Going, going, gone... The 'Casa Kids 5K Race'

On Saturday April 26th, Daniel and Jewel ran 1 mile and Dakota did the 5K. Patricia snapped photos and jumped up and down trying to stay warm in the 50 degree windy morning. They all did very well and mom is so proud of them.
Our ward has team members that are part of the 'Uberphast' team. Go EB, Go Uberphast.....Go Killpacks, Glads, Paterson, Maldonados. Lositos...

gratitude thought: grateful for activities and memories we can create as a family..grateful for a physical family that enjoys moving!

grateful for a moment to be able to blog. Between our callings and activities of the Stake youth increasing for the summer, time is precious. I'll try to do better and blog more often!

Family fun Saturday

Jewel and Daniel in Philadelphia
The Liberty Bell...

Saturday....although we are all in different places, all had fun.

Patricia went to the Mid-Atlantic African American genealogy convention. She took classes on finding records of her ancestors and listened to wonderful speakers. The BEST was being included in a special DNA test. This test will provide info on her heritage and can trace which African nation she is decended from. Very exciting! This was held in Cherry Hill NJ, about half an hour from Philadelphia. The concluding speaker was Martin Luther King lll, son of the late Martin Luther King Jr. There were over 550 African American people in attendance and it was such a great thing to be among so many different black folks all coming together to learn about their heritage.

Daniel and Jewel drove to Philadelphia and had a fun day taking in American history and visiting a farm. Jewel got to watch sheep being sheared and even bought back some wool of her own.

Dakota went to the Stake merit badge clinic to work on some badges. He waited for us to pick him up at the Glads' home. They were very generous to take him home with their family after the clinic.

gratitude thought: It's so much fun to be alive with so much new technology. I can't believe someone had researched and developed a database that includes the DNA makeup to test the 109 different African DNA codes.

grateful that I can be a part of new technology by sending notes to people via 'text messaging' I am slow, but am keeping up with the young folks. If the letters on my cell phone were larger (meaning if I could see them better) perhaps I could go faster ;-)

Dakota waxes analytical

N.B. It is highly advised that prior to the commencement of the reader's perusal of this wonderful document, a means for maintaining the subject's complete visibility during analysis be set into order.

And here we are presented with a wonderful scene, a study of sorts in layerpositioning and lighting.

One can clearly see the perspective of all four distinct subjects, it appears as if something were in fact drawing their attention leftwards quite magnetically. This evidence can be easily corroborated by the necklines, clothing contours, and corneal tracking.

More important perhaps is the layers, and how they blend. Obviously, Jacob is bravely displaying his profile in the foreground. More subtly, this sets the tone of blending into the next three layers, a tone that will find itself continued throughout this setting.

Further examination will reveal the carefully chosen skin tones of the middle two layers, providing ample ambiguity to create an illusion of depth. This is further compounded with the rear layer; the darkness due to increasing proximity from the flash illumination device combined with the complete blackness of hair and clothing serve to enhance the flow yet again.

Now we shall move onto the lighting, a subject that, while arranged coincidentally, required the touch of a master to capture so fluently.
Special attention must be drawn to the doorway in the right side of this photograph. The light on the top clearly radiates a halo of warmth, a certain yellowness that draws attention away from, yet also focuses attention to the main subjects. Beneath such we have a wonderful pattern of five dots, again arranged by chance, but these provide endless possibilities for the analytical mind. Spirits? Signals? Only time shall tell!

Moving again below, we have perhaps a cliche, the age-old 'sun peeking through the trees' motif. This shines so brilliantly across the ever-so-classic gradient of setting sky, flowing downwards through yellows, browns, and whites, bringing us back in a commodious recirculation to the door, the wall, and off the curtain to the next window, the final subject of this presentation.

The colors captured within this curtain reflect well not only the skin tones, but the clothing of several of our subjects. This hazel-bronze figurette of cloth serves to bring us yet again to the pattern of circulation so well found here. This more boldly borders the grays, whites, and blacks found within the aging sky below. These colors embody a sense of yearning, a longing for better times; a somehow enjoyable litany of woe, a rainstorm. As a final note, let our attention be drawn once again to the magnificent Jacob sitting there so strongly. The necktie worn by the aforementioned was not in fact, a mere coincidence, or perhaps a stylistic insight, it was a carefully executed measure to ensure that this photograph could in fact come together as a wonderful whole, such being much more than the sum of its individual parts.

Thank heaven for little girls....

Wacky Hair Day
Greater Brunswick charter school Ballet class..forth arabesque tendu
Jewel at Steven Yergensen's baptism
Steven and dad Bishop Yergensen (EB ward 2003-2005)

The land of Testosterone

Kevin Joseph Dingle (Patricia's brother)
Christopher Rodriguez (cousin)

Jovan Rodriguez (cousin) Dakota at the Court of Honor
(he is advancing to Life)

Young Men at Danielle Thorne's

Sweet 16 party

Daniel helped Christopher file taxes and submit his FAFSA online, to help Chris apply for financial aid. He was accepted into a college in upstate NY.

gratitude thought: For the East Brunswick youth and how they support and care for each other. The relationships they are building will stay with them forever. Dakota has so enjoyed the youth programs and Scouting.

grateful for Kevin and all he does, and for Chris and Jovie who always make me laugh.

