Dishing with the Dunklees

Pillow Fight

2012-01-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

Rick and I have an ongoing pillow fight. It is not the kind where you take pillows and hit each other until someone cries "Mercy". It is the kind where we have a continuous "discussion" about pillow ownership. Having said that, this is what happens when Rick makes the bed...

Can you guess which side of the bed is mine?

'Tis the Season

2011-12-18T18:03:00.000-05:00

We kicked off the Christmas season with a visit from Flat Stanley all the way from Arizona! (Thank you Zoey for sending him to visit!) We were so glad that he got to come and hang out with us for a little while. While he was here, Flat Stanley went with us to our Ward Christmas Brunch. It was a fun morning of pancakes, quiche, and sweet breads. Then we had a little program based on the Polar Express theme "Believe". After the program, the bishopric came in to deliver gifts to the kids dressed as the Three Wise Men. After the brunch, we went to do some Christmas shopping as a family. It was a fun afternoon and a great way to kick off December!

Flat Stanley helped decorate our Christmas tree

Flat Stanley made a bunch of new friends while he was here!

The Polar Express

The Three Wise Guys (Men)

Stay tuned for more Dunklee holiday fun!!!

Volleyball

2011-10-30T11:50:00.000-04:00

Time passes so quickly these days that I can hardly keep up. It was just a couple of weeks ago that Julee started volleyball camp and tryouts right? I guess that was August and now here we are at the end of October and the season has just ended. Julee made the JV team this year and had a great season. Poor girl had practice or games every single day for 2 months including a lot of Saturdays (add seminary, honors classes, homework, and yes, chores, to that and she was one busy girl). She worked hard and really took the training seriously. She learned a lot and gained a lot of muscle and some great body toning - lucky girl. Here she is in action:

Don't you just love the knee hi socks and knee pad look?

Friend.... or Best friend......?

2011-10-18T20:16:00.000-04:00

I apologize in advance (mostly to my mother) if this offends anyone or gives them the wrong impression. I am not a violent person by nature and actually think of myself as a pretty caring individual. But, I have to say that there is something about this statement that really warms my heart. Really, it does!

Rare sighting

2011-09-19T16:06:00.000-04:00

I'd venture to say that most of us out there have at one time or another used Google street maps. A couple of days ago we spotted the Google maps car by one of our local shopping centers. This is the car that drives around taking those pictures that become part of those maps. I wish we could have gotten a closer picture (the guy inside already looked freaked out because we were stalking him) of the inside so you could see all the computers that it has inside. It is pretty amazing for a little tiny car. And if once wasn't enough, we saw it again a few days later in a different part of town. Rick said to the girls that maybe we would end up on Google street maps. Julee in her rather special 14-year old way responded with something like "Yes, wouldn't that be fabulous." Too funny!

1st Day of School

2011-09-17T19:27:00.001-04:00

Well, we made it through the first week and a half of school. I find it funny that I wait all summer for us to have our "schedule" back and then when it finally happens, it seems like it takes forever to get used to it. I suppose it doesn't help that now that Julee is in high school we started seminary this past week. We now have 8 years of early mornings to look forward to. I'll let you know when I'm excited about that but don't hold your breath.

I can't believe that Julee is already in high school! She has become very busy all of a sudden. Between seminary, school, and JV volleyball she is always on the run. Alexis is now in 5th grade and growing like a weed. She is just a hair taller than Julee and most of the kids in her class. She was so ready to start the school year and is loving her new teacher, Mr Travers. Here's to a great school year!

P.S. I spent the afternoon downloading and organizing pictures so maybe I'll get to some more blogging this week. Again, don't hold your breath...

There goes the weekend.....

2011-07-16T00:01:00.002-04:00

Poor Rick! He has been trying to get home from San Antonio since 9 o'clock this morning. Unfortunately, this is what he has been dealing with all day.

But he is finally on a plane that is just flying out of Baltimore on its way to Albany. He should be home around 1245am. And if we're lucky, his luggage has already arrived as it made one of the flights that he did not. So hopefully he is well rested from all that sitting around in airports because tomorrow is one crazy day. We'll find ourselves at the high school graduation party of our friends' son, the funeral (in which I am one of the speakers-that's a whole different post) of a dear sister in our ward, the grocery store to buy dish soap (because when I went to do the dishes tonight I realized that when Rick told me we were running out of dish soap he meant that we were really out of dish soap) and something for us to eat tomorrow since we have nothing in the house except chips and salsa, and several loads of laundry so Rick can turn around and re-pack to leave again on Sunday morning. So, if any of you get to sleep in and just take it easy, please do some of that for me.

P.S. It is now 1:32am. Rick made it home and his luggage made it home. Exhaustion has set in.
Good night!

It's what's for dinner

2011-07-13T17:47:00.000-04:00

Mmmmm, I love this stuff!

The sound of...........

2011-07-11T21:47:00.000-04:00

Listen closely.

Can you hear that?

Come on, stop and listen for just a minute.

Can you hear it now?

Ahhh, of course you can't.

It's the sweet sound of peace and quiet.

The girls are in Florida for a few weeks and Rick left this morning for a week long conference in San Antonio. Rumor has it the girls are having a terrible time (not!) spending everyday playing on the beach and swimming in the surf. And poor Rick has just flown right into the middle of a multi-week Texas heat wave (though he did get to have Panda Express for lunch so we are not feeling too bad for him at the moment). As for me, here I sit in front of the air conditioner alternating between my laptop and a new novel, trying not to break the silence. I suspect this novelty will be short-lived and it will only be a few days before I'm singing the lonely blues. But until then...............shhhhhhh.

HaPpY 14tH bIrThDaY jUlEe!!

2011-05-30T12:33:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Julee!

Poor Julee spent the morning of her birthday marching in the Watervliet Memorial Day Parade. That meant getting up early even though there was no school, carrying 40lbs worth of bells, and marching from the high school to the Memorial Park in Watervliet in 90* weather. She did an awesome job though and was even good sport enough to smile when her crazy mother was chasing her down the parade route with a camera.

Here are 14 things you may or may not know about Julee:

1. Her favorite color is blue

2. She LOVES going to the movies

3. She still has the same crazy, curly, thick hair that she's always had

4. She does not know how to keep her room picked up

5. She is a drummer at heart

6. She kills her dad playing the "yellow one" car game EVERY morning

7. She is semi-excited (her words) that she gets to go to her first youth dance in 2 weeks

8. She loves to play the piano

9. She is a saver, not a spender

10. Her favorite food is Hawaiian Haystacks

11. Her favorite TV show is NCIS

12. She can (still) touch her tongue to her nose

13. She joined the jazz band this year

14. She is an all-around awesome girl!

Happy 14th Lulee! We love you!

A fun picture of her jazz band director helping Julee stay cool during the parade

DEAD or not DEAD

2011-05-16T21:48:00.000-04:00

Rick just asked me when the last time I blogged was. I told him it was February 27th. He said the blog was DEAD. I told him he was wrong. So as to not be a liar, here I am. We were behind this car in the drive-thru at Burger King the other night. Now, I like Twilight just as much as the next guy. We've read the books and seen the movies. I think Julee even had the Twilight conversation hearts around Valentine's Day. But really?!?

So very wrong....

2011-02-27T22:32:00.001-05:00

Thought you would all get a kick out of this little 'tribute' to the Dunklees I came across on the blog of one of our 'friends' in Tucson:

Extreme Weather Warning . . . . .

Enough is enough!! Just don't think I can handle much more of this frigid weather . . . and yes, I am teasing some friends living in New York who have had their little tushes frozen off a-a-a-ll winter!

Isn't she funny?!?! NOT!! It is pretty amazing that there is actually visual snow in Tucson. Lightweights probably tried to cancel church.....

REALLY....ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

2011-02-25T10:36:00.000-05:00

Just chillin' out

2011-02-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day of Winter Break which means a week of no school for Julee and Alexis. Unfortunately, their mean mother stayed home from work today and made everybody clean house. The girls were very helpful around the house and then they did a great job on their rooms! The worst part of the day - cleaning. The best part of the ~~day~~ week - just chilling out.

Lekkis loves her little desk area under her bed.

You can't see it but she is reading a new book she got today.

Lulee working on one of her infamous projects and watching Harry Potter 6.

She will be less than thrilled to see her mugshot on the blog (shh don't tell her).

Spelling Bee

2011-02-14T19:57:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago Alexis represented her 4th grade class in the school Spelling Bee. She studied her words really hard and was super excited to get to spell in front of the WHOLE SCHOOL! There were 12 other students from 4th, 5th, and 6th grade who participated. Alexis ended up coming in 3rd place behind a 5th grader and a 6th grader! These were her words: crew, bunt, hitch, hammer, empty, kettle, nudge, leapfrog, service, innocent, gallant, station, magical, and abolishinists. Not too shabby for 4th grade!

Alexis waits her turn to spell

Just a little bit nervous

Great job Lekkis!!

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

2010-12-25T21:07:00.003-05:00

Christmas 2010 was AWESOME! We mostly stayed home and hung out as a family. We had a good time watching movies, playing games, and sleeping in.

Christmas Eve brought new jammies

Santa ate almost all the cookies

And he brought presents

New socks are always on the list

Alexis was thrilled to get stuff for her zhu zhu pets

Julee was excited to get the long awaited for Ipod Touch

Rick was super surprised to unwrap an iPad. Can you tell?

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Traditions

2010-12-23T20:05:00.000-05:00

As usual, this holiday season was filled with some of our favorite traditions:

We made gingerbread houses

Saw the lights in Washington Park

Hung out with friends

Made and frosted Christmas cookies

And ate a chocolate yule log

We can't wait to do it all again next year!

