Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

Jen all bundled up for her morning run. I think it could be a new fashion trend.

Christmas and New Year 2008

Christmas 2008

Alex and Rachel are here in Portland

for Christmas, the first time I've not

been to Wyoming! Always scheming,

our next adventure will be skiing 

Mt. Hood tomorrow...which went 

fabulously well! For New Year's 

Eve, we had Curt, Misty and the 

fam over for a little soire and had a 

ball. Even Connor made it to 

midnight! For New Years, we watched

the Rose Bowl at the Eng's and then

went bowling with Lisa, Emily and 

Abby.

More photos posted - click on picture above.

Connor Catches Snowflakes!

From Connor Cookie and Snow

I love Hawaii!

Hawaii was a blast!  Denver Airport lost my ID before boarding and I was so tired when I got home but other than that, I loved being there again.  I can't wait to return soon!  The warm weather was wonderful! 

Toodles!

Rachel

Alex and Rachel - Honor Students

Alex and Rachel both made the honor roll this quarter! Rachel is off to Hawaii for WHSASMB (ryhmes with Shazam...NOT!) to play flute/piccolo for Tgiving Parade in Honolulu. Alex is digging his 3D Art class, drums, and World of Warcraft.

They look mahvelous!

Love,
Dad

Gourmet Burger and Fiesta Bean Salad

Connor wanted burgers, no doubt about it. I wanted something a little more sophisticated - something that would be satisfy my craving for a little panache, a little bit ooh, a little bit ahhh. Thus, my gourmet burger with cheddar cheese, bacon, tomato, avocado and Light House Salsa Dressing - naturlich, ja? 

Now, wheat buns kind of wash out the color, so I needed a fiesta of colors on my plate and concocted a fiesta bean salad as follows:

Fiesta Bean Salad

---------------------

> 1/2 cup shelled edamame

> 1/2 cup corn

> 1/2 cup black beans

> 1 TB shallots

> 1/2 diced jalapeno

> 1 roma tomato, seeded & diced

> splash of red wine vinegar

> pinch or two of salt

> 1 tsp of cumin

Oh, Connor also talked me into home-made french fries and he gobbled them up first! 

Peace!

Love,

Clark and Connor

High School Dance

Hello All!

Last weekend was Co-Ed and next weekend I am on the plane to march in Hawaii!

Wow!

Love,

Rachel

Happy Birthday, Noah

Noah is a big "5" today. I am sure he is celebrating at Chuck E Cheese right now with his school friends and family. Hugs and kisses to you. G&G

Happy Fall!

Do you still have candy at your house?

We do! ;D

Want some? ;o

Love,

Alex & Rachel

Happy Birthday, Bill

Happy 56th Birthday, Bill. Hope you enjoy your day. Love, your wife

Clark's Christmas Wish List

Shameless? Perhaps. Hopeful? Always!

cufflinks

Monster Cable iPod FM Stereo adapter for the car

Ryan Admans and the Cardinals - Cardinology

Kaiser Chiefs - Off With Their Heads

A Hundred Million Suns - Snow Patrol

Mario Batali's Molto Italiano Cookbook

Tools Cooks Love (the book)

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

Powell's Bookstore gift certificate

1 share of Berkshire Hathaway

subscription to Runner's World

golf balls (Nike Mojo)

Ironman and Spiderman

Noah aka Ironman and Kaleb aka Spiderman kept the neighborhoods of Arizona safe on Halloween night.

Connor is Boba Fett!

 Connor is Boba Fett, the bounty hunter from Star Wars II, V and VI. Don't ask me which ones these are because Connor knows them all better than I do!

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween...share your ghoulish day or face a hauntingyou won't soon forget!

Love,

Clark

Happy Birthday Jen

Lets all wish Jen a Happy Birthday Oct. 29

Love Erik

Portland Marathon Photos

Here are the pictures from my first marathon! Watch this in slideshow mode and you'll see how the race progressed - strong first 17 miles, knee acting up, walking the last 5 miles with a trash bag to keep me warm and the victory dash up the chute! Enjoy!

