Rich + Josephine

Rich & Josephine were married on June 6, 1951. They stayed at Grandmas' parent's house the night before, and her dad said, "well, I don't have any advice for you, because if I haven't taught you what you ought to know by now, it's too late!" The next day they were married in the Logan Temple, and Joseph Benjamin Daines, Grandma's dad, was the sealer. He was a councelor in the temple, and a sealer to many of Grandma's siblings and several neices and nephews as well. The ceremony was short, likely because he was true to his thinking, when he had said there wasn't much use to give advice now, because it already should have been learned. Those in attendance did a temple session after the ceremony, as was customary at that time. Grandma had been through the temple for the first time about 1 month before the wedding.
Later in the evening, there was a reception in Grandmas' parent's home. The colors were blue & white. Beth, Grandma's sister, had a bouquet made out of white lilacs(which were in bloom in the area). Beth also made a cake and topped it with a blue dutch windmill; things were done economically, and made use of what was available. Grandma's brother-in-law, Joe Quayle, arranged to take her car and hide it, so that nobody would be able to "decorate" it. He took it to where he worked, Bordens Milk Company, during the reception, and then brought it back to the area. After the reception, the couple walked through the back yards and found their car on 4th north to be able to take off on a honeymoon to the northwest.

Grandma's Finally Getting Her Twins

A few days ago, Curt and I found out we are expecting twin girls in December or January. We are excited (mostly) and can't wait to share the news (now that it's sunk in...). We of course have lots more information on our blog: curtandnatalie.blogspot.com.

Engagement

Grandma said she wanted to marry a farmer. (having grown-up milking cows at 4AM, at first I wanted to laugh and ask if she was crazy, but I asked her reasoning and it sounds like a good fit and pretty smart to me) She wanted to have a horse and a place for her family to learn to work. So it worked out well that Grandpa fit the bill. According to Grandma's diminishing memory they just went out alot, and spent enough time together that things just went that way. She said there was no real point of engagement, but it just seemed to evolve into the fact that they would get married.

Grandpa got Grandma the ring for Christmas in 1950. He had served in the military with a Needham boy(whose family owned Needham Jewelers in Logan) and became close friends. His friend had told him that if he ever got to the point of needing a ring, to come to him and he would give him a good deal. Since he is a Clark and can never pass up a good deal, that is where he went. Grandpa picked out the ring, and Grandma thinks he didn't fuss over it much and just got the one that fit the price. The above picture is not the actual ring, but it is a remake with the original diamonds. The actual ring had one larger diamond with a couple smaller diamonds on the sides and a band that went next to it with diamonds on it as well.

Grandma got the ring on Christmas Eve and they became "officially engaged." She knew that is what she was getting for Christmas. Although there was no real "Will you marry me?"proposal, if there was a time that was close to them officially deciding to get married, it was one night they had gone up to Grandma's family's place in Logan one weekend, and gone on a drive up Logan Canyon to first dam and talked there. Grandma said she never had second thoughts, she just knew that marrying Grandpa was the right thing to do.

How Grandma met Grandpa

This is Kasey. I have wanted for sometime to know more about my Grandpa. I thought of putting together a video of Grandma and a few others talking about him, and then showing it at a family reunion or something. But lets be honest...I haven't made it to a family reunion since I got married(1 of my 2 regrets of having other adventures) And I'm not sure my time left here will be enough to finish a video. Plus I don't have much experience making videos. So instead, I've decided to ask Grandma a few questions and write about it on this blog. Blogs are good for story telling and recording things anyway, so if any one else wants to add stories about Grandpa or anything else, please do. (Patrice, I'd love if you wrote about telling your dad "I love you" before he passed on....or your other funny stories like when Paul scared the daylights out of you when you went to the barn to get milk one night) This way others in our family can find out about each other and the Grandpa that most of us cousins never met. So here is the first question:

How did you meet Grandpa?

Grandma attended USU and was graduating with a Education Degree in Home Economics. Grandma had done her student teaching in Morgan early in the year in 1949. That is when she came to know Morgan. She next went to the Netherlands on an exchange program and returned on Nov 2. At that time there were 2 openings for extention jobs, one in Morgan and one in Tooele. Because she had been to Morgan before, it was assumed she would go to Morgan. She traveled up to come work in Morgan on December 1st, 1949. On December 18th there was a mutual dance activity. Grandpa had been attending the fall school term at BYU. He had come home and attended the dance. Grandma and Grandpa were the only ones in their age group and they danced and that is the first time they met. Though Grandma doesn't remember the specifics about how she felt, she didn't think it was just love at first sight, but she was glad that there was someone to dance with her. They continued to do things together over the next school term when Grandpa came home from school. The next summer they spent more time together, especially on Wednesdays when they got off early from work and would go to Como to swim. They were engaged at the end of the year(but that's another story) and married in the next summer.

