The Arnell Family

Valentine Cupcakes

2010-03-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

We decided to celebrate Valentines by making cupcakes. We had so much fun!! Michael loved helping and Swayz loved telling him what to do. Swayz got to invite one of her friends over and then they decorated all the cupcakes. Mike liked to frost his and then lick it off and then frost it again. Overall I think they did a great job!

Content

2009-05-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

I am at a place in my life that I haven’t ever been before, I am CONTENT. When I look in the mirror and see those wonderful stretch marks, I smile and think it could be worse. When I look around at my apartment and the disarray of each room I again think, it could be worse.
When I am standing in the check out line at Wal-Mart and hear Swayzee scream, “Mom I have to pee NOW!” I politely ask the lady behind me to watch my groceries, grab Michael out of the stroller and we RUN to the bathroom. This is when Swayzee informs me she is old enough to go all by herself and I have to wait outside of the restroom until she is finished. Not wanting anything bad to happen to her (I suffer from a bit of paranoia) I count to 10 then yell in the bathroom, “Are you ok, babe” and she yells right back, “Mom, I am FINE” in that wonderful, almost 5 year old tone. She finishes all by her self and we run back to our line, thank the now impatient lady behind us and finish checking out. As we are walking back to our car, I think to my self, “well, that defiantly could have been worse.”
Even when I am at the gym, in one of the many classes I try to attend, sucking in air just so I don’t pass out and watching these young, firm ladies jump up and down and nothing moves and they aren’t out of breath and they look great when the class is over. I think to myself, “I made it today, and it really could have been worse!”
I have finally realized that life is what I make of it. It’s not what I have or don’t have, it’s not what my friends and neighbors have or don’t have. If I choose to be happy, I will be. No one can make me feel anything I don’t want to. My husband, wise and enlightened as he is, often tells me, “Kinz, you choose to let it affect you, one way or another.” He is right and I am content. I will keep trying to better myself but in the mean time I am going to love who I am and what I have become. To often we as women put ourselves down and feel like we don’t measure up. Well enough is enough. We are amazing! To all of you who at one time or another feel like you don’t measure up, I hope you take time to realize just how amazing you are and what a difference you have made in my life. Thank you!

The TENT of wonders

2009-05-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

So Swayz had a great idea yesterday, she wanted to build a tent. We started out in the front room but after Michael ran and tore everything down we decided to move our tent into Swayzee's room. It didn't take us long before we had our masterpiece complete. There are several different rooms and a few windows in our tent. We played all day in there and Swayz ended up sleeping in there too.
Michael was sad because he couldn't be in there. He stayed out in the hall and banged on the door. We felt bad so we let him in and within seconds he had ruined the left wing of the tent :) We had to kick him back out. The tent is still up and Swayz thinks she can keep it up until she turns 5. There's no way that will happen but I haven't told her that yet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

2009-04-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

Michael turned TWO today!!
It's hard to believe that two years have come and gone since Michael has been in our lives. He has been such a joy and blessing and also has kept us on our toes. He is full of life and loves to GO, GO, GO! When I look at him I see a beautiful, innocent boy who has so much to give this world. For those of you who know him, you know how crazy he is and for those that don't, well, you can take my word for it. I can't wait to see what kind of Man this little boy grows into. Michael, thanks for making life interesting and never dull or boring. You are a blessing to us all and we love you so much! Happy Birthday Magoo!!

Really!?!

2009-04-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

I love Michael and am so grateful for him, but there are days when it seems a little harder with him than it ever was with Swayz. Especially when it comes to food. I really don't think there is much more to say, the pictures speak for themselves :)

We LOVE Easter

2009-04-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

We have an Easter tradition that I love. Connie (the Big grandma- refer to previous post) works for Davis County and because of that is invited to a huge Easter egg hunt every year. We wake up early and head up to Farmington. Bagels and fruit are served for breakfast and then the Easter Egg hunt begins. The lawn is sectioned off for each age group and each child is allowed a certain number of eggs. Michael is great at the hunt because he isn't afraid of anyone, it doesn't matter how big they are. He is really good at running and telling the other little kids "NO" "Mine" and grabbing the eggs. Swayz is a little more timid and likes to have either Mom or Dad with her. Over all both kids had a great time and I always enjoy sharing the candy with them.

