Warning . . . . . .

Our internet has been out of commission for a couple of weeks so I got way behind on blogging. Needless to say, I did a lot of catching up tonight with 5 new lengthy posts. Just thought I'd give you the heads up so you weren't overwhelmed by all of the new posts! Or maybe you've been on pins and needles wondering what in the world could be going on in the Cuff's life? Well, if that's you, read on. :)

Green River

You heard me right. Green River. During Melon Days. That's where we went last weekend for Randy's softball tournament. If you've ever been there, you'll know it's like being in a different world. I swear. I won't get into all of the details and I certainly don't want to offend anybody who happens to have a love for Green River, but what I am going to do is give a little rundown on the motels if anybody happens to be planning a trip there soon. Ramada - nice, but VERY expensive during Melon Days. Melon Days is a big ticket item. Why? I don't know. Motel 6 - We stayed there last year. SKIP IT! SKIP IT! SKIP IT! You might as well sleep in your car. Best Western Inn by the River: Very nice. Clean. Great Pool and Restaurant. Or at least it seemed that way. We did stay at the Budget Inn on Main Street the night before so anything would have seemed wonderful. Details of the Budget Inn on Main - Painted Teal and Purple. Red shag carpet. No plugs in the bathroom. Not my best stay in a hotel, but it was booked that night! Then again, it is Melon Days so everything was booked. Go figure. I don't get it. :) Anyway, my in-laws went with us and Ava had a BLAST. In case you're wondering, they do have some good melon! Here are some pics of, yes, Green River, Utah:


Ava enjoying watching daddy play softball. She LOVES going to softball games. If we go past anything that resembles a softball field, she begs us to stop and "watch daddy play!"




Ava playing with Grandma and Grandpa. She LOVES them so much!


At the parade. It didn't go so well. Apparently Ava isn't a fan of clowns. Hmmmmm. . . . . adult men dressed up in silly costumes blowing horns and driving around on little 4-wheelers? I'm with Ava. VERY scary! She had a death grip around me and Grandma's neck and kept saying, "Go Bye Bye?"

Domestic Diva

I'm talking about me. You don't believe me? Oh, I have pictures to prove it. I decided I wanted to be Betty Homemaker this year so my mom and I decided to take an entire day and make raspberry-peach jam and freeze fresh corn from the cob. If any of you have done this, you're probably laughing at the fact that we did it all in one day. I won't say that there wasn't a point where we considered throwing away 6 Dozen cobs of corn because of feeling so overwhelmed, but we did finish and I have a freezer full to prove it!

Me and my wonderful-oh-so-helpful-and-willing mother. Can I just point out that my mom got that apron when she worked at Pioneer Drive Inn as a teenager? It is the best apron ever and I always complained to her that I couldn't find anything like it that was so convenient. SOOO, last week she showed up at my door with an identical replica that she made herself! How cool is that? I love it, even if Randy calls it "sexy" in a VERY sarcastic tone. :)



28 Pints of Delicious Raspberry-Peach jam:

The beginning of husking 10 Dozen ears of corn:

Ava's job was to take the husked corn and put it on the pan. It didn't last long, but she was SOOOOO proud! Thanks to Randy and Robert for all of their help. They are so going appreciate it when they can have fresh corn in December!

The point where we wanted to quit - and this is only half of the corn!

45 pints of fresh corn. What an accomplishment for me!


By the way - I wouldn't have made it as a pioneer, or even as my grandma years ago! :)

Golf Tournament

So, every year, I co-chair the annual Rural Health Care Foundation Golf tournament for my dad's company. This year, while everybody was golfing, I got to accomplish all of the tasks that needed to be done with my sister Jessica by my side. In addition to registration, tee prizes, door prizes, and lunch, one of our main duties was to be in charge of the drink cart. That involved Jessica and I packing a cooler full of drinks on to the back of a golf cart, driving around the course, and giving drinks to anybody that needed one. Sounds simple right? Not for us. First of all, we went the wrong way on the cart path. We didn't know how to fix it so we just kept going. Second of all, as we were going up a steep hill I mentioned to Jessica how embarrassing it would be if we were to lose the cooler off the back of the cart, and then we proceeded to do so. There were cans of pop, ice, and bottles of water everywhere! We cleaned it up as quickly as we could considering how hard we were laughing. We then proceeded back to the clubhouse hoping that nobody would stop us for a drink because every can was completely shaken up and covered with dirt. No such luck. We were stopped by a group of golfers and had to explain to them (as we were cleaning their drinks with a towel) why they had to be very careful when opening the drink. Think that's bad enough? Oh, I'm not done. After we had cleaned everything up, tried to get rid of our embarrassment, and headed out to the front nine, I figured we were good to go. Would you believe me if I told you that while I was running drinks to some people, Jessica proceeded to dump over the cooler again? In front of a bunch of my dad's business associates? Well, believe it. It happened. I've never seen Jessica's face redder. We're just lucky it was just the cooler and not the cart. According to the witnesses, it was very close. Jessica's 200 point turn apparently took a turn for the worse. I have to say that I have done this tournament for a few years and never once have we knocked over the drink cart. Twice. It was embarassing, funny, and something we will never forget. Even if we wish we could. :)

GO COUGARS!

