School's Out For Summer...(Do your best Alice Cooper impression here)

Reese's teacher reading the note that Reese wrote for her.

Emily shaking hands with the principal, Mrs. Ford, after receiving her 5th grade diploma.

Thursday was the last day of school for Emily and Reese. The entire 5th grade class celebrated with a pancake breakfast and a video slideshow featuring baby pictures and memories of the past year. There were many tears from teachers and parents, too.

Reese's class marked the end of the year with a pizza and room cleaning party. The first graders were excited to clean tables and put away books. I just wish Reese would be that excited to clean her own bedroom.

Memorial Day Camping

We spent our holiday weekend camping at Mt. Princeton Campground in the San Isabel National Forest. We brought along our 8-year-old neighbor, Lionel, and met up with some of our friends at the campground. We hiked to Agnes Vaille Falls and soaked in the waters of the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. We toasted marshmallows, ate s'mores and fell asleep to the roaring sound of Chalk Creek every night.

Cake Decorating

Here is a cake that I recently decorated for a friend who turned 40. The photos were printed, laminated and then placed on an iced cake.

Sand Dunes Camping Trip

Today, we returned from our 6th Annual Sand Dunes Camping Trip. Our weekend started with some nasty weather, but we ended on a sunny note and a milestone reached.

On Friday, the weather was cold and snowy, but we all had heaters and stuck it out only to be rewarded with primo campsites and beautiful hiking weather.

Emily, Reese, Amanda (Reese's friend who came along on the trip) and some of the other kids from our camping crew made it to the very top peak of the Dunes. This was the first year for doing this and they were all very excited and very tired when they got back to camp.

Walking along a sand ridge.

Snow on the Dunes. A first for us!

Roasting marshmallows around the campfire.

Jeff and our friend Kevin toasting to Kevin's 40th birthday and the fact that this was the farthest they had been on the Dunes.

The Mulder Girls

Emily in front of a snowy Mt. Blanca with another front moving in.

Art Work by Noelle

Here is a picture that Noelle drew of herself and Jeff for his birthday. I was impressed by her observation that he has short hair and that her hair is brown and she has green eyes. However, I don't know if she could not find a blue crayon or if she thinks Jeff has red eyes. Artistic freedom, I guess?

Easter

Easter Sunday was spent with Paul, Judy, Marie, Jessica and Julia. Paul made a fabulous 'turducken' and all of our favorite sides: Chipotle Sweet Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, and Peas with Pearl Onions and Artichokes. For dessert, I made a Rhubarb Swirl Cheesecake. The leftover cheesecake stayed with Paul so that I would not be tempted to eat it on the way home.

The girls hunted for Easter eggs and it is very possible that a few eggs are waiting to be found somewhere on the property.

The girls were also able to go to Amos and Dana's (Long-time friends of Paul and Judy and 'country neighbors') house to ride the horses. They also received lessons in cooling down the horses and had a really good time.

Spring Break 2006

At the entrance to the park.

On the shuttle to Hermit's Rest.

I don't know if you will be able to see it, but a rainbow formed in the canyon during a brief respite from the snow shower.

On the morning that we were to leave Arizona, a blanket of gropple coated our campsite.

A couple of goof-offs.

View of the Grand Canyon with the Colorado River to the right.

The girls on a piece of lava rock in front of Capulin Volcano.

Emily doing her Mr. Spock impression.

Here we are inside the crater of Capulin Volcano.

This past week was spent at the Grand Canyon (South Rim) and Capulin Volcano in Raton, NM.

Our trip to the Grand Canyon was marked with cold and snowy weather. Otherwise, we were awed by the scenery and wished that the weather was more cooperative so that we could have done some hiking and a little more sight-seeing.

The volcano was very neat in that we were able to walk into the crater of the volcano. This was very interesting and also very different from our trip to Mt. St. Helens last year.

Puerto Vallarta Holiday

Enjoying the last evening in Mexico.

Morning surf.

Footprints in the sand.

A picture of our hotel. We were on the 7th floor, dead center.

Enjoying the cab ride to downtown Puerto Vallarta.

Our finished Mexican coffee.

Lounge lizard.

On the boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta.

Enjoying the Unamog ride.

The flash on our camera killed the spectacular sight of the alcohol that was on fire and then being poured into our glass during the making of our Mexican coffee. The presentation of our dessert drinks was a wonderful production.

This is the Unamog(?sp) that took us to the jungle for our Canopy Tour.

Enjoying the evening.

We were just amazed at how many people still use horses and burros as modes of transportation.

On the balcony.

Sunset on the beach.

Sunrise over the city.

Sunset on the beach.

Sunrise on the beach.

The living room in our suite. This room was just the best!

Jeff and Windy on the shuttle from the airport in Puerto Vallarta to the Grand Velas.

On the beach in front of the hotel.

The view from our balcony.

Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We had the most wonderful time! None of this would have been possible without the help of my aunt and uncle who watched the girls for us this week. I think that it will be a while before they take on a challenge like that. But, maybe it's like childbirth-you forget just how painful it is and want to do it all over again. :P Right?

We spent our first day in Mexico walking along the beach. The beauty of all that water was mesmorizing. That evening, ADIC hosted a poolside cocktail party to welcome everyone. We were introduced to tequila poppers (very good tequila and Fresca) and there was many a hangover the next morning.

On Monday, we lounged by the pool and acquainted ourselves with Jeff's fellow co-workers.

On Tuesday, we went on the Canopy Tour. This was just the highlight of our trip. The Canopy Tour involves being hooked up to a zip line and flying through the jungle-going from platform to platform. Although Jeff says that he enjoyed it, he was a little disturbed by how close the trees were to our path. The crew that helped us was just a hilarious bunch and worked so well together.

Wednesday had us taking a cab from the hotel to downtown Puerto Vallarta. The cabride was an adventure in itself and we loved shopping and haggling with the vendors. We were able to pick up some beautiful wraps for the girls and various other trinkets for my aunt and uncle. After we were done shopping, we spent one last afternoon on the beach using the boogie boards and trying not to drink too much of the ocean.

We took one final walk on the beach Thursday morning. We collected shells and just took in the scenery.

What a trip! This is just one of the best experiences of our lives and now we can't wait to plan something like this for the girls and us.