Sunday, August 22, 2010

Lake Powell Part 2...Tubing!

Lake Powell Part 2!
Tubing Fun!
Tubing is always the kids favorite...
Eric took them on many tub rides...wild ones might I add!
Brooklyn, Easton and Brock (holding on or dear life)!
Alexi, Miaja and Brooklyn...happy smiles!
Alexi and Easton..I love the looks on their faces!
Someone had to sacrifice and go on a "Lazy/Boring Ride" with Pregnant Mommy...Thanks Easton!


Easton, Kyle, and Brooklyn...Getting a little "Air"!

This was the next shot...Sorry I missed the kids...Brooklyn flew back and landed really hard in the water...She had a good cry...poor girl! Easton and Kyle survived the wave...Daddy knows how to create the big waves!
Everyone always loves tubing!!!!
Zander, Easton and Brooklyn!

Lake Powell Part 1...Wake Boarding!

Lake Powell Part 1

Wake Boarding Fun!

This was probably the highlight of our trip...The kids learning to wake board. Brooklyn and Easton were excited to learn. They both picked it up...we were very proud parents!

Easton!

He did it a couple of times and improved each time.

With more practice he will get even better!

Easton loves to knee board too!





Brooklyn!
She really got it! She loved wake boarding and she went every day.
She even survived a few bumps/waves.
She is a natural!








Crazy Eric!
What more can I say...I just pray he doesn't get hurt!
What ever makes guys happy...Eric had fun!


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Utah Trip Day 2!

Saturday morning was spent Shopping for our Lake Powell Trip. We had to buy lots and lots of food! One big trip to Walmart and Costco did the trick!
After our shopping we took the kids to see "How to train a Dragon." It was a great movie...Eric loved it! Brittney and her boys met us at the theatre so we could at least see them while in Utah. Gotta love the dollar theatre..except for the fact that it was almost sold out at 2pm...Thanks Brittney for saving us seats!
Then Brittney and I headed over to a clothing store where they had $2 t-shirts and tanks. What a great deal..Thanks Dakota for sharing!

Then I realized I only had one hour to get ready for our family pictures..shower and all...oh no! I had to get ready very quickly. I had a hard time deciding what to wear...I wanted to look pregnant and not fat. So I decided on the tighter fitting shirt. I had to work with what I had in fall colors! Eric was a big help getting the kids ready. We got out the door right on time... I was proud of myself.

My mom has wanted a family picture for a long time...one problem though...the family hasn't been in the same spot to do it. Our last family picture was taken when I pregnant with Brooklyn so over 7 years ago. So this one weekend..EVERYONE was in Orem! It was amazing. Not sure when that will happen again. Here are a few pictures I took with my camera..we haven't gotten the photos from the photographer yet. I didn't get one with the big group...I will post that once I get it!







PS. How did I ever survive with all those boys!

Utah Trip Day 1!

Our next adventure (to Utah) started at 12:30am...again Eric's preferred method...and this is why...this is what the kids looked like ALL Night long...they never woke up until 7am. (No bathroom stops, no I'm hungry, no she's touching me, etc) How do kids sleep so well in the car??? I will never know...all I know...is I sure can't sleep in the car like that!
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We arrived in Orem at 12:30pm! 12 hrs of driving! Fun times. After we visited my mom...we headed to the Scera Pool with my sister-in-law Shawna and her kiddos. Brooklyn loved the water slides! She just went down them time after time. Easton was a little too short...so Aunt Shawna took him down two times. Since no pregnant ladies were allowed. He loved it too.

My kids are diving board junkies...that is all they do at our community pool!
They love to do dives off the diving board...again something I didn't dare to do at their age....or even now!


Proof that I was present too! Enjoying the lazy river.
We also saw my other Sister-in-law Jamie at the pool. It was fun seeing her and her kids too. After the pool...we headed to Shawna's for a Redford Family BBQ. Dakota and Ryan came up and we had a great time eating and visiting. Eric, Shawna and the kids even got into a water fight...hose in all...good times!
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Eric and Mike then went to two late night movies...
while the rest of us slept! Crazy boys!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Big Redford Family News!!!!!!!

