Cousins!!

When we were in Arizona a month ago, the Cluff cousins weren’t able to come down from Cottonwood and visit.  The girls love Rachel and Megan and were thrilled to be able to see them this visit!  Every time they were together they could be found playing volleyball or another equally fun game-so glad they have these cousins for life!!

In addition to the inflatable Santa and weiner dog, the bushes turned out amazing!!  Love all the fun festive lights!

 

Santa Set Up!!

These fun brothers decided to go all and decorate Nana and Papa’s house with a ridiculously large 14 foot inflatable Santa, a bunch of lights on the bushes/house and a small inflatable wiener dog!  It was fun to get in on the decorating as a group, especially with the weather in the 70’s!!

Encanto!!

We planned a fun cousin movie date this morning and brought more kids than adults; it was a party!  We reserved an entire row in the theatre and relaxed in reclining seats to a fun Disney movie. The buttered popcorn and refills were delicious!!

World of Illumination!

We got to mesa earlier today and went straight to Nana’s house. Kyle was able to get some work done while I took the kids to Organ Stop Pizza with some cousins for dinner. The music was super entertaining and it was great to see family!!  After dinner we synced back up with Kyle, who was finished for the day, and decided to go check out some intense Christmas lights with nana, Mary and some cousins!  The kids hopped in the back of Papa’s truck and we all drove through the elaborate lights in awe!  I’m glad we made this happen tonight-a fun memory for sure!!

Ski Stuff!

Even though there hasn’t been snow since October, I have been feverishly trying to furnish everyone with ski stuff.  I think I might have gotten everyone outfitted today, with passes and everything. 

Pumpkin Bundt Cake!!

I loved Ben’s Bundt cake so much, that I decided to make another one today, except pumpkin!!  It turned out so moist and delicious, we all devoured our pieces for family night and the leftovers were equally enjoyed by some friends at a lunch the next day!  The cream cheese frosting was my favorite part!

 

Twisted Up!

After reading the directions and playing Twister the right way, we all joined in for a few rounds and got all twisted up!  It was fun to spend time with the kids being super silly and not so flexible!!  I lost every time!

The Date!

Ava’s took Wally on his first date ever. He was excited to go, his mom told me, but really nervous. Ava said he was a gentleman all night, opening doors for Ava and paying for dinner. Ava drove since she asked him, but other than that, it felt like a regular date. Wally was shy and not great at talking, but Ava made the best of the night and tried to carry all the conversations. Wally was a good sport when their group turned weird, eating without Ava and Wally and then going to a random person’s house to hang out at before the dance. The language and the conversation of the group left much to be desired, but once these two were at the dance they found some better company and danced the night away!

The Oldest!!

Ava had been dancing her way through life trying so hard and accomplishing much as a result of all that effort.  Kyle is also an oldest child and very similar to Ava.  These are two of the most amazing people I know, so glad we are related!

 

Muses

Ava and I were working on dance picture poses and came up with some fun ideas.  We were crunched for time, so I asked these guys to practice the pose with me while Ava finished getting dressed. I love how tall Norah is, makes for a great dance picture muse!

Harvest Hair!

I’m between chores and all the other things we love to do on Saturdays, I have been practicing a hairstyle on the girls in preparation for Ava’s dance tonight.  Ava’s hair was curled and prepped awaiting the crown braid I perfected on Norah!  These girls have such fun hair, I love being able to style it regularly.

 

Food Central!!

I have been in the kitchen a bunch today making a trial run of the homemade cranberry sauce I plan on contributing to the Thanksgiving dinner in AZ .  I also whipped up a hot chocolate Bundt cake, per Ben’s request, for his little friend get together today after school.  Everything looked and tasted pro!  Love making food!

 

Girls Night!!

Ava went with a friend to her high school’s musical, Matilda, this weekend with a friend. She was so blown away by it, that I felt inspired to buy tickets to the last performance for Ava, Norah and I.  Our seats were great and we all enjoyed laughing at the ,Trunchbowl, who was played by a boy, and looking for all the kids from church who were in the play. It was a late night, but I’m so glad we did it!!

High School Ball!

After months of preparing, attending open gyms and agility training the week finally arrived for Jack to try out for the high school basketball team!  We have all been nervous and excited for this opportunity, and we found out last night that he made the team!!!  Jack is so excited and we are all relieved that there won’t be any sadness over missing out. I haven’t gotten any of the schedules yet, but I’ve heard the high school basketball is even more insane than the volleyball schedule!!

He Said Yes!

Ava asked Wally yesterday and tonight after Ava had been gone from 7am until 9:30pm she found this fun newspaper ball filled with amazing-ness.

The best part of his answer was the joke about all green candies that happened to be caramel filled balls of chocolate.  Ava was in heaven-so delicious!!

 

Harvest!

Ava came up with a cute idea to ask a boy in our ward to the upcoming girls’ choice dance at school. The bubble lettering turned out so cute and this guy was pumped to receive 12 donuts!!

Super Hikers!

Kyle and I hiked to the flag last Monday in about 1:27 minutes. Today, I took these two and we made it up and down in 1:15!!  We were jogging up and down the mountain at some points!  I’m so glad these guys were interested in making the trek, the flag is only up for about 12 days each year!  Jack and Norah have never been, but at least this year they were busy at Weber b-ball tryouts and Snowcrest vball practice!  Kyle is out of town this week, glad I was able to tackle this line item at the beginning of the week when I have more energy!

Glowing!

After Norah’s winning point she was glowing!  I had to get a picture of her in her uniform reveling in her accomplishment!  This girl is a player and is still so young with so much potential!  Hopefully the coach sees what we see and Norah will play more and more as the season progresses.

 

In The Game!!

Norah made the team, one of only 3-7th graders and today, she actually played!  In the past, most Snowcrest coaches have 6-9th graders that start and play every game. Our first game of the season earlier in the week had the 6-9th grade girls starting and playing the whole time and ended in a loss. Today, we got a good lead on the opponent in the 3rd set, and Norah was put in the game!  She had a good dig and it resulted in a kill and the winning point of the game!