Trip Toy Review

Everyone,

Since nothing super blog worthy happened today (although I just heard Butterfly over the baby monitor singing, "I like to move it move it!") I thought I'd do an update on our last trip and the trip toys we brought along.

Best toys to bring hands down: crayons, note books, coloring books, color wonder markers, paper. I shoved all of these in Butterfly's backpack. She happily colored her new marker books (I had 5 markers and a box of 12 crayons so I knew how many dropped) and colored for the first 2 hours of the first flight. Then the boys helped her color some and ate the free magazines. On the second flight, I had an inspiration and made a bag puppet out of the air sickness bag. Yes, we drew on them and then stuck our hands in them. By the time Butterfly was done coloring (which took almost 4, yes 4!, hours) she had 4 puppets. They were her girls. And it's a good thing that Juice listened to my mom reading "Betsy Tacy" to her because that's what she wanted to play. Now I know what books to get her for her birthday. They also entertained the boys and we got gales of laughter out of them and these puppets.

Worst toys: I took Butterfly to the dollar store and had her pick out a few things to bring. She really wanted a bag of hard plastic rubber duckies and I figured why not. They were hard (think hitting) and kept rolling around when they were dropped. NO FUN. Also, Nana-Great sent us a few soft kittens that meow when you push a button. Professor found the button and pushed it for over an hour. We had people in the front of the plane looking around to see where that stupid cat was. I tuned it out. (These turned out not the best toys to bring to the funeral either...oops.)

Plans for the next trip (which looks like it'll be the end of May! Everyone write it down because I want to see some people...I'm talking to you Splats.): get crayons and notebooks for each of the kids themselves. Yes, we can probably share crayons but everyone needs their own coloring book. I can do that. Drastically cut back on the number of toys we brought. So much stuff they were not interested in playing with at all and it was just dead weight in our already over stuffed bags. Buy smaller magnadoodles because those were good but too bulky.

Now for the review on the Fisher Price Kid Tough DVD player. Out of 5 stars, I give it a 2. Oh it works great. It has a little handle on the top, can be dropped (and was) and is easy for Butterfly to use. It has little feet on the back to pull out and prop up which was enormously helpful. There are speakers so you don't HAVE to have headphones for it but it does well with headphones in.

Deal breakers for it: The battery didn't even last 2 hours. It barely lasted an hour and then kept turning itself on and off for another 45 minutes. Butterfly got frustrated with it. The buttons were too easy to push and we had several swipes by brothers who couldn't wait to get their hands on it. I wish they had a button lock switch I could turn. Also, where you put the dvd player in is right in front and super easy to open. That needs to be able to lock as well.

I didn't buy it at full price. The toy store had them on clearance so I picked her up one and I'm glad I didn't spend full price. I imagine that since Fisher Price is no longer selling these on their official website that they are either pulling them or revamping them. It needs it!

I have an external battery pack that if I can figure out how it works could possible elongate the life of the batter to the full two hours. But it's just one more thing to carry and I'm not sure if I want to.

Honestly my ipod and my computer would have worked just as well for movies and maybe even been a little easier.

My friend who loves me gave me chocolate at the funeral to bribe the children with. I used a little there, but most of it on the plane. Thanks again friend! It was a life saver.

Next carry on bag, crayons and markers and coloring books, check. Movie player, maybe. Ipod and computer, check! Magnadoodles, 1 favorite toy/snuggle toy each, and extra patience. Check!

I think I'm crazy for going in May again but I miss my family. Although this may be the last plane trip we do for a LONG time. It's seriously stressful.

Safire

Time with Family

Everyone,

I spent this morning with my parents.  We tried to go out to breakfast at the cool outdoor store but they don't open until 10am.  My kids can't wait that long for food!  So we ended up at a burger place and enjoyed ourselves. 

My BFF Mink and her two girls, Spider and Fair, came over and we had a fun afternoon playing with them.  My nephew Cappy came to spend the afternoon too.  So we had Butterfly, Spider, Cappy, Pirate, Professor, and Fair all running around.  Fun!  We had lunch together and then the boys went to down for their naps.  Mink and her kids and Butterfly and my Mom all went to the furniture store and wandered around.  We got the girls ice cream cones.  I got Butterfly a night light for here since she says it's too dark to go potty at night.

Speaking of night, Professor woke me up 3 times crying.  He just wanted to be reassured where he was.  The Butterfly woke me up snoring.  She has a cold and I'm sad I couldn't see my sister in law tonight!

