Pinewood Derby

Have you ever experienced a PinEWoOd DeRbY with an 8 year old for their FirSt time? If not, I recommend that you go out there and find yourself an 8 year old boy and give it a shot. The excitement is electric and the FuN is un-measurable! Of course, if you're Mote Birk you spend the entire time trying not to smile or show how excited you are.

He was given the award for 'sportiest car' and his face fell. He just knew that if he got one of "those" awards he surely could NOT have placed.
He was wrong!!
THIRD PLACE IN HIS FIRST PINEWOOD DERBY EVER!!

House Boat

our neighbors have a house boat - a house boat that they just lived on for one week - a house boat that was docked at Saguaro Lake (45 min from my front door) and

HaPpiLY

they accepted visitors!! Saguaro is one of the loveliest lakes in my opinion. This is where we put down anchor to play in the water.

I love all of these little bodies!

*Clyde*Destiny*Deja*Monte*Chase*Jackson*Seth*

Mom and Clyde jumping off the 2nd deck (it took courage. and your belly did a HUGE flip flop each time. trust me - I KNOW.)

This is the best thing for me about having a house boat and a baby - the bed!! Baby boy Will cooperated nicely and took great long naps while we were there!

Did I mention no husband again? I can't wait until he accrues some vacation time!!

Dawn is so fUn and good at going with the flow. She thought it was hysterical that Jackson was spitting the water in every ones faces.

Sadly that made her his favorite target.

Monte Birk was the King jumper of the afternoon.

And YES, I did wade out into the water with my life vest on like a diaper and my expensive camera in my hands (high above my head) to get these shots.

After yummy grilled burgers, home made strawberry ice cream, games and 6 hours of fun on the lake this is where the kiddos ended up...in front of a movie.

Seth and Clyde came out and cuddled with me on the top deck as we watched the lightening storm over the mountains and pulled back into the dock. Such a fun memory. Thanks Judds for making it happen for us!!

RoOseVelT

We've been home from the lake for 2 hours now...ummm...

can we go back yet?

The Annual Arnett 'Reunion' at Roosevelt Lake.

We had 4 houses again this year, which is good because of all the people in this crazy clan - crazy good but crazy none-the-less! we were housed with the Robert Arnett family this year. Quiet, clean, peaceful...ahhhh. 2 boats this year Rob's and David's, Dad's started smoking once it got into the water. (The usual for a family ski trip) But the jet ski's stayed in good condition the entire time!! Less photo's on the lake this year...when I'm doing I'm not shooting!

TUBE HAIR (this is jack after a wild ride on the tube)

Probably the most genuine smile he's given me in a year. MB was so excited to finally be old enough to run on his own the entire trip. We sent him up the first day (Thurs.) with his Cole cousins to spend the night. I met up at the houses Friday morning and his Dad came in Friday evening. Half the time we weren't even sure where MB was...the club house, one of his cousins houses, he didn't even come on the same boat with me the third day. He had a BLAST!!

Jack never needed to be told to jump off the boat. EVERY time we stopped to switch skiers he ran to the back of the boat and jumped right in. Like I've said again and again, "He's my Arnett baby" it's in his blood!!

Clyde and Seth ran crazy with cousins the entire time as well. Clyde has a great wipe out on the tube this year. I was sitting next to his as he kept telling me, "Mom, I want to fly. Mom why aren't we catching any air? Mom, tell them to go faster!" We finally got going good and were whipping over the wake at a pretty good clip-he was in boating heaven. The next thing I knew I looked to my left to see him fly off the tube and plant it face first into the rapidly approaching water! My brave little man climbed back on the tube right away-sinus cleansing and all!!

Want to know why a mother that has a new born at home gets so much time on the lake? Because of this guy! He goes by many names...Dad...Awesome Husband...Perfect Father...most of you know him as Monte. He wanted to spend time with his William while the other brethren were occupied. Works for me! He actually did get some face time with the lake. He had a particularly "awesome" date with the jet skis and Uncle Scott.

Back when we started this annual trip about 26 years ago we used big black tire tubes tied to the boat. That changed to tubes with covers on them that your legs and feet would get stuck in-remember those? They were easy to flip and you really whipped and flew over the boats wake. Next there were tubes big enough for 2 people to ride side by side-wow! Those ones had handles. Sadly though, it was easier, and probably safer to not use them. These new things though...seat 4!!! With working handles for everyone! Practically impossible to flip, practically but not totally! Seth and Clyde flipped last year and this year we tipped a tube full of the big kids. Sad to say that when these new monster tubes flip it's a major wipe out!!

Other highlights this year. Our 11 year old cousin David John eating a HUGE grasshopper, freshly dead, for $20. The evening devotionals, games, food, food, food, Grandma's birthday party, ice cream cones, AC settings at 68 (my personal favorite), movies, all of the family together! Thanks Grandpa Arnett, Uncle Robert and Uncle David for sharing your water toys with us. And thanks to all the Moms for the fantastic food! Once you get to the Lake houses you realise that everything is community property..."including the kids"

Kids Kollege

My mother participated in a kids kollege when I was young. That's where I learned calligraphy, counted cross stitch, sewing... I'd forgotten all about it until my sister started talking about putting one together in her neighborhood. Long story short.

she didn't - I did!

