Arndts Throwing a Party!

[nausicaa]

:

And was the photo of the cake taken in Mom's and Dad's bedroom, as the birthday cake photo ops are?

It's a close up, so no confirmation of where this cake was cut. I have my suspicions though.

[kswim90]

I used to know the Arndts. I taught swimming lessons at the Y they frequent.

[Letgo]

I used to know the Arndts. I taught swimming lessons at the Y they frequent.

What did you think of them? The Arndts fascinate me. HOW do you get all those sons to stay at home? No college, never any hint of a girlfriend, no outside friends, no outside interests that would take one away from the family alone, nothing. If I wanted to keep my kids at home permanently I couldn't do the job half as well as the Arndt parents have. How did they do it? Especially considering that they Arndts do interact with others, at least to some degree, at their softball tournaments, the Y, with photography jobs, etc. Yet not one of those manchildren seems to ever have any desire to leave home and have a normal life. Perhaps Mom and Dad Arndt could teach the military a thing or two about brainwashing and prisoners of war. And I'm serious here-what they have done is amazing. Not in a good way, but amazing nonetheless.

[kswim90]

They're actually really friendly. Weird. But friendly.

I taught swimming lessons to Mary and Peter. They're great kids. Mary was very eager to try new things and was a great helper when other kids weren't as advanced as her. Peter always seemed on the verge of tears.

Mary aged out of our swim lessons and started volunteering to teach the little ones in the 3 year old group. Most of the family would come to the pool. The older ones volunteered while the younger ones took lessons. We valued their help. They're great with kids.

After lessons on Friday evenings, they would stay and goof off with us in the pool. They were really fun to be around.

The mom didn't wear those white shorts back then, at least that I can remember. She always had that traditional hair style and Mary always had her hair in braids. I had a little crush on Jude (I was young and quite reserved back then...) but I never really gave him any time because he wore those horrible glasses.

As far as how they got the kids to stick around...I really don't know. They're all very kind people. Once again...weird...but kind.