New entry into the world!

"I want my mommy!!" Graham (2 1/2) "Is my baby sister here yet?" Cami (5)
Mommy Starr Turner with Prisilla Rose (6 hours old)

We had the chance to babysit Cami and Graham Friday night, when mom went into labor. The new baby sister looks so much like Cami and Graham (siblings), our family has nicknamed her 'Crahmi'. (she favors Graham a bit more right now).

gratitude thought: grateful for changes in visitation and hopital regulations. Jewel and I were able to visit and see a healthy newborn only hours after birth. Years ago, Jewel would not have been able to see an infant so young. Not unless her mommy had another baby. Mommy can see an infant so young, but only as a future grandchild!

Conference weekend & gifts from Oma Doris

Blurry photo of Daniel and Dakota on skates at roller party
Gifts from Köln, Germany Rollerskating party for Andrew
Jewel is wearing new top from Oma



Conference weekend...we all went to a skating party in between sessions for Jewel's classmate Andrew. Sunday we went to the chapel for the first session, and Patricia and the kids came home, listening on the Internet to the 2nd session. Daniel had interviews and stayed at church the entire day.

Doris aka Oma brought back lovely gifts for the entire family after her yearly trip to Köln, Germany. (her birthplace) Jewel and Dakota were so excited and as always Dakota spent his money that was to be used to help him with his studies. His comment for purchasing games for the Nintendo DS was "these games are to be used in between my hard studying to relax my brain" Thank you Oma, as he sudied VERY hard, played hard with his new games and got a 96 on his Physics 2 test.

gratitude thought: For a phone call from dear Aunt Sadie. She has been a friend/sister to our family since my birth and has left us with so many wonderful and cherished memories. I'm grateful for all she has done!

grateful for Aunt Lucille and her legacy she leaves behind. My two cousins Linda and Louise (her daughters) are just the best!

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Patricia Nadine Dingle (10)
Diane Michelle Dingle (8)
Kathy Ann Dingle (6)
Kevin Joseph Dingle (6 months) Harlem, NY 1969

More memories of Alvin Ailey

If I close my eyes I can just picture seeing Judy in Washington D.C. at the Kennedy Center. We (the Ailey Dance troupe) had just flown into DC from Los Angeles for a two week run at the Kennedy Center. It still remains one of my most favorite theatres in the US. Judy just had pins put into her hips and was in a lot of pain. As I was her understudy for Alvin's piece 'The Mooche', she asked if I could rehearse and go on that night. I was 20 years old and scared to death.

Luckily that night went fine and Judy was so sweet. I love her sense of music and how her movements always fit the tiniest note. I guess that is why she is a major star in the dance world and has done such a great job with the company.

One memory of Judy was in the changing room ( I was taking an all male ballet class with my dance coach so that a young Daniel Killpack would notice me) asking if I wanted to return to performing. I had left the company only six months earlier at the age of only 27. Shortly after Alvin died, Judy was named the artistic director.....

last memory of Judy was on 94th and Broadway in NYC while shopping with an infant Dakota. She seemed surprised that I had married and changed my life with the addition of a baby...I guess life is about 'the choices made and which path one takes' When I see Jewel dancing, there are no words to describe how I feel...

Lucille Jackson November 1924 - April 2008

Aunt Lucille (in pink)








Dingle sisters & holding Jewel


Lucille Dingle (Jackson ) my aunt, passed away on April 2nd 2008. She was 83 years old and the baby daugher of Luisa and Peter Dingle.

Lucille and my dad Peter Dingle Jr. were the youngest two children of eleven born. She leaves two daughters, Linda and Louise. Lots of fun and fiesty, she and my dad were hang out buddies and spent a great deal of time together. She was a school teacher in Pineville South Carolina until her retirement. Her husband Jackson, departed this life suddenly when involved in a fatal car crash. Lucille lived out her final days alternating between her home in Charleston and Pineville S. C. Pineville is the home she grew up in and where the remaining sisters still live.

Her favorite TV shows were Judge shows especially Judge Joe Brown. She enjoyed odd toys including a traffic light in her bedroom.

Quentin van Beethoven

Little Quentin Martino at the piano

The Martino family says goodbye to NJ as they begin a new journey in Texas. They were part of the East Brunswick ward and moved to New Brunswick about a year ago.
We will miss you! keep playing little Quentin!




Jewel started school this week after her Easter break. Highlights of that time off include, watching both Jewel and Dakota play 'Phoenix Wright' on the Nintendo DS. It's a game where you get to be a defense attorney. Also watching Jewel pretend she is a dog auditioning for a Broadway play. She named herself FRENZY the dog (inspired by watching her poor mom) and she would dance for the producer, to gain a spot in a production. Another highlight...Patricia would sleep an extra hour as the girls would stay up late while the boys went to early morning Seminary.

gratitude thought: grateful for a marriage that has two different sleep cycles. Daniel goes to bed early and rises early (doing the early morning things...Seminary, leaving for work, etc..) while I go to bed late (doing laundry, mopping, grocery shopping at 10:00 pm) and still get up fairly early!! We are two passing ships in the night, but we can get a whole lot of stuff done (hee-hee)