Rexburg Visit

The last ten days I was able to go to Idaho and visit my family and friends, and had a blast! It was so good to come home to good old Rexburg water, Dustin teases me about it, but I think Rexburg has the best water. Seeing my parents was so good since it's been a while, so it was fun to hang out and talk like the good days when I was living in Rexburg. Surprisingly, I didn't freeze over there, but it is a lot colder than Florida.
While I was in Rexburg I got to see many good friends. I got to hang out with childhood friend Sara almost everyday, I felt like I was ten again going to her house and hanging out, it was so much fun. And this last Saturday I had lunch with more childhood friends, Sara, Michelle, and Kylie, I love how even though we don't to see each other for a long time we still can talk like we have never been apart.
I also got to hang out with Aubrey, and again, she is an awesome friend, it was so much fun talking to her and laughing our heads off. I also got to see some couple friends, {the Dyers and Christiansens}that Dustin and I used to hang out with when we were going to school.
Than this last weekend most of my sisters got to come up from and we hung out all day. I love my family, that's probably the hardest thing about living in Florida is we are not near to any family.
I had so much fun, and I was glad that Thomas got to have time with my parents! And now I'm home and life is going to be busy and crazy the next few months.

* Side note: I have been trying to be better about scrapbooking, so to hit two birds with one stone, I might start posting my pictures in a scrapbook format, this way I will hopefully get more pages done!!! I have been doing my scrapbooking digitally because it's so much easier, cheaper, cuter, and everything else. The paper I used for this page are from my sister-in-law, Crystal Wilkerson, who is AMAZING!!! I love her stuff, she designs the cutest scrapbook stuff, you should check out her website HERE. and her blog is HERE

It's getting to be the busy season!

Starting October things seem to get a little busy with our family between all the holidays, birthdays, traveling, and family visiting, that I have a lot to blog about just this week and I feel like it's going to be like that till Christmas, because we have a lot of fun things going on with our family. 

To start off, Dustin's birthday was this last Monday and he turned big 28!!! I married an old man, ha ha jk! 

I love this man to pieces! It's hard not to spoil him when it comes to his birthday. This year he didn't get a whole lot presents because he decided he wanted to go to a caricature convention next month for a week, but I did get him a caricature book from one of his favorite artists, the new X-men movie ( I let him open that early), and Cloudy with a Chance with Meatballs. After he worked we spend the rest of the night with our good friends the Williams and had Four Rivers BBQ for dinner, which was so good, and a pie from ColdStone. So I didn't have to make anything I just got to enjoy it! So this birthday was a success!

Also this week, Thomas and I got to go to Universal Studios again with the Williams which was also really fun. Brie & I got to ride a lot of fun roller-coasters like the Rock-N-Roll, and the Mummy, poor Adam was stuck watching all three kids while we did all the fun things. Than later that night Dustin, Thomas, & I went to Sea World's Spooktacular weekend. It's so much fun going trick or treating with your kid, especially when your kid is too young to eat the candy, so you are the one that gets it, and let's just say we scored with the candy at Sea World!

Our cute little monkey!

Dustin's nasty mustache ( I just need to wait till Halloween and it will be gone) Also love how Thomas is wearing half of his costume.

And some exciting things that are coming up in the next little while: Thomas and I are going to be in Idaho this Tuesday for ten days! Then of course Halloween, Thomas' first birthday is coming after that in November. Also in November Dustin will be going to the caricature convention, and my sister and brother and his family are coming up here in Orlando, so we will be hitting a lot of the major parks.

Eleven Months!

This past Friday Thomas turned 11 months!!! I will have a year old next month! I feel like I'm not old enough to have a kid in the first place, but a 1 year-old? He won't be a baby anymore!

So at eleven months Thomas is still doing his army crawl, he can crawl a little but the other way is faster so he sticks to it. He loves when Dustin and I copy him and make the same sounds as him. He loves to smack his lips, shake his head as if saying "no", he will give you a high five, and he's starting to wave hi, but only to Dustin and me right now. He's at that stage where he doesn't like if one of us ever leaves the apartment without him, and he only allows some people to hold him without crying. He also loves the rain, he doesn't mind getting wet at all as long as he is outside. And he has 7 teeth now!!!

He is  a great blessing in our lives!

