simply living

life recently

2012-02-11T14:48:00.000-05:00

we've finished quite a few things on our house that i thought i'd post for those who care:

most exciting for us was having the sheetrock guys finish mudding the walls where the wallpaper tore the sheetrock paper off

then we worked really hard to prime everything

jake got home from teaching snowboarding one night and got REALLY motivated and painted the bathroom all in one night - he didn't finish until after midnight!

we ended up going with the same color that we posted on facebook one night, that actually got lots of really terrible reviews from our friends, but i promise, it actually looks really good in person, especially in natural light.

we also painted our bedroom in this greyish-brown color that i REALLY love - in fact, we decided we liked it so much we're painting the rest of the house the same color

unfortunately, we do still have the hideous pink carpet, but that is hopefully next month's project

in other news, i'm learning to cook healthier foods. my friend Joy inspired me with a list of easy "fast-food" options that made it sound not-so-hard to start cooking lots of new-to-me foods

lentils, barley, bulgar, and quinoa

and my fridge looked so pretty when i got home from picking up some of the different options Joy said she cooked, i just couldn't help but take a picture!

so far, we've polished off all the chard, almost all of the kale, the broccoli, cilantro, and plan to finish the portobello mushrooms and red pepper tonight - YUM! (although i'm still trying to truly enjoy the grains, and i totally miss alfredo sauce...)

finally, some girls came over the other night to make cake pops with the cake pop maker i got for christmas - so fun!

do you notice the beautiful fruit tile below all of our ingredients? can't wait for that to be gone!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

another house update

2012-01-13T18:59:00.000-05:00

because my mom was asking to see more pictures...

kitchen wall before

jake priming the walls

big window wall before

fireplace wall before

and because it'll be good to remember...

kitchen wall after (ready for sheetrock guys next week)

big window wall after

fireplace wall after

i guess i didn't take a picture of this before...but regardless, it's a cute pic of samson

we found a little surprise in the air duct

a mountain dew can, apparently left by the builders in 1996, which we couldn't get out without risking pushing it all the way down SO it's still there...

and i just really love this picture jake took off the front porch the other day of a cloud lying in the valley

and i KNOW you wanted to see another cute picture of samson, so, here ya go:

even though he's not really allowed on the couch...but how can you say no to that?

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

house update

2012-01-03T20:30:00.000-05:00

here's a couple of recent pictures of the house:

a bunch of our friends came over for brunch on monday and the guys helped jake tear down the wallpaper in the loft

sorry it's so dark - i've been lazy and just using my iphone instead of my camera

while we were doing research on the best way to remove wallpaper, i read a comment someone posted that read "those who hang wall paper on sheetrock without painting or priming first should be shot" - i didn't really understand their frustration level until we started taking down the plaid

now i understand though. all those brown spots are the exposed drywall. and every one of those spots has to have drywall mud put back over them, smoothed out, sanded, and most likely done again before we can paint.

tonight's project is really turning into a beast. jake is pretty obsessed with conserving energy, and has been noticing that there is quite a bit of cold air leaking in through our sockets. he bought some of this foam board stuff that we were using to cut out and place behind the sockets to try to stop some of that exchange. then, he started feeling how much air was coming in through the space around the window that was covered in trim. so, he took down the trim and started spraying "Great Stuff" into the space. the first can went pretty fast, so he made a run to Lowes and came back with this:

lots and lots of Great Stuff!

so, we're making our house a little more efficient, one can at a time. Jake called me over and said "Britt, do you know why this stuff is so great?" i resisted the urge to say "because it's called 'great stuff"' and tried the answer of "because it expands in the cracks and blocks out the air!" - i thought i would get it right. it turns out because it "has an r value of 5 to 7 per square inch" - pretty great huh? :)

(i don't really know what it means either, other than it's great!)

would you like to know what happens when a curious dog meets a can of Great Stuff?

poor thing's going to loose part of that beard tonight because you can't just brush this stuff out...

this one is for our moms...

2011-12-28T21:34:00.000-05:00

i know no one else will care, but i just wanted to post some pictures of our progress on the house

master bedroom, minus flowery wallpaper

and by our i mean jacob's, because he's spent all day of the last two days working on the house

master bath, minus blue flowery wallpaper on walls and ceilings

bathroom in master bath, minus same blue flowery wallpaper

upstairs bathroom, minus weird apple wallpaper on ceiling and walls

there's also things to see outside, but all i have is this one we took the other night when we rented a wood chipper and mulched all the branches and small trees that jake has been cutting down

anyway, that's all for now. as jake said, "all that's left is the plaid" but, ironically, that's about 90% of the wallpaper, so we've still got plenty of work to do.

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

our news

2011-12-27T20:46:00.000-05:00

so, our big news is that we bought (another) house!

it's defiantly a work in progress. the house itself is pretty tacky, but it's got "good bones" as my friend andrea says, and the things we don't like about it, we can fix easily.

like, the wallpaper that covers all 14 feet of every wall in the house:

the horrible hand-painted fruit tile in the kitchen:

pink carpet in the bedroom:

dark green tile and weird apple wallpaper:

horrible pink and white tile in the bathroom:

but the things we like are:

the new tile job that the seller paid for:

the fireplace

and the view!

we're the only ones in the neighborhood, and are surrounded by almost 40 acres

we've only been in here for a few days, but so far here's what we've been up to:

removing the leaves from around the windows

removing the weird apple wallpaper:

our realtor said he worked really hard to find a gift bag to match our wallpaper:

(by the way, if you're in need of a realtor, we HIGHLY recommend Tim Baxter!! he's amazing!)

anyway, there will be plenty of updates to come with changes as they are made, but for the time being, we are just excited to be in a house, with a huge hot water tank (only a 6 1/2 gallon tank on the airstream - that's about a 6 minute hot shower), two recliners, and room for samson to run around as much as he wants.

thanks for following!

love,

britt

Merry Christmas from the Clarks!

2011-12-25T12:41:00.000-05:00

i know we've been absent from the blog world for awhile, but we will be back soon with some exciting news, and until then, here's a video of our precious puppy opening his Christmas present!

this is just a picture - follow the link for the video!

love,

the clarks

UPDATE!

2011-10-06T17:50:00.000-05:00

LOOK WHAT I DID!

i figured out pintrest (thanks to sara davis!)

AND i found that transparent refrigerator on there

that's all.

-britt

just a quick hello!

2011-10-06T17:25:00.000-05:00

i'm working late. for the third night this week. not that i'm complaining, just that i have some extra time on my hands, so i thought i'd say hi.

first of all, i feel as if i'm getting really behind in technology. i feel a bit of fear as well, knowing that steve jobs isn't around to teach me how to do things anymore. first, i signed into facebook using a computer (rather than my usual iPhone) for the first time in a few months, and was instantly bombarded my features that i didn't understand what to do with, so i just ignored them all.

then i tried to figure out pintrest (i know, i'm a little behind with this one too) and really didn't feel that it should have been all that complicated, but i couldn't really understand what the point of it was, or really want to do once i was on the website, so after seeing a cool picture of an invisible refrigerator, i gave up and left the site.

then, i went to blogger, thinking i'd just throw up a quick post, but instead, had to figure out if i wanted a 'dynamic view' of my blog. i don't even know what that means. and couldn't figure out why it was any better. so i just decided to not change anything. and instantly felt like an old person who just gives up on technology rather than figure it out, and was ok with it.

anyway, all that rambling aside, i really have nothing to report on in life. jacob did turn 27 last weekend, which was fun and our friends really loved on him. i meant to take some pictures at his birthday party (we called it "MerleFest" in honor of his middle name, Merle") but probably because it was so cold mixed with the fact that i just forget to take pictures a lot of the time, i don't have any.

i can share this pretty sweet picture graphic that our friend collin put together for the event

the plan was to meet at a park here in boone and play corn hole and toss a frisbee or football, grill out, and just generally hang out. however, boone decided that fall had had it's fair share of time (a measly 2 weeks) and decided to send snow our way that day (there were about 2 inches in places up on Howards Knob)

so, we met at collin and charlie's house and played corn hole until our fingers were about to fall off, then went inside and drank hot apple cider and beer and ate delicious food and watched a couple of very boyish movies ("inglorious bastards" was much more gory than i anticipated when hearing we were going to be watching a 'dark comedy'). our friends loved on him very much.

sunday, his actual birthday, i gave him the box of cigars that i had shipped all the way from this little cigar shop in puerto rico where they roll their own cigars. they also slipped a few of the "cigars from venezuela that don't have a wrapper that are about 3 or 4 steps into the humidor in your shop on the right hand side towards the bottom" - after that description, i was pleasantly surprised to hear the guy say "i know exactly which ones you're talking about..."

needless to say, jake was pretty stoked, even if he wasn't surprised (it's SO HARD to buy something on a credit card without your spouse seeing it...wives - any suggestions?)

no other real news, but i will leave you with a picture of my boys, VERY MUDDY, after a fun escapade exploring the land we live on (jake finally made it to the ridge, something we had yet to do!)

anyway, thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

camping at greyson highlands

2011-08-21T14:30:00.002-05:00

over the weekend, we took samson on his first hiking trip to greyson highlands state park in virginia, and although he couldn't TELL us so, i'm pretty sure he loved it.

we got to the campground around 8:45 pm and hiked in in the dark, passing ponies on either side, which samson didn't even notice.

we set up camp, cooked dinner, and then went to sleep. samson slept in the tent with us, and was so great all night - i don't think he stirred once! we don't even have a big tent - i think he was taking up all of jake's foot room but it was worth it.

the next morning, we woke up before the sun rose and walked up to the ridge to watch sunrise; as walked back to camp, we saw there were a couple of ponies poking around collin's tent.

samson walked right up to them and said hello but didn't bark or anything at them. i am not sure he realized they were anything special (he was only about 8 inches short than them!)

we just ate breakfast and sat around and talked, then went for a little hike before we headed back to the car. it was absolutely beautiful and we all had a great time!

all photo credits go to jake and collin and their hipster photo apps

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

want to see my latest desktop background?