We did see Juice's family tonight and that was awesome.  The kids had a great time playing with their cousins.  I talked to Flower and I miss having her at my house.  She'll have to come again soon!

I feel like I've been running hard all day long so I'm off to bed.  More running tomorrow and hopefully some pictures!

Safire

I Just Flew In from Maryland

Everyone,

Boy are my arms tired!  Seriously...I have one bouncy 20 month old boy named Pirate.  And he bounced for a good hour on the plane today.  Lucky me.  I'm exhausted from being up at 3am and not napping at all so this will be short. 

The Goods:
Absolutely no line at security.  We were able to preboard both our flights and got tons of overhead room.  On our flight to Arizona, the plane was empty where we were.  We had 2 rows all to ourselves.  The kids were able to lay down and nap.  The kids were great with the toys we brought and Butterfly didn't even complain about her movie player and it's randomness (more on that later).  Most everyone was understanding of us and ALL of our stuff and kids.  We made it on time, spent a nice evening with my parents.  We had pork roast which is my favorite meal my dad cooks.  Nice to know I am loved.  :)  I bought new jeans and chapstick. 


The Bads:
It took us FOREVER to get through security.  Good thing there was no one behind us.  It is hard to get 3 little people out of their coats and shoes, all 3 of our bags plus 5 backpacks onto the x-ray belt and then back on on the other side.  On the way to Arizona, I had just gotten Professor to sleep on me and I was dozing off.  I heard a tiny voice next to me, "Mommy, wake up!  I need to go potty!"  Ugh...That woke me and Professor up for the rest of the trip and it made me beyond exhausted.  The flight was full to Salt Lake.  I had Pirate this time and he just jumped and jumped and jumped.  Also, hauling 3 kids, 3 bags, 5 back packs and trying to juggle tickets is awful.  I am not doing this again.  I could have only brought half the stuff I brought and survived.

Still, I survived anyway.  The kids ate early and went to bed early.  Hopefully that means they won't be up at 3 or 4 in the morning.  I'm enjoying being at my parents' house and having them there to see all the cute things about my kids in person!  It's one thing to write about them all the time, it's another to actually enjoy the kiddos in real time.

K, falling asleep.  Night!

Safire   

Reminders for Me

Everyone,

A list (I am good at making those!) to me about our little trip.

-Go to bed early!  When you have to be up by 3:30am, it's nice to go to bed around 9pm. 
-Do not stress that your only pair of winter church shoes ripped open on Sunday.  You can actually go to the store and buy things at a physical store.  The internet is not your friend when you have a close deadline.  Also, if you do not find something, realize that your mother has this week off and might love to go shoe shopping with you.  Possibly your Nana too.
-Do not stress that the only pair of jeans you own ALSO ripped.  (Juice got clothes for Christmas...maybe I should have asked for some too?)  Knees don't really feel cold, right?  Edited to add: Yes they do!  New jeans in my future.  See above for information about shopping.
-Do try to remember everything you need to remember.  It will be early when you leave.  Get everything ready tonight.
-Do not try to clean the entire house before you go.  You can leave the house messy.  You can clean when you get home.  Stop using your new steam cleaner for a few days.  The thing needs a break!  And you don't have to sanitize the house right now.
-Do try and finish the laundry today, however.  There is nothing good about mildew smelling clothes in your washer when you come home.
-Find time to give Juice a back rub.  He is using his vacation to shelp you and the kids across the country so you can spend time with your family and hasn't complained about it yet.  Nice guy.  Gold star for him.

Safire 

Changes

Everyone,

This is a picture of my dad and my boys. They are all playing the Wii and loving it.

This was in October when my parents were here for their annual visit to us. This was the visit that the kids ended up totally sick and we hardly did anything but play on the Wii and hold sick babies. It's a good thing my parents come often and have seen a ton out here!

Anyway, since this picture has been taken, there has been a change. To my Dad. He is now an orphan. My grandpa died in 2004. And on New Year's Eve, my grandma passed away. She had a stroke. So now my Dad is parent-less.

We are off to the funeral in a few days. I'll be taking my computer along to (hopefully) be able to blog while we are there. Until then, I am stressing (slightly) about flying with these boys. Anyone have any tips to deal with 20 month old twins on a 5+ hour flight?

