Happy Halloween 2010

Jennifer's wish this time last year was that we all dress up as a theme. We thought we had a great idea. We had purchased some dalmatian costumes from another triplet family last spring. They were 18-24 month size so it should work out to be the right fit. Jennifer could dress up as Cruella DeVil and I could be a dog catcher. As we have learned planning in advance is not so easy with triplets. Jennifer put the costume on Charlotte about a month ago and it was a little too big but not so big we could not use them. About two weeks ago we put them on all three. Charlotte loved hers. Ellie was not as happy but was not tearing it off. Evan threw a huge fit. He wanted nothing to do with the costume. It's not that he as anything against dogs - he loves them. He is just going through a phase. He wants nothing to do with long pants, long sleeves, socks, or anything on his head. This led us to have to change our approach. While we were on vacation Jennifer was able to slip away to the outlets and they had a Disney Store. She found the cutest Minnie Mouse costumes for the girls but nothing that fit Evan's defiant attitude. Then she saw some Woody PJ's. They were long legged and long sleeved but he would eventually get use to it - as he does with his other clothes. It was not the end result we were looking for but I think they turned out great.

Here's Ellie.

Here's Charlotte

Here's one of Evan.

The kids had a blast at Hazelween this year. They were all over the place. Jennifer and her Dad joined me in a 1 hour scramble to keep up with them. One game they got to play was the "Duck Pond". Simple concept. Walk over, pick up a duck, see the number, get your tickets, and go to the next game. Simple concept - wrong. The trips wanted to swim with the ducks. Evan had one foot in the water before we could even realize what was going on. They completely took over the game. I ended up taking the pool outside and dumping the water. They could still play the game and eventually moved on to other games. At the end of the event, they got to do "Trunk or Treat". They cruised by the cars in their wagons collecting bucket full of candy and apples.

Maybe next year you will see 3 dalmatians

Pumpkin Patch 2nd Anniversary

Do you remember the post last year? (Click on "post" to see last years trip to Burt's Farm - hit the back button to get back to this post)

We thought of going to another patch that was closer but it was closed on the day we had planned the trip. So back to Burt's Farm. It was a lot different this year. The added element of mobile children was very interesting. Instead of pulling them around in a small red wagon we let them run free. Evan was first to explore. He was off to find the biggest pumpkin - at least the one with the biggest pooled water sitting on top of it. It had just rained and rained a little while we were there so the big ones would have water sitting where the stem was removed. They all got the hang of splashing it out and would move from one pumpkin to the next.

Our little pumpkins playing with great big pumpkins.

Evan finds him a couple keepers. The one standing up is a little rotten but I guess we'll take her home anyway.

It's a good thing we picked a weekday and a rainy one as well. Very little crowds made it easier to let them explore on their own.

Charlotte (Miss Priss) ventured off on her own and found a nice big mud puddle to jump in. It was a surprise because 2 minutes earlier she was flipping out over a couple of pieces of hay that had gotten into her wagon. She held her feet up because she did not want to touch it. I guess not to prissy for a little mud jumping.

Evan tried his best to move the giant squash. But no luck.

Ellie got a kick out of riding one. Her legs were clinched into the sides of that pumpkin like she was riding a horse. Make sure to check out last years shot of her on a pumpkin - it is the same excited face.

Pick a pack of pumpkins!

A few more shot to capture the moment!

Now Jennifer is just showing off her new editing techniques!!!

Look at all those pumpkins!!!

We were able to stop someone to take our family shot. Evan did nothing but frown at the stranger.
Where's Waldo?

Let's try this again...

We wanted to plan a get-a-way for our anniversary so about a two months ago Jennifer started looking for a place to go. She first searched Gatlinburg, TN. I would get home and she would have found a deal here or a deal there but nothing we could settle on. Then one day she called me at work very excited and said she wanted to go back to Myrtle Beach. She had looked at some places and it was much cheaper than Gatlinburg since it was the off season and leaf season is the peak for the mountains. So another beach trip is planned. So what lessons did we learn from the first trip? 1. Don't let me pick the place to stay - price does matter and being packed into a sardine can is not much fun. Jennifer had several places to choose and condo pricing was extremely affordable. 2. Try not to go the hottest week of the year. Late Oct - warmer than average but no where near as hot as last trip. 3. You don't have to pack everything. Shorter trip equals less stuff. The truck was full but it was not over bearing. 4. Location, Location, Location. Even though traffic was light it was nice to be right in the middle of everything we would consider doing.

We did learn from our previous lesson and planned the perfect trip and pulled it off. Here's the kids checking out the view from the balcony.

Eating on the balcony be cause we want to - not because there is not enough room in the trailer.

They loved the elevator. The watched and tried to count down or up and Ellie was excited every time the door opened.

It was warm enough hit the beach but not the water. We had all the room we needed to let them run free and they loved it.On our second day at the beach, the super low tide left behind some beach pools. Perfect for the kids to splash and play. Little to no wind and the water was warm from the sun.
Evan takes a shot at catching a seagull. He was not successful but the event did give us and the others on the beach some entertainment.Super cool showing off their shades.
Evan paying tribute to the baby blog. Charlotte was much happier. She did not get as close to the water as Ellie and Evan, but she did have a blast.This was definitely no Pirateland Campground. My first beach trip post did not include many pictures or comments about our accommodations because we choose to forget about my poor decision on booking the "trailer" after day one. Our condo was spacious and very luxurious. Our master bed room closet was the size of the room the kids stayed in at Pirateland. And we did not have to sleep on a full size mattress on the floor!!!

Pictures for our trip in June

The trailer

The babies' room

Our bed from their room in the floor of the living room

Back to Now!

We let the kids take turns shooting our picture. Ellie did the best - don't you think! Just kidding - Jennifer set it up on a table.

Indoor lazy river!!!
And heated indoor pool!
On the way home we stopped to visit with some friends in Columbia. We did a lunch/play date at the Chick-fil-A. We met up with Ashley and Anna Lou Lindler and Elizabeth, Calvin and Collin Smith. The kids loved playing together.

Where will we go next?

10 Year Anniversary

Ten years ago I was lucky enough to marry my best friend. It was a beautiful fall day - great for pictures. The changing leaves were a perfect back drop.

Jennifer and her bridesmaids
The beautiful bride
The happy couple
This makes over twenty years together. Hard to believe we have been together more years than we have been apart. The next ten years will be a little different, but we are ready for the adventure.