Pheasant Hunting

My dad thru his work gets to go hunting every once in a while, and sometimes I get to tag along. Last weekend we went pheasant hunting in South Dakota. It was great!! The company that pays for the trip calls them "Business Trips". I am always more than happy to go on these "Business Trips" as we get pampered beyond belief. The whole weekend consists of hunting, eating, and football. I don't think life gets ANY better than that.As always it was another great hunt, as we got our limit both days. Thanks Pops.

Happy Belated Birthday!

The same weekend we went to the Strong Man Comp we celebrated Stasy's birthday! It was so fun to have Whitney in town too. We all meet at the Strong Man Comp and then went out to celebrate at BJ's and a roller rink. I have known Stasy for 7 years now and every year she always chooses to go roller skating on her birthday. This year really made me miss all the fun times I had in Provo with my girl friends. It also made me realize how old we are. Besides the parents that came along with their 8 year old children, we were the oldest crowd there. It was still a lot of fun. Then I went with Stasy and Whitney for a girls slumber party! I haven't done that in a while. Good times. Thanks Stasy for getting us out roller skating and thanks Whitney for having a sleep over! I feel like a freshman in college again! I wish I could have been with the girls the following weekend for Whitney's 26th B-day celebration, I heard it was a lot of fun too. So happy birthday again to Stasy and Whitney!

Pacific Crest Trail

A few weekends ago Jessica and I were able to escape city life and go camping for the weekend. It was fun to get away, and it was really the first chance we have had to see the California mountains. I think Jessica and I are still partial to what Utah and Colorado have to offer. We did car camping, because the 4runner makes an almost perfect bed. In the morning we got up early and did a short stretch of the pacific coast trail. In one of the pictures you will notice we just happened to pick a weekend when a HUGE fire was burning thousands of acres. We had a great time.

Worlds Strongest Man Competition

About a month ago I found out they would be holding the Worlds Strongest Man Competition in Anaheim. For those of you who don't know it is the crazy competition you see on ESPN where they lift cars and stuff. So on Saturday Jessica and I headed down to see the fire engine pull, and I have to say it was AWESOME. The competitors are HUGE most of them are 6'2-6'7, and weight any where from 290-340. It was awesome to see them try to pull a 20 ton fire truck 25 meters. Anyways it was definately one of the highlights of my year, I have grown up watching the competitions, so it was neat to finally attend one. Everyone will have to look for us in December when they air the competition, we got there early, so we had front row seats.










This is the truck they pulled, they had 75 seconds to pull it 25 meters. The fastest time was around 41 seconds.

















This is my favorite strong man, his name is Mariusz Pudzianowski, he is from Poland is a 3 time winner. He will probably win the 2007 title as well. He is trying to be the winningest competitor ever. He is a BEAST!!! All of the guys are big, but he is ripped, you can't tell, but he has a 6 pack.










This is Quincy's favorite strong man, His name is Chuck McHarryback, his nickname is "Cutoffs" for obvious reasons.








After the event all of the guys were just walking around, this might be the GREATEST picture I EVER take, it is going above our bed. I mean how awesome is that. Jess is flexing with Magnus Samuelsson 1998 strongman. He has been in the worlds strongest man a record 10 straight years, so pretty much he is a legend.

The Heartbeat

Thanks everyone for all the sweet comments on our last post. I'm glad no one made fun of my new awareness for food, o.k. who are we kidding that's not a new characterisitc of mine. I just love food! Well Thursday was a fun day for us. Lance came to the doctor's appointment with me to hear the baby's heart beat. It just made this experience a little more real. I still can't believe we have a little person joining our family in March. The baby is due on Taylor's birthday, March 22nd. We will keep you all posted throughout the pregnancy.

Lay off me I am starving!!!

Some of Jessica's pregnant traits have become apparent lately. She has suddenly got a new found appreciation for fine food, ok scratch that, make that ANY food. Trips around town now include Jessica noticing every restaurant special, and every billboard with food on it and saying "that looks sooooo good". Here are a few examples.

BYU Football Game :

Highlights:

For Lance: Being in the Rose Bowl

For Jessica: The Nachos at half time

Low Points:

Lance: BYU losing the game

Jessica: The Nachos not filling her up, and wishing she would have gotten the Kielbasa.

