She's 15!

My goodness...it's hard to imagine our beautiful daughter Kelsey is 15 years old! She was such a great baby! Actually, we were completley spoiled by her...she slept all night from 2 weeks on, loved to be on the ground versus being held and always had a happy disposition. Love this picture of her at 8 months. As she grew older, she was still a joy but the sassiness started! Kelsey at 5 years old. She was often referred to as a miniature "Meg Ryan".

Kelsey enjoys all sorts of activities especially going to the beach and boating on the lake. Here she is in Laughlin at age 9.

And today, our beautiful daughter at 15. Kelsey is such a joy in our life. Kelsey loves to talk and hang out with friends, shop (especially for shoes) and listen to music. But our hearts melt when we walk in her room and she is reading her scriptures. We love that she feels comfortable to talk with us about troubles or trials she faces. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and is a great example to her friends and family. She has brought so much joy to our lives!

Happy Birthday Bear...we love you!

February Happenings!

February was a very busy month for our family. Kelsey and Ethan joined "Pep Band" and participated a several basketball games. Below are a few pictures of them at University Prep vs. Riverside Prep. They enjoyed it!

We added a new member to our family. This is Oreo. Let me explain how this one happened! Oreo was Riley's class pet at school. Well, after several nights of setting off the motion detectors in the classroom, Riley's teacher was told no more! So Oreo went home with the teacher, on the grounds that her daughters were to care for her. Well that lasted a week. So now it became first come, first served! Another girl in Riley's class took her home but that lasted a week. We got a phone call from the sister of this girl who happens to be a friend of Kelsey asking if we would take her. After much persuasion, Chris agreed to a trial run. She is such a sweetheart and we love her to death! She is so spoiled and knows it! The only ones that question our judgement are the two cats!

Now off to back to back field trips with Ethan. On Feb. 17 we enjoyed the beautiful sights of Ft. Irwin and Rainbow Basin. Here we hiked two miles in to look at the magnificent rock formations! Jokes on mom! At least I can say, I enjoyed spending time with Ethan. The rocks I could have done without!

The next day, we visited a mosque in Rancho Cucamonga. Well, that was interesting! That's all I can say about it! Again, another great time for mother-son bonding!

Blue and Gold Pack meeting was next on the list. This years theme "Anything 100" in honor of the 100th anniversary of scouting. Chris and Riley designed a $100 dollar bill cake with scouting info such as founding dates for the serial number and a realistic picture of Lord Baden-Powell in the center :) Way to go boys!

We enjoyed a few other activites/festivites which I forgot to included pictures of such as Chris' dad's surprise retirement party at the San Bernardino Hilton. We had to pull the kids out of school to attend this event. We had family from Vegas and Utah come down for the surprise. There were well over 200 people in attendance! It was a wonderful event!

Our month was also filled with several church responsibilites such as youth conference meetings, dances, ward conferences and so much more!

January Happenings!

Our family participated in a youth service project at a horse rescue center in Pinon Hills named Mustang Ranch. They currently house approximately 40 horses. We performed chores such us...shoveling manure...

and hauling manure away as Riley is doing..

grooming horses (gotta the the rear-end shot!)...exercising them by walking so many laps and many other chores. The kids had a blast and got a taste of what "real work" is all about. I think they enjoyed it because after performing 4 hours of service, we all received free tickets to Disneyland. If you have not heard, Disneyland is offering a "Give a Day..Get a Day" program right now. Go to their website and check it out!

Next on the list were award ceremonies at school. Bragging rights for the Denkers...all three kids made Superintendants Honor Roll! All staight A's! We are so proud of them!

Riley with his award..

Ethan with his...

and Kelsey with hers! Way to go munchkins!

Last but not least, pack meeting. Riley has been working hard and earned several awards. We're glad he enjoys scouting! We enjoyed other moments such as Winter Break and a YW trip to Big Bear (poor YM couldn't attend because of the snow levels...they were suppose to camp outside the cabin). At least they will have a chance to do so in March!