Grandmama and Grandpa Bear Came to Visit

2010-12-11T19:59:00.002-05:00

Grandmama and Grandpa Bear came to visit us around Halloween. We had so much fun with them and were sad to see them go home to Arizona. Here are a few highlights of all we did while they were here (and since my mom is now a famous radio personality (see here) I'm sure she won't mind all the pictures of her in here):

Admired lots of pretty colors not seen in desert lands

Ate a lot of stuff that was really bad for us

Acted silly at Yankee Candle Factory

Rick and my turn

Even Grandma and Grandpa got in on the fun

Saw that Grandma had her first indoor snowstorm

Pretended to like each other because Santa was watching

Made new friends

Chilled out at a hotel in Massachusetts (seriously, can't take my

parents anywhere - they just act like they're at home)

Took advantage of the hotel swimming pool

Hogged the hotel TV to watch NCIS

Took a Halloween train ride

Actually had a lot of fun on said train ride

Hung out with witches

And train conductors

Played Legos and lots of other games

But mostly, we just enjoyed each others company

We can't wait for them to come visit again!

Happy Birthday Lekkis!!

2010-12-09T08:19:00.000-05:00

Today Alexis turns 10!!

Here are ten things you may or may not know about Alexis:

1. She is in the TAG program at school

2. She loves all animals - even the gross ones like mice and snakes

3. She loves pink

4. She makes friends very easily and gets along with almost everybody

5. You never know which end of the bed you will find her head when you wake her up in the morning

6. She is quite the artist - she especially likes to design clothing

7. Just last week she chugged lemon juice for 5 bucks

8. She is willing to try anything once (this is not good for the parents)

9. She is learning how to play the trombone

10. She still walks on her toes no matter how many times we tell her God gave her heels to walk on

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXIS!!

Pumpkin Face Lift

2010-11-08T21:00:00.001-05:00

Pumpkin carving took on a whole new meaning this year. I think the fact that we are always joking around that Julee is the only kid we know that has had a plastic surgeon since birth did not work in this poor pumpkin's favor...

The O.R. is prepped and ready to go. Note the neatly lined up surgical instruments.

Dr Alexis is ready to begin

A pose for the medical journals

Assistant surgeon Julee steps in to assist

The insides are exposed with a clean incision

Time to clean out the insides

Even a surgeon gets a little bit of a weak stomach sometimes

(I LOVE this picture!)

Not looking so good for the pumpkin at this point

The lines are drawn and incision marks are made

Pumpkin comes through surgery with flying colors - everything went as planned.

Kind of makes you wonder what happens while I'm away that doesn't get photographed huh?

Apple Picking

2010-11-07T20:30:00.001-05:00

.While I was in Florida, Rick and the girls went apple picking with the Elders Quorum. As usual, Alexis was excited to go and Julee was less than thrilled especially when I told her she had to go. I think she was pleasantly surprised at how much fun she had climbing around in the trees. Both girls picked a bunch of apples and each came home with a pumpkin to carve. I was bummed that I missed the activity, but appreciate the modern technology of cell phone cameras and text messaging that allowed me to kind of sort of be there.

Julee, Alexis, and ward friends

Alexis goes straight to the top

Julee's attempt at giving her mother a heart attack

Rick gets in on the fun

Peek-a-boo

I'm not sure any apple picking was actually going on here

Julee at the pumpkin patch

Alexis at the pumpkin patch

(later on you'll see the monstrous 15-lb pumpkin she picked out)

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day - running through the apple orchard

Time to play catch up........

2010-11-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been at that point where you have so much to catch up on that you don't even know where to begin? That's where I am with the blog these days. I've thought about just starting from today but there's too much GOOD STUFF that you would miss out on. I can't even fathom catching up all at once so I'll try to keep the bits and pieces in some kind of order. To begin, I will tell you that back in late August/early September (just about the time school was starting) I started working outside of our home for the first time in almost 5 years. Working for XOS (X-ray Optical Systems, Inc) as their ERP Applications Specialist is an awesome opportunity and I am truly loving it! I work with great people, enjoy what I do, and still get to be home when the girls are home. In October, I spent a few days in Florida at a user conference for our software product leaving Rick and the girls to fend for themselves. They all did great while I was away so I will have to think about planning a personal vacation sometime soon. Anybody interested? It was fun to have them all be excited when I came home and of course I had to bring presents - even if it was a little odd that I bought hoodie sweatshirts in Florida for my 2 beauties in New York.

My cute nieces

2010-09-16T20:13:00.000-04:00

I stole these pictures of my nieces off of my sister's blog. Aren't they so cute?

This is the cutest picture of Olivia (who belongs to Ali) I have seen yet! I think she looks like her daddy!

And this is cute Sophie (who belongs to Mar) who thinks everything is a straw!

What's not to love?

1st Day of School

2010-09-14T06:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, the 1st day of school was actually last Wednesday but these pictures were taken on that day - I promise! Julee is in 8th grade this year and already very busy. She is in 3 advanced courses (Math, Science, and English) and playing on the modified volleyball team. Advanced classes equal a fair amount of homework and volleyball means practice and/or games everyday after school through the end of October. Alexis is now in 4th grade and loving it. She always claims to hate school but I think she just thinks she has to say that. She was very excited to bring home her after school clubs form yesterday and attempted to sign up for everything! We convinced her that 3 was enough considering she has Faith in God activities every other Wednesday. We are glad that both girls are liking all their teachers and seem to be off to a great start!

The traditional back to school pose

Growing up to way too fast!

My baby who is NOT a baby anymore!

Don't tell my mother about this post....

2010-09-08T08:04:00.001-04:00

Okay, this is probably a little inappropriate but my family got quite a kick out of the fact that this tomato looked just like a little baby's bottom. I won't mention it all happened on a Sunday......

Homemade Ziti

2010-08-31T20:12:00.000-04:00

A little while ago I made this yummy ziti using whole grain pasta, low-fat ricotta cheese, italian turkey sausage, low-fat mozarella, and homemade marinara sauce. By doing this, I was able to cut the calories and fat by more than half! The best part - it tasted better than the old way I used to make it!

For the car lover in all of us

2010-08-28T17:23:00.001-04:00

Even if you are not a lover of all things cars, you have to truly appreciate seeing this first hand....

And if you don't appreciate the car, you will appreciate that Mr. & Mrs. Dressed to the Nines got out and enjoyed steak and all-you-can-eat buffet at the less than elegant Ponderosa Steak House!

Today is the Day!!

2010-08-24T08:45:00.000-04:00

After 5 very long weeks, the girls are coming home today!

We are glad they have had a fun time in Florida visiting their dad and Elena, but we are really excited for them to come home! I know they have taken tons of pictures of their Florida adventures that they want to share with you (every time I talked to them they had something new to blog about), but you will have to wait your turn. For now I think we will be a little bit selfish and keep them all to ourselves.

Thinking of YOU!

2010-08-21T21:17:00.001-04:00

Many of us who live in very different parts of the country have had one common complaint this summer:

IT'S HOT!

Today those of us here in New York finally caught a break from the humid misery that has been our norm. Though we topped out at a breezy 76* today, I'm sure many of you are still sweltering. So to assure all of our beloved family and friends (especially those in Arizona who think temperatures should always include 3 digits) that we have not forgotten you:

Tomorrow's forecast : A rainy 74*

Cute, cute, cute!

2010-08-12T23:53:00.001-04:00

At the risk of exposing myself to a multitude of comments (about my baby being almost 10 and no other babies on the way) from sisters who shall remain nameless, these pictures are too cute not to share. Earlier this week we had the chance to watch our neighbors' 7-month old for the day. We had such a fun time talking baby talk and playing peek-a-boo. This little one is so darn cute ~ we think she should be the next Gerber baby.

Mmm, mmm good!

2010-08-07T12:58:00.000-04:00

Since the girls are in Florida visiting their dad for a few weeks, Rick and I had the chance to head out of town for a couple of days beginning last Thursday. We didn't go very far since we had some place to be on Saturday (that's another post for another day), but Travelocity found us a great deal in the small town of Goshen, NY. We chose Goshen because it is centrally located between a huge premium outlet mall and a huge four story mall so we thought we'd do a little shopping. Those of you who know me best are already questioning our plan as you know I am not a shopper and the mall is not one of the top ten places you would find me hanging out. But it has been hot in NY this summer and any sort of outside activity was not appealing to us. As I logged into the specific website for our hotel, we discovered that we would be staying within 5 miles of the Hacienda Mexican Restaurant. Upon further investigation, we discovered that the room we booked had an in-suite jacuzzi tub. It was fate! Who needs shopping when you have chips and salsa and a jacuzzi tub?

Anyway, the restaurant was fabulous! The decor was authentic, the staff very kind, and the food to die for. We started with appetizers of guacamole and shredded beef chilaquilas. Rick ordered a chicken chimichanga and I ordered the cheese enchilada plate. I always judge a Mexican food restaurant by their cheese enchiladas and these did not disappoint. For dessert we shared the cheesecake chimi - cinnamon and sugar flour tortillas filled with cheesecake and deep fried; served with ice cream and chocolate sauce with strawberries. Most definitely the best Mexican food we've had since moving here!

The greeter at Hacienda - kind of cool but kind of creepy when it's dark out....

My favorite part of the decor were the hundreds of strands of curling ribbon hanging from the ceiling. They were all different colors but hung in circular patterns and were curled to different degrees. Sounds weird but I think it would be a cheap but cute way to decorate for a party.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and watched TV while soaking in the jacuzzi tub.

We spent Friday at the various shops and malls as previously planned; and for once (ever) I came home with more finds than Rick or the girls.

Total shopping bag count:

Rick -1

Girls -1 (and they weren't even there)

Steph -5

When do we get to go again?

My Padre

2010-07-02T00:40:00.001-04:00

I stole this picture from my sister's blog about her new little Olivia's blessing day. Her post is filled with awesome pictures of all the family that was there; and some beautiful pictures of my little niece in her blessing dress. But for some reason, of all the pictures my sister posted, this one tugs at my heart strings the most. Maybe nobody will understand why; I'm not even sure I do but that's ok. It's okay because my dad is so great ~ even when he's sitting on the floor in the foyer at church taking a little nap. Padre, I hope you know what an awesome dad you are! I love you and I am so grateful that you're my Dad!

Sneaking out already??

2010-06-26T01:27:00.001-04:00

Last weekend Rick and I went out with some friends for the evening. We knew we would be out past bedtime so we told the girls it was up to them to get to bed on time. True to form, Julee shrugged her shoulders and nodded okay; while Alexis proceeded to spend the next few minutes informing us of all the reasons why it was unfair that she should have to go to bed on time while we were out "partying" (her words, not mine). Even when we talked to them on the phone as they were going to bed, Alexis' "I love you too" had multiple meanings. When we got home that night, I went to check on them and kiss them goodnight. This is what I found...............

