Miss. Pre-Teen Phoenix Pageant

Jordan had the opportunity to compete in the Miss. Pre-Teen Phoenix Pageant. She was judged in three categories. Her interview with the judges, casual wear and formal wear. This was her very 1st pageant ever and she did a great job and looked very beautiful. The top ten get to go to the nationals in December. Unfortunatley, she did not make it to the top ten and she was very sad about that. I told her Just having the opportunity to participate, and the fact that she had fun, she learned a lot, she got to go shopping and she made new friends was a great experience in itself.


This was the evening before the pageant when she had her interview with the judges. There were four of them.

This is during the casual wear competion at the pageant

This is her back stage just before going on stage to compete in formal wear. It was so cute, when Mikayla first saw Jordan's dress after we bought it and brought it home she said, " Wow, Jordan's going to be Bell" (from the disney movie Beauty and the Beast) .

This was her on stage competing in formal wear and she also had to answer a question from the judges. Her question was "If you could go anywere in the world were would it be and why"

It was a long day, Jordan and myself had to be at the auditorium by 9:45am for rehearsal, we took a lunch break at 1:00 and were back by 2:oopm, we stood in line and waited for the back doors to open at 2:30 to go and get ready, pagenat started at 4pm and we left around 10pm and got home around 10:30pm. This was a really fun experience for Jordan. It was also great that I had to opportunity to spend so much time with Jordan and do something with her. There are many things that you have to do to be part of a pageant. There is the first meeting were you apply to be in the pageant and go before a judge. Then once you are accepted you have a training class to go to, then there is the interview with the judges the night before the pageant and rehearsal and the pageant which take all of one day. And then of course there is shopping and we had to have her dress altertered so there were 3 fitting for that. I enjoyed spending all this time with her, even though it was stressful at times trying to get everygthing done in the two weeks you have. One of my favorite things was helping her backstage. Doing her hair & make-up and helping her dress was fun. I also meet a few really nice mom's. Several girls and moms came up to Jordan and compemented her on how beautiful she looked and I think that made her feel really good. Even though Jordan was sad that she didn't make it to the top ten, she had a lot of fun and had a great experience, who knows maybe she will decide she wants to do this again.

Trip To The Grand Canyon

The 7th grade at Taylor's school took a field trip to the Grand Canyon today. I was able to go as a chaperon. We arrived at the school at 5AM and didn't get back to the school until 11:30PM. We rode the buses up to Williams, AZ and from there we took a 2 hour train ride to the Grand Canyon. We then meet up with our Ranger for our group. I have to say it was very interesting, I learned a lot about the Grand Canyon. When you look into the Grand Canyon it looks like a painting, very pretty. After we were done with our Ranger we had time to go to the gift shop and hang out a little bit. We came back home through Flagstaff, AZ. It was pretty cold up at the Grand Canyon, but it was actually nice to go up to the cold for the day. I really enjoyed spending the day with Taylor. I was afraid that the kids in my group were going to be trouble makers, but they were so good. They were very respectful and they listened and did what they were told. At the end of the day The boys said to me "Mrs. Cluff thank you for being our chaperon." I really enjoyed having these kids in my group. We had a good time, but we were sure tired by the time we got back to the school. Just before we boarded the train Our Group

Taylor looking into the Canyon through the telescope

Special Experience

Sister Mary Cook, first counselor in the Young Women General Presidency came down from Salt Lake to speak at a fireside at our church on Sunday the 8th. It was a fireside for Young women and their mothers, so I had the opportunity to go with Taylor. Not only did Taylor have the opportunity to go to the fireside and sit 4th row, but Sister cook went to her young womens class during our Sunday meeting earlier that day. She spoke to the girls and Taylor even received a hug from Sister Cook. Taylor really enjoyed her visit and her message, she is such a wonderful lady with such a great spirit. What a great opportunity this was for Taylor. I know I never had an opportunity like this when I was a youth, I was so happy that Taylor did.

Alyssa's Birthday

It is my Alyssa's 6th birthday today. She was so excited for her birthday that she came running into my room this morning, woke me up and said "Mom Mom it's my birthday today!" It's hard to believe that she is already six years old. I remember the day she was born, this was our only child that we didn't find out ahead of time what we were having. We already had two girls so we thought this one was going to be a boy. Surprise, out came a beautiful blond little girl. I am so greatful that my 3rd little girl came, I can't imagine our family without her. What a blessing she has been to our family, how thankful I am that she was sent to our home. I feel truely humbled to be her mother. She is such a bright little girl, she loves school and does very well. She loves all of the disney princesses, especially Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid. She loves to color, read and play games. She also loves dance class and swimming. She enjoys playing outside with her sisters and friends. She loves helping me cook. She is a wonderful sister, especially to Mikayla. Mikayla loves her so much and can't wait everyday until Alyssa get's home from school to play with her. Alyssa try's really hard to do what is right, we are blessed to have her sweet spirit in our home. We love you Alyssa!!

Christmas 2008

Christmas was a very busy time for us, however lots of fun. We had several family christmas party's that we went to and of course christmas at home with our kids. I think my favorite part of christmas is watching my kids open their presents. It is also wonderful to remember the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. We have been blessed over this last year and for that we are thankful.

Dance Recital

Well today was the dance recital for Jordan, Alyssa, & Mikayla. Jordan performed in three numbers and also got to hand out programs at the door. Alyssa & Mikayla each performed in one number. Alyssa and Jordan were also able to perform in the daddy daughter dance with Clint. Alyssa did the part with the younger girls and Jordan did the part with the older girls. Mikayla will have to have a turn next recital. So many girls and only one Clint. Clint does not dance, he hates it and he has two left feet. The girls love doing the daddy daughter dance with him. He is such a good sport and Dad that he practices and does the dance with them. He did a great job. The girls did a great job as well. Mikayla's dress was too cute, all the little girls looked like little princesses. This was Mikayla's first recital and she really enjoyed it and did the cutest job. Alyssa loved her dress, she especially loved the sparkles and the flowing skirt. She was just adorable. Jordan did so good in all three of her numbers. Jordan is so graceful when she dances, She just loves to perform. It is so much fun and so cute watching the girls perform, not to mention how cute they look in their dresses.