8 Days, 7 Nights, 6 People...1 Suitcase :)

We just got back from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and boy, did we have fun!  We called it our "last hurrah" before Matt left for his mission in Mexico and Sarah started college.  Meg and Allie are probably reading this and thinking, we never got a "last hurrah" before we left to seek our fortunes.  While in Colorado, we went to a Sky Sox baseball game.  Richard told me that he would catch me a fly ball and believe it or not, he did!  This is a picture of him re-enacting his famous catch.

I think this is the most excited I have seen him in some time.  Hilarious!  This man can still make me laugh after 26 years.

This beautiful place is called Garden of the Gods.  We were able to go and enjoy it's beauty on our last day in Colorado.

Here is another picture of some of us at the baseball game.  A definite good time was had by all, even if not everyone got to catch an official baseball and become an instant hero.

Sarah, and Allie's husband Chad had to fly home after 3 days so that they could go back to work and earn money to support us all in the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed to. :)  By the end of the week Paige was still having a great time, but Allie was definitely missing her man and starting to re-think the wisdom of spending so much time with the very teenagers she just so recently escaped from within the past 2 years. Way to hang in there Allie!

Here is another picture of the jubilant Richard after his amazing catch.  As you can see, he is quite pleased with himself, as he should be.  It makes me laugh all over again just looking at these pictures.

But alas, the Sky  Sox did not prevail against Salt Lake and lost the game 11 runs to 8.

Here is a picture of some of us goofy golfing with Tyler and Jake Teeples.  There was definitely more goofing than golfing happening on this day, but it sure was fun to see them again.  We even went on a picnic with their whole family while in Colorado Springs.  The Teeples told us that they miss the people in Arizona, but they sure don't miss the weather, so I don't think they will be living by us again anytime soon.

We went to Six Flags while we were in Colorado and this was one of the rides.  Too scary for me!

Here is Kaylee and Richard getting ready to go on a ride together.  They are both much braver than me.  Richard and Paige even went on this wooden roller coaster that looked and sounded like it was going to fall apart at any moment.  Yuck!

Here is Allie with Paige toward the beginning of the week while Chad waits patiently in the background.

Here is a picture of me getting ready to go on a ride.  I had to document this because I do not go on very many rides.  Amusement parks are many things to me, but they are definitely not amusing.  I know I am sounding old, but why would people want to do that to themselves, life is scary enough without intentionally scaring yourself.  I can't remember which ride this was, probably the carousel. :)  I tell my family that really I am a very brave person because it takes a lot of courage to buy $5 caramel apples while in an amusement park and I always do it.  My definition of courage.

Here is a picture of us when we went whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River.  Colorado is experiencing one of their warmest summers in history this year, so when we went to get our gear for rafting they tried to talk me out of the wet suit.  I said, "Are you kidding me, I am from Arizona and I am cold.  I want the wet suit, the splash jacket, the water boots, the helmet and the life preserver."  And, that is exactly what I got.

Here is another picture with Richard and the family.  Click on this picture to enlarge it.  Are you beginning to sense how much fun he had on this trip?  I don't think very many of you have seen this side of him.

We drove to Denver one day so that we could go to the Denver Temple.  Beautiful place and a beautiful experience.  We love attending the temple!

Here are two more pictures of us enjoying Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.  So, getting back to the title of this post...Even though you can tell that there were actually 8 of us on this trip instead of 6, there were 6 people living in our house that agreed to fly on Allegiant Airlines where everything is priced separately and make this vacation happen sharing only 1 suitcase.  We were also allowed to take one personal item that could fit underneath our seat and we are proud to say, "Yes, we are cheap (mostly me) and we did it!"  Much thanks to our longtime friends the Jones' who we will never be able to keep up with (pun intended, insert laughter) for allowing us to stay with them in their home and for showing us the beauty of Colorado Springs.  Thanks for not only having toys but for always being willing to share.  This was definitely a memorable vacation and one we will talk about for a long time... 8 days, 7 nights, 6 people and 1 suitcase. :)

Shopping Adventures Or Clothes Make The Man

 O.k., I'm pretty sure I have these pictures in the reverse order of what I wanted, but I will make it work.  On Friday, Allie, Paige, Kaylee and I planned a missionary intervention for Matt.  What is that you ask?  Well, it is our plan to coerce Matt into shopping (which he despises) and buy everything he needs to serve his mission.  Seeing as how we are down to less than a month. ("Plenty of time", says Matt. :)  )  The following are pictures of Paige looking for just the "right" accessories to begin high school this year.

