My husband was going through some of our videos and saving them to an external hard drive when he found this one. Isn't he so adorable? I want to cry when I think of how much he has grown. I guess we just have to have another one!

3rd of July

Since the 4th of July was on a Sunday we celebrated Independence Day on the 3rd. To start off the day Crystal (Matt's sister), her husband Danny and I ran in the first ever Rupert 4th of July race. It was unbelievably FREEZING!! I think I finally warmed up as I was coming into the finish line. After the race the men went golfing while the women took the kids to the big 4th of July parade. The kids received too much candy and otter pops. After the parade we headed to Grandma Reddington's house to play whiffle ball and croquet. If you have never played whiffle ball it is very surprising to find how difficult it can be to hit a ball with such a skinny bat. But don't we look like pros?

OUR LITTLE THIRD BASEMAN

STEPHEN HAD NO PROBLEM HITTING WITH SUCH A SKINNY BAT.

I WAS EVEN WORSE AT PLAYING CROQUET THAN WHIFFLE BALL. :(

MATT THROWING HIS CURVE BALL

LOOK AT THAT FORM!!

The other team in whiffle ball was very generous and made the rule that I had unlimited strikes. Eventually I did figure out how to hit the ball and slammed a few good ones. Don't make fun until you've tried it!

Family Vacation Continued

The Reddington Family planned a little reunion to get all the kids and their families together at Lava Hot Springs. We all rented a camp spot close to the swimming area and hot springs and stayed several nights. It was fun swimming, roasting lots of marshmallows (which Randy (matt's dad) is really good at I ate plenty of them to verify) and just sitting by the fire.
THE SWIMMING AREA- SO FUN!

ENTERING THE CAMPSITE




I must admit I was impressed with my wood cutting skills. Next time though I should probably wear shoes.


Look at how happy we look camping!:)

I started reading my kids stories and all the grandkids joined in. We love the Fly Guy books.

The last day of camping we all packed up and then headed to Pocatello, ID to get family portraits done. The photographer did a great job and is actually the father to one of the son-in-laws. My kids were pretty worn out so trying to get them to cooperate for a photo was a little challenging.




Friday, the last day of our trip, was one of the most memorable. Matt's side of the family got together and we went to the Twin Falls temple to do temple work for Matt's Grandpa's family. Matt's Grandpa passed away a few years ago and asked for the work to be done. It was special to me because I loved the "Old Man" (that is what I called him). The summer before he got really sick Matt, the kids and I all lived with him (and Grandma)while Matt was doing an internship. Although it is always hard living with someone else I will never forget that time. Every night we would all sit together on the porch swing watching the airplanes and laughing and talking about our future plans. He was always so positive and fun loving. I miss him so much! So doing the temple work was a really neat experience that I am so glad I got to be a part of.
AFTER THE TEMPLE

THE KIDS PLAYING WITH THEIR COUSIN EVAN-WHO WAS A GREAT BABYSITTER.

ALL OF US WHO DID THE TEMPLE WORK

TWIN FALLS TEMPLE

After going to the temple we had to rush back to get ready for my high school reunion. I can't believe I have been out of high school that long!


LOOK AT US NOW


COMPARED TO 10 YEARS AGO...

I had a lot of fun catching up with old friends and seeing how people's lives have changed. I had almost decided not to go to my reunion so we could drive back home sooner, but was so glad I did. It makes me sad that I can't live close to my fun old high school friends, but they are more than welcome to come visit.

Our vacation ended that Friday night as we left the reunion, picked up the kids and drove through the night and the next day. Still not reaching our destination we got a hotel and drove one more day to get home. Yay!

Happy Little Brother's Day

So as we were celebrating Father's Day yesterday, Stephen mentioned that we should do a little brother's day and celebrate it tomorrow (which is today now). So Happy Little Brother's Day to you all.
We have been enjoying Texas and explored a National Park where the kids caught plenty of frogs and grasshoppers, enjoyed a picnic and played on the playground.
We are all exhausted.