Just had to post this pic because I LOVE college football. Even more than that I LOVE BYU Football. Even more than that I LOVE Bronco Mendenhall! GO COUGS! By the way, the score of this UCLA game was 59-0 in case you hadn't heard. I'm in a bit of depression because there's no game tomorrow. :)

Backyard BBQ

My parents completely landscaped and beautified their backyard this summer. It is so gorgeous and it is so nice to hang out there. It has a waterfall and everything. Basically, Ava could live back there. I think her favorite part is the BBQ pit. Okay, I'm gonna be honest, it isn't her favorite, it's me and Randy's favorite! It's a gas pit so you can turn it on and off with the flick of a switch, so no hassle whatsoever. I'll tell you what, Smores from that BBQ pit are HEAVENLY! They are just as delicious as when you're in the mountains. I know that's hard to believe considering how delicious they are in the mountains, but I promise, my parents backyard brings on some pretty big contenders. It's also interesting how something so simple can bring a family together. There's no tv, computer, or video games in the backyard, so we all get together and TALK! I know I've mentioned it before and would like to maintain that my sisters and I are pretty darn funny, at least to each other. Throw some marshmallows into the mix and Brace Yourself! Anyway, we have had a lot of fun in that backyard roasting marshmallows. Here are some pics:


Everyone around the fire.

My sweet little Miss being the cuddly bear that she SOOO is not. :)

Sam and Alecia.

Ava and Aunt Alecia or as Ava likes to call her, "Sheeshee" or "Raja", depending on the day. Oh, sometimes Peggy too.

My wonderful parents! How cute are they?

Ava and "Damn" as she likes to call him. :)

Daddy and his princess.

Happy Ava.

Me and my Love.

Loving Uncle Robert's Razor Scooter.

Hypnotized by the fire.

Little Bro Robert and Aunt Jessica, or "Jesha" as Ava would say. Kat - if you're reading this, just wanted to let you know that my little sis could give your little sis a run for her money when it comes to hair color! :)

Harry . . . . . . . . . . .

Let's be honest. My child looks like Harry from Dumb and Dumber. Right? I am NOT the only one who sees this!





For some reason, Ava's hair looked like this when she got out of the tub. I was CRACKING UP, so I thought I'd share it with you all. :) By the way, I was holding her chapstick ransom so she would look at me.

Let's Go Fly A Kite . . . . . . . . .

Or at least drag it behind us. :) We decided to pull out our Elmo kite today and give it a try. It is such a cheap kite. Literally. I think it was $1.00. Well, it wasn't too windy and the kite is small, so we didn't actually get it flying. That doesn't take away the fun that Ava had with it though! She drug it up and down the road and loved every second of it! It was too cute. I promise my child likes to smile, just not for the camera. That's why the majority of pictures she's actually facing the opposite way. :)

My Hubby & My Baby . . . . . . . .

So, it's been a rough week at our house. Like an old lady, I totally threw my back out on labor day. I was sky diving. No wait, I was cliff jumping. No wait, I was snowboarding in the backcountry. No wait, I picked up my 2 year old daughter at a slightly bent position. Ya, that's it. :) Anywho, my point of this post is to give a HUGE shoutout to my family. My wonderful husband has practically been my nurse the whole week. He has taken it upon himself to feed us, keep the house picked up, and take care of me. I've started calling him the "ice" nazi because he is a stickler when it comes to when and how long I should ice my back. He has been my savior and I love him so much. I also wanted to give a shoutout to my baby girl. (Well, she's 2, but she's still my baby). I haven't been able to pick her up or play with her at all this week and she has been such a trooper! We have read SOOOOO many books and she has picked up quite a few things off of the floor since I can't bend down. :) She has been absolutely wonderful and I love her so much. I think I'm really on the mend now and this ordeal has just made me realize how grateful I am to have my husband and my daughter. Randy is probably wondering what he's gotten himself into if I've already thrown my back out at 26 years old!!!! :)