Clarkson Life

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!!!!!

2011-04-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

42 years young! Happy Birthday to the most fantastic husband & father ever! You are truly a Christ-like leader of our home & would do anything for our family. We love & appreciate all you do for us!

Here's the video I made for your b-day last year. It still applies lol! Love you babe!

The Easter Pageant Starts Tonight!

2011-04-13T01:11:00.000-07:00

If you go to the Pageant this year ( and why wouldn't you with these two fine looking actors in it) be sure to look for Ryan & Ashley! Ashley sells jewelry during the Temple Cleansing scene & she is also one of Pilate's 2 maids in the Mob scene. The costume she's wearing above is the Temple Cleansing scene costume where she sells the jewelery. She has a different costume that's more fancy for the Mob scene where she's Pilate's maid. In the Mob scene, where the fate of Christ is being voted on, she holds the law that Pilot takes & throws out into the crowd.

Ryan sells cloth in the Temple Cleansing scene & he is in scene after the triumphal entry where there are 5 temple men being taught by Jesus. He is in the same costume the whole night.

You can also look for them before the Pageant starts as they go out & mingle with the audience.

The Mesa Arizona Easter Pageant: Jesus The Christ

Join us for this community
Easter Celebration

For all religions, ages and cultures

Free Admission
No donations accepted
and no ticket required

2011 Performances

English Performances
April 13, 14 and 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Spanish Performances
April 15, 16

ASL
April 13,14,15,16

All performances start at 8:00 p.m.

Location
North lawn of the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors' Center
525 East Main St., Mesa, Arizona

For more information about this year's Pageant, please click on this link: 2011 Frequently Asked Questions.

Adam's Drawing at Church

2011-04-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Today at church, our program had a picture of Jesus in the clouds. Adam took it & colored it in with pen & wrote, "I love Children" on Jesus. I'm thankful Adam knows that Jesus especially loves children & that he feels that way when he thinks about the Savior. I'm putting this in his scrapbook.

Happenings & Goings On`

2011-03-26T21:57:00.000-07:00

Sara passed the American Red Cross Life Guard Training class she took, so now all she has to do is find a job & she can life guard this summer! We'd be so grateful if you'd cross your fingers & say your prayers for her please.

Ashley & Ryan started the Easter Pageant rehearsals. So excited for them!! Such an opportunity & fabulous experience! They rehearse for a couple weeks then the Pageant starts. Ashley is a jewelry seller & Pilate's maid, Ryan is a seller of cloth & a Temple Man. I'll post more details later.

Ashley had another fabulous Poston choir concert! It's such a treat to watch her up there!

Adam started his baseball season & Faith started her softball season.

Maddie is plugging away up at NAU. She loves it up there. She keeps busy with school, work & church activities. She hopes to study abroad in England in the near future, I'll keep you posted. We see her quite often on the weekend as she comes down for appointments or to work caring for Jean, an elderly lady she watches. BTW her hair is red now instead of blue :)

I turned 40 on March 14th. It was a whole week of excitement! This was actually my best birthday so far, probably because I'd been dreading it so much that it was better then I was expecting. Spent a lot of time with the family, Ryan took my birthday off from work & the day after too. I also went to LA at the end of last week with Madison. She went to visit some friends she has over there & I hung out with some of my best gal pals. We went to a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, went shopping at Santee Alley & Melrose Ave & ate like crazy! Other then that, I've been busy running/training for the Ragnar & busy driving Faith, Adam & Sara to & from their activities while Ryan & Ashley are at Pageant practice.

We also have a couple new pets. A 7 mo old, long haired chihuahua puppy named, Bella, that was given to us for free from a family at the preschool where I work. And...Faith bought a hamster named, Teddy, with the PetCo gift card one of her friends gave her for her birthday.

** P.S. Here's a great song I found on iTunes a couple weeks ago. It's called "Blessings" by Laura Story. Give it a listen, it's a beautiful message:

Soarin' Thru SoCal

2011-03-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

Guess what?! I'm doing a Ragnar Relay! It's in Southern California April 15th & 16th. I'm very excited about this! I was able to join my friend Leah's team when they had a couple people drop out. Our team name is Soarin' thru SoCal...is that cute or what?!

