Dan's an Eagle Scout!

Daniel received his Eagle Scout Award!
It was a great night. I was so happy.
James Anderson also received his award.
It is a great honor.
I am so proud of Danny, of both of them.

Puff out your chest.

I need Y-mountain parking lot! (Do I miss Provo?)

Why? you ask? Well, Phoenix is really good at being mostly flat sprawl and so there are buildings and poles everywhere. There isn't a handy, unencumbered overlook like that parking lot, or temple hill or even campus hill. Sunsets are beautiful, but photography or pure, unadulturated enjoyment is difficult. I did discover a broad, undeveloped expanse of ground south of David's middle school, but to get out there and still catch the sunset might prove tricky. Future pictures will testify.

Sure don't mess around

hey hey hey, I am feeling alive and well (though not so well at, uh, 2:30am.) and I am living in the desert, so it is about time I got back on this blog! I guess I was waiting to have photographs, which I finally uploaded to my computer. I feel like I pontificate, opinionate and just generally talk plenty in real life, so I turn to pictures in blog life. For example, David and I on New Years Eve. Nice. Also, favorite sister in Nueva York.

Went to a primitive skills gathering, got my face painted with charcoal by some Anasazi friends and did some drum-dancing around the fire. Saw old white guys in loin cloths. And good looking young bearded men in buckskin...but not loin cloths...sigh.

Tamra (left), Stephanie and me after we attended the grand opening of the new Paul Mitchell Hair Fixin' School where Steph works as a big-wig with her own office (white leather sofa). As the three fellas with us (pictured below: Kyle, Matt and pursed-lip Derek) said, we ladies looked the "height of fashion". Naturally.

I wanna rock too

So we woke up to snow in the Bronx this morning. (not quite 72 and blooming eh Mom?) SOO, Ian got sent home early from work and managed to borrow his friend's Guitar Hero that he had brought with him to the office. Woah. So now we have a snow day (he was home in time for lunch!) AND guitar hero. And don't get too jealous, but someone gave him their Knicks basketball tickets for tonight's game. WOAH. How's that for a start to the weekend!!

Did I happen to mention...

My sister (Connie and Douglas Earl) is serving another mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

They are working with the Perpetual Education Program in Lima Peru. It is a great program through which young church members can get a good education.

They have been there a couple of weeks now and are "having the time of their lives".

Every twenty years or so Dougs gotta go...

left eye

Mom's left eye cataract has now been removed.
Dr Bluth commented that it was really thick.
Dr. owens said there was alot of swelling.
Mom gets really weak and confused after the buzz wears off and before the drugs are out of her system. we put several (4) different types of drops 4-5 times a day. At five minute intervals. Did I say that already.
Connie, she wears her new slippers every day. She is wearing them instead of shoes during this recovery time cause she can do them herself.

I didn't walk the full 2 something miles this a.m. blah.

When a young man's fancy turns to....

MUD.

It's Spring!

This family is quite a bit about motorized wheeled things.

No, really?

Here is a taste of what we do here and around.

By the way, the trees are in bloom and it'a 72 degrees.

Concrete and Barbed wire.

Painted my fingernails for valentines day and needed something to match.

I had been carless since last time I left town. Keith sold my old jeep cherokee. I told him soon I wouldn'tbe the one walking. (He has a brand new company car.)Of course he got right on that.

Germans know cars.

Argo our good old doggie

Here are the other two pests, I mean Pets we have right now. Kat and Argo. She loves to torture the big ol dog. He hasn't a growl in his body, he tolerates her. Kat is less than a year old. We adopted her from a shelter. She had no mom.

She also loves to hide under Grandma's bed and grab her bare toes.

Mom and the Argo dog

Argo is getting old and moves slowly, so does my Mom, so I think he relates to her or guards her? anyway he likes to lay down by her. Oh, enough-- here is a picture of them.

I did my moms hair for her for the first time. It has been too frizzy so we put it up on rollers.

She says, "Don't smile just try to look pleasant" to herself when I took these pictures.

I laugh and she says, "I am trying to be normal".

It has been a good day and a good week. Another eye surgery this coming tues.

Did I say two old dogs with new tricks?

Valentine

Ok, two posts in one day is probably the limit, but Mom gave me the go-ahead to post as much as I like. But I will limit myself to two in one day- it's probably better for my productivity in other areas of life anyway. But, I just wanted to share our little Valentines Day with you. We went to the temple (hence the nice clothes) and came home for a meal and funny little (ok, big) Valentines cookie I made for Ian. Made for fun pictures anyway:) Notice my lovely new dress (we got a different one from the one Ian ordered for me for Christmas, if any of you remember that) and the beautiful tulips in the background. It's AMAZING how much fresh flowers change the feeling of the room! I want to hang out in my kitchen all day now because they are in there! Maybe I ought to just bring them with me as I move about the house! Your love of plants is still alive in me Mom, thanks. I can't grow much in my apartment either, but every little bit is wonderful!

