The Arnett's

SPRING BREAK

2010-04-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

For spring break we were able to go to Florida for 5 days. We flew on an airplane, this was Avery's first time flying. She was so excited, she loved the turbulence, take off's and landings she was laughing the whole way. When we landed we drove to Kissimmee which is about a 20 minute drive. The next morning we decided to go to Gatorland. This was so much fun the kids I would definitely go here again. They loved looking at all the alligators, birds, riding the train and we watched the alligator wrestling show. It was beautiful weather so being outside was so nice. The next day we got up and went to Disneyworld and Epcot. It was a lot of fun and exhausting at the same time. The kids had so much fun and of course Avery went on her favorite ride Thunder Mountain Railroad. Epcot was fun to look at but not much to do. The next day we were ready to conquer Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios but the weather had other plans. It poured all day long so we went shopping to some flea markets and then headed for the coast. We checked into our hotel on Cocoa Beach. It was so nice and relaxing to just play on the beach and hang out at the hotel. We went on a boat tour and saw dolphins, manatees, birds and learned a lot about Cocoa beach. It was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it. Sorry there are a lot of pictures.

AIRPLANE

Jackson and Daddy ready for take off.

Avery, happy as can be.

GATORLAND

Looking at the white alligator. The kids thought it was fake because it never moved.
The baby alligators.On the train ride at gatorland.

DISNEYWORLD AND EPCOT

At Disneyworld!
Avery was so excited to get her picture taken with these guys

even though they were cardboard.This guy was at Epcot.
COCOA BEACH

On the boat tour.
This is a manatee it was so cool to sit and watch them in their natural habitat.
Walking to the beach from our hotel.

Hangin out at the pier.
Who needs sand toys when you can do this with your head.
Sand angel.
Cocoa Beach Florida 2010.

The new Mr. & Mrs. Lemieux

2010-02-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

My little brother Clinton got married this weekend to his sweetheart Paige in the Rexburg Idaho temple. My family traveled the 16+ hours to get there in the freezing cold weather. My family all came with grandpa and grandma. A.J. had to work, so Jackson stayed home with him Grammy and Wendy between the three of them I think they handled Jackson pretty good.

We left Tuesday and stayed the night in Severe Utah at the Stock's home (thank you). That was so nice to have a good meal and warm bed to sleep in. We woke up to snow falling in the morning and drove the rest of the way on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were all a blur. Between the bridal shower, temple, luncheon and reception we were pretty busy.

Friday night at the reception we drove up to the church and I was helping Avery out of the car. I hear a little squeaky voice that sounds like Jackson. I turn around and A.J. and Jackson are standing there in the snow covered parking lot smiling. He had gotten a flight into Salt Lake and rented a car to meet us in Driggs. SURPRISE! It was so nice of him to come and spend the night with us and see Clinton & Paige on their special day. I am kind of jealous though because him and Jackson also got to fly home.

Anyways here are a few pictures of our trip...

Don't they look happy!

This is the view outside of my Uncle Jere & Aunt Karen's house.

The Teton's
Avery @ the Rexburg temple.

Avery waiting outside the temple. She wanted to go in so bad and when I told her that she gets to she was so excited. I took her into the waiting room in the temple with the rest of the kids. Then I said okay "I will be right back, I am going to another room and you wait here till I get back." Her eyes started to get teary, she couldn't understand why she couldn't go. She said, "I will be good." "I will be quiet Mommy." It took some persuading (candy) but she ended up being okay.

We all loved meeting Paige's family they were all so nice and friendly to all of us. We are glad Paige is in our family. And happy to be back home where the sun shines!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth...

2010-01-25T13:45:00.001-08:00

Jackson pretty much sums up the trip to Disneyland. Exhausting! (in a good way)
Ready to go see bugs life!

Jackson was so excited he got to drive a real car. I don't think he could see over the steering wheel.

Avery was so happy to see Minnie. Jackson not so much.

She is a real cowgirl. She had to have the horse with the flowers on it.

This is one is in California Adventures I think it's Ariel's Carousel.

Avery with the Brother Bears in California Adventures. These were the first characters we saw and she was so excited to stand by them.

My Grandparents take all of us cousins on a Disneyland trip as a Christmas present. We are so blessed for their generosity and love. We have so much fun and the kids are still talking about it. It is a family memory we will cherish forever. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!!

Christmas

2010-01-25T13:33:00.000-08:00

Well, better late than never right? This Christmas was so fun. Having little kids to share it with makes it all worth it. It is so fun to see their faces and excitement when they open their presents.

