Cul-de-sac of fire

Carol invited me out to a super fun neighborhood party yesterday. Affectionately known as Cul-de-sac of fire. I really did live up to it's name.

Here we are anticipating the good times to come

The yummy food

The Rock Band set up

Elvis, the entertainment performing "Evolution of Dance"

And Illegal Fireworks. Thank goodness the cops only showed up after we were all done.

What a perfectly, perfect and fun night! Thanks for the invite Carol!

More Fun

The fun continued today as a bunch of the Larry Arnett fam and I headed up to Sundance. We thought we'd go for a light hike and eat some lunch up there. It was beautiful and so much fun!

Stacey, Jax, Joe, Cam (Joe and Jax had a death grip on the safety bar) The ride up clearly made them a little bit nervous.

Devry, Kath, Dana & Sadie Rose. Sadie who was not one bit nervous said of the death grip Dana had around her waist, "Momma your choking me!" Classic.

It was also at this point that she requested to sit by her "Big" best friend Devry. Not to be confused with her "little" best friend Gracie.

Here we are hiking up a storm. Dana was in flip flops, so the hike turned out to be a bit of a challenge for her.

Totally worth it though when we got to enjoy the view. Sammy's have never tasted so good :)

Cam taught Jax some guy tricks to surviving in the wild

It clearly involved some bare bum action, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Here are the ladies in all of our post hike deliciousness
Kathleen, Stacey, Dana, Me, Devry

Finally, Camsies and I......So glad you could come to visit!

10K

Here are Dana and I at Magelby's in all our after run sweaty glory

Got up this morning about 5:15. Dana picked me up and we made our way over to Kiwanis Park on 9th and 9th in Provo. We started the run uphill with about 1000 other runners. It wasn't too hot which was a blessing. Another great thing about this route is that it takes you down University Ave and up Center Street in Provo. This is hugely motivating as there are a bajillion people camped out along this route waiting for the parade to start.

Not only do they cheer you on which is kind of cool, but they ramp up the shame factor you would feel if you were walking. So good times!

Dana came in under her goal time as did I. Mine was 1 hour and 30 minutes and I crossed the line at 1:28:08. I felt like it was a good effort for my first 6 + mile race. I can't wait to keep training and see what happens next year!

We then met the Larry Arnett and extended fam at Magelby's Fresh. We had a delish breakfast of omelettes and pancakes. Dana and I decided that we are making this a family tradition from now on. So everyone dust off your running shoes and train for a 5k, 10k or 1 mile fun run in '09.

A Red Hot 4th

I adore the 4th. Who doesn't really? This holiday's festivities will include Dana and I running the Freedom Festival 10k. Race starts at 7:00 a.m. I'm planning on eating Dana's dust as she takes of like a shot. As long as I make it in under an hour and a half I will consider my 6.2 mile run a huge success.

Our run will be followed up by some tasty breakfast, hopefully eaten at Magelby's Fresh. All are welcome to join us. We should be ready to start eating breakfast no later than 9-9:30. Come on......you know you want to get up early and eat something delicious!

Since my Fam has ditched me for a hot, like the surface of the sun, 4th in AZ, The Taufers have graciously allowed me to tag along to their fun BBQ later that afternoon. The day will of course be capped of with some fab fireworks.

Hope everyone else is planning on having a ridiculously good 4th!

Toyota-May The Force Be With You

Just got this from my friend Sherry. Hi Sherry!! It was too classic to not share with the rest of you!

Kiting

Last night a group from the Ward had a delish BBQ. One of the gents goes kiting all the time and owns his own power kites. I've been harassing him for quite some time for a lesson and last night he thought we just might have enough wind to try it out. So we headed down to the UVU practice field to give it a whirl. Let me tell you that it was so much fun.

Here is Marc and his kite getting us all set up

Even though there was practically no wind Marc managed to get the kite in the air. This is why he is known as the "Kite Whisperer"

I thought I would give it a go



I even managed to keep it in the air a time or two.

Happy Father's Day

To the best, brightest, best looking, funniest, most charming, all around greatest guy ever.........My Dad. Love, Love, Love you! Happy Father's Day.

5K Accomplished

My friend Carol and I left the house this morning at 7:30 to head over for the summerfest 5k. We arrived and got all checked in complete with numbers and free T-shirts. Penee and H came to support us and snap some photos. Thanks for the lovely support guys!