I love my family

That's it. Just wanted to say that. I love you!

This is a great picture of all of us just after Christmas a few months ago. Actually there's two, one with Ian also (but without me) so I'll post both. By the way I love the comments guys. I feel like we're all, like Mom said, keeping track of each other. It's good to be kept track of (again, I agree with Dan on that one:) ) Oh, and I've been thinking of posting the crazy picture of us all dressed up in costume for our murder mystery party. Only if everyone asks real nice (and feels daring enough to have that out there on the web!)

With His Banjo On His Knee

My husband is in California again. I hear it is a great place to play in. They have an ocean.

I do have my loyal doggie.

I guess I should say doggies I have two of ,em and a cat.

Do I sound wistful enough?

No ocean here.

Daniel Keith Cutler shaved off his sideburns, cut his own hair,(see his blog) and now he has put on a suit. I have taken his picture to post on my blog for all to see. I want to dance and sing and celebrate.( you will not find that picture on my blog, yet anyway)
He is working on his Mission papers. He turns 19 on the 2nd of April. We love you Danny.

Put it on shuffle!

It's 20 degrees out and I went jogging today. Quite strange for me, ordinarily, seeing as I don't jog ever, especially in the freezing cold, but Ian gave me an ipod shuffle for my birthday and it provided much incentive to get out there and get my heart pumping. Actually, my lungs sorta started to hurt from sucking in such freezing air and I could imagine the alveoli from my textbook pictures shivering. Sorry alveoli. It was a fun jog anyway, and I'm glad to know I can join Mom in her quest to stay active and healthy. Thanks for the inspiration Mom (and ipod:) ).

Also, I could do laundry EVERY DAY now that I have my shuffle playing excitingly-random tracks in my ears whenever I want! I finally see the appeal, Dan:) And you should try it Mom!

Where is Danny?

I turned Danny's bedroom into storage.

Have you seen "TheRM" (the movie)?

Phoenix does not generally believe in basements or storage space so this room is a beautiful thing. Don't you think basements would be good in a hot climate? Plus there are a lot of Mormons here who do believe in storage so it's odd there are so few.

I only had to air it for a week. Smile. It sure was quiet for a few days. Then Rae and Mom moved in.

Dan is going to school at ASU and working. uh yup. I miss my boy, not the late hours.

David Harrison-- not on a cell phone.

Warning, warning, teenager in the house!

"Guitar Hero" shakes the timbers and food disappears mysteriously from fridge and cupboard. Trails of granola bar wrappers lead up the stairs, smelly socks grow profusely from down inside the sofa, and dirty dishes multiply under furniture. And that's just from Rachel! Right Dave?

Taller than Rachel.

I wanna Rock!

I appreciate blogs. I am glad Mom is letting me contribute to family dying of thirst in the desert blog. I have bit the bullet and officially declared Arizona as "home" although I still have "Rocky Mountain High Colorado" in my heart. This is a picture of me when I found out that Danny was working on his mission papers. I am excited for him. He currently has 3 jobs, while I have zero jobs and about that many dollars in the bank.

Rachel Ann Cutler-- Rockin' the house

Did I happen to mention that Rae is back!
Technically she has not lived in this state with us before so I can't truthfully say that, but she has managed to cram all(?) her belongings into an upstairs bedroom so she is definitely back full force into our lives.
Graduated BYU. Lookin' to do the Grad School thing after earning some money or something.

Freestone

Well, I broke down and joined Freestone Recreation Center for a month.

They have a cushioned indoor track, and Shauna and Shelley go there to walk and I need the added motivation to exercise. Two miles a day, plus whatever else we throw in like warm up laps and weight machines.

We are preparing to go on a Handcart Trek with the youth in a couple of months.

I'm an old out of shape "Ma" to my never changing "Pa" Keith. It will be great as long as I don't collapse.

An old nemisis rears it's ugly head.

Grandma Jones - Mom

My Mom has moved in with us! We like it. I think she is settling in here too.
She has had a perm. Not a perfect one but we will keep trying.
She likes her new doctor, Dr. Schlotterback. She is still working on his name . He suggested calling him Dr. Mark but she doesn't seem inclined to do that.
She had cataract surgery on her right eye last week and is very excited to "see" the results. Me too.

Arizona

They say there is no weather in arizona. They are right . The weather is almost always the same. Winter is mild and is about 2 months long. It's supposed to be 72 degrees this weekend. I figure it must be spring.

Vote Vote Vote in Arizona today. ( and not for McCain either)


My Mom feels better today! Tomorrow is one week since her cataract surgery.

Dave is home sick and coughing a lot, using anti-germ stuff a lot ,and video games a lot.

"and Daddy he took my car" V about Daniel.

Cutlers in arizona

five people in the house!

where is my quiet snooze and bon-bon time?