PDX Marathon 2008

Rock of Love Meets Hockey Mom

Lisa and I rocked the Halloween Party 2008 - Lisa as Brett Michaels and Clark as Sarah Palin :-)

Above, Lisa channels Brett convincingly, complete with VIP Backstage Passes for his political conquests!

Full album below, with extras of Connor and pumpkin carving, Connor and Aiden and Lisa's Girlfriend Half-Marathon snap. Enjoy!!! :-)

Halloween 2008

Fabulous Breakfast Sandwich - Must Try!

This lovely breakfast sandwich will leave you completely satisfied, yet wanting more! This comes from The Oregonian by way of Little Red Bike Cafe in Portland and their now famous Alleycat Breakfast Sandwich - meow!!! Lisa and I made this last weekend and cannot get enough!!!

The Sandwich

2 slices toasted ciabatta bread

carmelized onion

1 slice of prosciutto

fig jam

Dijon mustard

> Toast the bottom bread first, then layer onion, prosciutto; spread fig jam and dijon.

> (This makes it ready for the egg and cheese to slide on in the next step.)

1 egg over easy

1/8 cup Beechers Flagship grated cheese (mix of sharp cheddar and gruyere)

> Melt butter, cook egg and flip when whites have set.

> Toast the top of the sandwich so it's nice and hot.

> Sprinkle cheese on flipped egg and let melt (30-60 seconds max)

> Place egg on top of sandwich bottom and place toasted top next.

> Cut in half so yolk breaks a little and makes a little dipping sauce.

> Enjoy!

The Carmelized Onion

Simple. Slice an onion into thin rings. Melt 2 TBs butter over medium high heat, add onions and stir until soft & starting to brown, then reduce heat to medium-low-ish and cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. These will keep for a week, so make ahead of time and microwave them for 15 seconds to heat up for easy application.

He did it He did it

CONGRATULATIONS CLARK

YOU NOW CAN SAY YOU CAN RUN 26.2 MILES NOT MANY PEOPLE CAN SAY THAT.

A little post race suggestion. Drink lots of beer and sit in a bathtub full of ice.

Happy Anniversary Erik and Jen

Seven years ago the rain was pouring outside, but the love and happiness was abound between these two kids celebrating with family and friends. Congratulations on your life and family.

RUN STRONG CLARK

If you didn't know Clark is running the Portland Marathon this weekend.

Lets all wish him luck.

Mom Visits Portland

Mom in the Northwest

Mom had a lovely time in Portland, playing with Connor, meeting Lisa, dancing at Steve and Laura's wedding and visiting with the Jaquith clan in Corvallis. CLick on the photo above to see the album from her visit.

Love,

Clark

Twinner Mari's Twins' Birthdays - Today!

When Mom visited Portland two weeks ago, I absconded with her digital pics and voila! Instant birthday photos!!! Happy Birthday, Jazz and Rae :-)

Love,

Uncle Clark

September Birthdays

Clark and Mari - 9/19 

William - 9/20

Erik - 9/26

KWHS Marching Band

We have played at three KWHS games so far this football season.  Next weekend we will be in Laramie for a marching band competition.  The following weekend we will be competing at the Event's Center in the annual state marching band competition.  Alex is the percusionist with the headband under his hat.  Rachel is much more difficult to pick out since her instrument is a piccolo.

Alex & Rachel

Summer Is Over

Summer is over and these are some pictures from my August birthday party! 

Happy Fall!

Rachel & Alex

Alex and Rachel - High Schoolers!

Alex is a junior and Rachel, a freshman at Kelly Walsh High School. Can you believe it?!?! More later, but I couldn't be prouder of them!!!

Love,
Dad

Connor's First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Connor's very first day of Kindergarten at Bethany Elementary! Complete with a new outfit and rolling backpack (with reflective trim that glows), Connor was ready, if not a wee bit timid, as he rolled into the classroom. Mrs. Hesselgrave is his teacher, the same one (I think) Rachel had when she was there! 

Love,

Clarkster

Kaleb Turns 2

Kaleb turns 2!!!

I know I am late putting this on, but life is a bit crazy and there are not enough hours in a day.