Kid's Kollege

6 moms (one of ours dropped out last minute) kindergarten to 4th grade. (when my kiddo's get older I'll widen the range) 3 morning classes, 9-11am 3 different afternoon classes, 1-3pm. Only moms that teach a class can put their children into a class. You only pay for your child's chosen classes materials. They (the child) chooses 2 classes (one morning and one afternoon) for the entire week. We ended up finding a great deal for T-shirts as well. SO MUCH FUN!!! (In fact, such a rousing success Clyde is asking why we can't do it again sooner than next summer...maybe Christmas?) Now that I've organized it once, next year should be easier...right? The sad truth is that I was turned down by more moms than I can count. I felt like I had to beg people to participate in something wonderful! But in the end the moms I got were the BEST!

Puppetry Amy Varney-teacher

(she took a class picture in their shirts, but I haven't gotten a copy yet, this is from the graduation party.) They learned about plot lines and different types of puppets and puppet shows while making their own puppets all week, all different types. She then video taped their final puppet show to burn to DVD for them. Seth enrolled.

Crafts and Games Diane Gardiner-teacher

2 days of home made cards and 3 days of old fashioned games. We learned group indoor games, group outdoor games, card games and individual games. My class took home a book of instructions for each game and the supplies to play many of them. (bean bags, a jacks set, a marble set, yo yo's, string for cats cradle games etc...) Monte Birk enrolled.

above: witches broom below: Eiffel tower
Cooking Abby Reidhead teacher
They made breads, soups, chicken pot pies, cookies, snacks. One day was dedicated to eggs. 9 different egg recipes in one day! Monte has never eaten so well at lunch time! The kids all got their own recipe books, aprons, pairing knives and cutting boards! Monte Birk enrolled.

Magic Kim Clarke teacher

Holy Moly!! Card tricks, balloon tricks, ball tricks, egg tricks, you name it they learned it! They made their own magic wands and left with a TOP SECRET magicians folder and supplies for their magic. I was so impressed!! The last day of class they were told to dress up as a magician=looking good!! Seth and Clyde enrolled.

Science Breanna Graham teacher

(still waiting for photo) They made their own rock candy, bouncy balls, goo, they fizzed water, built towers with toothpicks and marshmallows then left with a science folder to go home and teach their families all of the fun!!

At the end we had a graduation party where puppetry did a show, cooking made our treats, games taught new games, magic performed a trick, and science showed us their experiments. We swam and had a great time!

Glorified pet sitting

I've always wanted a cabin up north. Sadly, that is not happening for us in the foreseeable future. I envy my friends that get out of dodge each summer when the 100 degree weather hits but I've got the next best thing...actually better!

house/pet sitting

My Brother and his family live in Lakeside. When they go on long family vacations guess who they oftentimes call to do a little house sitting...yup! The Gardiners! I adore their home. (I should mention that I adore it with them in it as well.) Monte hasn't accrued any vacation with his new job yet so I went up with the boys Thursday morning and he met us late Friday night to finish up the weekend. 2 of our cousins that actually live here are our same ages so we don't have to pack all of our own toys up the mountain. We went 'unplugged' for the weekend (no electronics) but they've got a TV room with every show you would ever want and way more than you'd need in a weekend, a ping-pong table, a gorgeous back yard, long porch with ceiling fans, bedrooms for everyone, a beautiful grand piano to play and summer weather to die for!! Better than a cabin I'd say! Take a look at our vacation in pictures. (My only sad thought - They were gone 10 days, we could only come up for a weekend. My sister in law called me a few days before their trip with the dates and it was the week of Kids Kollege. I would've stayed the whole week husband-less to enjoy their home and weather! shoot-dang-darn-shucks!)

He carried the cake everywhere singing happy birthday to whoever was in the room with him!

4th of July 2011

The Cole Cousins came over for

bAr-b-qUe,

SwiMmINg &

FiReWoRKs.

Summer Musical Workshop

The brethren weren't enjoying summer sports camp at all!! We had such high hopes for it but it wasn't as organised as promised. So 2 weeks into a 3 week program I called Jenee Prince. It was the evening before her Queen Creek Musical Workshop Session began. The conversation went something like this, "Are there good boy songs this year?" - "YES! But I've only got a few boys." So 3 more were added to her class roster. When we showed up at rehearsal Monday morning we learned that a 'few boys' was code for ONE boy. So then there were 4 (3 of which were mine.) That day I called around and found another boy to join with us and help with the daily drive to Queen Creek. Then there were 5. Next year I plan on stacking the deck!

Nice hair eh? They wanted to do something FUN for their performance. I figured, why not? As long as they shaved it off for Church on Sunday. Clyde didn't get the full treatment however because he had the talk in church on Sunday and I didn't want a billiard ball behind the pulpit in primary!

Grandpa came to the show and we all went for ice cream after words

Each of my boys had BIG solo's and speaking parts. They loved every minute of it. Jenee works the kids hard and by the end they have such a great feeling of accomplishment.

Their theme was "ONE" - no not one boy -

the number one, hit songs, number one Broadway shows,

number one KIDS - MINE!!

Just look at all those happy brethren!! I am such a proud Mama!

Random-ness

I was busy teaching my "games" class for Kids Kollege (more on that to come) and after 45 minutes realized Jack-et was missing and WAY too quiet. I sent Monte Birk to find him...he COULDN'T. I went running in a slight panic, checked the pool, checked the front door, checked my closet...where I've got a rocker and crib for overnight with William. You can't see it in the picture but the rocker is only on it's hind legs. The only thing keeping it from falling all the way back is my clothing-good thing I have a hard time throwing anything away!

Monte Birk saved this little guy from drowning this week. He found him clinging to the pool hose for dear life. Poor guy could swim but couldn't climb his way out!