Oh I Love This Girl!

Kiersten was looking at my phone today and saw that my wall paper was a picture of our family from last Christmas at the Polar Express.  She couldn't believe I hadn't updated my picture.........but to be honest I just love that picture because it reminds me of that magical trip.  It truly was a fabulous weekend for me and it makes me feel happy every time I see that picture.  

Anyway she took my phone at some point in the day, which I thought nothing of because I wasn't paying attention.

Next time I went to use my phone this is my new wall paper!

And it made me smile just the same!

What a fun daughter Kiersten is!  It truly is a treat to be her mom!

Nativity Scene

I asked Hunter to set up this nativity scene for me in the office area which is between all the kids bed rooms upstairs.  When I was walking by it I loved how he had set it up.  

It's amazing what you can learn from kids!

When I display a nativity scene I make everyone face out.  But not a child they know the importance of the baby Jesus and they always seem to place everyone facing Jesus.

Children's hearts are pure and they know what we should be focusing on………..our Savior.

I am grateful for this sweet reminder that Hunter didn't even know he was giving!

I am so thankful to have such in tune children who bless my life everyday.

First Time For Everything!

Kiersten really wanted to take pictures with my pregnant belly.  I've never taken maternity pictures of myself before but since this is my last time being pregnant I figured why not.  

Kiersten was super excited to have these pictures and I am glad she talked me into it.

They turned out great I think!

I am a little over 7 months pregnant in these pictures.

Our last family picture before we meet our new addition.  We are all excited to see if it's a boy or girl!!! I have thought it was a girl the entire pregnancy because it feels more like my pregnancy with Kiersten than with the boys.  About 7 weeks and we should know………YAY!

Look at the expressions on my kids faces…..

I'd say I have some pretty excited kids!  This little spirit that is soon to join our family sure is going to be loved!

Justin loves newborns which is super nice!  Now I just wish he only worked 40 hours a week….hahaha.  But at least I do know when he is home he'll be happy to help take care of the new baby.  I am so excited to find out if we'll get our little "book end."

We will be happy with a boy as well, but it really would be a dream come true to finish our family with a girl.  Not sure our bank account can handle a baby girl but it's like I tell Justin, if Heavenly Father sends us a girl then Justin was meant to find the money to clothe her cute.  Hehehe…..

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had thought about going camping for the Thanksgiving Weekend.  We wanted to go someplace we could ride quads and the rhino.  But it ended up that I didn't get it all organized so of course we didn't end up doing that.  If I don't do 90% of the prep work for outings, we just don't go.

So we ended up eating at Justin's parents house, which was great.  I just felt bad because I didn't cook the turkey for them like I have for the past several years because I thought we'd be gone.  I ended up not cooking anything because going out there was so last minute.  Kiersten and I didn't even participate in the Turkey Trot, so it felt like an off Thanksgiving!

It was nice to sleep in for once on Thanksgiving and to be surprised with this fun breakfast!

Kiersten made these fun fruit turkeys for everyone to go with the homemade cinnamon rolls Kiersten and I had made the day before.  What a great daughter she is!

The boys all enjoyed the long lasting tradition of shooting guns on Thanksgiving!

Pictures to come…….

Logan's Big Day

With having two older siblings get baptized I'd say Logan has been looking forward to this day for years!  It was so fun to drive around with him and let him personally deliver his invitations.  He was all dressed up in his black suit and looked like a great future missionary!

These were his invitations……I think they turned out great!

The actual invitations were cut out with a cool design, which really added to the invitation.

As he would run to deliver an invitation and then run back to the car he kept telling me how excited he was to be getting baptized!  It was great to see that enthusiasm bubbling inside of him!

Logan was so excited when we took these photos with his dad.

He thought the little jumpsuit was so cool!  It made him even more excited about his baptism then he already had been.

I love this picture!

I am so grateful that Justin is a worthy priesthood holder who is able to perform this important ordinance of baptism.

