Our goal is met~

So at the beginning of the Summer I had a goal that McKentri would be able to swim on her own by the end of Summer before we go to Tybee Island in Georgia. We are renting a house on the beach for a week and didn't want to have to worry as much. Well about 2 weeks ago her floaters broke and we bought new ones but they don't fit her very well since she is growing like a weed. She has opted not to wear them when we are at Cherry Hill but she also can touch just fine everywhere except the deep end of the pool. Last Wednesday when we went in the pool I showed her and Boston a couple swimming things like the arms and legs and had them hold onto the side of the pool to learn how to kick really fast. Well we spent like ten minutes with it and then she just kept practicing. Now when she practices she doesn't like me to talk at all unless I say great job (the only time I can talk is if I make it silly like "did you tell your legs what to do or are they thinking on their own" and it has to be in a silly voice otherwise she is still to tender.) So the next day all she wanted to do was practice so we were back in the pool. After about 10 more minutes she has it down. Now she is swimming half the length of the pool and says that its just awesome. We are so proud of her. Now I need to go get toys she can fetch off the bottom and goggles. She is very proud and loves to tell people wherever we go. Way to go McKentri!!!

Happy Fathers Day!

Today is such a great day. It is a day that we get to honor the men/fathers in our life. I have so many people to honor its great! I think that I should start with my dad first. Darrell Redford is such a great guy. He has taught me so many things. He taught me to always finish whatever it is I start. He has taught me that I am capable of anything. He taught me that there are so many different ways to show love. He taught me to always honor my mother and to not yell at her. He is someone who will always take care of his family. He taught me to work really hard. He is great at reading stories and has so many voices for all the characters in the book. He will even read it backwards or wrong to either rile you up or to see if you are really paying attention. He is a great grandpa to my kids and they love to crawl on his lap. He is a great artist and writer. He helped me with way too many projects the night before they were due. He has so much knowledge in so many areas. You can seriously ask him a question and if he doesn't know the answer (which is rare) then he will find it for you. He is thoughtful in ways that no one else is. If he knows you are having a problem with something or looking for something he will look for answers for you on his own time and then e-mail you what he has found. With any surgery or illness I have had or my kids he always calls to check on us. I love my dad! The next person I want to honor is my husband. He is an amazing dad. He loves to be the one to put the kids to bed at night. He likes to read to them, sing songs to them, the younger ones brush their teeth and just listen to what they have to say. He tries his hardest to hit every function no matter how small or big that each one of them have. He stresses so much about them and wants each one of them to be happy. He likes to take them each out on dates, from store and gas station runs, to Hannah Montana movie concerts. He is a great provider who takes his job seriously. He loves to play with the kids individually and as a family. He honors his priesthood and gives blessings all the time. He sets such a good example for all our kids and I am lucky to have him as my husband! There are so many more men in our life that we love and respect. Poppy, Harry, Jim, Mike, Melvin, and all the other men that took part in raising Scott, myself, and even help us with our kids. HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

Family Reunions-fun or major work?!

So here we are the Henderson clan. This is my mothers side of the family and I think naturally the side that we are closest too. For the last 5 years we have been doing family reunions which is interesting for Scott since we still get together a couple times a month. Yet nonetheless we do them because we love spending time together and also for my Grandma whom we all love and she wants them to happen. Once again this year my mother and I put the reunion together. The men had been wanting to do one on a weekend so that they wouldn't have to miss work and so I found one on the weekend up Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Tanners Flat campground. With every ones summer schedules we did it the first week in June, and we have all since decided that that will never happen again. Friday night was so cold we all had major layers on. Several of us had checked the weather to make sure that all would be okay and it said that it would be sunny and warm. Well, that was a lie... it snowed all night long and I got up at 7 am to make breakfast in the snow!!! I had bought these tents the night before that had the mosquito netting on the sides and put all the food inside it. Well we forgot to put the stove inside as well. Needless to say that the stove wouldn't work in the morning and it took over an hour to do 5 pancakes. The nice thing was that everyone started helping and became a great group effort. We almost left for IHOP but decided to hold out and as always everything did turn out okay. We finally had the coals going enough and had placed the griddle on top so that after those 5 they were popping out like crazy. It did start to warm up but we still had the fire going all day long.
People did activities such as rock climbing, hiking in the snow following my Uncles, and then duct tape wallets in a variety of colors. That night was tons warmer and everyone slept great. Sunday was the warmest day and by the time we went on our hike we actually were starting to shed layers. These family reunions can be so much work to put together but are so fun once you are there. Relationships grow stronger and you start bonds that may not have been there before. The kids just play the whole time and my mom even stays up until 2:30 am in order to play games with all her nieces and nephews. She even rock climbed. We all try new things and learn so much more about each other and we all love it! Next time we just think that we will wait until August. The upside though is that we never had to use any bug spray and no one got a mosquito bite. I totally forgot about my camera and it sat in the car until the last day when my Grandma asked me if I had it for the family picture. So you get to see the group on the last day and that's it. Nathans girlfriend Breeann was taking the picture for us but hopefully next year when she goes she will be Mrs. Nathan Redford instead of Breeann Patch:). (total hint but doubtful he will read this or catch on).