CAKE ANYONE?

2009-04-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

I had a sweet tooth the other day and decided to make a cake. Michael and Swayz love to help and it's fun (most of the time) to watch them crack the eggs and stir. We were done mixing everything together and about to pour it into the cake tin when Swayz had a bathroom emergency. Usually she doesn't need or want any help but this was a close call and she needed some help with her pants. I left Michael on the counter (I know what was I thinking) and ran to help swayz. When I got back to the kitchen this is what I found (look at the pictures)

U of U Gymnastics

2009-04-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here is our family at the U of U gymnastics meet-

When you tell Michael to smile he thinks that means close your eyes!

Toots loving life at the meet

Before I begin this post I just want to express my appreciation to all of you who are so good at blogging. I am amazed at all of you who are so consistent and creative with your blogs. You inspire me... Really you do. So in the spirit of sharing here I go. . .

Swayz has been in gymnastics for the last 2 years. She is pretty good for a 4 year old (other than the fact that she refuses to use her arms when doing bridges, and back handsprings. She is convinced it's better to land on your head) and she loves it. We decided that it would be fun to take her to a U of U gymnastics meet. We went to the last meet of the season and it was awesome. Swayz got to see first hand that it really is important to use your arms and that if you work really hard she could someday do a back handspring all by herself. Michael loved the bright lights and all of the people. Overall it was a success!

Bowling Anyone. . .

2009-02-14T18:06:00.001-08:00

For FHE we decided to go bowling. It turned out to be really fun, even with a 1 year old. Swayz loved it and did pretty good. She thought she was pretty big because she got to pick out her own ball and bowl all be herself. Mikey thought that he should get a turn and threw a little fit when he figured out he was only ment to watch and not touch. The siblings got a little competitive, I think I won both games :) Over all we had a great time.

Daddy's little BOY

2009-02-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since our last post. Life gets a little crazy as I am sure most of you know. We are doing GREAT! Well most of the time :) Everyone is healthy and happy, what more can you ask for!
The other day we were sitting in Michael's room playing around with the kids. Shane grabbed the tie from my rob and tied it on his head like Rambo. Mikey and Swayz thought that was the coolest thing ever. Swayz wanted to add to Daddy's look so she put her beautiful blue necklace around his neck. It wasn't too long until Michael wanted to put everything on. So we took it off Shane, put it on Mike and watched him run around for a good 10 min. He kept trying to "chop" swayz and kick us. He would run into the room yelling HIIIIIYAAAAAA. I think he might have watched Kung Fu Panda one to many times. It was really cute thought so we took pictures and here they are.

Oh Christmas Tree...

2008-12-08T09:17:00.000-08:00

Smile!
Swayzee where are you?
Hey Mike over here
Hey T are you having fun yet?
My sweetheart
We have a family tradition of getting our Christmas tree the Monday after Thanksgiving. We go out to dinner and then hit the same Christmas tree lot that we have been to since I was 9.
After dinner we headed out to the tree lot. Swayz and Mike were in heaven, there were rows and rows of Christmas tress and all they wanted to do was run through them. After chasing them around for awhile we finally found the perfect tree. It was right in time because Swayz informed us that she needed to go potty. We hurried and paid and rushed home, just making it in time. The tree looks beautiful, now the trick it keeping Mike out of it. He thinks the lights are the coolest thing ever and he loves to run up, hit it and laugh. CRAZY I tell ya!! (em I am still amazed you do this with twins :) )

Snow, Sleds and Bodily Harm

2008-12-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

Here we are ready for the cold!!

Mom, Swayz and Mike

Man this is harder than it looks

I am soooo strong!