Basically, I'm on a team of 12 people. We are running 200 miles divided between us over a 24hr period. For my part, I'm running a total of 12.6 miles broken up into 3 legs. I'm runner #11, here are my legs: Leg #11 - 6.0 miles (hard), Leg #23 - 2.4 miles (easy), Leg #35 - 4.2 miles (moderate). Here's a little description of the course:

Starting south of Los Angeles in beautiful Huntington Beach your team of 12 runners will head south down the pacific coast. Along the way you will pass through Anaheim, Carlsbad, Del Mar and La Jolla. The race (and your stamina) will wrap up near San Diego on beautiful Coronado Island.

It sounded so beautiful how could I pass it up?! Plus, it's a great way to celebrate turning 40.

Softball Girl

2011-03-04T06:15:00.000-08:00

"Look Mom I made it..."

BFF's

A strechy pants pose *insert Nacho Libre accent*

Lady Toro's rule!

"2011"

Sara made the Mt View softball team. She's on J.V. We're all so excited for her! It's not easy making anything at Mt View. She plays 2nd base. Their 1st game was down in Tuscon, they played Sunnyside & won 29 - 4. Yesterday they played Dobson at home & lost 4 - 8. Today, they play Red Mountain at Red Mt.

Mountain View (Mesa) 2011 Softball

Date Game time Opponent

03/01 04:00 PM Sunnyside vs Mountain View AWAY

03/02 04:00 PM Dobson vs Mountain View HOME

03/04 03:45 PM Red Mountain vs Mountain View AWAY

03/08 04:00 PM Mountain Ridge vs Mountain View HOME

03/09 03:45 PM Corona del Sol vs Mountain View AWAY

03/11 04:00 PM Centennial vs Mountain View AWAY

03/29 04:00 PM Mesquite vs Mountain View HOME

03/31 04:00 PM Highland vs Mountain View AWAY

04/05 04:00 PM Gilbert vs Mountain View HOME

04/06 04:00 PM Tolleson vs Mountain View AWAY

04/08 04:00 PM Basha vs Mountain View HOME

04/12 04:00 PM Dobson vs Mountain View AWAY

04/14 04:00 PM Corona del Sol vs Mountain View HOME

04/15 04:00 PM Mesquite vs Mountain View AWAY

04/19 04:00 PM Highland vs Mountain View HOME

04/21 04:00 PM Gilbert vs Mountain View AWAY

04/26 04:00 PM Skyline vs Mountain View HOME

04/27 04:00 PM Basha vs Mountain View AWAY

Happy Birthday Faith!!!

2011-02-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

Today Faith is 11 years old! Where did the time go? My baby girl is 11! We love you Faith, Happy Birthday!

Adam's Baptism Day!

2011-02-26T15:49:00.000-08:00

Today was such a wonderful day! Our son, Adam, was baptized! In our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, when children turn 8 years old they are baptized. It is very special. You can read more about what we believe on Baptism here at Mormon.org. Right after the baptism Adam was all smiles & said, "I feel so happy!" He also said he felt like he was full of energy. Adam's Dad (my wonderful husband), Ryan, baptized Adam & gave a scripture on the Holy Ghost for our part of the service. Thanks to Adam's big sister, Maddie, for playing the prelude music while we waited for Adam & Ryan to change after the baptism. We baptize by immersion so they go all the way into the water. The white clothes they are wearing are their baptismal clothes.

After the service we had a little celebration at our house with some family & friends. Thanks to all who came & helped Adam celebrate his special day! I really wish I had pictures of everyone there but only got a few, I went ahead & made this slideshow anyway :D

Carrot Cake...Yumm!

2011-02-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, for our Family Night dessert I made a yummy Carrot Cake recipe that I found here. It's called "Best Carrot Cake Ever" & it comes from a 1940's recipe. The only thing I did differently was add a can of crushed pineapple & I used 1 cup of Splenda & 1 cup of regular granulated sugar. If your looking for a moist & delicious Carrot Cake that's easy to make give this recipe a try! Everyone in my family liked it including the kids.

Ingredients
2 c sugar
1 1/4 c oil
4 large eggs
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 c grated carrots
1 c chopped walnuts

FROSTING
12 oz powdered sugar
2 3 oz. cream cheese room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp milk

Directions
1. In large bowl, beat sugar and oil. Add eggs and beat well.
2. Sift together flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt into egg mixture; mix well; fold in carrots and nuts.
3. Place batter in greased 9x13 pan; bake 1 hour and 10 miniutes in a 350 oven. (Check once because of oven variances)
4. FROSTING: Beat together powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, butter and milk; spread on cooled carrot cake.

