Come What May...and LOVE IT!

Going Private

2011-04-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Okay, everyone else is doing it!! Send me your email and I will add ya. I will be setting to private in the next week or so! Just feel like we can never be too careful!! You can post your email in a comment and I will not publish the comment...or my email address is: kandlynn@gmail.com

Sending Smiles

2011-03-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this on a friend's blog...I just think it is awesome that people come together to help each other out! This woman (young mother of 5) just lost her husband. I cannot imagine what her life is like right now and am sure anything anyone can do to help will bless her family and those who help!!! www.smilesbymail.blogspot.com

Christmas 2010

2011-03-13T17:19:00.001-07:00

For the first time in SEVEN years we were able to have Christmas with my side of the family!!! It was long overdue! We had a great time, enjoyed the warmer weather too! My dad threw a super fun dinner at King's Fish House (YUMMY) and we really just were happy to hang out with family while we were there. We weren't able to stay as long as we liked but we were glad to be there for as long as we could!

Cousins on Christmas Eve...Ansley and Haden in the same pjs!!!
My three little ones in Christmas Eve pajamas.

Christmas morning fun! Ry and B had lots of fun opening presents and playing afterwards. They totally forgot about their stockings in all of the excitement!

Ty was sick for all of the trip...the kids and I got sick upon arriving home! ;(

Rock star B

All in all we had a wonderful Christmas! Thank you maga and papa!!! Love you guys so, so, so much!

Haden Ryker Cluff

2010-11-26T11:38:00.001-08:00

Our third child has FINALLY arrived and completed our family!! Haden Ryker Cluff was born on Tuesday November 23 at 7:07 pm - just as the first big blizzard of the season was winding down!! We stayed Monday night in Logan, not knowing when the hospital would call me for my induction. We got to the hospital at about 12:30 pm, pitocin started around 2pm and after some serious pushing...my 9 lb. 6 oz, 19.5" baby boy was out!! Tyson and my doctor delivered him, that was really cool!! My mom was able to be in the room with us too and that was wonderful to have her there. He is a mix of both Ry and B, with hair much like Riley's!

Very ready and excited to get labor going! I knew the baby was big, because he felt BIG, just didn't think he was quite so big!!

Mom kept everyone up to date for us!

Lots of contractions, time to push. One word - EPIDURAL - can honestly say I did not feel much pain at all for the whole thing!

Tyson A. Cluff, PA-C and proud father. He said it was a truly amazing experience! Thanks Dr. Blackett!! They did awesome!My mom manned the camera for us, since Ty was busy!! She got some great pictures!!

I was pretty emotional, knowing that this is the last time and all. I am so grateful that everything went as smoothly as it did and that Haden is strong and healthy! We are so very blessed!

Big brother holding baby brother

Uncle David was in town and came to visit. He played Airbender with the kids and they have grown very fond of him!!

Big sister holding baby brother Grandma - Ty's mom

Auntie Eileen came to visit too. (David's wife).

Halloween Week

2010-10-31T21:03:00.001-07:00

This past week was a little crazy for me. Under normal circumstances this week would have been no big thang! Since this pregnancy is kicking my rear...it was exhausting, but fun and worth it! First Tuesday Ry had his basketball practice and then he went to his school with me to help get ready for the Halloween Carnival Wednesday. That night Ty and B went shopping for the new front room tv...(yes the room is almost done!!!)

Then Wednesday was reading mom in Ry's class, my turn for Joy school, short rest, get kids in costumes and head to the Elementary school for dinner and the carnival. Ty met us there, we all had a really good time! I ran the game in Ry's class the last half hour and Ty and the kids just hung out with me and Ry's teacher in there.

Thursday we had a parade at Ry's school and then the other room mom and I threw a class party in Ry's class. The kids were so WiReD and CrAzY!!! Brie crashed and took a three hour nap when we got home...I should have. Ty and Ry wanted to go to the football game in Pocatello, B was gonna be up all night anyway, so we went. Malad's team killed the other team! It was pretty fun!!!

Friday, the kids and I slept in and I had a yucky day. That night we went to Ty's family party and that was fun. The cousins always enjoy each other. We stayed way too late!

Saturday, Ry had his basketball game at 9 am. Ty and B stayed home, they were starting to get sick. Then at 3:30 we had trunk or treat, then off to trick or treat at friends homes.

Sunday, B had a fever, Ty still not feeling good, I am DEAD TIRED. So we just chilled and finally carved pumpkins. BUSY, busy week!

Ready for Joy School to start

Off to the Carnival

Pretty snow white for Ry's class party

Ry and his Iron Man 2 pal Riggin, parade

Buds together again, class party

Finally got around to pumpkins, I helped B and Ty helped Ry, though he did quite a bit of it himself! They cried when I put them outside...Ry thinks they will get stolen!

Ready for trunk or treat

His Iron Man 2 costume did NOT hold up very well, so he decided he wanted to be a vampire! So Ty did his makeup and sprayed his hair black...which Ry loved because his hair was finally dark like daddy's!

My precious, sparkly faced little lady bug!

Aubry and her Joy School pals...cutest little girls EVER!

Soccer Season

2010-10-04T09:29:00.001-07:00

If there is an organized sport, Riley wants in! He just loves to be busy and have an activity to go to! More than anything else...he LOVES the trophy at the end!! (My funny little guy!!) Soccer season is short here, they try to squeeze it all in before it gets too cold and/or snowy! The weather cooperated this year and was actually too warm for my taste most days!! Nevertheless, Riley had fun, he scored a goal or two the majority of the games, though he is NOT the fastest out there! He has slowed down some with all of the growth spurts he has gone through!! At the last game he asked me, what sport is next mom? Thankfully basketball starts in just a week or two...we haven't told him about wrestling. It is a big deal out here...Ty and I just aren't too into it! Hopefully we can keep the secret!

Warming up, no clue what the arms are about!
He was really good at throwing the ball in to his teammates, they usually scored off of his kick/throw ins!

Okay, so his head is not in this shot, but this was one of his goal kicks. No clue why he was jumping off of the ground right then?!?!?

Pretty, Pretty Ballerina

2010-09-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

Brie started dance a couple weeks ago and L-O-V-E-S it!! I love that she loves it! She looks so stinkin' cute in her dance outfits I can hardly stand it!! Everyday she asks if it is dancing day! Too bad it is only one day a week. She is learning ballet, tap and tumbling!

First Grade

2010-09-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

I seriously cannot believe that my little man is already in first grade! He is so big and grown up! He missed the first week of school due to Hawaii, we did his school work on vacation! We had been preparing Riley by talking a lot about how early he had to wake up and how long he would be at school...8 am to 3:20 pm. All he heard was 3 recesses!!! Sunday night Ty gave him a haircut and then a wonderful Father's Blessing! I am so very grateful to have the Priesthood in my home! Riley woke up Monday morning without a fight and we commenced getting ready. We had breakfast together (he and I were the only ones awake) and we chatted. He hugged me three different times and told me how much he was going to miss me! He kept saying, "Mom, I am going to be gone ALL day...that is so long mom...it is going to be dark when I get home!" The kid is so funny!

Looking handsome as ever!
Goofy smile...you may not be able to tell, but he is more like size of a 9 or 10 year old! Kid is tall, he wears size 10 jeans and 4.5 Y shoes. Size 6 will be MEN'S shoes....crazy!!!

His super cool How to Train Your Dragon backpack. He really loves that movie!

So, I walked him to his class to make sure he got there and got settled. When I picked him up, he gave me a hug and proudly reported "no time outs" to me! (He is a bit of a talker...wonder where he gets that from!!!) He proceeded to tell me that tomorrow I do not need to walk him to his class, he is too big for that! He also mentioned not wanting me to come to school for lunch saying, "mom, that's okay, I am a big boy and I have lots of friends!" He is breaking my heart!!! When did my baby boy become so independent and grown up?

Motherhood milestone for me: I MISS HIM WHEN HE IS AT SCHOOL! It is a long day, but he has all day Friday to drive me crazy!!

Glad he is loving school and all seems to be going well so far!

Hawaiian Fun

2010-09-03T15:02:00.001-07:00

Jackman Maui trip 2010

We had a great time in Maui with some of our Jackman family. Tyson was only in pain for the first 2 days of vacation, due to his kidney stone surgery. After that he was good! We flew over on a Friday and it was a long day of travel with lots of kids! We all stopped at Da Kitchen for supper! YUMMY! We love that place. When we got to our rooms, we CRASHED!!! Saturday was unpacking and organizing then to the pool. Sunday we went to church with Maga, Papa, Amber, Steph, Jasper and Ansley. Then the we went on a drive, road to Hana. (Not Maga and Papa). It was beautiful, only a little barf! Then we stopped at the seven pools of O'Hea and swam in waterfall pools...cool stuff. LONG day, we got back after 8pm! The rest of the week we swam in the pool, shopped and ate yummy food! Riley and Brie LOVED being with their cousins and they all played wonderfully together! Dad, Ty and Rick golfed one day...the WHOLE day! Crazy guys played two rounds! They had a blast! We had a girls lunch at Mama's Fish House...so amazingly delicious and I got to chill with my mom-bonus!!! All in all, we had a great time!

Thanks Maga and Papa!!!!

Kiddos after a long day of travel, being good while the men got the luggage
One of the falls on the road to Hana

Family Picture

Ber, Jasper, Ansley and Steph

When driving in the rain forest, watch for falling fruit!!

The Pools of O'Hea. They were a little chilly, but still cool. Ty, Ry, Steph and Jasper ventured to some of the other pools. B and I stayed at this one. Ber fed the baby!

The rocks hurt her feet, so she chilled with me on a bigger rock

Riley lovin' it!

Pretty

Pool time with Papa

Way back from the water slide?

Goings On

2010-08-18T09:47:00.001-07:00

Since we have been home from Carpinteria we have been busy!! (And I have been TIRED)!! I didn't think that 30 was old until I got pregnant...this one has been tough.

So...we have been working on the house. Our bedroom has new windows, all the wall paper is gone and has new nice texture on the walls. Tyson painted the room brown and aqua...looks super nice!! He also trimmed out the windows too! Just need to rip up the carpet because all three bedrooms are getting new carpet August 31!!! YAY!! Then we can all have our rooms back! Ty ripped the carpet up in the front room to find that our hardwood floors look pretty darn good! We bought hard woods for the hallway and the floor will get laid and then all the floors refinished probably early September!! Ty also ripped down the paneling on the wall in the front room!! Soon the upstairs will be done, aside from the bathroom. I decided that I wanted all of the easier stuff done first, then he can put all of his focus on the bathroom!!

The kids completed another round of swimming lessons...they had fun. Riley did really well and almost has his back stroke down!! Aubry, well she was the only one in her class and I think she had her teacher wrapped around her finger. It was just glorified water play time for her...fine with me, she was happy!

I am still VERY tired!

This past Saturday Ty had a kidney stone start to pass...fun!!!! It hit him at night, so he was able to do some work on the house first. Long story short, the stone wasn't passing on it's own, so Monday he had surgery to get it removed. He is still pretty uncomfortable, but is back at work. We leave tomorrow for Hawaii, so hopefully he will be out of pain for vacation!!

Will post lots of fun stuff from Maui when we get back! Hope you all have a great last few weeks of summer and good first weeks of school!!! :)

Carpinteria 2010

2010-07-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Another week at the beach has come and gone. I am STILL doing laundry!!! Big news this year, Tyson won the Cluff brother golf tournament!!!! I will post a picture of him with him trophy...yes they have trophies, a winner one and a loser one! We have had the loser one a few times!!! That was Saturday and then my mom watched the kids for us Saturday night and we went to PF Chang's- YUMMY!!!

Then Sunday was the day of Carp set up. The kids got sick in the car (a first) must have been the traffic on the 101!! Kids are not used to that kind of driving! We got our tent all set up and then the chasing of Aubry began. That girl is a little wanderer!!!! The week was a little chilly...75 is NOT beach weather!!! The kids still loved it, I was cold though! Here are the pictures!