Our Hiking Trip:

Highlight:

Lance: Being in the outdoors

Jessica: Subway sandwiches

Low Points:

Lance: Being out of shape, and it being about 1,000 degrees

Jessica: Lance taking a small bite of her footlong subway sandwich

Disclaimer- Jessica was aware of this post, and in thinks her new condition is funny. Just so you know she looks great, and you can't even tell she is pregnant. She also wanted me to mention she had a great time hiking, and going to the BYU game.

The Rose Bowl!!!!

Last weekend Jessica and I had a chance to check out the Cougs as they took on UCLA in the Rose Bowl. I have to admit it was awesome to be able to attend the game in such a historic arena. We had a great time, BYU fans turned out in full force. Of the 73,000 fans I would guess that about 20,000-30,000 of them were BYU fans. It was great. We had great seats 16th row behind the endzone. Although we ended up losing 27-17 at least we made it a game. Overall we had a great time, we even enjoyed the drunk idiot UCLA fans that we were surrounded by. I love visiting stadiums.

Lance on Kitchen Duty

At our house Lance is in charge of washing dishes. The other night I came into the kitchen to find this mess. No wonder it takes him so long to clean up the kitchen.

Old Man Skills

The masses have spoken, and they would like to see more of my old man skills. Ok just kidding no one asked for it, but you are getting it, and you will LIKE IT. I will admit that I have been teased for sharing a pastime with 70 and 80 year old men. Since this teasing I have been utterly ashamed to post. But last night I realized that I have nothing to be ashamed of, many family members have strange talents/hobbies/collections such as:

Quincy Beal: Rythmic Gymnastics

Chris Ericson: Doll making, and shoe decorating

Brandon Tolman: Slacklining/Circus Tricks

Aaron Tolman: Magic Cards

Bruce : Needlepoint

Marlon Mangus: Vacuuming

Taylor Redd: Fantasy Ice Dancing

Phil Sander: Neil Diamond Impersonator (Costumes and all)

Nick Santilli: The Goat Whisperer

I could go on but I will not. I did not make this list to tease or taunt anyone. It is more to applaud your talents. I wish you all the best in your endeavors.

These are some pens I made on the lathe for the Dads, and Grandpas for fathers day. The first pen was actually made out of a corn cob. The Sign is for my grandmas house. It seems like she always has company.

More Fun in VA

I stayed a few days after my Dad's birthday weekend adventure and just hung around with the family. It was fun to see Natalie and Porter while I was there too. I love Porter's expression in this second picture. I think he is trying to say, "Come on already are we gonna take this picture or what?" I don't know what do you think he is trying to say?

Well we went to the pool a couple times, played tennis, did some shopping, watched movies at home, and played games. It was a very fun trip. The craziest thing is seeing how grown up Dillon and Becca are. I know I just saw them a few months ago, but I swear they are growing up soooo fast. Well I loved my time with them and can't wait until the next time we all get to hang out together.

A State Champion

My mom and her tennis team came out first in their District tournament, which brought them to sectionals last week. Teams from West Virginia, Maryland, DC, and Virginia made it to sectionals this year. I just wanted to dedicate this post to my mom. I'm so proud of her playing her best even with a bum ankle and finger. They played great at District and at Sectionals. The came out second in he Mid Atlantic region! Who knows next year Nationals in Vegas, right mom? I don't really do the team justice, but I found this great article about their team in the Loudoun Connection for anyone who wants more info on their success. If you can't tell, my mom is the one second from the right end holding the banner.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Last week was my dad's 50th birthday. I was lucky enough to fly in and surprise him for a fun birthday weekend. I came in early Thursday morning; Mom, Becca and I made a banner, wrapped presents, and got ready for Dad to come home that afternoon.
That night we had a wonderful cake made by our friend Dannii and then opened presents. We wrapped up clues to what we were going to do that weekend. Here is what was in the box: a pencil, a sketch book, rocks, a picture of a fountain, and sunscreen. Can you guess what we did? Well I guess Dad has aquired a some wisdom over the last 50 years because it didn't take him long to figure out we were going to Ohiopyle, Penn to go kayaking and see Falling Water.
Friday morning we packed up, stopped at Chick-Fil-a, and then headed to Ohiopyle. Once we got there we got settled into the lodge that we were staying at and then went to see Falling Water.

Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of the inside of the building. The one picture of the living room is from a website I found. It is an amazing home and if you ever get the opportunity to go to Pennsylvania you have to make a stop at Falling Water. After Falling Water we grabbed our swimsuits and headed to the natural water slides. After dinner mom, dad, and dillon managed to squeeze in a bike ride before it was time to go back to the lodge. Mom really wanted to cross the bridge you see behind Trevor so they made it happen. Once we got back to the lodge we had to make this trip an official Redd Outing by Taylor beating us in Settlers of Catan. Sorry mom you were so close!