In honor of Little Brother's Day I want to share something really sweet yet discomforting that Jack shared with us yesterday.
For some reason Jack was asking a lot of questions about dying yesterday. Like...
"When will I die?"
"When will you die?"
"Will I be a kid in Heaven?"
"In heaven when I am a grown up will I still like kid movies?"

There were plenty more, but you get the idea.
Well as he got in to bed he grabbed his kitty cat named Kiddy Katty.
He carries this cat with him wherever he goes. For example, the movies, the grocery store, the park, to the bathroom, EVERYWHERE. So the cat is filthy and disgusting. Just last night while taking Jack potty he finished going and then dropped the cat in the toilet on accident before flushing. Sad to say that is not the most disgusting thing that has happened to that cat. You can't really tell in the picture below, but the cat is drying off near the tub after that last incident.


Well anyway last night while snuggling in bed with his cat Jack said to Matt,"Stephen says that when we die we can't take anything with us." Then Matt replied, "That's right." Then he squeezed his cat really tight and said, "Do you think we can take things to heaven with us if we hold it real tight?" Matt answered, "Maybe if something is real special to us then we can take it to heaven with us."
The next day Jack asked me, "Can stuffed animals be special?"
He really loves his cat.

To end our little Brother's Day we let Jack picked the restaurant (Red Robin). He also mentioned that he would love to end the day with a little party. So we told the waiter it was his birthday (only a month off) and he got his own song, ice cream and balloon. What a great Little Brother's Day.

Even More Photos...

While my parents were here we also had to visit some local gaming stores like Gander Mtn. and Bass Pro Shop. The Bass Pro Shop was actually really cool. They had a bear cave and a huge fish tank. The whole store was decorated with outdoor wildlife. It is fun to go and just look around at the decor. Jack loved it. Although, the bear did scare him a little.

My lovely Garden

Yorktown Beach

Look close enough and you will see a cannonball that was left embedded into the house.

Parents Visit

So after about 5 years I got my parents out to the East Coast. My Dad had never been out East before so of course we had to show him everything. (Including all the great fishing areas). Between visiting all the monuments, including taking an elevator ride to the top of the Washington monument, and walking through the museums, shopping in the outlet malls, touring Williamsburg, visiting Yorktown and its beaches, learning how to catch crabs (the sea kind), and my very favorite building me my own garden; I think I wore them out. (okay I might have been a little tired too.)

My Claim to Fame

I can't believe I forgot to post this....while on my trip to Idaho I saw Phil, (the guy in the middle) on my airplane. I was completely starstruck...

Modern Family is one of my husband's favorite sitcoms and so I called and bragged it up! Would have been cooler if I had gotten an autograph.

America's Favorite Past time...

This is what we have been doing every Saturday for the last almost two months.

Matt is the coach for Jack's blastball team and the assistant coach for Stephen's T-ball.

Here are the attempts I made at trying to get a picture of Jack's team. All the kids were interested in anything besides the camera.


Stephen's team was a little more cooperative for the photo.
So funny story with this helmet of Stephen's. First off he had a nice red one that didn't have a face mask, but upon entering Dick's to buy him a bat he begged for a new helmet. We refused and had to drag him out kicking and screaming. Only to find out later that his red helmet wouldn't work because of the no face mask. So back to Dick's we went and ended up paying double what we would have (because they were on sale the first time). So parents sometimes giving into those tantrums can actually save you money.

He couldn't be more proud of his helmet though and the whole team knows it. After each game the couch gives one player the game ball. When Stephen earned the ball the couch asked "now who hit the ball every time they were up to bat" and a lot of the kids raised their hands. Then he asked, "Well who has the coolest helmet." Everyone dropped their hands and yelled Stephen. That really made his day.


I have loved watching them play and really enjoy seeing them improve. Just yesterday I was playing catch with the boys and while we were playing Stephen would stop every now and then to coach Jack. He said cute things like "Always watch were you are throwing" and would show him how to position his body. What a good big brother.