This was a Christmas for guns and swords for Jackson. He is really into these right now and loves to have sword fights with anyone who will play with him.

Avery got a new leapster with Princess and the frog game. She loves to play with it and is learning all the new buttons.

Eat at Chili's

2009-12-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow all of the Chili's Restaurants in the East Valley will donate 10% to the Stock family. So please go eat lunch or dinner and help them out. It's such a simple way to help. Just be sure to tell them that your there to help the Stock family. Thank you!

Family Christmas Party

2009-12-16T09:16:00.000-08:00

Every year my grandma and grandpa put on a Christmas party for the grand kids. She does such a great job. First we have dinner and then the little kids do a craft. After that Santa stops by and brings each child a gift. Then we do a pinata and cookies with hot chocolate. Yum! Thanks grandma and grandpa for a fun night.

Jackson wasn't to sure about Santa but once he gave him candy and goodie bag he liked him.

Bargain Hunters

2009-11-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all you bargain hunters! My mom's neighborhood where we live is having a community yard sale this Friday November 6th and Saturday the 7th. Be there early because it starts at 6:00 a.m. Hopefully it will be good. We will not be participating however I will be out on the hunt for something, who knows what but I'm sure I will just have to have it. Oh, and did I mention it's all phases of the Queen Creek Ranchetts. So just thought I would pass the good word along!

Schnepf Farms

2009-10-29T11:55:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I took the kids to Schnepf Farms also over the break. They had a lot of fun going on all the rides and kicking up dirt. It wasn't very crowded so that made it nice. I think Jackson's favorite was the playground. Avery's favorite was the bee ride because she got to ride with grandma.

Now this one was kind of scary because they ride it by themselves and it goes up and down. I was afraid that Jackson might jump out, but he did okay.I love this picture with Jackson's arm around Avery. Makes me think they do actually like each other. Or he just didn't realise he was doing it.

October Break

2009-10-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

For October break Heidi invited us to the ranch. My kids have never been and I had only been once when Heidi and Fletcher were married. So we jumped at the chance to go, we just wished daddy didn't have to work. My kids had so much fun running around outside and seeing new things. Jackson loved looking at the horses. We took a day trip into Albuquerque and went to some thrift stores with the kids. Us moms spent some time crafting and enjoying each others company. Jackson and Avery got to ride a horse for the first time. Jackson just liked to sit on it and if it moved he would scream. Avery did like it and was very proud of herself when she was done. These are some pictures that I took around the ranch. Thanks for the good times Heidi! This is the old ranch house where Fletcher lived, once upon a time.
Jackson on "Cookie."

Beau (I love this kid)

Avery on "Jake."

Jackson cautiously looking at the goats. The kids liked looking at the goats until we told them, "not to get to close they will bite your fingers off." They all seemed to scatter after that.

Avery's 4 years old!

2009-09-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

This was Avery's first official birthday party with friends and invitations. In the past her birthday is has been on labor day weekend so we were always out of town and that was my excuse for not doing a party. This year it wasn't so I had no excuses. We decided on a fairy party. Avery was so excited. I enlisted the help of my sister in law who is amazing and did tons of the work. The party was so much fun, I just love this group of girls they are all so nice and polite to each other. These are some of the pictures taken at the party again by my sister in law wendyshepherdphotography.blogspot.com . We started by reading Alice the Fairy book which I love and then we played fairy, fairy, troll (like duck duck goose) musical fairies. Then we decorated our jars with stickers that we later used to collect pennies that the tooth fairy dropped for us. Then we ate sandwiches in the shape of a butterfly and had fairy fizz (raspberry lemonade w/ pop rocks) to drink. We sang happy birthday and ate our daisy cupcakes, opened presents and then hunted for our pennies. Lot's of pics and lot's of fun. Thanks Wendy, Heidi and mom for all of your help!

Family photos in Newport

2009-08-10T11:53:00.001-07:00

We took family photos while we were their and the boys were not to happy about that. My mom's friend found us the photographer and he met up with us before the boys came back home to work. They turned out nice and now that it's over I'm so glad we did it. These are a few of them. The whole family. Don't worry we will crop out the 2 guys in the background.

My hair does not do well in the humidity of southern California .

Newport Beach

2009-08-08T10:38:00.000-07:00

THE BEACH

Oh how we already miss the beach. The kids played for hours in the sand and more importantly took long naps. Sorry there are a lot of pictures I couldn't decide. They had a big storm come while we were there. I mean BIG! Water was running down the streets from the ocean. They built up the sand on the beach with tractors the day before to try and prevent that from happening but it didn't work. A body surfer died at the wedge. You can see from these pictures how huge the waves became and how dangerous. They only let professional out for a certain amount of time.

