Catching Up

What a lazy blogger I've become. I'll start with the most recent and work my way back. Last week Derek, Miri and I went to The Happiest Place on Earth. I think I love Disneyland more now that I have kids than I did when I was a kid. We celebrated Derek's 30th birthday there and I can't even explain how much I savored every second of my vacation. Things like having my hotel room cleaned when I got back at night and eating food that I didn't make and sleeping in until 7:30 just felt like heaven. We left the triplets home with my sister (Jenette- how can I ever re-pay you? You are the best. Love you Nettie.) Here are some pics from our fun vacation:

And now on to Halloween. Here's Snow White (with her right hand man, cousin Jake) and the Three Bugs:

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch:

And now, never mind that these pictures were taken 2 1/2 months ago. Tiffany Erickson was our photographer and she was amazing. When I asked her to do these, I gave her a disclaimer and warned her that my little family can be a little lout of control. She was totally up for it and I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. Here are just a few of my favorites.

LiaBrynn
Claire

Miriam

Whew. All Caught up.

Put in My Place

Last week I was driving Miriam and her cute little BFF Reagan to their dance class. This was the conversation they had in the back seat:

Miriam: I'm going to be Snow White for Halloween.
Reagan: Ohhhhh!!! I'm going to be Cinderella! Is your mommy going to be Sleeping Beauty?
Miriam: No. She's going to be the Wicked Witch. And my daddy is going to be my Prince Charming.

I guess I know my standing in the family. Oh well. There is always next year. Maybe Miriam will promote me to something like the Wicked Step Mother.

Three Little Birthday Chicks

First there was Lia...

Then came Brynn...Last but not least was little Claire...

And then there were three...

And Miriam has enjoyed every minute of it.
And so have we.

Happy Birthday Babies!

What a Difference a Year Can Make

It was exactly one year ago from right now... I was lying in my hospital bed and had just been told hours before that my triplets were coming the next morning - 8 weeks premature and a month earlier than I was anticipating even the day before. I remember like it was yesterday the fears that were tormenting my mind... what kind of physical challenges will my babies have to face? Will their lungs function ok? How will it be having babies in the hospital and not being able to have them with me? How in the world am I going to give these babies what they need?
Fast forward one year. What's on my mind tonight? Wondering if I made enough potato salad for the babies birthday BBQ tomorrow. Yes, things have definitely changed in a year.

Successful Adventure

We don't get out much. It's quite a production to coordinate naps, feedings and diaper changes, pack the bags and load all the kids in the mini-van, chase after them in a non-baby proof environment and then pack them up again. We usually have our fun at home. One fine day Derek and I decided we were going to be adventurous and take a trip to the zoo with the kiddos. We were planning for the worst, but were amazed after 2 full hours at the zoo with no major meltdowns.
We may as well have been part of a zoo exhibit with all the gawking our stroller caused. My favorite was an old lady who came waddling over to me while I was waiting for Derek and Miri who had gone through the Madagascar Exhibit (no monster truck-sized strollers allowed.)
"Oh my! triplet boys!"
"Oh, they are girls" I responded with a friendly smile.
And then came the question that almost made me laugh out loud.
"Are they artificial?"
I get asked all the time if they are "natural" but this is the first time I've been asked if they are "artificial." I wanted to tell her that they are actually plastic, but she probably would have believed me.
She then went on to tell me about some relation of hers who had triplets and "nursed those kids until they were three years old." Wow. All I could think about was how many teeth a 3 year old has.
Here's some more fun stuff we've been doing this summer.


Pool parties with friends and cousins.
Play date with the Kirby triplets.

Our Happy 4th

The 4th of July is my absolute favorite holiday. Here are some pics from our fun day.

Our festivities started the day before. Miri and her cousins made 4th of July cupcakes.

Here are Miri's finished products. Yum.For as long as I can remember, my dad would get up around 3 am on the morning of the 4th to save us all the best seats available for the Freedom Festival Parade. Hopefully my dad wasn't expecting that we would outgrow enjoying the parade. He STILL gets up in the wee hours of the morning and stakes a claim for the best seats on the route. Poor guy. We all still love a parade. The kiddos loved it too. Thanks daddy :)
Miri and ClaireMy Cute little miss Miri-MooBrynny rabbit with my favorite neighbor and little bro, Dave.
Lady Lia Bugs.

We then went back to my moms for a nap. Well, at least a nap for the kids and Derek. We headed over to our sister-in-law Danielle's parents house for a pool party. Miri and her daddy had too much fun.
I have one daring little 2 year old. Sometimes the things she will try with no hesitation make me nervous. I've got to keep a close eye on this girl.

Her little sisters were quite impressed with her too. Here they are at the pool looking on and admiring their big sisters gutsy tricks...

And trampoline dancing...

And what would the 4th be without fireworks? Happy 4th Everybody!