Whew - a sleeping angel in her bed

Or not.......Big Stitch, what's going on? Where's Alexis?

We found Alexis.....in our bed. I guess she showed us, huh?

I am not even going to try to deny that more often than not she gets the best of us; but she always has, hasn't she? That's what makes her our Lekkis!

Happy Birthday Julee!!

2010-05-30T22:53:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-28T21:08:00.002-04:00

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

2010-05-12T19:30:00.003-04:00

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.

Cha-Ching!

2010-04-29T15:29:00.004-04:00

Today in Julee's English class, they had a grammar activity where they had to complete a packet of questions about commonly confused words (i.e accept and except, there and their and they're, etc). The first person to complete the packet correctly would win a prize. In this class, the prizes usually consist of honey buns, brownies, nutty bars, and chips. Today, however, was a different story.....
check out the winner with her winnings!

And the winner's speech: "Mom, can you believe I won 5 bucks just for being smarticles?!?"

$6 - Gone With the Wind

2010-04-25T20:09:00.000-04:00

The other night we made an impromptu trip to the mall just because we could. We came across the latest in gimmicks to take your money $2 bucks at a time. It's called a Hurricane Machine. You deposit your $2, stand inside, close the door and the wind starts blowing gradually going from 0 to 79 miles/hour and then back to 0 again. By the time it was all said and done we had blown not just $2, but $6! standing in the middle of the mall taking cell phone pictures of the wind blow. Really?!?

If you look in the background you can see how fast the wind is blowing.

Alexis thought this was the most hilarious thing ever.

A little windy Lekkis?

Julee's turn - she was a little less enthusiastic but ended up being a good sport about the whole thing.

Please let this be over...please let this be over.....

Rick ended up wanting to try and Alexis just HAD to go again.

They all tried to get me to go next but I was all out of dollars. Darn!

General Conference/Easter Weekend

2010-04-07T00:05:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was so wonderful! We had the opportunity to watch General Conference and celebrate Easter just the 4 of us. It was nice to hang out at home eating our conference snacks and listen to the awesome messages from our leaders. I usually come away from General Conference with 1 or 2 favorite talks; but I am still undecided as I loved so many of them and felt they were directly applicable to me. I'm so glad that we can already access these words on the internet so that we can be buoyed by the Spirit again and again as we take these messages to heart! After the last session on Sunday, we had a yummy dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, and homemade rolls. MMMMM......Here are a few snapshots of our great weekend:

Lots of sugar cookies to share with friends! A flower garden....

...a basket of eggs.....

...and bunnies and chicks running around everywhere!

A new tradition - a puzzle to work on while watching conference.

I didn't realize that something to keep their hands busy would help the girls stay so attentive. They were even commenting on what the speakers were saying. I should have tried this years ago!

Some of the "girls" in the ward got together to color eggs while the "boys" attended the Priesthood session.

It makes for a fun late night party since the session is from 8-10pm local time.

Alexis' creations....Julee preferred to watch a movie with the other teens and I made the 3rd one on the top row for Rick. It says "I luv U" around the egg.

The Easter bunny visited and even left a note on our fridge!

Thanks Grandma for supplying the egg hunt! It was a fun surprise for the girls! They were thrilled to see that Grandma had come through for them with money in the eggs!

Opening the eggs....and showing off the spoils.

As you can see, the Easter bunny is too busy too leave a pretty basket. He just unloads his bag on our dining room table. It looks like he went a little overboard again this year!

We hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as we did ours!

My Awesome Brother-in-Law

2010-04-05T15:09:00.008-04:00

Congratulations to my awesome brother-in-law Jay who was voted employee of the month at the urgent care where he works! Good job Jay!! Here is a copy of the letter they sent out to all the employees:

All,

Please join us in congratulating Jay McKinlay, Patient Access Representative for Urgent Care Network Employee of the Month.

Jay was selected from among his peers in the following categories:

Humanity: His calm yet friendly demeanor puts people at ease. He consistently provides both patients and their families with comfort measures and assistance as though he were caring for his own family.

Safety: He ensures everyone s safety with his quick and thorough assessment of his surroundings. Patients are assisted and provided with masks, tissues and wheel chairs. He is always aware of the condition of the lobby and keeps it clean and free of hazards.

Teamwork and Excellence: He demonstrates both teamwork and excellence in all he does. This communication to team members and willingness to do whatever it takes to provide our patients with the best care is evidenced by the many favorable comments offered by them. They frequently compliment Jay s friendliness and willingness to assist them in anything they need to make their stay at La Paloma more pleasant and efficient. Each and every patient appreciates his direct and honest answers to their questions and the consideration given to their family.

Integrity and Service: Jay receives may calls at La Paloma and his phone skills are impeccable. He always listens to the customer and provides assistance and direction to their needs. He takes the time needed and never ends the conversation without making every effort to satisfy the caller. If further assistance is necessary, Jay will always put the caller in contact with the appropriate person who can immediately deal with their particular issue. AIDET is always Jay's primary concern.

Overall comments: Jay is often the first contact a customer has with La Paloma Urgent Care. I can think of on one more representable of NMC pillar of values. He is an asset to our organization in every way!

Jay was presented a plaque, $50.00 gift certificate, and 2 passes for a movie of his choice. There will be a perpetual plaque placed at each Urgent Care with his name and picture to be displayed.

Thanks!

Urgent Care Network Management

"Food Court"

2010-04-04T22:58:00.001-04:00

On the same day that Julee was playing basketball at the church, Alexis was across town participating in the 2010 Odyssey of the Mind competition with her school team. This is a great program that Alexis has been fortunate to participate in for 2 years now. This year the "problem" was called Food Court. The team had to create an 8 minute skit with an accused and an accuser who would be judged if a certain type of food would be helpful or harmful to our bodies. All of the characters had to be food or related to food. The true challenge is that the kids have to come up with the ideas, the skit, the plan, the props, and the costumes with very little or no help from any adults. It is quite impressive what they come up with. Alexis' team actually did a skit of a courtroom setting in which the tomato (Alexis) accused the pepperoni of being unhealthy. All the other pizza toppings were the jury. The judge ultimately determined that pepperoni was not unhealthy and the tomato lost. Thankfully, the tomato and the pepperoni were able to get past their differences and remain friends. The team gave a great performance and then spent the afternoon watching other teams perform while waiting to perform their spontaneous problem.

The best looking tomato we've ever seen

Alexis peeking through her coach and team

A grand performance

The team takes their bow

Isn't she so cute?

We were so glad that the parents are not allowed to watch the spontaneous performance since we needed to get to the church to watch Julee play basketball. On the way from Odyssey of the Mind to basketball, we stopped so Rick could help a sister in our ward with her computer. When basketball was over it was back to the school to pick up Alexis. We think life was easier when they were little and not running in all directions. But we have to admit, we wouldn't change this for the world! We are so proud of our great girls and all their accomplishments!

Church Ball!

2010-04-04T22:35:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago it was time for the Stake YM/YW Basketball Tournament. The initial games are all played half-court so that 2 teams can play at once. Boys on one side; girls on the other. With 2 courts and 2 games starting every 30 minutes, there is a lot of basketball played in one day. It is the ultimate social scene for the youth and 5 bucks will buy you nachos, soda, and more candy bars than you should consider eating in one day (or probably a week). In all honesty, Julee DID NOT want to go, much less play. But being the mean parents that we are, we vetoed her lack of participation and off to the church we went. Well, for somebody who had only played basketball once in gym class at school, Julee really went out there and went for it. We were rather surprised at the true athleticism that emerged from our quiet, laid back daughter. We were glad to see that Julee figured that if she HAD to play, she might as well go for it. Our girls' team ended up winning 3 out of 5 which was enough to get to the semi-finals. A good job considering most of the girls on the team could have told you there was someplace they would rather be that day.

Julee's open ready to take the ball

She gets it and goes in for the shot

She takes the shot

Julee going for a rebound

Another shot for the basket

And yet another....

Julee with some of her teammates and their coach (the YW President)

Julee and her team in action

Yep, we're still here.....

2010-03-28T21:47:00.000-04:00

Contrary to popular belief we have not fallen off the face of the earth; just the blogging world. We don't even have a good excuse for our lack of posts. It's not that we don't have excuses. It's that none of them are good. With a little bit of luck and a lot of unlaziness, maybe we'll be caught up by the end of the week....

"Eyes" on The Campus Lawn in Williamstown, MA

Snow Day!!

2010-02-25T18:02:00.001-05:00

So we FINALLY had our first real winter storm! By the time it was all said and done, there was probably about 12 inches on the ground. School and work were cancelled and we all hunkered in trying to stay warm. Once the snow stopped falling, the rain started and it has pretty much been raining ever since. Ugh ugh ugh! Let me simplify for those of you who are desert rats who live where the world shuts down for a minor snow flurry -- a foot of snow + a lot of rain in 35 degree temperatures = A BIG MESS!!!! The snow turns into ice chunks which are no fun to shovel and the puddles form on the sidewalks since the water can't run into the yards because there is too much snow. What I continue to find amazing is that no matter how messy it gets, life goes on! The snow plows plow, the neighbors all shovel, and we all trek out to our various destinations. It sounds like I'm complaining doesn't it? I kind of am, but I also have to admit that I love a good snow! It's so pretty and clean before we all set out to mar the beauty of it. It also gives you an excuse to drink hot chocolate and watch movies all day. That is definitely not something to complain about!

Snow lays heavy on the branches

The next door neighbor's tree

The view of our street

Rick shovels while Alexis piles

Alexis shovels while Rick supervises

Julee decides it's too cold outside and retreats back inside

Alexis is loving life at the moment

The view from our front porch

One of these things is not like the others......

If you look closely, you will see that the person walking in that driveway is the mailman -

poor guy out delivering my bills in the snow.

They say there might be more snow tonight. Bring it on!