Our Grandma Week

Although we live in Hawaii and couldn't take Grandma on a real date to a Jazz game(even though the Jazz are currently a total disappointment), we did the next best thing we could think of...a phone call and sent a gift of chocolate covered macadamia nuts back with Patrice who was just visiting with Heidi-Thanks Patrice.  Above is a rendition of Ady's favorite song that she sang for Grandma on the phone(sorry it's sideways).  At least she gets all the important words!  Grandma even claims she understood it.  Sometimes I don't even understand her, but Grandma does have a lot more experience so I believe her.  

New Blog

We have a new blog address. Our blog can now be found at: curtandnatalie.blogspot.com. We would love everyone to come visit us at our new home! :)

Visiting

My parents, Isabelle and I are going to be making our way up north later this week. Tentatively we will be in Idaho this Friday the 11th. We will stay in Idaho for a little while...maybe to the 15th or 16th. Then we will be in Utah until probably the night of the 21st or so. We aren't really positive of anything especially where we will be staying, but we'd love to see everyone...especially if you come to us since I'm sure Isabelle will hate the car by then... :)

Grandma in Texas

Grandma came out to Texas with Patrice early in June for Heidi's graduation and Isabelle's blessing. We spent our first day (Thursday) together downtown Fort Worth. We went to PF Changs, the water gardens and stopped by Curt's work to feed the baby. The next day we relaxed a little bit and went shopping. On Saturday we went to Heidi's graduation. She was beautiful and super excited. After graduation we ate amazing Tex-Mex at Uncle Julio's. On Sunday we enjoyed Isabelle's baby blessing. Overall we had a great busy week together and we ate out a lot. :)

Look what we found!!

We were driving along I-15 a few weeks ago and as we were passing Layton what did we find...
The Bruce Clark Family in all their glory! Sorry the picture isn't too good. It was the best I could do as we were driving by on the freeway and there happens to be a rather large Kohl's sign blocking it until you are about passed it.

Isabelle's Blessing

Curt is blessing Isabelle on June 7th for anyone who wants an excuse to come to Texas...

Dan's coming home!

Can you believe it's been two years already? Dan is coming home from South Carolina on Thursday, June 11th at 2 pm. Right now we are planning on June 28th for his homecoming talk in church. Dan has had a fantastic mission and has promised to not think the rest of the family is going to burn in hel... because we have not increased in spirituality at the same rate he has over the last two years!

Grandma's house-do you recognize it?

So I went to a customer service training earlier this year and learned that in general people of the baby boomer generation and older have a fear of the newer technology.  So this post is for them, because my mom can't figure out how to make a blog or to even post on a already existing blog. At least she has figured out how to email a picture!

Anyway, this is Grandmas house and the new addition that is going on.  This was taken a little while ago and now the roof is nearly finished.  Also I hear that UDOT is redoing the bridge and making sidewalks so things are really changing. 

Also a quick little update: Adam is flying to Minnesota on June 8th to check out some resorts he is interested in buying.  He is going to stop in Utah on the way home for a few days on June 24-27.  Rashel and Andrea have graciously agreed to fly to Hawaii during that time to help baby-sit Adyson while I am at work.  If anyone else wants to come sometime and need a reason, we can always use a babysitter during Adam's classes!

My Date With Grandma

Grandma and I spent the afternoon together today. We went to Logan. I went to my last meeting before I graduate while she went to the eye doctor. We drove through our Aggie campus....

Then we ate lunch at the "Firehouse!"

Yummm- errrs!

...then we got cheese curds at Gossners...

It was great. She told me a few stories about some of our Daines ancestors about when they were baptized and immigrated from England. I love Grandma....and England....Cheers Mates!

Email from Patrice about the Family Circle Committee

Hi Everyone,
We have created a family committee to make opportunities for us to spend time together, keep in touch, develop stronger relationships etc. It is called the Family Circle Committee. Our first activity is one where we all get the opportunity to do something fun, special, nice with Grandma (mom). Each person or couple is assigned a week in the year to do something with or for Grandma (mom). Anything from taking her out to lunch or an event or writing a nice letter or even just calling her and spending some time on the phone with her. It's up to you what you do. The list of the family member and their week of the year is attached and also below. Take note of your week and let your kids know as well. I may or may not have them on this email list. Or you may need to tell your parents if you are on this list and they are not or they don't look at email or their email address is an old one. Rashel will email you prior to your week and Kenzie will call and remind you.
We will keep you informed of other fun things we come up with, like our trip to Bear Lake the second week of August. Blake is working on that trip.
Thanks,
Patrice and the Family Circle Committee

