We Start Em Young.

Yesterday Troy brought home the skid steer (sp?) to load up some scrap metal. The kids love to drive it and they are good at it too.

You'll have to pause the music in order to hear it.

So here is my Morgan. She is very careful with things and is a little more timid when it comes to trying new things. At the end of this clip you can hear her squeal...Troy sped it up and it was coming toward me. Morgan was not happy about that one. :)

Keegan did really good. The only thing is that he went pretty fast and so he was upset that he didn't get to go as long.

Now for Breckyn. She is fearless. She had allot of fun and did a pretty good job for a 4 year old :)

Oh and I almost forgot to mention that I helped steer the fork lift that has no engine or transmission AND the tires that control it are in the back. What is up with that? Basically I stood on it while Troy pushed it up onto the trailer. Three years ago, I would have never helped do that. So this is just another example of how much better I am and that I have more confidence in myself. Even though I was SOOOOO dirty, I was actually really happy that the guys Troy had called to help showed up late. We make a good team. Sorry no pictures of that(ok, so I'm not that sorry)!!!!

BeFoRe

Ok...now I have said many times that my baby Breckyn is quite the rug rat. Well I decided to take pictures to show just a little example of what we go through everyday. I really do do her hair every morning.

Breckyn put this ponytail in by herself.

AfTeR

Clothing change number 5. No I am not exaggerating. If she gets dirty, "hot" or just wants to...she changes over and over and over again.

The only thing missing is her dirty face, that she just washed and her brown legs that were covered by her pants. So all you get to see, is the hair and the clothing change.

NOW do you believe me? She is a handful.

Fun At School?

This week the kids had "School Spirit Dress Up Week". This was part of the "Step It Up...A Call To Action. No use of illegal drugs. No illegal use of legal drugs".

My kids (especially Morgan) love to do this each year.

No this is not 2008 LOL it is 2006

Monday: Put Drugs To Bed - Wear pajamas:) Keegan was sick but Morgan wore her silky pink jammies. I didn't even think to take a picture (I know..you're shocked, me too). So you will just have to pretend that you know how she looked......sleepy. HaHa

Tuesday: Drugs Turn You Inside Out - Wear clothes inside out or backwards:) This is my favorite. Morgan wore her shirt inside out and her shorts backwards. She has a butt. I tried to ask Troy where she got it from 'cause both of us are lacking in that department. The reason I give you this WONDERFUL piece of information, is because her butt looked like the tummy of most women who have had babies (ME). There was a pooch. It was really funny. Keegan wore his shirt backwards but when I saw him around noon, he had changed it back. He said that it made him hot.??

Wednesday: Show you care about your body - Wear Red:) This is pretty simple. I did paint on their faces too. Morgan wanted a heart..ok, then a star....what? I CAN'T DRAW! Luckily I found a little star to trace whew. Keegan didn't care (surprise?) we wrote "I Care".

Thursday: Walk Away From Drugs - Wear crazy shoes, slippers or socks. Well my Dad's new wife Shaunasp? , sends the kids very colorful socks for every holiday, so finding fun socks for this day was not a problem. I tried to get Keegan to wear 1 shoe and 1 slipper like Morgan did but he would have no part of it. The pictures don't even grasp how funny they looked. AND Morgan ripped an ear off my pig slipper....poor little thing.

Morgan's face says Go Lions, Keegan wanted paw prints w/claws...he's lucky I could make 4 circles.

Today/Friday: Stay In The Game, Be Drug Free - Wear school shirts, team jerseys or school colors....Green and Gold, I know Lobo fans, it was really hard on me at first too. LOL


Well all in all they had a fun week at school and even got to see some of the Sheriff Office's crime dogs. Morgan loved it when one of them jumped over a deputy and grabbed hold of the "padded" guy and wouldn't let go. I told her that if she is ever Stu _ _ _ and uses drugs, she will be able to have that dog grab her too...only without padding. Her eyes got really big and then she asked "What if they are not mine?" I told her that the dogs don't care and neither do I. She will "hurt in many places". (Hope it worked HeHe)

"Step It Up" is good, but I sure liked D.A.R.E. :) :) :)

Missing Out

So I am always saying how my kids are lucky because we have land and animals. Well today I realized that they are deprived of one major thing in life in which I was greatly blessed with as a kid. FAMILY! We were at Keegan's Speech Therapist's today and Breckyn and I were in the waiting room. She was being really good and playing with some blocks. After a while, a little baby about 8 or 9 months old, started crawling toward Breck. It was at this moment I realised that she has had MAYBE 6 opportunities to interact with babies. How sad! She kept on scooting away from her and when she looked at me, it seemed that she was scared. I realized that I was not alone, when the babies mom told her that the baby would not hurt her. It took about 15 minutes before Breckyn was comfortable enough to play with her and even then it was at a safe distance.