The front cover of Logan's baptism programs turned out great!

Pretty easy with such great pictures of this handsome guy!

What a great day it was for our entire family.

Kiersten did a beautiful job on her violin piece.  

Thanks Angela for accompanying her on the piano.

We are so thankful to have the priesthood bless are home.

We sure love our Logan!

He adds so much to our family!

He is going to make a fabulous missionary one day.  He is already a missionary to those he is around.  He has a great personality and everyone loves him!

Logan was very happy to get a journal from the primary president.

By the time we got home from his baptism and dinner at Casa afterwards Logan really wanted to write in his journal.  He was tired and I knew with his little 2nd grade writing skills that it might take him awhile to write about his baptism.

We decided he would tell me what to write so I could write it down and then tomorrow he could copy it into his journal.  

These were his exact thoughts…. all I did was write them down.

Logan's Journal Entry Following his Baptism

"After I went under the water I felt like a missionary.  It made me feel happy!  I learned about the gospel at my baptism.  It was lots of fun getting baptized.  Getting baptized is important to me!  I liked the talk that Grandpa (Cluff) gave.  It was wonderful!  I learned a lot about the priesthood that I didn't know.  When dad put his hands on my head I felt all the bad choices going away from my nice body.  It's lots of fun getting baptized!  You learn to know about the Holy Ghost and that God loves you!!!"
Logan Cluff

Logan's journal entry really touched me.  I can not fully describe to you how intently Logan listened to Grandpa Cluff and Sister McDougal's talks.  He never took his eyes off of them and he hardly even moved.  It was like he was soaking in every word.

If you knew my Logan you would know he is not much of a writer.  He hates going writing at school.  So I was super shocked when he just kept telling me more and more to write.

Getting baptized really was important to him and he showed it!

We are so grateful for Logan's decision to be baptized and join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I know that our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ are so proud of Logan as well.

Looks pretty darn happy even with the sun being so bright!

Logan had 75 people attend his baptism!

It was a packed room and really testifies to how much people love him!

Here are the people who attended

Aunt Marla, Uncle Brad and 8 of his kids, Gloria & 3 kids, Tif & her 4 kids plus their friend Lily, Sandra Smith, Tamra & Rhett Hughes, Angela & Olivia Paull, Wendy, Ryker & Carsyn Shupe, Christy Luna and her cousin, Amy Curtis & 7 kids, Grammy & Grandpa Cluff, Grammy Boswell, Brother Nelson, Rebecca Johnson family (5), Mac & Baby Deke, Becky Preston & Miley, Miss Hannah, Miss Delaney, Player family (5), Brogan's (4), Spencer, Kim Skinner, Michelle & Britlee Peterson, Tressie & Melanie Smith, and Patti McDougal

It was a wonderful evening and one that Logan will always remember.

We followed up his baptism with a family dinner at Casa.

There were close to 50 people there and it was great to be together.  Aunt Gloria even sang Happy Birthday in her typical completely out of tune way right there in the restaurant for all to hear……..that always makes me smile.

8 Things I LOVE About Logan

1.  His bright smile

2.  His sweet  and caring heart

3.  His outgoing & easy going personality

4.  His love of music and dancing

5.  I love that he is an entertainer

6.  I love that he blows me kisses when I drop him off at school in the mornings!

7.  I love seeing how much he looks up to his older brother Hunter.

8.  I love how easy it is for him to love people……..he is always telling his grandparents that he loves them whenever we leave their houses.

I love so many things about him!  He adds such a brightness to our family!

Happy Birthday Logie Bear!

Aunt Marla

We were SUPER excited that Aunt Marla was able to make the long trip from Chicago to come to Logan's baptism.  Since he was being baptized on his actual birthday it fell on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  Not really the most convenient time for a mom to be leaving home for a few days.  But Aunt Marla was so sweet and made the sacrifice.  It really made Logan feel special that she came!

