Tonsils x's3

The kids kept swapping strep throat back and forth to eachother and to me as well. After a year of going to the Dr. only for strep throat and getting new toothbrushes and more antibiotics that I would like to think about as well as keeping them home from school. I decided enough was enough. I took them to the ENT in August and he reccommended they all get their tonsils out. I decided to do all 3 kiddos at the same time. One crazy recovery and then we would be done and move on with our lives. It was intense, there was a lot of popsicles and not a lot of sleep, but we all survived and I am glad we did it. Hopefully no more strep throat, for the kids or for me. (September 2, 2011- Mitchell in the recovery room watching his movie waiting to be discharged)
Isaac with his popsicle and watching his movie in the recovery room. Gracie didn't wake up all that happy after her surgery and she forbid me to take her picture.
I had to keep the kids down for a few weeks, no playing, running, jumping. Not the easiest thing in the whole world especially with the boys. We watched a lot of Movies, and played games, and they had their Ipods to keep them busy, but they still got bored. Mitchell got some scissors and went in the back to "cut" the grass. Not that there is much of it without any rain this Summer. It kept him busy for a while and it was really cute.

Isaac Turning 8

Isaac recently turned 8 yrears old. He had been looking forward to his birthday for about a year. He knew that he would be a cub scout and get baptized and he was excited for both. He is opening a gift he had wanted and him and Mitchell are playing with it.

Isaac with his cub scout pack.

Isaac handsome in his scout shirt. Shortly after he started scouts they had a Pack meeting and he earned his bobcat. He laughed the whole time Brad had him upside down. He loves scouts and is so excited to be a part of it.

Isaac with grandpa Stosich who baptized him.

The kids with Grandma and Grandpa S

My Sister Rebecca was able to come and stay for a few weeks and we had a lot of fun with her. Isaac called her aunt Becca and he loved her foot rubs and she loved watching him dance.

The kids with Grandma Tippetts. We were sad Grandpa couldn't make it, but we understand why.
Isaac and his adopted grandparents the Andersons. The day woulnd't have been complete without them. Grandpa Anderson made Isaac the cutest baptism book, we will cherish it forever.
After he was baptized we went to some friends house to swim and eat and celebreate Isaac's birthday. He had a lot of fun with everyone that was great enough to take time out of their schedules to come and celebrate this special day with him. We love Isaac so much, he is such a blessing to our lives and makes life so much fun. We are so proud of him.

Busy Spring (catching up)

We decided to try Mitchell on Swim Team this year. He was scared to try. He didn't think he wanted to swim the length of that really big pool. I was really proud of him for getting in and facing his fears. He tried really hard. He didn't make the team this year, but he improved a lot over the Summer and he says he is ready to try again next year.
Isaac took some convincing to get into the water the first couple of weeks. It was too cold for him. He would do the minimal amount of laps and then get out purple mouthed and shivering. He improved a lot on his back stroke and he enjoyed learning the breast and butterfly strokes. He made it to meet of champs for freestyle.
Isaac got "Most Spirited Award" He would show up happy and ready to swim everyday. He got a swim team hat, which he is anxiously waiting his head to grow into.
Gracie had a lot of fun with swim team this year. She improved on some of her strokes and enjoyed playing and making new friends. So proud of her hard work.
The kids with two of their swim team coaches, at the end of season party.
Isaac wanted a blue mow hawk for at least 3 months. I had to keep telling him no because of school. So on the last day of school we went to get his hair cut and to buy blue hairspray. He was beyond excited.

Our Church had their annual 5k and family fun run. I had registered well in advance. I was looking forward to beating my time from last year. But my back had been hurting and I finally decided to go to the Dr. and he told me no working out or running. He said I could walk this 5k since I was already registered. I was very disappointed, but my good friend was nice enough to sacrifice her time to walk it with me. Even walking I was only 5 minutes slower than the year before.
We decided to run the last few hundred meters, I couldn't finish not running.
Gracie turned 10! wow how time flies. She wanted to go to Red Lobster with just mom and dad. So we got a sitter for the boys and took her to eat. Her other request was to play with a dog for the day. So I called up a friend with 2 dogs and she let us bring them over to play for a good part oft he day and she could play and the boys loved having one to pester as well.
She wanted some Harry Potter movies she didn't have, and Harry Potter Lego's. She is such a creative, fun, and loving addition to our family.

Mitchell Graduated Pre School. He is getting his award and posing with his teachers. He loved having them for 2 years and misses them a lot.

Every year at the end of year picnic we would go to the park and eat and play and fish. Isaac would always say he wanted to catch a fish and he never did. Until this year. He was so excited he almost dropped the fishing pole and lost the fish. He finally caught one his last year attending.
Mitchell also had a birthday. He turned 5 years old. I can't believe he is getting so grown up. He is so sweet and loving and so much fun to have around. He wanted a red remote controlled helicopter and I found him one, and he was so happy. He loves flying it.


Mitchell complained of a stomach ache for a few days off and on. I didn't really take him seriously because he would tell me, and then go jump on the trampoline or wrestle Isaac. But after 4 days of him complaining I took him to the Dr. It turns out he had strep throat and I had ignored it for 4 days. One of the symptoms of strep throat can be an upset stomach. So we got him on the antibiotics and I thought we were on the road to recovery. But 2 days later he said his stomach hurt even more. So back to the Dr. we went and she ordered to have some blood drawn and an ultrasound of his tummy. We got the blood work done right away, but the ultrasound had to wait 3 days. We scheduled it and went home to wait. That night he wouldn't walk or eat or get up off the couch because he said it hurt too much. I took him to the ER thinking it might be his appendix. They drew more blood and did an ultrasound on his belly, and they didn't have a definite answer for us. So they admitted us to observe him. After a night and a day of being pale and laying in bed and not eating, they did a CT scan and it turns out he just REALLY had to use the bathroom. So some laxatives and apple juice were perscribed and we were headed home. I felt so bad that he had to go through it all, but glad it wasn't anything worse. He did not like sleeping in the Hospital and he really wanted his blanket. When dad came and brought it to him he was a very happy little boy.