This broke my heart. At first I thought it was funny until I realised how much she is missing out on. When I was growing up, we had family galore. They were everywhere and we were always together AND there were always babies.


So even though my kids have been extremely blessed, I really want them to know their family. We have 3 nieces: Ali, Devyn and Raylee, all of whom are under 18 months and we have seen Ali and Raylee once back in May and Devyn I believe we have seen 3 maybe 4 times. The kids know them mainly through pictures.


BUT as this will not change any time soon, I will have to settle for the baby dolls. Don't get me wrong. We have some family close and allot of friends.....it still is just not the same as I had.





Ok.....thanks for letting me pout. I feel a little better now.



Breckyn is about the same age in these pictures as the baby was.

Photos Anyone?

My kids recently got a new horse (yes I know and no I don't know why). His name was Robin but we did not like it, so we went online and looked up a lot of names. We settled on Nakota which means "painted". It fits him well.

The other day Troy had them get ready to go try him out. I took my camera(since it is connected to me, I don't have a choice LOL). I got some really good pictures of them.

This is my 3 great kids with "the mare". We did not like her name, so we are waiting for Ajax and Morgan to name her.


My, she is beautiful.....if I do say so myself.

Our little cowboy. He LOVES to dress like dad and walk around like he owns the place.




This is Keegan on Nakota and then him asking his big sis the cowgirl for advice.


.

Cute pic huh? Breckyn is resting while Troy saddles Nakota.

Well as you can see, Breckyn spent most of her night "horsing" around.

It still amazes me how happy they are to be outside ALL the time and how they never get tired of the animals. The only down side to all of this is that for some reason (my mom says it's payback) Breckyn comes in looking like she was rolling in the dirt. I guess that since Ajax caught her literally rolling in the dirt, I can now make since of the fact that I wash more clothes for that girl than the rest of us put together(you think I'm exaggerating?).

I am just very grateful that my kids have the opportunity to grow up with dirt and land and animals and freedom, as I was.

A Different Kind of Mission

HONDURAS

So most of you already know that my little sister Cheyanne is volunteering at an orphanage in Honduras. (the link to her blog is here on mine) They are there to teach the kids their alphabet and numbers in english and spanish. Her kids are ages 3-6 (I think) and there are about 5 of them. She has been gone since August 5th and she is having a great time. My mom did say that when she called the other night, she was a little homesick and VERY upset that she has to be deloused on Friday. They told her that she would get lice because all the children have it and pass it around. That is why she has bandannas on all the time. But it didn't work. If you don't remember how long her hair was....it is almost to her waist, it is really thick and it is beautiful. I feel so bad for her.
While she has been there, she has been able to do allot of things that she would not/could not do here. She hiked up and rode a horse up (yes I know she doesn't like horses) an active volcano and roast a marshmallow over the lava. She has also been snorkeling (and in November she will scuba dive), where she faced her biggest fear....sharks. I am so proud of her because she sucked it up and when their guide caught one, she pet it.

She still has a long time to go. She will come back on January 5, 2009. I am so sad that she will not be home for Christmas. We will miss her quirky personality sooooo much.

Can you see the reef?

I forgot to mention that she had to earn the money to go. She and my cousin Nathan, who is there with her, had a car wash and bake sale to help themselves get there. Besides that, she worked 2 jobs. They alsohad family and friends who donated to their "different kind of mission". Again for those who do not know Chey, you should know that she can not talk to strangers, example....if she got onions on her hamburger and had ordered it without onions, she would just not eat before she would go back to the counter and tell them. I think she has been living up to her name. HeHe

She said that this was actually good. It looks disgusting to me.

Washing her clothes by hand.
Chey and Nathan
Some of the volunteers that they live with. They are from all parts of the world and are becoming great friends.
Chey and I have the same sweet blood. (oh come on, you know I do) The mosquitoes were eating her alive so they had to put up her net around her bed.
Some kids in a village (she would know the name of it).
AND Chey doing her favorite thing...reading, probably the Twilight series.

