The Naitonal Holiday!

Today is what my dad calls the "National Holiday"! It is my birthday! The day started out awesome for me as KJ woke up early and he crawled in bed with me. As I was laying there snuggling with him he said "Mommy, I love you"! How sweet is that.
It has been such a perfect day. I was able to go work out this morning (which I love to start my day that way). Then all five of us headed to a local beach for a picnic lunch, swim, and play time. We all had so much fun. After lunch we took the kids to Grandma's for a nap. Jon and I headed home to get some much needed organization done in our house. It felt so good to get some stuff cleaned up around here. It has really been bugging me. We have a whole van load of stuff we are going to take to the salvation army tomorrow! These kids have taken over the house but Jon and I are fighting hard to get it back under control! I am sure it sounds crazy to most of you that I wanted to spend my day organizing but that is exactly what I requested and it felt great. We made lots of progress in this house with no interruptions. Tonight, I received a gift of a wall hanging that said "We've Surrendered to the children" Both Jon and I laughed so hard as some days that feels so true!
I have to say that this has been one of the best Birthdays I have had in a long time. I cannot tell you how many phone calls and emails I have had today from friends and family wishing me a Happy Birthday! I feel so loved.
Tonight we had dinner at my parents house. As we pulled in the drive way I noticed that the American Flag was out. Jon asked me about it and then we both laughed because we realized that my dad hung it out to signify the "national holiday" that he declares my Birthday. It was pretty funny so Jon took my picture by the flag.
As I was tucking the kids into bed tonight they told me "Thank you mommy for having a Birthday"!
In my book, it does not get much better than that!

Roughing It!

Jon and I, along with my parents and brother decided it was time to take these kids camping. I was very nervous about it as camping can be so "dirty" and there are lots of things around like camp fires and poison ivy that don't mix well with three year olds.
I am happy to report that their first camping trip was very successful! They had a blast and so did we. There were a lot of firsts on this trip. The biggest was sleeping in the tent for the first time. We brought along an air mattress and they all fit on that. Ella had a little trouble falling asleep at night as I think she was a little scared but if we laid with them it did not seem to be a problem at all.
They all slept all night and so did we. They also took a nap everyday for us so we could keep them up later at night to watch the sun set and to eat some s'mores. KJ loved to play ball in the camp site and then run into the woods to find it once he would hit it there on purpose. Aimee loved to look for rocks and save them. Ella loved to carry her purse, baby, and cell phone around the camp site and act like a mommy.
The kids saw the sunset for the very first time and thought that was really cool. We then took out some flashlights and walked down to the beach to see the stars come out. They loved walking down the beach with their uncle Tony and finding leeches. They would actually hold them and throw them back into the water. (It was kind of yucky for the mommy but I did not want to ruin the fun).
They got to see where Smokey the Bear lives but he was not around that day so we did not get to meet him. We spent time swimming and going for boat rides in Grandpa's fishing boat. They enjoyed many cho cho wagon rides around the loop and they made friends with all the other families at the camp ground.
They liked to be around the camp fire and all three of them were very careful around the fire. They knew to stay back.
We found a frog one night and we also would sit very still in the campsite so the chipmunks and ground squirrels would run right up to us and eat. It was so much fun and the kids just loved it. We have already decided that this will be an annual trip for our family. We can hardly wait (now that the 9 loads of laundry are done) to go back next year.

Our Temporary Home...

We have spend the last 4 days living in this:


We had a lot of fun and the kids LOVED it but as you can imagine we are beat tonight as we do piles of laundry and get everything put away. I will post some more tomorrow on our very first camping trip with the kids!

They LOVED it and so did we!