Safire

Utah Days Too Many To Count

Everyone,

We really have been having so much fun here in Utah.  We've been really busy and I'll try to add some pictures in this post.  We'll see if I have enough time though.  This is going to be very very long and I understand if you just scroll through the pictures.  Also, a big announcement at the end!

The zoo was fun.  We went with my very very good friend Zuke from high school and his family.  (Zuke and I were stand partners in orchestra.)  Their boys get along really good with Butterfly and they ran the zoo like it was a race course.  We saw lots of animals and even had the thrilling moment of the cougar really wanting to eat their baby girl.  Apparently bringing a cougar out of it's den, having it hiss and snarl at her, and try to pounce on her happens with every cougar they've ever seen.  She better not go to BYU.  (Mascot is a cougar.)

That day Juice and I were able to get to the temple and out to eat for a date.  I love hanging out with Juice.  He's fun. 

Also that day Juice's nephews came over to my parents house and played rock band in my dad's theater.  They had a great time!

Thursday I watched my nephew Cappy in the morning and then we spent the day with Juice's family.  We took his nephews (minus one) geocaching.  We took family pictures (everyone, minus my sil Splats and her family) and Juice stayed up talking till 6am with everyone.  I took the kids home around 9pm.

Friday we had all of our friends over for a BBQ and had a great time!  At one point there were 13 kids at my mom's...all 5 years old and under.  You'd think we all had babies at the same time!  :)  Here are all the kids, minus 2 who left before I thought to take a picture.  All the older kids enjoyed playing in the sprinklers outside and we all sat and talked about old friends, houses, jobs, etc.  I had a great time.

Saturday we went on our annual trip to Cabela's for all you can eat breakfast.  We fed the fish, saw some animal dioramas, shopped for shorts, and saw some more fish.  Juice and I were able to find some shorts for him to wear since he ripped a hole in his only pair.  I was able to go to a birthday party for my BFF Mink's little girl Fair.  (She was born a few days before Christmas and so she's celebrating her half birthdays in June.)  It poured cats and dogs that day.  Juice went up to the hospital to see Seraph who was not doing too well.  She is better but still needs your prayers.  We also went out to eat with my family.  I had 3 people come up and pat me on the shoulder and tell me, "Bless you."  I must have seemed a little harried that day.

Sunday was Father's Day and we went to church with Juice's family.  I am starting to count down the time until nursery because these boys are driving me crazy in church.  We also went over to my Nana's house.  My aunt counted and out of 39 members of my family, 37 showed up.  My cousin S (who fixed my tire last time) had to be taken to the hospital because a bike tire blew up in his face and he hurt his eye.  He's alright.  The paramedics were a big hit for the little kids...and some of the big "kids". 

Monday I met up with my old college roommates at a park.  We had a picnic lunch and I think I aged 3 years trying to keep the boys from killing themselves.  At least they aren't going to die but I think I am!  We did the same thing last year, only this time around there were 2 new people in the picture.

We took my family pictures that night and they turned out pretty cute.  If you'd like to see them...just email me safirecat at gmail dot com and I'll send you the link.  We also went and visited my sister in law Splats and her family that evening.  We had fun playing!

Tuesday I went to see my cousins and their kids.  It was fun to have 8 kids (Butterfly being the oldest) and 3 cousins and one cousin in law.  We had a blast at the park near the house and had a very nice lunch.  I was glad to get Butterfly to meet some of her second cousins because they are all her age and love princesses, just like she does.

I raced home to put kids to sleep and also get to a whale movie with BFF Mink.  I think we only missed the first few minutes which is good for me.  Poor Mink...I feel bad making her late ALL THE TIME.  The movie was in 3-D and I only got a few of the things in 3-D since I apparently have a hard time seeing artifical 3-D.  It was fun to hang out with her without our kids and walk around Thanksgiving Point.

My brother and sil came over for dinner again and we had a nice time being together.  This was Juice's last night in Utah.  He left at 6am the next morning.

Wednesday I was supposed to go see another cousin but things kept getting in the way.  Instead I took Butterfly horseback riding and out for ice cream.  (Her bribe for being good for the photographer on Monday.)  She had a great time and road Bailey, my uncle's horse in his pasture and in his yard.  My feet have apparently changed since my pregnancy and my boots gave me HUGE blisters on my heals.  They hurt so so bad.  But we had a great time with the horses. 