Summer is Near

Summer is coming so fast now! I am very excited. Near the end of the school year I am just as ready as the kids are for school to be out!!! I get tired of having to get them up so early and ready and out the door and driving a million car pools. I am ready to let them get up when they do and pack a lunch and go to either Cherry Hill or Lagoon. I love playing with my kids and so Summer is the best time for me. I like taking them to all these places that I went as a kid and watching their faces light up in amazement and asking if we can come back. Last summer was amazing and we are all looking forward to the same type of Summer. However, at the end of summer we are so ready for the school year. We completely exhaust ourselves and get excited for things to calm down and put order and structure back in our life. I love to take the kids back to school shopping. It is seriously one of my favorite things ever (and they all know it and like to take advantage of it when they can:)) This is going to be a great summer for us because next fall all 6 kids will be in school! I have no idea what I am going to do with myself. Dallin will be in High School (scary to think he is there,) Kylie in 8th grade, Josh in 6th, Ty in 4th, McKentri in Kindergarten, and my little Boss man will be in pre-school. That my folks and the fact that they are going to go to 6 different schools is going to be interesting. WE NEED THIS SUMMER!!!

We crossed the finish line!!!

For the last 11 weeks my mom, Chanelle, and I have been training for the Salt Lake City half marathon. We would run times during the week, take off Friday, and then run miles on Saturday. During the process I got something called Bursitis. That was horrible. I didn't know what I had done so kept pushing it, which is totally my nature, until one Sunday I went to get out of bed and couldn't put any weight on it without it giving out. So I then went to the Dr. where the did x-rays sent me to a sports medicine specialist where they did an ultrasound and confirmed it. I then got cortisol shots had to do lots of ice, stretches 3 times a day, and ibuprofen twice a day at 800 mg. I did this for about 3 weeks but after the first week and a half I was able to run again, just gingerly. I went on successfully and was still able to train. The big day was yesterday April 19. It was such an amazing experience. We got up at 4:45 am., left my house at 5 am and headed down to the Gateway. We took trax up to the Legacy bridge on 4th south where we started the half marathon. For the first 8 miles my mom did a great job. She had hurt her knee two weeks earlier and didn't get to train the last two weeks before the race. In those last two weeks she missed the big 11 mile run which was very beneficial. One mile 10 she started to get dizzy and started to run 5 minutes speed walk 1. On mile 11 she didn't think she could do anymore but being in my family we don't really give up so she pressed on. On the last 1/2 mile she was incoherent but still running. She grabbed my hand and we did the last together. When we crossed the finish line she was crying tears of joy but wanted to sit down. We had a couple ladies that were there to help were trying to see if she was okay. I told them that I needed to get her juice and I think that she would be okay. We got her a massage and she was great!!! The whole experience was awesome!!! I totally recommend doing one of some sort. Whether its a 5K or a half marathon or a marathon. You got such a high and there are so many people on the streets cheering you on the whole way. We ran for cancer and there were posters of children and adults with cancer along the way as well and you really feel like you are making a difference. Scott didn't run with us but he watched near the finish line and he thought it was so cool that he now is going to run the next one with us. Its in July in Bryce Canyon and we have recruit ted more people and so its going to be that much more fun. We crossed the finish line and that in itself was such a cool accomplishment. WE DID IT!!!