2011-08-17T19:44:00.001-05:00

i know you all are probably getting tired of just seeing pictures of our dog...

but let's face it: he is our lives these days

but really, can you blame us?

he's just so stinkin' cute!

samson's going camping for the first time this weekend - we're heading to grayson highlands for some epicicity so check back next week for some photos!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

fun pictures of Sampson

2011-08-10T14:40:00.001-05:00

first of all, i just have to say, we have some incredibly talented friends. one of which is collin waldron, whose job is so complicated i'm not even sure what his title is, but i know he can make things like this in less than 5 minutes

here's another one of sampson that jake took that i really like:

just wanted to share! have a great day!
love,
the clarks

update on our lives

2011-08-07T17:09:00.003-05:00

wow - it's been so long since i've written a post that blogger forgot who i was...but hopefully those who read this haven't!

sorry for the lack of updates - living without internet kind of kills my motivation to update this thing. but, here's what you've missed:

we moved into the airstream, and it's awesome. it's such a cozy home, with plenty of room for everything (except maybe hanging clothes, but i think we'll work that one out with time). we built a shed, which we have since filled up with all of the stuff that we don't need in the house but don't want to get rid of (like books, snowboards, frame packs, bicycles, a motorcycle, extra blankets, my sewing machine, tools, extra parts for the airstream, ect) - all in plastic containers so we stay nice and organized.

we finished putting in and setting up the composting toilet, as well as the grey water system, and replaced a part to make the furnace work, so we are at all systems go, with hot, running water, flushing toilet, all the things we'd have in a regular house! for the time being, we're wired into the grid for our electricity, but will hopefully be moving towards solar soon.

we got a new car - a '99 honda civic, which i'm stoked about because i've kind of regretted selling our '95 honda that i've had since high school when we moved to colorado the first time (although it was a great decision, because that little guy could not have maneuvered through the snow like our beast of a subaru did). i'm also stoked about the great gas mileage we'll be getting!

most recently, and most importantly, jake and i recently adopted a furry "little" bundle of joy named sampson.

he's a year old goldendoodle (or, as jake will tell you, a "golden retriever mutt") that we got from a lady in charlotte who needed to find him a new home. and he's great! we are already so in love with him, and it's only day two. i put little in quotation marks because really, he's like a small horse. i'm pretty sure that my mom has donkeys that are smaller than our dog. he's 65 pounds, according to the lady we got him from, and although his hair is kind of short now, by this winter he's going to look HUGE because his hair will be long.

i'm so excited because i've wanted a goldendoodle for a long time, but jake has always protested because he didn't want anything with a poodle in the name, but he's just as smitten as i am (maybe more so; he LOVES dogs!)

sampson, having lived in charlotte, didn't spend much time outside before he came to live with us, but we've already taken him swimming at the dam and hiking. he loved the river - he didn't quite know what to do at first (i will admit - he's not a great hiker yet, but i think a bit more time out on the trails and he'll be fine) but once jake coaxed him into the water, we had to pull him out! he loved just paddling around and wading through the water, checking everything out.

and i took him hiking out on some of the little deer trails around our house. i know there's a whole network up on our land, we just have to do a little bit of trail work to make everything nice and poison-ivy-free so we can go on morning walks and not worry about stepping over logs and stuff.

our stuff totally doubled when we got him too! we saved him the front of the airstream, and put his crate in there at first, but he didn't seem to like it all that much, and since it is so bulky, we took it down and just left the bottom part of it, with some blankets, and he likes to hang out there, although not sleep there for some reason?

anyway, i know y'all are tired of hearing me gush about my new best friend, but he's part of our lives now and so i found it fitting to write about him!

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

update on the airstream

2011-06-28T13:25:00.001-05:00

sorry for the lack of blogging y'all, but i thought i'd throw some pictures up of the airstream and what we've been up to lately!

jake doing some site prep

backing the trailer up the hill

robert concentrating

getting it in place

chad helping give directions

the shed that jake built - this will hold the generator, batteries for the solar panels and his motorcycle, among other things

anyway, i got a job (yay!) and start next week. this weekend promises to be loaded with fun times, so hopefully i'll have something interesting to share on this blog sometime next week!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

airstream dreamin'

2011-06-13T10:46:00.001-05:00

sorry for the lack of blogging! since our last post, we've moved into an apartment without internet, so i have to make a special trip somewhere to get online. and let's face it, i've been so focused on trying to get a job that the whole time i spend at the library is spent writing cover letters, filling out applications, and looking for vacant positions! there's been little time for blogging, but i feel good about the progress i've made this morning, and remembered to bring my camera with me to upload pictures, so i figured i'd go ahead and update you guys on what our next big "adventure" is:

check out our new house!

most of our readers probably already know about this, since we've seen a lot of you over the last few weeks, but for those of you who haven't, we just purchased a 1972 Airstream trailer, and we're in the process of remodeling it and it will soon become our home!

until i find a job, we're just doing a few things to fix it up, until our cash flow is a little more in the black, but so far we've replaced the floors with bamboo, and recovered the couch in the front, getting rid of the hideous 70's print and all the dirt and grime that has collected on it over the last 40 years.

we also ripped out one of the twin beds, and extended the other one so that we'll be sleeping in the same bed (which i feel we can all agree is important!) and have some pretty fun plans for the future, especially in the bathroom!

our plan is to be totally off the grid: composting toilet, solar panels, and a woodstove to heat the trailer with during our loooong coooold winter here in boone!

jake's been doing a lot of work on our lot, clearing trees and shoveling gravel, and we're planning on bringing it up to boone this coming weekend!

in other news, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary with a picnic where we got married and a trip to lowe's and spent the afternoon together out at our lot burning tree branches. super romantic huh? it was pretty fun though, to see a reflection of where we are in our lives and marriage 3 years later.

we also were able to celebrate the marriage of mitch and leanne bledsoe, and danced the night away with members of our church, which was really fun.

i'll be updating this on the progress of the airstream, but we'd invite any and all of you to come stay with us - we have an extra bed for you!

thanks for following,

love,

the clarks

babel towers

2011-05-26T18:58:00.001-05:00

so last weekend, we went camping in the linville gorge, and were reminded all over again why we LOVE living in western north carolina!

babel towers is a place we've camped a few times before, and are never disappointed!

after a great, quick hike in (though the trail was in pretty bad shape because of the storms over the winter), we got to the campsite that we usually covet yet walk past because it's always taken

this time, however, we were in luck and totally snagged it for ourselves!

some guys came by later and tried to take it over, but jake told them about another cool spot and thankfully they went there so we would all have room to sleep (although they did come back in the morning, yelling about the world ending...who would have thought that even out in the middle of nowhere, people would still be freaking out about may 21st!)

we all had a nice laugh when collin pulled out a flag to erect at our campsite (you can always count on collin to be extravagant when camping!)

we had another laugh at collin the next morning (i guess we should be ashamed of ourselves...) while he was trying to make grits. it took him awhile, and in the end he didn't even end up eating them. but, he learned a valuable lesson about how to use his jetboil! (here's a hint for those of you not able to join us: jetboils are good for boiling water only!!)

jake, lauren and i hiked out early-ish the next morning so we could have time to get ready to go to grant and stacie's wedding, where we had an absolute blast!! i wish it could have lasted a week!

in other news, jake started his new job, and really likes it. i am helping a friend of ours get caught up on some bookkeeping, and still looking and praying (HARD!!) for something permanent, and would covet your prayers as well.

my parents were kind enough to let us stay in the apartment they own in boone for the summer, so we have a nice place to live for a couple of months. as far as what we're doing after that...well, that's another post, which will be coming pretty soon!

until then...

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

What kind of dog should we get?

2011-05-17T15:03:00.003-05:00

so, remember when we decided to come home, settle down and get a dog?

well, we're home. and while we're not quite settled, we're getting really close. which means, we're getting even closer to that last wonderful part: GETTING A DOG!!!!

jake and i have both wanted one ever since we got married, but obviously we've been a little too gypsy-ish to get one. now we just have to decide what kind we should get!

if only jake was willing to get one of these precious babies, we wouldn't be searching

however, he refuses to walk anything with "poodle" in the name.

so, we're asking you guys to help us decide! take a second and help us pick our new best friend!

Online Surveys & Market Research

if you have any suggestions, let us know!

we're wanting a dog with a medium build, non-smelly, low-shedding, non-drooling, and smart who loves to exercise, won't bite people or bark all the time, and likes to play. i can't wait to see what ya'll think!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks (and hopefully soon, a little furry friend!)

Way to go Dad!

2011-05-17T09:49:00.004-05:00

this blog is all about saying

CONGRATULATIONS

to my

DAD!

you're looking at the latest addition to the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy!

The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy's mission is to protect the public health, safety and welfare in pharmaceutical matters. The Board sets standards for academic and practical experience programs prior to licensure, issues permits to operate pharmacies and DME facilities, and annually renews licenses, permits and registrations

this is a huge deal for my dad, and i'm so proud of him! he just found out yesterday that he was elected to the board, and although he had his first board meeting today, he won't actually join the board until next year.

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

well...

2011-04-23T09:46:00.001-05:00

so, here's the verdict: our trip, at least for now and as we had planned it, is coming to an end. the news we received at the BMW dealership was that the bike needed a lot of work - almost a week's worth of work - things like it needs new ball bearings in the back, and possibly a new back wheel (no small feet since it's 40 years old), as well as a new engine seal to keep oil from leaking into the area where the clutch plates...clutch (can you tell i know what i'm talking about?), as well as something with the front wheel. but the real deal-breaker for us was that the frame of the bike was cracking under the weight of me and all our gear. kind of makes me feel like a fatty! so, as least for now, we're not going to alaska on the motorcycle.

some of what's next has been figured out, such as we rented a car and we're heading up to summit county for the next few days to hang out with people there, and go to our church there for Easter which i'm pretty excited about. and i'm going to fly home next thursday, and start looking for jobs, while jake drives the motorcycle back to north carolina, solo. at least, that's the plan right now. we get the bike back next wednesday, and we might ship it back if there are any problems with the work they're trying to do, but it should be good to go for jake to drive it back safely. in fact, as he pointed out when i asked him to tell me again what's wrong the with the bike, it could still make it to alaska (he didn't actually repeat what was wrong, hence my less-than-scientific version of what's wrong).

another idea that we're thinking more about (and also getting more excited about) is moving to asheville and trying our hand at being "grown ups". you know, having real jobs, living in one place for more than 5 minutes, maybe even getting a DOG! it's kind of hard to imagine it, but i'm excited about the possibilities of community and real friendships. to be honest, i feel as if i've spent the last 3 years learning what it's like to live out of a suitcase, and i'm just now getting to where it's less stressful and enjoyable. i'm just hoping it doesn't take 3 years to relearn what it's like to be stable!

now, i have to admit, the one thing (or, it's actually two) that i am MOST EXCITED about that's going to happen now that the trip is not is that we'll be in town for TWO amazing weddings this spring! i am so excited that we'll be able to be apart of these special days for 4 of our sweet friends! we've missed so many special events over the last few years, so i'm excited that we'll make it. in fact, i've been carrying around the RSVP cards with me, not wanting to send them in saying we weren't coming just yet, but knowing we probably wouldn't be able to. so, grant, stacie, todd and sarah: you'll be receiving some mail from us soon! sorry to keep you waiting!

anyway, i have to start packing so we can drive up the mountain.