Here is picture of Carol and I anticipating the event


Here is one of Penee and I. Thanks again for coming to support Mom and Dad! Love you guys!
Here's HB snapping me at the finish. He couldn't quite figure out how to work the camera and as Carol made it in under 40 minutes he was unable to get one of her. Thank goodness the 6 year old came along and told him how to get it turned on :)

From these shots I almost look like an actual runner. Great camera work Dad!

Preparing to run a 5K

First of all let me preface by saying that I recognize this is no Marathon. But it is my first race since I've been training and I'm very excited about it. For those of you not familiar with Orem Summerfest it kicks off Saturday's activities with this early fireman's 5K. The day continues on with more fun and frivolity culminating in an amazing fireworks display. I'm excited. I'm even more excited after talking to Lacy this afternoon. I've been having in my mind that a 5K is 4 miles, I've been training accordingly, turns out it's only 3 and some change. So now I'm feeling extra confident about running it.

After this I'm continuing my training to participate in the 10K on the 4th of July. This I've been assured is in fact 6 miles and some change. Dana, you still in?

Pictionary

I had occasion to play some Pictionary last night. Turns out I'm not very good at it. I don't know if it's my lack of drawing skills, or if I'm only used to playing with family, with whom I obviously have one mind. I feel to apologize to my team for dragging them down, it was a comedy of errors for Team 2 last night and I provided the unintentional comedy!

In my defense I did have some unfortunate draws. I mean really, who knows how to draw things like;

Jury
Drag Racing
Mosaic

That's right people!!! While some of the other teams were getting items like;

shooting star
and
rocket

it did seem stacked against me. I suppose some of the other teams had their own incidents.

There was an unfortunate scenario with a monkey and what was supposed to be a tail........I'll leave the rest to your imagination :) There was also a cowboy and a rapper with bling all in the name of "posse".

Overall I would say the star of the show had to be my friend Carol. Not only was she amazing at getting people to guess her subjects, special shout out goes to her for her help with "Permanent Press". I was trying to draw a tatoo, she whispered her suggestion that I perhaps try to draw a girl with a bad Perm. This exactly illustrates why she wins best pictionary player award and I win should never play pictionary again award.

A Cousins Weekend

These pics are from last weekend when Lacy was in town for her marathon. I've been a bit slow in posting but believe me they are worth the wait!

Canyon and Peeps living it up

Lexi and Canyon off for a rideGrandpa, Grandma & Penelope


Canyon contemplating running through the sprinklers


Peeps thinks it's a good ideaCanyon shares her popsicle
and gives Penelope a ride in the wagon

All in all a very fun weekend for two of the cutest cousins. I can't wait for more fun cousin time with these two cuties!

St. G

I'm headed down south for the Memorial Day weekend. I'll be hitting this place up.

You know how I can't resist their breakfast!

A Tip Of The Hat

Cameron in all his glory

This man is the reason that we all gathered to AZ in the first place. I love you Cam and am so proud of you! Thanks for letting me participate in your big day!!

Cibola

Wow! My hat is officially off to the children of Howard and Ethel (Kathleen gets a shout out too). Driving down from Phoenix we were treated to this stunning scenery.

Once we arrived in the thriving metropolis we noticed a few choice businesses. I didn't get a picture of "steaks and cakes" but I did capture this gem.

From here we drove down to Cibola. Here are a few pics

The River

The Brothers (Jeff, H.B., Cliff, Larry) We missed you Candy!The Bishop's Place. No rats were shot while we were there and I wasn't offered any "Burro Jerky" but it was still a wonderful time.


Lacy capturing H.B.'s wit and wisdom for posterityJeff and H.B. walking along the canal my Grandpa Howard dug. Towards the site of H.B.'s Baptism.


At the site of the crash. It was a very solemn and amazing experience. I feel so grateful for the opportunity to have been here and see this for myself first hand. It was good to hear the brothers first hand recollections of this very sad event that changed so many lives in it's wake.

Marathons are Hard Work

Don't let anyone tell you different. It take a lot of preparation both to participate.....special shout outs to Dana, Lacy and Brent! But it also takes a lot of effort to be a marathon supporter. I'd like to pay tribute to both special groups on my blog today.

