Bikes and Family Night

When I was getting ready for work this morning, I told Mackay to think about what he wanted to to after I got home from work and that we'd do whatever he wanted. After thinking about it for a moment, he said, "I'm going to whisper it in your ear" (Andrea and Beckett were in the room). He leaned up to my ear and said, "Ride bikes and do family night." He has a big wheel and a small bike with training wheels that he likes to ride in front of our house and of course he loves family night--especially the singing (which accounts for most of the time in our family nights, followed by a 1-minute lesson). So in case you're wondering what we're doing tonight, it's going to be riding bikes and doing family night. Life's little moments...ah, the good stuff.

Celebrating 4 @ Gulfport

Although the beach at Gulfport was nothing like those we found in Maui, the kids didn't seem to notice. They had a great time playing in the sand, jumping in the pool, and playing at a near by kids museum. After all, everything is better when you can play with your cool cousins!

And although his birthday was not for a few more days, we celebrated Mackay's 4th birthday in style with his many cousins and a pinata before we headed home! These are the days we'll remember...

A Full Life

After going to Maui, we all headed down to Gulfport, Mississippi for a little shindig with my family to celebrate my parents 60th birthdays (they were born a day apart!). My sisters created an amazing book commemorating their entire lives. Check out Amy's blog for all the details. My contribution was this video of their lives...it's 35+ minutes of good times...called A Full Life!

A Full Life from Be Strong on Vimeo.

Maui is SWEET!

Andrea and I took a much deserved vacation to Maui without the kids (many thanks to Andrea's parents for watching them; one of the many benefits of living close to family)! It was a relaxing and short five days hanging out at the beach, snorkeling, hiking, and sleeping in. We still have more things we want to do there, so I guess we'll have to make a point of getting back there sooner rather than later.

Mackay the Musician

Mackay loves to play his ukulele and sing fun songs. Here's an example of his sweet skills!

Coming Soon...

..our trips to Maui and Mississippi!!!

P.S. Andrea's blogging now...cheer her on by leaving a comment. Click here to check it out.
P.P.S. To all of Andrea's friends who read this blog (i.e. 90% of the people who read this blog), you can still read my blog even though Andrea is blogging now. I'll try to at least post cute picts of the boys. :)

Trampoline Time

Mackay and Beckett love playing on their grandparents' trampoline.

Round and round they go...

My Knee (aka Hip) Hurts!

So as I alluded to in my last post, Mackay's sore "knee" was to lead to a boatload of fun. We drove home from Andrea's parents' house on Sunday (Mackay fell asleep in the car) and he woke up numerous times thoughout the night screaming in pain. On Monday morning he complained about his knee (the real pain, however, was in his right hip) and he wouldn't get out of bed. Andrea had to carry him everywhere and he writhed and screamed in pain every time he had to move his leg. Andrea set up a play date at the park to lure Mackay out with some friends (something she thought for sure would convince him his leg was better), he just sat in his stroller. Needless to say, she (and I) were concerned about him, so we took him to the doctor that afternoon along with Beckett (remember that both were sick over Easter--good times!).

Long story short, the doctor diagnosed Beckett with a cold (we were hoping he had something we could give him medication for and be done with it!) and sent us to the ER where a specialist could look at Mackay's hip. He was worried that Mackay had bacterial infection in his joint, which could cause serious problems if not treated immediately.

We got to the ER around 3 pm, waited in the waiting room for maybe an hour for them to take his vitals, then they sent us to a room, where a series of specialists looked at him and took him for tests. Mackay was super brave during the ordeal and even laid still while they took an x-ray of his leg. They were worried that they might need to do surgery to test and reduce the fluid at his hip so they wouldn't let him eat any food despite his endless requests for something to eat. All was well until they decided to put an IV in his arm to do additional blood tests (the results from the blood they took at the doctor's office via his finger wouldn't be back until the next day and they wanted the results right away). Unlike adults where they do an IV on your wrist, on young kids they do it on the opposing side of their elbow and then tape their elbow with a board so they can't bend it. Mackay didn't appreciate this IV AT ALL! After some intense crying, however, he finally feel asleep around 8 pm.

All of the tests indicated that he did NOT have a bacterial infection, but the doctors wanted to monitor him and see how he was doing in the morning. We were able to give Mackay a blessing that night and felt reassured that he would quickly recover.

The next morning Mackay was doing MUCH better and the doctors gave him the okay to go home--horray!!! He played with toys with Beckett and even put weight on his leg. The physical therapist had him do a series of tests and he passed them all with flying colors. He favored his non-hurt leg for about a day but was soon back to his old self. The doctors say he had toxic synovitis, which basically means a virus attacked his hip joint, causing fluid to form around it and the associated arthritic pain.

We were happy Mackay was well and that the only lasting pain was our portion of the medical bills (almost $1k!). Good times...

Poor little guy! Our hearts went out to him. At least he fell asleep.

The next morning he was feeling much better.

Mackay would have never folded his legs the day before. We could tell our little guy was back.

Fun Easter at the Ranch

We had a great Easter with Andrea's family at "The Property." Andrea's older brother and his family, and one of her younger sister's (except Melissa who is on a mission), and her younger brother were there. To top it all off, her grandparents from Utah also flew out (unfortunately her grandfather is sick with cancer so it made the visit extra special). It was a great time! I always love getting to talk to Andrea's grandfather--he's super smart and a spiritual giant who always seems to inspire me to increased faith. He told us some great spiritual stories about his parents and his time working in the LA temple.

The only downside to the weekend was Mackay and Beckett's health. Both were sick (Beckett was whiny and wanted to be held the WHOLE time!)...and one of their cousins even threw up a few times while we were there! The real treat, however, was beginning to show its ugly head when Mackay complained about a sore "knee" on Easter before we left for home. Stay tuned for more on that...

Look at the focus on Mackay's face!

Andrea with her Walker grandparents.

Rocket Time

Because Andrea is in Cub Scouts at church (not by her choice mind you!), Mackay and I were lucky enough to get to join in on the space wood derby (like pinewood derby but with rubber band propelled balsa wood rocket ships that race along a string stretched the length of the basketball court). I helped him assemble it, but he painted it himself (Andrea actually helped paint the glitter paint on it).

With the right rubber band and propeller, the rocket shot all the way across the gym! He even won a medal (with the rest of the scouts...everyone was a winner!). Here's a few pictures.