Ry and B in their 60th year Carpinteria shirts
Ry lost his FIRST tooth at the beach!! It had been "wiggly" for a while...Uncle David loosened it up quite a bit and Riley finally let Ty yank it!! The Tooth Fairy even came to Carp and left Ry a bounty for his tooth! He was pretty excited!!

The boys (Cade, Christian and Ry in the back) getting ready for the 4 man race - winter Olympics 2010.

Adam, David, Eileen and Tyson...possibly talking a little smack!?!?!?

Even though David went down HARD...they managed to place in the race!

I have NO words

She LOVES the beach! She had sand everywhere!!

Ty and Ry getting ready to catch some waves! Riley did awesome!! He caught a lot of waves and had so much fun!! He scared me a few times when he tried to go out with the bigger boys! I felt a lot better when Ty was out there with him!

B and Cams running with the tide

Done for the day...he slept like a baby every night!

Gold medal number 1

They managed a bronze!!!

Running the torch

Gold medal number 2...he is quite the seed spitter!!!!

Aubry and the potty

2010-07-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

I just had to write this before I forgot. Aubry is pretty much daytime potty trained. She waited until like the week of her 3rd birthday...turd!!! I was in the kitchen doing dishes and cleaning up...she comes running saying that she needs to pee. So she sits on her potty (which I desperately want to get rid of-after Carp) and takes care of business.
Then I hear, "m-ooooo-m, come here."
I reply, "What b?"
B: "Come help me mom!!!"
Me: "Did you poop?"
B: "Nope, just pee."
Me: "Okay, just wipe then."
B: "I can't, I am just too busy." still sitting on the pot mind you
Me: "No B, I am busy, you just need to wipe yourself."
B: "I really am just too busy mom." Please try to imagine full 3-year-old attitude!
Me: "Brie, just wipe and go play. I need to clean the kitchen."
B: "Fine!!"
So she wipes and goes about her business. I just thought it was hilarious that she thought she was too busy to wipe herself as she sat on the pot!! She is full of it!!!!

"Homework" and Christmas Outfits

2010-07-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

I am a crazy mom and really don't want Ry to start 1st having forgotten anything from Kindergarten. So, we spend about 30 minutes a day doing what the kids call "homework". I found some workbooks for Ry on Scholastic.com and figured that B would be left out, so she has some tracing and counting books. Ry so far can do all of the work on his own and B is getting really good at tracing and pretty much knows her abc's. She LOVES to do work...Riley is a little reluctant at times, though he does a really good job. He has GREAT printing!!! I loved school and really want my kids to love it too and know how important it is to do well! Here's to hoping!!

I FINALLY put the kids in their Christmas outfits yesterday!!! I know it is the middle of the summer, really don't care! I am not so crazy as to dress them just for a quick picture...so they were all Christmas-ed out for church in JULY!!!

They wouldn't let go of each other for separate pictures, so I cropped! Imagine this dress with white tights and black, Paten leather, knee-high boots (and B a little shorter!!) and that was her in the winter!! SO CUTE!!!! I am sure her hair was done too...we were in a hurry!

My Mr. Man...since Christmas he has grown out of his shoes and pants!!! He also had a tie on, but it was all twisted and Ty was already at church! You get the picture! He may be wearing this outfit this Christmas...should fit him still...I hope!!!

Well now I have to get to work! Laundry, sorting, packing and organizing. Need to make sure all lanterns have batteries, all sleeping bags are clean and accounted for....oil changed in the van and van nice and CLEAN! Yes, I am the crazy lady to cleans the car before a road trip. I can't stand being in a dirty car for that long!!! Carpinteria here we come...Ty and the kids are super excited...I am a little tired thinking about all of the work. But I do love hanging with the family and the kids have a TON of fun! This is the 60th year! What kind of wife would I be if I didn't support such a family tradition???? It is just a lot of work for a vacation, that's all!

One more of my super cute kiddos!! Can't wait to see what Hayden is going to look like!!!

Family Weekend

2010-07-07T09:21:00.001-07:00

Well our fun filled trip all started with Tyson working half day on Thursday, July 1st. I rushed to have us all ready to leave for Logan by 12:30 pm...the kids even made it to swimming lessons. That is pretty good for me!!

We were only a little bit late to my doctor's appointment in Logan. We had our 3-D ultrasound and the baby is looking perfect!! We found out that we are having a BOY!!! So our little Hayden Ryker Cluff (not sure on the spelling quite yet) will be here on or before November 30th!! That was exciting news, Riley is THRILLED!!

From Logan we were off to Salt Lake City to fly to Cali! My brother Randy picked us up and we surprised my mom...she had no idea we were coming! We had a great weekend with the family! Rick baptized Drake on Saturday and his birthday party followed. Then on Sunday Justin blessed his little Ansley Marie! It was great to be with everyone and have the whole family together!!

We also played a little. The kids swam and swam. We saw the last air bender...which was AWESOME!! We ate at most the places that we miss the most: Red Robin, Rubio's Baja Grill, In 'n' Out, Lascari's, Senor Peppers....and of course mom's awesome cooking!!! I even got to see the new Twilight movie while I was there! Ty was able to squeeze in a round of golf with my dad too! I had fun hangin' with my sisters-in-law and my brothers!!! Love you all so much and can't wait for the next visit!!!!

Swimming Fun

2010-06-30T11:13:00.001-07:00

I love to swim...swimming with two kids in the pool, not so much! Oh so lucky for me the pool here in town will swim with my kids for me!! YAY. This week and last week the kids have been going to swimming lessons from 11 am to 12 noon. Perfect time for us considering Brie has been waking up at 10:30am lately! Aubry is in level 1 and just starting out and really enjoys it! Riley is in level 3 and he loves too! Thank you to the Le Grande Aqua Plunge...can't wait until session 4 in August...something to do between Carp and Maui.

All ready to go
Riley mastering his back float
Riley swam over to Aubry's station for some hugs and loves

Brie really fights this...she is starting to do better.

practicing his rainbow arms while waiting his turn with teacher

Do you think she thinks she is a model?

Birthday Girl "3"

2010-06-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

My baby girl is officially NO LONGER a baby!!! :( Sad day for mommy! She is potty trained and off of the bink and bottle...yes I totally babied her! So for her third birthday I asked her what she wanted to do...and she wanted to go paint nails. She is such a girlie little girl!! No complaints here, she sat in my lap while I had a nice spa pedicure and she had her nails and toes painted super cute!! She did pretty good until the lady tried to paint flowers on all 10 of her fingers...that took a while!! It was nice though! I still owe her a trip to the cupcake shop, because according to her cupcakes are her favorite!

Aubry Lynn - 3 yrs old - weight: 30 lbs. - height:

Nicknames: B, B-lynn, stinky-lynn, Brie, Brie-ner

Nicknames she gave herself: Princess Aubry, Princess B

Pretty toes

She always wants to wear church dresses...like every day, so I decided that she could for her birthday day!! She was so excited!

Her new thing for pictures...she smiles a little and looks away all shy!

Her pile of presents
Maga and Papa gave her a tricycle...which she LOVES!!!

again, looking away from the camera for her picture!

Riley helped me wrap, then helped her un-wrap!

Princess Aubry

Memorial Day

2010-06-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day 2010

Tyson is normally on call (ER) every Monday. He got kinda sick of the whole never having a 3-day weekend. He got someone to cover his ER call shift and went golfing in the morning, then we met up with his family at a park in Nibley (near Logan) for a picnic. It was fun even though the weather wasn't great. We had a baby shower for Ty's nephew's wife and celebrated Ty's niece's high school graduation. The boys played a little baseball and the girls sat around and chatted. Afterwards we went to Ty's mom's house. The kids played outside, the adults played a game: Know or Blow it...fun! Then our sister-in-law Heather did a quick photo shoot for us. Below is our most recent family picture!!

I found Easter Pictures

2010-05-30T11:50:00.001-07:00

I pulled out my SLR camera today to take pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes (slacker...I know) and found Easter pictures too!!!! YAY! We had a super fun kick-back Easter this year. My baby brother Matthew and his sweet wife Rachael came to visit us and it was great!! It was Conference weekend, so we were lazy! The Easter Bunny did not arrive until the afternoon and the kids were happy when he did! Matt helped the Easter bunny hide the eggs for the hunt, even though it was FREEZING cold outside! We were just glad that we didn't have snow!!! (In door hunts are no fun)!! Matt, Ty and Ry played the wii, while B and auntie Rae played littlest pet shops and beauty shop (seriously wish I had a camcorder on them-to flippin' cute!!) Thanks to Matt and Rae for coming to see us and making our Easter fun!!!

I was just starting to be preggo sick....so I was glad Rae was here to help. We managed to make a yummy big breakfast, everyone snacked on candy, then we had a traditional ham dinner!

We need to buy bigger Easter baskets...or put less stuff in them...bigger baskets!!! The vacuum is out because Matt likes to clean...come back ANY time MO!! ;)
B was very excited about her chocolate bunny

New pet shops...auntie Rae with some Easter candy.

Mo with Easter candy

Riley Matthew and Matthew Thomas

All bundled up for the Easter Egg HUNT!!!

She was super fun to watch this year!! She broke a few eggs, not a gentle child!

Now for some Easter Clothing CUTENESS:

Silly, silly poses. Riley thinks he is a model!

Cheesy smiles...well at least I got them in their outfits. Maybe next Sunday I will put them in their Christmas clothes...I don't think I ever got a pic of those outfits!!!

What I was Up to Before I got sick pregnant

2010-05-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Not to toot my own horn...just wanted to share some things that I had done before I became a pregnant lump on the couch.

Freezer meals, I have a freezer full of them! Need to start eating them, now that I can get downstairs to the freezer. This is the Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti Casserole..it is yummers!!
I am one of the room mom's for Riley's class...this stuff is so FUN! I made heart shaped finger jellos and these super yummy cake balls. Ty tasted one and then told me not to take them all to Ry's class! I told I would make him some more..have I? NO! His bday is in a couple of weeks, maybe then!!

Birthday Family Fun

2010-05-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Since we did not throw a "friend party" for Ry this year (still recovering from last year's)...we decided to spend Ry's birthday together as a family. Tyson worked a half-ish day (2pm) and pulled Ry out of school early. Then we drove down to Layton, UT where the nearest Chuck E Cheese is. Did you know that Mon-Thurs you get double tokens??? We did not, we paid for 160 and got 320...took 3 hours to use those bad boys. I even spent some time on those games that suck them up super fast. Riley was all over the place playing games and air hockey. At first Brie was staying close by me or Ty...then she was off. Tyson played his usual hour of skeet ball and did NOT get the bonus...he normally does. We still ended up with over 1000 tickets. Brie just wanted a big, messy lollipop. So Ry used the rest of the tickets and was a happy birthday boy. Next we were off to Toys R Us to pick out a scooter, he spent his own money on an RC plane he HAD to have!! Then to Red Robin to eat dinner...so glad that I was feeling good that day...fried zucchini and a whiskey river bbq chicken burger have NEVER tasted so YUMMY!!!! Then we crashed Uncle Adam's house and stayed until nearly 11pm. They won't answer the door next time!! All in all, we had a great day and Riley was a super happy birthday boy!!!

Saturday came and it was family party time. I had a super fun pool party planned, but mother nature did not cooperate. It was windy and COLD...way too cold even for the heated pool. So The Cluffs that live nearby all came and we just hung out and played. We had a casual BBQ of burgers, hot dogs and brats. Everyone had a good time and Riley loved his yummy cold stone ice cream cake and presents. He also got a lot of bday money to replenish his wallet!! Thanks everyone!

He loves Iron Man

Birthday Boy

2010-05-20T09:44:00.001-07:00

Why do our children have to grow up so FAST???? It just seems like he should not already be SIX! Today I celebrate my handsome, fun-loving, helping, cuddly, time out getting, best big brother, all around wonderfully loving, sweet son! Man I love this kid! Don't get me wrong, he can push me to the very edge at times - but he really is a good boy. He LOVES his sister - he just adores her and takes care of her and does whatever she asks! He is a very tender hearted cuddly boy too! Sometimes this is hard because he is only six, but he is the size of a 10 year-old! Riley, I love you and Happy, happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Aubry got him this iron man thing. HE LOVES IT!! Wants to wear it to school today-sorry bud!