 I am rather fond of the bunny rabbit glasses.  What do you think?

 In the end though, we told Paige that since she has started wearing make-up (see above picture :) ) she really is quite charming just the way that she is.  Don't you agree?

Now, onto Matt's most excellent adventure!  Allie (Wise shopper extraordinare) convinced Matt that where he needed to start was at Last Chance.  She described to him how we had to be there before it opened and stand in line with all of the rest of the herd that would be there waiting to stampede, push, shove and snatch once the doors opened.  We thought she was just exagerrating, but it was really quite an accurate description.  While we waited to get into Last Chance, Matt told us that he was losing his faith in humanity and this experience was making it difficult for him to want to serve a mission. :)  Too bad, we made him hang in there and he was handsomely rewarded with 2 pairs of Rockport dress shoes, for a fraction of the retail price and 2 pairs of tennis shoes, also for a fraction of the retail price. 

 If only I uploaded these pictures in the correct order!  Above you will notice Matt wearing a very handsome jacket that we had him try on.  Doesn't he look great?  We think so, too!  I know, it isn't missionary clothing, but there were 4 of us women on this shopping adventure and it was hard to stay focused. :)Well, if you noticed the picture before this one of me trying to help Matt get out of this jacket, then you realized that he was stuck.  What made the situation so funny was that the jacket was lined with some kind of super warm material and between that and the desperation of trying to get out of the jacket, Matt was sweating up a storm.  We were not much help because we were all laughing so hard.  Matt did finally get out of the jacket and we left Last Chance with our wonderful shoe purchase.  By the end of the day, Matt was the proud owner of a suit, shirts, ties, luggage and of course, shoes.

 Speaking of shoes... I'm sure everyone reading this knows what these are, right?  I had no idea what these were or that they were so popular.  Paige and Kaylee spent their whole time at Last Chance looking for some of these shoes called Toms.  When I saw them, I said, "These are just like the shoes that Grandma Cluff used to wear before she died.  These are popular?" (I know I am old.  That statement even sounded old to me.) The other thing that surprised me was that the same shoes Grandma Cluff used to be able to buy at Wal Mart for $2.50 are a whole lot more money now that they are called Toms.  Who would have guessed?  If only I had known what would become fashionable we could have made a fortune off of Grandma's wardrobe. :)  But alas, it was not to be, Paige and Kaylee left the snarling, screaming and foaming patrons at Last Chance without being able to snatch a pair of Toms for themselves. :(

And finally...thank you for all of your encouragement and kind words regarding my new haircut in the previous blog.  I was not commenting on the sad state of my hair to get sympathy and compliments, I was merely stating the facts and my sadness over my situation, by I do thank you for your kindness.  The good news is that I have decided that in 4 months, my hair may be long enough to dress up as Edna Mode from the Incredibles for halloween.  You know me, always looking for the silver lining. "I'm a girl, I'm a girl, I'm a girl...

A Hard Lesson Learned

 A horrible thing happened to me on Saturday.  I went to get my hair cut at Great Clips (several people have already told me that was my first mistake). Well, I went in and told the beautician that I wanted my hair cut, but not too short and before i knew it, 3 pounds of my hair was on the floor.  I am serious!  Now, I put a headband with a bow in my hair every day just like a bald baby girl and walk around quietly chanting, "I'm a girl, I'm a girl" just to make myself feel better.  I like to get a good deal and I did have a coupon for this hair cut (several people have already told me that was my second mistake), but I will not be needing another haircut for months!  Boy did I get a good value for my money.  I don't mean to imply that short hair on a woman is bad because it isn't.  I know plenty of women that wear their hair shorter than mine is now, it's just that I don't like it on my head.