Picture perfect!
The day after Thanksgiving we headed up to my parents cabin for a nice relaxing weekend. I don't know if relaxing is the right word. For those of you who know Mikey he doesn't exactly allow people to relax. He is going 110 miles an hour and doesn't slow down unless asleep or sick. Anyways on with the story... Shane and I decided it would be fun to take the kids sledding. We all bundled up in our snow stuff (I don't know if you can tell but mikes outfit is just a little big :)) and off we went. My parents cabin is perfect for sledding, the driveway makes the perfect hill and leads right down to the garage. Sways and I attempted the first run, We got situated and off we went. I didn't realize that we would get going so fast, nor did I realize that the rock wall was really the only thing that could stop us. With my feet out and a few screams we hit. I was able to protect Swayz but I must say I wasn't walking as well after that. We soon learned that we needed to start down lower and Shane ended up catching us after that. We had a great time and even Mikey loved it. The best part was climbing the hill, well it wasn't the funnest part but it exhausted mike and swayz and they went to be really early that night.

Painting rocks is so much FUN

2008-11-03T17:03:00.000-08:00

What a cute kid

bribing Mike with candy

We ended up painting a ghost, candy corn, pumpkins and a frankenstein

Smile

We decided to paint rocks for Halloween. We walked all around the neighborhood looking for just the right rocks. After an hour or so we had all the rocks we needed, painting here we come. I wasn't sure what to do with Mike, he is a little crazy and sitting still isn't much of an option. I decided to bribe him with candy and stick him in his high chair. After 5 min. Swayz was bored and ready to move onto the next project. Unfortunantly fo her, I was just getting started and we weren't going to stop. After about an hour we had painted all our rocks! We made pumpkins, a ghost, candy corns and frankenstein. We had so much fun.

Happy Birthday Old Man!!

2008-09-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

I want to wish my sweet husband a very happy birthday today!! I don't tell him enough how much I love him and how amazing he is. Thank you Hun, for putting up with me, and all my wonderful weaknesses. You handle me with love, respect and patience and I am so grateful for that. You truly make me want to be better. You are also an amazing father. Your kids love you so much and I love watching their reaction when you walk through the door after a long day. I hope you have a great day today!

Asleep..... on the pot!

2008-09-17T16:01:00.001-07:00

After getting home from Grandmas a little late Swayz needed to go the bathroom. She walked into the bathroom but didn't come out. I didn't really think anything of it, shes 4 and has been doing this for a while. Well after about 5 min. I thought there might be a little problem. I opened the door and found swayz asleep on the pot! it was so funny!! Shane and I laughed so hard.

Ready, Set, GOOOOOOO

2008-09-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

READY...

SET...

GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Swayzee mastered jumping off of the window seal in our bedroom a while ago. It was quite an accomplishment!! She has now learned how to do twists and flips off of it too. The whole time Swayz was learning how to do all of these amazing things Mikey was watching. He wanted to jump off the window too and would try and get up over and over again. Shane and I were grateful that he never figured it out. It is a little high for him and although he is very tough we didn't want him to get hurt. Well little did we know that swayz taught mike how to get up and jump off and then to do it all over again. I walked into the bedroom and there they were, up on the window seal, holding hands, counting to three. It was a success and now it is the funnest thing that they do!

We love GALOON!!

2008-08-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

We went to Lagoon last Thursday with our family and had so much fun. Swayz was so excited to ride the rides and eat cotton candy. She was so funny though, every time we told her where we were going she would say Galoon instead of Lagoon. Our conversations went something like, "hey mom what time are we going to Galoon?" or "Mom Galoon is going to be soooo fun, I can't wait!" When we finally got there she rode all of the little kid rides and then wanted to go on the big kid rides. She was so sad when we told her she had to be a little older and a lot taller to ride those rides. Mike wanted to go on every ride with his big sister too. We let him go on the little boat ride, i was so stressed that he would figure out how to get out and jump in the water that once was enough for him. Shane and I went on the flying ride there. It's one of the rides that you have you have to pay a little extra for. They strap you into a harness, lift you way high in the air and then you drop and it feels like you are flying. I loved it!! Shane screamed the whole way down but I think he liked it when we were all done. (just kidding hun, you were really brave) Over all it was a great day, the kids were so tried when they got home they went straight to be and who can complain about that.