Room Transitions

Jon and I made the decision to switch Kendrick out of the bedroom with the girls and into his very own room. We painted the walls blue (his request) and asked him what he would like the theme of his new room to be. He choose a sports theme. He now has a big boy bed with a new sports comforter. He also has his own dresser, night stand, chair, and we even moved his train table into his room. KJ is very excited about his new room. He has slept in there great every night. However, he still asks at nap time and bed time if he can sleep in the girls bed with them.
The girls are in the same room that they had but we moved a queen bed into their room and they are now sharing that. They seem to really like their new set up and they also have a dresser and hopefully some book shelves in the near future.
We decided to transfer KJ out because we were so tired of bed time being a PJ party every night. They would/could go on for hours and KJ was usually the ring leader in that party. We also have noticed that they have started taking some special interest in the fact that KJ is different than the girls. I guess it just felt like it was time for the switch. Of course Jon and I felt incredibly guilty moving KJ from the girls room. However, once again these kids amazed me as it was really no big deal to them. They love their new rooms and I love having more space for their clothes/toys/books and everything else we have for these kids x3!
Here are some pics of the new rooms:

Great Service

Today we recived a card in the mail from our new kids dentist and here is what it said:

Dear Aimee, Ella, and Kendrick,

Today was your first day at the dentist and you did a super job! You got your teeth cleaned and counted. Remember to do a super job brushing at home!

Dr. T

Is this great service or what!!!

She also sent us three big stickers for the kids with the card.

Now we have an awesome ped and dentist for these kids! Life is good.

We went to the Dentist!

Today was our first trip to the dentist. Jon was able to go with me and I was so happy to hear that. We were not sure how these kids would react to the dentist. On the way there they were all telling me what they were going to shoe the dentist like cuts on their knees and hands and stuff. They did not get the fact that the dentist was only going to look at their teeth. They were all pretty excited and each of them said that they were going to be first.
Aimee was the one who actually went first as Ella and KJ were in the bathroom when they called us back! She had such a poker face when the hygienist was explaining what all of her tools were. Aimee was very brave but she did fuss a little but was able to get her teeth all cleaned, flossed, coated with fluoride and checked out by the dentist! She got three stickers and a prize out of the prize bucket. She also got a new toothbrush and her very own picture of herself at her first dentist visit.
Ella was thrilled about being at the dentist until she saw Aimee fussing in the chair. She took one look at that and turned to me and said "I don't wanna be at the Dentist anymore mommy, I wanna go home" She then burst into tears. I knew this was not a good sign but I just kept telling her that it was all okay. Once Aimee got the price out of the price bucket, Ella calmed down a little. It took her a long time to want to get in the chair. I had to hold her for awhile and I knew she was scared to death. However, being the amazing child that she is she battled her fear and got in the chair. She did so good once they started. She had all of her teeth cleaned, flossed, and fluoride put on too. She got a prize, a new toothbrush, and her very own picture too. I was so proud of her.

KJ was thrilled to be at the dentist and he could not wait for his turn in the chair. We had another hygienist that cleaned his teeth in a different room. We went over with him when they started but he really did not even need us. He listened so well and he was able to get his teeth cleaned, flossed, and fluoride put on. He also got a price and a new toothbrush not to mention his very own picture too.


Here they all are standing with their prizes. They were so proud of their clean teeth that they could not wait to show Grandma when we got to her house. Tonight they told me they want to show Grandpa and their clean teeth too. I was not sure how it would all go but once again these kids continue to amaze me at all the awesome things they can do. We are going back in January to see the dentist again!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game....

We were lucky enough to score some free tickets to the professional baseball game last Saturday. I was a little nervous taking all three kids to the game for fear that they would not sit that long. However, it turned out to be such an awesome adventure.
We decided to take the train down to the game. This in itself could have been the event. The kids were so excited to be riding on the train. They were all talking a mile a minute. When we got on the train some nice people gave us some seats to sit down on. When the train reached the next stop (of many) KJ asked if were were there yet. This had everyone on the train laughing. We had a long way to go.
Once we got down to the game we ended up going to a picnic that we had tickets too. The kids did not eat one bite of food other than their cookies but I think they were so excited that they could not focus on eating anything!
Once we got inside we headed down to our seats. They were so excited and thrilled at the fact that we were at the game. We did not catch any balls but our team won! We stayed until the 7th inning stretch, sang the song loud, and then headed out to the train to go home before the crowds hit.
It was so much fun. Grandma and Grandpa and uncle Tony came with us too. They all enjoyed watching the kids get so excited about all the new adventures.
Hopefully, the kids will be as excited about tent camping in a few weeks.
KJ continues to talk about the baseball game and the train ride. He wants to do that again "next week"!
I love this age and watching them expereience all these new things.

