Our California Vacation

We had a great time in California. The kids did better than I ever would have thought on the 4 1/2 hour plane ride. They were so excited to take off and land. Grace made a very loud announcement when we landed in Cali, that everyone on the plane thought was adorable.

Our first stop was at my dad's place in Palm Desert. It was 97 degrees both days we were there. We hung out at the pool mostly, but did make it to the zoo. Dad and Joan watched the kids for Jason and I one night, so we could have a night out. That was a lot of fun!

Next we headed to San Diego to go to Sea World. The girls got car sick on the way there, other than that, it was a nice trip. Our first day in San Diego we played in the golden sand at Coronado Beach. The next day we met Shamu, who all three of the kids really love.

After that, we headed out to my friend, Tanya's, for a few days. We had a nice party with Eve and Christina and all the kids the first day we were there. Eve's triplets and my triplets are birthday buddies, born within a few hours of each other. Tanya's triplets are 2 days older. Kind of amazing. Christina's triplets are 5 and cute as can be. Trevor is Tanya's oldest son. He and Seth loved to make each other laugh.

The two days after that, we did Disney. We wore ourselves out and are still recovering. I think we saw about everything we could. The girls were elated to meet Princess Belle, Cinderella and Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). That was their highlight. Their favorite ride was the Haunted Mansion (the happy, spooky ghost ride). That's all they can talk about. Seth was very pleased to meet and touch Mater.

All in all, we had a fantastic time. It was sad to leave, but good to be home once the plane touched down.

Disney on Ice...Worlds of Fantasy

Tonight, we took in Disney on Ice. It was so cute to see the kids' faces light up whenever the characters would skate out. They had a Princess preshow that the girls enjoyed, although it was very crowded, so we didn't stay long. They loved wearing their halloween costumes again for the day! That was another perk!!! They were very good and attentive for the whole show. I was relieved to see that. This was our precursor to Disneyland. If this put a smile on their face...I can't wait until we get the "happiest place on Earth"!!!!

Mickey, Minnie and friends were the hosts of the show. Seth was happy to see the "toon car" that's featured on a pair of his underwear!

Tinkerbell and her fairy friends. Elaina said Tinkerbell was her favorite.

This was taken towards the end of the show. "Like father, like son". Seth was a little bored, I think.

Elaina seems happy...could it be all the popcorn?!?

Part of Tinkerbell. That sparkly fairy had the prettiest dress!

Simba and Nala at the end of Lion King. My kids never got into the Lion King, not for lack of my trying.

Here's a happier Seth! He did enjoy parts of the show!

The Little Mermaid. Ariel is in the middle.

Grace LOVED every part of the show, although she insists Lightning McQueen was her favorite.

The cast of Cars. Seth's favorite. Unfortunately, they weren't on nearly long enough.

Ahhhh....here was Seth's favorite of the night...Mater!!!

Which one is the real Cinderella???

Waiting for the show to start! See how excited they are!!!

Elaina's favorite princess dress. Guess who???

Last, but not least...Snow White's dress. Grace loves to dress up as Snow White on a daily basis!

Building Frosty

So, we can't escape winter! It just keep snowing. At least we were able to make our first snowman of the season today, as it wasn't too cold. The last time we made a snowman, it was only the kids and I. We were limited as to how big we could go. But today...Daddy was home!!! I made it our mission to build the biggest snowman on the street. Mission accomplished! He's at least 10 feet tall, and very handsome.

Working on the base of the snowman.

Seth and Grace starting the next section.

Packing in the middle section.

Daddy on his tippy toes, putting the head on...me praying it didn't roll off onto Elaina's head!

The finished product! We all love our new winter friend.

My Funny Valentines

We had a nice Valentines day. Not a holiday I typically care about, but everything is more fun with kids! The kids had a nice party at preschool and yesterday we went out for a nice dinner together. It was hard to choose a place that would be kid friendly on one of the biggest "romantic" date nights of the year! LOL!!! Sorry all you lovebirds out there!!!

Here are some pictures from their party at school:

The first 3 pics are of the kids playing a game. They had to blow tissue paper hearts across the room with their straws. It was a cute game, but some of the kids had a hard time with it. The last picture is one of the are projects Elaina did.

If You Can't Beat It.....

You might as well join it!!!! We had a heat wave today, and the temperature finally went over 20 degrees! We figured we might as well go out and enjoy some of what isn't horrible about winter...Sledding!!! It was the kids first time down the slopes, and they LOVED it!!! They all screamed and shrieked the whole way down, each and every time. We met up with their aunt and big cousins, and had a ball in the fresh new powder that fell yesterday.

The Hill

Elaina in the middle on her way up, Grace on her way down, Seth and I at the bottom.

Seth tasting the snow on the snowmobile sled.

Grace on her way down.

Elaina made is safely to the bottom.

They were all troopers about walking back up the hill! That was nice.
Seth and Mom.

Grace at the bottom of the hill.

Elaina on her way down with her cousin, Valerie.

Seth and Dad on the snowmobile sled.

Bowling...Yet Another Experience!

Sometimes when life hands you triplets, trying new experiences can be somewhat scary. Never thought I'd be trying bowling with 3-three year olds. Thanks to our church wanting to increase activities within the youth of the congregation, we found ourselves experimenting with cosmic bumper bowling! To our surprise and amazement, they did great! Seth even got a spare!!! Grace kept trying to kick her ball down the lane. Elaina loved when her ball would knock pins down and shriek with excitement while jumping up and down. Yes...we did have to hear the announcement..."There's a dead ball on lane 3" a couple of times. Then some nice teenager would come and rescue the "dead ball" from the middle of the lane. It was all in good fun!

So now that bowling is crossed off the list...I think we will try ice skating or roller skating next! I think I can, I think I can...repeat that 10 times and maybe I'll believe it!

Dad trying to explain the game

Taking a break with dad

Seth told me his favorite part was watching the ball return.

We Survived Christmas

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. It was a good one. It was a busy one.

You may have noticed my neglected blog over the past month. Christmas is to thank for that. I love Christmas time. I love what Christmas is. I don't like the stress that comes along with it. There was a lot more to do this year with the kids being in preschool, so I had very little time.

Our festivities started off on Christmas Eve. The kids and I made cookies for Santa then we went out in the pouring rain and sprinkled our reindeer food for Rudolph. For dinner,we gather with my family at my dad's house. There are presents to be opened, drinks to be downed, jokes to be shared. This year, we were busy tracking Santa. The kids got a kick out of that. The kids were still going strong at midnight, despite my best effort at putting them to bed, so we headed home.

The next morning, the kids slept in until 8:30 or so. Grace got out of bed briefly, walked into the living room, said "oh presents" then went back to bed. Once they all got out of bed, they counted the cookies that were left for Santa. Six were left. Santa ate 5 1/2. Of course he drank his milk too. Then there were lots of presents to be opened. For Seth, Santa left a blue lightning McQeen, a buzz lightyear choo choo train and a camera. Grace got a big Buzz Lightyear, a red lightning McQueen, and a camera. Dora, Tinkerbell and a camera were left for Elaina. They were so excited that Santa brought just what they had asked for. From mom and dad, there were lots of games and puzzles. Elaina and Grace got American Girl bitty twins and Seth got a remote control monster firetruck. It was a good year.

From our house on Christmas morning, we went to Jason's families for presents and an early dinner. Then it was off to my mom's for presents and a late dinner. The kids had so much fun with their older cousins.

It was a very good Christmas, but we are all still trying to recover. It is proving very difficult to get the kids back on their schedule. As I type this, it is 11:00 at night, and Elaina is still up in her room.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!