Never Give Up

To all those who don't already know, the Clark motto is that "Clark's are not quitters." I had to share this video with you all as it is a wonderful testament to that statement. Thanks to Eric Kyfiuk for posting this on his facebook page. You are a wonderful evangelizer and a good man.

Parking Ticket

The other day I went downtown to run a few errands. I went into the local coffee shop for a snack. I was only there for about 5 minutes, and when I came out, there was this cop writing out a parking ticket. I said to him, 'Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break'?

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. His insensitivity annoyed me, so I called him a 'Nazi.' He glared at me and then wrote out another ticket for having worn tires. So I proceeded to call him 'doughnut eating Gestapo.' He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket when I called him a moron in blue.
This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I talked back to him the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't really care. I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had one of those old bumper stickers that said, 'Obama in 08'. I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. The doctor tells me that it's important to my health.

Blackberry Fest

Here's a little video on The Blackberry Festival that Powell River holds every year. Our main street, Marine Avenue, is closed to traffic and people come out in groves to enjoy the food, music, art, and company that a street party has to offer. This video was taken by The Peak, our local newspaper. Enjoy, and maybe we'll see you there next year:

Blackberry Street Party from Peak Publishing Ltd on Vimeo.

TOMS Shoes

Here's a little vid on TOMS shoes, very interesting, check it out:

Summer goals

I crossed another item off of the list of goals for this summer. Some of the Webbs and some of the Clarks went and rode around Inland Lake. We had a quick ride and swim that was so warm and pleasant after a hard 13Km ride around the lake. There were quite a few other cyclists, which isn't hard to imagine given the trail and beautiful surroundings.

We enjoyed some sandwiches, good company and caught some frogs. Thanks to John for letting us pile the bikes in the back of his truck. Was a great day!!!

Savary Island

We went over to Savary Island this week with our company. The weather was so nice and I took some pictures that I posted up on the Weather Network:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/620/3155267/1/cabc0233/plpcities?ref=ugc_city_thumbs

Here were some other shots:

What a feat!

Where's the nearest limbo competition, I want in!!

Car Show

Went to the car show that they had at the Town Centre Hotel on Saturday. I was supposed to be grocery shopping with the kids, so we had to make our trip quick. I got some good shots of the cars and only lost one of the kids, so a pretty successful trip I must say.

The car that took first prize was pretty impressive though, owned by Ron Spreeuw, who has been working on the car for 4 and a half years now. It is a Corvair with the rear mounted engine. The car was also equipped with pressurized front and rear suspension that could raise and lower each section of the car by several inches.

The other pictures that I am most pleased with are the ones from the Victory Motorcycle. What a bike, so amazing it was incredible. The detail in each of the bikes features was stunning right down to the foot pegs. Sure neat to see and a treat for all.

Zunga Time

Here's Blaise having some zunga fun, pretty sweet:

Sweet Cars

We were down at Willingdon beach campsite the other night and there were some sweet cars and trailers down by the water. The pair of cars was parked at the side of the beach trail. Even in the soft light of the evening, the cars were so shiny, so sweet.

Just imagine cruising around to country in such a set of unique cars and trailers. I would honestly be worried about scratching them or by other people damaging them. Anyways, I just wanted to share these sweet rides with you guys.

Done the Degree

Well, a large chapter of our life has finally come to an end. My degree is finally over, I passed the exam with a mark that will satisfy the requirements of my school. It has been seven years almost to the day since we began this process of changing careers from the cooking realm to the accounting one.

I have made some accomplishments in my life, but none as big as this. The only way I could have achieved such a feat is with the help of my amazing wife Meridith. For countless hours she has supported and encouraged me through the most difficult and challenging times of my life. I have never before aspired to such goals, but with Meridith's help I have been able to fathom that I am capable of achieving such a feat.

I say that Mer has been my help, but we both acknowledge that God has given us so much grace to be able to accomplish the things that we have been privileged to do. It has been an incredible journey and I am so grateful that God has given us the grace to get through this time. As I reflect on the past I am amazed at the challenges that we have been able to face and overcome. It is amazing to think of the fact that God has always been right there with us through every wrinkle and every little challenge that has come our way.