Thursday I spent the morning with my Nana again and no disasters at her house.  That evening Mink and I went horseback riding with my uncle's horses again...but without kids.  We rode 2 miles down the trail by their house and back.  My horse was very skittery, but I had such a good time.  I love riding.  I wish I could do it more often.  I think I may need new boots though because my blisters were oozing blood after this ride.  Worth it.  :)

Friday morning Mink and I drove to This Is the Place Hertiage Park for a breakfast they were having there.  Well, the breakfast was over by the time we got there and it was 20 dollars a kid!  No way we were paying that!  So we drove up the canyon to a little tiny diner for breakfast.  Well, they couldn't seat 7 (how many we had...kids and all) so we left.  But as we were leaving, a big group left too.  So we went back into the diner and took the table for 6 and held baby Fair.  The biscuts were amazing!  We left with pretty much everyone crying and a huge mess on the floor.  Back to the park for some pony rides and baby animal petting.  We also had really good ice cream, rode the train, bought things at the general store, and didn't spend nearly enough time there. 

Saturday we were supposed to go to Promintary Point but recieved a phone call from my other grandmother's nursing home.  She had been taken to the hospital unresponsive.  My dad went out there to be with her and my mom and I went to the BYU bookstore.  Their toffee peanuts are amazing!  We got ice cream at the creamery and dinner at our favorite sandwich shop in Provo.  My grandmother is doing fine but she had a bad infection.

That night my dad and I did go out to the Great Salt Lake and stayed until almost midnight taking pictures.  We almost got eaten by bugs but luckily my Dad had bug stuff in his camera bag.  

Sunday (yesterday) we went to hear my brother and sil sing in church.  It sounded very nice!  I spent most of the meeting walking the boys in the hall with my mom.  Zuke and his family came over for dinner and the kids played.  We had amazing steaks (thanks Dad) and stayed up talking way too late.  But it was fun.

Today the plan is for me to go out to lunch with Mink for our annual girly lunch without kids and then Bee (remember Bee?) is taking Butterfly ice skating.  I will not be skating because my blisters are still really bad.  My mom has this whole week off so I'm really looking forward to doing some fun things with her.  I do miss Juice and I'm getting anxious to see him again in about a week.  I can't believe our time here is almost over!

If you've made it this far...congrats!  Here's the annoucement.  Remember this girl?

Guess who is coming to stay with us for the rest of the summer?!  I am SO EXCITED!  I love Flower.  And I love her family for letting her come with us on our driving and for letting us keep her for over a month and then put her on a plane by herself to come home.  We are going to be able to do so many cool things this summer now.

Safire 

Utah Day 8

Everyone,

Today we had nothing scheduled. It was a weird day for us...we often have every day scheduled. We did think that Juice could paint my parents' deck today but with the weird weather and rain Utah has been getting we figured today would not be a good day for deck painting. (Good thing too because there was a huge thunderstorm this afternoon.)

We thought a movie might be something fun to do instead. We had been wanting to take Butterfly to see "Up" for awhile. What better time to take her when we have built in babysitters for the boys! Because really, movies for them are no an option until they are older. Juice's parents watched the boys this afternoon while we took Butterfly and my mom to see "Up". It's very cute but very adult in places and pretty scary at the end. At least, Butterfly told me it was kind of scary at the end. If the screaming and crawling up my arm to bury her head in my neck wasn't an indication of being scary, I don't know what is.

We spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa (thanks for a fun afternoon!) and got the most awesome grape juice from Grandma to help with our sickies. Yes, we are still sick here. Everyone has runny noses (except for me, I have a sore throat and ear pressure) and Juice seems to be coming off the worst in our little family. Sadly, my dad has pneumonia AGAIN (I think this makes 4 times in a year?) so we are trying not to spread the love.

No one got a good night's sleep last night so I'm hoping that tonight will remedy that. I'm off to bed!

Safire

Utah Day 7

Everyone,

It's a dinosaur! Today we went to the dinosaur museum with my BFF Mink and her two girls. We had so much fun looking at all the dinosaur bones and playing in the wet sand exhibit. (Which Professor promptly ate and grossed Mink out.)

Still it's an awesome museum for around here. We have been to several museums in the past considering the Smithsonian is close for us in Maryland and this one is good.

Juice has been going to the Draper Temple every day in the morning. It's so amazing to be able to walk to the temple. I can see it out my window now and it's very beautiful.