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

hello from colorado!

2011-04-21T22:08:00.001-05:00

well folks, we've made it to colorado! we camped last night in las animas, colorado in the john martin reservoir national park. we left our hotel in kansas early yesterday morning and just drove straight across kansas (that is really the only way to survive kansas...). we were literally fist pumping and shouting in excitement when we crossed over the border into colorado! we drove just long enough to find a grocery store, then booked it to the campsite, set up our tent, cooked dinner and went to bed!!

jake is doing all the work, for sure, driving us all the time, but it's no piece of cake staying upright on the back either! i am pretty much just balancing the whole, trying not to make jake get off balance while getting hit with crazy blasts of wind from usually 2 directions at once. i'm surprised my abs aren't rock-hard by now. (if only i were that lucky...)

this morning, we woke up and headed towards the rockies! we took it easy, stopping at this delicious little cafe for breakfast, then stopping again in colorado springs for tea and some wi-fi time at a little coffee shop.

then jake decided we needed a new battery (we've had to push the bike to start it the last couple of mornings. once it's warmed up, it starts up no problem, but the cooler mornings are a little tougher on the ole bike) so we drove to a battery store and just installed it in the parking lot!

i was very very impressed with my hubby to say the least. he did the whole thing with an adjustable wrench, a multi-tool, a zip tie and some electrical tape, and in less than 30 minutes! we had to take the gas tank and seat off to change it, which was no small feat (and why he didn't do it before we left because the gas tank was such a beast to get on and off) but we managed it.

once we got the battery changed out, we headed towards Denver to see Dylan. We were a little early so we decided to take the bike by the BMW dealership in Denver to get an oil change. we got some interesting news there about the bike, and have some things to think about for the next couple of days, so we'll see what's next!

until then, thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

hello from kansas!

2011-04-19T14:00:00.002-05:00

as you can imagine, there's not much going on here in kansas. we checked into a hotel this morning because as we were driving, we saw really dark clouds and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees in about 2 minutes. since we don't know what storms put out just rain and which ones spin out tornadoes, we decided to stop. however, as soon as we checked in, we turned on the weather channel only to see a perfectly clear radar picture of all of kansas! we asked the guy if we could change our minds and keep going, but he said no so we've been enjoying an almost "zero" day in Iola, Kansas.

i know that is dreadfully boring, but we did have an interesting evening last night. we stopped at the Arrowhead Point RV park and campground last night in Osceola, missouri, aka the middle of nowhere as one of the owners of the campground told us.

as we were unpacking our tent, we saw this group of older couples converging on the main dining hall/ice cream counter/book exchange shelf/common room. we had just stepped on the porch to read and chill for awhile when one of the ladies came out and invited us to join the group for a potluck dinner. and join them we did! besides the delicious food, we met and talked with all the members of this "camping club".

(this was the guy reciting the veteran's prayer. sorry the pic is bad - i didn't want it to be obvious i was taking pictures)

these guys have been meeting 6 or 7 times a year for the last 20 or 30 years. they were halarious. as we were finishing dinner, and the gallon jug of homemade wine was running out, another member of their club arrived and before he could even sit down, they had him recite the veteran's prayer for us. then, a lady walked up to him and said "do you believe in reincarnation?" she proceeded to tell a funny joke about this lady in a grocery store telling her that she used to be a dog in another life that was hit by a car and hurt but not killed, and that she could prove it by letting the veteran's prayer guy feel this lump on her shoulder, and when he reached to touch her, she pretended to bite his arm.

(this was the "do you believe in reincarnation?" part...)

he followed that by telling this joke: a lady walked into a doctor's office with a small baby. the doctor was looking at the baby and said "this baby is really malnourished! is it breast fed or bottle fed?" and the lady said "it's breastfed". The doctor said "well, in that case, i'm going to have to do a thorough check-up of YOU". after the doctor had finished his check-up of the lady he said "well, no wonder the baby is malnourished, you don't have any milk" and the lady said "of course i don't have any milk, i'm the grandmother!"

we spent the rest of the evening listening to them tell jokes, and sat around a campfire sharing travel stories and just shooting the breeze. all in all, it was a wonderful evening and we were SO glad we stopped! and, i must say, missouri turned out to be one of the best states we've traveled through! everyone was super friendly and helpful, and the roads were beautiful, scenic, and smelled wonderful! i wonder if i'll be saying the same thing about kansas...

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

CHICAGO!

2011-04-17T19:44:00.001-05:00

besides banff, canada, chicago was one of the stops on our trip i was most excited about visiting! jake had been there before, but besides the airport about 8 times, i'd never experienced this town i'd heard so many great things about!

my dad happened to be visiting chicago on a business trip at the same time, so besides getting to hang out with him, he allowed jake and i to stay with him in his baller hotel: the renaissance hotel in downtown chicago! it was really nice to be so close to everything that we wanted to see.

we got there friday afternoon, about 20 minutes before it started raining (PTL) and checked into the hotel then walked around downtown for a little bit, then met up with my dad and went to a chicago white sox game! dad got free tickets since it was raining and people were giving them up left and right, so we took the subway to the stadium. since it was raining, we only stayed for a few innings and then headed back to the city and got dinner. we were trying to find this deep dish pizza place we'd heard about, and went searching for it, but it started raining harder so we turned around and just grabbed pasta instead. but, it turns out that we were literally about 15 feet from the pizza place when we turned around!

that's the clark street bridge behind him

we realized it when we met up with our friend Jeff Griffin and his cute fiance at Giradano's and realized how close we were to it when we gave up. but, at least we still got to eat there, and LOVED it!!! i mean, what's not to love about 3 inches of solid cheese oozing out of bread with a little great tasting sauce? that's right: nothing. and the company was amazing also! we worked with jeff in haiti, so it was great to see him in "real life", as well as get to know his future wifey!

i wish the weather had been nicer, so that we could have enjoyed just strolling around the city a little more, but as it was, we still made it to some key sights, like the canal (which happened to be right outside our hotel), that big shiny ball in millennium park, and the chicago theater (which also happened to be right outside our hotel. did i mention it was baller? thanks dad!)

that said, we left chicago this morning, and decided to abandon our scheduled route, which was to continue heading due west, and headed back towards the south. tonight we're at a little hotel right outside saint louis, and plan to head there tomorrow. it's been kind of sketchy trying to avoid all these storms that are flying all over the country at the moment, and we're trying to stay in warmer weather as long as we can.

i made him do this...

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

our thoughts and prayers go out to those back in raleigh who are dealing with lost power, and in many cases, the loss of homes and cars and loved ones. it's amazing the destruction there!

indianapolis, indiana

2011-04-14T21:07:00.001-05:00

first of all, even though i've seen "indianapolis" written about 100 times today, i still had to ask our friend zach how to spell it...sad, but i've never needed to know how to spell it!

jake and i had a very productive day! we woke up and pigged out on the complimentary breakfast at the hotel (thanks dan!). our first stop on our tour of the city was the BMW shop to get some BMW specific oil and a thing to charge the battery when my heated vest drains the power out of it (i had to push the bike up and down a little hill in the parking lot of the hotel we stayed at in kentucky 3 times before jake finally got it started).

(we met a guy who works at this store who ironically worked on caye caulker in belize for 6 months! small world!)

then we went by and saw the race track where they have the indy 500

we saw this big random guy

and this weird traffic pattern

we ate lunch at this really delicious pizza place downtown and tried to find the hotel that we're staying at in chicago

we never did find west wacker street!

we spent the rest of the afternoon doing touristy things like walking around "the circle" and down "the canal" and around the capitol and things like that. then we went to zach's house and hung out for awhile. it was great catching up with zach - we worked with him on caye caulker in belize in 2008.

we went and ate sushi and had amazing martinis

then went back to zach's house, and parke and quinn came to visit us.

how amazing to be able to meet up with so many friends from north carolina!!!

tomorrow, we're heading to chicago (i'm SO EXCITED!) for the next couple of days.

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

jacob's post

2011-04-14T07:34:00.000-05:00

Saw Dan mehaffie in Indianapolis. Hanging here for another day or so to see some friends, and then on to Chicago.

kentucky

2011-04-12T19:09:00.001-05:00

after a full day of riding, i am HAPPY to be writing this in a warm bed next to my hottie hubs (who is watching a show on tv about fishing in alaska...) after a scalding shower in a hotel in pikesville, kentucky. now, before you think we're sissies for getting a hotel when we're SUPPOSED to be camping along the way, and we're barely over the mason dixon line, i should tell you that we've been riding in the rain ALL DAY LONG.

we stayed in boone, watching the radar, hoping the storm would pass, until 11 this morning. knowing it was going to be a little wet, but assuming the radar was correct and that the storm would be passing within hours, we decided to head towards kentucky. we stopped a few times when it was raining so hard that we couldn't see, and when the wind was blowing so hard that we were switching lanes without wanting to.

which brings us to Pikesville, KY. we would never have guessed when we pulled in to town, not being able to will our frozen bodies one more mile, that we would be getting one of the last remaning hotel rooms here! apparently, tomorrow marks the beginning of 'Hillbilly Days' here in Pikesville, and so we were lucky to get a bed tonight! tomorrow night, we would have been out of luck!

regardless, we're happy to not be camping in the rain, after riding in the rain all day, and we'll be really happy tomorrow when we put on dry gear instead of soggy jackets, pants and gloves. we'll also be happy tomorrow when we see DAN MEHAFFIE who is in Indiana! more about that later!

thanks for following!
love,

the clarks

on our way

2011-04-11T07:51:00.002-05:00

after many, many trips to REI (where on one trip we saw my lovely friend Erin Boone [i just typed millikin and had to erase it]), hours spent on google maps and travel and tourism websites across the country, and several pack-unpack-take-stuff-out-repack cycles, we officially started our trip yesterday, and i have to say, it felt good to finally be going, after talking about and planning for this trip for a couple of months!

jake attaching our huge waterproof bag - thanks REI!

when we left raleigh around 7 am yesterday, i started to have my doubts a little bit about riding all the way to alaska. it was foggy and freezing when we left, and obviously only got colder as we headed to the mountains (we were trying to get to banner elk for church, which is why we left so early). jake and i were switching back and forth plugging in our heated vests, and no matter how warm you would get, as soon as yours gets unplugged, you immediately get cold again. and north carolina is supposed to be the warmest state we're going to be riding in!

notice the nasty fog?

we were thinking, 'if it's cloudy here, it's for SURE going to be cloudy in boone' (for those of you who don't live, or never have lived, in boone - first of all, i'm sorry, you're missing out on one of the best places to live in the world. but also, if boone received only an inch or two more rain a year, we would be considered a rainforest.) but, as soon as we left wilkesboro and started climbing the mountain, the clouds broke, the sun came out, Jesus waved down at us and said, "WELCOME TO HEAVEN, aka BOONE!"

needless to say, it totally lifted our spirits and our expectations for the rest of the trip. we're going to stay in boone until tuesday morning, then we're heading towards kentucky. i'm going to do my best to keep this updated, mostly to keep our parents sane, so if you're interested, check back!

