Rewind to November-December 2011

So, I didn't blog about the holidays. At least I took pictures. I have to get a few Mom points for that, don't I? Kaylee turned 11 years old on November 27th and celebrated with a pumpkin pie. That is what happens when you are born around Thanksgiving. She was so glad to turn 11 because it means she is even closer to turning 12, the age when life really begins and you get to go to mutual, girl's camp, the temple and have your ears pierced, if you so choose.

You would have to enlarge this picture to do it justice. What is that on our steering wheel you ask, why it is bright yellow paint of course. In November we participated in yet another Eagle Project. We Cluffs have a special place in our hearts for young men and their Eagle Projects. This project was for our friend, Caleb, and it involved driving around the neighborhood and painting fire hydrants. The only thing is, Caleb hadn't thought to bring anything to get the paint off of us and before we knew it we had paint everywhere, on our hands, our legs, our clothes, our hair. We (mostly me) laughed so hard that we cried. It was such a fun morning and a fun project. Most people never realize what fun service can be, but we have been involved in enough Eagle projects over the years to know better than to miss one because they are always interesting and FUN. We were hurrying with the project because another friend, Cody, was getting baptized that same morning. When we got home and raced to take showers and get cleaned up we realized that the paint was really not going to come off. We decided that Cody would rather have us at his baptism with yellow paint on our skin than not there at all and so we went. I could take some paint thinner and get rid of the paint on the steering wheel, but I kind of like it and it helps me to remember our fun day together every time I get in the car.

Here is Richard and Kaylee at the Daddy/Daughter dance that was held at our elementary school.

They sure can dance. There were over 400 dads and their daughters in attendance.

I got to attend because I am on the PTO board and they needed someone to serve cookies and punch and serving cookies and punch is one of my talents, so they chose me. That is how I got Kaylee to take my picture with Richard, even though he wasn't my date that night.

One of the very best things about having a birthday close to a holiday is that you get to celebrate your birthday with your family and then if you are going to have a party with friends you usually have that a week later because of the holiday and so you have something else to look forward to. Kaylee had a party with some of her friends on the first week of December. They played lots of fun games and...

ate lots of good food. Happy Birthday, Kaylee!

Here is Kaylee with her friend, McKaylee, in yet another school play. Kaylee played the part of Mrs. Claus. We are starting to wonder if Kaylee really likes acting that much or if she just enjoys being in plays because she gets to wear make-up? She had a wonderful time and we enjoyed watching her.

This is a terrible picture, but proof that Kaylee plays the saxophone. In December we were able to go to her band concert and see her perform.

My parents had their annual family Christmas party and Santa was able to make it again this year.

Everyone from the youngest to the oldest enjoys getting together and visiting with Santa.

This is my Dad, Max. He loves watching the great grandchildren. He turned 87 yesterday.

Everyone has such a great time together.

This is my Mother, Mae, surrounded by family.

Here is a picture of Allie and Chad before they were married. Doesn't Allie look like she is in love? It looks like all of that love is making Paige gag. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Tyler.

Hyrum, Meagan and Brigham visited for Christmas. Here is a picture of Brigham and Paige when we went hiking at Usery Pass.

Even Dixie Dog go to go on the hike and she enjoyed it very much. She wore her best green dress that she got for Christmas.

Kaylee really enjoyed the hike and thought the fruit snacks we brought were especially delicious.

We had so much fun hiking that Paige and Kaylee and I are thinking about doing it again during Spring Break this week.

Even Sarah had the day off from work and got to go hiking and enjoyed spending time with her nephew, Brigham.

Thanks for coming to visit, Hyrum and Meagan, it was sure fun to see you!

Last, but not least, here is a picture of Hyrum and Paige posing as Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Kiwanis Wave Pool. They look a little scary, don't you think?

We Should Have Been Cowboys!

This is what we did last weekend. No, we didn't actually ride bulls, but we did watch bull riding and it was lots of fun.

It was a rare weekend where no one was working and there was something really fun to do for FREE!

Rawhide had their 40th birthday celebration and admission, parking and all of the attractions were free, so we went. This is Paige posing next to John Wayne. People that were watching me take the picture laughed when Paige asked "who is John Wayne?"

Here is Paige and Kaylee wearing the free cowboy hats and bandannas they got just for showing up. Yee Haw!

