Thursday... fish, seals, & sharks... oh my

Vacation Thursday started with my drooling over the early morning sunrise.  It was beautiful so we woke Addison to let me get some pictures.  We decided to take a little break from the beach and headed off to a local aquarium where the kids enjoyed fish, seals, penguins, and all assortments of sea life.  We then went to a 3D movie on  the African Safari which was VERY COOL.  We were a little worried if the kids would keep the glasses on, sit still for 45 minutes, be quiet, etc....  They LOVED it and were soooo well behaved.  Even Cody watched intently until he just couldn't hang anymore and fell asleep.  After that,  To the Beach!!!!  My brother cooked dinner which was GOURMET to say the least!!!

A bit more on the beach.  I thought the kids would spend the whole time in the shallows and making sand castles, but NOOOOO....  my kids are dare devils!!!!  They wanted to go out and jump waves and they did it ALL DAY LONG (with parental supervision of course).  Well, all except Cody... he had other plans which I'll share in the next post.

Post Vacation Thursday.... SCHOOL!!!!!  Woo hoo.  I woke and started getting ready for the day when the power went out.... so I got ready with a flashlight, made breakfast with a flashlight, and explained to the kids that the TV didn't work while they cried to play with the flashlight.  Power was out 45 minutes I guess, then the TV volume went out (since been fixed).   Oh, thought it was going to be a bad day, but was ok....  I was baby free for 4 whole hours!!!

Wednesday... David and Family Arrive

Vacation Wednesday...  we woke to a BEAUTIFUL day.... the sun was coming up so I headed down to the beach and started taking pictures.  Before I was finished I saw Jerry on the deck with Kaylee and decided it was time to go in.  After breakfast we headed down to the beach.  Around 10:30, my brother David and his family arrived.  The entire day was spent with everyone on the beach.  Mom, Dad, GG, David, Kerri, Lane, and us....

Post Vacation Wednesday...  OMG...  I don't know why but I couldn't get to sleep Tuesday night to save my life....  it was after 1:00 before I fell asleep and was back up at 6:00 am..... exhaustion overload.  I took the triplets to their swim lesson and then we all drove around and I let them watch a movie, "Toy Story" in the car.  It was the only way I could get a reprieve...  My mom and I chatted away.  When Jerry got home we went out to dinner then played a couple mean rounds of Candy Land with the kids.  Everyone TO BED!!!

Packing Six for Seven....

I totally forgot I had this post on just what it takes to get a family of six packed for 7 nights....

17 - Pairs of short/pants/ or skirts
06 - Dresses
02 - Overalls
20 - Shirts
24 - Underwear
04 - Pairs of Pajamas
15 - Swimsuits or Swimshirts
08 - Hats
16 - Pairs of socks
02 - Swimsuit coverups
10 - Pairs of shoes
04 - Sunglasses
04 - Cots & Sleeping bags
04 - Pairs of floaties

Also, diapers, wipes, little swimmers, towels, goggles, sunscreen, cups, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toys, rubberbands, hair bows, shampoo, ... and the list goes on.....  AND.... THIS IS JUST FOR THE KIDS!!!!!

We had a washer/dryer at the house and I thought I'd overpacked... I DIDN'T...
 kids + sand + saltwater = lots of clothes.....

I laid out all the kids stuff on our bed trying to make sure I had everything...

Tuesday....

Vacation Tuesday...  we loaded up the kids and dropped the dogs at the kennel and pointed toward the beach in POURING down rain.  I mean BLACK skies....  The drive was easy and we were at the beach house (rental) at 2:30ish.  The swelling water was unreal given the storm and awesome to watch.  We drove around for about 30 more minutes waiting for my parents to arrive with the house key.  The house was AWESOME with 4 bedrooms and a huge game room which is were we slept the babies on their cots (THANKS MOM for the awesome cots).  After settling in and having dinner, it was dark but the rain had stopped so we let the kids go down on the beach expecting to just let them run around, but we soon realized keeping them out of the water was NOT going to happen.  The excitement was awe inspiring as we listened to their squeals of joy!!  We had the whole week ahead of us!!!  If you like the beach or don't like the beach, you've gotta love babies on a beach....

Post Vacation Tuesday...  Given I'm blogging a week in the past, thought I'd add the present in as well....  We loaded up and headed home yesterday.....  soooo sad it's over....  but not nearly as sad as Cody.  As soon as we rolled into the neighborhood, he understood we were going home and proceeded to MELT DOWN.   We took him in the house and for 40 minutes (an eternity in baby crying time) he cried, screamed, rolled on the floor....  saying over and over "I don't want to go home..."  He is only 2 years old, but he understood the vacation was over.... 

Some of these photos were taken literally when it was dark outside and were very noisy....  I cleaned them up the best I could, but I'm not a stong low light photographer (yet...) and didn't have a tripod set up.

I have to give my Dad props for this photo!!!

The race is on... Addison isn't always the fastest runner, but she is the most determined

I think this little man could have boogie boarded all day....

I wrote all the kids names in the sand, had them sit down and took their pictures by their names. Jerry wrote this and had me sit down... GOOBER... Ha!! Ha!!! I love him anyway!!!!

Look at that belly!!! Wow, he love this vacation!!!!

One happy Mommy with her arms full of LOVE

Life is Just A Beach....

