Family Friday: Featuring My Sister (by marriage) JuLee

This week on "Family Friday" I'm featuring my sister "in-law" JuLee. I'm going to state right here at the top of this post that JuLee is one of the kindest, sweetest, and most sincere people that I know. When I talk to, or I am with JuLee she always makes me feel good.

JuLee's parents had three sons and one daughter. An interesting thing about JuLee's family is that all four of the kids names start with the letter "J" (like their dad Jerry) and all but one of them has double letters in their name. JuLee and Archie followed this pattern with their three girls, they all start with the letter "A" like Archie, and they all have double letters in their names.

Archie and JuLee met when Archie worked with JuLee's brother Jerry at Mountain Fuel (Questar), they were married on August 2, 1986 in St. Ann's Church. After the wedding they held a reception at the Jordan Riverboat. It was such a fun reception, and such a unique place, we all enjoyed it very much. JuLee and Archie's first home was a townhouse in WVC. JuLee has always been very organized, neat and tidy, and right on top of everything and anything that needs to be done. After a couple of years of married life their three little girls came in quick succession. I've always been impressed with how JuLee could work full-time, maintain a spotless home, and keep up with girls homework and lessons. JuLee and Archie have a close knit family unit; one of the things that impresses me the most is the fact that the three girls are best friends. JuLee is very disciplined and motivated (two attributes that I greatly admire), when Aubree graduates this spring, all three of her girls will have graduated with an associates degree from SLCC one month before their high school graduation. That is a fabulous accomplishment for each of these girls and I'm sure that JuLee was a motivating factor in it.

Alyssa Ann, JuLee Ann, Aubree Ann, and Ammanda Ann

One of my favorite JuLee stories happened several years ago while we were at Questar Lagoon Day. JuLee, Archie, Mike, and I and the four girls (Ammanda, Alyssa, Aubree, and Caitlin) were on the Log Flume ride. You know how long it takes to wait in line for that ride... forever!! The four girls were in one log, and the four adults in the log right behind them. A storm had started; there was thunder and lightening in the distance and the wind and rain was upon us. The girls log started to ascend the big hill (the one you look forward to during the whole ride) and just as they reached the top... the ride stopped. The log that the adults were in had just started to ascend the hill when this happened. It was pretty scary, the lightening, the wind, the rain. I don't remember how long we waited but we could hear some of the girls crying because they were scared. We kept shouting comforting words up the hill to them (shout and comfort don't really go together, but... it was a noisy storm). Finally the ride started to work and both of the logs went over the hill and made a big splash at the bottom. As the adult log meandered it's way back to the starting point where we would disembark, we could see that there were hundreds of people waiting for their turn on the ride, so JuLee started shouting a warning over and over, "DON'T.GET ON.THE RIDE!!!DON'T.GET ON.THE RIDE!!!" It was a little scary on the ride for a few minutes, but we laughed pretty hard at JuLee's council to deaf ears (the people still got on the ride). We still occasionally remember that story and Mike will say to JuLee, "DON'T. GET ON. THE RIDE."

One summer Mike and I and Jeff, Jeremy, and Caitlin went camping with JuLee and Archie's family in Yellowstone. We had such a fun trip together. I remember when we went to Old Faithful, as soon as it started to erupt JuLee was whooping and hollering with excitement. This was in August and Old Faithful was very crowded, JuLee was the most excited person there. It's always fun to see JuLee's enthusiasm.

Aubree, Caitlin, Alyssa, Ammanda, and JuLee; there is a reason that the girls are sitting on top of the truck and JuLee is standing as high up as she can get... there is a bear right across the street; seriously

At the beach house last summer; Mike, Aubree, JuLee, Ammanda, and Archie. Alyssa couldn't come, I suspect that is who JuLee is talking to on the phone

Things to know about JuLee: She is a wonderful hostess, she always makes you feel welcome in her home. She loves animals. She is very tenderhearted. She is extremely organized. She works hard. She likes "Survivor". She's a great wife and mother. She's a good listener. She's funny. She enjoys camping. JuLee and my son Jeffrey share the same birthday. She's kind. She is a very competitive player at musical chairs. Her nickname is Sally. She is a happy person. I love it when she laughs. She gave birth to Alyssa on my birthday. She always organizes the family Cherry Hill day for the birthdays. She has a dog named Biscuit. We are all so grateful that JuLee is in our family, and we all love her very much.