The kids took good naps this afternoon and Juice and I played Rock Band. It's fun to have so much time with him during the day. And our days aren't terribly crowded with things to do so we can spend some actual time together.

It also hailed here this afternoon and I had to explain to Butterfly what the "little balls that are coming out of the sky" were. She's observant.

Safire

Utah Day 6

Everyone,

I've been in Utah for almost a week now. The time seems to be flying by. There is so much I'd like to do and see and I'm anxious to get out and do it. But the kids need time to adjust. I think Professor needs it the most. He has been cross, cranky, clingy all day today. They all have small colds (lucky us, sick AGAIN) but he is really unhappy. Poor kid.

Today my SIL Angel (married to my only sibling) and I went shopping. I don't think I've bought clothes for myself in about 2 years. My church skirt I brought along has a huge hole in the back right across my butt. So. I need something else to wear. We went out shopping today and I think I found something fairly cute. It's knee length and I never wear knee length stuff. My legs are so long I always think that I am showing an insane amount of skin. This one isn't too bad. My mom watched the boys and Butterfly and Juice spent the afternoon at his parents house. It was fun to get out with just Angel and no kids. She got a skirt too.

My mom went through her closet and was cleaning out a bunch of stuff. And hey, I fit into a bunch of stuff she was planning on giving away. So I got a few new capris and a new pair of shorts, a skirt, and a shirt. Nice! Shopping without money is always the best kind of shopping, don't you think? :)

Safire

Utah Day 5

Everyone,

Today was just a down day for us. I thought the kids could use a day at home playing instead of being in the car for a week. The boys took their two naps and went to bed at about 6:30pm. Of course, they screamed for awhile before they fell asleep, but we're getting back into our normal schedule.

My best friend Mink came over with her two kids, Spider and Fair. This is the first time I met Fair and she is so cute! She is 5 and a half months old and so smiley! I love smiley babies. Spider and Butterfly were playing okay together. They are about a year apart. It's interesting to see the difference in age. Butterfly wants to play with Spider but Spider wants to play with whatever Butterfly is playing with. As in she wanted to take the doll that Butterfly was playing with. Still, we had a nice time together and enjoyed our lunch together.

Juice and I were able to get out of the house 2 times today without the kids. It's so nice to have baby sitters in the same house. We went out geocaching but didn't find it. Tonight we went on a date to get some ice cream and found another geocache. We also went to buy dog food. We are so romantic. :)

Safire

Utah Day 3

Everyone,

Why is it the last few miles of a trip always seem to take the longest? At least this time the last few miles brought us Juice and a place for the boys to run around in. They found all the toys at Nana's house and are happily sleeping in the same room. Happy for the boys, not so happy for Butterfly. They had baths and turned the water a pretty pink color. All that red rock dust from southern Utah makes a nice color when mixed with water.

This morning we spent the time loading up the car (a lot more involved than you think) and driving around to see Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point. We did some geocaching in Dead Horse Point and saw a very cool arch in Canyonlands. (Yesterday we hiked through Arches...it was windy and the hikes we went on were always longer than we thought they'd be.)

I got some great pictures, I think. I haven't really looked through the ones I got today.

The kids were okay until we got on the road to get home. I wanted to drive but that lasted maybe 10 miles. The kids are just used to me being back with them and so I fetched toys and broke up fights between Pirate and Butterfly or Pirate and Professor. It's hard to be the kid in the middle car seat.

Now we are at my parents' house with their really nice soft bed and we are all beat. More tomorrow!

Safire

Utah Day 2

Everyone,
Safire

One Month Away

Everyone,

I know I've talked a little bit about my Ultimate Road Trip 2009 but it hit me this week that it is a month away. One month. As in 30 days. In 30 days, I will be loading 3 small children, one dog, one Grandpa, one awesome BOB stroller and a boat load of stuff into Fern Tree our van and driving to my parents house. I'm slightly petrified.

A huge shout out to my Dad who is willing to take the time to drive out with me and home with me. He's going to have to put up with a lot of crying, yelling, song singing, diapers, stops, and kid movies playing in the background. There will be messes to wipe up, snacks to pass out, and toys to find, all while traveling 65 mph on the freeway.

Unless he's driving then I imagine we'll be going a tiny bit faster.

So, stops include Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Moab Utah where all the sandstone arches are. I will have to be sure to pack my camera. We'll be staying at my parents' house for 4 weeks, and then making a huge push to get back to Maryland as fast as possible. Instead of the week it's going to take us to get there, we hope to get back in 3 days. Juice will be able to take 2 weeks and join us in Salt Lake.

