The 411 Or...Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask :)

 Did we have fun in Colorado and how did we really feel about wearing wet suits?  Yes, we loved our Colorado trip.  Some trips manage to become even more fun in your mind as time goes by and this trip will always definitely stand out as a good time had by all.  If you enlarge this picture you will see that the girls felt a little weird about wearing wet suits for our white water rafting trip, but they sure did keep us a lot warmer.

 How does Dixie feel about Matthew and Sarah moving out?  Depressed!  Poor Dixie, you still have Paige and Kaylee. :)  Yes, Sarah moved out this week to be closer to ASU and enjoy the fun of sharing an apartment with friends.

 What did Matt spend his time doing before he left on his mission?  He would probably never let us admit to this while he was here, but he used his creative skills to paint some of his sister's nails.  I had no idea what this design was but I was later informed that it has to do with Pokemon.  Hilarious! He also indexed like a madman and really helped our Ward with our indexing goal.

 Why doesn't Dixie wear dog clothes anymore?  We would love to tell you that the reason is because it is too dang hot for dog clothes during the Arizona summers but the real truth is that the children spent the summer teaching her all kinds of tricks that were rewarded with all kinds of treats and her dogie clothes are a little tight these days.  Nothing accompanying Kaylee to school 5 days a week can't fix.  On a positive note, she can sit, shake hands and dance but never quite mastered rolling over.

 Who does Matt miss the most since he left on his mission?  That is a no brainer.  The answer is our dog, Dixie.  If you asked what does Matt miss the most since he left the answer would be his big, comfy bed.

 What was it like on the morning that Matt left for the MTC?  It was really good.  We didn't look too beautiful since his flight was at 7:40 a.m. and he had to be at the airport 2 hours early, but it was a really good morning and one that we are all glad we took the time to participate in even if it was early.

 Did I cry and how did I feel about him leaving?  Nope, I didn't cry.  My family thinks I am heartless, but how can you cry when your son is leaving to do such a good thing like teaching the gospel to people that have been waiting there whole life to hear it and serving Heavenly Father?  I am so proud of him!  It was definitely a process...knee surgery, needed to lose some weight, passport, visa...but so worth it.

 Did Richard cry and how did he feel about Matt leaving?  Also, is it true that Richard could really retire in February.  Yes, he did cry.  Matt leaving for a mission brought back a lot of memories for Richard about how wonderful a mission is but also about how challenging a mission can be.  I think Richard was feeling a little like the elephants on the movie, Dumbo, when they said, "This is a proud, proud day." :)  And, yes it is true that Richard has put in enough years at his job that he really could retire in February.  However, he would still need to find another job with insurance because he is WAY too young for Medicare.  But, whether he decides to find a different job and retire from his current one or just keeps working at the same place, working for 30 years at the same job is quite an accomplishment.  Way to go!

 Last family picture with Matt in it until 2014.

 Are Sarah Cluff and Shawn Garrison engaged?  Yes!  They are planning to be married by Bishop Stephens on October 20, 2012.  They are both enrolled at ASU and are excited to begin their life together.  Do we like Shawn?  Also a Yes!  Shawn is a great guy and a really hard worker.

 Did anyone throw up on the first day of school this year due to nerves?  I am proud to say no.  :)

 Did we follow Cluff tradition and still go out to breakfast at Dennys on the first day of school?  Yes and it was nice.  We love traditions, especially when they involve food.

 Am I recovering from my bad haircut?  Yes, slowly but surely.  I still resemble Moe, but at least I am smiling now. :)

 Is Meagan pregnant again?  Yes!  Meagan and Hyrum are expecting a baby girl to arrive the week of Shawn and Sarah's wedding.  They are going to name her TiAnne.  Congratulations Meg and Hyrum!

 Do I miss my Dad?  Of course!  He was stubborn and funny and wonderful, what's not to miss?

How is my Mother doing?  Pretty good.  She has lots of friends and stays pretty busy.  We spend 2 days a week together and have lots of fun.  I am blessed to have had so much one on one time with my parents.

Last but not least... Am I still PTO president this year and am I still planning to cook the Boy Scout fundraising dinner two weeks after Sarah and Shawn's wedding?  Yes to both of those questions.  What can I say?  If I weren't involved in my church and community I wouldn't be nearly as happy as I am now.  Some people just love juggling.  I may just apply to work in the circus as a plate juggler once all of my personal juggling settles down.  Personally though, I want to be busy until I take my last breath on this earth.  One of my favorite quotes is from Marjorie Pay Hinckley and it says, "I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.  I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing a neighbor's lawn.  I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.  I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.  I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.  I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."  Amen.

We Hoped They'd Call Him On A Mission!

Here are some pictures of our family on the day that Matt spoke in Church before leaving for the MTC.  We had a nice day with lots of family coming over in the morning before Church to enjoy breakfast with us.

I thought I would get more pictures uploaded of the day that Matt flew to the MTC, but just as I expected, I am having trouble figuring out how to save pictures from a new camera that was recently purchased.  Have I ever told you that I don't like change and I really don't enjoy technology?  I know, just another sign that I am old.  Matt was our technology guru and without him, we may end up sitting here in the dark for two years until he returns. :)

I will put more effort into figuring out how to save pictures so that this won't be our last blog forever.

In this picture I am teasing Matt because I am wearing shoes that make me as tall as he is.

Matt left for the MTC 3 days after this picture was taken.  Richard LOVES getting mail from Matt!  Rich served his mission in Michigan, but I think having a son serving a mission brings back lots of memories for him.

Here are 3 generations of Cluff men.  As you can see, it was a happy day and we are so glad that Matt is serving a mission.

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...