Thank you God for the wonderful graces that you have given us. Thank you friends and family for all of the help that you have given us. We are so grateful for blessings that we have been given. I hope to celebrate with all of you very soon.

Love Shaun

Blog Permission

After plenty of thought and discussion we've decided that for privacy reasons we should start restricting the blog to only those registered to read it. For most people this shouldn't be a problem, but I will have to send you an invitation email in order for you to have access to the blog.

The other complicating factor is that you will have to create and sign in under your google account. This is a very quick process, it took Meridith under 4 minutes.

I do apologize for the inconvenience of these new security steps, but in the interest of protecting our kids I think it is a wise move to make. Google unfortunately doesn't make this process very easy but I ask you to bear with me.

So I will leave the blog open to the public for another few weeks, during that time please send me an email to ensure you will be included on the list of invitees. My email is: scworkhard99@gmail.com

I will post another few warnings before I restrict access. I hope you will all send me an email, because it gives me a great deal of pleasure to know that you are reading our blog.

Thank you!!!

Shaun and Mer

You Dirty Rat

You will all be excited to hear that we finally have lured and destroyed our neighborhood fiend. That's right the rodent that was toying with our sense of comfort and well-being has been terminated.

Joey was the one to discover the full trap. He promptly picked up the trap and while yelling, "We got the rat, we got the rat!" proceeded to bring it inside the kitchen door for all to see. Joey had been hosing down the flowers outside, so the rat was actually soaking wet and dripping onto our floor.

After an immediate seizure of the situation I ordered everyone to stay put and remain calm. I instructed Joey to bring the rat back outside, while scrubbing bleach onto the floor where he had come inside. Thankfully we have no carpet or anything absorbent on that area of the floor.

Once the excitement was over, we all proceeded into the backyard with a renewed sense of peace. The trap has been reset to ensure that there wasn't a brother or close friend still hanging around the place. But for now I am happy to state that the rat situation has been neutralized.

Mom and Dad

What a cute couple, still in love after 33 years of marriage. They look so youthful it could be their third year, although then they would be pulling their hair out with Dean and I crawling around.

I took this picture after a day of swimming and picnicking at Haywire Bay. Such a nice spot for an afternoon cool-off. Oh, and in case you are reading this from another planet, this is a picture of my parents.

Powerful Story

Wow, here's a powerful video. Have some Kleenex handy!

Donkersly Beach Revisted

Well, we just had to go back to Donkerlsy Beach today, it was just too beautiful out to stay at home and get the housework caught up. We were surprised to see Donna and George there with their other cousins and nieces and nephews.

Blaise had his friend come along with us. Together they gathered 207 starfish and began to arrange them in this really interesting pattern. (The starfish were counted by Blaise's friends sister) Apparently there were thousands more starfish where they were gathering them from, just down the beach. If you look closely, you will see some Sunfish and really interesting looking starfish.

I'm really impressed with my camera and the quality of the pictures that it is able to take. It was indeed a beautiful day though, the kids and Mer and I had a really wonderful time there. Maybe we will be able to go tomorrow as well. Hopefully we might see some of you there.

Till next time...

Shaun

Fun at the Beach

Took the kids and camera to the beach on Tuesday and got some good shots. Joey managed to find several clear jelly-fish that were the size of his hand, while Gemma and Joe both managed to show off their swimming lesson skill. Owen did a great job of kicking his feet and braving the water's temperature. Lucia was as brave as ever jumping through the water, over her head into Meridith's arms. Blaise was over at a friends house, so he missed out on the action.

Adult Stem Cells

Some of you may have seen this on facebook, but it is a short little vid on adult stem cells. Only a minute and a half, enjoy!!

Hugh's Jungle

Here's Hugh (thank you for helping me identify my kids, lol!) in the new little party pad that Auntie Ali got him. He just loves it! He is able to turn on the music and bat at the toys that hang from the overhang.

As for the rest of us I think that we are all glad that my course is over. That was a stressful couple of weeks, and now the summer is ours to enjoy. I am really happy that I once again have time to put some things on the blog and get everything else in order.

Hope you are having a great summer!