The Big Grandma and the Little Grandma

2008-08-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

About 8 months ago Swayz started calling her Grandparents unique names. Instead of calling them Grandma and Grandpa Arnell or Patterson, she calls them the Big and Little grandma's and grandpa's. The Arnell's are the Big Grandma and Grandpa and the Patterson's are the Little Grandma and Grandpa. She would ask if we are going to the big or little grandmas house or if she was going to see her big or little grandma today. We thought it was cute so we let her keep calling them that. We thought she would grow out of it. Well 8 months later and she is still calling them that. One day the big grandma asked Swayz why she called her the big grandma. Swayz told her that it was because her house was bigger than the little grandmas house. So it only made sense for Swayz to refer to her as the big grandma. I don't know how much longer she will do this but I love it and it still sounds so cute to hear her talk about her big and little grandparents.

BOY oh BOY

2008-08-19T09:47:00.000-07:00

Michael is amazing in so many ways. He laughs and drives his sister nuts but one of his best attributes is his ability to fall down, not cry and get right back up and go for it again. I am constantly amazed at how tough he is. He has new bruises, bumps and scratches every day. Shane will come home from work and ask, "where did this one come from?" "Oh, he jumped off the stairs at the park." "And this one?" "He ran into the wall." One time The big grandma (Grandma Arnell) was taking Mike for a ride in the stroller. He wasn't strapped in and decided that he was done riding in the stroller and wanted to get out and walk. Before Grandma could stop him, he had jumped out and landed face first on the sidewalk. he scraped his nose and upper lip pretty bad! There were a few tears but after a kiss and hug he was off again to find another adventure. I am so excited to watch him grow and see what kind of Man he turns into. For now I am grateful for all of his guardian angles and his ability to heal quickly!!

10 days and counting

2008-07-15T15:16:00.000-07:00

Jerom had his farewell on Sunday. It was amazing and he did an excellent job. I am so impressed with him and all that he has become. He leaves me in awe most of the time. He will be a blessing to the people of Guatemala and they will be a blessing to him. Sunday was a very emotional day and I was left with a little time to reflect on my life. I am almost 30 and so grateful for the path that I have traveled. I have been humbled, found true love and experienced both wonderful ups and terrible downs. I am grateful for the wonderful gift of the Gospel and that I am privileged to have it in my life. I have learned for myself the truth that comes from Christ and his never ending love and patience he has for me. I am grateful for the atonement and the chance that I have to become better each and every day. I am so thankful for those of you who have been such an impact on my life. I have surrounded myself with amazing people and I am grateful to you for loving me and my family. Jer, I love you so much and will miss you terribly but I know you are making the right choice and will forever be blessed because of it. I appreciate the example you are to my kids and myself. You are amazing, good luck!!

The Arnell Family Camping Trip

2008-07-15T14:55:00.001-07:00

What a weekend, we left on Thursday July 10th for a fun filled camp out with the Arnell family. We all met up at Pineview Res. in Huntsville Utah. It is a very beautiful place. We unloaded our tents, chairs and coolers and set up camp. Connie and Blake were there along with all of the Arnell kids except Crystal (we missed you tons). We hung out by the fire, played on the beach and even boated a bit. Swayz was able to ride in the tubes with her cousins. At first I wasn't so sure about it, but Shane calmed me down and off they went. She had a blast, it was her favorite thing she did. In order for Shane and I to relax we had to think of something to do with Michael. He is so fun but he is also fast and into everything. Shane came up with the idea to create a leash for him. So that is exactly what we did. We bought one of those little backpacks with a leash on it and then tied that to a long rope, we then tied the rope to a tree. It was ingenious, Michael was safe and we were able to relax a little. After three days of camping we were ready to come home! We had tons of fun and can't wait until next year.

