Okay- I'm a slacker. We've had a great summer and I've yet to share any of it with the 3 people that read this blog. It has been so much fun hanging with the babies. Now I'm down to less than a week at home with them. We are still nanny-less...I keep thinking Ed McMahon will show up with my Publisher's Clearinghouse check so I don't have to work anymore...he probably needs it more than I do now.
I'm recovering from surgery in a house with my Mom, Mother-in-law, 3 babies, one husband and as of 7 PM- no air conditioning...things could get ugly.
I'll fill you in on a few of our field trips this summer...
The beach:
We headed out to the "Grand" Strand to meet my Dad and Deborah on July 4th. Isabella threw up less than 30 minutes into the trip. Luckily for the babies we had the DVD player loaded with Wiggles videos to occupy the next 5 hours in the van...If you haven't heard "Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy" sung by the Aussie sensation- you don't know what you are missing. We unloaded the car in the heat of the day and headed to the pool after baby-proofing the wicker-laden condo. You've never seen fireworks like M.B. on July 4th. As far as the eye can see on the beach are people who apparently cashed out mutual funds to buy fireworks and Budweiser. We had the best fireworks show from our balcony. They literally exploded at our eye level. John was caught in the crossfire and got hit in the arm by a stray missile. It left a bruise.
We stayed on the 14th floor and quickly realized that the babies did not like riding in the elevator- see video... the great thing about our hotel was that the elevator stopped on every floor which only prolonged the screaming fits of rage. (One note about staying on the 14th floor with 3 babies- I didn't sleep the entire time we were there. I knew they were going to get out on the deck and fall...even though they would have to climb out of their pack-n-plays, open the bedroom door, walk down the tile hall over numerous pieces of furniture, drag a chair over to the sliding door to unlock it- then pull it open... I was certain it could happen.)
Being at the beach with the babies was so much fun. It took 3 trips to get everything set up before we brought the babies down. John and I used to complain about dragging a heavy cooler through the sand when we were childless. Actually our system made the days at the beach quite enjoyable for all involved.
The babies loved the water and the sand. (Ben- not so much). They enjoyed dipping their graham crackers into the sand and shoving them into their mouths- then washing it down with a sand coated sippy cup. Mmmmmm.
Isabella was our little dare devil. She braved the waves like a babe on the cover of Surfer Magazine. Will loved it, too! He was into the babe watch with his dad and grandfather. Ben- hated the water!!!! He clung to me like a rabid raccoon. He was able to relax a little in the pool.
All in all- it was a great trip. John and I got time to ourselves. Grandparents got to spoil babies...We may even brave it again next year.
Our trip to Johnson City-
The babies enjoyed their first Rock Creek outing. (One of my favorite places). Mom and Bill were camping there and we went for a cookout. Munner joined us and provided the smoke for the campfire. The babies enjoyed the woods and the their first smores.
We also went to the Knoxville Zoo. We wanted to make sure that our children understood that animals were not just taxidermied decor that hangs in our house. We wanted to show them that animals also live in cages and behind thick plate glass. The babies loved it and so did we-although the triplets had their picture taken by as many people as the elephants. No- we aren't a roadside attraction.
I had no idea that our children might pick up bad habits from the animals in the zoo. The chimpanzees launched poop at us- missing us by an inch. They also have the same Elmo toy that our babies play with on a daily basis. Coincidence? I don't think so. That tells you a lot about the mentality of toddlers.
When we arrived at the gorilla habitat we were greeted by the caretaker. Apparently the gorillas became jealous and one slammed it's body against the glass right in front of us. I screamed- which scared Ben to death. He started crying. I think the gorilla felt badly about it because he came over and looked at us like he was remorsefull.
After a successful zoo trip we thought we'd try it again at the North Carolina Zoo. While a beautiful zoo- it's not condusive to a Peg Perego with 75 lbs. of babies in the middle of July. The exhibits are uphill both ways. We'll go back when the kiddos are old enough to walk the entire zoo and push mommy and daddy.
Lawrenceburg:
We coincided our trip to Lawrenceburg with the Boy Scout Conference in Nashville. We go to a farm to see cows- they were only at the fence once the entire time we were there. Our kids did enjoy watching the geese on the lake. The would point and say "gee". They also got the band back together with Isabella on the tupperware, Ben played the spoons and Will banged on the pots and pans. Grandmother, Grandaddy and Great Grandaddy Norwood watched the babies for a few days while John and I went to the conference. Although I almost had a nervous breakdown leaving the babies for the first time- that feeling seemed to diminish about 5 minutes after saying goodbye. I actually put on my grown-up hat and went out on the town. We stayed at the Opryland Hotel with 5,000 other professional Scouts and their angry wives. We actually sat down and ate grown up food. Our meals actually included conversation and lasted longer than 5 minutes. We got to see the author of Flags of our Fathers speak. Josh Turner sang (I think he sang- I was too busy staring at his blue eyes). Dr. Kevin Leman was the highlight of the trip. this guy is hilarious! check him out if you get a chance.
I slept in until 7 each morning. Let me tell ya- I was enjoying it!
I envisioned the rendevous with the babies to be a little more meaningful- they looked at me like i was a stranger. ha! I think they had a little too much fun and didn't want to go back with mean old mom.
Well- that's our summer in a nutshell. There were plenty more bug bites, etc. We did go to the Y a few times to swim...I envisioned that to be a daily occurance- but-it was a little more than I could handle by myself.
We are onto bigger and better things, Labor Day, Halloween, UT football... It's gonna be a great Fall! Only 180 more school days till next Summer!
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