We've Got a Bowl-a

Yesterday Quin and I met up with two of my favorite teacher friends, and their kids. We love to meet up with them for playdates - between the three of us, we have 11 kids. Makes us chuckle :) The babes stayed home, so it was just 8 kids for this outing.

We went to http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/ and printed out coupons for two free games of bowling. All we paid for were these bad boys!
I actually thought the shoes were quite stylin', and don't you love the carpet! :)

We had our bowling outing planned for a little over a week. Every time I would talk to Quin about it, she told me that she didn't want to go and for sure wouldn't bowl. She even tried hiding behind a car in the parking lot on our way in. Who knows why! I told her all she had to do was watch her friends.

Wouldn't ya know it! Within the first round or two, here she was...

Carrying her ball up there, and giving a big shove! The handy bowling ball stand thingy, and the gutter blockers were key!!! She ended up having a blast!

Poor Mathew! The only boy of today's group. He and Quin were so cute together - wouldn't they make adorable prom dates in about 13 years :)

The main attraction at the bowling area??? The candy machine. Really?!?!?! The draw of candy must be universal, and those machine companies know it :)

Thanks to Kelly and Kelly for meeting up with us - Quin and I always have a good time!

Easton's First Trip to the Dentist

At the triplet's 18 month check ups, the pediatrician and I spoke about two of Easton's teeth that have a slight gray to the front of them. To error on the side of caution, he sent us to the pediatric dentist (same office Quin went to at the beginning of the summer). Easton loved sitting in the waiting room and watching the train circle in and out of the room.
I was in charge of holding him down while the dentist checked out his teeth, so I don't have any pictures of the actual visit. He didn't seem too traumatized by it - only a few squirms, and then just stared at the big mask :) The dentist said that the discoloration is from him having a small deficiency during the pregnancy - and often happens in multiples because all of the babies are competing for the same nutrition. He was surprised that neither of the girls had it. The dentist said that Easton's is only minor, and that we just have to make sure to brush his teeth well. His 'grown up' teeth should not have it.

We were in and out of the office in twenty minutes - what a record! I decided to take Easton out for lunch with our extra time :) I will use any excuse to spend alone time with each kid, and to eat a meal that I don't have to make!

He enjoyed the bagel chips and pickle, as well as the snacks that I had stashed in the car. Most of all though, he loved flirting with the ladies sitting around us - he is such a hoot!!!

Always An Adventure

A few days ago Jason and I spent the day with just Quin for our 'end of the summer hurrah'! We decided to take our party to Michigan Adventure, and oh what an adventure we had! We stopped on the way up for breakfast in Grand Haven - I couldn't pass up the yummiest cinnamon rolls ever! We waited forever to be seated, which up-ed my anxiety about getting to the park before the crowds, but the food was worth it!

We ended up getting to the park just as the water side opened, so it all worked out. We had a wonderful time (after I got past the cost of the parking, tickets, lockers... wowza!). It was worth every penny - we only live once, right?!?!

The weather was beautiful, and dare I say on the chilly side (quite unusual for the summer we have had). There was a breeze that felt wonderful... until we were wet. Brrrrr!!! There
were only a few areas that we could go into because of height requirements, but that was okay with Quin. She loved the Lazy River... and the water slide! She didn't dare go on the big ones, but I was proud of her for trying the medium one!

At a certain point I turned to ask Quin a question, and her teeth were chattering and her lips were as blue as her life jacket - woops! We headed over the the ride side to warm up.

Quin's favorite part of the whole day was riding on the carousal (or the merry go round as she calls it). Horrible picture, but the only one where she is facing the camera.

Quin also LOVED driving the 'old' cars. She talks all the time about 'someday when she can drive us around'! It was quite entertaining to drive behind she and Jason as they bounced back and forth :)
I haven't been to M.A. since I was in elementary school. I was so excited to see the kiddie motorcycles. This is the only ride that I remember from my last visit. Wow - just think how may kids have ridden on them!!!

Our day came to an end much too fast for Quin - she was close to an all out fit when we were packing up our stuff. She hung in there all day and was ready for more - quite impressive for a three year old, I think!

Within minutes of getting on the high way, she was sound asleep!!! The mark of a great time!

Family Wedding

This past weekend we had the honor of attending my Uncle John's wedding! It is such a sweet story of love. They are a perfect couple, and we love to see him soooo happy! We are happy to welcome Shirley to our family! Unfortunately, all of my pictures of the actual ceremony were blurry. (That is my dad on the right - 'best man' in many ways). Besides the beautiful ceremony, one of my highlights was when my brother Nate sang the Lord's Prayer.
This was the first wedding that our family of six has been to, and we didn't fair too well. It was a smart choice to sit at the back of the church. Gianna fell off of the pew a few minutes into the ceremony and hit her head on the pew in front of us, so she and I spent most of the wedding just outside of the door. We had a revolving set of companions back there...

Ellery (L) and Gianna (R) spent a lot of time exploring the art work.

Lincoln made a few appearances (here with Uncle Nate)

And Easton had much more fun in the hallway, climbing on all of the extra pews and chairs.

After the wedding, Quin was in heaven with her 'Baby Lincoln'. She couldn't wait to get her hands on him :) I was relieved to see that Linc didn't look like he was being tortured too much! Easton took the opportunity to torture Quin though - the moment she wasn't looking he pulled her hair ties out!

The reception took place in my uncles back yard. It was a VERY warm and humid day/night!!! The days of leisurely talking and eating at wedding receptions may be over for Jason and I. We were supposed to be the first table to eat, and Jason and I ended eating after many people had had their second helpings. The babes were very cranky (and their parents were right there with them). We were trying to balance feeding all three and keeping them happy enough not to disrupt the fun around us. Jason and I came very close to throwing in the towel and leaving before the cake was cut!

