Happy Birthday Julee!!

Does anybody remember this cute little baby named Julee Nicole?  If you can believe it, today we celebrated her official entry into the world of the teenager!  Julee had a great birthday in which she was spoiled at church with a spotlight and cheesecake in her Sunday School class. Then cheesecake again in Young Women's.  Her requested birthday dinner consisted of Hawaiian Haystacks and Sparkling Grape Juice.  And of course, cheesecake for dessert! 

It is hard to believe that 13 years have passed so quickly - here are 13 things you may or may not know about Miss Julee Lulee:

1. She is an expert remote control airplane pilot

2. Her favorite food group is carbohydrates (she says she's a breadivore) 

3. She is constantly trying to convince her dad he NEEDS to bring her a Cream Soda from the vending machine at his work

4. Her favorite Pokemon is Squirtle (don't ask - it takes too long to explain)

5. She is always cracking her knuckles, her neck, her back, etc despite parental protest

6. She is always a good sport and participates at any activity as long as you can convince her to actually leave the house

7. She is raising a monster beta fish named Stephen

8. Her favorite pastime is hanging out in her "cave" (aka her bedroom) listening to her MP3 player

9. She plays a killer game of Skip-Bo

10. Team Edward or Team Jacob? - Still on the fence because her peacemaker self refuses to decide

11. She can touch the tip of her nose with her tongue (I think this one always makes the cut because it's just so weird)

12. She asked for (and got) a replica of the original copy of the Book of Mormon so she could read it like a chapter book

13. She has parents who are privileged to stand beside her as she excels in school - both academically and in extracurricular activities; knows how to make the best of any situation; is constantly looking for opportunities to learn and to grow; and most importantly has a strong testimony that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father who loves her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULEE! WE LOVE YOU!

Woes of Laundry

This is the result of shaking out every item of clothing of a load of clothes that shared the washing machine with a mini pack of Kleenex left in the pocket of a 12 year old's jeans.  I can laugh about it now that it's not 11:30 at night.

Cruising the Streets of Downtown Hartford

Last week Rick and one of his co-workers were working out of town in Connecticut.  They were on their way to a recruiting station in downtown Hartford when the unexpected happened.  As they were getting ready to proceed through a green traffic light (I emphasize green because Rick will also go through yellow and pink traffic lights), 2 motorcycle cops stopped all the traffic in the intersection.  They waited awhile and kept looking for the funeral procession or other emergency vehicles to come through.  To their surprise, this is what they saw coming around the corner......

The girls got a kick out of the "pooper scooper" supplies following closely behind the elephants.

Rick just couldn't resist having his picture taken with the celebrities.

Elephants cruising downtown are certainly not the first thing that come to your mind when you contemplate your adventures of the day.