No one was more excited to have Marla here then Mr. Grant!!!

He really LOVED having his Aunt Marla here………especially since she had no kids with her so he could get all her attention.

He wanted her to sleep in his bedroom with him and everything!  And man he was sad when she left!

Thanks Marla for coming!  Even if it was only for a few days I'll take it!  I miss my sister so much and really wish we lived closer to each other!

Mission Impossible Party

I have to say I love birthday parties, well let me rephrase that I love themed birthday parties.  It's just how my brain works………I can go crazy with themes!

So Logan's Mission Impossible Lazer Gun Party was super fun to plan and have.  From the invitations to the actual party!

What a stud my Special Agent is!!!  Doesn't he look official!

I love how his invitations turned out!

He was super excited about this party!

Thanks to my cousin Alison's idea we had a donut cake.

Seriously a great idea!

Who doesn't like donuts better than cake?

Looks pretty cool too!

When the boys all first arrived we had them go through a "red laser" obstacle as part of their special agent training program.

They were so excited to weave through the red "lasers".

Looks like they are having fun!  Really great secret agents we had!

My Special Agent looks like one happy birthday boy!

We thought why not load these boys full of sugar right at the beginning of the party!  Yes I am crazy like that.  So we started with donut cake first!  Logan had Carter, Rhett, Blake, Gavin, Colton, Nathan, Walker, Jace, Ryker and of course Hunter, Grant and Kiersten.

Let the fun begin!

Why not do presents next?

Ya we did!

The party was suppose to be held out at the Safford Paint Ball Course, following the cake and presents.  But as luck would have it we were having a super cold storm.  It had been raining and freezing cold for two days and Saturday was not different.  I was really getting worried that I would be having all these boys playing lazer tag through out my house. 

But in my determination to not have my house torn apart, I thought of Bingham Transfer ware house.  So I gave my good friend Steph a call and her hubby, Jeremy came through.  Not only did he save my house from utter distraction but he saved my nerves as well!!!

To make the party even more fun we borrowed my sister in laws 15 passenger van so all the boys could ride together.  Plus it just added to our Special agent theme!

The boys thought the van was awesome!

The wear house was seriously the perfect place for this party.  It could not have been better and my kids actually liked it better then the paint ball course they said.  Hunter was excited that I let him invite Austen Ashby to come.  They are such good friends and we just love Austen!

This is not a good picture but check out how perfect the wear house was!!!

So Logan's Mission Impossible Party ended up being wonderful!!!  The boys played lazer guns for about 1 1/2 hours, we ate pizza and had soda.  They all could have played longer but I had told their parents that we would be home around 6:00  I let them play up until 6:00 but then I told them we just had to go.  

I was so very grateful Jeremy let us use his wear house!!!  They party would not have been as fun in my house and I would have been a crazy lady when it was over.

The party was so much fun Hunter told me he wants a party just like it next year for his birthday and that he really wants to do it at Jeremy's wear house!!!

1st Year of Soccer!

This was Logan and Grant's first year of soccer!

 I ended up being an assistant coach to Grant's team.  Actually I think I made it to the same amount of games as the actual coach so there really was no difference.  It was fun but definitely Grant was not ready for soccer.  He did not care for all that running!!!

Logan on the other hand LOVED it!!!  I mean this boy lived, slept and dreamt of soccer!  His favorite days were the ones when he had soccer practice and of course Saturdays could not come around fast enough!

It was so fun to watch him play.  And come to find out he is extremely good at soccer!!  Especially considering  he'd never played before.  We had so many people tell us how good Logan was.  I think this might be his sport!  I am excited about that because I love soccer as well.  I grew up playing soccer and even made all stars several years!  

I can't wait for next years soccer season!   Pretty sure it will just be Logan playing……..Grant needs to get a little older before I'll be willing to let him try it again.

Hunter already decided soccer is not for him…….he is excited to try basketball this year though.  He'll for sure be the shortest kid on his team but maybe that will let him weave through people better who knows.