I have become my Mother

The other day as I was driving my second carpool for the day it hit me how much I have become my mother. Now my Mother is one of the most amazing woman I have ever met. She is my hero. There is no better way to put it than that. Please also understand that I am not entirely like her, even though that would be a huge compliment. In the way that it hit me that I have become my mom is the way parts of my life have turned out. My mom has 6 kids, I have 6 kids. My mom would be exhausted at night and could barely keep her eyes open after 9 pm, I am exhausted at night and can barely keep my eyes open after 9 pm. My mom would get up very early every morning to make us a hot breakfast from scratch and a home lunch if we wanted it. She always saw us off to school and made sure we said prayers, read scriptures as a family and things like that. I also came home to fresh bread, homemade goodies of some sort every day. It was seriously a picture perfect childhood. Now I on the other hand have a hard time getting out of bed if Scott has kept me up too late since he is a night owl. I desperately try and honestly when my kids are up so am I. I would say that 5-6 days out of the week I make hot breakfast and really try to make the fresh stuff everyday too. This is a little harder for me since I can't eat it. Anyway getting back on track. On this particular day that I realized that I had become my mom, it was the day to day grind I am referring to. This day like so many others starts at 7 am when I get 4 kids out the door by 7:40 am. I babysit for my uncle and Dylan, she just turned 1, shows up at 8. I exercise for 30-40 minutes, and then get 2 other children ready for the day. I drove carpool that day for McKentri's school which consists of four 5 year olds at 11:40 am. I got home in time to make Kylie a lunch and run it to her school. Go home make a batch of cookies and pick up McKentri's group at 2:30. Drop them off and head to Dallin's school by 3:00 pm and pick up five 15 year old boys. Talk about a loud bunch. I have been learning a lot of new phrases by picking these boys up and I tell you what, I am definitely glad to be out of school and married!!! I take them to my house to change, we head to the gas station for a treat and then drop them off at work, Lagoon landscapers, by 3:30 pm. I headed back home in time to have six 5 year olds and Boston in their swim suits and in my tub, yes the all fit, for a mermaid party. I had to get them out by 4:25 pm in time to go pick up Kylie from track. I got her and then dropped her off at home to babysit. All the girls went home by 5 Kylie said. I drove down to Salt Lake to watch Scott be a Small Claims Judge which he does once a month. That started at 5:30 pm and went until 8:00 pm. We picked up some Chinese and decided to finish our date at home with our two oldest children. We watched the Office and ate Chinese and went to bed by 10 pm. I talked to my mom the next day and asked her how she did it for so long and she said that some days she felt ok and other days when she would go home and find her house a mess she would wonder what was wrong with her that she couldn't get anything done. I tell you what she is an amazing person and the fact that she let all 6 of us do so much is very courageous of her. As I go day to day it doesn't seem like so much but at the end of the day I really feel it and I am tired. Yet there isn't anything else that I would rather do than be a mom and wife and raise my family without any regrets. It may be crazy but its a good crazy. Thanks mom for showing me that it can be done!

Vacations are a WONDERFUL thing!!!

Scott quite frequently has CLE's (continuing legal education). These range in places from Salt Lake City, Ut. to Hawaii. This one in particular was in Dana Point, Ca. Sometimes he goes alone and other times if he will be gone long than I get to go with. Generally he will go with a couple of fellow lawyers and so with the longer ones the wives all go. It is fun this way because while the men are in class then the women will play! This CLE was an amazing resort in Dana Point. Its called the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort. Talk about incredibly posh and it was fun to stay there but I personally would not pay the money to stay there on vacation. Don't get me wrong it was wonderful being called Mrs. Petersen all the time and not being able to do much of anything without an employee trying to help. The pool was gorgeous as well as the view. However since I am more of a go go go person I like to do things for myself (for the most part. I mean there is a part of all of us who love to be taken care of hand and foot, regardless it can be a bit too much.) We went with the Kelley's, and the Hague's. Stephanie is on the left with her beautiful baby boy Alexander, and Michelle is on the right. Both are great woman and friends and it was fun spending 4 days with them without our kids.
While we were there we went to a Mission that is still in use. It was beautiful!!! I had no idea that we still had some in use in California. It has been there since the 1700 and the buildings are the originals. A lot of it they have made into a place for history buffs like us to come and see, but they still use the church, the school, and some of the other buildings. Scott and I love history and could spend hours just visiting places and reading and learning. We are the dorky couple who stands at every little marker to read it and find out as much as we can while we are there. Thanks to Dave and Stephanie who located it for us. It was on my list but I didn't know where it was until they came to the rescue when they ran across it accidentally and visited it as well.
I love the place where Scott is standing. It is the original church that collapsed during an earthquake in the 1800's. It has a couple walls standing and some of the paintings still in place. When it collapsed it killed some 40 people by trapping them inside. They actually started restoring the place in the 1800's but did cause some damage and actually blew up part of one wall because they weren't sure what they were doing, but you have a lot of the building.
We also went to the beach. The water was really cold, so we didn't swim in it but we did walk around barefoot. The weather was really nice. I wore shorts the whole time but Scott didn't. He totally fluctuated. He calls me Nanuka of the North because I constantly seem to be hot.
This is the center court at the Mission. It is the same fountain and Garden as when it was first founded. The just continue to take care of it. There are catfish inside the fountain and they are definitely not scared of you. They would swim right up by you hoping that you are going to drop something in. We love to vacation. A lot of the time we do and only go for 3 days or a weekend and this is the longest trip we have taken since our Honeymoon. Scott was gone 6 days I was gone 5 days. We are realizing that it was nice because we started to relax on about day 2 and normally the next day you come back home to the grind but the couple extra days makes a huge difference. Scott attended a lot of classes and I read 3 books, we played, saw a movie, went swimming, did some historical stuff, it was really a perfect week.