This morning we returned from a week long stay at the beach...  a FABULOUS week long stay!!!  I have soooo much to tell and soooo many pictures to share, but today I am exhausted and have a lot of unpacking and laundry to do.... so I leave you with a quick sneak peak.....

AgraBadabra

The kids are very much into magic given their Daddy does some pretty awesome magic tricks (at least in the eyes of a 3 year old), so they are constantly doing magic but instead of AbraCadabra is AgraBadabra.  I've heard it wrong for soooo long now, it's hard for me to remember the correct way to say it.  Don't have a clue how to spell it, but you get the idea.

A Kiss Goodnight

Trendy Bloopers

This weeks theme at Trendy Treehouse is Bloopers and Out takes...  One of the girls was dropping pine needles on Jadon and I caught this laughing shot and thought it was cute.  Head over and check out all the shots!!

The Whole Story

Kaylee is feeling better so I thought I'd take a minute and elaborate on last weeks illness given it was VERY SCARY....  Thursday night about 30 minutes before bedtime she just didn't look like she felt well and was squinting her eyes.  She said her eyes were hurting.  I thought she was either very tired given she hadn't napped well or had something in her eye or scratched her eye...  we put her to bed and she was asleep instantly, but woke at 12:30 screaming that her eyes hurt.  We gave her some Tylenol and I laid with her a few minutes until she settled down and fell back asleep.  She slept the remainder of the night and I woke her at 7:00 expecting her to be fine.  Not the case.  Upon waking she immediately began complaining her eyes hurt and she was running a slight fever 100.4.  I gave her Tylenol and soon after that she began screaming with pain and saying her forehead hurt.  My parents came over and then Kaylee began vomiting.  I called the ped and they said bring her in so we loaded her up and headed out.  At this point she seemed to rebound a bit (typical, kids act fine once you go to the ped).  Well, not long after our arrival she started to go downhill again.  She was tested for strep, normal.  She still had an ear infection although she just finished antibiotics so we were given a new antibiotic and sent to check out.  At checkout she began crying again and vomited (yes, there at the checkout)....  Screaming in pain, we carried her back to the exam room.  Once again, the doctor assessed her and gave us another prescription for nausea.  She was screaming she wanted to go home and even started lying "I feel better" trying to get me to take her home.  This is a child that LOVES going to the doctor.  We were left alone for a while and she fell asleep in my arms so we went home.  At home she continued to vomit until we got the nausea meds in her.  She slept and was VERY lethargic all day (almost limp), when we put her to bed she slept through the night and woke w/o fever the next day.  She has only gotten better since, but it was a scary day given I've never had a child scream in pain like this!!

This picture was actually taken the weekend before she got sick...

Just Like Mommy....

I was out alone with the kids at a local grocery store the other day and they were being exceptionally good so I decided a reward was in order. We went to the toy isle and found toy camera phones. I had no idea these would be such a HIT!!! They LOVE that they make a camera click sound and they lined up some of their dolls the other night so they could take their pictures.... "Just like Mommy."

I may have to see if I can find a toy camera for their birthday.

Trouble in Paradise

One little one is sick and in my room throwing up in a bowl while another one is crying on the potty because she is constipated and the poo poo is hurting her bottom while the 3rd is going upstairs, but locked the baby gate so the 4th can't go up and therefore is having a meltdown...

This was the scene in our home yesterday.  We have had one day of school and already illness has befallen our home.  Kaylee is super sick with headaches and complaints that her eyes hurt.  She has an ear infection and tonsillitis and just feels BAD....  I had been up most of the night since she woke around 12:30.  We got her back down within 30 minutes, but I can never fall back asleep so I was up til about 4:00.  Fortunately, last night we all slept through the night.  It's 7:00 am all the kids are still asleep and we are getting ready to wake them and start the day. 

Thank you Mom and Dad for your help yesterday....  you were very much needed!!!

I also have to mention, my husband proposed to me 6 years ago on September 3rd...  yesterday I woke up to a dozen roses and a note saying "I'm STILL glad you said yes".....  I love that Man!!!!!!!

A Wordless Wednesday

Meet the teachers....

Woo Hoo... we made it through the summer and today we started the new "school" year, so on Tuesday and Thursday mornings I am once again solo and am free to shop or do chores w/o 4 little bodies.  Last night Jerry and I attended parent orientation and today the kids spent 30 minutes meeting their new teachers and exploring their new classrooms.  The triplets have graduated from the EC wing (early childhood) to the "big kid" wing.... which makes me soooo sad... before I know it they will be graduating from High School.  So for now, I have to enjoy moments like these...

Life is "BUTT" a dream.....

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For Love of Dad and Doggie... Photojournalism

I took this shot night before last as Cody cuddled his favorite doggie and snuggled up into his Daddy's lap.  Enough said....

Head over to I Heart Faces and check out all the amazing talent!!!

A brush with fame....

Whew....  I have spend the last week editing photos for celebrated New York City photographer Heather Swanson. She has photographed celebrities galore!!!  Click HERE to read her impressive bio.  She has an upcoming gallery showing at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art and I'm soooo honored that I got to be part of it!!!  Heather, thanks for the work.... this was soooo much fun!!!!

Due to copyrights, you don't get to see Heather's work here.... but lucky you,  I have more pictures of my kids!!!!  Woo Hoo!!!!  Enjoy!!!  More to come soon.....