Before the storm.

After. The waves were 15+ feet clearing the pier.

FASHION ISLAND MALL

Fashion island mall is the best mall ever. They have so many things to do there we could have spent all day there. These are some of the things we did not to mention shopping and eating. A must do if you are ever in Newport.

Jackson loved the koi pond.

The kids wanted to ride the escalator so bad. And let me tell you it was so much fun.
We rode the carousel.
BALBOA ISLAND
We took the ferry over to Balboa Island it is this quaint island that is only 7 miles long so you can easily walk the whole island.The kids thought the ferry was so cool three cars ride on it with you and the people/bikes sit on the sides and you ride across the bay to the island. They have this cute little downtown with shops and the original hand dipped chocolate banana (I didn't have one).

They have amazing houses and gardens there.
Jackson loved the horse.
This was the cutest shop it was a tea party shop. They had a little girls birthday party going on while we were there and they dress up in these big hats and fancy dresses. Every little girls dream. This is the closest Avery will ever get.
This is one of their fire trucks on the island obviously not the one they use on a regular basis. They do have one engine for the whole island.

Arnett family reunion

2009-07-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

We also had a chance to go to Utah for the Arnett reunion. My 2 sister in laws so graciously offered to take us, and so we all caravaned to Utah. When we finally got there we had a lot of fun. My kids loved playing with all their cousins and being in such nice weather. It was nice to get away for the 4th of July. Thanks to all those who put it on so that we could enjoy. And a big thanks to HB and Penny for letting us all crash at your place.

Aunt Candy did an amazing job recreating their hometown of Blythe out of cardboard.

My kids loved it!!

We had a talent show.A.J. met up with us and we went to Thanksgiving Point to the dinosaur museum. Jackson was a little scared of the life sized dinosaur notice he can't take his eyes off of them.

Avery and Jackson at the water and sand table digging for dinosaurs.

On the way home we stopped and ate lunch and let the kids get out and stretch. Sorry for the immodesty.Eating lunch.Fishing by the pond.

Lemieux family reunion

2009-07-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had our Smith family reunion at my grandparents cabin. It was a lot of fun we slept in my parent's camper trailer and the kids loved it. Jackson enjoyed playing in the dirt and being outside all day. The weather was nice and we loved seeing all the family from out of state.

Jackson has a buzzz

2009-06-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

A.J. decided to give Jackson his summer buzz. Jackson hated every second of it. I guess it's kind of our fault for not really cutting his hair a whole lot. This is him at his finest.

Can you say old man.

I think this kid only knows how to smile like this.

The finished product.

Swim Lessons

2009-06-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Avery completed her first 2 sessions of swimming lessons. She loved it and her teacher Miss Cheryl. She had so much fun with her little group of friends and it was neat to watch her learn. She now asks if we can go swimming everyday. Here are a few pics of swim.
Some of her class.

Funny Girl

2009-04-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

The other night I asked Avery to go and get her jammies on. I think at 3 years old this is a task she can handle. She was gone for quite a while and when she revealed herself I knew why. She came out looking like this. Let me give you a run down of this beautiful onsaumble: purple heart glasses with the lenses popped out, not only is her shirt on backwards it is inside out also, pink shorts, black boots, and lets not forget the purple ball and naked baby. I looked at her and said, "I knew you could do it!" Hopefully she doesn't go into fashion designing, funny girl.

It's that time again...

2009-04-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

If anyone needs to order Scentsy I am putting an order in. Just have them in by the end of the month. You can email them to me at b2arnett@hotmail.com. Thanks

Easter Celebrations

2009-04-15T11:56:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday was a whirlwind. We were up at 7:00 and opening up Easter baskets. Then we had to eat breakfast, get dressed for church, take pictures and get to church on time at 10:00 without getting any chocolate on our clothes. When we got home from church it was lunch time, naps and then off to great grandpa and grandma Lemieux's for another Easter egg hunt and dinner. I am exhausted. But it was fun.
Jackson and Avery

He does this face every time you say "cheese" now. It's lovely.

Easter baskets.

Avery showing me her loot and telling me how she "just found all of these eggs."

Jackson loved the egg hunt at g.g. Lemieux's

Another Baby

2009-04-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

My little brother Marc and his wife Whitney had a baby boy on April 9th. We are so glad he is here and healthy. What a cutie.