Family Friday: Featuring My Niece Aubree

When my siblings and I were children, whenever one of us sulked because we were "last" it never failed that my Mother would say, "last is the best of all the game." I'm not sure if I ever figured out what that meant, but I'm sure it's something good because it always made us feel better. This week I'm featuring the "last" of my beautiful nieces; Aubree. Aubree is the youngest of my brother Archie's three daughters. The sisters were born within three and a half years of each other and are very close, I would say that they are probably best friends. They all three have the exact same initials AAM, they each have double letters in their name, and when they were young they always dressed alike. As you can see they are beautiful girls.

Aubree with her sisters Ammanda and Alyssa in Disneyland

When Aubree was just a little girl in elementary school she had a writing assignment and she chose to write about the family Christmas party. Aubree's mom Julee made a copy of Aubree's paper and the picture that went along with it and mailed them to me. I was so excited when I received it. Aubree did a wonderful job writing about the games, the food, Santa Claus, singing, and the family. Aubree's paper is a treasure to me and I keep it in a special book. If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can read Aubree's paper; it's really cute.

A few years ago it was brought to the attention of the family that Andy could incorporate the song "Jingle Bells" into any song (Linus style), we've heard him do it on more than one occasion. About a year after that we were at the family Christmas party and it was Aubree's turn to perform. She went to the piano where she performed a beautiful musical number, just as she was concluding the song we heard the familiar tune of "Jingle Bells" being played one note at a time. There was an amazing uproar of laughter and applause, the whole family was delighted. Way to go Aubree!


Aubree is very supportive, she always comes to family functions and activities. When I recently performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle Aubree came to the concert with her parents. Following the performance I met my family members outside of the Tabernacle where we all huddled together in a circle and talked about the concert. During our conversation Aubree told me that she could hear my voice. Now... with nearly 400 women singing I knew that Aubree couldn't actually hear my voice but it made me happy to know that she knew my voice well enough that she recognized the part that I sang and knew that I was one of the altos.

Things to know about Aubree: She has a beautiful smile. She's a very good student. Uncle Mike says she has musical talent (very important to Uncle Mike), she plays the violin and the piano. She has a sense of humor. She has a dog named Biscuit. She is one of the eight Ann's in the family. She likes "Survivor". She's a good sport. She likes going to Disneyland. We spent a week in Yellowstone with Aubree and her family. She's very sweet. She's very neat and tidy. She is a good daughter and sister. We are all grateful to have Aubree in our family and we love her.

Aubree's family: Aubree, Julee, Ammanda, Archie, Alyssa, and Biscuit

Family Friday: Featuring My Niece Ammanda

During the duration of "Family Friday" I have found my families blogs and facebook accounts to be great resources for lifting photos to use. This was the case as I went to my niece Ammanda's facebook account where she had well over 200 pictures to choose from. You would be surprised at how much thought goes into the pictures that I choose each week and I knew that I couldn't look at all of Ammanda's pictures, but as I skimmed over the tiny (facebook size) photos I caught glimpses of Ammanda and her family, Ammanda and her friends, Ammanda on vacation, at graduation, at college, goofing around...you get the idea. It was fun to see these brief glimpses of Ammanda's life and what she loves. She is a beautiful and happy young woman and I enjoy having her as my niece.