Holy Cow I have a 4 Year Old!!!

2008-07-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

June 26th is a very special day for our little family. Shane and I were married on that day and one year later Swayz was born (on that day). It's kind of nice, I know that Shane will never forget our anniversary, but celebrating everything gets a little tricky. This is the first year Swayz showed interest in having a friend birthday party. It started in February. "Hey mom how many friends are coming to my party." "Mom when do we send out my invitations." And so on... She decided on a Princess theme mixed with a water party. She talked about it almost every day and then finally it was here. We had the party at my parents house and she had a blast. We had a slip and slid, pinata and the coolest princess cake ever. She loved it and I was grateful when it was over. We also celebrated her birthday with just the family. My mom, grandma, brother, Mikey, Swayz and I headed out on her actual birthday to Build A Bear. She picked out a teddy bear and named her KALA. (I am not sure where she got the name from) then we went to lunch. We had a great time celebrating and Swayz felt like a Princess.

To Fish or not to Fish...

2008-07-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

I had an amazing idea one day, it was to take the family fishing. We found out when Utah's free fish day was and off we went. We left around 10:00 a.m., our first stop was walmart where we bought Swayz her first fishing poll. She was so excited, she got to pick her poll out all by herself. It was the right size and it even had Dora the Explorer on it. Then we had to get bait and a few other things we were missing. We made it up AF canyon around 12:00. I had high expectations (this was my first mistake) I was sure that Michael would love sitting in his stroller watching us fish and that Swayz would think this was the coolest thing ever and want to stay for a couple of hours. We set up our little fishing area with chairs and a cooler and wouldn't you know, Michael wanted out of his stroller. I took him out and within seconds he was headed for the water. Mistake number two, thinking a stroller would contain a 1 year old. It took about 30 min. to get Mikey under control and now we were helping Swayz get her new poll ready to fish. Shane handed me a poll and told me to cast it out into the water. No problem, I have done this before. I pushed the line down, pulled down a little lever and swung the poll. I waited to see the hook hit the water, it must be really far out there because it hadn't hit yet. As a couple of seconds passed I realized there was a problem. Mistake number three, I don't know how to cast a fishing poll!! Shane came over and we both looked up. In the branches of the beautiful tree above us was my wonderful fishing line. It was stuck and Shane wasn't too happy. About 30 min. later we were again ready to cast out and catch a fish. Shane helped Swayz cast her fishing poll out and handed it to her. Then he did mine. By the time mine was cast into the water Swayz had reeled hers in again. Mistake number four, Swayz wasn't interested in fishing, just casting her poll and reeling it in again. About 5 min later Swayz was done fishing and ready to leave. Just to give you a little recap we spent all of 1 hour fishing- well trying to fish. 55 min. were spent getting everything ready and 5 min. spent with our polls actually in the water. Although things didn't turn out they way I was hoping we loved it and had a great time. No, we wont be back for a few years but at least we can say we tried!!

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

2008-05-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

Over spring break I went to New York with my Mom, Grandma and sister. We left on Tuesday and stayed until Saturday. We had the time of our lives!! I should mention that this was the first time that Shane has had the kids over night without me there. I was so excited for his new experience. Everything was going great while I was gone, then on Wed. I got a phone call that Mikey was sick. I felt bad but what do you do. Shane took great care of him and when I called the next day to check up on him Shane told me that Mikey was fine but that Swayz was now sick. She had thrown up twice. Hum.... I felt bad for not being there but I think it was really good for Shane. ( I love you sweety)
Back to New York; We stayed in a hotel in Time Square and were able to go do all of the touristy things. My favorite was attending the Broadway show Lion King. I lived in upstate New York about 7 years ago where I was a camp counselor. When I was there we were able to go into the city and I fell in love. I have always wanted to go back and was so grateful for the opportunity. New York is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. I love the rich culture, all of the history and the mixture of people. Thanks Mom for the trip I loved every second of it.