His stats: Age-6, Height-51", Weight-71 lbs.
He was the star of the week at school a little while back and we made this poster of most of the places that he has been so far. He was born in CA...then he moved to Pennsylvania. While living there we took him to Harmony, PA; Palmyra NY; Niagara Falls in Buffalo, NY; and Nauvoo, IL. Then we moved to Logan, UT when he was 3. For his 4th birthday we went to see Thomas the Train, he loved the Air Force Museum in Layton, UT. He has been to Maui, HI twice now and can't wait to go back this summer. He LOVES camping at Carpinteria, CA every summer with the Cluff side of the family. Finally, we moved to Malad, ID and had a super cool Star Wars party for his 5th birthday.
His answers for the star of the week form
Pets: Zeus (dog) and Tabby Cat
Fav Color: Green Fav Movie: Star Wars
Fav Game: Star Wars Fav Book: The Universe
Fav animal: Elephant Fav song: I Am A Child of God
Fav Food: Red Noodles (Beef flavored Ramen) Fav Fruit: Pears
Fav activity: Play with friends Least Fav Food: Spicy Salad (Dole Asian Salad)
My mom likes the way I vacuum and help
My dad likes the way I play video games with him
I am good at Cleaning
When I was a baby I lived in Pennsylvania and flew on airplanes a lot to visit my family in California.

He likes to play with his hair...what can I say, he is just silly.

Pregnancy Update

2010-05-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well, not to be a total complainer....pregnancy is HARD!!!!! As of this morning I am 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant and here are some interesting little facts:
Pounds lost: 32-ish
Trips to ER for IV fluids: 3
Kidney Stones Passed: 1
Number of weeks spent on the couch: 4 or 5 ... kind of a blur
Am I glad I am pregnant?: YES...cannot wait to find out what we are having and to hold him/her!!
Will I do this again: No Way! Three will complete our family!

With all of that stuff said...I am actually starting to feel better. Not normal, not great, but better; which is a marked improvement from the super crappy of three days ago! Maybe 12 weeks will be the magic week this time! That would be a blessing, I am not sure how much more of this my body/sanity and family can handle!!

Shout out to my mom! I LOVE, love, lOvE, LoVe you!! Thank you for sacrificing your time/sanity/everything to come here and help us this past week! You are an angel and a blessing! I only hope that someday I can be as great of a mother as you are!! We love you soooooooooo much!!

That is it for now. Things are looking up for us and I am very thankful!!!!

Random pics and the latest news

2010-04-26T12:20:00.001-07:00

Just some random pictures that never made it into a post.

she likes MY socks

and she has attitude!!

My little guy all tuckered out after his first day of school!!!

SO PRECIOUS WHEN THEY SLEEP!!!!

As for our latest news...I am PREGNANT with child # 3. Yep the third and FINAL one is on the way. I am due November 30th and am SICK!! This pregnancy is pretty similar to the other two, lots of vomiting, hospital visits for IV fluids and the such. Hopefully it will get better in the next month or two...so I can catch up with my house, blog, cooking for my family and well...LIFE!!

Snow Day

2010-04-26T12:00:00.001-07:00

It is rare to get Ty to play in the snow (unless it involves sledding). So we were excited that he played with us and built a snowman!! The snowman lasted for quite some time too. Fun family time in the snow!!

Daddy and his kiddos

B couldn't keep her gloves on...her poor little hands were soooo red!!!

Silly daddy

Me and my boy

Me and my girl

I learned this snow fight move from my dad last year!!!

I threw the kids into a nice warm bath and set stuff out to dry by the vents

LOVE IT!!! It takes a lot of energy to play in the snow!!

Christmas 2009

2010-02-27T13:36:00.001-08:00

Beware: this post contains LOTS of pictures.

So, Christmas was good! It was all about the kids, Ty and I got each other some small stuff, but our personal focus is on getting our house done!! We woke up late and the kids had a blast opening gifts...then we ate breakfast at like noon. (We munched on these yummy donut/mini-muffins that I made - soooo good)!!! We were so busy assembling and playing that we were pretty late to Ty's mom's house for dinner. All in all we had a wonderful Christmas!

My cuties in PJS on Christmas Eve

Once I was FINALLY done with all of the work!!

Between the kitchen and her stocking candy....she was good. Why did we get her more stuff???

He was pretty stoked about his telescope...he loves space!

Cute apron Andrea made for her!

Mouth and hands full of chocolate...she is CRAZY!!

Digging for more chocolate!

Happy Boy!

We finally convinced her to open some presents!

I gave in this year and began the Bakugon collection

Bumble Bee the protector!

Back to cooking

More assembly for TY!!

Halloween

2010-02-15T10:34:00.001-08:00

So we had lots and lots of fun this past Halloween.

Tyson's cousins in Logan threw a super fun party and the kids loved it!!! Riley was in his school parade, had a super fun party at school thrown by me and the other two room moms. Then, we went to trunk or treat and did some regular trick or treating too! Way too much candy!!

Riley loved the donuts!! He had to cheat to get it tough!
I tried to help, we just ended up laughing

Little witchy poo!

Big witch, little witch

Bobbing for apples

Obe-wan and his apprentice Anakin

Riley wanted to switch it up and do the Vader thing for trunk or treat....little does he know that Anakin becomes Darth! We aren't telling him yet either!

Off to trunk or treat

In the parade

Summer (again)

2010-02-15T09:51:00.001-08:00

I was looking through my pictures and found some more summer fun!!

Since we live in the boonies...and Ty is a redneck at heart...we went to the Rodeo. It is a smaller one, but hey we live in a smaller town!! It was fun. My favorite part was the mutton race. Little kids on sheep...HILARIOUS!!!! I was a little anxious most of time since Brie would not just sit with Ty or I, and the grand stand (for those of you who do not speak HICK...that means bleachers!!) was not child proof, she could have easily fallen through and got very hurt!! Other than that, we had a good time, ate some yummy fair burgers and the kids loved seeing people riding horses!!

so pretty

Aubry made a new friend!
Riley and Landon

Aubry and Mallory

A cowboy trying to rope a calf

This summer we became known as the house with the big water slide in front. Yes, we have a nice BIG backyard...but we have a nice big dog that lives back there too! So the water slide was in the front yard this summer and we had kids knocking on our door to play!! Funny! We broke it out one last time for Riley and Aubry to play with their best buds Landon and Mallory. Their dad Skylar was nice enough to help Ty pull out some super ugly shrubs from the front and side of our house while the kids were playing!! So nice to have friends that help!! So I "watched" the kids play and have some fun.

Taking a snack break

The girls trying hard to get to the top!

Mallory finally made it, Brie...she gave up

When the wasps from the shrubs mentioned above got a little crazy (Skylar got stung in his nose!!) we moved the party inside. MESS, MESS, MESS!!!!

Soccer

2010-01-27T13:18:00.000-08:00

Riley was old enough for soccer this year and he LOVED! He loved his team and they all had fun goofing around! They did pretty well and definitely improved over the season. I was the assistant coach... I had to study a little because Mindi and soccer are NOT words that have EVER been used together. Something about running and kicking a ball - and the no hands thing...not a good combo for me! Luckily Riley did better than I ever have!! He got the hang of it, scored most games and was bummed when the season ended! Kids on his team: 1st graders-Jacob, Payton, Jaimen and Kodi. Kindergartners: Aubrey and Austin.

Kick off, he wasn't the fastest on his team, though he was the biggest and a little on the physical side...need to work on that!

I think he scored that goal!!

Kindergarten...Really?

2010-01-27T13:04:00.000-08:00

Really....is my little boy truly old enough for school, seriously?? I cannot believe it! My firstborn, precious little boy is in Kindergarten! He loves school and really enjoys recess and all of his friends. He is a bit too social for his own good and is a frequent visitor at the time out table in his class. The first week he averaged 2 time outs a day...his all time record is three in one day. That is kind of a lot considering he is only at school for a little over three hours!!!

Nevertheless, he is enjoying school, he does his homework willingly and loves to read with me! I hope that NEVER changes!!

Kindergarten stats: Age: 5, Height: 52", Weight: 67 lbs.

Get a grip, crazy lady!!!
Me crying and telling him to be a good boy!

Ready to go

Bumble Bee lights up when he walks and moves the backpack...what more does he need, right?

My Oh So Handsome BOY!!

THREE-O

2010-01-27T12:50:00.000-08:00

For my thirtieth birthday Ty and I spent a nice "just us" weekend in Park City, UT. Park City is beautiful and is growing, but it still has a quaint feeling to it! We LOVED IT!!! We cannot wait to go back. I think that Tyson wants us to become a ski family eventually...we will see.

We got there late Friday night and relaxed in our room. Saturday we went to "Old-Town" Park City and walked the historic main street. We had a nice lunch there and then went on a scenic chair lift ride! I did not want to feel OLD...so we went to Olympic Park and went on the highest zip-line, then the Alpine Slide. Then we went shopping - it had been much too long since I had been to the Gap Outlet...super fun!! We ended the day with a delicious dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse - YUM! Sunday we drove around a little after breakfast and then drove back to Logan to pick up the kiddos!!

Thanks Tyson, my b-day weekend was the BEST ever!!

At Ruth Chris

The view from the chairlift ride

Tyson was taking way too many pictures, so I let him know!

On the chairlift ride

Transformers 2

2010-01-25T17:55:00.001-08:00

Okay, life is changing. We learned the HARD way to start going to movies without our children to see if they are okay for them to see. Luckily for us, our son was so engrossed with all of the action that most of the YUCK, CRAP went over his head!!!! We dodged one this time. With that said, here is my boy waiting oh so patiently for Ty to get home so we could go see Bumble Bee in Transformers 2..opening night! I waited in line for a while, but worth it to have good seats! Ty, Ry and I had fun. Ty was a little shocked that I let him wear this shirt (normally these types of shirts are strictly play-not in public-shirts), I guess I am loosening up! ;)

4th Of July

2010-01-25T17:38:00.001-08:00

The 4th of July is a BIG, I mean SUPER BIG deal here in Malad! The festivities begin on July 3rd....which is why Ty was sore the whole weekend!! He was drafted onto the Hospitals' BED RACE team and softball team! They won the bed race, which I think I actually posted in July! His softball team only played three games, but it was enough to make the poor guy sore! It was super, crazy hot here, so we missed the daytime fun stuff and just had friends over for a BBQ and some huge fireworks! Next year we are going even bigger...since we noticed everyone around did the same! Fun times!! Oh, Malad Idol was pretty fun to watch too, until it started raining, them we left!!

Poor guy recuperating in between games
My super cute patriotic kiddos!!

Aubry's Family Birthday

2010-01-25T17:19:00.001-08:00

I decided to try my hand at some fancy cupcakes for Aubry! She loved all of the yummy frosting! Both she and Ry liked the birthday princess crown...silly kids. B had fun licking the frosting....then these two went straight to the TUB!!! Happy 2nd Birthday to Aubry!

Long Time...No Blog

2010-01-25T17:16:00.000-08:00

No excuses...I have been preoccupied...oh and my computer was broken and I didn't want to upload pictures onto Ty's laptop, then I would have to re-load them onto this computer, because they all have to be in one spot....Okay so a couple of excuses. Now because I am oh so OCD, I will be catching up to the present in chronological order!! Stay tuned...

She's Running Hot

2009-08-06T16:35:00.001-07:00

So my little Aubry Lynn has been having a lot of fevers, and these are HOT ones. They have ranged from 105-103, not fun! She has had three in just the last 2 months. Her last one was July 4th weekend and I took her in the Monday after and the Pediatrician ordered blood work for her. Everything came back normal...so I just thought okay, strange coincidence, three viral infections of some sort in a row. Well, she started getting warm yesterday and I just thought it was because we were at Ty's softball game and it was 100 degrees. Nope, we get home and she has a 103 temp!!!! The weird thing is that she has NO other symptoms...JUST the high fever!! So off for another round of blood work for her. I feel so bad for her and I am just trying to not think worst possible scenario. Hopefully this all gets figured out and it is something small and simple to take care of.

