The Amazing HR Race

For my work we had our HR annual meetings mid November this year.  We had meetings for 3 days straight - lots of planning, discussions, finding our strengths, weaknesses, and setting goals.  For one afternoon our boss set up a team building activity.  Yes, we are so like the tv show "The Office".

I'm competitive when I can be, but this time I didn't get put with any other competitive people.  This made it difficult for me and since I was the one trying to rush everyone around the whole time, while also driving and navigating, etc... I was exhausted and not sure it was "so fun" like everyone else raved about.  Plus, we lost the race.  Sad day!

If you haven't seen the TV show - The Amazing Race - you should.  It's quite funny and also neat to see all the different countries they visit each episode.  For our HR race, we raced all over Utah, well SLC County...

• The Up House - there's a replica of the Up house made from the movie
• Visit the Gateway Mall and find a tile with the name "Burbank" on it - yeah there were over 5000 tiles, we didn't find it.  This was when I gave up!
• Visit the SLC firehouse and slide down the pole!!!  Okay, that was fun!
• Find Emmigration Square
• Visit the UT Capital and find lots of historical information there, and buy a suvenier
• Visit "This is the Place" and count the men in the statues....
• Visit the U of U and the Olympic Torch

And all the while doing the above we had to take pictures or count steps or find some obscure fact....  All in all if the teams had been more even this would be a great activity!  Especially I can see for YW/YM in the church, singles wards, or even an FHE activity for a big/extended family.  Maybe I'll put it together someday.  We ended at a co-worker's house and had dinner and found out the winners.

Yes, this was our attempt to get points even though we didn't find the "Burbanks"  (David & I went back to Gateway and I still can't find it - this is a sore subject)

Luckily I was a good sport and even though we lost by tons (we counted something way wrong and lost 60 points!) I finished, right??  I did tons of driving and just glad to be done.  I also realized that even though I live in Utah I haven't taken enough time to see all of Utah.  We're going to have to do that over this next year!

November Update

First off... we're so listening to Christmas music already!!  I know, I know, I'm a little bit early.  But last year we missed out on a little Christmas when we went to Italy over the holidays, so I had to make up for it this year.  Plus we had snow the week after Halloween so I needed some happy music!  Anyway, I don't need an excuse!!! :)

Halloween kept us VERY busy, and with that over, now we just have school work and lots and lots of WAITING....

School front:

David has been very busy with school studies.  He has had test after test.  And his teachers haven't been so helpful this semester.  So we're just waiting for this semester to be over.  Won't it be nice when he starts studying things that actually matter to his future profession?!?!  Oh yeah, I remember that feeling.  The waiting for school to get over is pretty minor compared to the waiting for dental schools to contact us!  David's been to two schools, yet there are about 12 schools that we still haven't heard a peep from. It could be the spring before we hear anything and we were hoping it would happen earlier, so just more waiting I guess.

Home front:

Still with school and work, we still find the little time we can together.  We're excited for the Winter.  David has totally rubbed off on me with that.  He just LOVES this period of crisp air and getting cooler.  I do love the Christmas season.  We have our "To Do" list from last year, so we'll just do all our fun favorite seasonal things for sure.  I have a million little projects that always get pushed down on my to do list, I just hope I can get them finished at some point before we move, yadda yadda.  Not sure why I can't get all I want done always, but it just happens.

Work front:

Work is busy for me with benefits open enrollment, performance reviews starting soon, and HR annual meetings next week - - it just doesn't get any less busy or anything ever.  The environment has been better these days though and I'm happy to have my new boss.

Church front:

I'm not sure if I blogged about it, but David was called to be EQP - Elders Quorum President - at our church.  Meaning he's over all the men - more meetings, leadership, and service opportunities.  I am supportive and excited that we may get more integrated into the ward finally, even though he is so busy already.  He's a great worker and always finds more time to get everything done even as more gets added on to his schedule.  I'm still in Primary and doing the regular teaching each week.  Its becoming a lot easier for me these days, either I'm used to the continual interruptions and crazy questions, or also I may be becoming better at teaching for kids.

I guess those are the BIG items happening around the Clark home.  There's always a lot more going on, but we won't complain too much about our busy life.  Seems like that's how we all are these days.  We still find time for living life and not just passing through the time so it's a good life.

Many Halloweens

Having Halloween on Monday night means the partying started as early as Friday for us!!

My Work Party:
Our work Halloween party was on Friday 11/28.  It took lots of planning but it was the best one yet I thought.  We did decorating of the cubes/offices for kids to trick or treat at, a Halloween costume contest and lots of candy for sure.  David came and we both dressed up together (instead of me going along with the HR group, I just didn't feel like pretending to be buds I guess) and he and I went around and then finished my work for the day.  It was exhausting though that's for sure!

Tanya my cube buddy (our paralegal) was the Mad Hatter Johnny Depp version!

This was our HR conference room trick or treat area...

And us... we're the Where's Waldo and Wenda pair!!  Awe :)

And we found another one of us!

Carnival Downtown:
After my work party we headed downtown to visit Holly's school Halloween carnival.  We run around with the kids and try to help out where she wants us.  Then after we clean up and get to take home lots of candy.  Ah.  I was so exhausted from my work party though that I was barely there.  It was fun seeing the little siblings though.  Forgot the camera...

Our House Halloween Party:
After the carnival we came home and started getting ready for our Halloween party!  This year we decided to host our own Halloween party!  Actually our first party as "marrieds" so it was quite different from the normal roommate parties I had planned many of.  David did the sugar cookies while I started the cake for cake eyeballs.  We passed out for the night and then Saturday was the day of our home Halloween party.  We took all Saturday to get ready too.  I had planned lots of fun food and then also we would have games, music and a craft or so.  Kinda funny cuz in my past life parties were all about meeting people, so instead we had all ages at our party and wanted to keep them busy :)

 Isn't he just cute?!?!

 Here's my eyeballs...

 String Cheese and Green Pepper witch fingers...

 Cakeballs with frosting and a chocolate chip - so fun, lots of work though

 Mummy Hotdogs...

 Mummy Pizzas made by Shayla - who totally helped out a bunch, yay!

 Apple slice monsters with slivered almonds as teeth and then marshmallows for the eyes

 The rootbeer brewing...

 The craft - wood coffins to be painted and decorated

 And sugar cookie decorating too!

 Marlena & Tyrone and their cute new son!

 Megan & Jon & cute Elliot!

 Us & Shayla - she has the best costumes!

 Our nephew Super Sam, awe...

 More pics..

 Awe...the nerds...

 Jon, Melissa & Tiffany!

Our home decorations, at least the ones we did take pictures of...

Actual Halloween Trick or Treating:

Then finally came real Halloween!  I was pretty exhausted from Halloween at this point.  But also very excited to take the siblings around their home.  So David & I took them all around and then had dinner at the Clark's.  It was nice weather so that was just perfect.

Halloween this year was perfect!  We were able to check off most all of what we wanted to do and fit in lots of family and friends time too.  It will be nice to have a real home someday and have real parties where we can invite more and then decorate all around our home inside and out... we're excited even though it could be years down the road.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Carving Skills

We have mad pumpkin skills....  don't we?!?!

And the pumpkin seeds were A M A Z I N G :)