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

quick update

2011-04-08T21:24:00.001-05:00

so, we were supposed to leave on our trip on april 1st, but that turned out to be a bit of an april fool's day joke for us, since we're still in north carolina!

a glimpse of what COULD have been

here's a little update of what's been going on, and why we've been a bit delayed. the plan for awhile has been that i would ride to alaska in a sidecar, since i'm scared to learn how to ride my own motorcycle, and it's not as comfortable for the driver to have a passenger for long distances. so, we found a sidecar, but when jake started to mount it, he realized he needed this part to be made for it.

Ethan, our nephew, LOVED riding it it!

so started our delay. he had to first find someone to make the part, then wait for it to be made and shipped to us. he got the part about 3 days ago, spent the whole next day attaching the side car to the bike and getting it leveled and adjusted (a pretty complicated process - check out a youtube video about if you want to know what all goes into getting a sidecar ready to roll next to a bike!)

yesterday, we took the sidecar around the neighborhood a few times, but it didn't take long for jake to realize that it was just too sketchy of an operation for him to feel comfortable taking it 5300 miles, so today, we took it off.

Bob enjoying the sidecar, moments before we took it off

now that plans have changed a bit, we have to adjust our packing and things like that, but i think we're ready to go! we're going to head off from raleigh this weekend, for a test run/maiden voyage/beginning of our trip, and see what happens.

some good news (sort of) is that we realized we are really ahead of schedule, as far as the fishing season goes, and we're still "fishing" for leads for work, but thankful we can take a scenic route and go easy on our trip, and still have some wiggle room in case we need to take a break somewhere (i.e. something broke and we have to get a part shipped to us!)

i'll try to keep this thing updated as we go!
thanks for following!
love,

the clarks

for ordinary people...

2011-03-28T16:56:00.001-05:00

my mom sent me a link for this commercial, and i just HAD to share it!

so cute!

oh the places we'll go!

2011-03-28T16:20:00.002-05:00

this last week, i've been looking for places to go, things to do and sites to camp at. i've found some fun things to do along the way, and thought i'd share some with you, but also, i'd love to hear if there's anything you'd suggest seeing along the way! the route we're taking is mapped out in a link at the top of our blog, but we're not dead set on that (just trying to avoid interstates as much as possible).

so, for kentucky, we'll be stopping by to see Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby

and probably checking out the distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail (at least a few of them)

in Indiana, the Squire Boone Caverns (underground waterfalls!)

and super excited to see THIS GUY again! we worked with Zach in Belize a few years ago.

then it's on to illinois, and CHICAGO! i am so excited to visit Chicago - i've been to the airport there like, 8 times, but never out into the city so i'm really excited.

and thanks to my sweet friend whitney, who i met when we went to the amazon jungle in peru almost 6 years ago (what?!), i have a long list of fun things to do. and we're hoping to get to see THIS GUY. Jeff was Jake's boss in Haiti, and who Jake took over for when Jeff left. (i'll always remember him as this huge guy who wore safety glasses as sunglasses)

moving on into Iowa, i was pleasantly surprised to find so many interesting thing to see, such as the grotto of the redemption, which is the largest religiously inspired grotto in the world

and the largest operational dutch windmill in america

and my friend Seth suggested we check out Winterset, where The Bridges of Madison County is based on, and also the birthplace of John Wayne

i have been having a little bit of trouble with Nebraska, so i'm open to any and all suggestions of fun things to do there...the only thing that looks halfway interesting is the original pony express station

the only other thing i've read is that if you're taking a motorcycle across Nebraska, you have to watch out for crop dusters so we don't get dusted!

I'm excited about South Dakota, for things like Mount Rushmore

and Mitchell's Corn Palace (not totally sure...but it's like, #2 on the "top 10 places to visit in South Dakota")

and we've GOT to visit Storybook Land!

Wyoming seems to have ENDLESS things to do, but the ones that are topping my list are hiking Snow King Mountain in Jackson

and, although it may sound lame, seeing these Oregon Trail ruts that have been carved into the sandstone by thousands of wheels passing by

i think there's a chance i'll have to convince jake to continue on to alaska once we get to montana, or else he might just stay! i know he's totally stoked to see Missoula

and glacier national park

and i hope we have time to do the Montana Scenic loop - it's a 400 mile loop that showcases some of the most beautiful scenery in montana!

i think we'll only be in idaho for a short time, but it would be fun to see the ernest hemmingway memorial

as well as the craters of the moon national monument (someone told me that astronauts have trained here!)

and since we'll have been camping for at least a week by then, apparently there's a hot springs nearby that we'll be hitting up!

(although this is the picture that came up, i'm pretty sure this isn't really what these hot springs look like...)

now, this is where my planning has kind of come to a halt. i know we're going to see Banff

and that we're going to visit Lake Louise

i haven't really planned much else - i have a feeling it'll just be visiting cool little random towns and seeing random wildlife (hopefully not in our campsite or in the road)

if you have any suggestions, PLEASE let us know! and i'll be doing my best to update our blog along the way. we're trying to leave this weekend (as close to April 1st as possible) so we have plenty of time to get to Homer in time to catch the ferry to Chignik!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

our next adventure...

2011-03-16T17:33:00.004-05:00

if you're wondering what that map at the top of our blog is, it's the route of our next trip!

starting april 1st (officially) we will begin a 5,300 mile tour of the united states and canada/journey to alaska on THIS:

it's a 1973 BMW 75/5 - jake's dream cafe racer.

jake's in charge of the manly stuff like changing the seat and putting on all these extra parts so we can get there without dying, and my job is to find national parks and places for us to camp along the way, as well as psych myself up to be ok with being cold for a month! actually, i've been googling average temperatures for the month of april all along our route, and i think we'll be fine. and my mom and dad let me borrow some motorcycle stuff, like a full kevlar suit and a heated vest!

anyway, if you're along our route, give us a shout! we're taking it slow (a month to get there - Franklin Graham is doing the same trip in a couple of months, and doing it in 11 days, so ours will be a pretty relaxed trip) so we'd love to take a break and grab coffee or dinner with you! and if you want to join us for part of the trip, we'd be totally stoked to have you ride with us!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

there's no place like home...

2011-03-05T18:41:00.014-05:00

it literally seems like two clicks ago we were back in colorado, cross country skiing with some borrowed dogs, floating through 12 inches of powder, drinking delicious microbrews, and enjoying awesome views of majestic mountains and lots of sunshine! as amazing as being back in colorado was, however, we are both happy to be home!

we had a fantastic last week in colorado! my sister, lauren, along with our friends Paul and Collin and new friend Annalee all flew out to spend a week playing in the rockies!

the first day they were here, we took them out for some snowshoeing/cross country skiing in the national forest that was literally right out behind the house that we were house/dog-sitting at.

tiny disclaimer: we broke the camera screen again on the last hut trip, so i took all these pictures "blind", as paul dah sherar so aptly called it in his latest blog, www.thegoodlight.com - check it out!

they were lucky enough to get some serious powder one of their first days here, so we spent a day at Arapahoe Basin, trying to keep our snowboards up on the snow and not underneath the 15" of fresh snow!

saturday was the BANFF film festival, where we had a GREAT time watching some awesome videos. check out the earlier blog post about the festival if you want more info, and check and see if there's a BANFF festival showing near you!

sunday, we went to church at DCC for the last time for the season (sniff...) and then went out and dropped loveland pass a few times. well, i should say, everyone else dropped loveland pass. i was the soccer mom who just shuttled everyone from the bottom back to the top.