These are random pictures that I have been wanting to post of her.

She is so funny! She loves getting dressed and she likes layers. She didn't want to get out of her PJs, but she wanted a skirt on! I am tellin' ya, she is my little FASHIONISTA!!
Okay, she has every bag she could find on, my gloves and beanie! She is so silly!!!!

Just because I think that she is cute.

At Ry's swimming lessons. She loves to be the princess! Yes, she would NOT put down any of the bags when we left the house...she is ALL or nothing!! This would be my crown from my Green Acres Bday at Carp!

Carpinteria 2009

2009-08-06T12:08:00.001-07:00

Well Carpinteria has come and gone...hopefully it will stay open for years to come. (It is a California State park). This year was Tyson's first in three years!!! He has been so excited as he has missed out due to school. For those of you who don't know, Carp is one week in July that the Collings family gets together. So it all started with John Collings (first Stake Pres of the Whittier Stake and Tyson's great grandfather) and his posterity. We usually have at least 100 people there.

So we camped and did our jobs (I actually was assigned a breakfast-first time ever) and I swept our tent out at least 4-5 times per day!!! (Lots of dirt and sand). Tyson, David, Adam and Jerry went deep sea fishing out of Santa Barbara. Ty won the jackpot with a 2.2 pound fish!!!! They had an okay time. The fish they brought home tasted yummy cooked on the campfire that night. I spent 4 of the 5 days at the beach with the kids!!! That is a beach record for me...I am very white and since moving away from California, my skin gets rather irritated in the sun. We played in the sand and B and I went in the water every day (it was much warmer than usual).

Aubry is CRAZY and has NO fear of the water. She got taken out by a wave on Friday. It got her good, she was under the water and tumbled around a bit. She then gets up (caked in sand) and screams at the water and runs right back in! Can we say stubborn?

Tyson and Riley donned wet suits this year and were in the water body boarding A LOT! Ry also has no fear and just ran in, whether with cousins, dad, uncle or NOT!! My children's craziness explains the lack of pictures, I was too busy chasing them and watching them CLOSELY!!

My mom, Justin, Amber and Jasper visited us on Monday and my mom came again on Wednesday, that was awesome! It was fun to see Jasper and Brie play in the sand (and eat a lot of it) and it is always fun to spend some time with my mama!!!!

Birthday celebration for the kids 12 and under. Ry and B were super excited!
For the adults, we have the ZERO birthdays (yes, the ones you would rather not mention!!) This year I will be the big 30! The Bell girls were in charge and they did a really awesome job. They had an "Access Carpinteria" show and the birthday folk were receiving our stars on the Hollywood walk of fame for our role in remakes of the classics! They started with me and that I hailed from LA. But no, LA wasn't big enough for this girl...so she moved to the wide open spaces of Idaho. Some may same the LA of Idaho, as in maLAd, ID. They said something about how I was gonna put in on the map and bring glamour to it!!! It was funny. I then was given my star, and wand and a crown and then walked down the walk of fame to the tune of Green Acres while the girls did and funny, hokey dance behind me! Good times!!!!!

Playing in the sand...remember the days when sand in every crevice was not a big deal...those days are so long gone, (for me anyway)! I had fun with the kiddos and they seemed happy.

Crazy B in the water, I felt like we were constantly applying sunblock on her...thankfully NO sunburns!!! YAY!

B and Koriann took over a whole that someone dug!

Those Cluffs, always playing baseball. Ry hit this one good...they are all watching it!!

The joys of kids and road trips! In the middle of nowhere, Ry needs to pee!! Yep, that was a fun one!!

At the hotel (we split the drive down in half so as to be happy) in Mesquite, NV. B wanted to sleep with Ry and not in her playpen! They so love each other.

Day two of our trip to Cali, we were at McDonald's for breakfast. I thought that they looked super cute!!

Riley and the Cadester! (Cade Cluff) They are about 4 months apart in age and most of the time are best buddies! They were excited to see each other.

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

As nice as it is to go on vacation...it is A LOT of work!! Luckily my mom let me do the majority of my dirty, filthy camping laundry at her house...she is SO the BEST!!! Now, to get around to putting it away....I am tired!!!
Anyway, Carpinteria pictures should be up soon. I am am glad to be home, safe and sound and actually just a little TAN!!! Do not go into shock!!! I was on the beach with the kids 4 days (we took one day off, as my skin was getting a little irritated!) No Major sunburns either, YAY!!!

On a side note, last night after dinner, Tyson and RILEY helped clear the table and do the dishes! He sooooo wants to be a big helper and big boy! It was VERY nice and I really appreciate the HELP!!! :) I love my BOYS!!

Happy Anniversary

2009-07-10T11:53:00.001-07:00

As of July 8, 2009 we have been married for NiNe WhOlE yEaRs!!! I cannot believe that it has already been nine years!!! We have done a lot together. We moved across the country with our first child (three months old) to Pennsylvania, we went to school together...night classes at Cerritos College, got Tyson through Physician Assistant school, moved across the country again with our then 3 year old son and 4 month old daughter to Utah, and then one more move to Idaho!! There is a whole lot more...kidney stones, hospital visits during pregnancies....the list could go on! Lots of ups and some downs too. It has been one heck of a ride and I am so grateful to have Tyson as my husband! I could not imagine my life without him. Love ya babe!!!

Two pictures from our wedding announcement session. We used the top one.

Fun wedding picture.

Our very favorite picture of us...oh to look like that again!!!!

Happy Birthday Aubry Lynn

2009-06-19T17:50:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe that 2 years ago today, my little Lynn was born!! I cannot believe my BABY is TWO!!! Time flies way too fast!!! I love my little girl so, so, so, so much!!! I never thought that there could be a child with more personality and that would be more stubborn than Ry....but oh SHE is here and she is MINE!!! She is a crazy little goofball and a tender little sweetie!! That is my B-B! Happy Birthday little Lynn, I love you!

As I was heading out the door to go and have her...love planned inductions of labor!!!
The day she arrived!

One year old...oh how I miss those cheeks!!

Two years old. We got her kitty two outfits and got Ry a batman costume for his monkey...the monkey is new and reborn to him!

Just today...we went to "shwim" today (she loves the water). When we got home all she wanted was noodles (Ramen), actually she wanted them for breakfast, but I insisted on French Toast. So after she scarfed her noodles, she was OUT!!!

Birthday Fun - Aubry 2

2009-06-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

So, B's 2nd birthday is this Friday...I did not want to go crazy with a party (considering she will NOT remember it) and I am still tired from Ry's shin-dig. I was chatting with my friend Andrea and her daughter Mallory turned 2 May 20th and she had just thrown a super hero party for her son Landon. We decided that a Just GIRLS day was in order!! I Love to go to the Gateway in Salt Lake, we both LOVE the California Pizza Kitchen and I have been soooo wanting to take B to Build A Bear since she and Ry started fighting over his monkey. It has been planned for some time now and today was the day!!! It was fun! The girls L O V E each other and it was a fun day. Too quick of a trip, we definitely want to go sans kiddos someday to do all of the shopping that we do not get to do here in Malad. Here is the recap in photos (out of order, of coarse). These pictures are not quite the best, I took my small camera with me that is not as great as my SLR...i paid the price with so-so pictures!

Too many choices for little B!!!
Goofball B and Mallory - terdy B would not take the bread out of her mouth?!?!?!?!

Me and my Birthday Girl

Andrea and her birthday Girl

She has finally made up her mind...the sparkle snow leopard (if you ask her it is a kitty) which she just so happened to name....KITTEN! Yes, we are soooo original!

Momentary change of mind. Black lab - we have a real one at home already!!

Back to kitty

Mallory putting the heart in "black puppy"

What a smirk!!! This girl has got some attitude!!!!!

Kitchen NOW

2009-06-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Mind you, we are still not completely finished. Paint touch ups and trim, 3" crown molding across top of cabinets, skins, toe kicks and molding around the sliding glass door and dining room door. I just didn't want to wait anymore...because we are a little bit busy now and I am not sure when the kitchen will be completely finished. Besides, I cannot find a dining room light that I like at ALL!!

Counter top is a bit messy, such is everyday life...right?!?!?! This is the wall that originally had the stove (pink one) and that corner island with the sink.
This would be the wall that was useless before. Now it is rather functional!!

LOVE my tile! Ty did an awesome job!! Oh, the white wall behind the table, will be green, someday soon, when I get to painting it! Also, there will be a black counter height square dining room table there....SOON!!!

Counter top is a little less messy. Just a sink full of dishes...time to go start the dishwasher!! I will post more pics once it is completely done! It is definitely functional though!!

Kitchen Before

2009-06-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, this is why we HAD to remodel the kitchen...Numero Uno priority!! Pink stove, green fridge, not many cabinets. Not ideal!! Did I mention, carpet in the kitchen and dining room!!! YUCK! So this is the kitchen when we first bought the house! Only Tyson could see something good out of this. I was like, NO way in _ _ _ _ am I cooking in THIS! Yes, I am a brat. He talked me into the house and the day we closed, we began demo on this beauty!!

Yes, the sink is in the island. And that is CARPET on the floor! Awesome!!!
Not very functional, no counter top on this side at all!

That pink stove in living it up at the DUMP now!!!!

Dining room complete with turquoise carpet that flows in from the living room!

You don't really get just how gross this kitchen was. I guess only Ty and I will ever know...let's just put it this way, when he tore out the base cabinets, mouse poop and LOTS of it!!! Those critters are long gone, but they leave quite a mess behind!!

Bakin' Brownies

2009-06-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Riley's most favorite treat of all TIME would most definitely be....BROWNIES!!! He loves, loves, LOVES them! He has not had them in a while because of our lack of oven. Once the oven was installed, I had to find the brownies (not buying more when I KNOW I have like 5 boxes packed in our pantry boxes)!!! Then it was too HOT to bake brownies!! Now, FINALLY, we can bake brownies because we have a brand new A/C system. (SPECIAL THANKS to my Pops and younger bro Randall!! They are super awesome!!!!)

So today we made some brownies. This was our first time with two helpers...no spills, just lots of brownie mix on faces!!

After thoroughly licking the spoon and bowl!
Watching the brownies bake. Ry was talking to B, saying: Okay Aubry, now in there, that is when the brownies get all together!! He is so funny. He is really so good with her (most of the time) and loves to teach her new things! I love my two crazy kiddos!!

Out with the old and in with the NEW!

2009-06-01T17:54:00.001-07:00

Fond Farewell to Gracie.

Yes, my 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4 x 4 was named Gracie. She was a pretty good car, she got the job done! She only broke down once, when we first bought her...though the check engine light was a frequent visitor. I kinda just ignored it knowing that when she died, I would get a new car! There was also the issue that she would not always start. Something in the ignition thing where you put the key in would lock...usually a few smacks with a trusty hammer would get it started! She got us through many a snow storms and off-road adventures. I just wanted more SPACE! So on Saturday, May 30, 2009 the fine people at Larry H. Miller Toyota took her off our hands! Goodbye to Gracie Lou Freebush (yep, named for Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality)

And Hello to ________________. Don't have a name yet, suggestions are WeLcOmE!

Yes, I used to swear up and down that I would NEVER own a minivan. How wrong I was! I LOVE this thing! It seats 7 (Ry and B have their own captain seats), plenty on cargo room and just room and organizers for EVERYTHING!!!! I am soooooooooo in LOVE! Happy, happy, happy day for me! Oh and it drives as smooth as a car, parks as easy as a car and gas mileage...VERY GOOD!

I could not be happier! This is the first NEW car or our 9 year marriage (first one of TY's life)!!