Marc Clate Lemieux

Weight: 7 lbs. 13 oz.

Height: 21 3/4

Jackson turned 2!!

2009-04-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Jackson is 2. Where has the time gone? We had his birthday at the D.M. park. I am so glad everyone was able to come with it being thrown together last minute. The kids all had so much fun. Thanks everyone for the fun birthday.Jackson with his soccer ball for g. grandma Lemieux
Opening presents!

Cousins in the wagon.

Jackson with his cake that he wouldn't touch.

The Pinal County Fair

2009-03-28T21:48:00.001-07:00

We took the kids to the county fair with some of their cousins. They had so much fun going on all the rides and looking at the animals. It was just the right size for the kids and no weird people walking around. Which is always a plus. Thanks for the good times and good company.On the helicopter ride.
Cy and Josie flyin high.

Aunt Jackie took the kids on the big blue slide.

Happy Anniversary to Us!!

2009-03-28T21:19:00.000-07:00

This year for our anniversary A.J. insisted we needed to go on a trip. I have to admit I didn't want to spend the money. But with him done with school we really did need this time to ourselves. I told him he had to pick the place. And he chose Galveston Island, TX. We left on Thursday and came back on Tuesday. We had so much fun. The beach was great and the weather was nice. We stayed at the Harbor House Hotel which is an old Warehouse that they converted into a hotel on the bay. And then for the last 2 nights we stayed in a bed and breakfast turn of the century Victorian house. He did a great job planning this and we had a blast.

On the harbor cruise in the bay.

The dolphins in the bay.

The Harbor House Hotel

Out to dinner.
Dinner at Fisherman's Wharf
(A.J. loved the seafood, me not so much.)
On the beach.

The water line from hurricane Ike. They are still recovering from the storm after a year.

Shark exhibit at Moody Gardens.

The Cabin

2009-03-17T16:03:00.001-07:00

We left for the cabin Sunday afternoon. My Mom, Nate, Me and the Kids. It was so nice to get away. It was cold in the morning but by afternoon the sun was shinning. Here's a few pics.
On the playground.

I love this picture of Jackson. I told him, "I'm gonna take a picture of you." Of course that made him cry more.

Down by the creek.

Fun times at the ZOO!

2009-03-17T15:41:00.000-07:00

We love to take the kids to the zoo every spring when the weather is nice. Avery always asks to go to the zoo so we finally made a trip. We got there at 3:30 and the zoo closed at 5:00 so we loaded up the stroller and just about ran to the exhibits. All of the animals were out surprisingly. That never happens. A.J. loved it because it was fast, good weather, and no one got sunburned.

At the petting zoo, Jackson would only pet the back side of the animals and wanted nothing to do with them if he saw there face. He would say "scare me, mommy".

They have this new Little People Playground by the petting zoo and the kids loved playing in it.

Graduation!

2009-03-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

The day had finally come for A.J. to graduate. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. All of his hard work, sleepless nights, and sacrifices have finally paid off. These are a few pictures of last nights ceremony. Avery was able to go on stage and "pin him". We told her, "you get to put a necklace on daddy." She did great and then she ran off stage. I asked her if she was scared and she said, "nope." Both of our parents and my little brother Nate was able to attend the ceremony. Great job A.J. We love you!!

He Passed

2009-02-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

Well A.J. did it he passed his final exam for nursing school. We are so proud of him. Every time Avery would give the blessing on the food she would always say, "bless daddy he will do good on him's test." He did great and ended up with a "B" on the final and a "B" overall in the class. Great Job honey. We love you!!

Scentsy

2009-01-16T06:54:00.000-08:00

I am putting an order in the end of January for anyone who needs some new scents. Let me know, you can email me at b2arnett@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Macy

2009-01-12T07:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went and saw the newest member of the Arnett family. A.J.'s sister Heidi had her baby girl Macy Tigner on Saturday. She was 9 pounds 1 ounce. And is so adorable. Heidi looks great I don't know how great she feels being sliced open and all. We are so glad she is finally here.

National Football Finals

2009-01-09T08:07:00.001-08:00

Last night while the boys where watching the National Football Finals and I was neglecting my kids; I made these, two thank you cards and mod podged some letters. I was surprised at how fast and easy it was. And way more fun than watching football! I am on the enrichment committee and was volunteered to be the "thank you girl" for anyone who shares there talents in teaching us new skills etc. So I decided to get started since we have some things coming up this month. Oh and if your wondering why I have been posting so much these past few days. It's because I have a new camera. Yep I got it for Christmas and I absolutely love it. It's a Canon power shot SD770 IS what ever that is, I LOVE IT.