For some this is old news...for some this is newer news...
and for some this is totally a surprise!
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We are having a BABY BOY!
He is due November 22nd. Which makes me 26 weeks & counting...
almost 6 months! 3 months to go...
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Some might ask...Why haven't I posted anything yet? This is why...
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I came up with this CRAZY idea to surprise our families...in person! I didn't want to tell them over the phone...so I decided (with Eric's support...he just said "What you want dear!") we wouldn't tell our families until they "saw" me pregnant. Which turned out to be at the end of July for both families. That made me 5 months at the time.
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Now we couldn't keep the secret that long for those who live near us (for obvious reasons)...so we first told Brooklyn and Easton on May 30th. They were so excited and surprised. Easton immediately wanted a boy and Brooklyn wanted a girl. We came the hardest part...getting the kids to keep our secret. Kids keeping secrets usually doesn't work...we told them not to tell anyone especially Grandma on the phone. That week we told our friends and ward members. Everyone was surprised and excited for us. But they were more surprised that I wasn't telling my Mom! I had a few "Moms" in the ward tell me that I was crazy and that my mom was going to be SOOO MAD at me. That made me nervous...but at that point...I thought it was worth it to see what happens. I would take my chances. Come on..she isn't going to disown me or anything...why wouldn't she be excited to have another grandchild from her favorite daughter!
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Our secret was safe...we only had a few oops from Brooklyn and Easton. One phone call to my mom, Brooklyn told her "We have a surprise for you when we come!" Well of course my mom's first thought was maybe I was pregnant. I had to lie to my mom..sorry mom...I told her we were making her something for her birthday. She believed me enough. And then once while I was talking to my mom...Easton came in and tried to feed me a cookie and I said I didn't want any...he then said..."But mom, it is for the baby!" Oh boy...I just hoped that my mom didn't hear...she didn't say anything so I am sure she didn't. Close calls for sure!
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On July 5th, I had my ultrasound...Brooklyn and Easton went with us. They were so excited to see pictures of the new baby. Since last fall, I had the feeling that a little girl was waiting to join our family. I had never had that feeling before...so we decided to have another baby. (It was a hard decision...we are totally OUT of the baby/toddler stages.) So right off the bat, I thought it was a girl...well it was very obvious from the beginning of the ultrasound that it was a BOY. I was totally shocked. I was sooo wrong. Easton and Daddy were excited but Brooklyn was a little disappointed but happy too. Easton told us "If it is a boy I will take all the dirty diapers to the garbage can for you mom..but if it is a girl...then I won't takeout any." Well... Easton will have a lots of dirty diapers to take out!!!! After we left...it was really hard not to call our parents (especially my mom) and tell them what we were having...that was the first time when I realized that this secret keeping was hard to do!
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On July 23rd we did a "test run" to see how someone would react to the surprise...my dear friend Julie. We arrived at her house and talked to her husband for a few minutes and then waited for Julie to come down. She came down and hugged me and we talked for around 10 minutes...until Brooklyn said..."My mommy is having a baby boy." Then Julie looked down and said "What" She was totally surprised. She kept looking down at my belly and couldn't believe that she didn't notice. I will give her credit..I watched her and she just looked at face the whole time and never looked down.
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On July 25th..Eric parents came into town to watch the kiddos. Jo came up and gave me a hug and talked to me for a few minutes..didn't notice until Brooklyn said again "My mom is having a baby boy." Jo didn't believe her and looked at my face. I said "Yep!" She then said, "Why didn't I know about this?" I then had to quickly tell her that no family knows and that they were the first ones. She was sooo excited and surprised. She thought we were done having kids. She then said which made me laugh, "I didn't think you guys knew how to do that anymore!" A few minutes later, Jo told Rod, who was sitting on the couch, and he didn't believe her. He was totally shocked too!
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July 30th...The day we had been waiting for! The secret would finally be revealed to my Mom! We arrived at 12:30 in the afternoon (after 12 hrs of driving through the night, again). We came into my moms house and she was upstairs. Brooklyn and Easton ran up there and told her to come. I walked up there to meet her in the hall...she didn't even notice at first. (I will say.. I had a t-shirt on for comfortable traveling). Brooklyn excitingly told her that we were having a boy. My moms look was full of surprise, confusion and "I knew it!" She wasn't too surprised but very, very excited. She called me "A little stinker" for making my kids lie and keep a secret. But she wasn't mad. I told her she couldn't tell my dad until he say me later. Then one by one...all my family, siblings, and Eric's family found out. My sister-in-law Jamie saw me at the pool with my other sister-in-law and couldn't believe her eyes. My sister-in-law, Amy asked me, "How come I didn't know you were pregnant?" That was the question of the hour.
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We did it...we kept the secret and it was a success! Now our families only have to wait 4 months to meet the newest Redford Little Boy...that is better than 9 months! See we did them a favor!
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My Pregnancy so far...
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March 22nd...Positive Pregnancy Test!
Excited but Nervous to start over!
Morning Sickness...should be called "Evening Sickness!"
That is when I got sick. I can't complain too much...I only threw up twice. Not bad. I just didn't feel good and of course that was when I worked-Cleaning! Eric helped me a lot through this time! Eric is the best when I don't feel good! One of my main pregnancy symptoms was TIREDNESS! I had no energy. I had to take naps almost every day...which doesn't usually happen in my daily life. I didn't like the taste of food either...except for fruit. I have been living off fruit now for 6 months. And Water has tasted so gross... when I know I need to drink even more being pregnant. I have been working on it.
3 Months Pregnant!
My little baby bump!
July 5th..Ultrasound! It's a BOY!!!!
My favorite part of the Ultrasound was seeing the baby's hands. They were so cute!!! Everything looked normal and healthy!