Be Strong and of a Good Courage

2010-02-22T19:31:00.006-05:00

I love that we are part of a church that is teaching our youth to "Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:9)! A couple of weeks ago, our bishop held a fireside for the youth to talk about this, the Young Men/Young Women Theme for 2010. He challenged all of the kids to memorize this scripture and take it to heart. I was impressed that Julee had it memorized within the week. It was an added bonus when the next Sunday, the Young Women were told that whoever went up to the bishop in between classes and recited the scripture to him, would recieve a candy bar. Shortly after, I found this poster for Julee's room. We gave her the option of size - small, medium, or large - and love that she picked large. What a perfect daily reminder this is to her as she goes out into that big bad world we call junior high!

How You Know When Rick Needs a Boys Night Out

2010-02-15T20:43:00.000-05:00

Here's a little taste of Dunklee morning dialogue:

Steph: "It's a little warm in here. Do you mind if we turn off the heater?"

Rick: "But my hands are cold."

Julee (who feels obligated to be part of every conversation especially when you are not talking to her): "You could always put on some gloves."

Alexis (obviously confused as she walks by a little while later) : "Um, Dad, I think those are MY gloves?!?"

Alexis - A New York Times Best Selling Author?

2010-01-27T17:59:00.001-05:00

Everyday in Alexis' 3rd-grade class they spend a few minutes in Writer's Workshop. The point is to encourage the kids to use their imaginations and just write. They are given very few limitations and/or guidelines. Alexis always has some interesting writings but this one is worth sharing. As you will see, Alexis' imagination needs very little encouragement. This story started out as a short activity page and has blossomed into a novel. According to Alexis, the story isn't finished. We are looking forward to reading more. I have attached the activity page as a picture and have written out the rest of the story below it, exactly as Alexis has written it. Enjoy - we hope it makes you laugh!

The Prom

"Only 1 week before the prom Drake!" Christy said excitedly. "I can't wait." Drake said grumpily.

Drake was a camel, but Christy didn't know that. A very nice camel who is blind.

Drake does not know Christy is not a camel. Christy does not know Jake is not a human being.

Christy was also blind. Just before the prom they found out the truth. But since they were both blind they thought they were perfect for each other.

When they were getting ready for the prom Drake called Christy and said, "Should I wear black or blue?" Christy answered "I prefer black." Drake said "Thank you." and hung up.

When they were entering the prom, Mr. Truffles called them to the his office.

Mr. Truffles was the princaple of the school.

No one liked to go there because of Mr. Truffles pet tiger Tigress, the spanish-speaking tiger.

Mr. Truffles said "Christy why are you dating a camel?" Christy answered "Because he's blind and I'm blind." Drake said "After prom I was going to take her to my house so she could meet my pets." "Who exactly are your pets?" Mr. Truffles asked unsure he wanted an answer.

Drake replied "Bruce my talking dog and Stickers my very sticky bear." "All right then. Go ahead. You told me your reasons. Now get back to the prom and enjoy yourselves." Mr. Truffles said happily.

After the prom at 10:00 o'clock at night Drake took Christy to his house.

Christy knew about Drake's pets and didn't know how they would react, but she didn't want to be rude.

Bruce ran right up to Christy and started sniffing her then he said "It's alright Stickers she's clean." Then he looked at Christy and said "Stickers is a sticky bear, a very sticky bear. You'll see why when she comes out." Christy could see why they called her that. She was covered with dry stickers.

After Christy said good-bye to Drake she went home to swim in the pool.

She heard a strange gurgling and swam over to where it was and dove down to see what was down there. It was a CAT! She brougt it to the surface.

She got out of her pool and brougt the cat to a bench. She started pushing its stomache and then water came out of the cat's mouth.

Then the cat did the strangest thing. It talked to her in french.

Christy said "Excuse me!" Then the cat said "I'm sorry I didn't know you speak english." Christy called Drake and said "I found a french-speaking cat in my pool!" Drake said "I would believe it if we could see it." "How could you tell it was a cat Christy" Christy simply answered "Cats are fluffy and she was really fluffy." The cat chimed in "My name is Fluffy." Drake said "That's just great, my girlfriend found a car names Fluffy at the bottom of her pool and the cat speaks french!" Christy said "Don't worry too much. I'll take care of it."Drake said "I'm going to bed." and hung up. Christy asked the cat "Do you have any friends or family? Because I need to send you there right now." The car answered "Yes I have a friend named Fluff."" Where does he live????" Christy asked. "France." the cat answered calmly.

Julee - Pilot Extraordinaire

2010-01-19T09:07:00.001-05:00

A few days ago we took Julee to The Dome so she could take her new remote controlled airplane for a test run. She loves flying these airplanes and she is really good at it. She can fly very close to the ceiling or jsut above the ground. The guys in the flying club that were there with her tell us that she's a natural and has amazing control of the airplane. We, her totally unbiased parents, agree.

This is Julee's plane - the Ember 2

Flying right through the center of the picture

Skimming the ceiling

Coming in for a landing

A smooth landing

Julee and her fan club

Some of the other club members fly helicopters

This was a brand new helicopter that one of the guys had.

It was the most popular flight of the day.

Brrrrr........

2010-01-10T08:34:00.000-05:00

What do you even say about this?

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night......

2010-01-06T22:18:00.002-05:00

If you look closely behind those dark glasses you will see that Alexis really IS sleeping. Rick just went in to check on her and this is what he found. She is such a funny girl!

(Mom, that's the pillowcase I made for her over the holidays.)

A Dunklee Family Christmas

2010-01-01T17:16:00.017-05:00

Welcome to a Dunklee Family Christmoose!

Christmas 2009 was a fun time for our family! We started new traditions and revisited old ones. Most of December was spent playing with friends and getting ready for the big day. As always, Santa was on top of everything and everybody got exactly what they wanted. Unless of course you're Julee and you ask for a laptop (last time we checked Santa did not have money trees growing in the North Pole); but she still made out okay. Overall, we are very blessed and grateful to spend time together as a family and with great friends. The only thing missing was all of you!

Making gingerbread houses is a sometimes tradition. We had so much fun I'm sure we'll do it again next year!

Alexis hard at work on her gingerbread house

Julee working on her thatched roof look

The chaos that was gingerbread houses

All the finished products

A new tradition was the Capital Holiday Lights in Washington Park. It is a huge light display sponsored by different businesses around the city. After you drive through to see the lights you can buy treats and crafts in Santa's Workshop. This is a definite must for next year!
A gingerbread house

An enchanted castle

Santa's Toy Land

And the craziest thing ever - they had these 2 rides operating by Santa's Workshop. One was a carousel and the other this lift that circles you around in the air. Daredevil Lekkis just HAD to go on it. Keep in mind that it's pitch black and all of 14 degrees outside, probably less with the wind chill! Poor thing was a popsicle by the time she was finished but she said it was definitely worth it.

It's just not Christmas unless we make Grandma's famous cut-out sugar cookies. The best part of it this year was both girls were big enough to do it themselves. I did not roll or press one bit of dough!

I didn't get off so easy though - I think the girls frosted about 5 cookies and left the rest for mom and dad.

An experimental tradition....Rick wanted to make a Yule Log this year - don't ask me why. So we tried it and it actually turned out pretty good. We are already thinking of ways to perfect it for next year! It tasted yummy too!

And of course, it's just not Christmas Eve unless you get new jammies!

A true personality pose

Cookies and egg nog for Santa (I hope Santa didn't get too sick-that was a big mug of egg nog and lots of cookies)

The final scene after Santa's visit

Christmas morning began with a very excited 9-year old jumping on our bed yelling "Santa came Santa came!" Fortunately it was 8am and not 530. When we went to tell the 12-year old that Santa came, her reply was "Can I get 15 more minutes?" Typical huh?

Checking out the stockings

Lots of candy and fun treats

Opening presents

Julee excited to see she got Twilight on DVD

Sweet! A new MP3 player!

Wait! I think it's.....Legos.

It IS Legos!

A New Moon calendar (do we see a theme here?)

And....more Legos!

Julee sporting her new MP3 player as she slaves (her words not mine)
for her Christmas dinner.

MMMM...let's eat! Notice the good china made it to the table this year. Thanks Rick for doing all the dishes after dinner!

Christmas evening Rick and Alexis set up a Lego Troll vs Knight War on the dining room table, complete with 'water' and 'terrain'. It was quite a battle!

The new troll warship Alexis got on Christmas morning

Preparing for battle

Today's headline: Mom tortures 2 children as she makes them pose for pictures in their church clothes AFTER we got home from church the Sunday after Christmas!

Whine and complain? Not these angelic faces?

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

The stockings were hung............

2009-12-24T22:13:00.003-05:00

I love this picture of all the stockings hanging by the fireplace at my mom's house! This way she and my dad get to have all of their kids, kids-in-laws, and grandkids there with them on Christmas even the ones who are far away. The fun part is these are the stockings that we had growing up. When we left home my mom wouldn't let us take them with us - she just makes us new ones! And each new addition to the family gets one too! And I think there's one for the dog.....

Alexis and Her Groupies

2009-12-20T00:00:00.006-05:00

A few weeks ago we went to the movies to see "A Christmas Carol". The movie was great but it was an even better treat when Alexis ran into some of her best pals!

Julee Gets the All Clear

2009-12-16T16:29:00.005-05:00

Last week Julee had her final follow-up with the plastic surgeon for this go round. With the exception of gym, she has received the all clear from the doctor to resume her normal activities. Gym will have to wait until after the Christmas break. The last of her dissolvable stitches have disappeared and she even went back to the orthodontist yesterday. Poor girl! It will still be a few weeks before her upper loosens up completely and she will continue to do some massage therapy on her lip a few times a day. Other than that, she is good to go. We are grateful to a skilled surgeon who definitely had Julee's best interests at heart. Here is a little mini timeline of Julee's progress.

November 16th - the night before surgery

November 17th - Going home after surgery

Noveber 20th - 3 days after surgery - still lots of bandages

November 26th - Celebrating Thanksgiving without the bandages

December 5th - Just a few stitches left but you can hardly tell

We are amazed at how quickly she has healed;

and are thrilled by how beautiful she (still) is!

The Best Birthday -- EVER!

2009-12-09T22:49:00.008-05:00

Alexis said today was the best birthday ever! Here are all the reasons why:

25 ice cream cone sugar cookies to take to friends at school!

