Sunday with all the Cluff's

Sunday was a very busy day. First we started out the morning by singing "How Great Thou Art" for my Mom's ward. We almost had all the siblings and we even adopted a new member into the group, Casy, Christi's husband, joined us this time and helped out with the Bass part. So he and Hobie sang Bass, Dad was Tenor as always, Stacy and Christi 1st and 2nd Soprano and Melodee and I were the Alto's. I think the arrangement of that song is amazing and second only to Gogies "Silent Night, O, Holy Night. All of there family was there to listen though. Next time Tyler and Michael are going to do it weather they want to or not. *I'm pointing my finger at you both right now, and wagging it a bit* Then right after Sacrament Meeting, we jetted over to my house to have a family portrait done, and this mostly was done because the Roger family is leaving the state of Arizona soon. They are heading to a Air Force Base in Colorado and we will miss them all so much. Specially the little Rogers.
After the pictures were taken, ( a huge thanks to my neighbor Leslie for coming over to help) we dug into the Mexican buffet. Of course we had to play a little Mafia after that. A friend of ours told us of another twist to the game, and that is to have and Angel that has an opportunity to save someone from the wrath of the Mafia. So in one round, Hobie was the Angel. We are playing along nice a good, and then after more and more people were getting killed and the Angel wasn't saving anyone, those dead people could not stop laughing during the killing rounds. It wasn't until you were dead that you got to see Hobie and Angel saving HIMSELF every round. Near the end he told us he was the Angel and asked who the detective was because it didn't matter if the Mafia knew who he was cause he would never die. It was only after the game that I realized I forgot an important rule, and that is the Angel can only save himself 1 time during the course of the game. But way to go Hobie awesome strategy!!!

Summer Pool Party at Grandma's

We all got together this weekend for two important reasons. First was to wish Ty a happy 35, you old fart. hee hee. And to get together one last time, all of us ,before Stacy and Jason head for Colorado. It turns out we are going to miss Jason quite a bit. This fun filled family weekend was not without it's many slip ups, bumps and falls. And believe it or not it happened to more than one person. The worst of it Grandma took. She was just walking around the corner of her kitchen and slipped on some water. She ended up fracturing her distal radius and the ulna. (Jason you'll have to correct my medical terms if I didn't get it right) this according to the doctor at the Urgent Care. Thankfully she's doing good, but she'll most likely be in a cast for a while. Poor mom. The other incidences weren't quite as traumatic thank goodness. Ivan pulled a Foosball game on his head and then baby Joey fell down the stairs. All in all everyone left in one piece, except mom. It was good fun though. More pictures of our Sunday are coming.

Isn't Pork short for Porcupine?

I do feel oddly enough like a porcupine. Thank goodness that was all I felt. This was my latest attempt at helping my back feel better. Dr. Bryce my chiropractor recommended I try acupuncture because my problems are all muscular not skeletal. My muscles just won't calm down enough to start healing so we are giving this a go and we are crossing our fingers that it will do the trick. The Chinese have been doing this for thousands of years, so I guess they've studied it enough to know all the in's and out's of it. Good thing is, if it doesn't work, no harm done.

The title came from a doctor I work with. We were having a "lunch and learn" at work and a company we order from was showing us the new bone replacement therapy or bone grafting techniques for those we do extractions on who might want to consider an implant or bridge later on. (When you have a tooth extracted you loose quite a bit of bone.) Anyway, the material they use is from a bovine extract. Someone asked what bovine was. I was like "do you live under a rock?" Well, if your not up in your animal terms, it's a cow. The stuff we use to build the bone back up is like a gelatin, which comes from cows. That's right all you jell-o lovers out there, your eating cows feet. Anyway the doctor I mentioned above, says to me after the meeting when we were laughing about the fact that "so-in-so" didn't know the term bovine, he says to me when he was young, he though Pork was short for Porcupine. Whew... that was a round about way to explain that. :)

