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!

My Thanksgiving Wish!

Loved this poem...just had to share it!

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Sixteen years of wedded bliss!

Friday, November 20th, Chris and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary! Time sure does fly when you're in love! It's hard to believe we have been together that long! This man is my rock. He is one that I can always lean on and know, he'll always be there for me and our family. He is my best friend! He is a wonderful husband and father. I love him so much! Happy Anniversary babe!

Twilight Saga: New Moon

Ok Twilight fans and those who may not be or who was disappointed by the first movie Twilight...let me tell you...you will NOT be disappointed by New Moon! The movie was incredible and for several reasons! Of course, when I went to see the showing last night, I did have higher expectations. Those exceptations were blown out of the water!
This is why: EVERYTHING WAS BETTER...the acting, graphics, even the overall coloring of the movie. Everything was so vivid! I was also impressed on how accurate the movie details were. They really stayed true to the book! We had such a blast last night! Below are a few of our pictures! Kelsey and I wearing our New Moon attire!

My sister in law Amanda and myself!

Our friends, the Ratliffs. Left to right: Ro, Nicole, Claire and Harli.

More friends: Karli, Emily, Shawn, Brad, Amanda, Anja and Kristi.

and last but not least, Kelsey and her posse! Valarie, Hannah, Nicole, Harli, Krystle, Kelsey and Claire.

Oh, but who could forget Jennifer and her daughter Hannah who, at first, was not excited about being surprised with tickets from mom!

Twi-hard Fan!

The wait is almost over! In exactly 2 hours, I am heading to the movie theatre to stand in line for the much anticipated Twilight:New Moon. In exactly 6 hours, 18 of my friends and family will be sitting in the theatre watching Twilight! That's correct, I said Twilight! In exactly 9 hours, I will be joined by the same 18 people for the midnight showing of New Moon!!! What could be better than back to back, Edward, Bella and Jacob! Oh my gosh, I think I've died and gone to heaven! You may think I'm crazy, but if you're truly a fan, then you understand!

See you tomorrow with our review! Gotta get ready...Twilight awaits!

Last stop on our cruise: St. Croix

Another beautiful island! A few shots of St. Croix from the top deck of ou ship.
The beautiful babes waiting patiently to shop!
Our sexy studs anticipating the following words "charge it"!
I couldn't resist taking a picture of the clock tower and American flag! A little taste of home. St. Fredriksted, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.
Fort Fredrik.

Miles of blue ocean water!

My honey and I!

Chris copping a feel...poor Amanda!

Our good friends, Jeff and Jennifer!

As beautiful as this island was, by Saturday we were all exhausted! 5 islands in 5 days took it's toll on us! We lasted only 1 hour before heading back to the ship in hopes to relax and catch a few zzzz's while lounging by the pool! And you know what, that's exactly what we did! Join us again in 2 - 3 years for our next adventure! It's still in the planning stages!

Next stop: Antigua

Welcome to Antigua! Capital: St: Johns, which you are looking at from our view off the ship. Pretty island but not gorgeous compared to St. Lucia. I'm always on the hunt for the welcome sign!We decided today would be our relaxing day. We hitched a ride in a cab and headed out to Long's Bay Beach. We were told by the locals this is the best beach on the island. They were right...it was beautiful!The only palm tree on the beach and it happened to have this sign right in front of it! What where they thinking??
Have you ever seen so many shades of blue?
Picture perfect!
Jeff and Jennifer trying to keep cool. We rented lounge chairs along with a few umbrellas in hopes to keep us cool and relaxed. It was a hot and humid day.

I attempted to lay out but would only last 15 minutes at a time. It was too blazing hot!

Awww...this was much better! The best was to keep cool!

O.K. I need to explain this one! Chris, in all his wisdom, decided to be a smart alleck (SHOCKER!) and rubbed sand all over his face. He kept making comments about how important it is to exfoliate your skin and how he doesn't understand why women pay such a high price for beauty products when sand is the best thing for you. Next thing you know, my brother joined in just to prove his point. The next scene, had me rolling with tears streaming down my face. Two women overheard Chris and...you guessed it...started rubbing sand over their very large bodies, agreeing with everything Chris told them! I'm telling you, we could make alot of money with the "BS" Chris sells!