We even took two of our neighbors, Anna and Grace, to share in our cowboy adventures.

Here we are, watching an animal show while wearing a too small hat and what looks like a bib. That is the beauty of being a cowboy, fashion doesn't really matter.

Here is Sarah and her boyfriend, Shawn. I'm pretty sure the guys that accompanied us thought it was a little cheesy, but the bull riding at the end made up for everything else.

Speaking of cheesy, yes, this is Allie's real smile. Chad kept saying after every gunfight, pig race, trick shooting and animal show, "I'm so glad I didn't pay for this." Silly Chad, you are just beginning to learn what Cluff fun really is. Our only regret was that Meg, Hyrum and Brigham couldn't have been with us to share our cowboy adventure.

Arizona Snow

We were enjoying another beautiful, February weekend, feeling the love and enjoying our festive Valentine's decorations...

Kaylee spent most of the day outside riding bikes with friends and Paige and her friend Grace did a fabulous chalk drawing on the driveway.

Then on Sunday, we woke up to some good old Arizona "snow". We laughed as we cleaned it up. Good job to whoever did this TP job on the Cluff house this weekend. Consider yourselves professionals!

Yes, We Are Still Alive!

O.K., so I am blogging about some things that happened in October and November is almost over. Better late than never, right? Meagan and Brigham came to visit for a week in October and we had lots of fun together. Several pictures below will show you our adventures at Lenny's Burger, our new favorite burger place on Stapley and Southern:

This is Allie with her then boyfriend, Chad Tyler. One month later, he is now her fiance. Hooray! They are getting married March 10th, 2012.

Notice all of the t-shirts we are wearing in the above pictures? Well, we got together to make them in support of one of our favorite cousins, Annie Jones, who was nominated for homecoming royalty at Mesa High School this year.

We had so much fun going to the homecoming game and cheering for Annie and guess what? SHE WON! She was so excited and looked amazing in her jackrabbit purple dress, crown and robe. Thank you Mesa High for being so kind to our Annie, you made her day/week/year/life! She had so much fun being queen for a day and even better, she gets to dress up all over again next year and crown the new queen.

Brigham is looking a little fussy in this picture, possibly because he has too many Aunties fighting every day to hold him and decide what he is going to wear.

Meagan and Brigham were definitely the stars of the show for the week that they visited. I am sure they both had to go home and rest from their vacation. We can't wait to see them again at the end of this year.

Here is Kaylee, all dressed up for Halloween. She had a blast being a bride. Today, Allie and I are going wedding dress shopping. I don't think we will find one for $9.99 which was the cost of Kaylee's wedding dress, :) but we should have lots of fun looking. Wish us luck!

I Love This Kid!

Today is Allie's 22nd birthday! This girl puts the zing and the zest into living. She is pretty much the mustard in the sandwich of life. That is a pretty good analogy because Allie even loves the color yellow.

She also loves shaved ice and snow cones and she can recite from memory just about every flavor sold at Bahama Bucks.

Allie has a deep love for the temple. This is a picture she took when we attended the Gila Valley Temple's open house. Allie goes to the temple weekly and has come to love and appreciate the peace that comes from attending the temple.

Allie loves service and she loves her family. She gives me a hard time about posting unflattering pictures of her, but what can I say, that girl sure can ham it up!

Here is Allie holding one of our dear departed chickens on the day we bought them. She is always up for an adventure.

Allie loves the ocean ALMOST as much as I do.

She has worn her "co-pilot" hat and navigated her perpetually lost Mother on many adventurous trips!

Allie can find fun everywhere she goes.

Why do we have so many pictures of Allie with clowns?

Allie loves shaved ice, pomegranates, snow cones, cotton candy, caramel apples, fudge, kettle corn.... How does she eat all of that stuff and still look so good?

As you can see, Allie has blessed our life and kept us laughing for the last 22 years. We are so glad that she is part of our family. I nearly killed her once when she was 3 years old. She said something sassy and then told me because I was so far along in my pregnancy with Matt that I was too fat to catch her. I did catch her that day and I am really glad I decided to let her live. :) Not all of you will understand what I am about to write, but I know that Allie will. Allie is kind, she is smart and she is important and I am so proud to be her Mama. Happy Birthday, Allie, I love you!