Thanksgiving 2009

DallinGrandma CluffHaileyRondaDallinEric and SydneyLandon and Eric

We spent a fun Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Cluff in Thatcher, Arizona. Our visit included great food, games and some fun times at the Red Knolls riding Eric's illegal ATC (which makes Ronda nervous) and some friends 4-wheelers and Go-Kart. Sydney enjoyed picking up old broken pieces of pottery and random rocks with Grandma and bringing them ALL home with her

"Where my mom and dad grew up" Tour

For Thanksgiving 2009 we decided to drive to Arizona and show the kids where Eric and I each grew up and then eventually met. Needless to say the kids were not excited and I honestly could not understand. I was really excited to show them the desert landscaped house I grew up in (which now has grass instead of gravel and cactus in the front yard), where I went to elementary, middle and high school, and just places I hung out. Eric didn't help our situation. As we were passing by Marana, AZ we were listening to some great music, singing along as a family, when he turned the music off and said, "Kids..Kids, this is the city where the girl was from that I took on my very first date. I saw Hailey in the review mirror just as she was rolling her eyes. I think Dallin said, "so". I was bummed because we were heading to my hometown of Scottsdale, AZ and now the kids were wondering, "just how dumb is this trip going to be?"

In Scottsdale we showed them the house I grew up in and schools I attended.My House on Camino Santo.

(L to R) Sandpiper Elementary, Desert Shadows MS, Horizon HS (with my old spanish teach, Ms. Kelly, who is now the asst. principal).

We also showed them the Paradise Valley Mall (celebrating 30 years), where I hung out at, often, and the softball fields that myself and family spent a good deal of our time at. I was surprised to see that the fields looked the exact same! No improvements whatsoever. We are spoiled here in Flower Mound, where are sporting facilities are as nice as most college campuses.

After spending the night with our friends from U of A, the Dohogne Family, and driving around the Scottsdale area (I wanted my kids to see the nice sidewalks and organized desert landscapes, before we ventured off to Tucson, which I have always teased about because I hate how Tucson's neighborhood streets just blend it with the edge of the desert (rarely any sidewalks/curbs) and how most people's yards are just wild desert.)

We started off by going to see the house Eric lived in and the schools he attended as well.

(L to R: Eric's house, Cross Junior High, Canyon Del Oro HS)

We stayed the night with our good friends, the Harrisons, and then showed the kids around the University of Arizona, where Eric and I met. Unfortunately the duplex we lived in when we were first married is now a parking lot! Quite a sad thing for Eric and I as we drove up and realized it no longer existed.

This is Bear Down field, where my powder puff team consistently kicked butt. The other picture is the UA football stadium. Lots of fun memories! Go Cats!

I'm a lame blogger

It appears that my blogging skills are similar to my journal writing skills, I'm just not consistent. I can't believe my last post is from Halloween! Oh well. I'm going to try to do better, since blogging was my new approach to "journaling".

Halloween (Eric and Ronda) 2009

     

Halloween (girls) 2009

Halloween (boys) 2009

Dallin Rocks at Tackle Football

   (with Coach Hankings)     (#4 Dallin)   (team captain)  (Homecoming)

Dallin convinced his mom and dad to let him play tackle football this year with LFA (the Lewisville Football Association). Like all youth football programs we had heard some scary things about the coaches in the league and I tried to scare Dallin with a bunch of stories, but he was determined...he wanted to play tackle football.  I mean, when you're walking in the Grapevine Mills mall and you see a big lady wearing a t-shirt with big LFA lettering and a football in a circle with a big slash through it, you wondering what you're getting yourself and your son into.  And, if you've read my other post about his broken arms, you can see the bruises he received that first week of tackling.   

  Dallin's tryouts consisted of a small workout and short interviews from about 12 sets of coaches.  It was interesting to see him go along the line of coaches as they asked him questions. They asked him things like, "What chores do you have at home?", "Do you like to hit or be hit?" and "Why are you playing tackle football?" (to which he heard a kid in front of him say, "because my parents are making me!). Eric and I watched from afar...just hoping he would look the coaches in the eyes and remember his "yes Sirs", which is big in TX and bigger in TX football.  

  He was drafted to play on the Ohio State Buckeyes for Coach Hankings and Coach Aldermann, who were awesome.  All of his teammates and their parents were great.  Our whole family had such a fun experience.  I'm thinking Eric might run for LFA President next year!  ha!  It definitely wasn't an easy experience.  We are serious about our football here in TX and these coaches were no different. He practiced 3-4 times week for 2 to 2 1/2 hours each time.  They were very organized and grueling workouts. He was such a CHAMP!  We are so proud of how hard he worked and how much he improved.  He played tide end and is a true Buckeye (see the picture of the pumpkin he carved and what he chose to dress like for Halloween!).  His team made it to the playoffs but lost in the quarter finals.  It was a sad day but he is already excited for next fall.