Time with Daddy @ work

Justin had told Grant that he would be bringing home the skidsteer over the weekend.  Let me first mention that it was MONDAY when he told him this!  After this experience Justin now know it is against the rules to tell Grant such a thing until moments before he'll be home with the tractor.

WOW was it a LONG week, not only for Grant but for Mom as well.  Grant asked and whined and asked and whined about the skidsteer so much it was driving me crazy!!

Grant and I dropped by Justin's office to bring him lunch and he was just about to head out into the yard to oversee his workers.  So he let Grant and I tag along.

We spent a good hour and a half seeing all the different tractors hard at work and the different projects going on.  Grant loved every second of it!!!

He however was not so happy when we had to leave.  He was under the impression that he was going to get to ride on one of his daddy's tractors.  So it did not go over well when we left without a tractor ride.  I am confident that Justin could take Grant to work with him and just have him ride with different employees in the different tractors and that Grant would sit and be happy the entire day.

When Saturday finally came around, Justin and Grant were the only ones at home.  As the rest of the kids and I had gone to Gilbert for Kiersten's dance competition.  Justin said him and Grant rode the skidsteer all day Saturday, stopping only to eat, have a soda and use the restroom.  He figured they had been on the tractor for a good 9 hours.

Grant never once complained nor did he ever fall asleep.   Justin said he couldn't believe it.  Grant loved every moment of those 9 hours.  Justin said he finally loaded it back on the trailer around 7:30 at night because he knew if the skidsteer wasn't on the trailer that Grant would try and talk him into driving it again on Sunday.

Dance Competition

Kiersten and some of the company dance groups attended Starbound Competition.

Usually just Kiersten and I go to these………kind of our "girl time."

But this time Justin was wanting to get some work down around the house with the skidsteer and wasn't sure he wanted all three boys home while he did that.  So I took everyone but Grant.

It was good to get away with the kids.

Isn't she gorgeous!!

3 bun Mohawk……….we always get compliments when we go out after Kiersten has been at a dance competition.  People just love her hair and of course think she looks beautiful with all this make up on!

The boys were so supportive of Kiersten.  I told them they could play football outside the auditorium so they didn't have to sit and watch.  But they didn't want to.  They both decided that they would play catch after Kiersten's dances were over.  They are such good brothers!

I love this time I get with Kiersten!

She just loves to dance and it really shows when she is on stage!

It was a fun but exhausting trip being 7 months pregnant.

Kiersten is in this new company group this year called Extreme Dance.

Between the required classes to be in this group and her gymnastics class she pretty much has a part time job after school.  She has 11 hours of dance and gymnastics…………on top of the she plays the piano and violin which requires practice time every morning.  I honestly don't know how she does it.  I tell her quite often if she wants to quit something she can.  But her responds is always no.  She likes all those activities and doesn't want to quit them.

Of course dance is her number 1 favorite………….it really is a huge part of who she is and has given her a great amount of self confidence!

This particular dance number in the blue outfits was entitled, "Outside Looking In."  They received a Platinum rating for their performance, which is the highest rating there is.  They also took 5th Overall Place with it as well.  In the dance world placing in the top 10 is a big deal.  So to get 5th they were ecstatic!!!!

It is a beautiful lyrical number.  Kiersten has several spotlights through out this number and she nailed them!!!!  I actually cried during their performance because Kiersten was so beautiful to watch………….she really is becoming a magnificent dancer!

This is Afro Circus.  The girls received a High Gold rating!

They rocked it!

What fun girls they are!!

This is a picture of all the girls that competed.  They are such a great group of girls!

It's always a treat to be around them!

The other groups did awesome as well and we took home many metals as you can see!

Great job!

This is the ending pose for "Outside Looking In."

I could not be prouder of Kiersten!

I am thankful for all the teachers and staff at the Safford Dance Academy that create a wonderful, loving environment for our girls to be at.