(that's me way down there at the bottom in the curve of the road)

this was just one section of the CRAZY HUGE wall of snow on the side of the road along loveland pass. you should have seen the action this photo got on FB (or maybe you did? "HUGE!")

the last day the gang was here, we all went to Vail and had an EPIC DAY!!!!

safety first!

picking our next EPIC LINE!

seriously, i had the best day of the season, if not ever, at vail that day

tuesday we dropped all the guys off at the airport, packed up the car, said hi to the dog owners, hopped in the car and started driving east!

we arrived home at 3 in the morning, and no kidding, the FIRST THING jake did was go see the motorcycles that we bought a few months ago

cute.

anyway, we're in north carolina for the next month, and leaving around the first of april to begin a road trip up to alaska! if you're along the way, let us know and we'll stop and grab coffee or something! and if you've got a month to spare and want to join us, let us know that too - we're totally up for road trip partners!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

BANFF Mountain Film Festival

2011-02-28T09:24:00.001-05:00

first of all, i am in love with the voice of the BANFF film festival, and if i could, i would have him orate this blog post to you, just so you could get goosebumps, just like i do when he's talking about exploring high peaks or being catapulted through a canyon rushing with water. but, i can't, so just imagine the voice with me while you read this:

this year's BANFF selection in Breckenridge was great! you could tell the panel that was selecting the films were natives, because they were all focused on outdoor activities, vs the more cultural films that are sometimes thrown in there.

we were able to see climbing movies, where guys free climbed crazy pitches at record breaking speeds, whitewater rafting movies that talk about the heart and passion behind rafting, and a very inspirational story about a soldier who lost his legs due to a mortar shell bombing in Iraq, and went on to become an olympic medalist in the paraplegic olympics, among others.

my favorite was a film called Chimaera, where the filmmakers shot a full day of skiing and reduced it down to about 7 minutes, while still slowing down the frames to show individual snowflakes bouncing off of skis, drops of wax hitting the bottom of a pair of skis, the stars rotating across the sky at night, and all kinds of beautiful images.

another of my favorites was called Deeper, and it was a film about Jeremy Jones, and it makes me actually come close to calling myself a fan of him. i've always thought he made cool boards (they usually have funny/cool cartoon characters on them) but never thought much more than that. but in this film, he gives up the expensive and glitzy helicopter rides and hikes for the runs he wants to do. you know it's dedication when you hike a day and a half just for one run...

here's a link to the list of videos so you can check them yourself.

there's also a photography contest connected to the film festival, and even though this picture is from last year's festival, i wanted to share it with you. jake and i (ok, mostly i) FREAKED when we saw this picture last year, and were so proud to be from Boone!

we loved being able to see our 5th or 6th BANFF film festival with my sister Lauren and our friends Paul, Collin and Annalee while they were out here on vacation!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

this.will.make.you.smile

2011-02-18T20:50:00.002-05:00

ya'll have GOT to see this!

(you should TOTALLY expand this...)

our friend Sarah is working in Petionville, Haiti, and this video is the result of the "photo booth" set up at her going away party!

for those of you who don't know my sister, she's the blonde in the blue dress who appears with chest hair at times, and in a monkey suit at other times.

our friend paul is the guy with the dirty stach, chest hair and silk shirt, who took those awesome pictures of us on our 1st anniversary, and who houses us every time we go to boone.

and collin, our friend who helped us drive from north carolina to summit county a couple of months ago shows up wearing a brown suit with a red visor, and ends up in a t-shirt and a "Fuel-ishness" Patagonia trucker cap.

totally stoked that all three of these guys will be flying out to see us in a mere THREE DAYS!! can't wait!

Paul did an awesome job putting this video together. To check out more of his incredible work, check out
www.thegoodlight.com

happy valentines day!

2011-02-15T21:53:00.001-05:00

just thought i'd share this photo with you guys

my handsome valentine, prepping the flowers he brought me, before taking me out to eat (totally my love language!) - LOVE HIM!

jake got a keyless entry remote for the subaru...he was pretty excited

Sangree Froelicher Hut Trip

2011-02-07T14:01:00.002-05:00

we have been so very fortunate to be able to go on TWO hut trips in one season (and, in fact, two trips in two weeks). this last one was for 3 nights and 4 days, which makes the hike a little more fun because you know you don't have to ski right back out the next day.

the most recent trip we did was to the Sangree Froelicher memorial hut. It was built in 1998, but didn't become part of the hut system until 2003.

it sits at 11,700 ft above sea level, and is about 6 miles from Leadville, but only a 3 mile hike in from the trail head, which was much shorter than our last trip up to Janet's. also, i think i read that it is the highest in the hut system, but the website doesn't say that, so i'm not totally sure.

it was named after Sangree M. Froelicher, a soldier in the 10th mountain division, who died in Italy in WW2.

He was honored after, already injured, he lead his troop into germany territory, taking out lots of germans and capturing an enemy cannon until he was killed instantly by an enemy bullet.

i found it interesting that his family presented his fiancee with an engagement ring on the same day he died, but didn't find out until 2 weeks later, ironically the same day that his fiancee's family had planned a betrothal party for her.

some other random facts about the 10th mountain division (i read this really interesting book while i was up there about the divison):

the 10th mountain division lost 990 men in the war

the division was stated by the same guy who started the National Ski Patrol

soldiers were trained in ski combat, and at times had to ski with 90 - 100 lb packs on their backs (i can attest that it's not easy to ski with a pack on your back, and i doubt my pack weighed more than 30 pounds!)

soldiers were also trained in how to rock climb, which proved to be useful training when they managed to scale a big mountain (i want to say it was the Belvedere) at night, allowing them to penetrate the Nazi presence on the ridge, which the Germans thought was unable to be climbed (is 'unclimeable' a word?)

Rob and a few other guys even packed in SLEDS!

These sleds carried all sorts of things, from blueberries to chicken, boxes of wine, fancy bread, bacon, bottles of microbrews, root beer, ginger beer and cheap beer, chocolate chip cookies, and lots and lots of butter

When we stopped for lunch, Zac realized he had Dara's lunch with him, but Dara was pretty far behind us, so Zac decided we could write him a note, and leave the lunch. We added the rope afterwards to make sure he saw it.

He saw the rope, but not the note, thought nothing of it, and skied right by it.

getting our skins after our first backcountry run!

pretty snowflakes in those lovely long eyelashes

Carrie and Chris making breakfast (bacon, eggs, pancakes, yogurt with fresh fruit, and hash browns)

rob serenading us in the morning (they brought up a guitar, a ukelele and a mandolin, and jake brought his harmonica)

breakfast

the bathrooms were outside at this hut (i was spoiled at Janet's) - it wouldn't have been so bad, except it was REALLY cold! one morning one of the guys on our trip got a call in the morning saying that the schools in Denver were closed because it was so cold that the buses wouldn't start! temperatures were hovering between -20 and -35 degrees Fahrenheit!

getting ready to hike back out (i had to leave a day early to get back to work)

me hiking out

those that are able to go on hut trips usually sign up a year in advance (and we obviously don't do ANYTHING a year in advance) so it's been a huge blessing and we're so thankful to have had this opportunity!

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

Breckenridge Ice Sculpture competition

2011-01-31T09:48:00.001-05:00

yesterday, Jake and I went with one of our roommates Mark to see the ice sculptures in Breckenridge. This is an international competition that is held every year in downtown Breck. We went last year too, but didn't take great pictures. i learned my lesson last year, so here you go: all the sculptures made this year. yesterday was the last day to carve, so i haven't heard the results of the competition yet, but i'll update this post and let you guys know who won. until then, you can decide who YOU think should be the winner!

"Alaskan Stories"

by Team USA/Alaska

"the stories of Alaska come alive from the pages of the book"

"Alebrije"

by Team Mexico

"Eagle-Sun; Jaguar-Rain and Snake-Earth are all dual mythological beings in Mexican culture. United in an Alebrije it has the capacity to give life on earth"

*this guy lost one of his heads shortly before we arrived, due to the heat

"Spirits of the Aurora"

by Team Canada/Yukon

"Aurora, or Nothern lights, are believed to be the torches held in the hands of Spirits seeking the souls of those who have just died, to lead them over the abyss terminating the edge of the world. A narrow pathway leads across it to the land of brightness and plenty, where disease and pain are no more, and where food of all kinds is already in abundance. To this place none but the dead and the raven can go. While the spirits wish to communicate with the people of the earth, they make a whistling noise, and the earth people answer only in a whispering tone. The eskimo say that they are able to call the Aurora and converse with it. They send messages to the deal through these spirits."

"Dance of Butterflies"

Team Canada/Quebec (Sainte-Julienne)

"Expression of love and beauty of nature, two butterflies turn around a bunch of flowers and herbs"

"Freeze Frame"

Team USA/Colorado (Loveland)

"For years we have come to rely on cameras to record our precious moments. We present to you our interactive glimpse at snow sculptures from the perspective of a circa 1900s camera"

"Eternal Bridge"

by Team Germany

"The journey of mankind - supported by three strong pillars: Love, Peace and Tolerance"

*this one, if you can read on the sign, fell down on Saturday - i guess those strong pillars weren't as strong as they thought. poor team germany just couldn't handle the heat.

"Greenman"

Team USA/Wisconsin (Franklin)

"Bust of 'Greenman' using elements of trees (leaves, ect) related to specific species"

this one is my favorite!

"Letting the cat out of the bag"

by team Netherlands

"Things appear to be different than they are. What, or who, really comes out?"

"Lounging with a cuppa"

by Team Australia

"This piece represents, in three solid dimensions, the intangible existential exhaustion we all feel as we toil through our daily routines of earning sustenance, commuting long distances and managing our complex relationships. This giant kangaroo, a symbol of vibrant, youthful bouncing, is reduced to flopping lamely into his overstuffed 'pouch' to feel some fleeting sense of security while finding solace in a hot drink. Actually, to tell the truth, we made all that up. We just thought a kangaroo in a chair with a cut of tea was pretty funny"

"Marco Polo"

by Team USA/Vermont

"One child is emerging from the water nearby to another in a game of Marco Polo. The entomology of the game has its roots in the Venetian explorer, but the origin of the game is hard to pinpoint. This excerpt from Marco Polo's diary provides a clue - he writes about crossing an expanse of desert - "When a man is riding by night through this desert and something happens to make him loiter and lose touch with his companions, and afterwards he wants to rejoin them, he then hears spirits talking in such a way that they seem to be his companions. Sometimes they even hale him by name."

