One Big Extended Vacation

So I apologize for failing to mention this piece of Wegner news earlier (for those of you who actually care to know what's going on in our lives and read my blog ha)... but it was only officially decided a few weeks ago, and then suddenly in the blink of an eye, it's here!

The winds of change have come and Jeff and I are about to embark on the biggest adventure of our married lives........... We are moving to CALIFORNIA!!  

Tomorrow, to be exact.

Our ultimate goal has always been to get to Salt Lake as soon as we can but when we realized that it was not going to happen as quickly as we had been hoping, we decided the best thing for the both of us would be to move to our base rather than have Jeff commute for months and months.  We were not keen on the idea of living in Fresno, so we put in for a transfer to Palm Springs, CA and got a spot!  Jeff starts in Palm Springs on September 1, and we will be driving the truck out there tomorrow and Tuesday.  

Everything has worked out so perfectly for us and we are feeling very, very blessed!  Jeff's grandparents have a vacation home in Crestline, CA that is a little over an hour away from the airport, that we will be living at.  This is a HUGE blessing for us, because we were worried about finding a place that was cheap, safe, and had month to month rent (since we are so noncommittal these days :).  This place is up in the mountains east of San Bernardino so it is much cooler and way more beautiful than Palm Springs.  And plus I've always wanted to live in the mountains ha ha :)  We will be there for at least 2 months but probably no more than 6 or 7.  But really... we have no clue ha.  So pretty much we're just going on one big extended vacation :)

We are VERY excited for this new big adventure and can't wait to see what's in store for us! 

One Week Down!

Well this experience hasn't been nearly quite as bad as I was expecting it to be that's for sure.  And true to everyone's word it has gotten a little worse before getting better.  

Day 5:

Still waiting for the "worst of it," and thinking "Hey, maybe I'll just pass that stage!"  Took hardly any drugs that day.  Pain = No. Big. Deal.

Days 6 & 7:

Waiting is over.  Hello pain!  Ear pain to be exact... which means I was happily reunited with my drugs. I've been fine through out the day (thanks to medications ha), so the mornings really are the worst part.  They said it would come and it finally did.  But hey I'm half way there!  One week down, one-ish (i guess) to go!

I'm beginning to get tired of my "soft-foods" diet and have been craving crunchy salads and pizza.  Also conveniently, my dad decided to get cable TV a few days ago, so not only have I had a full week of laziness, but I've gotten my fill of Saved By The Bell, Boy Meets World, Mythbusters, and various movies on demand.  Nice timing Dad!

So Far So Good!

Day ONE:

Surgery actually went really well and it wasn't all that bad.  Thank heavens for anesthesia :)  All the nurses and doctors were very kind and made me feel as comfortable as possible.  I even got huge paper shorts to wear under my gown - bonus!  The only bad part, which just happened to be the part I was the most concerned for, was in fact the IV experience.  I was squirming and near tears all throughout it and it didn't help that she had to try twice.  On the second time she was struggling and made the mistake of mentioning "Your vein just keeps rolling."  Gag.  Not what I wanted to hear.  

Anyway, I was disappointed to find out that I'm not very funny when under anesthesia.  Upon awakening I just kept repeating "that was so weird" and how bad my neck was hurting.  Once I was reunited with my mom I had a little giggle fit that was half mixed with tears.  Speaking of my Mom, she is crazy and decided to take the opportunity to watch my surgery!  They sent me home with this little souvenir and my mom really wants someone to watch it with her ha ha.  So if there are any takers out there....?  Ha ha crazy Mom.

The rest of day one wasn't too bad, but it was my worst day so far.  The pain medication (which just makes me super drowsy) works great and I was able to eat some popsicles.  I made the mistake of trying some jell-o which did not sit well my stomach, and resulted in the rest of the night hovered over the toilet.  But it wasn't until I took my next dose of nasty liquid narcotic that instantly had me puking.  This action of course caused bleeding so we had to call the doctor and gargle cold water to restrict the blood vessels.  Anyway...  the first day was an adventure to say the least!

Days TWO & THREE:

Good news is... I have survived days two and three as well!!  With great success!  I was able to eat a lot more this day and started on more solid foods such as scrambled eggs, go-gurt, rice, mac & cheese, etc.  It was fantastic :)  Hardly any pain these days as long as I was taking my medication and My brother and his family came up to stay the night with us so it was even better to have company! 

