54
"C.C. was back at the White House playing tic-tac-toe with the
Secretary of State," Aspen says, using Sierra's nickname given to
her as a tot, when she couldn't pronounce her real name. When
the president started talking about the success of Aigner Clark,
and the cameras focused on the two, Mom and daughter just
smiled at each other. "I mean, it was just amazing," Aspen says.
"At that moment, I'm like, 'Wow, I am actually sitting listening to
President Bush speak, and it's because of this company my mom
started.' She's just an amazing mom. I know that people always
say, 'You must be so proud of your kids,' but we're so proud of
our parents," Aspen says, her sister nodding beside her.
In Good Times, and In Bad
Times weren't always magical in the Clark household. Aigner
Clark was diagnosed with breast cancer when the girls were 6 and
8, too young to understand. "I remember sitting beside her at the
hospital," Sierra says, of when her mom had a double-mastectomy
after discovering a tiny lump in her breast. "But I didn't even
know what a hospital was or have any idea of how serious it was,"
she says.
Her doctors were fairly confident they had caught the cancer
early enough, and treated it aggressively enough, for little chance
of a return. But it did come back, when the girls were 11 and 13,
Sierra and Aspen Clark have fun posing with Mom, Julie Aigner Clark, while Dad
shoots some photos. The girls say, despite her success, their mom was always
there for them growing up.