Also he's getting harder and harder to photograph and take good pictures because he doesn't hold still anymore, he's always on the move!

Disney World

This last week we were able to go to Disney World and AGAIN we weren't able to take any pictures. The first time we went to Disney we both thought the other person brought the camera, and this time I got everything ready, the batteries, I emptied our memory card, BUT left it by our computer! I was so SAD, because we keep not getting pictures of Disney.
This last week we went to Epcot  (the park with the big golf ball) for their Food and Wine Festival with the Lindsey's, and don't worry we just tried the food not the wine ;) It was a lot of fun because they had a lot of different food from all different countries. We also tried different sodas from different countries, most of them tasted like coke, which isn't my favorite, but there was one that i really liked that tasted like a snow cone flavor. We were also able to ride some of the rides they had there, and most of them we could take Thomas. and overall he liked him, and first he wasn't sure, but in the end he liked it.
I was really glad that we got to go to Epcot because that was the only park I hadn't seen yet, so now that I've seen all the Disney parks I would have to say my favorite are Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios but I like them all in their own little way.
This November my brother and my sister-in-law are coming to visit, and I'm super excited! We are planning on taking them to all the major theme parks so when we go to Disney I will MAKE SURE to have a camera with a memory card!!!

Who Needs a Binky?

Who needs a Binky? When you have a Tylenol bottle to suck on. 

I love my silly boy!

What are the Clark's up to?

Just some pictures of Thomas this last week, I need to get better and taking pictures again, it's just been hard because he's always on the move!

Nothing too exciting has been happening to the Clark family. This last week we did go to Aquatica water park (sorry no pictures, didn't want to get the camera wet) and this time the life jacket fit Thomas better so he didn't cry when we put it on, so we were able to take him to a lot more pools and slides this time. He loved the lazy river and the wave pool. Also now that it is the slower season Dustin and I got ride on more slides and not having to wait in line. We were there for a few hours and Dustin got burned, poor guy.
Also that night Dustin was lucky enough to Universal Studios for their haunted nights, I was very jealous, but our friend Adam only had two tickets, and his wife Brie didn't want to go so Dustin was the lucky one. He said it was pretty scary and they didn't even go to the scariest part. He had a lot of fun, so thank you Adam and Brie for letting him go.

Right now I'm working on Halloween costume preparations (so excited!!!)and getting things ready for Dustin's birthday, and Thomas'. Also I've been commissioned to do a Harry Potter piece for our friends and it's been a lot of fun, I will post it when I'm done. They are also having me do a big surprise thing for their Halloween party I'm excited about! It's really making me remember all the stuff I learned in my creative perspective class in college, to give you an idea how big the project is, the canvas I'm working in on his 14 feet long and 12 feet tall. Here is a picture of the canvas and after the halloween party is over I will post the final product to you, because right now it's a surprise!

TaTter-TeLL TuESdAy!

Dustin: Right now Dustin is growing out his mustache, and it looks terrible as always when he does. It looks bad because it's blonde hair so it just looks like dirt on his face. The only reason I'm letting him grow it out because it's for his halloween costume, so I just have to bear with it till halloween.
Jessica: So today I went to SeaWorld (surprise surprise) and Dustin's boss did a carciacture ( I can't ever spell that word) of Thomas and I, and while he was drawing me, he was trying to convince me to work for them, but I kept saying how I don' t like to work with customers and retail. Than he told me I could  do the letter-animal art stuff (it's when you draw animals in shape of letters to spell out a name) where I don't deal with customers as much. Than I told him if I worked it would only be one day a week thing, that I would only work on Dustin's day off or something, but I wouldn't want to work  a lot because I want to be home with Thomas. Anyway, so after some thought and talking, I might just work there when they need an extra help here and there. It's not anything final, but Dustin's boss was interested and I wouldn't mind making some extra bucks, AND if I work for SeaWorld, than I could go to Universal Studios and other parks for free because I would be an employee, so more Harry Potter World for me! DONE! So we will see what happens.
Thomas: So I had Thomas standing on my lap today, and next thing I know, he puts one arm around my shoulders, than with his other hand grabs my face to move it towards him, than he planted a big wet kiss on me. It happened so fast, and it was so funny and cute and the same time, I don't know where he learned that from but it was pretty hilarious.