We are really excited to see our family. I hope that Juice's sister and her family can all come from Idaho and we can get together with all of his brothers and sisters and all of Butterfly's cousins. We haven't done that since before I had Butterfly. I think it's been 4 years since I've seen his sister. I'm not sure if she's even met Butterfly, let alone the boys.

We are also excited to see our friends. My friend Mink and her little girls, Zuke and his family, and others. I'd like to take Butterfly fishing again. Maybe I can talk my dad into taking us camping one night, although he may have enough of us in the car. I am so looking forward to being close to a temple and having some one to watch the kids in the same house we are staying in. I'm looking forward to playing rock band with my brother and doing some shopping with my Mom. I'd like to spend some time with my grandparents and take pictures of the valley at night.

I am in full planning mode for this trip. Okay, I'm also in slight panic mode for it as well. The car needs to be looked at. I need to find a place to put Soot in a kennel in Moab since they don't allow dogs in the park. (We left her for a month last year...this year it'll just be easier to take her with. Hopefully.) I need to figure out what I am taking and how to fit it into my van. I'll need to stop our mail, milk delivery, and Netflix for the month. I'll need to find a sub for my Sunday School class. I need to get a few new toys and movies for the kids. I need to see if I left my sanity in the ocean last summer or what.

Anyone have any tips for making this trip as smooth as possible?

Safire

Utah Days NO MORE

Everyone,

We are home. And I am beat. Here is a list of the flight details in bullet form.

• 3 checked bags, each weighing 49 lbs
  
• 3 carry on bags
• 2 carry on babies
• 1 cranky/sick preschooler (yes, she threw up again before we left!)
• 1 hungry and tired mommy (my breakfast time was spent cleaning up Butterfly)
• 1 very tired daddy (we love rock band!)
• 5.5 hours on the plane
• 4 naps taken
• 1 drink spilled (by mommy)
• 16 crackers with peanut butter eaten
• 4 cookies eaten
• 1.5 movies watched
• 10 pages of my book read
• 5 people questioned the twin status
• 3 people randomly started conversations because of the boys
• 1 screaming toddler (not mine)
• 2 adults, 2 infants, one preschooler and 6 bags to get to the car
• 1 beautiful looking van
• several dollars to spring said van
• 250 lbs of stuff to get to said van from baggage claim by ourselves
• 30 miles of driving
• 1 stuffy house
• 1 table full of mail
• 1 excited puppy
• 2 tired adults
• 3 awake children

We miss our family already.

Safire

Utah Day 28- Happy Birthday Me!

Everyone,

It was so much fun to have my birthday with my family this year! It seems a little small when people just call (I do love the calls in Maryland...it just seems to be missing something) and this year I had a blast! We had everyone over for cake and ice cream. That was fun. Butterfly helped me pick out the cake and we had way too much ice cream. But it looked so good at the store! I only had a tiny helping of it all because I was still feeling a little ill. Butterfly ate the frosting off of her piece and then ran around playing with Bee and Brother Bee and other cousins who came.

My family left around 4:30-5pm or so and we had a few friends stay longer. We were trying to play rock band on my dad's big theater downstairs but the sync was off so we could never do it. Once all the family left and my dad fiddled with it more, we had a blast! Juice's two best friends came and they stayed till almost midnight playing the game. My BFF Mink came but had to go because of a prior commitment. I am going to miss her!

After I got my fill of rock band, I went upstairs to take care of babies and to hang out on the computer with my mom looking at pictures. I am late for bed so this will be kind of short. We leave early early tomorrow morning. I think I am going to miss being here.

Presents included: a new card game (thanks Aunt Bee!), some money (thanks Nana and Grandpa Great and Grandma and Grandpa!), a new dress (thanks Mom! I can't wait to use it.) and new clothes for my kids (thanks again Nana and Grandpa Great!). A good day.

Safire

Utah Day 25- Sick!

Everyone,

Ugh, hate being sick. And being sick to my stomach is the worst kind of sick for me. I did not sleep hardly at all last night because my tummy was rolling and Professor was needy. I couldn't stand up without feeling woosy so Juice did most of the getting and soothing babies for me. He is beat this morning and wonders where I get all my energy. Me too sometimes.