A present before breakfast!

7 inches of snow which means NO SCHOOL!!

Mom allowing herelf to be pelted with snowballs (if you look

right in the center of the picture you can see the snowball flying through the air)

More presents!!

Opening presents BEFORE dinner!

Throwing snowballs at Daddy on our way to birthday dinner at Chili's!

The staff at Chili's singing their version of Happy Birthday!

Free ice cream sundae - mmm chocolate!

Enough time before bed to start building the Indiana Jones temple!

Not pictured: Several birthday phone calls and a 45 minute long distance

birthday chat with cousin Kylie!

Happy 9th Birthday Lekkis! We love you and are glad you had such an awesome birthday!

Resting up for the big day..........

2009-12-08T23:54:00.003-05:00

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2009-11-29T16:46:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we spent the day putting up the Christmas tree and deocrating the inside of the house for Christmas. It is one of our favorite seasonal activities. From the moment the tree box hits the living room floor, the excitement is overwhelming. Julee and Alexis have tree decorating down to a science. We love to sit and listen to them engineer the whole process - "Wait, there are too many in one spot here" or "You better put one back there; it's looking pretty bare" or "You can't put that blue ornament there-it's too close to that other blue one". For the first few days after it's finished, one of us is always commenting about how pretty the tree is. After the tree, come the other house decorations. Our favorites are the Nativities and the Nutcrackers. By the end of the evening, we were all set. Now we just enjoy the decorations and wait for Santa....

The tree

The Nativities

The Nutcrackers

Thanksgiving Day

2009-11-28T22:49:00.007-05:00

This year we had a great Thanksgiving holiday! We spent the morning at home watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is pretty sad that I am more into it than the girls. We always watched the parade when I was growing up so it doesn't seem like Thanksgiving without it. We were in charge of the turkey and mashed potatoes this year so that went on in the background while we watched Santa come to town. For dinner we got together with 2 other families we are friends with. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and turkey dinner was AWESOME! After lunch, the ladies scanned the Black Friday ads and Rick taught all the kids to make catapults out of clothes pins, plastic spoons, and electrical tape. The kids loved it and mounted an all out marshmallow war against the army miniatures. It was hilarious to watch it all! After the catapult war, some more people came over and we had a dessert party. There was as much dessert as there was actual dinner! It was such a fun time and we are thankful for such wonderful friends!

I didn't manage to get a picture of the buffet table before we all ate, but here is the turkey fresh out of the oven. It makes me hungry just looking at it.

An unexpected dinner guest? Or is that Alexis?

The catapult specialist

Who will surrender first?

The battle continues

The dessert table - what's not to love!

P.S. My friend and I were among those crazy people at Target at 5am on Black Friday. We made it through 13 stores, McDonald's for breakfast, and Chipotle for lunch before we called it a day. Insane? Yes. Fun? Absolutely!

Update on Julee

2009-11-22T11:27:00.004-05:00

Julee is recovering nicely form her surgery. She is looking forward to her follow-up visit on Tuesday where they will take out stitches and clean her up a little bit. She has invented new ways to eat solid food with a spoon without ever touching her upper lip. Yesterday she even felt okay enough to work on some homework. She continues to be a trooper, never complaining about anything. Julee amazes me! Alexis has been pretty amazing as well considering she is the one not getting all the attention. Julee is the first person she looks for so she can check on her and see if she is feeling better. The other morning before school, Alexis left a note for a still sleeping Julee. It was so simple but so sweet!

Alexis' note

(written on white paper in black pen so it's a bit hard to see when I scanned it)
Front

Inside

Sunday Pictures

2009-11-21T20:25:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday (before Julee went in for her surgery) we took some pictures of the girls in their Sunday best. I love how their individual pictures below scream their actual personalities.

Alexis is really not taller than Julee - she is standing on the porch and Julee is on the steps

It kills me they are growing up so fast!!

Poor Julee, Poor Teddy

2009-11-18T19:18:00.004-05:00

Disclaimer: This blog post and all pictures included have been preapproved by Julee

Because she continues to grow up (sniff sniff), the time has come for Julee to have some more lip and nose revision surgery for her cleft lip/palate. Yesterday was the big day! We all got up in the middle of the night in order to be at the hospital by 5:45am. I was surprised how awake and relatively happy we all were so early in the morning. Rick and Alexis dropped us off and headed back home to get Alexis off to school. Julee and I checked in and the very long day began. Julee was in surgery for almost 3 hours while her surgeon performed his magic. She tolerated the procedure well, and the surgeon said he could not be more pleased with the outcome. We spent an hour or so in the Recovery Room and were then transferred to a surgical room on the Pediatric unit. Julee was scheduled to stay overnight, but her doctor said she could go home later in the evening if she was feeling ready and passed all of the 'tests'. Follwing an afternoon of internet television (since they charge you to watch the TV in your hospital room but they have free WiFi?), ice water, apple juice, chocolate milk, jello, pudding, a trip or two to the bathroom, a couple of walks around the unit, and just general restlessness, Julee had passed the tests and was READY to go home. She now spends her time in the comfy chair - queen of the remote control. I am amazed at how awesome Julee is handling everything! It is all taken in stride and she has not complained or cried about ANYTHING! The lucky girl is out of school until after Thanksgiving and it will be a week or so before she will venture from the comforts of home. She gets her stitches out next Tuesday and has been promised (by her doctor) that she will be ready for turkey and mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving.

Julee and Teddy get settled in the morning of surgery

A ride to the preop area is next on the list of fun

Teddy closely guards Julee's surgery number as we wait in preop

Looking ready to go home (Obviously, there are hours in between these pictures but those pictures are not really blog appropriate)

Teddy starts to feel not so good as we wait for Julee's discharge papers

Teddy is REALLY not feeling well.

(As the mom, I'm glad this was Teddy and not Julee)

A good nap in the comfy chair makes everything better
(notice that Teddy has taken up residence in the chair next to Julee)

A Special Halloween Treat

2009-11-14T21:18:00.004-05:00

This year Rick had to work Halloween weekend so he did not get to go play with us on Halloween night. We missed him being there, especially the girls, since he loves to take them trick or treating as much as they love to go! When we came home from our friends' house, we found that Rick had missed us too. The girls were thrilled to each get their own rose!

Isn't he great?

The Stash and The Swap

2009-11-14T20:50:00.004-05:00

I didn't get any pictures of the girls trick or treating on Halloween but I did get proof of the stash. We always get together with friends so that the kids can all go out together. This year it rained all night long but that seemed rather irrelevant especially if you were under the age of 16. Once all the kids have been around the neighborhood once or twice, it is time for the annual candy swap. They organize all their candy, deciding what stays and what can be traded, and then the bargaining begins! What a great time we all had!

The Stash

The Swap

Trunk or Treat

2009-10-30T06:30:00.004-04:00

Every year the youth in our ward host a Trunk or Treat for all the families. They set up a bunch of games carnival style and pass out candy treats as prizes. At the end of the evening, the kids (including the youth) get to go trunk or treating and the holiday season officially begins. This year it rained so we had to improvise a little, but it didn't seem to ruin anybody's evening.

Alexis and her friend with scary teeth

Julee and her friend were in charge of the Ghost Walk

Hall or Treat? Classroom or Treat? Or just total chaos?

Julee and her friend make faces for the camera

Alexis going through her candy stash

No more tricks, no more treating, just lots and lots of candy eating

An unusual moment....they're getting along

2009-10-26T16:27:00.007-04:00

In an unusual moment of cooperation and teamwork, Katara (Julee) and Ang (Alexis) work to defeat Zuko and Azula. It is music to my ears to hear them laughing and getting along so well while doing the same thing in the same room in the same 5 square feet......

Wait---I think I hear tempers and quarreling...

Those WERE smiles right?

Remember these?

2009-10-23T09:25:00.004-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, we cleaned out and organized our storage unit. As we were cleaning, I found these. My sister, Marilyn, made them as a project in one her community college art classes. She had to take a couple of rolls of film (yes, this was before digital cameras were so affordable) of close up and far away pictures, and then piece the puzzle together. If I recall correctly, getting Alexis, who was not quite 3, to sit still was quite a task. As you can see, they turned out to be awesome. I hung them in my office so I could always see my girls but they quickly took on a life of their own. There were several people that I worked with that always had to bring people by to see them. What a great conversation starter they became! Each girl's personality really shows through in their picture and it was amazing what people who didn't even know them observed. Now when I look at them, I get that catch in my throat and my eyes start to water because my girls are all grown up. But not to worry, Julee hasn't lost that "I'm really 6 going on 30" aura; and you can pretty much guarantee that Alexis' feet are still dirty.

Sidewalk Art and More!

2009-10-21T08:46:00.012-04:00

Earlier this month we had a fun activity at the church. We started with a huge potluck lunch that had more food than you could even imagine. After lunch all the "booths" opened for the kids of all ages. They had a bouncy house, cotton candy, 4-square, parachute games, fire pits to make S'mores, and a sidewalk chalk contest. Of course, the kids loved the bouncy house (though I did see a couple of adults take their turn) and the cotton candy was quite popular. The fire pits saw their share of melted marshmallows, sticky fingers, and dirty chocolate faces. There was a continuous line at the 4-square game and lots and lots of friendly chatter. But surprisingly, the most popular activity seemed to be the sidewalk chalk contest. At any given moment you could see adults, teenagers, little kids, and even missionaries kneeling in the parking lot creating their masterpiece. And masterpieces they were...... (click on each picture to enlarge for better viewing)

Alexis posing with her winning universe (and princess dress)

A different view of Alexis' universe

A jeep for off-roading

(our friend who drew this keeps trying to convince Rick he needs to get

a jeep like his so they can head for the hills and enjoy their mid-life crisis)

A nice rendering of the Salt Lake Temple

What a fun place to visit on vacation!

You don't see turtles like this at the zoo

The missionaries disagree......on sports teams

Volleyball - A New Challenge

2009-10-20T08:34:00.004-04:00

This year Julee decided that she wanted to be on the volleyball team at school. The team is made up of 7th and 8th graders, many of them never having played before. They spend time teaching the girls all the rules and techniques of the game. They practice every afternoon and have games 2 or 3 times each week. Having never played any type of organized sport, all of the practices and games have been a new experience for Julee. But, she is LOVING it! We are impressed by how much she has learned about volleyball in such a short time; and are excited to see how she improves each time she plays.