We will see what he gets in a couple of years when it is time to say goodbye to Hondie. ;)

Good Times

2009-06-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice family weekend! We have had a bit of stress around here lately, what with kitchen remodel, Ty's ATLS course (Advanced Trauma Life Support) and birhday party planning (yes that one is self induced...STRESS is still stress)!! Anyway, we decided it was time for a break!
Ty was in Murray this past weekend and we did not go with as he was taking a pretty intense course for Doctors that they are now letting PAs take. Super cool, but the hospital he works for paid for it...so Ty REALLY did not want to fail on their dime! So we let him focus and he PASSED! Yep, my PA-C is now certified in ATLS...hopefully ER CALL is coming soon!!! ;)
Ty called me on Sat and said that he REALLY did not want to drive home...so I grabbed the kiddos and some overnight clothes and we stayed in Layton that night. He was too tired to drive...not play! So...we saw the movie up - VERY CUTE! B fell asleep, even better!!! We visited with Ty's brother Adam on Sunday and then drove home! Did I mention....we also bought a new car on Saturday night!! I will post that as well!

Birthday Day - Riley 5

2009-05-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

So, Riley's 5th birthday fell on a Wednesday...his party wasn't until Saturday. I asked Ry what he wanted to do and what he wanted for dinner. His replies, "I just want red noodles (Ramen) and salad...okay mom, that sounds yummy" and "well, let's just take Zeus for a walk when dad gets home, that is really what I want to do." Ty comes home (I have not talked to him), so Ry what do you want to do for your birthday? Let's go to Logan and see a movie. Ry: that's okay, I want to stay here in Malad and take Zeus for a walk. Ty: Really, Ry? How about we go bowling. Ry: Nope, just let's take Zeus for a walk. I am LAUGHING at this conversation! Ty finally relents and we all go for a walk. Well, Ry and B are in his Jeep Power Wheels! So when we get home and Ry parks his Jeep, okay dad...I am ready to go bowlin'! So....we went bowling. We were out way too late, but it was fun!

Me and my birthday boy!
B, the cheerleader. She kept saying, "go Wiley, go Wiley...YAY!!!" all the while clapping! She was super cute!

Daddy and the birthday boy! (Ty and his CLONE)

Ry in action

More of Ry in action.

And to top it off, one of the games, Riley beat me! He loved it...me, not so much!

Happy Birthday Riley

2009-05-26T10:33:00.001-07:00

Saturday was Riley's 5th (possibly final) birthday party! Just kidding, it was fun and worth the work...we just wont be doing this type of party every year! I figured that I had already done a tribute blog to Ry the day that I enrolled him in Kindergarten...no need for repeats. So Straight to the party!
After sewing until 2 am the day of the party and sleeping through my alarm...we began the final prep. Ty finished setting up the patio (outer space training zone) and I ran and got us some Dr. Pepper to fuel us and drop the balloons off for filling. Then it was just make lunch and set up! Things went smoothly and most kids kept saying, "this is the best party EVER"! Which of coarse, made me feel wonderful! A special thanks to my friend Andrea for teaching to sew...who would have thought...and for staying up late helping me! Also, her hubby "Darth Vader" Skyler for his role in the party! Could not have done it without them!
So, these pics are totally in the wrong order...oh well! Warning: there are A LOT of pictures!

She went straight to the tub...so much cake...all over her!!
The cake

One of his gifts...I gave him my DS lite, since he plays it way more than I do. This case came with a skin sticker...so it looks like a whole new DS!

Collecting the pinata loot!

CHEATER!

The kids LOVED that the light sabers doubled as pinata bats!

This pinata was actually an award pinata...just cut out the movie real he was holding and took the word award off of the base...tada C3P0, the kids were convinced!

Anakin and Vader .... SHHHHH...should you talk to Riley soon or EVER, he has NO clue that Anakin becomes Vader and we would like to keep it that way! Thanks!

Ty's idea for this photo. I ordered Ry a 5x7 print for his room!

CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My nephew Cade is playing dead on the floor! Pure pandemonium!

They took their training VERY seriously!

I am shocked that our cardboard cut out Vader survived! I am glad that the kids were a little too scared to attack our real Vader the way they went at our fake one!

The kids also loved the shooters, they were aiming for little small action figures of Gen Greivous, Ventress and a battle droid!

Such concentration! Cade Cluff (our nephew)

Very focused! Dylan Driessen

Landon Edwards (Darth Vader's son)

Anakin had been practicing all week, unfair advantage...but hey, he is the bday boy!

B, our little space princess!

She loves "Shtar Wars" and "sabers"

After a force fortified lunch of sandwiches, fruit, chips and soda...we had a wardrobe change!

I stupidly put her high chair a bit too close to the food table...while the kids were making their treat bags, she had grabbed two sandwiches are ripped them apart (she only likes the ham and cheese)! She stayed in this chair for most of the party (once the light sabers were activated) for safety reasons!

Our party PADAWANS and SPACE PRINCESSES ready for Jedi Training!

School Pics

2009-05-19T07:52:00.001-07:00

Last night Ry had his Pre School Picnic and I finally got his school pics!!! I have no clue what he is doing in the group pic! I think he gets nervous! So CUTE! In his personal picture, he is holding the cap that he is supposed to wear on his head...he didn't want to mess up his hair! Classic.

Ry's Party Invite

2009-05-19T07:49:00.001-07:00

I am super excited about how these came out! I got them on Ebay and girl custom makes them!! Ry loves them too!

Yogi

2009-05-17T16:53:00.000-07:00

Oh how my little B loves the yogurt!! Usually she eats it all and then proceeds to lick the container clean! Yes, she LOVES her "YOGI"! Well, today we were watching the Star Wars Clone Wars movie and Ty and I dozed off a bit (super tired from all of the late nights and work we have been doing). We awoke to find this!!! At first I just heard Ty say, oh my gosh! Really B? I didn't have my glasses on so she was blurry and I didn't know what was wrong! I asked Ty if I even wanted to see it clearly! No, not really!

Not quite sure why this was necessary...she loves the yogi so much she had to wear it?!?!?!? I just finished bathing her and I am blogging about it so that I don't freak out about it! I am feeling calm, she is clean and dressed, her clothes have been rinsed...just need to finish wiping down the highchair and throw the cover into the wash!!! The JOYS of motherhood! :)

Use the FoRcE

2009-05-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

Riley is just a little into Star Wars The Clone Wars cartoon series!! He LOVES Anakin! He thinks that he is BEST good guy EVER! We will NOT be telling him that Anakin goes to the dark side, NEVER!!! :) Maybe when he is older! He does think that Darth Vader is cool too, just from a video game of Tyson's. Anywho, this is his Halloween costume (very early) so that he can be Anakin for his bday party and the other guests will be padawans and space princesses! It really is going to be great. I showed this to him today...we will see when I manage to get it off of him!

It is a bit big. He is just sooo tall...the costume is the right length, Ry just isn't as broad as a 7 year old yet! We will make it work!
He LOVES the mask, this is his first masked costume! He keeps trying to stick his tongue out at me!

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Me and my precious kiddos! I love them sooooo much! They are wonderful blessings and they are helping me learn all of the things that I need to work on! :) Like patience, patience and patience...just to name a few!

Mother's Day was about the same as any other day this year. Ty had stayed up really late to work on the kitchen...so I let him sleep in and made us breakfast. We went to church and Ry went up with the primary to sing...but just blushed and smiled. When he came down he said that he got nervous! He is sooo funny! We spent the rest of the day with Ty's mom, brothers and sister that live around here. Good food (that I did not have to make or microwave)!!! YAY! The kids hadn't see their Cluff cousins for a while, they had fun. Nice day!

Ode to my mother

She is so amazingly, wonderfully awesome. I do not have the words to express how much she means to me and just how much I love her. She is the epitome of selfless love! She has a strong and firm testimony of the gospel. I only hope that I can someday be half the mother to my children that she is to me! I hope you know what you mean to me and how BLESSED I feel to have been given you as my mother!

Amped, Pumped....Super Excited!

2009-05-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am soooo Excited, I just cannot contain myself!! Last night Ty and I (mostly Ty) grouted the kitchen floor. This afternoon and evening (he is actually still going) I helped him carry in the base cabinets and he has been just such a BUSY bee, he has the stove/fridge wall completely done!!! The counter top is cut, just needs to be drilled and caulked!!! My fridge in actually in my kitchen - NO LONGER IN MY LIVING ROOM!! Words cannot express just how thrilled I am! This is so the home stretch!! We should be functional no later than next weekend and hopefully we can be completely finished before Ry's b-day party (like 5 year olds care!!) This just rocks!! Four months without a kitchen has taken it's toll on us and we are so ready to start cooking and having friends over!

Speaking of friends...we are settling nicely into Malad. The Driessens from our stake in Cali live in Samaria, ID, which is only 10 minutes away (if that)! Riley and Dylan get along great and we all enjoy hanging out! It is so nice! I have also made some friends in my ward...we have a rather big group of younger marrieds. I say "younger" because they are ALL younger than me! SO not used to being the oldest one around! It really has been great! My friend Andrea is going to be helping me with Ry's party!! I am not a sewer...not even a hemmer, nada! She is super crafty and talented and is helping me with the jedi and space princess outfits for our Jedi Training Academy! Ry is VERY excited and I am getting really pumped too! This is our first "friends/kids only" party! It is going to be super cool! I LOVE the Internet, so many ideas! I don't want to spoil it, so pics and a post from the party will be up shortly after 5/23!

What Style!

2009-05-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Quite the Fashionista!!! Tinkerbell PJs and Mom's peep toes!! She is gonna be a trendsetter...I can just feel it! :)

Tabby Cat Cluff

2009-05-07T10:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am a SUCKER for a super cute animal! This cat sure picked the right porch rainy Tuesday morning! Riley has BIG plans for this kitty!! They are going to best friends and he is going to sleep in Riley's bed!! Riley also wanted to name him "boy cat"!! Not very original! We stuck with Tabby cat, because he is orange and white (though according to the vet -NOT a tabby) and Aubry can say the name!!! She LOVES him!!! Oh, we took him to the vet on Tuesday and found out that he is about 2 months old and a boy. (Two more months and he will be de-clawed and de-nutted). He is in pretty good shape, hasn't had the best diet...so the vet said to feed him well and he will be great! He had to get shots and be de-wormed! So he has slept a lot! Last night he was playing like crazy!! He is a normal kitty cat, with stinky gas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Maybe we should name him Tabby Cat Jackman :)!) The best part is that Tabby LOVES Tyson! He follows him around like crazy!!! Ty picks him up and loves him and Tabby just purrs away! (That is when I call Ty Dr. Evil). Tabby has also decided that the best spot to sleep is our bed! He especially likes to curl up on or near our faces!!!!

Seriously, isn't he just too cute!?!?B is doing pretty good with him! He is VERY patient and hasn't scratched anyone! Well, he did scratch Riley when Ry found him on our porch, opened the door and Tabby ran into the house! So Ry freaked out and threw him out!!! Ry got scratched pretty good!!

He LOVES this thing! (Better than my couch). He gets caught on it and all of his paws are off of the floor! He is fun to watch! He also goes crazy with the toy mice!!!!

B and Tabby playing! Sometimes he needs a break and heads under the couch! His head is peaking out! If he really wants a break...he head under my bed and sleeps right next to the heating vent!!!

Surprise!!!

2009-05-05T08:37:00.001-07:00

We looked out the window...and what did we see??? A cute little kitten sitting a top our porch!?!?!? Spring has brought us such a....surprise!! Riley found this darling little kitten on our porch today! Super cute, but is it a stray or a runaway...who knows? It seems to want to be in our house VERY badly...but for now it is the porch. Ry is in L.O.V.E and sooooo wants to keep it! It purrs and wants to be held, which makes we think it is not a wild cat...just lost! My friend Kennie dropped by this am and says that people just drop cats and kittens off all of the time around here! Funny, that is the story that Ry concocted!! He swears that some people just stopped and threw it out of the car and drove off! I said, did you see it happen? Well.....no, not really, but mom, that IS what happened!! Quite the imagination budding in this child! So, Ry wants to keep it, B has not yet seen it, I am leaning towards keeping it!! Ty says, make sure it is not diseased and we will see. He then adds: are you ready for this, you know litter box and all??? All I need to know is, when can I get it de-clawed??? I like my furniture!

Look how super cute it is!!!!
It is liking the milk, Ry spilled the first bowl!

