Newest Clayson...

She's now a month old, but I thought I would through up a few pics I stole from Angie of the newest Clayson.... she is adorable.

Irelynd Lola Clayson

Good job Ange... oh, and Mike...

We're back, eh?

So we're back from Canada, eh? I have to say eh, cause of the Canadian thing, eh? Apart from the cool weather, and lots of rain, we had a great time. Vancouver is a beautiful city. We stayed in the Sheraton Hotel, downtown. We were on the 26th floor. Breathtaking views of the city, and the water. The entire outside wall of the hotel room was made of windows. Stunning.
Here's a look...
View from the front of the hotel. This city reminds me of parts of Europe...
While we were there, we drove out to see the Vancouver Temple in progress. The location is beautiful. The temple is nestled in a highly wooded area, in the suburbs of Vancouver, approximately 30 minutes out of downtown Vancouver. It was worth the drive, even though we were taking pictures in the rain. After we saw the temple, we went to dinner, then stopped to get ice cream at the Marble Slab (like ColdStone). In line behind us were two missionaries and their bishop. We bought their ice cream, and visited with them while we ate. It was fun to see the work in progress. The church is the same wherever you go.
I was excited to see all of the 'hoopla' for the upcoming winter Olympics, but the only thing I saw, other than a few t-shirts in the giftshop, was the Olympic Rings, placed just outside the Vancouver Airport... which we happened upon just by chance...

One of the fun things we did was we actually flew into Seattle, then drove the last two hours to Vancouver. What a beautiful drive. We got to see alot more of the area than if we had just flown the whole way. We love Seattle. One of my favorite places to eat is at Ivar's. Great seafood, just on the harbor. Best clam chowder I have ever, or will most likely ever eat. Made with thick cream... it is heaven. It alone was worth the extra driving. I looked forward to having lunch there on the way home for days. Here's a view from the restaurant window...A picture of me and Ed at Ivar's. It's blurry, but it's the only pic we took of us on the whole trip. Lame... I know... Anyway, we had a good time, but it's always nice to be home.

Lucky, Lucky Me....

What an amazingly good looking bunch of kids, if I do say so myself. And amazing they are. I don't care if I am their mother... they are amazing. I can't tell you how much fun it has been to have them all together again... even if I only get Joshie on weekends. It warms a mother's heart. They are almost all grown up now, and are such good spirits. And the funnest part is, they all like each other.... I mean REALLY like each other. They are good friends. They enjoy each other's company. They hangout with each other on PURPOSE.... wow... that's all I can say.
I realize the time I have with them at home will be short lived from this point on, so I plan to enjoy the time I have left. Tyson starts LDS Business college on June 8th... 2 days after we get home from a family vacation we have planned to Catalina Island and parts of Mexico. Ed and I had a feeling that if we were going to do it, we better get after it now... cause change is just around the corner. We can feel it. Will I elaborate at this point? Ummm, no... but just trust me... change is a comin'. So that is my report. My boy is home, for now, and we are happy.... the kids are happy... and he is happy.