Ammanda was born on December 14, 1988 to my brother Archie and my sister-in-law Julee. She was the eighth grandchild and the third granddaughter. Ammanda is the eldest of three sisters; each of their names start with the letter A, they all have Ann as a middle name (like their Mom), and they all have double letters in their names. When Ammanda was a baby I occasionally had the opportunity to babysit her when her babysitter went on a vacation. That was fun for Ashleigh who was just about a year and a half older than Ammanda. For several years Mike, Caitlin, and I went to Questar Lagoon day with Ammanda's family. Ammanda and her sisters were always so cute with Caitlin, each one wanting to sit with her on the rides. Ammanda is an enthusiastic young lady, I remember Archie telling me once that he sometimes would call her "Lesley" when she was younger because she occasionally reminded him of me, probably because Ammanda and I both enjoy talking and we both have a zest for life.

Ammanda with her sisters Alyssa and Aubree

Ammanda has impressed me in many ways. She graduated with an Associates degree from Salt Lake Community College a month before she graduated from high school. She has attended SUU since high school graduation and she spent time doing a job where she helped hearing impaired people with telephone communication. For the past four and a half months Ammanda has been in China teaching children how to speak English (and learning a little bit of their language too). What an amazing experience for her to have. She has also been able to do some traveling while in China. I look forward to hearing about her experiences when she returns in two weeks.

Some things to know about Ammanda: She loves to wear hats, and she looks really cute in them. She plays the violin. She likes going to Disneyland. She has a beautiful smile. She loves her family. When she was a little girl, she and her sisters often dressed alike. She's tidy. She has a quick wit. She's a sharp dresser. She's fun to be around. She's smart. I have vacationed with Ammanda and her family in Yellowstone and in California. It was a priority to Ammanda to be home in time for the Christmas party (Yes!!). We are all so grateful that Ammanda is in our family and we love her (and we're looking forward to her being back in the USA).

Family Friday: Featuring My Brother Archie

This week on "Family Friday" I'm featuring my brother Archie who was my very first sibling. For a brief time we were the "all American family" which includes a Dad, a Mom, 1 girl, and 1 boy; except that....we didn't live in America at that time. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that all of my brothers are unique....in just a couple of weeks my brother Archie will be an antique (he's going to be 50). I don't remember the days when Archie and I were toddlers or pre-schoolers, but it looks as though we were good little playmates for each other. I love this picture and I love my brother Archie.

When I was a senior in high school Archie was a sophomore, I loved seeing my little brother in school. Apparently I frequently asked him if he had any quarters (for the vending machines). If Arch had it, he shared. There was a picture in our yearbook that was taken during a football game, I was in the Pep Club and Archie and his friends were walking past the bleachers. You can see me leaning over the girls in front of me to talk to Arch and you can see that he is looking up at me. The picture is photographic evidence of me probably asking Arch if he had a quarter.

During our teenage years Archie, Tim, and I had a great group of friends in our ward that we enjoyed "hanging out" with, some of them were siblings as well. Many years ago (twenty-six to be exact) Arch and I organized a party and we invited the friends of our youth. The party was held in my home and I was really looking forward to it. Shortly after everyone had arrived Arch and I were alone in the kitchen together and I said to him, "Arch, do you think everyone's having fun yet?" I really wanted this party to be a success and was quite serious when I asked the question. Archie laughed and assured me that everyone was having fun (the party really hadn't even started yet). For the past twenty-six years wherever we are as a family; the beach, Cherry Hill, the Christmas party, a birthday party, Lagoon, Disneyland...Archie at some point will say to me, "Les...do you think everyone's having fun?" The following is an excerpt from a comment Archie left on a recent Family Friday. "....Sure love family Fridays Les. Do you think everybody's having fun."

When Mike and I moved to Bridgeland many years ago, Arch arranged for the use of his employer's delivery truck to help us move. When we moved back two years later he did the same thing. While we were there Arch came to our newly built log home and laid all of the carpet for us. During the procedure Arch cut his hand quite badly and it was bleeding. What do you suppose his loving older sister (me) said to him, "Arch, don't get any blood on my carpet".

Archie and his wife Julee were married on August 2, 1986. They had such a fun wedding reception at the "The Riverboat". They have three beautiful daughters; Julee and the girls are four of the eight girls in our family who have the middle name of Ann.