Enjoying our last few minutes on the beach!

I'll leave you with my favorite picture of from our day trip to Antigua!

A few more beauties...

Still in St. Lucia...just accidently deleted these from the previous post. Marigot Bay had to be one of the most beautiful spots on the island. Because the bay sits further inland, it is protected from the massive waves created by hurricanes. Several resorts lay nearby. But I didn't take a picture of them, instead I grabbed one of this handsome man with a boat behind him named, "Harder they come, harder they fall". Reminded me of Chris and some of the strange sayings he comes up with like, "Wherever you are, there you go". Gotta love his sense of humor!

For those of you that live near Victorville, yes, there really are places that grow green stuff!!! I could only imagine what it must be like to wake up each morning, look out the window and stare at this landscape.

Slice of paradise!

Lovely St. Lucia (land of the Denkers future retirement home!)

Ahhh...St. Lucia...the land of beauty! Chris and I have been to several islands over the years, but St. Lucia by far is the cream of the crop! If you like the feel of a tropical jungle, you too would fall in love.
Our morning started off a little wet! As we disembarked our ship, the rain started to fall. Who cares...beautiful! Why is this island so green and beautiful one might ask? The answer...St. Lucia receives approximately 150 inches of rain per year! No problem for me...I love the rain!

We wheeled and dealed with a local excursion company in hopes of an adventure. Lucky us...it worked! What better way to start our tour of the island then via a water taxi (aka - speed boat)! Our chariot awaits!

Having a blast touring the southeastern part of the island!

I will warn you now...if you drool at the site of beauty, please grab a tissue now! I wouldn't want you drooling all over your keyboard!
Accidently deleted a picture...darn it! I'll have to post it next! Still beautiful!

As we came around a bend, we set our sights on the beautiful Gros Pitonswhich were formed by the local volcano. The Grand Piton stands over 2500 feet tall and is a perfect spot for rock climbers.

Breathtaking!

Once we arrived at the dock, we were shuttled off the boat and into a van headed for the volcano in Soufriere. I'm sure you've heard of Mister Toads Wild Ride at Disneyland. Take that ride, times it by ten and you have local driving! You just close your eyes and breathe! We are still amazed at how drivers manage in tight spots. Let's just say, if you place your pinky outside the window, it's liable to be ripped off! As we wound the streets of Sourfriere, we passed a local secondary school as they were letting out of school. Love those uniforms!
We safely made it to Soufriere Volcano. Thank goodness! Upon exiting the vehicle, we all looked around and said, "This is it"? Literally, what you see behind us is the remnanats of the volcano. Last eruption was in the late 1960's. If smells could kill, we'd all be dead! The line from The Wizard of Oz kept replaying in my mind, "Whoo, what a smell of sulphur"!

Jeff, Jennifer, Chris, Loma, Amanda and Christopher near the volcano.

The beautiful Toraille Waterfall. The waterfall was nice but more impressive were the grounds surrounding it. I have never seen such a wide variety of foliage.

What a heartthrob!
Ah...beautiful!

Love this picture of Chris and Amanda!

Back to the boat and headed to Anse Chastanet Beach for some snorkeling. Just look at that beach! The sand was so soft, water incredibly warm and clear.

I don't know how Chris can dive down so deep with snorkel gear on. One taste of the sea water and I'm gagging! I am about 15 feet above Chris taking his picture.

We saw a variety of fish swimming along especially near the reef. Cute little blue guy!

Jeff and Jennifer enjoying the water.

Beautiful coral!

Once the day came to an end, we were back in the boat and headed to the ship. Look at that...home sweet floating home!

Like I mentioned before, St. Lucia was beautiful, breathtaking, inspiring...I could go on and on! While we were there, we inquired about home prices. Let's just say, one day we will own a house on this tropical island! This is one place I hope to visit again soon!