I am glad that we took a few deep breaths (and got some food in our bellies). Once the kids were able to run around, they lightened up and had fun!

After dinner was over, they loved having individual attention. (Gianna)

Our kids took over the dance floor! They were loving the huge space and all of the attention. It took them awhile to warm up to all of the people (we don't get out much!). We have our own dance parties often in our living room, but it was fun to see them out on a real dance floor showin' off their moves! Quin has a new found love for break dancing (we can blame my DVR'ed So You Think You Dance for that one), so naturally Ellery and Gianna do too. They loved that they could sit on the dance floor and spin around using their feet. All four kids are usually in bed by 8:00pm. We had to pull them off of the dance floor at 8:15. It is always a sign of good times when you have to be removed from a dance floor ;)

Both Ellery and Gianna had fun dancing with Uncle Nate!

A big thank you to Nate for helping us out with the kiddos!

Congratulations Shirley and Uncle John! We wish you a life full love and happiness!!!

Hair Trims x4

Last week we took on the task of taking all four kids to have their hair trimmed, all by one person and in a row. Kudos to Krista at Eden Salon for doing it in under an hour!
It took some full on 'cheesy-ness' from me, but she had the hard part. Can't you read the look on Ellery's face - 'Seriously Mom, you are sooo totally embarrassing me.'
It was the first time both Ellery and Gianna had their hair trimmed. Ellery's hair was growing in a stack - short in the back and long on the sides. So, Krista just trimmed a little bit to even it out and try to give Ellery's fine hair a little life.

Gianna had the opposite issue with her thick locks! She had a baby mullet goin' on, and it wasn't pretty. So, she now is close to having a cute little bob.

Easton is an old pro by now at this hair trim stuff!

I'm not sure how, but I completely missed getting a picture of Quin getting her hair trimmed, but we just had all of her icky ends trimmed off.

Have you noticed that I have used the word trim - and not cut?!?! Quin decided a few weeks ago that her scissors would be really good for cutting her own hair - ahhhhh! She only cut one curly Q off the front of her hair, but... One of my biggest fears (after all of the really big ones) is that she is going to do a chop job on her beautiful hair! After her test run with her scissors, we have had more than a few chats about how her scissors are for paper, and you have to go to a special school to cut hair, and there are special tools that are just for cutting hair... I feel like if we keep calling it a hair 'trim' maybe she will forget all about those scissors of hers. If she ever takes the scissors to her own hair again, you may all hear my cries of horror!

"Hello Little Fellas" - Butterfly Hatching

With some encouragement {whining} from Quin and a good sale at our cute downtown toy store {Harbor Toy Company}, I bought a butterfly hatching kit. Quin loves watching butterflies as they flutter in and out of our backyard, and I thought it would be a great learning experience for her. In the end, she loved it - but, I think I was just as (probably more) enthralled with each change.

I wish I would have taken pictures of the caterpillars when they arrived. They came in the mail about a week after I ordered them, and I thought for sure it was going to be a bust. Only one was moving, and it was slow at best. After a day or so I realized that the four had already turned into chrysalides (that term was new for me) and the fifth was quickly on his way. Here is what they looked like before I transferred them out of the cup and into the mesh butterfly home:
It only took a day or so for them to begin hatching (oops, I was supposed to transfer them a lot sooner). From the moment the first butterfly hatched, Quin loved looking at them. All day long I heard, "Hello Little Fellas" and "Watcha doin' Little Fellas". She watched eagerly as each chrysalis hatched. It was quite fascinating!

I like this picture because it shows a butterfly, an occupied chrysalis, and an empty one.

As soon as each butterfly hatched it would hang on the side, and wave its curled wings over and over until they were dry and flat. In about an hour it was flying around the 'house'.

The initial plan was to watch the butterflies for a few days before releasing them. Quin and I soaked toilet paper with sugar water for the butterflies to drink from. It was so neat to see them unroll their proboscis (or just tongue as we called it - can't get too fancy with a three year old). You can see it here:

And then roll it back up:

Every so often, I have glimmers of hopes for compassion for Quin! She was so worried that the butterflies were missing their mommies, that she insisted that we release them within the first 24 hours. After stretching a few more observations in, we let them go in our backyard. The first four butterflies took off faster then we could wave. The fifth one hung around for a few hours! Quin was able to hold it while it drank more sugar water.

It was neat to look closely at it, without the mesh home in the way.

She waved goodbye as each flew away, while screaming "goodbye little fellas, I hope you find your mommies!"

Our last guy who hung around for awhile, enjoyed the grass as well. Quin and I both thought it was cool that he had hair on his body.

And of course.... you can take the teacher out of the classroom, but you can't take the classroom out of the teacher :) I had to make it a learing experience! When we bought the kit, I also bought some cool plastic pieces that showed each stage of the butterflies life cycle. Throughout our experience, we would get them out and talk about what stage we were at.

We also bought a book about the life cycle. I had to chuckle though because as soon as Quin noticed the stickers in the front of the book, she moved them into a life cycle on the inside front cover and drew a circle around them - that's my girl!!! (I drew the one on the left to show how we had previously been talking about the life cycle)

We have read the book many times since, and she often wonders aloud when we are outside if the butterflies ever found their mommies :)

My Little Sunshines

Thought I would share our August handprint art for the front door :)
Ellery thought she would point out Easton's sunshine for you. Can you tell by the finger smudges all over the glass that they love to touch the art (and that I hate to clean the glass)? ;)