The first game.

Julee is sitting on the very left end.

Watching her team mate serve

Ready to go if the ball comes to her

Julee's turn to serve

They miss this volley but this is a good shot of Julee going for the ball

Julee serves again - this time for the winning point!
(Ignore the screaming parents in the background)

The season is almost over, but Julee has already decided she will play again next year.

GO JULEE!

A New Look

2009-09-16T20:47:00.005-04:00

Last night my friend Emily came over to cut Julee's hair. Julee was really nervous about cutting her hair since she has had the same style pretty much her whole life. On the other hand she had decided that she wanted a change. Of course, the one thing you can't do when it comes to Julee's hair is lose all the thick curly locks that she has. Emily gave her the cutest new layered cut and Julee looks FABULOUS!

Alexis wanted to get in on the 'new look' action so this morning she

put her hair in pony tails and struck a pose!

Saturday Night Treat

2009-09-14T21:59:00.004-04:00

The other night Rick, Alexis, and I (Julee was off having fun at a Stake Youth Activity) had the opportunity to participate in an impromptu service project. On our way home, we were treated to a fun fireworks show that happened to be taking place. We found a place to pull over to watch the show, which was one of the better hometown fireworks shows we have ever seen. We were close enough that you could hear the booms and smell the smoke. Alexis thought being so close to the fireworks was the "greatest experience of her life". The energy in the car was so exciting! Even Rick and I were oohing and aahing. It was the perfect way to end the evening. Not only were we treated to a great fireworks show, but it was a great teaching moment with Alexis. Service brings blessings - even if the blessing is a brief family moment watching fireworks that we would have never seen just hanging out at home! I was bummed that I didn't have the camera with me, but I was able to get some pictures on my cell phone.

1st Day of School

2009-09-14T08:31:00.004-04:00

The 1st day of school was actually last Wednesday! Julee and Alexis had a great first few days and are off to an awesome start! More details to follow as the year progresses.....

Julee off to her 1st day of junior high

Alexis heads to 3rd grade

Before the First Day

2009-09-08T23:18:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow is the much anticipated first day of school. Preparing for the big day over the past couple of weeks has brought anxiety, excitement, apprehension, and wonder into the Dunklee home. And I'm only referring to myself. Sometime last week, I came across a letter (here is the link so as to give full credit to the actual author) that a mother wrote to her 2 little boys before they went to school. Mushy and sentimental are not regular themes on this blog, but today I just have to go there. It's kind of long, but this mom was able to capture many of my own thoughts and feelings as Julee's and Alexis' mom. I am so blessed to get to be the mom of such amazing daughters of our Heavenly Father!

Dear Children,

Today is the first day of school. We've laid out your brand-new shirt and sneakers, and loaded your backpack with scissors, shiny spiral notebooks and unsharpened No. 2 pencils. You lunch box is filled with goodies, and I apologize now that it won't last. In a week my thrifty ways will set in, and you'll be lucky to get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with an apple. But I hope for now that you enjoy the exotic fruit leather, cheese sticks and fancy crayon water bottle that you begged me to get.

We've had a summer of play and exploration, and now it's time to slide behind that desk, lift your elbows and begin to work. I hope you find a different way of exploring, through numbers that seem to stretch forever and the power that comes from manipulating them to create digital files, skyscrapers and airplanes. When you crack open the pages of a new book, I hope you fall into the story and find yourself in a land of cupboards and Indians, inside a magnificent candy factory, soaring high in the air atop a giant peach, or listening to the musical melody of a cricket in a New York subway station. When you get beyond the creep and strain of new reading, you will find that printed words will paint pictures in your head, sometimes delicate, or frightening, or heart-wrenchingly sad.

I hope that when you step into school, amid the bustle of children and the swirl of new experience, that you will keep a firm grip on the things we've tried to teach you at home: That you are a child of God, an example of the believers, a missionary in the making. You will hear things that sound wrong, or just plain dirty, and you will walk away, or stand up for yourself. You will come to us, your parents, with questions, and we will give you truth in a safe and loving environment.

And though most people are inherently good, there will still be bullies, kids and sometimes adults who are just plain mean, who seek to tear others down. On days when you find yourself in pieces, we will always be there to listen, to hug, to love, to bind you back together and send you back into the battlefield a little wiser and a little tougher.

My greatest desire in sending you to school is that you will grasp learning as tightly as you grasped the edges of tables when you were learning to walk. You will come to see that education is more than just getting the answers right on a test or checking off the latest homework assignment. It is a gift from God to expand your mind and fulfill the measure of your creation. Learning and knowledge are power -- not in a way that robs others but in a way that enhances the life of all who are around you. As you learn, you become more capable to help others, improve the future and grow the church. Focused study will teach you that the world is a vast and aching place, with a fabulous array of cultures, customs and traditions.

You will learn from history, from the tragedy of war and the sacrifices of brave men and women. You will learn from technology, that great allure of moving images and constant stream of front-line products. You will learn from the arts, the motion of dance, the swells of an orchestra, the self-exploration of painting and the captivating quality of theater.

Life, my dear little boys, is a glorious, soaring, painful thing. The hardest part as a parent is throwing you into the current, as gently as I can, and watching you get swept away. I keep you tethered close, and pull you in for reminders of love, to check your grounding and your direction. But when I send you off to school you are nearly on your own. When we kneel by the bed this night, on the eve of the first day of school, I remind you of your constant companion, the Holy Ghost, who is with you. Don't move so fast or shout so loudly that you cannot hear. He whispers and he guides. He'll do his best to guide you home at the end of this life of learning. It is a grand adventure. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Love,

Mom

Friday Night

2009-09-04T22:41:00.005-04:00

Here's a peek into what the girls are up to at 10:30 on Friday night. As you can see, normal bedtimes are non-existent on the weekends.

Julee is just hanging out in her room - as usual.

Alexis is creating a masterpiece - gotta love those headphones!

As for Rick, he is at the computer and I am getting ready to figure out how many millions of dollars we spent school shopping today!

Ashley and Stephen

2009-08-25T20:05:00.004-04:00

Meet Ashley and Stephen - the girls' new fish! We promised Julee and Alexis that when they came home from all of their summer traveling we would get them a fish. So this past Saturday we headed out to the pet store and they carefully selected their new friends. We got them each a little tank that bubbles for their room, and then they picked out the rocks and plants. Of course Alexis went with the eye-popping pink while Julee settled for a subtle blue. It's funny how their personalities come out even in fish tank decor......
Ashley

Stephen

Part 3 - Whale Watching Cruise

2009-08-15T16:18:00.008-04:00

After spending Saturday in Rhode Island, we had one more day of adventure before we had to return to reality. We decided to head east to Boston Harbor where we took a Whale Watching Cruise. It was absloutely AWESOME! Awesome being in capital letters because even though I got seasick and lost my lunch halfway through the 3 1/2 hour trip, it was still AWESOME!

Our cruise ship, the Aurora!

The Boston Harbor skyline

The airport runway is right by the harbor so we could see all the planes

taking off as we went by.

A pretty picture of the water and the American flag at the rear of the boat.

A pretty lighthouse scene

(Danette this picture is included especially for you)

Alexis had the greatest time on the boat - actually it was a catamaran. She stood at the rail with the wind blowing in her hair for the first little bit. Every once in awhile she would come over to where we were sitting (outside of course) and let us see how wet her hair and clothes were from the waves kicking up the side of the boat.

She is so darn cute!

Then she figured out she could go upstairs to the top of the boat

where it was quite a wild ride. She loved it!

Have I mentioned how cute she is?

After about an hour of heading out into the middle of the ocean, we actually started to see some whales. What an amazing sight they were! All in all, we saw 5 whales with 1 of them being a calf who stuck pretty close to his mama. I was impressed with how close we could get to them. It was well worth the arms and legs that we paid for this little adventure!

(You can see the whales better if you enlarge these pictures)
Here you can see the mama and baby swimming side by side

You can see 2 whales in this picture - 1 right in the center

and the other off to the left on the edge

A whale surfaces

Now you can see more of him

A nice tail shot as he says goodbye

After the cruise, it was time to start the 3 hour trek home. We stopped for dinner at On the Border (another favorite restaurant that is an 1 1/2 from home) in Springfield, MA and discovered that we were all sunburned and exhausted but none the worse for wear.
What a super fun weekend we had!

Part 2 - Providence, RI

2009-08-12T22:32:00.014-04:00

After spending Saturday morning cruising the streets of Providence (see Part 1), we headed over to Roger Williams Park. I would describe it as more of a compound than a park. This park houses a zoo, a Carousel Village, a Hasbro playground, a Temple to Music, a natural history museum, a botanical garden and lots of flower gardens, a casino, and who knows what else. We didn't have time to do everything, but we had a great time doing the things we did. We started off at Carousel Village and then had some fun at the playground. I love that Alexis is still "little" enough to enjoy a good playground.
I picked the blue dragon and Alexis was bummed that it didn't move up and down

A better choice the second time around

Life size Mr Potato Head - kind of scary -
Alexis wouldn't get close enough to take a picture

Hurry up and take the picture so I can keep playing

And we only double dogged dared him...should have held out for more....

When we started to sweat, we headed over to the Museum of Natural History and Planeterium. It was a small museum, but it had lots to see. They had scavenger hunt activity pages where the kids had to answer different questions by observing the different exhibits in the museum. Of course, Alexis thought this was the coolest thing ever! As a bonus, we were lucky enough to be just in time for the show at the planeterium. It was pretty amazing to actually see how the stars and other celestial bodies collide. At least that's what Rick and Alexis said. I had a nice little nap as soon as the lights went out and the room got dark. I guess it's a good thing we only paid $2 for the tickets.....

The 'clipboard' is definitely a look Alexis can pull off

The Mars Rover replica was by far Alexis' favorite part of the museum.

She loved that the display was equipped with a remote control device so

you could take it out for a spin.