The only downside to this experience so far (other than the puking) is that the drug has made me super itchy all over - no rash, just very very itchy.  So now we've also got benedryl thrown into my drug mix... but anyway, so far this hasn't been a bad experience at all.  I have truly been enjoying being so lazy and getting lots of extra sleep.  Though they say the worst is yet to come....  My nurse told me that around day 5 you start to feel like you are digressing pain wise, because that's when the scabs start to fall off..... ew ew ew!  

*Side Note:  As I mentioned in my pre-surgery post I was having a very hard time justifying getting my tonsils out, because it wasn't a life and death situation and I couldn't see a dire need to get them out.  However I am now very grateful that I did it, because when my doctor got them out he said how disgusting they were and so full of holes, crevices and garbage that they definitely needed to come out.  So I feel much much better about it and am grateful to my Heavenly Father for giving my the little push I needed (as well as the strength) to go through with it.

Can I Just Skip Tomorrow??

....In fact can I just skip the next two weeks?!?

I have been making up excuses and ways to get out of my Tonsillectomy tomorrow ever since I scheduled it on Monday... That's right I said Tonsillectomy.  To say that I am scared would be an understatement.  Terrified?  Mortified...??  Yes, those are much more fitting.  

I have never had surgery.  I have never had anesthesia.  No stitches.  No drugs (lortab, percocet, etc.).  I have never even been a patient in the hospital!  In fact I can probably count on one hand how many times I've visited a hospital!

I hate needles, blood, protruding objects, swallowing pills, drugs, doctors, hospitals, and pretty much anything medical (oh and Dentists too).  Plus I love food way too much... 

The long story short is that I started to have minor tonsil caused issues the past year or so including tonsil stones and occasional sore throats.  I finally went into a specialists who told me that since I'm young I should just get them out.  At the time, I completely refused that option and couldn't justify such a drastic solution for occasional mild sore throats.  I still actually have a very hard time justifying it (hence all the excuses this week), but it's to the point that I get at least one sore throat daily and now really is the best and only time to do it - while I'm jobless, childless and young... less?  

Anyway, I am doing it up in Logan since that was the quickest way to get it done.  It'll be an early morning since the surgery is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.  I'm pretty sure I'll be passed out before they even get the IV in me.

Well wish me luck!!  I sure am going to need it.  I'll keep you all posted.  Don't worry I'll spare you the dirty details :)

Get Ready For a Long One...

Redd Reunion 2012

Location:  Midway, UT - Dairy Farm 

Lots and lots of cows.... and what comes hand in hand with cows??  That's right... wonderful odors and flies!  These cows also were feeling a bit left out, escaped and were found roaming amongst our tents :)

Dressing up Grandma for the photo booth!

Chicken Launchers!!

(Seriously entertaining)

Theses two are just too competitive... which almost always inevitably results in battle wounds.

Where's Marah??

Cute Taylor.  Very cute.

Some how the photo booth dress ups got incorporated in and got passed from person to person, which only made it more entertaining to watch :)

The launchers!

 Zip-lines!

 Can't forget the classic Candy Cannon!

 The adult rounds are always the most entertaining.

 Second annual Redd Cup games - Olympics style.

And the Winners are....

Redd-Lee-Baird Family!!

Talent Show

Redd Family Tree

Fun Fact:  My sister's twins that will be born in September/October time will be #99 and #100 in our family!

Me and My Pilot (who was unable to attend)

And we can't forget all the cute kiddos!!

Baby Luke 

I seriously LOVE this little Blondie!! 

Mountain Escape

We took advantage of Jeff's days off this week to go enjoy the beauty of the Unita Mountains.  Growing up my family would go camping once a year in these mountains so they hold many fond memories of mine.  

We got our fill of off-roading on this adventure and took a break to eat dinner at the beautiful Provo River Falls.

We drove quite a ways off road to find this completely isolated, serene location to camp out.  Mmm... doesn't get better than that.  In my mind, that's the only way to camp... 

 Hey look at the good lookin' truck :)  

The wonderful and convenient thing about the truck is that not only does it provide us endless adventures but also doubles as our tent!

The Unita's are home to tons of little lakes.  This one is called Lily Lake... I have no clue why... ;)

And reliving a childhood memory (like I always love to do)... 

Couldn't go to the Unitas with out getting a classic "Perfect Picture Rock" photo :)

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday Jeffrey!! 

Jeff turned 26 on Tuesday and this is how we celebrated...  

Toad's Fun Zone in Ogden:  We had never heard of it before but found a good deal for it online so thought we would try it out.  It was pretty fun!  They've got things like mini golf, batting cages, go-karts, arcade games, and laser tag.  

 Presents of course...

 Followed by a delicious Ice Cream Cake!  Yum!