Thankful

It has been a crazy time lately! The last couple of weeks have been incredibly stressful, and its at times like these that I am very grateful for the Gospel and my Savior. It is so nice to be able to go to the Lord at night and tell him everything that is on my mind, things that myself, my family, and neighbors need help with. How I am dealing with changes in our life and anything else that I want to. It is such a reassuring and comforting feeling knowing that he is there and listens and answers my prayers. I started reading a book last night called Trusting Jesus by Jeffrey R. Holland and it is an amazing book. I strongly recommend it. It has helped shed some light on recent events and given comfort for the things that are happening around here. I am grateful for a loving and supportive husband whom not only do I turn to but others as well. It is so nice having a husband who honors his priesthood and holds it very dear to him. It is such a blessing that he is so willing to use his priesthood when he's asked and that he even suggests it at times. He makes sure our family is taken care of and that means so much to me. I have so much to be grateful for and am glad that I have the chance to tell my Father in Heaven every morning and every night.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Scott and I celebrated our two year anniversary on March 4 in Disneyland once again. We love this place so much. We are truly big kids at heart. I am so incredibly grateful for him in my life. He is truly an amazing man. He is sensitive, caring, understanding, intelligent, he loves to take care of our family, he honors his priesthood, and he is handsome. I mean what more could a girl ask for? Some things that I really love about Scott is that if we are going to be out of town on a Sunday he makes sure that there is a way for us to go to church (at least Sacrament meeting.) He puts family at the top of his list and makes sure that he has time for us, which is a real trial with his job. He goes to work everyday to make sure that I get to stay home with our children. He fixes things when I ask for them to be fixed. You can bounce ideas off him and he tells you honestly what he thinks. He has such a strong love for the gospel and it shows. He is one of the best people to talk to when you have a question about the church. He is very intelligent but doesn't make others feel less intelligent. He calls his mom every Sunday (what a great example that sets.) He makes sure that I am always taken care of in every way. He is willing to have cereal or toast on nights that I don't feel well so that I don't have to cook. He doesn't mind cleaning or doing the dishes (however he doesn't like to do the bathrooms.) You always know where you stand with Scott. He doesn't sugar coat things but makes sure he doesn't hurt your feelings. He doesn't raise his voice. He supports me in my callings and other things that I do. I love you baby so very much and feel very privileged to be your wife. Happy be-lated anniversary!!!

Happy Birthday Boys!!!

Clark turned 19 on February 2. He is such a good kid. It is so wierd to me that he is growing up! I totally remember him as a little boy and playing hide and go seek. He used to fall asleep anywhere. We have found him in the tub, the dryer, under beds, inside toy chests. He would just zonk out. My kids love it when he comes and plays, and he has grown up to be a really good guy!!! I love you Clark.

Nathan turned 24 on February 7. I picture him getting older because he has always been really close to me and my age. He is one of the best guys that I know. He is still single but is going to be the best dad ever (whenever that happens.) He buys Boston all of his action figures and McKentri a ton of clothes. Part of me is going to miss babying him when he gest married, but the other part can't wait for a sister-in-law.

Sterling turned 15 on February 11. He is so great. He just got his permit and is driving. Crazy huh!!! Well he is so much fun. He loves to wrestle nad play games. He is still the sweetheart in the family and we love him very much!!! Thanks Sterling for being part of our family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS AND I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!

DISNEYLAND!!!