After all of this fun, we were ready for some dinner so we settled in at Texas Roadhouse (now this might not sound exciting to you but it was quite a treat for us since the closest one to our home is 1 1/2 hours away). After dinner we stopped in at an Outlet Mall and I was ecstatic to find a Tupperware kiosk. Rick treated me to a Big Orange Bowl for making bread dough and quadruple batches of Christmas cookies (just like my mom's Big Green Bowl but 25 years newer) and a cupcake holder. Saturday ended with a swim in the hotel pool and 3 tired tourists kicking back in our room.
Boo! Scared you!

I can fly!

I snapped this picture just as the flash went off on Rick's camera.

What a cool effect!

Night night!

Spur of the moment - Part 1

2009-08-09T17:30:00.018-04:00

It will come as no surprise to anybody that I am not an impromptu gal. So I nearly gave Rick a heart attack a couple of weeks ago when I called him at work on Friday afternoon with a plan to go away for the weekend. I had already researched all the hotel deals we could get within a 3 hour drive of home and we just needed to choose a destination. We decided to head towards Rhode Island simply because we hadn't been there yet. I got a great deal on hotwire.com - we ended up at a Holiday Inn Express where we basically stayed for 2 nights what you normally pay for one. So, off we went cruising down the Massachusetts Turnpike...

Friday night we just hung out at the hotel. Alexis swam in the pool and we ordered in the best pizza (Pizza 85) we have ever had! On Saturday we headed into Providence, RI to check it out. We spent the morning driving through the city and looking at the different architecture there. We loved the view of the Capitol building and the old houses on Benefit Street just a couple of blocks away from Brown University. Benefit Street is a mile long street set up on a hill that came to be in the late 1700's as Providence's ascendant merchant class built fancy houses overlooking the city. The years that the houses were built and who owned them are on a placard on the corner of each house. Today, most of them are owned by ordinary people and some even had For Rent signs in the window. Here are some pictures of this leg of our adventure.....

Our little tourist and her friend Chocolate

at the Rogers Williams Memorial Park Visitor Center

The view of the Capitol Building from the visitors center

A look down Benefit Street

A close up of the placard that labels the homes

Another house - I like this one because if you look through

the upstairs middle window, it looks like there is a staircase blocking the window.

And yet another house...

There were several trees along the street where

the roots were attacking the sidewalk

An old church by the park

An interesting building in downtown Providence.

Count how many of the windows actually have glass in them.

Stay tuned to hear about the next leg of our little trip....

Picture = 1000 Words

2009-08-01T15:32:00.009-04:00

I rarely, if ever, post political or economic commentaries on this blog. But in this instance, I cannot resist. As the economy continues to falter, we attempt to cut back on expenses and really shop the sales. Most of our weekly dinners are dependent on what the local grocery store has on special the week before. I even find myself getting excited when the grocery store flyer has a "double off coupon deal" for a brand name coupon that is also in the Sunday paper. And, of course, we usually shop at the mega stores trying to get the best bang for our buck.

A few weeks ago, however, we were out shopping and decided it was all for naught when we saw this sale price sign:

Obviously, this was not the deal of a lifetime but it was the first laugh we've had regarding the state of our economy in a very long while. Even Alexis realized that there was something horribly wrong with this picture.

Out with the old....In with the new

2009-07-23T22:11:00.006-04:00

As you know, we had to retire our old couch a few weeks ago. The challenge was what to replace it with since there was no way we could get another couch up our stairs. As we started shopping, we realized that we probably wouldn't even be able to get a loveseat up our stairs. After many visits to the local furniture stores, we found a big poofy chair and 2 leather chairs that we liked. We've had them for a couple of weeks now but today we finally completed the look. The bench ottoman that we've been wanting went on sale this week so we were able to get it as well as a new area rug to coordinate. The pink bean bag is Alexis' contribution to the decor. We are loving our new living room!

A Mommy/Daughter Date

2009-07-18T20:07:00.007-04:00

Since Julee is hanging out with extended family in Arizona and Rick is on his way back from a week long training at Ft Knox, KY; Alexis and I spent our Saturday at the mall. We started off at Build-a-Bear where Alexis got her new friend, Chocolate, even though another stuffed animal was the last thing in this world that she needed. Her justification - "But Mom, why waste a perfectly good $10 off coupon?" I thought I had that coupon hidden away...guess not.

Then we were on to lunch - Chinese for Alexis and Arby's for me. I tried to convince Alexis that we should go to Pizzeria Uno or Ruby Tuesdays but she will ALWAYS pick the Food Court if we are at the mall. She does not take after her mother in that respect. After lunch we stopped in at CVS for some contraband candy on our way to see the new Ice Age movie in 3D. Correction, "eye-popping" 3D. It was a cute movie and quite funny as they usually tend to be. I fell in love with the baby dinosaurs

and then with Peaches the baby mammoth - too CUTE!

After the movie, we stopped at the grocery store for our typical Saturday shopping. Now I should be picking up the house before Rick gets home so I can pretend it was clean all week. Somehow, I think he knows better than that. Oh well, playtime is over....

Ricklee's Ramblings

2009-07-11T00:23:00.009-04:00

So.....Rick went away on a business trip and came back to inform me that while sitting in the back of the room in a very 'boring' meeting that had nothing to do with him or his job, he decided to start his own blog. He is very excited about this new venture, as am I, since I am rarely willing to indulge his 'interesting' post ideas. For those of you who know Rick, this should prove to be quite enlightening. For those of you who don't, this should still prove to be quite enlightening.

Ricklee's Ramblings is now showing at a URL near you! Go babe!

Last Day of School - FINALLY!

2009-06-25T17:18:00.008-04:00

Today was FINALLY the last day of school. I know most of the settled world has been out for a month already, but not the school children in the great state of New York. Poor things! Both Julee and Alexis are ready for a much needed break. They worked hard this year and have done an excellent job in their studies as well as their extra-curricular activities. I thought it would be fun to post a first day of school picture and a last day of school picture to see how much they have or haven't changed. What do you think?

September 2008

June 2009

I think it is hilarious that Alexis is wearing the same shirt at the end of the year that Julee was wearing at the beginning of the year. I couldn't have planned that if I tried!

Farmers Market or Car Show?

2009-06-18T23:17:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday while I was at my scrapbooking group, Rick and Alexis took an impromptu trip to one of the local farmers markets. Farmers Markets are so AWESOME and they are EVERYWHERE around here. Some are very small and laid back, while others are very large with tons of stands. They are fun to visit and we get some really great deals on locally grown fruits and vegetables. There is also great entertainment in looking at all the stands that are run by local craftsman and eateries. As Rick and Alexis were telling me about this particular market, it seemed a bit different than the norm. When I saw the pictures, all I could do was laugh and think of the old Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the others; one of these things just doesn't belong". Can you pick out which one doesn't belong?

Yep, those rows of flower were the extent of anything organic seen that day. Not your typical farmers market but they had a great time even if they didn't get to bring home any of these locally grown treasures.

She's a Rock Star!

2009-06-12T09:16:00.010-04:00

Last night we went to Julee's last band concert of elementary school. What a great percussionist Julee has become in the past 3 years! I love that the band director has them switch instruments for each song. In this concert Julee played the xylophone, snare drum, timpani, bass drum, and the drum set.

Here you can see her ready to play the timpani (kettle drums).

Julee was asked to perform as part of a smaller group at the concert. Here she is playing snare drum.

We're off to see the wizard! Julee plays the xylophone for this number (she is standing to the left in the back row). It amazed me to see that she never actually looks at her music when she is playing.

We are excited that Julee has chosen to continue with her music and will be playing in the junior high band next year!

Hmmm?

2009-06-10T21:36:00.006-04:00

Could this be why we have to buy a new couch?

In their defense, the couch has been broken since we moved here. It really didn't fit up the stairs, but the missionaries who were helping Rick move "made" it fit. Now it's beyond broken and the furniture store will be happy to see us coming.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-06-09T12:38:00.007-04:00

I always post for birthdays and special occasions but wasn't quite sure how I would pull this one off. Lucky for me, my sister Ali took care of it for me! I stole this post from her blog this morning. Thanks Ali for remembering me and for your mushy post that will keep me in tears all day!

Birthday Post/100th Post

There are 2 big occasions with this post. For one, it is my 100th post since I started the blog. Two, it is my big sister's birthday today. How awesome that her birthday and my 100th post happen to fall at the same time. I think it's cool anyway. I was up at 745 this morning and thought for once that maybe I could get a birthday post done before 1130pm the night of the birthday. I guess that is awesomeness #3 to add, a birthday blog goes out before 9am. Anyway, I just want to wish Stephanie a very happy birthday. (Sorry there are no pictures but you really are not one to have many pictures of you around.) She is my oldest sister, and just may be the wisest. I have had many fabulous times with my big sis over the years. I think the the best times have definitely been later in life. I love that as all of us siblings grow older we get along better and find more joy in being around each other. I have 2 all time favorite times when I was with Steph. One was when I was so lucky to get to spend a couple months with her in Germany. I had so much fun hanging out with her and travelling around the area, experiencing new things. My other all time favorite time with her was the year I lived with her after I graduated high school. I moved in with her the summer after I graduated and I totally loved it. I was so lucky to watch her girlies for her while she worked and it was so much fun. I just enjoyed the time I lived there with her. I don't recall us ever butting heads or having any issues. We just enjoyed our time together and it was great. I am so thankful too that I could be there for her that year. Many not so good things happened in that time and I am just so grateful that I could be there for her in those moments that were so difficult. I love my big sister.

Steph, I hope you have a great day. You are such an amazing woman and though I am so far away I love to see who you have become since you married Rick and have been in NY. I can see how strong your testimony is and how much more amazing you have become in the gospel. Not that you haven't always been, but I have seen a change in you. I admire the mother you are. I know you teach your daughters well and are raising them the way Heavenly Father wants all of us too. You embrace your calling and your activity in your ward there and I think it is so great. I am so glad that you are happy. I am glad you found such an amazing man to marry. You deserve the love he has for you and the way he treats you. I know you have dealt with a lot of difficulty in your life and I just am so thrilled with where I see you now. You truly are amazing and I really am inspired seeing the way you have overcome things and they way you rise above the challenges. I know it must not have been easy and there are probably still many not easy times. You do it with grace though. You have a good heart. Sorry this is all mushy but when I write these things I just say what comes to me. I just wanted you to know what I think of you. We don't talk as much as we should now that you are so far away, but I hope you know that I love you the same as always, maybe even more. You truly are a great example to me in all walks of life. You are amazing. I am so blessed to have you as a sister. I love you!