Erik Sears Clan Hits Portland

Erik, Jenn, Noah and Kaleb visited us yesterday along with Steve and Val. We were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the elephants at the Portland Zoo and even fed a little elephant! Connor and Noah got along famously, alternating between quiet scheming to full-speed, spider-smashing, maniacal, bon vivant boyhood! :-)

Below, Connor, Kaleb and Noah explore the Northwest waterways full of trout, salmon and sturgeon.  I'm confident the sturgeon was longer than Kaleb!

Here's an intrepid Connor petting the elephant. IT took apples and carrots out of his hand. WHen she dropped the food, she'd pick it up and then place it gently back in Connor's hand, then take it again. Connor was thrilled!

Later, the tired troops trekked back to my casa for some R&R and homemade blueberry ice cream. We had a fabulous time!

Love,

Clark

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Alex and Rachel! Rachel's defiant/ mischevious grin reminds me of "sweekets" - she'd tell me she had a secret, get clsoe to my ear and then snort little blasts of air out her nose!!

Rachel is now 14 and will be starting her fist year in high school at KW!

Happy Birthday!!! :-)

Love,
Dad

Noah and Kaleb in the Rain

Hello everyone

So it does rain in AZ just not very often, so when it does we all have to take advantage of it. Believe it or not this is the first time that Kaleb has played in the rain. Life for kids is so different here in AZ.

Clark and Lisa in Central Oregon

Earlier in the summer, Lisa and I took a trip to Sunriver, Oregon, located near the Cascade range and its numerous volcanoes - Mt Bachelor being the most visible in this shot. We had just finished our run along the Deschuttes River when we hiked the Newman Crater, thus the fabulous running gear! Years ago, probably 1973ish, Mom, Jeff, Mari and I visited this exact spot when we visited the Jacquith clan in  Corvallis one summer...

After a long run, we relaxed at the rented "cabin" in Sunriver below, rode bikes, hit the driving range and generally decompressed from the Helvetia. All this over the 4th of July weekend. It was from here that I posted the blog on the LA Times accepting my Neo Declaration for its blog :-)  

Being a runner, Lisa has been my muse and inspiration for, among a multitude of shared experiences, Helvetia Half Marathon and now the Portland Marathon! She has a lovely daughter, Emily, who is 12 and loves to bowl. Photos from our bowling extravaganza with Emily, Alex, Rachel and Connor can be found in my June post :-)

Love, Clark

First Half Marathon for Clarkbar

Ever the maven of sports style, my black gloves are meant to intimidate other runners to move out of the way. In my left hand, I clutch a combination of sugar, glue and plutonium for energy, known as Gu, a man-made element with an atomic weight of 01:56:00 - boo ya!

As you may have guessed, the race bib and hydration system (bright yellowish pods of delight) indicate a run, which in this case was the Helvetia Half Marathon, my very first! And, in case your chemistry is a little rusty, the atomic weight should not have colons, semi-colons or resemble lottery numbers. It is, in fact, my finishing time, beating my personal goal of 2 hours.

Next up is the Portland Marathon on October 5. I'm hearing rumors from cactus land that The Rock-n-Roll Marathon will see Bill doing the full marathon and Erik doing the half. Hmmmmm, some mossy-footed folks might want to join!  

Love, Clark

Clark in Munich

Ja, Ich bin Meunchener mit grossen Biersteinenmeinhands!

Another blog another city. I have a new deal going in Germany, which tends to make one very thirsty! 

For my marathon training, I hit the famous English Gardens...in Munich...Germany...um...yeah!

Tschuss und Gruss Gott,

Clark

Clark in Beijing

That's right, I've made the Olympic team for extreme paperclip construction, specializing in hamster bridges and fencing for free-range chickens...

Seriously, Intel sent me to help close a deal with a computer company and the government. While I did try duck tongue and other delicacies, my iron stomach gave way to Mao's revenge the last day! 

We didn't have time for sightseeing, except a quick trek to Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden CIty (above). Below, a very oriental=looking Starbucks. I'm pleased to say I didn't buy anything there!