Sadly, I had to cancel my girly lunch with Mink because I just don't think I can eat anything stronger than toast. I'm spending the day in bed with hopes that I will be able to go visit my grandparents tomorrow. And hopefully have that lunch on Friday.

We leave on Sunday. I can't believe how fast this trip has gone. I am looking forward to being home with my own house and my own things and my puppy. Soot has been staying at a friend's house (an earning opportunity for their 12 year old son...cheaper dog care for us) and we miss her a lot. I also miss my own car and my stroller. And my friends, my ward, my book club gals, my mom's group gals, my bed, everything.

I am not looking forward to being without help during the day. Oh I'll keep myself busy with other people and hopefully they can help out some. But I'm going to miss my mom and Juice being around so much. Or Flower being there. Or Bee. Anyone want to come and stay with me for a bit?

Well, since I'm stuck in bed I might be able to read some of my book club book. Hey, I might actually finish this one. It will be the first one I finished since the boys were born. Here's to hoping.

Safire

Day 24- Date Night

Everyone,

Today Juice and I ran all over the valley looking for this open beta of the game he played at his sister's house on Sunday. We finally found it, along with all of our dinner stuff for the night. We were able to leave all the kids with my mom on one run and had a nice little store date. Not going to have ANY of those when we get back to Maryland.

And my mom had Cappy at the time and told me that triplets would be challenging. No joke!

Anyway, after a nice dinner with my mom (Dad is out of town), we were able to put the kids to bed early and attempt at another date in my dad's theater room. Well, there was lots of crying from the boys, burnt popcorn from me, and a really sad movie that we had never seen before (Bridge to Terabitha). I had read the book so I knew what was coming but my goodness...the sadness! Professor ended up joining us for the last 45 minutes or so. What a snuggler this baby is.

I'm not feeling great so this is a short post.

Safire

Utah Day 22- Oh What A Sunday

Everyone,

Wow it's been one busy Sunday. We got up early early (6am I started feeding babies!) and were able to make it on time to 9am church several miles away. My cousin was blessing his new baby boy and we were able to be there. My grandpa mentioned that we took up 4 big pews with our family alone. It's great! (I think me and my kids and my stuff took up about 3/4th of a pew ourselves. Who knew how much stuff twins generated!)

After, we were able to go to a brunch at my cousin's house. Butterfly had a great time running around with Bee and Brother Bee and I spent probably an hour locked in the back room nursing babies. I was a little sad I couldn't be out chatting with the rest of the family, but I was happy my cousin's wife had a really great book on her bedside table. Has anyone read Emma by Anita Stanfield? I'm interested in finishing it. It's also reinforced the fact that I really should just carry books around with me and read whenever I am nursing. That way I don't end up staring at the walls.

From my cousin's house, we drove over to my SIL's house and surprised them. (She forgot we were coming.) It was really cute because Butterfly knocked on their door and my bil opened it. She just walked in and he stood there a little stunned and said, "Okay." We then showed up at the door and he was all smiles and instantly knew who Butterfly was. I thought it was pretty funny that he just let her in.

We had a great time playing with cousins and more twins for the afternoon. Juice played a computer game the whole time (mostly) with Beautiful Rabbit who is 8, and Splats (my sil) and I wrangled the rest of the kids. Good times! We also went to the park and had about half an hour of play before we had to head on off to our next stop.

Yes, we had one more place to go. We went over to my brother's house for dinner. He had some yummy chicken and soup and asparagus for us. Tasty! We figured out a way to get Butterfly to eat asparagus (dip it in butter, her favorite thing right now) and our little boys played on the play mat. We then played a few songs on rock band (so funny to see my dad try and play the drums!) but we had to cut that short because someone coughButterflycough threw a major tantrum and ripped the drumsticks out of my hands. So then I got a little mad and told her we were leaving until she could say she was sorry. And then dragged her limp and sobbing little body down the stairs and out the door. As we were leaving, she started yelling she was sorry but sadly, the time had passed and we had to go. I really was looking forward to playing more rock band. Maybe another time.

A very busy but fun day. Our last Sunday here!

Safire

Utah Day 20- Sprinklers!

Everyone,

The first week we were here, friends came over and ran through the sprinklers with us. That was the first time Butterfly had run through them and she was thrilled with it. Everywhere we went she pointed out the sprinklers and wanted to go through them. (And I must admit, Utah has a lot of sprinklers. The only place I've ever seen them in Maryland has been the DC Temple.)