"Medusa"

Team USA/Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

"The Gorgons Head, Ancient Greek Mythology"

"Mere de Nation (Mother of a Nation)"

Team Canada/ Quebec (Quebec City)

"Our stylized wedding dress pays homage to the adventuresome young brides who crossed the Atlantic to marry the settlers of the Saint Lawrence River valley. Between 1663 and 1673 the king of France, Louis XIV paid the sea passage of nearly 900 unmarried, poor or parentless young women to New France, known today as Quebec in Eastern Canada. The principal objectives of this immigration of young women was that they be made available as healthy wives of childbearing age to farmers and soldiers already established in New France. They would have come to escape their situation in France, or to satisfy their sense of adventure. These brave women became known as 'Les filles du Roy' (The King's Girls)"

"Perpetual Motion"

Team Sweden and USA

"Without movement there is no life. Evolution, progress, life itself: all require energy and motion. Our sculptures's boundary represents eternal flow, while the faces represent the pulse of the inner and outer world, as well as the search for new direction"

"Save the Sausage"

by Team Austria

"He never passes up the chance to eat, even if he's up to his neck in it"

"Underwater"

by Team USA/ Breckenridge

"Sometimes discovery comes from thinking inside the box"

(i really liked this one too)

the boys waiting patiently while i wiggle through the crowds trying to get some good pictures.

all the descriptions are from the International Snow Sculpture Championships Event Guide.

alright, i must go finish packing - we're leaving for our 2nd hut trip in two weeks in about an hour, and i'm still in my pj's with an empty bag! anyway, you can look forward to seeing those pictures soon enough. jake will be gone for 4 days, but i'm coming back tomorrow (i have to work wednesday - boo!) so i'll throw some up when i get back!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

Janet's Hut

2011-01-25T22:45:00.001-05:00

we finally did something interesting.

sorry it's dark - i didn't take another one because i was too afraid i'd drop the camera!

we've been in summit county just under a month, and so far, all we've done is work, eat, and get caught up on all the movies we've missed in the last 8 months (i think we're still missing a few, but we've seen A LOT)

until this weekend. we managed to get invited to join a group from our church on a "hut trip" which was a pretty big deal, seeing as they made the reservation over a year ago just to get the spot, and unfortunately (for them) one couple wasn't able to go, so we were able to take their spots!

the 10th mountain division, which is a part of the army, back before world war two, developed a series of backcountry huts to be used for training soldiers who were going to go to war in the alps, to teach them to ski and experience remote, snowy terrain.

these days, the series of 5 huts are popular destinations who those who like to get off the beaten path, see some amazing scenery, and get some untouched powder runs.

the hut we were able to visit was Janet's hut, which is a 5.5 mile trek in, and the same back out, starting at Copper Mountain ski resort. Copper is kind enough to issue a one-lift pass so that you can ride a couple of chair lifts up to the trailhead, saving almost a mile of skinning! and for those of you who don't know what skinning is (as i didn't until about 2 weeks ago when i found out we were going!) - "skins" are these things you put on the bottom of your skis - they attach on the front and back, and are sticky on the bottom, and feel just like a really really short-haired dog or something, but with really stiff hair. the way they work is that the hairs are facing down, so that when you walk uphill, the little hairs grip onto the snow, allowing you to walk practically vertically up a hill without slipping back, and you can still kind of slide down a hill if it's steep. it's kind of like snowshoeing on really really long heavy snowshoes. but faster because you can take off the skins when you're going down for normal skiing.

sally helping lisa take off her skis without removing her skis - TALENT!

we had a really great time! the cabin is beautiful - it was built about 35 years ago, and is made out of huge logs, with beautiful old hardwood floors and wooden bunk beds. it was heated totally with a wood stove, and all lights are solar powered (it was cloudy the day before, and we accidentally sucked all the power out using lights, but realized we didn't really need it anyway!). it even had INDOOR composting toilets (a total luxury) as well as a wood stove heated sauna! i loved the sauna; it was the warmest i've been since we moved back to summit county! and we ate SO MUCH WONDERFUL FOOD! we had to pack in all our food, and pack it all back out, trash included, so we were all stuffing our faces to ensure lighter packs on the way back down!

jake really enjoyed getting some good powder runs on his snowboard (he was the only one who was snowboarding on our trip - everyone else was either on tele or AT skis, or just snowshoeing), although he's been spoiled by the chair-lift-accesible powder runs we've been able to access the last couple of weeks at Keystone and A-Basin - i.e. no hiking! we definitely earned every one of our runs! so much so that i only took one - but it was long! we hiked up into this bowl and skied down it, and then through some trees, back to the cabin.

the bummer of the weekend came only once we were back home. i was trying to use jake's headcam to gets some shots of him and these other two guys going off this kicker they built. i managed to record my practice shots with the camera, seeing that it was working properly, ect. but somehow didn't record the guys actually jumping! and i wasn't able to get them with the still camera either very well, so that was kind of a bummer. i didn't even really get to see the guys hit it either because i was so focused on getting the cameras to work!

all in all, it was a wonderful trip! jake and i had a blast, and it was great to do it together.

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

Haiti: One year later

2011-01-12T11:54:00.004-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since the earthquake shook the lives of millions of people in Haiti. Last year, we were just where we are today: summit county, Colorado. totally wrapped up in the day to day, hanging out with friends, riding, probably watching one of the many Bones marathons we caught ourselves getting sucked into. i know personally theearthquake was only a tiny blip on my radar that day. i remember that huge telethon fundraising thing with all the celebrities. i remember hearing that they were still pulling people out alive 20 days afterwards. but honestly, i was so wrapped up in my own little world that Haiti didn't really enter my world until the middle of april, when God finally got my attention and started pulling my heartstrings to go to Haiti and help out. and of course, we went. and now we're back. and i met amazing people, like Adam Wilchild (actually, his name is Wilchild Adam, but since i called him Adam like his first name, it feels weird to write Wilchild first...) Adam first worked with Andrew Spalding, i think, doing cash for work stuff. when i first got to Haiti, there was a "custody battle" of sorts for 2 people - Adam and Julihomme, Adam's uncle.the deal was, samaritan's purse was allowed to live at this compound, as long as we didn't take any staff from the pastor who ran the compound. as it turns out, Adam and Julihomme (along with many others, but they stuck out the most) became an integral part of our ministry in Haiti. it helped greatly that they both speak fluent english (and are related to each other - it's a family full of amazing people!). and then we left the compound, and left Adam and Julihomme behind, as promised. it soon became apparent that they weren't actually working for the ministry anymore (volunteering, yes, as they had done before, but not being paid, and obviously needed a job to support their families - julihomme has 6 kids, who he can skillfully all pile on the same motorcycle...) so we managed (through months of negotiations) to be able to hire both Adam and Julihomme. Julihomme contined working with Andrew, and is currently stillpretty much single-handily running the food for work aspect of our grant.

but i want to introduce you specifically to Adam. I have never met anyone who works so hard, is so patient and kind and HONEST (truly a rare and unique quality in haiti) - he's amazing. he was able to fill a role as a food monitor for our program, and no matter the problem, situation, or stress, he always acted the same - cool, collected, and he almost always had the answer!

i remember adam especially today because he lost his fiancee in the earthquake. i can't even imagine what that would be like, to have in your heart pledged your life to someone, and then have God take them away. but as far as i know, his faith never wavered. he's strong, a whole different kind of strong than anyone else i've had a close relationship with.

if you get a chance, check out this video about Haiti a year after the earthquake:

thanks for following,

love,

the clarks

ridiculousness

2011-01-02T18:32:00.001-05:00

there's something about being back in the land of plenty that makes me act a little silly: i really want to buy kitchen appliances!

now, if ya'll know us, you know that we move around. a lot. which is why me wanting to buy kitchen appliances is just ridiculous. the only one i allow myself to carry around from place to place is our magic bullet, because it's so small.

but that doesn't stop me from wanting one of these:

or one of these:

or a set of these:

think of all the delicious things i could make if i could fit one of these in the subaru:

and while i'm dreaming:

(congratulations infomercials, you have sold me on one of these things!)

THEN i could make all the wonderful things seen on this website!

colorado

2010-12-30T18:40:00.001-05:00

ya'll, we've had a crazy couple of years.

we went from blissful boone

to belize

to colorado

to haiti

then back to colorado

we're happy to be back (although my fingers and toes are still hating me because it's so COLD here! tomorrow's temperatures with the wind chill are supposed to be around 15 to 20 degrees BELOW ZERO!!!!!) and have been pleasantly surprised by seeing friends from last year again, both planned and randomly, which feels good, kind of like going "home" (wherever "home" is for us anymore...)

our friend collin made the drive out from NC with us and is enjoying his time out in CO almost as much as we are enjoying having him here. we plan on spending new years in denver with dylan, our other friend who braved the 28 hour STRAIGHT road trip out here with us, and collin and then hit up the denver REI garage sale saturday morning!

just wanted to let everyone know we made it and are so thankful that colorado is where God has us for now!

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

"when they write the book of Haiti"

2010-12-18T19:40:00.001-05:00

"when they write the book of Haiti,

when they speak of January twelve,

as they ponder on the trials and turmoils,

they will also speak of their heroes.

They came, they saw, and they did their best,

they were doctors in times of accidents,

they were water for the thirsty, food for the poor,

they were operators in time of demolition,

and they were constructors when it was time for rebuilding.

Before the machines they held shovels, rakes and peaks*,

they even tended the ground with the hands.

When they speak of Jason White,

they speak of one of the Heroes of Haiti,

but with every shed tear we grow a year stronger,

so the tears that was shared for Thomas Brown,

will also be shared for Jason White.

With his absense we will lose not only 2 bosses,

but 2 friends, 2 mentors, 2 teachers,

and 2 brothers in Christ.

There will be many names that will go unmentioned,

but in my book of Haiti, not a face will be forgotten.

I thank SP and all of its president, vice president,

and all of its country directors and staff,

special thanks to madame betsy,

who's been my greatest supporter from the start,

without you i wouldn't be here.

So as i shift back to my main base,

this moment would seem like a round of applause,

but sadly when you're in loss of a friend,

it's not time to celebrate,

so as i end my speech let's pray,

may wealth and health surround good samaritan's,

for every one of you that reach the line,

may you return to your homes your family your friends,

bolder than when you came.

May good be upon every one who bears an SP sign upon their chest,

Jason White may all the walls, the trees,

and all of the rivers of Haiti speak your name.

We thank God for this moment and Franklin Graham for making this possible."

-written by James, part of the national rubble crew staff

I just found this as i was cleaning out papers in my desk, and thought i'd share it with you guys. This guy is so thug, you'd never believe he could write something so eloquent - i wish you all could have heard him reading it to us!! amazing! i'll try to find a picture of James to add to this.

home in 2 days! YAY! Merry Christmas!