Mixed

2009-05-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

I had some mixed emotions yesterday...excitement and frustration!! Excited, because Tyson and I were able to put up a whole wall of upper cabinets on Saturday, YAY!!! Frustrated, because as we went to tackle the rest of the wall cabinets, we found that certain cabinets were missing and we were given ones that we do not need. BUMMER!! So, we now have to wait and HOPE that the cabinets are coming Monday evening so we can get to it. Once the cabinets are done...counter tops, sink, faucet, dishwasher and few quick odds and ends - WE WILL BE DONE! At least functional - Which I SO need, Riley's bday party is coming up!! Jedi training academy at our house, Sat May 23rd!! It is gonna be super fun! So, on top of excited and frustrated, I am in super busy plan and prep mode!! Gotta love it!

Best Buddies

2009-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Riley has had to be quite flexible with making new friends these last couple of years! Right when we left Pennsylvania, he was just starting to get the whole "best buddy" thing! Then we were in Logan for a year and our next door neighbors were his "best friends EVER". Now we are settled in Malad and things are great for Ry! He has made lots of friends....the ones we hear about the most are: Dylan Driessen, Landon Edwards, Kyler Horsly and Mikey (from school, don't really know him). Dylan's mom (Amber and I) went to Costco yesterday and Ry really, really wanted Dylan to come with us...it was decided that Ry would stay with Dylan (Thanks RICK!!). Anyway, they had a BLAST and did NOT want to be separated when it came time to go home! I told Dylan that we would come and get him tomorrow (today now) and his reply, "How about I just stay the night." Smart kids!!! Amber asked me if I was CRAZY, these two feed off of each others ENERGY (of which there is NO lack)!!! I thought it was cool that they enjoyed each other so much! I let them stay up pretty late and play the Wii, once in bed I heard A LOT of chatter from Ry's room. I was trying to watch my shows so I ignored a lot of it. At one point I thought to myself, what in the world could two little 5 year old boys have to talk and giggle about? I heard spiders, itches and TONS of laughing! Here is to best buddies!!!!

Riley and Dylan! It was last minute so Riley learned to share PJs and clothes this am, good thing they are the same size!!!

Busy April

2009-04-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

April has been quite the month for us!!! Busy, busy, busy! We had our quick trip to Cali for Easter and then we went to Mesquite, NV for a little vaca. Well...not quite a vacation for Ty, he was in lectures ALL DAY! PA's are required to complete 100 hours of CMEs (Continued Medical Education) every two years in order to stay certified. So, off we went to Mesquite, for the Utah Association of Physician Assistants Convention. The kids and I swam on the HOT days. We did a little shopping on the cooler days. Ty came with us to see Monsters even Aliens (as Ry says it)! All in all we had a great time and a great month for that matter! Now down to business...we need to FINISH the kitchen! Pictures of before and after will be appearing soon!!!! Ty thinks it will take this weekend and next weekend...AWESOME!!! I have been looking at all of my neglected cook books, so ready to cook again!

Other than that life is the same as ever. Laundry, picking up, cleaning, laundry, errands and trips into Logan and Pocatello, cleaning, Riley to and from preschool....you get the drift!

Oh, one more note, I did pick my green!! It is called Asparagus, but I think it is much prettier than any asparagus I have eaten! I am painting today! Thanks to all for your help!! I just didn't have time to scan all of the paint cards into the comp!!

Will I ever learn?

2009-04-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

I am SOOOOO tired...why you ask? Because I stayed up until 3 AM watching DVR shows, just so that I could delete them! I have a touch of OCD...that said, when my DVR gets above 70 hours of recorded materials, I need to purge them! Not just want to - HAVE TO! Yes, so now my DVR is down to 20 or 30 hours, but I am super, duper tired! Not the smartest, I know, I know! :)

On another note, the reason I needed to unwind last night and watch some of my shows was because the kitchen gave me a workout last night. Who knew drilling screws into cement board was so tiring? Not I! I had visions of zooming right through them, not a drop of sweat!! Oh, I also thought, how hard could it be to drill them in straight?!!?!? I am so not handy. RIDICULOUS!! I would just like to find out that I am naturally good at something, anything USEFUL!!! I know, poor me! Ty just laughed at me as I dropped my screws, the drill slipped, along with one or two (minor) explicatives!! Fun, fun.

Enough of my rant! My next post I am going to need some assistance from you guys. We are going with green, black and white in our kitchen and need help picking a green for the accent wall!! I would paint the WHOLE kitchen green - but Ty wont let me. He keeps reminding me to stay neutral (because we will eventually sell this place - 5 or 6 years tops!). Neutral is NO fun! I like color. He says that I can go crazy with the back splash!! Anyway, I will take a pic of the main wall color and post some paint card samples!!! I know I have plenty of talented and opinionated peeps out there, please don't let me down!! Thanks!

Kindergarten...really?!?!?!

2009-04-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

Today was the day to enroll for Kindergarten. Since we received the info from preschool, I have been both excited and nervous, mostly excited. I am eager for Ry to be in school and learn and know he will do well! On the other hand, I am starting to feel a little anxious for him. While I was at the elementary school today, looking at all of the CRAZY kids, I just thought...is he ready for this?!?!?!?! Anyone who knows me knows that I am all for having some kid free time...it just always seemed like him being in school was so far off. Now it is only 4 months away! Crazy!!!! I was feeling a little nostalgic, so I pulled up some pics of Ry...my how he has grown!

He is maybe 10 days old here
4 1/2 months old...I just really like this picture of him!

One year old

Crazy and 2 and his Bday party

On the trolley ride for his 3rd bday party

4 years old

Easter 2009, just a month from 5!!!

Egg Hunting and Family Pictures

2009-04-15T15:55:00.001-07:00

Easter was a gloriously, warm and sunny day!! This was our first warm in Easter in at least three years!! No tights and no sweaters for Aubry. All of the cousins were over...it has now become a tradition to get a picture of the kids together when we are in town!! This is not always easy, but worth it!!

Left to right: Ace and Kaleigh Jackman, Delaney Jackman, Madelyn Jackman, Riley and Aubry Cluff, Drake and Jett Jackman, Cade and Jasper Jackman. All TEN!!
Aubry found an egg or two on her own. She had fun.
She was usually eating candy out of her basket! I am pretty sure Uncle Matt helped her too!!

She decided to ditch the egg hunt and just find the candy!!

Riley was all business!

My precious family

Easter Morning

2009-04-15T15:47:00.001-07:00

Yeah-okay, we take A LOT of pictures. I have a hard time choosing between them, so yes I will have three separate posts for Easter! :) For those of you who know us, the morning is NOT our thing...seriously NOT our thing, the kids too! Needless to say, Easter baskets were not opened before 9 am church (or as we call it, 9:15 church)! So we got back and headed down stairs, Ry was very eager to get to the fun stuff.

Trying to be patient
Looking, but not touching!

I don't know what was going on with her!!

Candy, always makes her happy!! She could not have cared less about the other items in her basket, just give me the candy!!

My Easter Bunnies

Coloring Eggs

2009-04-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

We flew into LAX late Friday night, so Saturday was our first day there. Ty and Ry went to an Angel's game that afternoon, so while B was napping I boiled some eggs and we waited for Ry and Ty to be home. We called Kates when they got home, Amber and Jasper were already mixing colors, then egg coloring began. A little crazy with 4 and 2 year olds...but we managed without ruining anything. Only our fingers were stained :)

Ry wanted to do it all by himself...big boy!
Cutie Madelyn, Randy and Katie's oldest! Delaney was there too, just didn't snap a pic :(

Aubry helped for an egg or two, then she was just grabbing everything and making me a little crazy. So Ty took her and she was done!

Very focused

Admiring his handy work

Just because they are cute

2009-04-15T15:31:00.001-07:00

We went to California for Easter and got to visit, quickly, with our families!! Ty and Ry were able to go to the Angel's game with Ty's brother David and his son Logan. Amber and I were went to get our ritual mani-pedi!! We had a great visit (much too quick) and a wonderfully, warm Easter. These are just some random pics from Cali that I wanted to post, because they are cute!

Mr. Jasper Man!! Those eyes just kill me!
Snackin' while we colored eggs.

Cutie B, chillin' in her stylin' outfit! More Navy!!!!

WU, WU, WU, WU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-05T12:12:00.001-07:00

Ya think I am excited....You would be correct!! So, for those of you who remember my post in January...you know, with the huge pile of files!?!?? Anyway, let me get to it. Tyson received a letter in the mail on Friday stating that we have been approved for the LOAN REPAYMENT program!!! Yeppers, my month of stressing, reading the application bulletin front and back, over and over has all paid off!!! It is a two year contract and so that is some job security too!!!!! :) Not trying to brag, I swear!! Just wanted to share the good news! This is gonna be soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo helpful! SERIOUSLY!

"Hero"

2009-03-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Riley is our HERO!! Tonight we had a little bonfire in our back yard...Tyson had been taking the downstairs apart and we have a lot of wood and Ty seems to think that it is best used as firewood. So, he found a round metal thing and made it into a "ghetto" fire pit (I named it that :). Long story short...I locked all of us out of our house. We could get into our enclosed patio (just a tad warmer in there than outside) but NOT into our house. Usually Ty is handy with a credit card for entry, not this time, doors were not budging.

At this point Riley is getting upset. He started to cry and then said, "Mom, YOU locked us out of our house!", "We are stuck out here FOREVER!"...more crying. I am quite amused because Tyson is rather handy is these situations, as he is in many others. Finally he decides to see if the bathroom window is locked (never is) and it is not this time!! YAY! Now, we had to convince Ry that the window would actually put him into the bathroom. He thought that he was going to be stuck, stuck in the dark wall!! Funny kid. He finally decides to trust us an Ty lifts him through the window, then Ry says, "Oh, this is the bathroom." DUH!!!

Anyway, he came running and opened up the door for us!! Riley is the HERO!!

Hair Cut

2009-03-23T10:18:00.001-07:00

B's first haircut was....difficult. My sweet sis-in-law cut it for me and gave her her super cute bangs. But B would not quit squirming and crying, so the back had always been a bit uneven, Rach did great, B, not so much. We have been blowing her hair dry after bath so that it doesn't go all crazy and she is constantly pushing her bangs out of her eyes. So I though, maybe she might do better this time around. She just saw Ry be a stud and get his haircut and the Wal-Mart salon...he looks great, by the way. So B and I went and I held her. She started to cry when the girl sprayed her hair with water. She pouted the whole time and wanted to "hold you" (which means she wanted to cuddle with me, love it). All in all, she did very well and the cut came out super cute! Sorry Rach, you had her when she was difficult - we love you!!!!

She is smiling because she is trying to get away
Now she is pouting because I firmly told her to sit still. You can't tell, but the back is short and layered (it looks a little thicker) and the front is longer. A cute and stylish A-line cut, it is so the cut I would have if my hair was thin!!!

"Hobo"

2009-03-19T13:01:00.001-07:00

I rarely catch the funny things that the kids say, I always think, oh I will write it down later...do I remember later - NO!!! Just right now Ry and Ty are playing golf on the Wii and they are having a hard time with a water hazard. Ty was on his 8th stroke and Riley said, "Oh, Dad, 8! You're gonna get a HOBO." I reply, "Ry, do you mean a BOGEY, Maybe?" Riley, "Right, yeah, a Bogey." I think we watch too much Drake and Josh and i Carly, they are always talking about Hobos!!

My two Kiddos

2009-03-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

These two could not be more different!! Riley is always ready and willing to take a picture...he does prefer a silly face, though I can usually snap a good one too!

HAM
Brie on the other hand, is a STINKY! Here she is fighting to get away, she is probably screaming, " NO, AWAY, NO!!" All the while Riley just holds on to her and smiles away!!

More struggle. Ry finds it amusing.

Okay mom, I will lay on the floor and smile for you. If you look closely, you can see that her top "fang" teeth came in before her two top front teeth!! SUPER CUTE!! And yes, she is wearing more from her Old Navy "Navy" collection. I even found some perfect hair bows!!!

