The Cactus Cuties were honored to receive an invitation to perform in Phoenix, AZ for the fifteenth annual Muhammad Ali Celebrity Fight Night.  The Celebrity Fight Night Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1994 to support the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute, as well as numerous other charities.  The Cactus Cuties arrived in Phoenix on the morning of Friday, March 27th and checked into the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa.  The resort was beautiful, and the Cuties could hardly wait to go exploring.  They spent a few hours playing in the pool and floating in the lazy river, and then headed back to their rooms to prepare for the evening.  Back in Lubbock, Uncle Donnie was producing a massive concert to celebrate Lubbock’s 100th Anniversary hosted by Mac Davis, and although the Cuties were happy to have such an incredible opportunity in Phoenix, they were sad to miss Lubbock’s big night.  The Cuties were ecstatic to find out that superstar Reba McEntire had agreed to film a very special birthday video message with them to send to Lubbock to be played during the concert!!!  While preparing for the shoot, the Cuties met and fell in love with world class musicians Greg Phillinganes and Nathan East.  They were so sweet to the Cuties and told the greatest stories about performing with legends like Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, and Michael Jackson, to name a few.  The Cuties met Reba to shoot the video that evening and had a blast filming the video message for their hometown.  After the taping, the founder of Celebrity Fight Night, Jimmy Walker invited the Cuties to perform at the Founders Dinner.  The Cuties were proud to be invited and adrenaline began pumping when they walked in and saw David Foster, Josh Groban, Reba McEntire, Forest Whitaker, and Kurt Warner at the head table.  They took the stage and after a shaky first note, pulled it together and gave a great a capella performance of We Are Family and Battle Hymn of the Republic.  After the performance they were invited to watch the intimate concert produced by David Foster.  They show was unbelievable, featuring child prodigy pianist Ethan Bortnick, singer Charice, American Idol finalist Michael Johns, violinist Lucia Micarelli, actor/singer Roy Firestone, pianist William Joseph, actress/comedian Melissa Peterman, legendary singer Sam Moore, and American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks.  After the show, the Cactus Cuties were thrilled to meet David Foster and the incredibly talented performers.  After a night they wouldn’t forget, the Cuties headed off to bed dreaming of the exciting day to come!!!!

photographer: Leanna Elbert

The Cactus Cuties are featured in the March issue of the FREE on-line Serious Life Magazine.  In the article (on pages 74 – 87) you’ll find never-before-seen photos of the girls when they were younger, a great article about the girls’ life as a Cutie and much more!  Please pass this on to all the people you know as this magazine is also very inspirational to people all over the country.  Besides great articles on interesting people, there is a lot about family, adoption, personal finance, spiritual life, humor…all sorts of “life” topics.  They give away tons of adds to charities and ministries.

The Cactus Cuties had a great big surprise today!!!  Uncle Donnie, Aunt Terri, and Cami secretly remodeled the Cutie Pie Cafe to surprise the Cuties!!!  The Cactus Cuties were led into the office eyes closed, and were shocked when they opened their eyes and saw the “new” Cutie Pie Cafe!!!  The entire room was covered in pink!!!!  They screamed at the top of their lungs, and quickly put on their aprons and hats to start serving.  The Cactus Cuties would like to send a very special thank you to their friends, Mr. and Mrs. John A., Mr. Scott, Mr. Lou, and Mr. John B. for the adorable Cutie Pie Cafe sign, the amazing Cutie clock, the gumball machine, and the massive box of “Cutie Candy!!!”  They would also like to thank their buddy Mr. Jeff for all the goodies from Denmark, and Ms. Raine for the awesome Cutie Pie Cafe decal!!!  They absolutely love the new look at Cutie Pie Cafe and plan to spend lots of time playing!!!!

photographer: Leanna Elbert