Mon-sooner

Ahhh the start of Monsoon season. Or at least I hope it is. I love this time of year and it makes living in Arizona during the summer almost a bearable one. The mornings start out a little muggy, but by the late afternoon, the thunderheads have spread across the sky leaving a dark shadow on most of the valley. The sun still tries to break through and the temperature drops a few degrees, everyone you can feel. Then out of no where, you are drenched. It's almost like there are boundaries to this storm, a foot away and your dry and seconds later you hit this wall of water with rain drops the size of dinner plates. I love the smell after the rain and you can almost smell it in this picture. Nature is awesome!

18 years in the making

It seems like a lifetime ago and it was definitely several pounds it looks like.
I was lucky enough to marry the man of my dreams. No actually this time I was glad that the Lord stepped in and said "this is who you will marry" I wasn't doing to well in the "potential partner" department. The guys I was dating weren't exactly "eternal material" for lack of a better word. The last guy defiantly was not. And it was with him that I ran into Kirk on that fateful day back at the MCC institute in 1990. I'd known Kirk since High School, but there was no indication that I even thought of him that way. Then we he got back from his Mission in South Africa, we were re-introduced and still nothing. We even spent the better part of that summer in a large group of friends hanging out and having fun. At a dance in October Kirk and I spent almost the whole time together, cause I was avoiding someone who wanted to dance with me, and I wasn't interested and he wouldn't take a hint. He became my protector from silly boys. Then January rolled around and I was dating a guy that I knew in the back of my head of should have run screaming from a long time ago. I brought him to the institute cause he didn't want me to go alone *rolling eyes* Kirk had seen us walk in and came to taunt said boyfriend. Of course he wasn't very happy *sob sob*
I walked away to get a drink of water and it was almost like a lightning bolt hit me and I knew I would marry Kirk. I hadn't even been on a date with him at this point, but I knew it just the same. I drove said boyfriend to Phoenix to be with his brother or something and never saw him again. After I got home I think I told my mom what had happened. I have never been so sure about anything in my whole life. We started dating on Kirk's birthday, on my birthday he proposed, and of course you know the rest, and the Lord was right, and when is He not? 3 months later We were married in the Mesa Temple. In 120 degree weather, but why wait when you know it's right.
He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I kiddingly call him my Johnny Lingo. I love you Kirk with all my heart.

Happy Anniversary!

You guys rock!!!

Rebutttal to Susette's comments to me turning 60

I copied this from our Cluff blog. I probably wouldn't have done this but I saw that Susette had posted it to her blog for all her friends to see. (By the way, thanks Carmen and Christi for seeing what I saw in Susette's comments. And don't believe a word she says) smile, smile :) :)

After reading Susette's post about me turning 60, I'm glad I am 60. The way she described turning 40 and 50 sounds awful. I say just skip the 40's and 50's and jump right into 60. Yes, you may be closer to the other side but now you can look forward to being your perfect self, all the hairs on your head restored, body parts back in place, no hairs growing out of moles, etc. I'm not planning on going anywhere soon, except maybe to Colorado and Sierra Vista, and I'm looking forward to that and planning on doing more things that I didn't get to do during those terrible 40's and 50's. You poor kids, so sorry that you have to face those decades. I'm just glad that I didn't realize they were that bad. Thanks, Susette, for helping me to realize I need to change my thinking. I know the next decade for me will be better than those I just finished because I just decided to make it better. Just like you said, I'll see you there soon, and of course there will be some (maybe just a little) fun watching you make it through the next terrible twos, (as in the next two decades).

This is where I wish I could add a picture but I don't have any to download. I'm on Dad's computer and he doesn't have any pictures. You can picture me with a smile and that knowing look that all parents have, been there, done that and made it through. So will you, warts and all.