Mindi Said...Give Me Some Light

2009-03-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Our front room is light less! Very difficult to cook at my little "prep" station with out light. So while Ty had his electrical pal over helping with the kitchen, they also installed a ceiling fan. Normally, Ty can do such a task on his own...but, as you can see below, some wiring and such was necessary. They also had to separate an outlet from a light switch too.

My front room ceiling before (have I mentioned that it used to be aqua?)
Our only source of light until last night

So UGLY!!! We had a matching chandelier in the dining room, this lamp joined it in the dump trailer last night...Happy Day!!

My beautiful new ceiling fan!!!! Love, Love, Love it! It works great and lights up the room (we need to get some brighter bulbs - it only came with 40 watt ones). Other than that, it is great!!

Oh, if you are wondering why I have not posted before and afters of the front room, it is because the front room is not quite complete yet. Will post once completely completed :)

Happy St. Patty's Day

2009-03-17T21:02:00.001-07:00

I thought that that all of our different shades of green were funny...so I am sharing. I kinda miss the days when it was okay to pinch a complete stranger for not wearing green! I guess I can live through Ry when he starts school! :)

Her face was just too funny in this one! I was impressed that Ty remembered ( I did not notice this until he came home for lunch, as my eyes were VERY closed when he left this AM).
I seriously love my little man! He is the most love-dovey, cuddly kid in the world...and he is just too dang HANDSOME!

Riley did not approve of how difficult B was being! CLASSIC!!

L-O-V-E IT!

2009-03-17T20:59:00.001-07:00

I so NEVER thought that I would be all into handbags...I was SO wrong. I found this one and had to get it..why you ask?? Well for one thing, it is super cute AND it matches my totally awesome wallet I bought a while ago! Once again, L-O-V-E it!

Steph Tagged Me

2009-03-10T12:37:00.001-07:00

This Picture is of Riley when he was just 1 year old!!! Seems like another lifetime. My mom and dad came to visit us in good ol' Scranton, PA and we went to visit the church history sites. We were at Hill Cummorah at the monument on top of the hill. I was demonstrating to everyone how much he hated the grass! It was awesome. We could go to a park and put out a blanket and he would stay on the blanket...that is how much he hated the feeling of grass on him!!! I forgot that he was ever so small...good times!

The Rules:
1. Go to your pictures/documents
2. Go to the 6th file.
3. Go to the 6th picture and blog about it.
4. I tag Miss, Katie, Natalie, Amber and Stephanie Grace Waite (I don't know if I spelled your new last name right - sorry! :).

Remodeling

2009-03-06T16:24:00.001-08:00

Remodels are difficult. That being said, we are managing to survive and we are getting there. The kitchen is down to the studs, Ty installed our recessed lighting and is working on running the plumbing and installing the outlets and a patio door!! My job is to get drywall quotes so that we will get that done super quick! I cannot wait to cook again and eat a meal around a table. I truly do not like eating on the couch while everyone watches the TV.

This is my front room/kitchen area right now.
This is where I do food prep and cook on my electric skillet.

Behold, the mighty microwave...such magic! A somewhat decent meal in minutes. It is getting used way too much right now.

On a brighter note...we now have full strength water pressure in the shower!!!! The shower before wasn't really a true shower. Imagine, there is the tub faucet and from the top of the faucet runs a hose that connects to the "shower head" and the water for the shower is actually coming from the faucet. The water literally dribbled on us. You don't want to know how long it took to wash my hair!! In just a couple of hours, Ty managed to install piping and run it up for a real shower head!! YAY. Now, I shower too long because I am actually warm. :)

Please forgive the ugly paint and OLD tile, the bathroom is next on the remodel list. Those red hole brackets were from the fake shower head!

Have I Mentioned...We Like Girlie Things

2009-03-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

I Truly just cannot wait to get to remodeling Brie's room. I want to organize all of her stuff so that I remember what she has!!!! I was cleaning up her room and noticed that we are collecting quite a lot. IT IS JUST SO FUN!!! I LOVE GIRLIE STUFF!!!

Her hair bows and flowers (the bigger ones, at least)
Small hair clips and her "pretties" bracelets

Shoes, shoes, shoes...love the shoes!!!

Riley is FUNNY

2009-03-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

Please tell me he is not STRANGE?!?!?!? He decided this morning that he wanted to wear his batman costume (which is totally too small for him), which is not abnormal for him. His friends in Logan Josh and Kayden got him into dressing up!! Can you guess what game he is playing on the Wii though...yep, the Lego Batman game that we rented from the video store. He is hooked. He has added it to his birthday list.

Funny Kid

More Navy

2009-03-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

More selections of Navy from B's wardrobe. I am so excited to put her in her church dress this Sunday, she is going to be so dang cute. She is starting to cooperate more with the pics!

On a side note...how many binkis fit into her mouth?????? So far I have only seen

two in there at once...I truly do not understand why she has to carry every

single one around!?!?!?!?! She is just a silly, silly.

When we finally went out she wore her hot pink squeaker sneakers - too cute.

Have a mentioned that I LOVE having a girl?

Pay it ForWard

2009-03-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

Pay it forward...
I saw this on Missa's blog and thought it was a fun idea! The first five people to respond to this post will get something from me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I give you!
2 - What I give/make you will be just for YOU.
3 - It'll be done this year (might take a little while).
4 - You have no clue what it's going to be.
5 - I reserve the right to do something extremely strange (I didn't quite get this catch but thought I would leave it, just for giggles).
The catch?
Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same.
The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS gift from me (may and might be homemade, who knows)!
Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!
Good luck!

Busy B

2009-03-04T13:02:00.001-08:00

Busy, Active, Hyper, ADHD (j/k)...whatever...B is CRAZY! These pictures were taken today while Riley was at school and B and I were playing. I would say that they were taken within about 10 minutes, maybe less. I was simply trying to take a picture of her super cute WAL MART outfit! She gave me much more than I bargained for.

First she laid down and said, Helllllo!!!
Then she puts her head down and says ni, ni.

Okay, Helllllo again. She did this a few more times.

Okay, now she wants me to chase her down the hall!!!

Now she is giving me a pose!!

I turn my head to grab something...she grabs the DP! What a stink!

Oh, now lets run over and get into the PS games, that is ALWAYS fun and NEVER leads to TROUBLE!!

Okay mom, now you can "wead" to me! This is her all time favorite book. "Rainbow Rob" I have it memorized...let me just type you a snippet. Rob is black and Rob is white, no color at all just black and white. But Rob does not like black and white. He'd like to be a brighter sight. Then one day Rob looked up at a rainbow sky. He looked up and wondered why, if there is red and pink and blue, could he be rainbow colored too? Could he be red just like a fox? A red fox giving chickens shocks? But Rob is not red and cunning, he's black and white and bad at running......I could go on, but I don't want to type the whole book.

It is touch and feel and she is learning her colors.

Well, that is 10 minutes with my Aubry....busy, busy, busy! Have I mentioned that I LOVE nap time??? Gotta go, I am using up precious nap time right now!

Mom, Can I Play the WII????

2009-03-04T12:53:00.001-08:00

Riley's new obsession would be playing the Wii. Tyson got it for Christmas and hasn't had much time to play. Well, Ty finally showed me how to switch from the PS3 to the Wii for Riley...now I have no excuse. During Aubry's nap Riley gets to either play games or watch a movie = free time for mommy!! :) Ry is LOVING the Wii games...looks like we will be getting some more for his Bday! I don't mind the Wii so much because he is rather active and it tires him out!

Look at these Rosy cheeks from playing ping pong!!!
There he goes...nice swing!

I am so lovin' my little girl

2009-03-01T21:04:00.001-08:00

Okay...Aubry is just too freakin' funny. She has got so dang much personality...lucky me! Ty got her dressed for bed in our too tonight and once he was done she crawled as fast as she could to the head of our bed and got under the covers. She was saying, "ni-night" and "moo-me". Translation: Night-night and movie. She decided that she was going to watch Space Buddies in our bed and go ni-night is MY bed!

She must have learned it from big BRO! He literally begs to watch a movie in our bed EVERY night! They are just chillin' out watching space buddies together. So happy! I am so in love with the fact that they love each other so much! It is the best.

Christmas Rewind

2009-03-01T20:52:00.001-08:00

While I was organizing my photos...I realized that I have NO pictures of Aubry in her Christmas dress from her first Christmas - BUMMER. Then I noticed that I hadn't taken pictures from this year either -- I am slackin' on the picture takin'!! So today for church we put the kiddos in their Christmas clothes and I forced pictures on them when we got home. (No, we can't even manage to be ready early for church when it starts at 1PM)!! Luckily they didn't get messy, yay!!! So here they are, better late than never!!

My Mr. Man in his dark gray suit. His tie is the same material as B's dress. Gotta love the Children's Place. (Easter clothes are on the way here from there too :).
Little miss in her "family plaid" dress. Missa totally got me into these dresses. One year we dressed up all of the grandkids the same and Kaleigh and Madelyn wore similar dresses, love it!

My two kiddos lookin' beautiful

Zeus is FINALLY home

2009-02-28T21:42:00.001-08:00

Okay, remember this cute "little" guy...our puppy Zeus. He has been staying at Ty's mom's house since we got him. We finally brought his home this weekend. He is LARGE!! He is so good though. He just loves to be around us. I never thought that I would let a large lab into my home...I was wrong. We brought him home and he hasn't had much attention at all since we moved here and he was in Logan. So we let him in the house just so that he would feel loved. He just chilled with us and watched Ice Age. It is good to have him home!!! I can't wait to walk him and get him potty trained so he can be in the house more often!

Our pup when we first got him...he was 2 months old - I think.
Our large full grown lab now

Ty's new foot rest

He is so great with Riley. Just give him a little attention and he will do anything for you!

Welcome home Zeus. Now we need to get him a playmate...we are thinking a male Great Dane, fawn colored with a black mask! He will make Zeus look small! :)

We are lovin' the Navy!

2009-02-28T21:35:00.000-08:00

So, it is once again that time to purchase Brie a new wardrobe. Every season, or whenever she grows I notice that I gravitate toward certain colors. This season it is definitely Navy!!! I am just lovin' her in Navy. There are more pics to come...as she wears more of her outfits, I just couldn't wait to put these ones up. She loves her shoes and jacket - totally throws a fit when it is time to take them off! Too funny.

I was just playing around with this one...the color seems off a little.
She grabbed my DP...she is starting way too young!!

Her pretty blue (not suede) shoes.

Happy girl

Getting outside

2009-02-19T13:51:00.001-08:00

So, when I picked Ry up from school I was dragging. I have no clue why I am just so dang tired! I was ready to go home, feed B and put her down for a nap and plop into bed! Then I asked Ry if he wanted to go for a walk. His response, "Mom, that is a great idea. Okay, you push the stroller and walk and I will ride my bike, Okay mom? Does that sound good, mom?" We did that every day of the last spring and early summer. It was really fun. That kid just remembers everything, except for the rules!! So I got Brie warm and toasty and brought Ry's bike out of our enclosed patio turned storage unit. He was so excited!!! We walked around the neighborhood and the sun felt great, even though it was only 36 degrees today. Seriously felt much warmer!! Ry managed to ride through every puddle that I told him to watch out for (maybe next time I won't say anything and he won't notice them). Other than that he was perfect. He stayed close by and only needed a couple of nudges to get up the hill. It was a little tricky...not everyone clears their walks. I can't say anything, if we didn't have a snow blower our walks would be snow covered as well. So some of our walk was on sidewalks and some in the street. It is a quiet place and just really so beautiful. I am enjoying the fresh air and the mountain scenery. Even better, I am now not tired! No nap necessary. I just need to get off of my rump!!!!

Feeling refreshed after our walk. Ry wanted his bike in the picture
The mud splatters from his puddle riding

My two kiddos!! I love that she wears this hat. Ty's mom knit it for her and I just love how colorful and bright it is! They are starting to play really well together and she adores him. If you ask her if she loves you, she'll say no. Then I asked her, "B do you love Ry Ry?" Her reply, "yeah" - then I asked about me again, "NO". Gotta love it! No is definitely her FAVORITE word right now! She's a bit of a stink! But we love her for it.

