Retirement

After 40+ years (43 to be exact) of doing "A big ol' pile of shift work" Pop's actually retired (to many peoples surprise) from the Paper Mill in Snowflake. The fam threw him a surprise retirement party in red, white, and blue...in celebration of his "Sweet Freedom" from work. There were over a hundred people who showed up to support him and celebrate his retirement. I think we all laughed and cried at the stories that MANY felt "inspired" to tell about our Dad and his selfless service he has provided throughout his life thus far. We expect him to start making the rounds to see his grand kids. NO MORE: Work seven to three - Three to eleven - Eleven to seven - A big ol' pile of shift work! Congrats Dad.

Church Talk

Future missionary Mr. JCrew gave his 1st church talk in primary on Sunday. Lots of practice repeating the 2min. story was spent between BIG J, the "Man", and I all week so he could have his speech in his head and ready for his debut. Sunday morning came, his shoes were shined up, tie on straight, talk in hand, and come time for primary delivered his talk with enthusiasm (along with a little help from mom, as his assistant, holding up pics). Congratulations Crew, we are so proud of you and hope that your enthusiasm for talking in church continues throughout life.

St. Johns Pioneer Days 2009

St. Johns Pioneer Days 2009 (short n sweet) = the fam, campfire cirlce, Corky's, a little service work, late night games, and enjoying the parade - the laughs of cousins playing together - and the "Stations" crushed ice.

Snowflake Pioneer Days 2009

Snowflake Pioneer Days 2009 (in a "nut-shell") = family, food, parades, church softball championships, remembering our heritage, and of course wrapping up loose ends with a rodeo & fireworks show.

SHOTS

The most dreaded words in our little rebel 5 year old's vocabulary is...Back to School Shots! A right of passage that we all (or most) get the dreaded opportunity to endure through before entering the long awaited journey into Kindergarten. I prepped our rebel in on the big talk of "all 'Tough Guy's' get Shots for Kindergarten speech" before heading out for the dramatic experience which was about to occur. A little paper work, a little distraction, and a quick pinch, sting, and tears later we both survived the most unfortunate duties of our back to school check list. The worst of it is over...know he's off to Kindergarten in a few short weeks!!!

Independence Day

Fireworks, picnics, parades, barbecues, and rodeos are only a few of the many fun traditions tied to the 4th of July. Bright and early Independence morning a great Feast was dished at Papa & Nana Smithies house. Decorated with flags, streamers, and everything red, white, and blue, all the grand kids (and adults) were feeling the holiday spirit. The remainder of the day was spent roaming the mountain enjoying the festivities. And of course we ended the night in the best All American Spirit... BBQing with extended family, lighting off a few fireworks of our own (shhhh...), and listening to the ooh & ahhhs of the kids under the firework show. What better way to celebrate our independence than with family.

TRANSFORMERS 2

Every household that contains testosterone within its walls has been anticipating the arrival of TRANSFORMERS II (the Revenge of the Fallen). The recap of our date night went something along the lines of this: Husband + Wife + a little added baggage named Crew = a little drive to the Movie Theater, paid for our tickets, picked up our popcorn & drinks at the concession stand (a must do for any movie), staked out our seats, settled down for entertainment, watched Crew get his first on screen crush on Megan Fox, holding hands & sharing popcorn with the one I love, and feeding into the cheers of oohs & ahhs of our little 5 year old boys excitement while the "good-bots" beat up the "bad"-bots and won. I don't know who was the better date, the one who paid for it or the one that made it so entertaining...they'll have to settle for a tie.

Little Slugger

T-ball season has come to an end. Mr. JCrew laced up his cleats, slapped on his ball cap, and carried his glove out on the field one last time. Although our little 5 year old got a little bored with the game halfway through the season and not to mention a little distracted while waiting to catch a ball or get a hit during games, he still loved playing with his little team-mates. He stuck with it, he loved it, and looked so handsome while hittin' dingers at the park!

Saguaro Lake Getaway

The Whiting Families spent the weekend down by the river....we had a weekend planned full of sun, water, and relaxation at the SRP lake homes. Minus the boat this year, (may it rest in peace), we still had a a fun time laughing & relaxing with the kids and one another. Our days were spent watching kids splash in the pool & attempt cool new tricks on the slip and slide, driving into to town and taking the kids to the movie UP (which is definitely a new fave), late night competitive games of Mexican Domino's, a very serious game of 3 on 3 volleyball (plus a few little helpers on each team) and launching water balloons using each other as targets. It was a lot of fun and our family can't wait to go again.

Swim Lessons

Our little Goldfish (that thinks he's the Big Kahuna) Mr. JCrew is taking the long awaited plunge for swimming lessons. It was so much fun to watch all the little kids try to prove their swimming skills in the water. Some were pros, some panicked, and others sank like rocks...thanks goodness for all the great lifeguards staked out in & around the pool. Crew will learn to swim yet...that is, IF he won't be concerned about doing the "Most Perfect Cannon Ball ever" and listen to his very patient ever so sweet Swimming Teachers. Crew, you will be a shark yet!