Kylie is going to Girls Camp

Here we are bright and early Tuesday morning. The buses are ready to haul all the girls in the stake to camp. Kylie is a 4th year and so she road up in someones car. I'm sure she'll have many adventures to tell about. This years theme is Once upon a Princess. They are focusing on the girls royal heritage. A very cute idea, I'm surprised I didn't come up with it myself.

Camp Geronimo

This was Landen's first year at his Father's Alma Matter (sp?). Camp Geronimo is Kirk's favorite place to be in the summer. I think this is his 15th year there. He even took the boys in Las Vegas to camp Geronimo. He really wasn't even supposed to go this year. But our Scoutmaster injured himself earlier and still wasn't able to go, so Kirk volunteered of course. I don't mind really. It's like his spa week. He get totally rejuvenated. Kirk's trying to find a way that we can go up as a family and work on staff. Could be fun, we'll have to wait and see. He did come home with a bit more hair this time. Check out the Father's day post.

Father's Day a little late

We did have a wonderful Father's day for Kirk. He's been wanting a flag pole for the out side, so we marched in, all the kids in full uniform to our Father sir, yes sir. He also got two new albums from some bands he saw on late night t.v. So he now has more music in his collection then anyone on this earth. Happy Father's Day to the best father on earth.

The Mother of Cluff's is 60!!!!

Forget Love.... I'd rather fall in Chocolate!


When you are 15-16 thinking about being 20 it is almost something you can't wrap your mind around. Then you get there are you don't feel as old as you thought you would, but the 15 and 16 year olds seem like babies. 30 now seems like an impossible dream. You get there it's not so bad either but your body is not responding the way it used to and it's doing things it never did before, like sprouting hairs out of ears and moles. I doesn't loose weight as easily, and things break down quicker. Am I painting a beautiful picture for ya? 40 starts to loom large the the horizon, it's more nails in the coffin for ya as the eyes, ears and other vital organs start taking vacations. Being 15 seems more like a dream than an actuality. Although, there are some perks, things start looking up in the romance department but it's not so much for the spouse. What a cool trick.
50, 50 your 50. Oprah says it's the new 40 but that just means more of the same.
Now your 60 and you have your whole life ahead of you.....Wait no, your whole life is behind you. What's left except to revert back to the life you had when you entered this world. Diapers and Drooling. How ironic is that?

Happy Birthday Mom!!! My wish for you is that the next 60 years don't have to last as long.
Don't worry I'll be there in another 20 years. That's the only thing that makes getting older worth it, is knowing that you're not the only one.
(I'm totally JK about everything, this was my response to mom saying that death was all she has to look forward to now. She says she at that age that people start dying. I got news for ya mom, people die at any age. So live it up!!)

Does this Bass make me look old?

Tonight we celebrated Patti joining the ranks of the 40 year olds. Ha Ha. I have no problem being left out of that club. We had a great dinner at Logan's and then headed over to the Bass Pro Shops for some fun, looking at critters, sharp shooting (well at least Frank was) and buying shirts.

Very cute Susette

I love all the tenneyshoes!!!!! Great blog, and your hair looks fabulous!

It's the Dog Daze of Summer!

It's that wonderful time of the year when the Poodles get their Summer cut! They start to look so pathetic around the end of Spring. I forgot to get a picture of Yoshi before but he was just as hairy. This however is not Toad's favorite thing to do. I have to warn the groomers cause Yoshi goes nuts when we walk into the "beauty parlor" and they think he's gona be the problem, but it is Toad that will turn on them even though I have to pull him through the door, while he's got his brakes on, and then he cowers under a chair until I drag him out and hand him over.
But the end result is worth it, first off they smell a whole lot better, and second they look so darn cute.

6th Grade Grad

I know this is a bit late, but who cares right?

Landen neglected to tell me when his 6th grade graduation was, so when he came home I had him show me his certificate, cause you know you can't be too sure unless you see it.


Now, Mr. Graduate turn the certificate over. That's a good boy.