Happy Birthday Steppie!

Aloha 'Oe

2009-06-08T21:39:00.016-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we went to a Hawaiian Luau at the church. They served yummmy tropical appetizers and desserts. There were a lot of different stations you could visit including a fruit smoothie bar, 'beach' volleyball (in the gym), themed family pictures with a decorate your own picture frame, face painting, a pie eating contest and learning to hula dance. We all had a great time hanging out with our friends and just having fun!

Alexis going all in on the pie eating contest

Alexis and Julee play some 'beach' volleyball

Alexis takes a stab at hula dancing

Julee's turn

(she settled for the picture on the blog - I have a great video of this!)

We also got a fun family picture while we were there

(see the new blog photo up in the left corner).

She's got talent and lives to tell about it!

2009-06-03T22:16:00.006-04:00

In Achievement Days, Alexis has been learning about cake decorating. Tonight for their activity they were decorating their own cake. Last night she made the cake (with a little help from mom) and today I frosted it following her very precise instructions. She took the plain pink frosted cake to church and came home with a masterpiece. What a great job she did - she definitely has some natural artistic talent going on here!

Alexis insisted on putting this flag (that she got off a Memorial Day cake) on her own cake
.

A bird's eye view

Cutting the cake

Yum - it tastes as good as it looks

What we don't have pictures of (and you will appreciate that we don't) is the bloody nose and coordinating bump on her forehead and cheek that Alexis got just before leaving the church. As she was running across the gym, the poor thing tripped and hit her head on a table as she went down and smashed her nose and mouth into the floor. Thankfully, she is okay and a hot shower and piece of cake seemed to be the ultimate fix.

Julee's Birthday Shout Out

2009-05-31T07:34:00.005-04:00

My awesome sister, Ali, wrote a really sweet birthday shout out to the birthday girl. Click on her name to check it out. I love the pictures that she posted!

Happy Birthday Julee!!

2009-05-30T09:25:00.004-04:00

Today is Julee's 12th birthday! We love her so much and are glad she is part of our family! Here are 12 things about Julee that you may or may not know:

1. She has a very cheerful and positive outlook on life.

2. Her favorite color is blue.

3. She LOVES candles.

4. She rocks at DDR (Dance Dance Revolution)

5. Her robot won a race in the Robotics competition (three times).

6. She likes to play UNO with her sister.

7. Her life occupation will not likely be that of a cleaning lady.

8. She has completed the Faith in God program for her age group at church.

9. She loves to read.

10. She is very smart and excels in school.

11. Her radio/CD player is ALWAYS on (even when she is not in her room).

12. She can touch her nose with her tongue!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULEE!!

Memorial Day Parade

2009-05-25T11:32:00.014-04:00

Happy Memorial Day! Today we remember the many sacrifices of military service members both past and present. We are grateful to all those who fight (and have fought) to protect our freedoms and for their families who support them as they do so! Usually we spend the day at the church picnic, but this morning Julee had the privilege to march in the City of Watervliet Memorial Day Parade with the Watervliet Wind Warriors (her youth aviation group). The rest of us went and sat on the sidewalk of "Main Street" (really the usually very busy Troy-Schenectady Road that runs from east to west through the entire capital region) to cheer her on and watch the parade. The weather was perfect and we all had a really fun time! I loved the small town feel of it all.

Waiting for the parade to begin

Here it comes!

Rick's favorite part

Watervliet Historical Society

Watervliet Wind Warriors (If you look carefully, you can see the blue striped, remote controlled airplane flying in front of the group)

Who let the dogs out?

The Capital Region Celtic Pipeband

EMS vehicles as far as the eye can see

Grandparent's and Special Person's Night

2009-05-24T21:54:00.010-04:00

Last Monday for Family Home Evening, we went to a special event held each year at the girls' school. It's a chance for the students to show off a little for their parents, grandparents, etc... All the visitors go with each of their children to their classrooms and see all the special projects they have been working on. In Alexis' class, we found a great story that she had written about going to Build-a-Bear with Julee and Mom,

a colored train book report, a pattern quilt coloring project,

and a science project about the life cycle of a butterfly.

Alexis is so awesome and talented!

This year, we visited the 6th grade wing alone since Julee was too busy performing the entire evening. Julee was asked to play in the little performance band at the opening of the evening. Here she is setting up AND chatting with her friend (yep, teenage multi-tasking going on here).

In this video you can see her "hiding" behind her band director playing the drum set.

The rest of Julee's evening was spent giving demonstrations of her LEGO robot that she has learned how to build and command in Robotics this year. The students have to program their robots to get through an obstacle course that is different each time. Here she is programming her robot. They have to program it to go a certain distance, turn in a complete circle around a barrier, go across a bridge making a couple of specific turns, and then stop a certain distance from the end of the table.

By the end of the evening, Julee's robot was the only one that made it through the entire course! Go Julee!

I know I'm a little biased but I have to say that my girls ROCK!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2009-05-16T15:09:00.011-04:00

One afternoon this week we all went to the park to fly Alexis' new kite. This walking park down the street from our house is perfect for flying kites since there are only trees around the perimeter of the park. The wind was blowing perfectly and we had so much fun! At one point Alexis lost hold of the kite string and she and Julee had to chase the kite for about 30 yards. Luckily, somebody saw the kite coming and stopped it for them or this would have been our first and last kite flight.

A kite flying demonstration

Alexis' fight for freedom documentary

(notice the 'love' between the host and the citizen)

"Over the Top!"

2009-05-13T20:26:00.008-04:00

This past weekend we went to see Ringling Brother's Barnum and Bailey Circus! Neither one of the girls had ever been before so they had no idea what to expect. We didn't even tell them where we were going until we got there. We were a little worried that Julee would think it was "lame" but she enjoyed it just as much as the rest of us. Before the show they let you go down on the floor to talk to the performers and get their autographs in your program. The girls thought that was pretty cool. The show itself lasted a little over 2 hours but it seemed like an entire afternoon there was so much going on. We took so many pictures I can't decide which ones to post so here are a few.

Trying on some of the costumes

Getting autographs

More autographs

Our friend Kelly, the elephant

The grand entrance

The brave Cossacks on horseback

Daniel Raffo and his tigers

Alex Petrov and his amazing elephants

Heading home after a FUN afternoon!

Rick found this cool program that makes photo collages out of a selection of pictures. Here are the ones he put together for the girls. (It is easier to view if you click on the picture to enlarge it)

Julee's

Alexis'

2009-05-10T17:43:00.012-04:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Just want to take a moment to acknowledge a great mom and even better grandma! Thank you for all you have done for us and for all you still do for us ~ you are awesome! Wish we were there to share in the noise and chaos that will ensue as a result of today's holiday celebration! We love you!

Kylie, Noah, Kella, Alexis, Grandma, & Zoey

Mt Lemmon - April 2009

Where have we been?

2009-05-07T12:29:00.004-04:00

Why haven't you heard from us in awhile? Meet my 2 best pals - the Excel spreadsheet and the Business Objects report......

Too much work and not enough play going on around here lately.....

Poor Rick

2009-04-21T19:12:00.007-04:00

It is very obvious that poor Rick has spent way too much time breathing in the second-hand estrogen that makes up the majority of the air in our house. How so, you ask?

Is it the fact that this picture finds him in the kitchen making sloppy joes for dinner? No.

Is it the lovely pink bead necklace that he wears so well? No.

Or is it merely the fact that he raised absolutely no eyebrows or stink when we told him we were posting this picture on the blog? BINGO!

(P.S. Check out Alexis' self-portrait hanging on the fridge in the background)

A Little Celebration

2009-04-14T22:52:00.004-04:00

It's always hard to decide which milestones to celebrate or not celebrate. Today's is one worth a little celebration ~ 2 years ago today, Rick and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Mesa Arizona Temple. I am so blessed to share my life with him every day. Rick is a great husband and an awesome dad!

We celebrated with ice cream cupcakes from Coldstone Creamery - yummy!

We had a good laugh at how the cupcakes coincidentally looked male and female. It was even funnier that I liked the pink one better and Rick liked the white (chocolate) one better.

My New Best Friend

2009-04-08T23:17:00.007-04:00

I'd like you to meet my new best friend ~ Noah. Everytime I have talked to my family in Arizona for the past week, I end up having a chat with Noah, my nephew. He always gives me the rundown on what everybody is doing and exactly what is going on in the world according to Noah. When his mom or somebody else tells him it's time to say bye-bye, he always says, "I'n not done yet" or "I'n talking to Stephie". I realize that he has no idea who he is talking to (other than knowing that the voice on the other end is Stephie) and that he will talk to just about anybody on the phone; but I do not take that personally. I just love that he wants to talk and that I can actually understand him. Here's to Noah - you know my number bub, call me anytime!

"Good-bye New York!"

2009-04-07T17:53:00.007-04:00

These words were Alexis' specific request for today's blog title. For those who haven't already heard, Alexis will be spending the next 10 days in Arizona with Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of the gang. She was so excited to get going that she could not sleep last night and bounded out of bed first thing this morning. The 2 hour road trip to the airport took 'FOREVER'! I kept waiting for her to get nervous or apprehensive about this little trip. Needless to say, I'm still waiting....... She was cool as a cucumber through the whole thing. When I hugged her good-bye as she went to board the plane, I gave her all the last minute reminders and she said, 'Mom, I know. I'm not a baby.' Even my friend Gretchen (who was great to come on this little road trip and keep me company) noticed that as Alexis walked off to board with the gate agent she didn't even look back or turn around and wave good-bye. That's our Alexis! Even though we will miss her, we hope she has an AWESOME time in Arizona!

The world traveler

Alexis and her new friend Flower waiting for her plane to come in

The plane, the plane.....

Julee has already commented that it is weird not to have Alexis around. Rick is also going to be gone for the next 2 days. What will Julee and I ever do??