SeaWorld

Since we go to SeaWorld almost everyday, I thought we probably should do a post about it. I don't have many pictures of SeaWorld because I usually go with just Thomas, and many of the exhibits don't allow strollers so I'm carry Thomas and it's kind of hard to take pictures one handed.
Last time we went to SeaWorld we got to touch a penguin and got to go inside where they have all the penguins! Which was very cold but very cool. Thomas really liked the penguin, he thought he was funny.  So you wonder how we got this great opportunity without paying the extra bucks? Well, I guess everyday at 2 they have a worker talk about the penguins and you can ask them questions, than after they talk they ask the audience a question and the first person to answer it correctly gets a prize, well, since we go almost everyday, I have become somewhat knowledgeable about a lot of the animals and got the question right. So I'm hoping they do that with the other animals too, my goal is to try and get all the behind the scene tours for free. We've been loving having SeaWorld so close.

Thomas Turns Ten Months!!!

Thomas turned ten months this week! I took more pictures than this put he wouldn't hold still, he kept crawling towards me and trying to grab the camera and everything else. He used to be such a good model when I took pictures, he used to pose and hold still, I guess those days are over!

Thomas is still doing his army crawling but he's getting better at his walking with mommy or daddy. 

He is in that stage where he puts everything in his mouth and chewing on things, I have seen him chew on shoes, phone chargers, and many more. 

He's also in the falling and getting hurt stage because he's on the move all the time. Also he loves opening cabinets and anything that he can get his hands on, so I can't leave him alone by himself very long.  Just today I left him for a second and the next thing I know he had my phone and text message a lot of people so I had to text them explaining the weird text they just got. ha ha

He's a lot of fun, Dustin & I enjoy him so much, we can't imagine life without him, he brings so much joy in our lives! We love him so much.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the rest of Universal Studios

I just let you know now, that I'm a big Harry Potter fan, so I'm going to sound really nerdy and tell you a whole lot about our Harry Potter experience! So if you want you can just scroll down and look at the pictures. First thing, Dustin & I loved it, we felt like kids in Disney World but better, we were on a high all day. 

Through Primary I have a met a good friend, Brie, whose husband works for Universal Studios and she was able to get me in for free (Dustin already gets in free for working for SeaWorld, but I haven't let him go without me so he's been waiting.) She came with us the first little bit, and watch Thomas for us so we could go on the rides and stuff, she's awesome!

So yesterday we headed to Universal Studios, and of course the first stop was Harry Potter World! And it was awesome! I really felt like I stepped into the movies/books. I was amazed at all the details they put into all the shops, every time we went back to the park we would pick new things we didn't see before. They had floating brooms in the stores, floating wand in the window, the Monster book from the third book in it's cage trying to attack you, in the book store, Gildory Lockhart books with his pictures moving, mandrake plants with their high pitch screaming, the quidditch balls shaking in the box with the snitch flying all over. They had the owlery with the owls and you can really mail things there. They also had chocolate frogs with the character cards, the chocolate frog that was on display was moving. They had some other cool stuff like the actual dress that Hermione wore in the 4th book in a window and there was a measuring tape that was measuring the clothes "magically". Than when you go to the bathroom you hear moaning Myrtle talking, they really put a lot of thought in everything, I love it! O, they also had  wanted signs of Sirius Black  that were also moving on the walls. 

Than going through Hogwarts was AWESOME! I didn't take any pictures of that, because it was dark in there, and also in the end there is a ride, that was also pretty darn good. So when you walk through Hogwarts you see the entrance of Dumbledore's office, the containers they have that has the house points, They had tons of paintings that would move and talk to you. They also had holographic (I think that's what it's called?!?)  of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and they were talking to the audience and they hid other the invisibility cloak, it looked really good, they almost looked real. Than the ride was awesome and made me jump a few times, it was really cool, they had it so you felt like you were playing in a quidditch match, they had Dementors, the spiders, a dragon, and you go the the Slytherin tunnel where the snake is and some other stuff from the movies. 

