had come all day! NOOOOOOOOO! (silent prayers being said by 11 childern and 2 moms) They finally gave us the go ahead...YES, they would stay open another 2 hours! YAY!!! What a fun place!! It was like a mini water park complete with a few small waterslides, a pirate ship that spewed water here and there and had kiddie slides too, a "lazy river", a lap pool, and pools connecting all these fun things. They even had a sprinkler area or a play fountain I guess you would call it....basically sprays of water coming out of a concrete sidewalk area at different angles and heights. We had so much fun! They has some little contests too....hula hooping, cannonballing, etc.
As they were closing, Jon met us there because it was right next to the hospital where he works. He had some sad news of one of their friends passing away, but even still he ordered Papa Johns Pizza for us and we enjoyed it on the grassy hills next to the parking lot!! What FUN!!!
Later that night, we played and talked some more and talked about our plans for the next day....heading up to Indianapolis to go to G&G Clark's house!!! :) Good Times!
We did some laundry too and just hung around and had fun. By the afternoon it was beginning to clear up, so they took us to the Marrietta Water Park. We were very excited until we got to the entrance and noticed they were holding everyone there. They were considering closing early since no one had come all day! NOOOOOOOOO! (silent prayers being said by 11 childern and 2 moms) They finally gave us the go ahead...YES, they would stay open another 2 hours! YAY!!! What a fun place!! It was like a mini water park complete with a few small waterslides, a pirate ship that spewed water here and there and had kiddie slides too, a "lazy river", a lap pool, and pools connecting all these fun things. They even had a sprinkler area or a play fountain I guess you would call it....basically sprays of water coming out of a concrete sidewalk area at different angles and heights. We had so much fun! They has some little contests too....hula hooping, cannonballing, etc.
As they were closing, Jon met us there because it was right next to the hospital where he works. He had some sad news of one of their friends passing away, but even still he ordered Papa Johns Pizza for us and we enjoyed it on the grassy hills next to the parking lot!! What FUN!!!
Later that night, we played and talked some more and talked about our plans for the next day....heading up to Indianapolis to go to G&G Clark's house!!! :) Good Times!
Monday, August 31, 2009
DAY 1 (Thurs. July 30, 2009) Road Trip
I spent most of the week prior to this day packing...trying to only bring bare escentials and telling the kids they could only bring 1 stuffed animal, a few books and something to draw with!
Thursday morning was chaotic of course, not only because I was trying to pack the van up, but because we still had summer activities we were finishing up! Alia and Daria had to finish their swim lessons with a double lesson since we were missing the last one....and Ethan finished up his summer enrichment class at school. My nails were in bad shape and so I HAD to get those taken care of...heehee!..I know a petty thing, but still....and Karina was coming home from a great sleepover with a friend.
I think we finally left by 2pm! I decided to take the scenic route to Ohio towards Marrietta where my sister, RaeAnna, lives. We headed west into Pennsylvania and then near Carlisle, we headed southwest. This route took us down thru Pennsylvania to the northern border of Maryland and then into West Virginia. Marrietta, Ohio is just cross the river from West Virginia. It sure was scenic! ha! Very beautiful, rolling hills, some great rock cliffs and small mountains, lots of green.
But, oh boy was it a drive!! I don't think the road was ever straight or flat....so much up and down, over and around, twisting and turning!!! It definitely kept me awake!
As far as the kids....they kept me awake too! Remember, I was on my own...Ladd was still at home in New Jersey...he would join up with us later. And, the rule was that unless it was pouring rain or dark outside, they were NOT allowed to watch movies or play computer games! They actually didn't really complain about that and enjoyed the scenery, read their books, played cards....and of course picked and poked at each other! The last hour was the worst! I had to stop for gas and they were really ready to be there!! Tirsa was screaming and I was bookin' out down the highway wanting to get there soon too! Good thing there wasn't a car in sight...we basically had the road to ourselves.
We finally arrived at about 9 pm, had a light supper, played with our cousins and went to bed. I don't think I stayed up talking very late with RaeAnna like I usually do because I was just wiped out!!! :P So went the first day of our trip...mainly just travel with a smiling bunch of faces of family waiting for us on the other end!
Thursday morning was chaotic of course, not only because I was trying to pack the van up, but because we still had summer activities we were finishing up! Alia and Daria had to finish their swim lessons with a double lesson since we were missing the last one....and Ethan finished up his summer enrichment class at school. My nails were in bad shape and so I HAD to get those taken care of...heehee!..I know a petty thing, but still....and Karina was coming home from a great sleepover with a friend.
I think we finally left by 2pm! I decided to take the scenic route to Ohio towards Marrietta where my sister, RaeAnna, lives. We headed west into Pennsylvania and then near Carlisle, we headed southwest. This route took us down thru Pennsylvania to the northern border of Maryland and then into West Virginia. Marrietta, Ohio is just cross the river from West Virginia. It sure was scenic! ha! Very beautiful, rolling hills, some great rock cliffs and small mountains, lots of green.
But, oh boy was it a drive!! I don't think the road was ever straight or flat....so much up and down, over and around, twisting and turning!!! It definitely kept me awake!
As far as the kids....they kept me awake too! Remember, I was on my own...Ladd was still at home in New Jersey...he would join up with us later. And, the rule was that unless it was pouring rain or dark outside, they were NOT allowed to watch movies or play computer games! They actually didn't really complain about that and enjoyed the scenery, read their books, played cards....and of course picked and poked at each other! The last hour was the worst! I had to stop for gas and they were really ready to be there!! Tirsa was screaming and I was bookin' out down the highway wanting to get there soon too! Good thing there wasn't a car in sight...we basically had the road to ourselves.
We finally arrived at about 9 pm, had a light supper, played with our cousins and went to bed. I don't think I stayed up talking very late with RaeAnna like I usually do because I was just wiped out!!! :P So went the first day of our trip...mainly just travel with a smiling bunch of faces of family waiting for us on the other end!
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