Sydney's Tonsils

Sometime in February, Sydney started snoring. Not cute, soft snoring, but full-blown, "is there an old man in that bedroom?" snoring. We kind of laughed about it until we spent a night at Jenni and Jim's and had to share a bedroom with Syd. Not so funny when your three year old sounds like she is working hard just to breathe. So it was off to the ENT she went and home again with a date scheduled to have her tonsils removed.
We tried to prepare Sydney for what to expect without freaking her out too much. We got some books from the library, her favorite being "Curious George Goes to the Hospital". We bought a bunch of jello, ice cream, and Dora Popsicles and saved them for after her surgery. The night before the big day, we had a "Good-bye Tonsils" party complete with a cake. And where there is a party with a cake, there should be candles as well, right?

That night she crawled into bed and when I went to tuck her in she said to me, "Mommy, my tonsils are all gone, they squiggled away." It was really hard to see her so scared.
The next morning she was very scared and Steve had to coax her out of the car when we arrived at the surgery center. The amazing thing was that we were only there for about an hour and a half before all was said and done and we were on our way home. Once we got home all she wanted were Dora movies and Dora popsicles...
The next day Steve went to work and came home with a little bear which one of his friends at work brought in just for Sydney when he heard she was having surgery. This bear turned out to be a life-saver! One of the hardest parts of this whole ordeal was trying to get Sydney to take her medicine, it tasted yucky and it hurt to swallow. But, if the bear cheered her on, or was just nearby, she would take the dreaded medicine. I was very grateful for such a sweet and thoughtful gift!
The other thing that was indispensable was Sydney's Dora couch (do we see a theme here?) which was also a gift (thank you Parker) and which made recovery much more comfortable. I began to wonder after a week and a half if Sydney would ever eat with us at the table again, she was quite the spoiled little girl for a time there, as her brothers pointed out every time she got to eat ice cream for dinner.

I am happy to say that Sydney is quite herself again! It is so good to hear her singing everywhere she goes again and to have her sleeping peacefully at night... without shaking the rafters!

Point Your Toes

So we went to get some family pictures taken, including some individual pictures of the kids. We, of course, bribed the children with Happy Meals if they would cooperate and smile pretty. We all posed as a family and then the photographer started taking individual pictures of the kids. First Spencer, then Tyler, then Sam. Next came Sydney. In an effort to get Sydney to turn her body sideways to her right, the photographer asked her to please, "point your toes this way." Sydney, having just finished a series of dance lessons, heard the phrase "point your toes" and figured that naturally the photographer could only mean one thing...

Do You See What I See?

Look closely, do you notice anything new about Carter?

The Trampoline!

There once was a house with a trampoline,
Where one summer day three boys came on scene.
One little boy said, "I can flip with ease."
The other two boys said, "Show us, please!"
So he flipped and flipped without a care,
while the other two boys just stood there and stared...

The youngest boy battled it out for awhile,
Until, he too, was flipping with style...

For the oldest boy, a flip wouldn't come,
and by his younger brothers he was feeling out-done.
"I just can't do it," he thought with despair.
"I just can't flip like this other pair!"

"My head won't tuck, my body won't roll,

and all this falling is taking it's toll!"

But, he gathered his courage, he took his place...

and determination showed on his face...

With one bounce...

then two he was up in the air...

Then over and round he went with great care...

And when he came down, he soon realized
He had flipped, he had done it, he had won the prize!

So, my thanks to that boy for reminding us all,
That sometimes to win, we first have to fall.
I'm glad I could be there to witness the scene,
The day he conquered that trampoline!

Yellowstone!

While we were out in Utah, we had the awesome opportunity to drive up to Blackfoot and stay with Steve's sister Kristin and her family. From there, we all went up to Yellowstone National Park. Believe it or not, I had never been there before, and I was very excited to go. The Gordons and the Jensens at the entrance...
We had to do a bit of waiting in the car at some construction areas, and seeing as Carter had been in his car seat for a couple of hours already, we let him out to visit with the big kids in the back. He was okay with getting back in his car seat...
We saw lots of these fellas...
And some even wilder wildlife...
We didn't just see these things, we smelled them too. The children dubbed them stinkpots...
Good Old Faithful, always right on time. We walked up and off she went, pretty cool.
On the first day we couldn't find Carter's hat, so he borrowed Daddy's. Nice thing about Daddy's hat is that it not only shaded his face, but the rest of him too.
More wildlife...
And more stinkpots...
What's really nice is when you walk by a stinkpot just as the wind is blowing in your direction. The good thing about Yellowstone is that it's a safe day to eat one of those Fiber Bars...
I love vacation! Just a lot of time to be with family!
I was playing around with my White Balance when I took this picture, so it looks really over-exposed, but I still thought it was cute...
First time I have seen an Elk in real life.
I think everyone's favorite part of Yellowstone was when we saw the bears. It was the one thing we still hadn't seen yet and really wanted to. And there they were right on the side of the road. The rangers were out on the street playing Bear Crossing Guards. We drove by and then turned around and drove back again, and just as we stopped there the bears decided to cross, right in front of Kristin and Chuck's truck, the kids were so excited!
I was amazed at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone! It was incredible! But, if I am honest, I have to say that I had a really hard time enjoying it! I was a nervous wreck the whole time we were there, I don't think I would do well at The Grand Canyon with my kids unless I could tie them all to ropes first!

Looking at all of these pictures of our trip makes me want to get in the car and drive out again. We had so much fun being with family! Thanks to the Jensens for hosting us and going along with us, it was awesome!

Onward and Upward Cougars!

So I promised more Utah pictures, and I know you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting for more, so here is (drum roll please...) The Hike to the Y! Thank you, thank you...
The day after we arrived in Utah, Steve decided to tag along with the Jensen family and hike up to the Y. Seeing as Sydney and Carter are still a little small for that adventure, I, regrettably, stayed home in my parents nice, air conditioned house. I did walk up and down the stairs a few times...
Anyway, here are some fantabulous pictures of Y hiking...
Apparently, merely walking up to the Y was not enough for Kristin and her girls, they decided to run instead...

Spencer really enjoyed being in the mountains again. He declared that they are in his blood, and you know, I think he is right.
Sydney was certain that she could see "her boys" waving to her from the Y! She must have better vision than I do.



They all came home pooped, but very happy (especially with the ice cream they got afterwards). And they were all mysteriously sore the next day!