The next day we started our adventure in white water kayaking. We had a blast. It was really different than I was expecting. You use your lower body a lot in kayaking. We spent the morning learning and practicing different skills. After a surprisingly good meal provided by the company we were taking lessons from we stepped it up a little and headed to Class II rapids (with Class III consequences-instructor's words not mine). So I guess you could say we went through Class III rapids our first time kayaking. I wish I we would have bought a waterproof camera so I could show everyone how great we did. Everyone successfully went through the rapids and Mom even did it going backwards. She is such a show off! (just kidding mom) Trevor was also the little show off by almost mastering the advanced skill of barrell rolling. Well we had an amazing time on the water. After we got cleaned up we headed home, but first we had to stop at the outlets for shopping and load up on fish and steak. What a weekend. I hope through all our efforts my Dad forgot how old he is getting.

One last thing I just wanted to say how great my Dad is! Thanks for everyone who helped out with our list of 50 Nifty Things about Hugh Redd. It turned out great! We love you Dad!

La Jolla Shores

Yesterday I went down to San Diego to meet up with my Aunt, Uncle, and their two kids. They were here on vacation and I wanted to tag along for the day. I met them at the US Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego. It was beautiful! We had lunch at Seaport Village and then headed to the beach! I had a lot of fun chasing my cousins, playing in the water, and enjoying the ocean breeze (something I wish we could feel in Redlands). I can't believe how big my little cousins are getting, they are growing up so fast.

Intervention

Jessica and I have been married for almost a year and a half, and since day one she has been a cover stealer. But if you ask her, she will deny she has a problem. So I am asking you all to help in this intervention. One night last week I was able to document Jessica in action. The problem now is helping Jessica realize that she has a problem. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. I have a feeling this is going to be a tough time for Jessica, but with all of our help she will come through this. Phone Calls would be nice.

(As you can see nothing is left on my side)

The States we've visited

Between Lance and I we are only missing 5 states: Alaska, Oregon, Montana (although we did see the border at Yellowstone), New Jersey, and Rhode Island. I can thank my parents for always taking us on long road trips in the summers and always making us get out when we entered a new state. Hopefully we will hit Alaska next summer. I heard Lance's dad is paying for the whole family to make a trip. Well, that's what Lance is telling me.

Where in the world have we been?

So many places, so little time.

San Diego

Coronado Island

USS Midway


A couple weeks ago Lance had a conference in San Diego. The company had buses going back and forth between Redlands and San Diego for all the employees attending the conference. I was lucky enough to hop on the bus with him. I spent a few hours with Lance walking around before he had to start working. Then I met up with a lady (I met her at church & she works for the same company) who took the day off to show me around the city. We took a ferry ride to Coronado Island. It was beautiful! Unfortunately we missed the ferry going back to the convention center so we had to take a taxi back.

Petco Stadium and the World's Largest Aloha Shirt. Yes, Lance really wanted to buy one, but I thought a picture would be enough.

Lance and I grabbed a snack right before he had to go to the convention center. Mrs. Redd's amazing pies.

Inland Empire 66ers

Usually a typical weekend night at our place includes several rounds of Ticket to Ride (thank you Natalie & Quincy for introducing the game to us), hanging out at the club house, and watching a movie. However, we have managed to go out a couple times. One weekend some friends at church invited us to a minor league baseball game. We had great seats and it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately we got there to late to get a free bobble head of one of the players.

The game was very entertaining and so was the crowd. This guy in the blue shirt in particular. For some reason he thought going commando and wearing really loose, low jeans to a baseball game was a good idea. Every time he stood up to get a drink, stretch, or cheer, well you can imagine the view we got. Do you ever have the urge to go up to people and just ask why?

We had a great time and it was a beautiful night.

Living it up in LA

Saturday we took Lisha back to Pasadena where she introduced us to Aguas at this local Mexican restraunt. Aguas are these fruit drinks that taste like you just put a straw into that fruit. We tried the pineapple and I thought it was fantastic! Lance and I headed over to see the Rose Bowl Stadium and some other interesting buildings in Pasadena. After seeing the sites in Pasadena we headed to China Town in L.A. and Hollywood Blvd. Our favorite moment was watching a group of break dancers. It brought back some good memories of Sophomore year at BYU.