Today we were able to let her do that with the same friends she ran through them with in the first place. We went over to their house for dinner and had a great time! We talked, ate, the kids played, the babies were cute and a good time was had by all I think.

We were supposed to go to a wedding thing today too for Juice's cousin but that kind of fell through due to the fact that we didn't have information on where to go in time for us to actually get there with everyone on time. Oh well. I'm sure the bride didn't even notice we weren't there. Hope it was beautiful!

Safire

Utah Day 21- Fishing with Grandpa

Everyone,

This is probably the main event of our trip. Since last year, my dad and I have been planning this fishing trip to our regular lake in the Uinta Mountains. When I was in high school, we would go every year (or close to it) to Beth Lake. We fished some, hiked some, and mostly came back empty handed. I think I've only ever seen a fish caught from there 3 or 4 times. But we still go because we love the lake and love the tradition.

Last year we tried to go to Beth Lake with Butterfly and start going with her. But it was so early in the season that we got near it and couldn't drive the car any further without chains. The snow was very deep. And I bet the water was still frozen in some places. We settled for walking around Trial Lake that year. My dad sunk to his hips in snow that time and we figured we should probably go before we lost Butterfly in a snow drift. On the way down, we saw a sign for a little fish farm and thought it would be good to stop and let Butterfly actually catch a fish. We did. Butterfly talked about it for months after.

So this time we planned to go up to Beth Lake, fish for a bit, and then stop back down at the fish farm and catch a few more fish. Best friends Mink and Spider decided to come along. We got a late start. Okay, a really late start. I think we left over an hour after I had planned. By the time we got up to the Uintas, there was time enough for a short picnic at the lake instead of actual time spent at the lake.

And by the time we got to Trial Lake (about 20 minutes down from Beth Lake) we decided to just stop. So we had another visit to Trial Lake this year. Minus the 5 feet drifts! But it was just as cold, if not colder. Wow it was cold. We had planned on eating at the lake and ended up eating in the cars because we were so cold. My mom took the old sleeping bag that we had brought up to sit down on and wrapped it around herself to keep warm. This was the sleeping bag that had been sitting in my parents garage for ages. This was the same sleeping bag that my mom said it was a good thing none of us had to sleep in it and we were just using it for ground cover. She wrapped her self in the thing. It was that cold.

Dad and Butterfly did a few casts out into the lake, we froze and ate lunch in the car. We then proceeded to drive the wrong way home and realized that they have finally paved the road to Beth Lake and we probably could have made good time going up there. Oh well.

We stopped off at the fish farm and got all set up to fish. All it is is an old guy who lives there and has 2 ponds. One with big fish, and one with little fish. He and his wife were sitting on the porch in their rockers as we drove up. He smiled when he asked us if we wanted worms. He left us alone next to his ponds as we fished. He smiled when we cleaned the 2 fish we caught. He smiled when Juice caught a fish with his bare hands! He waved us on our way from his porch. I don't know why but I've been thinking about him and thinking he probably has a very good life.

The two fish we caught were big; a 14 inch and a 16 inch trout. It took us maybe 20 minutes to catch them. We gave them to my in laws who love fish. Juice wanted to know if the guy had actually cleaned them because they were still thrashing around as he gave them to his parents. That was over an hour since they had been caught. Let's all say it together: eww!!

After fishing, we cleaned up and went to a party at my Uncle's house. They have a new baby horse and I got to pet her and run my hands over her sweet baby horse spiky mane and pet the other horses. I miss being around them. (The horses and my family.)

We tried to take some family pictures but they didn't turn out all that great. Still, we tried. We also tried to get all of the great-grand kids together for a picture and that was funny. In every picture someone was blurry except for the two oldest kids who could actually hold still. It was still very difficult to do with 4 infants (all boys!), 3 pre-schoolers (2 boys and Butterfly), a toddler (girl), and 2 school aged kids (girl and boy). I think we got one okay one. We stayed longer than I wanted to but had a good time anyway. We stayed up way too late trying to get everyone to bed. (Which is why this is 3 days late. It also put me late for all the other posts and now I have to play catch up which I hate! This is why I'm kind of terrible at writing in my paper journal all the time. I hate missing days and then I feel bad I miss them and want to go back and write about them but I'm irritated that I feel like I have to do that so I just don't and then I never write.)

We had a great time fishing and a great party after!

Safire