Thanksgiving in Texas: Part II

Just wanted to share a photo of all of us from Thanksgiving (mind you, this was taken right after breakfast - thus, why some of us are still in our PJs).  Anyhow, check out the Clark Photo Gallery (down to the right) for a look at all our Thanksgiving photos.  

Thanksgiving in Texas

This year we decided to get both of our families together in Texas at Brad's parent's house. Tom and Cindy were so gracious in having all 13 of us (including the cat and dog) at their house. My Dad came from Little Rock; my sister, brother-in-law and nephew came from Oklahoma, my Dad's fiance and her son came from California and we came from South Carolina!! We all cooked (no oven fires this year!), the guys played golf (Sam got his first lesson), the girls did some Black Friday shopping and we went to a baby shower for Brad's cousin Amanda and her husband, Sananda (who are having twin girls). The highlight had to be the standoff between Crew (my 10-month old nephew) and Levi (Barry's new fox terrier) - the two of them chased each other all over Tom and Cindy's living room - it was pretty hilarious. It was such a great time and we already miss everyone. Here are a few pics from the week.

Praying for a Mighty Wind...

Well, it seems that the South Carolina leaves that were so beautiful a few weeks ago (see previous blog entry) have ALL made their way into our yard.  If you think I am kidding, here are a few fast facts about the Clark household this past weekend:

1. 1 Leaf Blower/Mulcher 

2. 1 Large Plastic Rake

3. Two sets of work gloves

4. 1 Lawn Mower

5. 9 Hours of raking, blowing, mulching, picking up and bagging of leaves over two days

6. An entire weekend of hearing Brad moan about how much he hurts...everywhere 

After all this, we ended up with FORTY-SIX 40-gallon lawn bags (yes, I said 46 bags) worth of leaves - and sadly, that is still not all the leaves from our yard.  We managed to make one GIANT leaf pile with the remaining leaves and are debating between burning and bagging them - we are leaning towards fire (especially since its legal to burn within city limits)!!  In the end, we know that all the leaves have not fallen yet, so we have at least one more go around with this....unless a mighty wind makes its way into Greenville and blows all our leaves into the neighbors yard...here's for praying!!

Fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains

Here's a look at the beautiful trees in this part of the country!  What can I say, we're blessed.

Try Not To Laugh.....

    

Cat vs. Printer

Brad's mom sent us this video...just try and not laugh...

What a weekend!

This past weekend was one we had been looking forward to for a while.  Mariam had purchased Michael Buble' tickets about a month ago, and we just recently got Jim Gaffigan tickets when we heard he was coming to Clemson.  He is one of our favorite comedians, if you've never heard of him check out his bit on Hot Pockets! So anyway, Friday we drove over to Clemson to watch Gaffigan.  Mariam scored great seats and we laughed 'till we cried, truly a riot!  Saturday night we got ready for round two.  We put on some nice digs to fit the style of the concert, but evidently some of the "ladies" in the audience wanted to kick it up a notch!  I'm talking sequin gowns people.  It was a great show started by a group named Naturally 7 that uses no instruments only their voices to make music.  It sounded boring to me until I heard them, WOW!!  Mr. Buble' sang some new stuff and covered the more well known songs too.  The man puts on a great show, I highly recommend it!  Now it's back to reality and work, looking forward to the next event! 

El Paradiso de Tomas

Hey, Tom and Cindy built a cabana, a rather large cabana, and all under Tom's supervision.  That is why they ran out of wood and had to come back two days later and finish the project. But hey, they did it!  It looks great!! Way to go guys, I can't wait to experience the shade and look forward to seeing your new furniture. Where does the inflatable pool go? Go to our picture gallery for the rest of the pics.

The Modern Mullet

Some of you may have noticed that I have been letting my hair grow out without supervision.  I have actually had ONE haircut in the last 5 months.  This is amazing for me and I wanted to show you all what I look like as a redneck.  Yes, I realize it's not that long, but it feels like I'm Billy Ray Cyrus and its 1994.  Anyways, I'll be getting it cut soon, so my curly mullet will be gone.  I have grown used to the attention I get from the ladies, especially one named Mariam.  

The Greatest Game Ever Played

Well, you might have seen it.  David vs. Goliath, Rocco vs. Tiger for the U.S. Open title.  A 91 hole slugfest of golf that played out better than any movie script.  Let's face it, we will never see this kind of drama played out on a golf course again in our lifetime.  You could never put into words what Tiger did to win, nor could we fathom how Rocco pushed him to the limit despite unrivaled pressure and odds.  Did you ever wonder where Rocco obtained the skills to make this the most memorable U.S. Open of all time?  In 1988 at the Colonial NIT Pro-am, a little known amateur named Tom Clark was paired with Rocco Mediate (see above photo).  I submit that, despite ancient golf equipment (note the wooden club head on Tom's driver) Tom was instrumental in the molding of this young professional golfer.  By hitting his golf ball into the woods and water hazards, Tom endeared Rocco to the "regular guy", leading him to become the "everyman's man" that made us chant his name on the fairways at Torrey Pines.  This is just one man's theory, you may have your own.  One thing is for sure, I am not only a Rocco Mediate fan, I am a Tom Clark fan!!

The Lodge at Sea Island

(From top: Front of The Lodge; Mariam poolside; view from our room; Brad poolside; pool at The Beach Club)

Brad and I recently ventured down to Sea Island and St. Simons Island, GA for my work and had the opportunity to stay at The Lodge at Sea Island. This trip was truly a treat as Brad and I had heard many wonderful things about The Lodge and The Cloister (the two main resort properties on these islands) but had not ever been to either. To say that we highly recommend taking a trip here would be an understatment. The resorts were amazing, the service was beyond exceptional and the Golf (according to Brad) was just AWESOME! We posted the link to Sea Island under "People, Places and Things to Know" - take a look!

Back Home In Oklahoma

We just got back from visiting family and friends back in Oklahoma. Since we moved away, everyone seems to have had a baby! We met our new nephew, Crew and spent time with old friends and their new "additions." The trip was great and it was definitely hard to leave, but we hope to be back soon. Here are just a few pictures of everyone back home.

Our Nephew....CREW!

The wait is finally over! My sister, Michelle and brother-in-law, Dagen, had their first child, David Crew Boyd on Friday, February 1st. He weighed in at 7lbs. 2oz. and was 19 inches long. We are so excited to have our first nephew and cannot wait to meet him when we visit everyone later this month!

First...and Only Snow

Well, we finally had our first and probably only snowfall of the winter season here in Greenville, SC. So it was only fitting that we capture it and share it with the rest of you....notice our giant OU flag that hangs proudly in the yard.

New Years in Little Rock

This year we spent New Year's in Little Rock, AR. It was a full house with my Dad, Michelle, Dagen, Rufus (their dog), Tom & Cindy (and her leg cast) and my Dad's brother and family. It was nice to be with everyone for a few days and get away from the daily grind.