 My hair looks something like this female version of a bowl cut. 

 I told my kids that I finally look like Julia Roberts.  Too bad I look like her when she had butch short hair for her role as Tinkerbell in the movie, Hook.

I may even be mistaken for Moe from the Three Stooges.  The good news is, I have never been more faithful in taking a daily multi vitamin. I sure hope my hair grows back fast. :)  "I'm a girl, I'm a girl, I'm a girl ...."

Look Who's Graduating!

                   Can you believe Sarah is 18 and graduating?  We can't either, but it is true!

                                   Thanks, Jill Smith, for taking these cute pictures of Sarah.

Sarah is planning on attending ASU in the fall and studying psychology.  Congratulations, Sarah!

May Happenings

 As you all know, Matt got his mission call to Monterrey, Mexico and tonight he was able to go to the temple.

 It was a wonderful experience for Richard and I to have another one of our children go to the temple and make sacred covenants. 

 Sarah and Shawn went to Prom during the month of May.

 We were able to help out at Special Olympics this year and had a really fun time.  The Cluffs just might enjoy this activity more than the participants.

 Special Olympics really is special.  If you haven't gotten involved with helping that organization yet, we highly recommend it.

 These are some of the beautiful flowers that I received for Mother's Day.

 Paige had a birthday on May 14, and turned 14.  That means it was her "golden" birthday.  That is when your age is the same as the day of the month you were born.

 Some of Paige's friends stopped by and decorated her room.  In our family you are allowed to wear make-up once you turn 14. 

 This is what Paige looks like now that she gets to wear make-up. :)  Just kidding!  Paige is beautiful and goes by the rule that less is more when it comes to applying make-up.  Good job, Paige!

 Paige is not a morning person, so we had to poke her a little bit and get her to wake up so that she could open her presents in the morning while we were all home to see.

 One of the gifts she got was the game of Life.  I must say that I despise this game and am of the opinion that whomever created it should be punished severely.  You've heard of the song that never ends?  Well, this is the game that never ends, but because it was her birthday, we did play it. 

 Some of Paige's friends also got up early and wrote her some great messages in sidewalk chalk all over our driveway.

 Paige enjoyed reading her cards and opening her gifts.

Happy Birthday, Paige!  We love you and are glad you are part of our family!

I'm A Little Backwards And So Is This Post :)

Many of you who know me, know that I am not a big fan of technology.  No surprises there.  So, why does blogger have to take something that works really well and change it?  Beats me!  Anyway, I messed up on this post and the pictures are not in the correct order.  And, since I am complaining, how come rows of words are not aligned?  Oh well, hang in there.  This is a picture of us with Richard's Mom and Dad.  We visited them in Utah when we went to see Hyrum graduate from BYU.

 Pictures of Richard, Kaylee and Paige at the Bean Museum on the campus of BYU.  We had heard a lot about this museum and it was really interesting.

Here are pictures of Meagan, Hyrum and Brigham Mitchell on graduation day.  These pictures look like the ones you used to get where they use fake backgrounds, but no, this background is the real deal.  Isn't Utah beautiful?  Congratulations on graduating from college, Hyrum.  We are  proud of you for all of your hard work!

 On the way to Utah, we took the scenic route.  We stopped in Lake Havasu (who does that?) so that Richard could show us the famous bridge.  Yes, we are getting old!

 Here is Richard, Paige and Kaylee in front of the London Bridge.  My parents enjoyed sightseeing when I was the last child at home and so I am now adding the London Bridge to my memories of the deepest well in America, the biggest ball of yarn and the largest rocking chair.  :)

 Sorry if you were born in Lake Havasu and have great memories, but this was the cutest thing there on the day that we visited.

One last picture of the London Bridge amidst the beautiful green? water.  It really was a fun trip.  Good to see family and unusual to only have two children with us. So, if I missed something truly wonderful in Lake Havasu, be sure and let me know so I can appreciate it more if I ever get back there again.