4 Months Pregnant!
(Brooklyn is my photographer Sunday Mornings before church!)
The heat really has affected me...and I am a Heat Lover! The kids and I have been living at the pool this summer. I usually stay in the shade...so not me!
(I am usually tanning all day long.)
5 Months Pregnant!
This little boy is a MOVER! He already moves and kicks likes crazy.
Especially when I am sitting down or laying in bed. He is one strong little boy!

Names: We have a list of a few we like. Still brainstorming...

The kids have their own names...Easton has always said he wanted to name the baby boy "Cars" so he could call to him, "Come here Cars, Cars, Cars." He also liked "Frankenstein." I think Mommy and Daddy will be picking out the name for this baby boy!

Stay tuned for more baby updates...

Girls Camp 2010!

Grandma Jo and Grandpa Rod arrived Sunday Night. The kids were SOOO excited to see them. They could hardly wait until they drove up. I finished packing for girls camp and we visited for a little while.

Monday morning...we left for Girls Camp. We went to a new camp this year that the church bought for a bunch of stakes. It is closer than our old camp which was nice...only the road is a bit scary at times. It is a very curvy road for about an hour and at time it turns into a one lane road...even around blind corners. We were just praying that no car was coming from the other direction. We arrived at camp and set up!

I helped with 1st year girls this year. Our theme was "True Beauty", Our value sister was "Sarah", and our value was "Divine Nature." We had 14 girls and two leaders. It was a handful at times. The girls were really good overall and had a great time. The weather was nice...in the 60-70's. The camp is only 10 miles from the coast...so it never gets hot. I was thankful for that! We had cabins in stay in...with bunk beds and thin mattress pads. The leaders were lucky enough to be able to double ours up. They were much better than the tents from the old camp!

I spent three days at camp with the girls. I was sad to leave but was excited to head to Utah for my favorite vacation...Lake Powell!
Our 1st year girls!
Rikki and myself...we were the lucky two leaders!

Terri came to our rescue and helped Rikki out when I left.

Our YW them this year!

Weekend Trip to LA!

Our weekend trip to LA was the start to our vacations. Eric had do some work in LA so we drove down through the night (Eric preferred method). We arrived at 7am and headed over to our friends house, The Moffatt's! We were so excited to be able to spend the weekend with them. They use to live here in Hidden Valley and moved to the LA area last year. Our kids have sooo much fun together. Brooklyn and Easton love visiting Nicholas and Natalie.

The kids spent Friday...Swimming in their pool! They had a great time. Julie and I sat outside and talked while the kids played. Eric took a long nap...since he drove all night! Eric had fun throwing the kids in the pool...and the kids had fun too! Later Friday afternoon, Julie watched the kids while Eric and I went and saw "Salt." It was a good movie. Eric likes Jolie's movies. We then came home and had a great dinner that Julie made...Spaghetti and homemade sauce and meatballs..Yummy!

Saturday...the kids were lucky enough to be there for Nicholas' birthday party at the bowling ally. They had a great time bowling with the lights out and fun music. It was a great birthday party. Saturday night we went out to dinner with the crazy kiddos. It was fun though. The kids had fun riding bikes and driving Natalie's sports car. We sadly had to leave that night around 10:30 to drive home through the night again.

Sunday...was a sleeping day...to say the least! We had a great short weekend with the Moffatt's. They always make us feel so welcome! Thanks Julie and Dan!




Next fun adventure...

Grandma Jo and Grandpa Rod coming to watch the kiddos while I go to girls camp.