First is where the two groups are the same. Both have to get up ridiculously early (ok, maybe the runners 5:00 a.m time slot was a little more grueling than the supporters 7:00 a.m wake up call but early is still early)

Here is Lex preparing for the big day.


And here I am gearing up

Now obviously the stars of the show were the three runners. I wish we would have snapped some photos of Brent, but sadly we missed him running by. We only have our two lovely Arnett ladies in all their glory!

Here is Dana and Lac just finishing up 18 miles.....yes I said 18. On their way to 8.2 more. Way to go! You guys looked outstanding considering the distance ran!
The supporters thought their efforts at the over half way point should be documented as well. Here is a shot of the supporters in all their 18 mile mark glory.....

Never let it be said we don't know how to support in style. (Lindsay, Devry, Ryan and Mallory)

We then made our way down to the finish line. So we could do our supporter duty and cheer on our amazing runners. We missed Brent crossing......again. But luckily Dave snapped a photo it can be found over on Lacy's Blog.

But I did capture a sweet pic of the ladies finishing up their amazing day with amazing effort. Seriously I am so proud of you guys! What a wonderful accomplishment. Lacy, Dana you are my heroes!!

Baby Coming

We can't wait to see you Peeps!

Canyon's Here!

Canyon came down last Friday to spend some time with her Arnett peeps. Here she is on Mother's Day having a "serious" conversation with Aunt Syd.

Her current favorite things include:

Playing Tea Party with Grandma and Grandpa

The "Meow, Meow"

Coloring

Being ridiculously cute!

Happy Birthday To The Big Pen

Today is my Mom's Birthday. This picture is of Penee and H.B. taken at a cousins wedding. See how excited H.B. is that he gets to be married to this woman?

His expression pretty much says it all, both for him and for all of Penee's children. How lucky are we to have this special lady in our lives?

I hope it's the best day ever Mom. Filled with gardening, birds, movies, food and lots of love and laughter.

I love you!!

My Renewed Love of the Library

I have a love affair with books. It's been going on for years at least since I was 11 and Sunny and I would get dropped off at the mall where we would each buy a Nancy Drew mystery, read said mystery and then swap. Twice the fun!

I've obviously loved the Library before. One of my requirements before agreeing to move to Ireland was that I could have my OWN library card (I didn't want to have to rely on others for library privileges). My one bid for independence whilst there.

I don't know what it is but I often forget the delights a library can hold. Especially for a girl on a budget. Ever since purchasing my Condo at the beginning of this year I'm always looking for ways to shave a few dollars off the old budget. Since books are about as necessary to my life as air I decided to give the Library another whirl.

Highlights:

Not feeling guilty for not finishing a book if it's lame. I always feel guilty when said book is purchased.

Trying different genres and books I might not otherwise have tried.

"Shopping" online. This basically means you look at their selection online and put a book on hold, then someone else pull the books off the shelf for me so all I have to do is pick them up (am I the laziest person ever?!?!)

Reading too much......I love getting engrossed in a great story!

Lowlights:

Having to be "wait listed" I lack patience and don't always enjoy waiting for things including books I want to read.

Reading to much......Is it my JOB to personally read every book the library holds? I only wish it were.

Did I mention that the library also rents movies for a dollar. Lex and I enjoyed another viewing of "Bleak House" in this manner, which was a delight I do assure you.

If any of you need a library buddy, you now know whom to contact. Or better still if you have another activity that doesn't involve reading that might be best. My eyes could use the rest.

The Catherine O'Hara Question

The lovely Catherin O'Hara

Self Portrait taken just this morning......what do you think? Catherine O'Hara 2.0?

Yesterday a friend of mine told me that he thought I looked a lot like Ms. O'Hara. It isn't the first time I have been told this. I now put this out to the Blogosphere. Do I indeed look like Catherine?

Do you think if I were to shout out, "KEVIN!!!" That all around me would immediately put both of their hands to their cheeks and let out a prolonged scream?

Have you frequently found yourself when we are hanging out humming the words to Day-O. Or worse fighting the uncontrollable urge to shout three times, "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice"?

Is this why we love Christopher Guest movies so much? They make you feel like we are hanging out even when we are far apart? Thus I give you.........the Catherine O'Hara question.