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. - Alex Haley

Clark Family Special Week with Grandma
Family Member
Week April 2009 - April 2010
Andrea
April 19 - 25
Anne and Perry
April 26 - May 2
Blake
May 3-9
Brent and Cindy
May 10 - 16
Brian and Jennifer
May 17 - 23
Bruce and Jennifer
May 24 - 30
Carl and Laura
May 31 - June 6
Carson and Cameron
June 7 - 13
Cecily
June 14 - 20
Chris
June 21 - 27
Daine
June 28 - Jul 4
Dan
July 5 - 11
Destry and Rachel
July 12 - 18
Ellissa
July 19 - 25
Emmalee
July 26 - Aug 1
Ethan
Aug 2 - 8
Hailey
Aug 9 - 15
Hannah and Chloee
Aug 16 - 22
Heather and Andrew
Aug 23 - 29
Heidi
Aug 30 - Sept 5
Hilary
Sept 6 - 12
Jackson
Sept 13 - 19
Jason
Sept 20 - 26
Jed and Sharma
Sept 27 - Oct 3
Jessica
Oct 4 - 10
Joe and Cam
Oct 11 - 17
Kaden
Oct 18 - 24
Kadie
Oct 25 - 31
Karen and Daron
Nov 1 - 7
Kasey and Adam
Nov 8 - 14
Kelsey and Scott
Nov 15 - 21
Kendra
Nov 22 - 28
Kenny and Shanna
Nov 29 - Dec 5
Kenzie
Dec 6 - 12
Kyler
Dec 13 - 19
Leslie and Brandon
Dec 20 - 26
Melanie and Ryan
Dec 27 - Jan 2
Natalie and Curt
Jan 3 - 9
Nathan
Jan 10 - 16
Patrice
Jan 17 - 23
Paul and Shelayne
Jan 24 - 30
Alora
Jan 31- Feb 6
Preston
Feb 7 -13
Rachel and Eli
Feb 14 - 20
Rashel
Feb 21 - 27
Riley
Feb 28 - Mar 6
Sadie
Mar 7 - 13
Sarah
Mar 14 - 20
Steve
Mar 21 - 27
Taylor
March 28 - April 3
Zac
April 4 - 10

A baby girl...

Two weeks ago Curt and I found found out we will be having a baby girl. What would you expect, right? We only know how to do girls... :) We are both very excited and love the thoughts of having her around our house. According to the ultra sound everything looks like it should...all four chambers of the heart, all three arteries in the umbilical cord, etc. She already kicks me a ton and within the past few days has started kicking me in the ribs. I love when Curt gets to feel her kick and my mom just felt her this weekend. Overall, things are going great and we are very excited! :) Have a happy Thanksgiving!!

Update from Hawaii to Chicago

I thought I'd just write a quick note to tell you all that Leslie is now in Hawaii with Brandon. I'm glad they are back together after their long summer apart. Though I am jealous that they are in Hawaii especially now that it is getting to be winter here in Chicago! Ryan and I will be staying here for Thanksgiving and celebrating with some friends. However, we are coming to Utah for Christmas. We'll be there from Dec. 18-25 and are looking forward to spending some time with all of you. I miss you all and am excited to see you.

We're moving

Ryan and I will be moving to Alexandria, Virginia next summer after his graduation.

We locked our blog

Hey All!
Just thought I would let you know that we locked our blog because of some weird comments made on friends blogs. Since we were all connected I decided to prevent that. It probably is safer anyway when you think about it. I am sure there is more information on it than I realize or want strangers to know. So if there is anyone that I missed sending an invitation too that would like to view our blog send me your email address and we will get one to you. Hope everyone is doing great!

Our first offer

Ryan and I are awaiting job offers for next year. Ryan got his first offer a week ago. We are still waiting to hear from a couple other firms and will keep you posted. But for now, I'd like to hear if anyone has any pro's/con's about Alexandria v. Chicago to help in our decision making process.

Playing Cowboys and Indians

This past summer I worked in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I worked on the Teton Wagon Train and Horse Adventure as a "wrangler."....which basically means that I got paid to ride horses in the Tetons, camp, eat lots of dutch oven food, and sleep under the stars. Rough...I know :) It was fabulous.

Mom, Dad, and Sara came up for a week in July. One night of the camp there is an indian attack...does the indian on the right look familiar??

The conditions were rather rugged. The mosquitos were awful for a few weeks. Each night around dusk there would be a loud buzzing noise and an entire black cloud of mosquitos above my head...and attacking me. Alyssa, my co worker, and I decided to combat the annoyances by hiding from them. We looked stupid, but atleast it kept them out of our ears.

...did I mention it was rugged? The camp ran from Monday to Thursday, but I had to stay on the mountain for a few weekends with the horses. 11 days is a long time to go without a shower. Have no fear, I'm a "Clark," and I created something that comes in as a close second. This is what I call a "Cowgirl Shower" All you need is a horse water bucket, a stump, tarp, some bubbles, and a song!

The wildflowers were the most beautiful ones I've ever seen.

If you remember back to the family reunion...my trivia "did you know" was that I carred a 44 Ruger for my job....well, here's the proof. Because our camp is in the grizzly bear recovery zone, the crew "packs heat" (as they say)...just in case we need to scare away any friendly visitors.

I was on the mountain for 7 weeks and at the Bar T 5 chuckwagon dinner for the remainder of the summer. I drove the teams of horses up a canyon each night with guests for a chuckwagon dinner.

This is Randy...the goofiest horse I've ever met. He's a half draft, so he's big...he doesn't quite know what to do with himself...kinda like an awkward deacon. He enjoys only getting up half way in the mornings.

In addition to all of my western adventures, I did manage a few other things. I went to one of my companion's weddings....and even caught her bouquet. I actually caught Rachel's too just the week before! It must be a sign! :)