Jacob, aka "The Godfather of Leogane"

2010-12-12T16:46:00.002-05:00

ya'll, my husband is awesome, on so many levels. i've known this for, well, as long as i've known him, and the other day, everyone here at JAX beach realized how awesome he is. as ya'll have heard, it's been a little chaotic here lately. roadblocks, lockdown, riots, ect. well, some of the people on our staff had to go into leogane the other day (leogane is the village that we technically live in, though right on the edge, and it's kind of a "big city" - meaning, there are a couple of restaurants there, a big hardware store, the mayors office, and then lots of little random shops that sell sewing needles next to soap and school supplies, with some snacks in between). there have been some pretty nasty riots in leogane since we've been here, but these election-related ones have been especially bad because they've literally blocked off the roads for days now.

anyway, so, as i was saying, some of our staff had to get to leogane, including our resident haitian ex-pat andrew spalding who speaks fluent creole and can usually talk himself out of any situation he is put into. as our guys were driving to leogane, they came up to a roadblock and showed their samaritan's purse badges, hoping to get through. when the guys saw the samaritan's purse badges, the said "ah, samaritan's purse...do you know jacob clark?" to which andrew replied an emphatic "YES! he's like, one of my best friends!" and so the guy was like, cool, ok, and let him through, and then told all his friends to move the stuff in the road so they could drive through.

they know him because he's a big reason why there are over 5,000 families in leogane who are now living in one of our shelters, and at times over 100 people working at the production site there. jake's done an incredible job here in haiti, getting people out of the rain and into shelters that they can take with them when they are ready and able to return to the places they were living before the earthquake, and i'm SO proud of him!

"they'll rebuild the old ruins, they'll raise a new city out of the wreckage. They'll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new"

-isaiah 61:4 the message

love you babe!

(sorry, i was going to post lots of pictures of jake building stuff in haiti, and just some pictures of his hotness in general, but the uploader isn't working, so i'll just have to keep you guys waiting until the internet is working a little faster...)

one week, three days...we hope!

2010-12-11T13:56:00.002-05:00

jake with the binoculars his dad gave him for Christmas - i just love this picture! it makes me smile every time i look at it...

our plan is to fly out of haiti on the 21st of december to head home for the holidays before driving back out to colorado (for the record, this will be the second time we've done this... from the caribbean to colorado, and back again, and back again - i'm wondering if we're beginning a trend). anyway, that's our PLAN. as of now, we're not so sure, because things have been a little rocky in haiti these days.

jake last year as we started to put together our FREE 9 ft tree

unless you just don't watch the news, you probably know that haiti just had their elections this month. and just like everything else in haiti, there were allegations of fraud. which means that the people freaked out and went crazy. by that i mean that they lit tires, buildings, cars, ect. on fire, pushed it into the middle of the street, and then starting shooting guns off. guns that allegedly were given to them by the truckload by the politicians themselves. this place is crazy. it's really too bad that the efforts of the people couldn't have been put to a more productive use.

for example: we live about 3 miles away from this river, going towards the village of grand goave. during the earthquake, the bridge that goes across this river was rocked so that it's not totally touching the supports anymore. because of that, you can't drive across it, and so everyone just drives through the river below the bridge. because of all the traffic driving through it, and heavy rains pushing rocks around, there are some pretty deep holes in the river that sometimes cause cars to get stuck.

after the elections, a bunch of protesters dug a huge trench on either side of the river, in the only part left that you can drive on, meaning traffic was cut off on either side for anything larger than a motorcycle. now, if only they could have used the energy it took to dig a trench into filling in the holes in the river, it would make the river much easier to pass, and everyone would have benefited.

or, another example: we also live about 4 miles away from this part of the road that was totally twisted and cracked and buckled from the earthquake (i wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that this piece of road was actually literally the epicenter, it's so crazy jacked up). again, after the protesters built a blockade, right over this kind of speed-bump-ish buckle in the road. the piled rocks and tires and all kinds of stuff up right where it's buckled. now, if you saw this road, you would immediately notice the HUGE gaping holes on either side of the road, where the ground just kind of fell away. i mean, these things can easily swallow a motorcycle, and more than once has totally wrecked a car because their tire drops off in there or something and just totally jacks up a car. there are always traffic jams there because everyone has to slow down and go single file across it (or, at least, they SHOULD slow down and go single file since there's not room for two cars at the same time, but again, that doesn't always happen).

again, if they had just taken the rocks and tires and stuff and instead of building a bigger bump, they filled in the holes, then it would be less dangerous to drive across! maybe i should have run for president...

maybe not. yeah, definitely not. haiti needs someone with hope for a change (haha, did i just sound like Obama?)

ANYWAY, i started out this post talking about Christmas, and i want to end on that too. I AM SO EXCITED AND READY FOR CHRISTMAS TO BE HERE THIS YEAR!!! i dont know why but i've been more excited than usual. maybe because i'm missing out on all the pre-christmas cheer so i feel like i have to make up for it by just thinking about Christmas all the time, but whatever the reason, i am totally stoked. i've been listening to only christmas music since the day after thanksgiving. i just changed our blog to a christmas-y theme. i can't wait to see my little nephew open christmas presents, i can't wait for jake to see what he got for christmas from me, i can't wait to give the little boys in my life the presents i made for them (here's a sneak peak for you guys...i'm pretty proud of them, although they're not finished because i have managed to break ALL 5 SPARE NEEDLES that came with the sewing machine in the process of making them...and they're not even that complicated...)

anyway, all that to say, haiti better get it's act together and get the airport open and the roads between here and there accessible before the 21st because we HAVE to get OUT OF HERE!!!!!

ok, thanks for following,
love,

the clarks

craziness once again in haiti

2010-12-08T18:02:00.001-05:00

photo by 'the goat path'

for all the people who have been skyping with me all day to see if jake and i are ok, i wanted to post this to reassure everyone who reads (although it's probably most of the same people who skyped earlier...) that we're fine. samaritan's purse has us on lockdown, and for once, i feel ok about that, because i don't want to go outside our gates anyway. there have been dozens of confirmed and many more unconfirmed reports of all kinds of terrible crazy things happening all over the place, including the airport shutting down (PRAY this does not happen december 21st, because if i have to spend christmas in haiti, i might just break down and lose it completely).

regardless, i wanted to share this blog with you that our friends ian and monica shared in their blog today, because i feel like it gives a pretty unbiased, while still being educational, view of haiti, and the girl has gotten some pretty incredible shots that you won't see on the news. the link is http://goatpath.wordpress.com/ - i've only read a few of the blog posts, but i was impressed by the first few, so i'm sure the rest are good too.

thanks for following!
love,
the clarks

another jacob blog

2010-12-01T16:53:00.002-05:00

Being in the Field you go through different phases: This was shown to me by "the graphics guy" and aptly describes the current phase i am in mentally here in Haiti.

http://vimeo.com/10141903

On another note, we have decided to part ways with Haiti, and return to high rockies (Colorado) for the winter. January 4th will be the last day of our contract, and December 21st, our last day here in Haiti.

Watch the video, think of Haiti.(and my personal appreciation for humor)

happy holidays!

2010-11-27T10:18:00.008-05:00

just thought i'd share some pictures from thanksgiving, haiti-style!

happy thanksgiving from the clarks!

blaine, matt and jake

brian cutting the ham with the cooks

the spread!

it's hard to make it feel like christmas while you're in the caribbean, but i thought i'd give it a try anyway. i packed our stockings and some other little easily-packable decorations so we could have more than 4 days of christmas (we don't get home until the 21st of Dec). but, where do you hang stockings without a fireplace? nowhere. so, i just built one! don't laugh, it's the first fireplace i've ever built, but i'd say it's pretty good for my first try!

it's actually level, i'm just a really bad photographer

i added a little fire just to make it feel a little more real

finished! although it's not quite tall enough for jake's stocking to not touch the ground

a close up of the little quilted wall hanging my aunt B made jake and i for christmas this year

merry christmas from the caribbean!

love,

the clarks

things i love about america

2010-11-17T08:18:00.004-05:00

here's a list of my favorite things about being in america:

people don't just throw their garbage on the streets. and if they do, they get in trouble and pay a fine, or even have to go back in an orange vest and pick it back up
people speak english
people smile at you, and are nice to you, even if you don't know them
you can get amazing food here
you can go somewhere where it's really truly quiet
people (for the most part) follow rules while driving
i understand the money
i'm not afraid i'll get run over by a bus, or get shot, or hacked with a machete or kidnapped every time i leave my house
i don't actually have to wash cholera off my food and off my hands while i'm here
i can call my friends without it costing me an arm and a leg
when you go to buy something, more than likely, you know which store to go to, rather than trying to remember that you can buy toys at the fabric store, or paint brushes at the office supply store, or soap from the sketchy depot in the back of the market where they make sure you realize how big of an inconvenience it is for them to write you a receipt for the $1,300 USD that you just spent there...
when i go shopping for jeans today, i won't have to dig through a pile of partially washed clothes lying in the median of a busy highway and covered in dust
the people that i love live here

cholera and cap haitian

2010-11-17T08:12:00.004-05:00

i know this might be a lot to ask, but i hope that this post will make you laugh and pray at the same time.

you can laugh at this: (i found it on facebook)

although i guess it's only kind of funny. i'm not even sure if this picture is real. very well could have been created. but regardless, unfortunately, it's not far from the truth. maybe it's just our now-warped sense of humor that has developed from spending too much time in haiti.

regardless, what you can pray about is our friend jason who just left samaritan's purse to head to cap haitian to volunteer his time to build an orphanage. he called the other day to say that he had to leave the camp he was at, with no clothes, no food, and he hadn't had a shower all day, to just wait out violent riots in a church. at least 10 people died during those riots, that was just as of monday evening. so, pray for jason and the safety of the group he's with (i know his dad is with him). and pray that haitians understand that the NGO community is only there to help, not harm, and if the UN did bring cholera to haiti as is suspected, it was not done intentionally.

a little comic relief...