Caitlin took this picture of Uncle Archie at the beach house in 2007

Things to know about Archie: He is a devoted family man. He is a hard worker. He is involved in his daughter's educations. He is an avid mountain biker. He loves camping. He is the only male in his household. He's loyal. He finished his basement and did a fabulous job. He is a fan of Survivor. He has faith. He's very funny. He golfs. Whenever his family goes on a trip they collect sand/dirt from each place they visit and put in little bottles that are displayed in their basement. He enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles with his family. Every phone call that I have with Archie starts out the same way; if I am the one that answers I hear, "Leeees..." then I reply, "Arrrrch..." and vice versa. Archie would do anything for his family. Archie works with computers. He is organized. He's kind. I have recently discovered that Arch is a very good writer as I have read his blog, he has a way with words that brings enjoyment to the reader. Archie was named after our Grandpa Archie. Two things of interest to Arch are, outer space and the Titanic. When he was a little boy he "earned" the gift of a flag that had been flown over our nations capitol. He likes the frozen bananas at Disneyland. He is a good son. I am so grateful for my brother Archie, my life has been blessed because he is in it and I love him. I know that everyone in the family loves him too.


Archies family: Ammanda, Alyssa, Aubree, Julee, and Archie

Family Friday: Featuring My Niece Alyssa

I am pleased to announce that this is week 24 out of 46 weeks of "Family Friday"; I have officially passed the halfway point. As I stated at the very beginning of the series each family member was chosen randomly. My brother Archie's family is the only one that hasn't yet had a family member featured, that changes this week as I feature his daughter Alyssa.

Alyssa was born on July 10, 1990, which also happened to be my 32nd birthday. We have been birthday buddies for the past 19 years. When Alyssa was just a little girl Archie and JuLee organized a Cherry Hill day each year for Alyssa's birthday. It has been a fun tradition which we still do. Alyssa and I have spent many birthdays together at Cherry Hill. I remember one year (a very young) Alyssa asking me how old I was, I'll never forget the shocked look on her face when I told her. I don't think she had even heard of a number that high before.

For many years Mike, Caitlin, and I attended Mountain Fuel (Questar) Lagoon day with Archie, JuLee, and the girls. We looked forward to it every year. Alyssa and her sisters were always so sweet to Caitlin as they all wanted their chance to go on a ride with her.

In 1997 shortly after Alyssa turned seven, our family went on a week long trip to Yellowstone with Alyssa's family. We had such a fun time together. While we were at Old Faithful we could see a storm approaching in the distance. Mike and Archie decided to go get the cars and bring them closer to where we were for a quick get-away. As they made the decision and explained to the rest of us what the plan was Alyssa looked at Uncle Mike and said, "you're the one that got us into this mess." It was hilarious and one of thoses stories that has been repeated many times at family functions.

In Yellowstone National Park in 1997: JuLee, Aubree, Archie, Jeremy's friend Peter Meidell, Jeffrey, Ammanda, Michael, Caitlin, Alyssa (by the look on her face I think she's already thinking that the person standing behind her "got us into this mess"), and Jeremy

Alyssa is very motivated, she worked hard in school and took college classes during high school. As a result she graduated from Salt Lake Community College with an associates degree one month before she graduated from high school. Very impressive.

Caitlin, Alyssa, Ammanda, Aubree, and Tara at Dana Point Harbor in 2007

Things to know about Alyssa: She's attending the U of U and is planning to be a nurse. She plays the violin. She's a good daughter and sister. She is one of eight girls in the family with Ann as a middle name. She is the middle of three sisters. She has a bedroom in the basement with a window well outside, she decorates the well with cute yard decor so that she can enjoy it when her blinds are open. She has a dog named Bisquit. She has a boyfriend. She's a beautiful girl. We all love Alyssa and are so grateful that she is a part of our family.

Alyssa's family: Alyssa, Archie, JuLee, Ammanda, and Aubree