Naomi Rides Without Training Wheels

Friday night while the big kids were playing Ga-Ga Ball Naomi decided it was time to learn to ride her bike without training wheels.  Well, actually, the boys took her training wheels off of the bike last year because they were going to use the wheels on her bike to build a go-cart, but that's a different post.  For lack of anyone willing to put the trainers back on, she determined to learn to ride without them.

She was a little shaky at times...

Showing some attitude!

She's been practicing all weekend, and has the scraped up knees to prove it!

"...but diligence is man's precious possession."  Proverbs 12:27

Ga-Ga Ball

On Mother's Day we made a trip into Waterloo and bought some lumber to build a Ga-Ga Ball Pit.  It took us about an hour to build.  You just can't beat the Clark Assembly Line when building things.  I think we've gotten our money's worth out of it already.

You can find the official Wikipedia Ga-Ga Ball rules here.  Our kids learned to play at IRBC.

We enjoy it because the whole family can play.  The big boys are usually nice about letting the little ones get their fair share of game time.

Jumping to avoid the ball.

One of the main hazards of the game is bloody knuckles.  We've invested in a super-sized box of bandaids.

Hudson getting in on the action.

The agony of defeat.

Chase wrote this endearing message with his blood...

Macklin gets to watch from outside the pit.

We were hoping to have nice weather for Alex's graduation open house so the little kids could be outside playing.  Unfortunately, it was rainy, so we didn't get to share that day.  We have had a couple opportunities for friends to come over and play since then.

Wanna come play?



"Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession."  Proverbs 28:10

Alex Graduates from High School

Alex celebrated his graduation from High School this month.  Our church honors our seniors on graduation Sunday.  Alex and several of his friends participated.

Alex was awarded the Ironmen's Scholarship and was given a bible.

We hosted a graduation open house in our home on May 14th.  Although the weather didn't cooperate and we ended up moving the family room furniture upstairs in order to set up tables and chairs inside, we had a really nice time visiting with friends and family.  It meant a lot to Alex to have so many people who have influenced his life celebrate with him.

I did not get a single picture of his open house.  It didn't even occur to me at the time.  There was so much going on and so many people coming and going that there wasn't time.

We are very proud of Alex.  He has done an excellent job with his schooling.  Being the oldest, he was at times our 'guinea pig'.  We tried many different kinds of curriculum, some of which we liked, some we didn't.  We feel we have given him a well-rounded education, centered on our faith in Jesus Christ.  He has excelled in his math and science courses, and has had the opportunity to learn many skills that are unique to our home school.  We are pleased with the man he has become.

Alex has been accepted to Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny.  He plans to play soccer for them this fall.

Here is a link to view the slideshow presentation that we showed at Alex's open house.
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/jodiclark-1037631-alex-clark/

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge."  Proverbs 1:7