How Do I Love Thee...

2011-02-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Such a beautiful message, thanks to my friend Jenny for posting it on her Facebook today:

True love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things - 1 Cor 13:7

"So Christ loved us and that is how he hoped we would love each other."

For more inspirational videos like the one above click here.

I'm so grateful for my wonderful husband, family & friends. Happy Valentine's Day!

Never Say Never

2011-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

So...I'm getting a little carried away with JibJab...whatever.

JibJab has a new Justin Bieber video you can add yourself to in honor of Justin's new movie, 'Never Say Never'. Well, tonight Ashley & Sara went to a special VIP screening of 'Never Say Never'. It was awesomesauce they both said. That's Ashley in the above video.

Hey Babe, Happy Valentine's Day Early!

2011-02-05T06:35:00.000-08:00

For my Love - Happy Valentine's Day Early! In case you're worried, don't be - this isn't your only present. :D
Love, Me

"Slipped the Surly Bonds of Earth to Touch the Face of God"

2011-01-28T15:51:00.000-08:00

If you're like me, you remember where you were 25 years ago when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. I was in Mr. Wood's 9th grade science class. We were watching the launch on the TV. It was especially exciting because school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, was on board. What a shock & horrible surprise it was when the shuttle exploded! We were all stunned!

I remember President Ronald Regan coming on TV & addressing the Nation. I posted the video of his speech above. His words were so poignant & comforting. The ending line of his speech is something I've never forgotten. Talking about the astronauts he said they, "Slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God". How beautiful! Later on in life I found out this is a quote from the poem, "High Flight", by John Magee.

Here's the whole poem:

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

I wanted to add this picture of the Challenger crew:

The Challenger Shuttle Crew
Back row, from left: mission specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher in Space Participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis and Mission specialist Judy Resnik.
Front row, from left: Pilot Mike Smith, Commander Dick Scobee, and Mission specialist Ron McNair.

Eight Is Great!

2011-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

Happy 8th Birthday to Adam!!! We love Adam! He is so fun to be around! He is full of energy & enthusiasm for life. His latest love is game shows. He loves them! Price is Right, Deal or No Deal, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Minute to Win It, Lingo, you name it he loves it. He will even record them so he can watch them after school. Game Show Network is his favorite channel, of course. For his birthday he asked for the 'Minute to Win It' Wii game. He will pick a game show over cartoons anytime.

Now that he's 8 he can get baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It won't be until the end of February when our Stake does the baptisms again. He can't wait!

Adam had his birthday party Friday night at Chuck E Cheese! Thanks to everyone who came. It was a blast:

*No your eyes are not messed up the pics are blurry

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of....

2011-01-13T18:39:00.001-08:00

Adam got his 1st Pinewood Derby kit tonight! (Thanks Bro Rogers for bringing it over!) He is so excited to get to be in the Pinewood Derby & so are we!!!!

Sweet Sixteen for Sara!!!!!!!!!

2011-01-07T23:22:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET SIXTEEN!!!!!!!! Today Sara is 16!!!!!!! CELEBRATE!!!! WHOOOO!!!! We love you Sara!!!!!!! Happy Birthday to one of the BEST girls we know!!!

Here are some songs that every girl must listen to on her 16th Birthday:

A Date Which Will Live in Infamy

2010-12-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. Roosevelt delivered this famous speech on Dec 8th.

The quote "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy" comes from President Franklin Roosevelt's 12/8/1941 speech describing the bombing of Pearl Harbor the day before.

Interesting tidbit: "the most famous line of the speech originally read "a date which will live in world history"; Roosevelt crossed out "world history" and replaced it with "infamy", as seen in the annotated copy of the original typewritten speech from the National Archives"
The quote means that date will have a bad reputation.

SOURCE

Love This Picture!

2010-12-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

I just loooove this picture! Ryan is coaching Adam's football team, the Toro's II, & here's their team picture. Ryan is the coach on the left & Adam is (#1). So dang cute! Ryan & Adam both had a blast this season!

Halloween 2010 Whew!

2010-11-03T07:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get our Halloween report up before it was too late!

We went to a really fun pumpkin carving at our friend's house the Thurs before Halloween. It's an annual event they put on in our neighborhood & we enjoy it so much. Thanks Davis's!

Then our ward had a trunk or treat on Saturday the 30th. Ryan & I took Faith & Adam to that. Ashley went to a friends party & Sara was at a Band competition so sadly, no trunk or treating for her.