Than there were the stores, Ollivander's Wands was the best of course, and they had a lot of wands there and they not only have the character wands but they have these wands where they go by the Celtic Calendar, so you can get one according to your birthday, I guess that's how JK Rowling has it set up, so something about the wood it's made of goes according to the calendar? I'm not sure, and each wood has certain powers, but when I went into that store I came with the thought: "If I get a wand, I want Hermione's" because I have always liked the design of it since I first saw it in the movies, but than when they guy showed me the wand that went with my birthday I was like: "that's my wand!" I know that sounds dumb, but it's interesting because all the wands are made differently so some feel better than others. Mine, has a slight bend to it, so it's somewhat crocked. Anyway, I've debated between wands for a while, because all of them are that cool, I'm telling you now if you go there you will not leave that store without a wand, Dustin tried... when I got my wand, I asked Dustin if he was going to get one and he was like "Noooo, it's ok, it's not such a big deal to me like you," but I could tell he wanted one, I kept asking him, the whole time we were there because he kept bringing up about it. Then we went home around 4 because we were tired and hungry, and he was like, "Hey did you want to go back (because we hadn't even seen half of the park outside of Harry Potter World) and see the other parts of the park?" and of course I said yes! Than we arrived there, he was like "Man, I really want a wand" and the next thing we know we were back in the store having him try out all the wands, so we didn't even go check out the other part of the park, ha ha which I was ok about because I was enjoying Harry Potter world way too much. After about 20 minutes Dustin decided on Ron's wand, and that one is pretty cool.

Than there is Zoko's and Honey Dukes and those were pretty cool, they had the extended ears, and sneakoscopes, and any other object you could think of from the books. Than Honey Dukes they had Every Flavor Bott's Beans, and the Chocolate frogs, Blood flavor sucker (they were really strawberry) and all random types of candy. They also had The Three Broomsticks restaurant that we didn't go to but we hear the food is pretty good.

Also on the streets sometimes they would have performers, we saw the school choir with the singing toads from the third movie, and they also had students from the two other schools from the 4th book come and perform, it was really neat. 

Than there is Butterbeer..... let's just say I'm in love. They have butterbeer stations all over, and everyone  has butterbeer in their hands, it's kinda funny actually. There was pumpkin juice, but we didn't try that because we were hooked on the Butterbeer, there is the foamy cream stuff that they put on it that is amazing! But the drink is very rich, we got two during the whole day and shared it and it was almost too much for me. But I guess they serve it warm, cold, or frozen, we got it frozen both times because everyone says that's the best. And just incase your wondering, there isn't any actual beer in it. 

We did spend majority of the time in Harry Potter but we did go see the Dr Suess section, which was really cute, and there was a ride that we took Thomas in, he liked it until he got a little wet, but other than that he had fun. And we passed through the Jurassic Park section. Than we went to the Marvel section, which Dustin loved. We went on some fun roller-coasters there like the Incredible Hulk, and Doctor Doom's, and they had some super heros driving around on four-wheelers so we meet some of the characters. 

So it was a way fun, crazy day. Dustin & I had a Harry Potter high when we got home so when we put Thomas to bed we got our wands and watch some Harry Potter, I know, very nerdy, but we couldn't help it, and we notice we weren't the only ones who were nerdy at the park. It was really fun to see some of the kids who were there, especially when they were trying out wands, and we so two little boys "dueling" with each other.

So if you are ever in Orlando I would HIGHLY recommend Harry Potter World, especially if you like the books because it is pretty amazing and almost feels magical. 

Hogwarts express!!! When I was in London I went to Kings Cross Station and went to Platform and 9 3/4 so I feel pretty special.

Honey Dukes, I love the colors in the store, and there was loads of candy there, I wanted to get a chocolate frog but they were $10, maybe next time, I forgot to get a picture of them, they were pretty big. 

Hogwarts Express again, it was hard to get a picture with it because there was always a line.

Ummmm..... Butterbeer, we even had Thomas tried it,  he like it, he just had to get used to it.

Hogwarts castle, I thought it looked awesome, I told Dustin it beat Cinderella"s castle in Disney World.

Hogsmeade... this will be the only snow I will see in Florida.

Ollivander's store, that was the guy that helped me find my wand, and than here is a VERY nerdy picture of Dustin and I with our wands, see how mine is slightly bent? So cool.

Marvel and Jurassic park sections. We got a picture of Cyclops from X men. 

Dr. Seuss, I thought this section was really cute and fun.