Happy Birthday to You... Mikey turned 1 !!!

2008-05-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and I am only 25! Time really does fly!! Michael turned one on April 17th and to celebrate we had a family birthday party for him. He really didn’t know what was going on but he seemed to like all of the attention and all of the people there.He really loved the food too, especially the cake. I made him a football cake and when the party was over Swayz decided to finish it off.
Mikey is learning to walk and is doing great. He is so fearless, we love it. He just goes for things and if it doesn’t work out he will get up and try it again. He has an aggressive personality (we think that is part because of Swayz, you know the whole survival of the fittest thing) but he has a very soft heart. He loves to growl and then snuggle. I love to watch him because he is so full of life and love. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives. He has added so much to our little family. It is amazing to watch the bond between Swayz and Mike too. Yes, they have had their differences but things have gotten a lot better and they just love to be together. She watches out for him and he looks for her where ever he is. It’s true, having kids is one of lives best blessings.

Princess Swayzee and the Chart of Good Choices

2008-05-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

Having a little brother can be so much fun… most of the time. Swayzee has loved being a big sister and she does a great job but sometimes Mikey just drives her crazy. He loves to get into her room and mess up all of her toys and books. He also loves to find the remote and change the channel when she is watching one of her favorite shows. He doesn’t know what he is doing but Swayz is sure that it is on purpose.
Swayz decided that she needed to take action and when mike would bug her she would bug him right back. The only problem with this is that she is a lot stronger then he is and he would end up crying. Shane and I tried many different things to see if we could help them get a long better but nothing really worked. Finally we came up with a good behavior chart. We call it Princess Swayzee and the Chart of Good Choices. We use stickers and reward her good choices. She can earn “grab bags” or toys lunch at Mcdonalds and at the end she gets a date with just Mom and Dad.
After about a month of earning stickers and then losing stickers she finally made it to DATE NIGHT. The little grandma (my Mom) watched Mikey and Shane and I took Swayz out for a night on the town. We took her out to eat and then headed up to the Gateway to the Discovery Kid Zone. We had a blast and Swayz loved all the attention. When we were finally ready to go home she was excited to see Mikey and tell him about her night. She is now on her second Chart of Good Choices and we have really noticed a difference in her behavior. She recognizes good and bad choices and she and Mikey are getting a long so much better!!

CALLED TO SERVE

2008-04-09T18:24:00.001-07:00

It's so hard to believe that my little brother Jerom is old enough to serve a mission. On Wednesday April 1st Jer received his mission call. He is going to the Guatemala, Guatemala City Central Mission, Spanish speaking!! He reports to the MTC on July 23.
Jer has really become a man in the last three years. He has changed so much and I am so proud of him. He is such a great uncle to my kids.
Jer we want you to know that we love you so much. You are such an amazing young man and you are a wonderful example to me and my family. I feel so blessed to have you as my brother. Thank you for all you do for me. Love ya!!

Blue Eyed Boy and Brown Eyed Girl

2008-03-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Since I was little I have always wondered what my kids would look like. How much of me would I see in them and how much of Shane. When Swayzee was born it was obvious, she was me in almost every way; brown hair, dark eyes, a V shaped face, there really wasn't much of the Arnell gene in her. As she has grown and we compare pictures of me as a little girl and her it is so fun to see the similarities. When I got pregnant with Michael we thought that he would be pretty much like Swayz. OH how we were wrong. Michael came out and there was nothing similar. He has beautiful blue eyes, blond hair and he can pack on the pounds. It is so fun to watch him grow and change. He becomes more and more like Shane every day.
So here are my two beautiful babies that are so different in every way. Swayz is such a girl, small, loves princesses and so gentle and then there is Mike... ALL BOY! He grunts, growls and hits and he isn't even one yet. He weighs 20 lbs and Swayz is only at 24lbs. I love watching them play, fight, love each other. I pray every day that Shane and I will have the wisdom to teach them all they need to know.