2010-11-14T08:15:00.003-05:00

this are pretty crazy here in haiti right now, and very busy with samaritan's purse. i am loving being a part of an organization that is willing to get dirty helping people in need here, going to places where no one else will venture.

it seems sometimes like the world has given up on haiti. a lot of ngo's won't come here, because a lot of days, it feels like a lost cause. some days, i don't blame them. but in haiti, there are places where the ngo's that are willing to come to haiti won't even go, places like cite soleil. a little background on cite soleil is that it's the largest slum in the western hemisphere, and one of the most dangerous places in the world. it's literally a labryinth of shacks, filled with trash, with no sewer systems (and in haiti, people use the bathroom wherever they are, no matter where they are and who's looking) and very little access to clean water. which sort of translates into a haven for the cholera bacteria to grow and spread.

but, enough about the problems. i am writing this for COMIC RELIEF, right? right. so, jake and i were sitting together and checking e-mail and stuff (spending our last few hours together as he stays at GO to finish building a hospital in 3 days and i go back to JAX to get my staff ready for me to leave for a week) when he says, 'britt, listen to this' and proceeds to read to me from a wikipedia post about cite soleil. and i quote, "In October 2006, a group of heavily armed Haitian police were able to enter Cité Soleil for the first time in three years and were able to remain one hour as armored UN troops patrolled the area". I don't know where he read this, but he was reading to me from another website that said "after attempts to control the gang population, police have urged residents to take matters into their own hands". now, you have to admit, that's kind of funny. cite soleil is full of gangs that run the show. police got in for one hour and it was a huge enough accomplishment that it was one of 3 times mentioned. so they just gave up, telling the people to take matters into their own hands, aka the gangs.

so maybe it's not that funny, but it made us laugh. i guess you have to be here.

but be glad you're not.

haiti these days

2010-11-09T17:13:00.006-05:00

one of the main streets in leogane

when i changed my facebook status last week to "this could be an interesting week here in haiti", i didn't really realize how prophetic that would actually become.

the waves in the river

thanks to our good friend here andrew, i can actually SHOW you why it was so crazy!

usually people wash their cars and clothes in this river

first of all, we were warned that we were going to be evacuated from our compound because hurricane tomas was expected to hit haiti head-on and drench the whole country. we are blessed to live right on the beach, but that also means we are at sea level, and our compound happens to be in a flood plain, so "they" were afraid that if we stayed and received lots of rain, our compound would flood. also, there is a river nearby that we are forced to cross every time we need to go into town (the bridge has been blocked off due to damage received during the earthquake), or at least to get to the part of town where our "safe-house" is. so, before it had even started to rain thursday evening, we were told to grab our "go bags" and load up because we were leaving. yours truly is a "tent warden" (am i going overboard with the quotation marks? sorry...) which means that i am responsible for making sure the 3 other couples in our tent, plus my hubby, get out and in a car and make it safety to our destination.

a truck in the road
all in all, it was pretty uneventful. for some reason, i couldn't fall asleep at the new compound we were sent to (although they accomodated us couples very nicely- we all had our own, private rooms! it was much nicer than the way we live every day...our bathroom was only about 5 steps away, and inside!) so i heard the 4 gusts of wind that blew that night, and the 2 times it started to rain, and then stopped about 5 minutes later.

a flooded IDP camp - those tents don't stand a chance
that was in grand goave though. our neighboring village, leogane, was actually hit pretty hard. leogone was also the epicenter of the earthquake - it's like the place can't get a break! although, it could have something to do with the fact that leogone is the voodoo capital of the country. and sicne haiti is the voodoo capital of the world, i guess that would make leogone the voodoo capital of the world also. i never heard how much rain actually fell, but it made the already high rivers swell even higher and overflow their banks, leaving 5 feet of water in places in their wake. andrew was able to go out and do some visual assessments the morning after the flooding, and that's where all these pictures are coming from.

a lady in the middle of the street
the dangerous part about all that water is that it floods latrines and other places where people use the bathroom. cholera spreads the easiest through water, and can live for days in it before it dies. so far, we haven't heard of any cholera outbreaks in leogane, but we're still in the incubation period of the disease, so keep praying that the prevention and education that SP is doing will be effective in reducing the risk of spreading cholera.

a flooded home
SP is mobilizing in cite soleil, responding to many people with cholera-like symptons. we are still waiting to hear if it's offically cholera (the government is saying it's not...) but for now we are setting up cholera prevention clinics in the area, and treating people with acute watery diarreha (it's funny how many times i've heard "how do you spell diarreha?" today). please be praying for our staff there - cite soleil remains the most dangerous slum in the western hemisphere, and our guys are right in the heart of it!

i just thought this was kind of a sweet picture of the sri lanken UN

so, like i said, an interesting week. good news though: jake and i will be in the states next week!! we are so looking forward to a little r&r in the mountains of boone (he's looking forward to skiing, i am looking forward to melanies and chai tea) and we're both looking forward to seeing all our friends and families! (and interested to see what the people that just moved into our house are doing to it...i'm already a little nervous because my mom said the lady was painting without dropclothes, and all i can think about are the beautiful old hardwood floors in there...)

thanks for following!

love,

the clarks

CNNi

2010-11-06T20:17:00.004-05:00

So, Roseann is the PR person for us here in Haiti. Most of her updates are on CNNi which is a user generated news area. You can always find some Samaritan's Purse Updates by searching within CNN, but here is a link to the most recent. Sometimes, i forget how difficult the situation is after being here for 6 months, but these pictures help to provide a non-opinionated perspective. As with other news, there is always information adjusted by the higher-ups in the words that are relayed, but pictures can say 1000 words.

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-516304

Deep thoughts by jacob: Haiti has historically been pretty shitty, now there's just water everywhere.

embarrassing

2010-10-23T20:26:00.007-05:00

so i have a bit of an embarrassing story to tell:

i went into port-au-prince today with Robert and Nina, our friends and neighbors and fellow north carolinians (native residents of Spruce Pine), and as we were driving, we saw a bunch of people waiting to get into the bank. we were stopped in traffic for a few minutes and i

started making comments about how, since this is haiti, everyone was going to want to get into the bank first, regardless of their place in "line". sure enough, while we were waiting, the bank doors opened and there was a mad rush to get in the door (regardless of the fact that no matter who is first in line, no one is going to be helped anytime soon, because that's just not the way things work here). as we were staring at these people pushing each other out of the way and coming close to trampling one another, our driver asked, "you mean, that sort of thing does not happen in the states?" to which we immediately replied "NO! of course not!" but then we realized, actually, it does happen, every year, on the morning after Christmas, at Wal-Marts around the country.

embarrassing.

Warden Message No. 10,285,968,279,582

2010-10-22T16:31:00.007-05:00

ok, that's an exaggeration.

actually, the warden message i got in my inbox a little over an hour ago was actually number 120. but i've gotten 6 just this week!

numbers 114, 117 and 119 were about riots and demonstrations going on in port au prince and some of the surrounding areas. photo: wehaitians.net

i deleted number 15, but it was telling us not to eat fish, because so many people have died after eating the fish here (good news: that means no more "fish fridays" for awhile - YAY!!!)

photo: traveljournals.net

number 116 was about the floods that killed 20 people earier this week.

photo: Samaritan's Purse

number 118 was warning all us silly americans about how to not get diarrhea (here's a hint: don't drink out of the same river that someone pooped in 5 minutes ago), but it turns out they were worried about it because of number 120 we got today, confirming that over 130 people have died due to a cholera epidemic north of port au prince.

photo: CF News

it is CHAOS down here!

on a lighter note:

i have two blogs to recommend. i have been spending way too much time perusing them the last few days, but it's totally worth the time!

first - http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/

the next is http://vintagesongbird.blogspot.com

i even have my favorite crafts from each of these ladies! although, i will admit, it was super hard to pick just one. and those of you who own the little boys in jake's and my life, you will probably recoginze some of the christmas gifts they will be receiving from one or both of these websites!

check out this car mat that jill made for her kid

it even has trader joe's!!!

PLEASE someone remind me to be this cool when i'm a mom!!

and this amazes me: i only WISH i had this much vision! she took this old dresser

and made it into this SUPER CUTE little play kitchen!!!

i'm looking forward to the day i can return to my sewing machine, rotary cutter, and non-jumbled/non-haitian fabric stores!!

lion and tiger

2010-10-21T08:04:00.004-05:00

meet lion and tiger

also affectionately known as search and destroy

lion-destroy-craven-clark is the black one

tiger-search-craven-clark is the striped one

their last names are hyphenated because ritchie and i are sharing custody of them

they are our latest rat control technique. to help them learn the art of killing rats, i thought

i would help them learn with a little training tool.

i forgot to take a picture of it before i gave it to them and after i had, i couldn't bring myself to take it away from them, just to take a picture, but you can get the idea from this poor quality shot

p.s. i'm getting really tired of this little point-and-shoot camera we have...it might be time for an upgrade very soon!

this sums up my day...

2010-10-19T14:09:00.003-05:00

as i was sitting at my desk, which is totally covered in paperwork (the only parts that aren't are the tiny spaces around my mouse), i remembered seeing this picture on my friend whitney's blog, and felt it was pretty appropriate to share once again.

turks and caicos, and how we're doing these days

2010-10-14T19:04:00.008-05:00

i've had more than a few people e-mail me to follow up with us after one of our earlier posts about struggling in Haiti, and so i wanted to post a bit of a follow up to that. first of all, thank you so much for praying for us - we are doing much better! i think we were both at a really low point in our time here in Haiti, and i think reaching out and admitting that we were struggling was exactly what we needed to start the climb out of that pit!

walking on the beach in haiti

jake and i are both enjoying life much more. our break to puerto rico was very therapeutic, and another encouragement that samaritan's purse recognizes our needs and takes care of us by having a policy of r&r every few weeks. we're praying daily that God continues to show us His plan for our lives, whatever that is, and also praying for endurance for whatever His plans are!

jake with his catch

we had another chance to get a little break from life in Haiti this past weekend thanks to Canadian thanksgiving (we had monday off). saturday we flew to providenciales, the biggest island of the turks and caicos islands. we then took a taxi to a ferry, took the ferry to north caicos, rented a car and then drove to middle caicos, which is...what can i say...quiet? desolate? deserted? the island was like, 79 square miles, with only 300 people on it or something.

piled into the rental car

the 8 of us all piled into a 2 bedroom house on the beach. besides that, there's not much to tell. we ate great food, stayed up way too late, slept in way too late, and barely even changed clothes as we lounged around and relaxed. there was lots and lots of laughter and great conversation, on deep topics like marriage and the origin of man, and lighter talk of football and music.

playing dominos while waiting for the ferry; cleaning the fish they caught

jake and dave walked down the beach to a little island (yes...they walked to the island...the water was only about 3 feet all the way out to it) and went hunting - they came home with 3 little fish and a HUGE lobster! we left a day earlier than everyone else, so jake didn't get to eat the fruit of his labor, but we heard it was delicious! we played a lot of dominos, read a lot of books, and worked on our tans. it was great.

ritchie with a lobster on his head...

amazing cake

2010-10-14T17:49:00.004-05:00

i want to learn how to make this cake!!!

i follow enough of my friends' blogs to know that i know some really amazing cooks. i've got some ideas on how to do this, but i've never attempted to cut cake into shapes and then put them back together...anyone have any suggestions? i feel like this would be such an amazing cake to give to someone, and not even be there when they realize what it looks like on the inside! how fun of a surprise would that be??