December Happenings!

Luckily, I already posted about the first half of December, now to the tail end! Christmas Eve shot of the family right before heading down to Chris' parents for festivites. Christmas tradition, the re-enactment of our Savior's birth. Great-Grandpa Futrell was our narrator along with Mary and Joseph (Kelsey and Riley), our angel (cousin Kennedy) and our 3 wisemen (Ethan, and cousins Braxton and Caden).
Spending time with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Futrell and....

Grandma and Grandpa Denkers.

Christmas morning excitement over Santa's gifts! DSI for Riley..

IPOD for Ethan and ....

IPOD for Kelsey! Santa sure does agree with mom... the older kids get, the more expensive they become!

In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa Horvath along with Aunt Amanda, Uncle Chris and Peyton came over to celebrate with us!

We had a wonderful Christmas!

Commited to blogging!

O.K. I know, it's been a long time since I've blogged! It's been sooo long, it took 3 attempts at the password before I got it right! As the new year approached, I made a resolution that I would start blogging more often. Well, as you can see that resolution's a bust...so I've decided to start a monthly blog. I can hear it now..it's already March and nothing yet! I promise in the next few days, I willl start posting again. I just have to remember what happened months ago! Oh no, I'm in trouble!

Busy,busy,busy!!

December has been just a crazy one for our family. Not only do we need to find time for baking, shopping and wrapping presents, but our family had to squeeze in Band Performances...and all within one week! So join us as we preview A Week in the Life of The Denkers Family!It all started one very chilly Saturday (Dec. 5th) morning in Victorville. Here we were layered in clothing and lined up on 7th street awaiting the Victorville Christmas Parade. Loma's parents along with Chris' mom, cousin Austin and the rest of our family patiently waited for a glimpse of Riverside Prep's Marching Band (a new venture for Kelsey).
Finally, they arrived! Kelsey is dead center of this picture performing one of their many marching moves! They did a great job!

Onto Winter Wonderland at Riverside Prep. The first night, Wednesday, Dec. 9th, we enjoyed Kelsey's performance with Wind Ensemble and Marching Band. Again, knocking the socks off of everyone in attendance!

The next night of Winter Wonderland, Thursday, Dec. 10th, was all focused on the boys! Ethan traded instruments this year going from trumpet to saxophone. He did a great job with his class!

And our little Riley had two performances that night. First, he performed with the entire 4th grade singing a few different Christmas songs. Then it was off to perform with the 4th grade band students. He was so proud of himself! This is his first year playing the trumpet and he is enjoying every moment! He too did a great job! We finally got to rest for a few days before the next parade!

Our next Marching Band venture was in the Helendale Parade on Saturday, Dec. 12th. Again, they did a great job and even took home first place! Not bad for a 4 mile march!

Gotta love this outfit! Riverside Prep takes band very seriously as you can tell by their uniforms! Isn't she beautiful!
All in all, it was a crazy week, including a fundraiser and performance at Chili's Restaurant that following Tuesday night (can't seem to locate the pictures), but it's wonderful to watch our kids develop musical talents! What a way to start the holiday season off!

Turkey Bowl and Thanksgiving Day

Bright and early Thanksgiving morning, we witnessed the slaughter of Young Men by the "Geezers", the men of the ward, during the annual Turkey Bowl played at Liberty Park. If I remember right, the score was 7-2. There's Ethan on the far left with his beanie on! Our Mesa Linda cheerleaders! Back row:Claire and Kelsey. Front row: Nicole, Hannah and Harli.

Even Ethan's best friend, C.J. joined in on the fun!

Later that morning, we headed down to Rancho Cucamonga to enjoy Thanksgiving with Chris' parents and siblings. What a beautiful 80 degree day in Southern California!

I had to grab a quick family picture outside before stuffing our faces and rendering ourselves useless.

Usually, I am really good at taking pictures, but for some reason I forgot to take some of the entire family or even the feast. Oh well, it was a great day filled with good food and company!