Arnold Reunion '08

This year the Arnold Reunion was hosted by my brother, Jake. It was at Lake Trillium, near Mount Hood. It was very beautiful. You're just swimmin' in a lake and look up and there's this glorious snow covered mountain. Very cool. We all arrived Thursday evening and left Monday.

We all got directions online that sent us down some windy off-road adventure. We found Amy and Mike along the way. After a half hour we decided to get back on the freeway and look for signs and we found it. Poor Lizzie and Shad arrived last and very late at night. It was really good to see everyone. The first night we stayed up really late around the fire talking.

I'm not much of a camper. For some reason I did really well at the Jentzsch reunion so I thought this one would be a snap! Nope. I've decided it's because of sleep. I wake up every morning sore and uncomfortable and instantly in a terrible mood. I stew in my sleeping bag thinking, "What am I DOING here?!!! I hate this!!!" But a couple hours later and my aches and pains wear off and then I forget . . . until it's time for bed again.

One of my favorite parts of the trip were all the little ones running around.

Every time I looked around, Aliese was holding Miles. She told me she can't wait to get married and have kids. At first that seemed like an overwhelming statement, but I think I felt the same way when I was younger.

The first night Anna, Ruby and Gracie were having lots of fun playing music.

Ruby sang us songs while she strummed the guitar.

The first morning we all awoke at the crack of dawn to this darn awful CROW!!! It did NOT sound like a bird or any natural creature. It was the worst sound I've ever heard. We all heard it.

This was the first of many walks. Each following day there would be multiple walks with eventually all of the kids. He loved it though. I kept telling him he didn't have to but he'd just tell me he loved it.

Greg met Kate when she was only a few months old and he just fell inlove with her. It was really fun because Kate seemed really excited about walking. "Walk" was one of the few sweet words she said to us.

The first day we didn't swim too much. It wasn't super hot so we all just kinda floated around and talked.

Picking flowers for Mama.

Tanner was much more adventurous than I expected. He crept through the brush and climbed over things.

Though he would never talk to me and always looked away when I tried to talk to him, it was fun to watch him.

The whole experience was really sweet and just made us realize once again how much we really want to have kids.

This was fun. These GIGANTIC DOGS came around the path and I instantly think, "Oh my gosh they're going to eat me" and Kate gets SO EXCITED and starts screaming "Doggie! Doggie!" and couldn't stop laughing! She LOVED them! It was so adorable. I was afraid of dogs until I was 21.

It was really fun to walk around with them. Lizzie told us Kate could understand everything so we'd ask her something and she'd sigh out this long, "Yes." It was SO SWEET. It was just fun to hear their little voices and see their reactions.

By the end of the day they were all tuckered out . . .

I loved watching Dad with the babies. It was really cute to see him play with them in his own way and hear them laugh with him.

This is Darin and if you look closer you'll see Mike at the left . We bought some bundles of wood but they didn't last very long. Before we knew it Mike was hacking away at some log with a hatchet. One by one each man joined in and before long they were three all working on one knotty log that gave them all blisters. It took forever to finish and the noise of chopping started to get to us. When they finally finished and couldn't do anymore, Dad just bought more wood- thanks Dad!

And what is camping without s'mores?
Lizzie

Mom and Aliese

Liz, Mike and Darin

Yes, we Arnolds like our chocolate!

And the lovely smoke that burned all of our eyes.

This might be bad, but the funnest part for me was just to listen to all the couples speak to each other. It was fun to hear their conversations and mini- arguments.

Greg brought the slack line!

A lot of people tried it!

Amy

Jacob

Mike

Clay caught on better than anybody. He did very well. He was pretty determined.

Ruby, Gracie, Darin, Anna

Lyndsey and Ruby

Anna and Aliese tried as well. Anna was very graceful. Greg said she hardly used him (to stable herself) at all.

Clay, Gracie, Danielle

This year we made T-shirts. It was actually really fun! I couldn't believe how creative some people got! They all turned out really nice. I loved mine. I really wanted to be able to wear it in Brussels so it can remind me of home! I stenciled everyone's name on the front. It took longer than anybody. So long that by the time I finished and went to the lake everyone was already out and back at camp. I had just missed everyone. So I just went in for a quick dip with my brother Jake to feel clean again.

Here's Dan's and Jake's

Everybody loved Anna's shirt. She has everybody on it with their initial over the top.

Later that night I taught everybody how to SALSA!!!! I'd never taught anyone before but I think it all worked out. Darin, Rebecca, Clay and Danielle seemed to catch on the fastest. The longer it went on the more the kids were making it hard for the parents to practice. The music was really loud (from Mom's car stereo) and at one point neighboring campers stopped right in front of us to stare and mock a little. That, I think, made everyone feel a little funny. But they didn't stay long. I finished it off with one Merenge song and everyone LOVED IT!!! Merenge is so easy and simple, anyone can do it. Everyone went a little crazy and we all danced around for one last song! It was fun!

Dad

Amy and Mike

We had SUCH GOOD FOOD! Even the hot dogs were good. Each family was in charge of a meal or two for the entire camp. Each new meal I would think, "Yes, we Arnolds understand the importance of good food."

Mom

Lyndsey and Miles

Adorable Gracie eating spaghetti. Gracie and I had a lot of fun. One of the last nights we ended up playing a game together. She kept saying, "I wanna play with you." It made me feel really good. She lives in Idaho so I hardly get to see her. She and Ruby had a lot of fun playing together. It was really cute. It reminded me of playing with my cousins when I was little. Their haircuts are identical and I'd often mix them up. Gracie was often bundled up in a blanket smooching a parent. She could also be a professional whiner. And I say this with the deepest love.

Darin and Rebecca

The last morning we woke up to rain and COLD. We all huddled around the dying fire for hours. We couldn't stop complaining about the cold and then Rebecca jumped up and yelled, "Well let's get some firewood!" She went all around the camp and very shortly after arrived at the fire with tons of sticks and soon there was a roaring fire again. She told us to stop complaining and get up and help and instead we just enjoyed the new wondrous fire while she gathered more wood. Terrible, I know. The boys and Leslies separately went on a walk around the lake. Those are the hi lights of the day. It was just wet and cold.

The last night we told stories by the fire. I think Aliese was first. She told a story about animals and cake. Anna told a story about a magical fish. Mom told a story about a little boy and a sailboat. Darin told a story about a man and wild blueberry pie. Lyndsey's story was about a scary lady with red lips and red fingernails. That one gave me goosebumps. Clay told the last story, but a little kid was distracting me so I missed half of it. I was impressed with the all the stories. It was so fun! I wanted to join in but I couldn't think of anything to tell!

Overall it was a good trip. Unfortunately I made an appointment for a client the last day so we had to head out an hour earlier than everyone else. That day I realized how stupid it was to make that commitment. Oh well. Live and learn. Everyone else got to stop in Portland and see Jake and Lyndsey's new house! We stopped to get gas and I went to use the bathroom and normally I would think it was kinda gross, but it had so much more space than the outhouse at camp. And it was a great feeling to wash my hands with SOAP and RUNNING WATER!!! Ah, modern technology. Indoor plumbing. It's a wonderful thing.