Steph II

Thanks Aaron for helping me upload this.  You are the bomb.

Untitled from Amy Clark on Vimeo.

Stephanie

Last Tuesday one of my favorite people in the world passed away.  My cousin Stephanie was only 39 years old and she left behind a family of four young children.  It has been pretty devastating.  Above is a picture of me, my sisters and Stephanie when she spent a couple of weeks the summer after I graduated in Albuquerque.  Every year, we would go and visit Stephanie and her family in rural Mississippi.  We looked forward to this trip all year long.  Oh the fun times we had.  I can't believe that someone so fun and wonderful was taken from her family at such a young age.  Sometimes life is just rough.  Steph was one of my Aunt Sandra's beautiful daughters.  I posted about their family here. :http://thesevensmiths.blogspot.com/2009/04/aunt-sandra-uncle-roy.html

Here is a program from Stephanie's funeral this last weekend in South Jordan, Utah.  It was a wonderful meeting and pretty upbeat, all things considered.  And of course it was great to see cousins and friends I hadn't seen in years, but wouldn't it be nice if we could all get together under different circumstances?  Luckily,  I was blessed to be able to see Steph last September when I went up for another cousin's wedding.  It was so much fun to catch up and laugh about old memories.  I tried to see her when we were in Utah the week before she died and never was able to catch her.  I can't figure out whether I am happy or sad about that now.  Either way it had gone, it would have broken my heart.

Above is Stephanie's beautiful family.  Stephanie, her husband Rob, and her children Conner, Natalie, Carson and Landon.  Stephanie's brother Wade spoke at the funeral about how at first he was so angry thinking how Steph wouldn't be able to watch her kids grow up and then he realized that that wasn't the reason he was angry.  He said that he knew Stephanie would still be able to watch her kids grow up.  He was angry that he wouldn't be able to watch her watch them growing up.  I guess that's maybe the way I feel too.  It's a good thing we know that families are forever and that someday we will see the whole plan and hopefully it will all make sense.  In the meantime, here is what I wrote on Stephanie's facebook page.--

Oh, how I love Stephanie. I didn't write my favorite memories down at the funeral because I thought there were just too many to choose from. But here are some of the best - cruising up and down the Brookhaven streets and eating Dairy Queen blizzards, watching Karate Kid and Ferris Bueller, singing "The Glory of Love", picking wild blackberries, swimming, shopping at Fashion Gal, going to Putt-Putt (I went back there a week and a half ago and laughed out loud thinking of the time we went there and Renea told me to hit the ball mamma-jamma hard, after which I hit it so hard that it left the putting green and hit someone on one of the other courses), and of course getting coke slurpies at every 7-11 we ever came across. Until we meet again, I will be missing you most fabulous cousin ever.

At last I post!

Well it's time to make the longest post ever because I still do not have a computer to upload pictures with. I am totally lame.  So, get ready for what should have been several posts.  And make sure to hang on to the end when you will see the glorious new triple decker bunk bed.  Now don't get too excited.  I know it's hard.

Here is our energetic little five year old on her big birthday.  Boy is she a big party in a small package.  I've got to start posting some of her more quote worthy conversational gems.  She is something else.

I'm pretty sure Chad's friends did this while I was still awake.  Am I truly that unobservant?

Bethany, Miranda, Grace, Gabe, Gwen and Amber in Moab.  Cousin time. What fun!  We went river rafting and it was great fun.  Amber stood up during one of the rapids and screamed, "This is sick!" Wish we had a picture of that.

Amber is an expert at collecting salt water taffy and tootsie rolls during the Blanding 4th of July parade. Here she is stuffing her pockets.

This is the grave of someone my dad knew quite well.  Sadly Willard Harold went by "Dick".  You can imagine how his school years went.

While Aaron and Chad enjoyed Lagoon with their friend Tanner, Dad, Mom and the girls did some sight seeing.  Here we are at the "This is the Place" monument.  We were hoping to come back and actually go into the park but it is a little bit pricey so we changed our minds.  Apparently, it's a blast so maybe we'll go when we're feeling rich.

How would you like to have Sacrament Meeting in a chapel this fancy?  Somebody spend some serious time on the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

The fountains.  Always the best part of temple square.

Daddy and the girls at the top of Wilson Arch.  Miranda was still climbing and she was somewhat hysterical by the time she reached the top.  She's a little bit chicken like her mother.

Aaron, however, could use a little more healthy sense of fear.  We spent the night before the Fourth at the Monticello hospital because we thought Aaron had broken his wrist in a pretty scary four wheeling accident.  And he  thinks he wants a dirt bike.  Sure!

Miranda and Bethany before the hike down.

Back home it was finally time for Amber's long awaited swimming lessons.  You can't tell she's having a good time, can you?

Here is the girls' remodeled bedroom.  I painted the walls lavendar and it looks really good.  You may recall how much I do not like painting, but the results are almost worth it.  Now we just have to finish the boys' Fenway Park walls.  Here are Sam and Aaron putting together the most monstrous bunk bed I have ever seen.

Miranda at her first swim meet.  During her 50 freestyle, she took off before the race (thinking it was a relay), swam all across the pool and had to come back and start over.  Then she didn't know it was a 50, so she got out of the pool instead of turning around.  She still got back in and finished up the race though.  She is a total trooper.

 Look at her go.

And here it is, the moment you have all been waiting for.  Check out this bed.  Bethany bonked her head about three times getting out of bed but they sure have a lot more space in their bedroom.   Awesome!