Even though she has been in Utah since she was about 11 and I only see her (if I'm lucky) 3 times a year, I miss her even more now. I guess just knowing that she is so far away and living in a much different world, I can't get her off of my mind. I think the most surprising thing she has done since leaving (besides the shark of course), is that her and Nathan got in a car with a guy they didn't know and had him take them to the ruins. First of all...a stranger and second of all, she can't stand riding in a car with anyone else driving. She holds on to the handle above the door and closes her eyes when you pass a semi. But, she did it. She said that they do not obey any traffic signs or laws for that matter and she just knew she was going to die. She also said that if they were to get pulled over, they would just give the police some money and they will let them go. (I actually think that that is a good idea LOL).

Well Chey, I am proud of you. I am always amazed at the things you accomplish even while thinking that you can't. You are amazing and I can see your confidence growing. I know that when you come home, you will have realized the greatness that the rest of us have seen all along.

The city that she first stayed in.
I LOVE YOU SIS!

YES......4 posts in 1 day!!

Ok, so as you will see by the posts to follow, that we have been extremely busy the past few weeks. I spent most of the day playing catch up on my blog. I hope you enjoy it.

This was about 3 years ago. He looks so young. Can you believe he is already 19.

So one more shout out to Elder Colten David Cluff. We are so proud of you and the choices you have made in your life that have led you to this point. We are honored to have been a part of you life for the last 4 years. We know that you will be a great missionary and that you will touch the lives of many. They will never forget you as you will give them something that they have been without for so long. We love you and although we will miss you terribly, we know you will come home an even better/stronger man.

Here is just a FEW of the recent pictures we have of Colten.

Let's Celebrate

The 4 birthday girls.....Maggie-17, Lexie-16. Morgan-10 and McKinzee-12

Our 2 missionaries....Colten (w/BF Lynsay) reported to the MTC TODAY. He is going to Oregon. McKinney reports on the 21st of January to serve in Mexico City, South.

So these 6 extraordinary people who have been in our lives for sometime now, are the reason that we threw a huge bonfire on Saturday night. We had so many people here. It was so fun to see our friends, family and all the teens that came to celebrate with us.
Troy made dutch oven cobbler and we had a ton of drinks. There was a ping-pong table, a WII, the roping dummy, swings and of coarse music provided by my awesome van (since Colten sold our truck LOL).Here are some of the groups that I got pictures of. Tracy, Aunt Donna and Uncle John didn't move much so they were easy to find, where as the teens where always on the move. I apologize to anyone not in the pictures, there were just so many of you.

So Colten started it and now they ALL do it to me! Here we have Kinney, Jentry, Maggie, Chelsea, Ra Ra (Maranda), COLTEN(of coarse), Maggie...again...and again and Ra Ra.....again. What is up with all the butts?

So excited to see Kinney!

My cousin Nat's husband Andy took home the door prize. oooooooo After cleaning up the yard, I guess we disturbed the scorpion so he crashed our party. He was a hit. They all watched him eat a cricket (not I). After that I was very jumpy and so when Troy threw a fake snake at me, I am sorry to say that I did not respond like a lady LOL. I will get even....somehow!

Look at all the smiles!!!

More family and friends (we are soooo lucky)



McKinney picked up a rope after about 10 years and you would have never known it. He did really good and was showing off. Ajax (Crae) loves roping too, so Kinney and him hung out quite a bit with the dummy. Tracy even remembered that she used to be a cowgirl. Now if we could just get her out of the house and on a horse. Hey sis, I don't think your kids believe me when I tell them you can ride. Call me and I'll hook you up.

Ra Ra and Ajax took some girls over to see the horses. They decided that it would be funny to show them Cookie (our cow). Ajax walked up to her and scarred her. So then the girls went to see her and of course she charged them. We were laughing so hard. I guess we forgot to tell them that Cookie HATES GIRLS. Sorry, but it was really funny.

Well we had a great time and I think everyone else did too. We actually went to bed at about 1:30. Thanks to all who came and to Maggie for providing most of the food. (I love little sisters....with jobs.....who live at home.....and are the babies...LOL) Love to you all.

Tell next time!