Ash & her friend dressed as boys. Ash's outfit was Justin Bieber inspired:

Adam was Lego Man:

Faith went as a diva. That's her pillowcase loaded with candy:

Since I'm turning 40 next year (yes...it's true) I decided to go with a mid-life crisis costume. I don't know what you'd call this exactly but I felt young. That's Ryan's actual high school football jersey I'm wearing btw. I think I need to dress like this more often LOL. Ryan wore his coaches tee shirt but I didn't get any pics with him. :

We hope you guys all had a fun Halloween too!!!

A Katy Perry song I want my kids to listen to!

2010-10-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard 'Firework' by Katy Perry you should. It has a great message. I love the lyrics:

KATY PERRY - FIREWORK

Firework Lyrics

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?

Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep, six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing?

Do you know that there's still a chance for you cause there's a spark in you. You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine, just own the night like the Fourth of July.

Cause baby you're a firework come on show 'em what your worth. Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" as you shoot across the sky-y-y.

Baby you're a firework. Come on let your colors burst. Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" You're gonna leave them all in awe, awe, awe.

You don't have to feel like a wasted space, you're original, cannot be replaced. If you only knew what the future holds, after a hurricane comes a rainbow.

Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed so you could open one that leads you to the perfect road.

Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow and when it's time, you'll know. You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night, like the Fourth of July.

Cause baby you're a firework, come on show 'em what your worth. Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" as you shoot across the sky-y-y.

Baby you're a firework, come on let your colors burst.
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" You're gonna leave them all in awe, awe, awe.

Boom, boom, boom even brighter than the moon, moon, moon. It's always been inside of you, you, you and now it's time to let it through.

Cause baby you're a firework, come on show 'em what your worth. Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" as you shoot across the sky-y-y.

Baby you're a firework, come on let your colors burst.
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!" You're gonna leave them all in awe, awe, awe.

Boom, boom, boom even brighter than the moon, moon, moon.
Boom, boom, boom even brighter than the moon, moon, moon.

Source

It's That Time of Year Again!

2010-10-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Here's Adam's touchdown during his football game on Saturday. I barely caught it with the camera. Ryan is the team coach & so far they are 2-0!

Hamm & Buble

2010-10-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is for my cousin Becky, who I thought about when I watched this skit because of her crush on Michael Buble
she went to his concert! Did you know Michael Buble was so funny?

SOURCE

Ashley's Choir Concert!

2010-10-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

Ashley decided to join choir this year at Poston & their first concert was Wednesday night. I couldn't help but take some video. Her choir is called Rhythm & Blue. The girls did a fabulous job!!! The songs they preformed were Sanctus, Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier & Excultate Justi. Ash loves choir & is learning a lot!

Food So Good It Could Kill You

2010-10-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of things we will be eating tomorrow:

Breakfast -

Wheat Pancakes with Buttermilk Syrup (From My Time to Blossom)

Butter Milk Syrup -
1 cup white sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter
2T. corn syrup
1tsp. Baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla

Boil for 7 min.
Remove from stove
Stir in vanilla

Whole Wheat Pancakes -
Blend in blender for 4 min.
2 eggs
1c milk
1c. Wheat
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
3T. Oil
Also good as waffles

*We're having the waffles

Lunch -

Baked Potato Soup (From Our Best Bites)
4 baking potatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
6 cups 1% milk
1 1/4 c. cheddar, divided
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 c. light sour cream
3/4 c. chopped green onions, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled.

1. Pierce potatoes with a fork; bake at 400 for 1 hour or until tender. This step can be done in advance or you can even use leftover baked potatoes. Allow to cool. Slice in half and then scoop insides into a bowl. Discard the skins and break any large chunks into bite-sized (or smaller) pieces.

2. Place flour into a large pot and gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly, but do NOT bring to a full boil! Boiling will lead to curdled soup, and hey, no one likes curdled soup.

3. Add potatoes, 3/4 c. cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese melts and remove from heat.

4. Stir in sour cream and 1/2 c. onions.

5. Cook over low heat until soup is heated thoroughly. Again, this is a recipe where you have to be vigilant--don't let it boil and don't let it burn the bottom of the pot.

6. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with bacon, remaining cheese, and green onions.

*I'm making a bigger batch then what this recipe calls for.

I can't wait to make & eat these!!!

Cute Halloween Banner!

2010-10-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Made this with some friends...

I think it turned out cute :)