Costco...it is the BEST!

2009-02-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

Okay...I so love, love, LOVE Costco! Besides the rest of the things that I actually need, they have the CUTEST clothes!!! Here are some pics of the kids "modeling" some clothes that we got for them. Tyson wanted to buy Riley like all three designs of the Hurley Sherpa lined hoodie (SUPER WARM), but I talked reason into him. On the other hand, Aubry has now collected 4 of these Baby Lulu outfits. They are just so soft and cozy, oh and CUTE!

So cute! Just love it.
He is lookin' pretty cool!

Riley was holding on to Brie for dear life! She is not too cooperative when it comes to photo shoots, where Riley on the other hand is the HAM of our fam!

Willow Tree

2009-02-17T22:44:00.000-08:00

I just love these Willow Tree figurines. I have another one that Ty got me for Mother's Day last year (packed away somewhere). They are just so cute and precious! I have never really collected anything before...I am hooked. They have a whole line on little angels, I am totally doing a shelf of these in Brie's room!

My little catch all box, keeps things that I need to be reminded to take with me out of little hands...Aubry! She is into EVERYTHING!

Not in Love with Idaho Snow

2009-02-17T22:34:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, not all snow is created equally. Pennsylvania snow and the snow we has last winter in Utah was good snow that packed well. It was great play in the snow, snow. This Idaho snow that we have SUCKS! It is just so slushy. After it snows nothing really packs well (forget a snow ball, let alone a snow man!). Not to mention all of the yucky puddles it creates. yes my Uggs are drenched because I didn't watch my step tonight going to pick up our salads and hoagies! Well, at least it is pretty.

These aren't the biggest flakes we have had, but they are decent.
I guess I am really complaining because this is the kind of snow that driving in is dangerous. So we were in the house ALL DAY LONG! I am more of an out in about type. SPRING, please come SOON!

The Real Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T22:09:00.001-08:00

Okay, these pics are a little out of order...sorry. My blogging skills are just not what they used to be. Well, Ty and Ry had a great time at the Monster Truck Rally they went to. We had a snow storm hit Friday night and it was still snowing in Utah on Saturday...so they had to drive slow. Other than that, it was great.

This guy is "Backwards Bob" he is actually jumping up, not landing! The truck body is on the frame backwards...CRAZY!
They had some freestyle motorcycle riders there. Ry loved it.

Ty said that they caught some major air.

Adam (Ty's brother) and his boys Cade and Caleb.

It was LOUD. Good thing they stopped at Wal-Mart for ear plugs!

My boys just before they left for their father and son outing!!

Our Valentine's Cake. No I did not make it...Sam's Club did. It was yummy. A little rich, we only ate one slice between all of us.

My Valentine kissin the camera instead of me.

Me and B at Hamilton's (my fav restaurant in Logan). There was this really cute girl who was bringing out bread and filling water, she stopped and told me that I definitely had the cutest Valentine in the whole restaurant! We had fun.

No ear piercing stories to tell or pics to show. Wouldn't you know that there would only be one place in all of Cache Valley that pierces ears. They only had one girl working and I really did not think that Brie would let her near her after the first ear. I guess we will be waiting for another opportunity. :(

V-Day...a little early

2009-02-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day

Okay, today is only Friday, but the gifts were here and tomorrow is going to be a little busy. So when Ty came home from lunch today, I decided to give the kids their gifts from us. Aubry is VERY into purses, necklaces and bracelets. (We call them her pretties). She gets upset when I take off her bracelets or necklace...she is so funny. Also, whenever it is time to go I say, "Okay B, time to go." She then drops what she is doing and RUNS to find one of my smaller bags that I let her play with, puts it on her shoulder and goes to the door either saying, "I go, I go." or "See ya" while waving!!! So I decided to get her some different bracelets and a new purse.

Yes, I am pushing Hello Kitty on her...because I still love it!! She is very receptive to it too!
Two of her new pretties!!!

Mr. Riley is EXTREMELY into Transformers. (He has already planned his 5th birthday party, which will include a Transformers cake and lots of transformers presents...oh and the spaceship from the Space Buddies movie...yes he is funny too). He received money for Christmas from his Cluff Grandparents and we searched high and low for the OLD (1974 Camero) Bumble Bee and Barricade (the police car that says "to punish and enslave" on it). Our search was fruitless. So I told him that I would look on the computer. I should not have told him that. He asked me 3 times a day if I found the toys and if I had ordered them (can we say toy shopping savvy??). He even took a paper with the toys pictures that I printed out for him to school for show and tell!! Needless to say...he is VERY happy about barricade. (SHHH...bumble bee is coming too...any day now)!

Just because I think she is pretty!

Poll: should I take her to pierce her ears tomorrow????
Ty and Ry are going to the Monster Truck event in SLC with Adam and his boys. So it is me and B. Too bad she isn't quite old enough for the mani-pedi outing (my feet are pretty bad!!) So I thought why not BLING her out completely. Is it mean to do it when she is 19 months and it might hurt a bit??? Let me know, Thanks!
Happy Valentine's Day to all of our very loved friends and family! Love the Cluffs
Tyson, Mindi, Riley and Aubry

Christmas Morning 2008

2009-02-12T12:38:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year was good. We slept in and when Riley awoke to all the presents under the tree he could not contain his excitement! He was so happy that Santa Clause knew that we had moved and had found our house. We opened presents and had breakfast and just hung out the rest of the day. It was quiet and I was missing my family as it was my year for Christmas this year. Ty had to work the next day so we could not make it down to Cali. (We are NOT missing Christmas 2010 with the Jackmans). We were supposed to go to Ty's brother's house, but we had a blizzard that day and got dumped on. So it was a nice and quiet Christmas for us. Ty and Ry played the Wii and Aubry just pushed her new stroller all over the house. I played with the awesome eye shadows that my sis-in-law Katie gave me!!

The cute sweater I bought myself from Tyson
Ty's new work sweaters

She actually opened her own presents this year. It was fun to watch.

She was MUCH more into opening chocolates from her stocking than her presents!!

Riley and his mess. He is waiting, not so patiently, for Ty to put together his Geo Trax (or as he says it: GETO-TRAX) airport set. It is still assembled in his room and he and Brie play with it at least once a day. They love those remotes.

Ry's super cool shirt from super cool Auntie Miss and Uncle Rick! Thanks guys!!

She finally got into the presents once I hid the chocolates.

He was soooooo excited even though he was with us when we bought this!

She found another chocolate

A "Make-Do" Christmas Tree

2009-02-12T10:05:00.001-08:00

Well, we moved into our house right before Christmas and when we went to go tree shopping...there were no trees. We found a couple of shrubs, but no trees. Riley was upset but got over it. We told him he could either have a small, real tree or a big, fake tree. His response: "Well, I think I want a real, big tree!" That kid, he only hears what he wants to most of the time. We finally decided on a big, fake tree and I bought the cheapest one I could find. It was a little sparse...but we are getting a REAL, BIG tree next year! It's all good.

In front of the tree all decorated and in Christmas Eve Pajamas!!
Riley LOVED decorating the tree this year. He kinda clumped all of the ornaments in one spot, so Ty and I did some rearranging later on, when he was asleep.

Aubry LOVED the ornaments. She pulled them all out and then would hang one and rip two or three off of the tree. It was a long process!

Daddy helped. So did I, but the pics were from a bad angle...no thanks!

There she goes. She would leave with one and come back with two or three different ones. Riley was actually rather patient though! We moved them all up when she was asleep!!

Thanksgivng Fun 2008

2009-02-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

Okay, I did not get around to taking too many pictures on Thanksgiving. It was not the best holdiay ever...there was some family tension...'nuff said. Anyway, the Cluff's always have a pinata for the kids and that is always fun! They mamed it pretty good and Riley really had fun!

poor, poor pinata.
Riley went at it like a crazy man.

Cute little Kaitlyn! This is Ty's brother Stephen's little girl! She is so dang cute.

Wu, Wu!!!!

2009-02-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

YAY!! I am finally done with the Loan Repayment Application! Let me tell you, it was stressin' me out! There is like a 38 item checklist and if you send in an application with just one little thing wrong or incomplete...so sorry try again next year! Very Stressful. We are done and it was mailed on January 28, 2009. I tried to blog this earlier, but couldn't upload the pics. Anywho...will get caught up soon!

Aubry was happy too! This is how she is smiling right now!
All ready to be postmarked at the post office!

That is one freakin' LONG application!!

I feel like a weight has been lifted from me!!!!

Happy day.

Lagging

2009-01-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know that I haven't posted Thanksgiving or Christmas!! I will get there! The pile of paperwork below is the reason that I am LAGGING!!!! This is what FOUR years of student loans looks like when it has just been placed in folders mixed with other school paperwork! My mission: sort through and fill out a super long loan repayment application ASAP! It is quite the task! Late nights filling out paperwork: $ ?.??, copies: $5.00, Postage: $4.80, Getting help paying off student loans: PRICELESS!!!! He,he---yes I know that I am corny. Will post as soon as this monster is tackled, signed and mailed off!

AU-BEE

2009-01-03T22:47:00.001-08:00

My little girl is growing up much too fast!!! She is running around (and into things often), talking up a storm and finally getting some teeth at 18 months old!! We planned on calling here Brie, but now we call her Au-Bee or just B. She named herself Au-Bee, that is how she says her name, I am pretty sure it was her first word! Love my little girl, her blue eyes and her awesome red hair!!

Christmas morning, she thought the presents were okay, all she really wanted was the Chocolate!!!!
Au-Bee - 18 months old. Words: Aubee, Mama, Mommy, Dada, Daddy, Ry-yee (Riley), I do, I love you, Wee, It's Good!, More, Pwease (please), Aah, NO, mine, belby (belly), pee, yeah, wo..wo..wo (usually when she is falling-quite funny). I am sure that there are a few more, this is all that I can think of right now!

She wanted to be outside while Ry and Papa were playing in the snow! She was just too funny!!!

Pleasant Surprise

2009-01-03T22:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, Monday afternoon (12/29/08) I was talking on the phone with my mom asking her how best to cook the prime rib that Ty brought home from work and she told me to walk to the window...strange. No, it did not click that they had just asked me my address 3 times (inputting it into the navigation system), or the fact that my dad just asked where mom's snow boots were...nope, all over my head. I walk to the window and there they are in the Suburban right in front of my house!!!!! BEST surprise ever!!!!! We had an AWESOME dinner (compliments of the Ultrasound Center Rep) and mom and dad helped us out a lot! We got blinds up, toilet seats changed and moved some stuff from the storage units! Dad and Ry played a lot in the snow and I don't think that I washed a dish the whole time!!! We were sad to see them go!

Me and my beautiful mama!!!
Papa and Ry all bundled up and ready for the snow fight!!!

Ry taking a hit!

Papa is a cheater! The snow was not packing well, so he grabbed the shovel. He buried Ry and then got Me and Mom! COLD - I was wearing flip flops!

Home

2009-01-03T22:26:00.001-08:00

We have moved into our home!!! We are still waiting for probate to end on the home so we can close and start working!!! It is 2600 square feet and was built in 1955. It needs some TLC and we cannot wait to get started. I will post before and after pics once we complete projects. First on the list is the KITCHEN!!!! We are just very grateful to have our own space, have Tyson close to work and looking forward to serving in our ward and making new friends! Watch out Malad, here come the Cluffs!!

Yes, we moved in the SNOW! Not fun, would not suggest it to anyone! We only did it because we wanted to be here for Christmas!!!!! (We barely made it).

Halloween 2008

2009-01-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty good Halloween. We were packing to move, so it was a little crazy. Aubry made the cutest Pebbles Flintstone EVER and Ry was quite the dashing Bat Man. Ry went to his primary Halloween party and we all went to "Trunk or Treat" at church. Aubry won a prize for best costume (my Ebay boutique costume paid off) and we got to hang out with our friends Chad and Jen. Good times, good times.

Tyson and Chad with Eva.
Pebbles and Bat Man