Dance

2009-01-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

This is Avery showing off her new skirt that Grammy made her for Christmas. She loves it!! But she hated posing for the picture. Can you see it in her face? Thanks Grammy for the awesome skirt.

No more nursery

2009-01-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

This is Avery's nursery class that A.J. and I have been teachers of for almost 2 years now. It has been fun to watch these kids grow in this short amount of time. They are a great group and all get along so well, it is bitter sweet to see them all go to sunbeams. It will also be interesting to see how Avery adjusts to it. She has never had anyone but us be her teachers and she already is showing some anxiety over the whole sunbeams thing. Last week we didn't switch like we were supposed to because the new sunbeam teacher was out of town so we did nursery as usual with no changes. We'll see how this week goes with the big switch.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-07T07:53:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas and hope you all did as well. Here are some of the highlights of the day.

The night before Christmas they each get to open a pair of pajamas and slippers. (Thanks Wendy for the great idea).

Christmas morning and not real sure what is going on. When we told Avery that Santa came she replied, "Oh yes, I want to go sit on his lap" Then the meltdown followed when we told her that he came and left some presents but he had to leave; because he only comes if you are sleeping. It's hard to explain all this to a 3 year old.

Jackson opening up his stocking. I had to prompt him by saying "Look I think I see a truck!" Because he was so not interested in this. The candy also helped.

Avery opening up her stocking and loving all the fun stuff Santa brought her.

Avery riding Jackson's new scooter (from great grandma & grandpa) around.

Jackson loving his new football from Grandpa and Grandma.

Since it was raining Christmas day Santa left these in the garage for them to enjoy the next day in the sunshine. Avery does really well on it. Jackson hasn't quite figured out how to steer yet.

Spike

2008-11-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

I decided to take Jackson to get his haircut at Great Clips yesterday. He was looking a little shaggy and I just couldn't let that $5.99 coupon go to waist. So we get there and it is a 20-25 min. wait. So we wait and he sat in my lap the whole time eating his trail mix just watching every thing goin on. Never tried to squirm out of my arms and everytime someone would talk to him he would get shy and look down, as not to give any eye contact. Finally it was his turn in the seat. The second he sat down he screamed and I mean WOW. He immediatly threw his trail mix on the ground it spilled all over the floor. He must have just been sitting on my lap saving up his breath and energy for this masive tantrum. The lady asked if he could have a sucker. Um yeah, dah. Of course it was a hair magnet which really grossed me out. But we made it and I have to say he looks so handsome.

HALLOWEEN

2008-11-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

On Halloween night we went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. A few of my sister-in-laws came with us and Avery had so much fun with her cousins. She insisted on carrying her candy bucket the whole way. I even offered to take it and hold it for her but she refused. Jackson went to one door I think and then rolled in the stroller the rest of the night. As long as we kept a sucker in his hand he was fine. Avery woke up on Saturday morning and said, "today is halloween again?" She only wishes it was everyday.

Jackson is a gorilla and Avery is Little Bo Peep.

DANCE

2008-10-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

Avery's friend Sydney invited her to dance class today. It was bring a friend day and she chose Avery. Avery was so excited all week she has been talking about it and says, "I'm going to go to my high school." Which meant dance class. I don't know where the whole high school/dance class connection came from. She was glad to see the day had finally come for her to go to her "high school." My mom and I found my old dance shoes from when I was little and they fit her perfectly. I think when A.J. is done with school I see dance classes in the future. Thanks Sydney for the great time!!

SceNtsy OrDeR

2008-10-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am sending in a scentsy order on the Oct. 20th if anyone is interested in ordering please let me know. You can place your order at www.scentsy.com/11101 or leave a comment of what you want.

Avery turns 3

2008-09-03T08:53:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe she is already 3. She was so excited for her birthday to finally come. We started the day off at the San Tan Mall splash pad since my kids love that. Then we ate pizza and went to walmart so Avery could pick out her candle for her cake. First it was Dora then princess and finally tinkerbell. We opened presents after dinner. And the poor girl tried to wait till daddy got home but we just couldn't. We did wait until 9:30 for the cake. Which is great on the figure. Hope you had a Happy Birthday Avery!!!

Ahhh, Okay fine

2008-08-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Here we are.

2008-04-17T15:22:00.001-07:00

So I have a blog now.