Safford Airshow 2025

For maybe the first time in my marriage Justin asked if me and any of the kids wanted to go to the airshow at the Safford Airport. Grant was the only one that wanted to and was available to go

So we took Grant and Aubree Bodine to it. It was fun and crazy to watch the aerobatics I can even imagine experiencing the G-force those pilots feel I would most likely pass out haha!

Seriously IMPRESSIVE!!

Grant is currently talking flight lessons with Brody Brown. So Grant enjoyed the show in ways probably we can’t as we aren’t learning to fly.

It was a fun afternoon and after 27 years of marriage I was happy Justin thought of something we could do together. It’s one step in the right direction.

Ella’s 1st Gymnastic Competition

Ella had quite the cheering squad! 

Some days…..

you find out the local pond (Frye Mesa) got stocked with trout and your 17 year old convinces you to check him and his younger brother out of school all day so they can go fish. And some days you say, “ABSOLUTELY!”

Well today was a someday for these boys! 

They ditched school and fished for several hours! 

Beautiful day and one they will never forget. 

In those few hours, they caught over 30 trout.

They just did catch and release so others could enjoy the well stocked pond for Easter weekend. 

They kept sending me text telling me how many fish they were catching and telling me, “you have to get up here and fish with us.”

So I ditched my adulting, work responsibilities, stopped seeing kids at the school for therapy and drove up to Frye Mesa in the early afternoon. When your teenage sons ask you to come fish with them, you simply LISTEN AND DO!!!! 

I was only there for an hour and I caught 7 trout!  

It was a day I hope to never forget!  

Great day at Frye Mesa!  Love my boys! 

Take advantage of moments when your teenagers ask you to do something with them!  Priceless moments! 

Making History

For the first time ever, the boys and me got a gym membership so we can workout together! 

These fools know my weakness. They start talking about spending more time together and I cave at their request. Haha…. The years or raising kids is going by all to fast! 

Oh how I have missed the gym and especially these hip adductors! 

Grant is especially happy to be joining a gym! He follows Logan around and does his workout. Logan is being a wonderful big brother and seems thrilled to have Grant there with him!

The only part I am not sure I can handle is this guy and his need to constantly take 200 pictures of him flexing during an hour workout. LOL! 

No really the struggle is real…. And this is constant!  

This kid makes life fun!

We are all excited about getting fit, making memories together and of course the SAUNA!! 

Wish we could talk Justin into joining us but so far no success. 

Watermelon or Pinewood Derby Car?

Ella went to a ward event where they helped the kids cut out their pinewood derby cars and get weight in them. Ella didn’t care how it was cut so they cut it in a wedge. 

She decided it would looked better either like cheese or watermelon…. Lol. 

We decided a watermelon slice would be easier to paint and would look brighter. So that’s exactly what she did! 

How cool is that?

She was having so much fun painting that she got carried away with the watermelon seeds. 

Ella is very creative. She decided to paint a watermelon plant on the back of it!  And she even added a little sun!  Such a great artist! 

To our dismay, Ella took 1st place at our ward level of the Pinewood Derby. She was pretty freaking excited!!

We were a little less excited because it meant staying for another hour or more for the finales with the stake winners from all the wards. 

Well we were all super surprised when Ella took 3rd at the finales!!!  So 3rd place out of 200 cars!  Wow!! 

Well we have ourselves a 3rd place champion!  Ella took third place out of the whole stake!! That’s third out of 200 cars 😳 🏅

Crazy part is she went to a ward activity where they cut the car, put the weights in and got the car all ready except for paint and putting the wheels on!  So we didn’t even have to do much and her car was so fast. 

They even drilled different holes for the axles based on the weight and balance of Ella’s car!  

We found out it was Brother French from our ward that did all the help building Ella’s car. 

We owe him a BIG THANK YOU!  

Anyway, it was a day full of surprises! 

“Hey Yooouuuu Guuyyys!”

Halloween 2022 was one of my favorite costume ideas 

The Goonies movie has a special place in my heart. I grew up fairly poor and my parents didn’t have money to take us to the movies often. 

“Baby Ruuuuuutttthhh!” 

But in June of 1985, while my mom and older sister Marla were away at girls camp, my dad took me and my younger brother Quincy to watch The Goonies!  I instantly fell in love with the movie. One it’s just a rad movie but what made me love it even more is that my dad thought to take us cause he knew I was missing my mom! 

It was fun to gather pieces to make the costumes look authentic. Hardest part was holding a “mean face” for pictures. Haha. 

Love that Justin is up for any costume ideas I have. 

Logan was the perfect “Brandon” and Ella was a beautiful “Andy.” 

When Ella saw her outfit she said, “this is so 80’s!”  Haha…. I love that Ella as an 8 year old in 2022 knew the style of these clothes looks like the 80’s. 

Grant wasn’t too happy about being “Chunk.”  But I promised him Chunk was the funniest character he was a little on board. But then before Halloween we watched The Goonies Movie as a family. Then Grant was excited to be Chunk. 

Grant said, “I’m going to have to cuss a little if I’m really going to be Chunk!”  I say, “Sure Grant. But only when you are dressed up!”

It was a little shocking to hear Grant say “Sh💥t!” And we laughed every time he did, which was only a handful

of times. 

When I said Logan was the “perfect Brandon” I meant it. Logan took this selfie when he was holding my phone and I had asked him to take a picture of me and Justin. When I looked through my pictures later I found this gem. 

I could not have found a better character for Logan to dress up as this year. Logan makes life fun! 

So glad Kiersten and Alec were able to come down for Grandma Cluff’s Halloween Party. 

Don’t they make the perfect Spider-Man and Mary Jane. 

DeJavu was the theme to grandma’s party. So the food and games were all taken from previous Halloween parties. 

We look forward to Grandma Cluff’s party every year!  So fun to dress up and see everyone’s costumes. 

We let orange butterflies go in honor of Doyle’s birthday!  I hope he was smiling down from heaven as he watched us. 

A scavenger hunt was part of the party and we took Emma and Nina on it. Those two made it quite the adventure!! 

It was fun to have Kiersten and Alec on our team. They were constantly laughing at what Emma would tell us. She is hilarious!  And I hope she stays as spicy as she is as a three year old! 

I love these girls! 

They had us laughing the whole time and it took us three times as long as anyone else… haha! 

Grandma Cluff is a rockstar and so creative throwing these Halloween parties for the family. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

The Right Way to Tube on the Snow

Just ride the magic carpet up hill and tube down in your lane, no trekking up a short hill just for a 10 second ride down where you are likely to hit some trees, like on Mt. Graham.  

It was so much fun and you really got going fast especially if you never drug your feet behind you. They had you go down on your stomachs so you could use your feet to slow you down if you wanted. 

It was a good time!  So fun to race each other down the hill!!!   It did start to really snow on us and got pretty cold but it was too much fun to stop!  Next time doubt layer of wool socks and Ella needs snowboots!!