So, if you can count us all there are 13 of us. Yes 13 of us went to Disneyland in January. It was Scott and I's Christmas present to my family. Jordan is the only one who is missing and that is because he is Elder Redford right now in Chicago. This was definately the best vacation we have taken!!! There was litterally no fighting the whole trip, which lasted 3 days and 2 nights. We stayed directly across the street from Disneyland and had a 2 bedroom suite and then another room. So we had 6 queen beds and 3 bathrooms for 13 people. My younger brothers (Clark, Sterling, and James) have never been to Disneyland and so it just made it that much more magical. My Dad totally changed on this trip and now wants to take a bunch of family vacations!
They were all so good and we actually stayed together the entire time! Everyone was very pleasant. The first day we were there everyone but McKentri, Tyler, Scott, and I went on Indiana Jones and as they got off they got these Dream Fast passes so they could skip 3/4 of the lines on all rides. They said that there were 4 of us who didn't get to go and we got them as well. We also recieved these on the last day we were there. It was just so great. I go to Disneyland a lot and had never recieved these. Talk about lucky!
Here is Nathan with Aurora. He stood in line with McKentri, Kylie, my mom, and myself to see all the princesses. He is such a blast!!
One of McKentri's favorite places to go is to the Bugs Life World. Its called Flick's Carnival. It is meant for little kids but everyone went.
Space Mountain has got to be a favorite for everyone. The all loved it. Even McKentri. They went on every ride there is in Disneyland, and California Adventures except for 3 that were being maintained. We have made plans to make this a yearly tradition!!! Thanks fam for making it so fun to take everyone. (Boston gets to go next year because he will be 4 which is a rule in our house.)

Getting Older

So I recently turned another year older and it seriously hit me that I needed to be a responsible mom and my first priority should be my family. Now this is strange because that is me and has been me for that last six years. I love to play and party with family and friends and would love to have my children stay home from school and play with me all day on birthdays and holidays. However I had this feeling that I shouldn't do that anymore and that it should now become just another day to run kids to school, dance, mutual and everything else. I talked to Scott about it and he says that its fine and that I can continue to do it the way I have. It feels so weird to continue to get older, at least for me, when I have six children ranging from ages 3-15. I love to watch them do things and get older, and other times I want to freeze them right where they are and keep them at that age. So inevitably if they grow up I guess so must I. However I will never want to stop playing with family and friends, and will continue to think that birthdays are another party day where you don't have to do any work and can play from sun up to sun down. I will teach this to my children and hopefully they can have great childhood memories like I did. And so here is to so many more birthdays to come and to have many more parties and yes, to get another year older every year! Bring it on!!!

Up and down and up and down

We have gone sledding three times this year and plan on going every weekend!!! Boston and Ty hate to leave and are so independent that they carry their own sled up the hill and then slide down on their own. They don't want any help either. These are pictures of New Years Eve. Ty also loves his picture taken. This is him waiting to go down and Boston pushing himself to go down the hill. McKentri and Grandma go down together a lot. McKentri is a little more reserved where as Boston and Ty have no fear.
This is Kylie snowboarding down the hill. I think that its an awesome picture of her with the sky and all.
After sledding we went to my mom's and pulled people on sleds and snowboards behind the four wheelers (thanks to Ben my dad's friend) This is Kylie being pulled by Sterling. She biffed it a lot. Later Colette and I were pulling Brigham on a snowboard and hit sheer powder. We were of course in the middle of a turn and therefore we rolled. We flew about 15-20 feet and landed no where near the four wheeler. I have a really bad whiplash but thankfully to my brother Nathan was wearing a helmet. Colette says her back hurts but isn't sure if its from that or sledding down Happy Hollow. (very steep hills that our family loves) After all this our family can't wait until the next trip!!!

CHRISTMAS PARTY'S

For Christmas this year I wanted our family to do homemade gifts and it turned into such a success!!! I let them all pick what they wanted to make and they did it basically all by themselves (except the little ones!) Dallin made Katelynn a purse and it was way cute! McKentri made Aaliyah a pair of pajamas and a matching pair for her doll. The were Care Bear pj's and we have been told that Aaliyah put them on her Care Bear.
Kylie made Sahara a stuffed dog. It is Hot pink and made of fleece. She did awesome. Kylie said that if it becomes Sahara's favorite she would feel way special.
Scott and I had Jim and Shanon. We unfortunately were not able to make our gift, but hopefully Jim and Shanon enjoyed the pajamas and dvd player!
Boston had Avery and got her a leap doll that speaks in spanish and english. We had to stop making gifts because we had to move up the party for some family members who were going out of town. The party was a huge success!!! Josh mad Hayze a spear out of wood at my Dad's garage and Ty made Kimball a treasure map for the boy who says he's a pirate.
On my Mom's side of the family we all love Christmas and love to give gifts to those we love. Its a big tradition to take a picture of those who are giving and recieving hugging. We have a picture of every gift exchange and as much as our family grows and changes that is one thing that stays the same. I love all my family and think that my Grandma has done an amazing job with the children she has raised and the ability to keep our family so close together. Thank you Grandma and Merry Christmas!!!