Just Another Night...

Tonight as we were going to bed a few funny and blog worthy things happened:

First, we were all in the bathroom brushing our teeth. Ella was fooling around with the shower curtain and decided to peek in. The cat jumped out at her as she looked in and it made her jump. She then belly laughed for a good 2 minutes (the kind of laugh where you just can't stop)she LOVED being spooked like that.

Next, KJ told me he had to go potty. So as I was getting toilets seats all lined up and helping his with his pants he announced that he wanted to go standing up. I thought this was great as we have been trying to encourage that with him. He then went standing up and did a remarkable job with it all going in the toilet bowl. About 5 minutes later he announced that he had to go again and that he wanted to go standing up. I knew he probably did not have to go again but I was willing to let him try. He stood there for a little bit and then he said "Mommy, it's going the wrong way" then he repeated himself and started to fuss. It took me about 10 sec. to catch on that he had to poop not pee. I then explained to him that we have to sit down to poppy. Luckily I figured it out before it hit the floor!!!

Just another adventurous night at our house!

Fire Trucks

One of the "firsts" my kids had over our vacation last week was some fireworks. However, at first they really did not understand what fireworks were. The fireworks display was going to take place about 15 miles from the Lake Home we were at. So we all decided to head to town to see the fireworks. Jon's entire family went so we had two vans. Jon, myself, and the kids were in our van. We first swung through the ice scream shop but after seeing the line instead we opted for the drive thru. I am not sure it was the smartest decision as three-three year olds with ice cream cones in the van was not the best idea. We parked the van in a parking lot were we knew that we would be able to see the fireworks. The show did not start for about another hour so Jon and I entertained the kids for an hour in the van. We eventually took them out of their car seats and let them sit on our laps up front. All of a sudden a truck drove by and Ella shrieked "Look Mommy, it's the fire trucks"! We had a good chuckle about that one.
Once the fireworks started the kids loved it. I told them that people usually oooh and ahhhed at them so KJ proceeded to oh and ah at every one. It was really a fun night and a great memory.
The next night the kids watched the fireworks that were going on all around the lake. They just loved it and Kendrick would shriek at each one.
In about a month we will be able to see some fireworks right from our yard and the kids are very excited for this.

In Charge

Here is the email that Jon sent to me at work today:

Ok, Aimee and Ella are playing in the living room and Ella started to whine a little bit and said, “Aimee, you are being naughty today” and Aimee replies with “No I am not, I am being in charge”!

Too funny…

New Doc New Statistics

Today we went to our new pediatrician. We have been debating switching peds offices for awhile now. We were just not happy at the old Docs office because we never felt a warmth there. One of my triplet mommy friends recommended a new ped to us so we made the switch. I was a little nervous for the first appointment but as soon as we arrived I was at ease. Everyone in the new clinic was so warm and inviting to us. You could tell that they were really interested in the kids and they were so good with the kids too.
When the doctor came in he was confused as why we had three kids in the room because when I made the appointment they would only let me schedule it for two not three. We took KJ with us anyway because Jon wanted to come to the first appointments too. the doctor felt bad that they did not allow me to schedule all three kids so he decided to fit KJ in today too.
He was such a gentle soul and I could tell he really enjoyed our kids. It was so refreshing to have someone take such a vested interested in our kids and how they are doing. When we were leaving his office today he looked me right in the eye and said "I wish I had triplets"! I was floored. No one has EVER said such a thing to me before. We are so happy to feel like we have a place to take our kids that is so warm and inviting and we know they are getting the best care.

Here are the statics from today:

A
Height: 37" (43%)
Weight: 29 lb. (28%)
Head: 19 cm/in (20%)

E
Height: 36" (21%)
Weight: 27 lb. (11%)
Head: 19 cm/in (20%)

K
Height: 37.75 (51%)
Weight: 30.5 (31%)
Head: 19.5 (50%)

These kids are getting big!!!

Slip N Slide

This morning it was very warm outside and Jon and I wanted to get some work done in the yard. So to entertain the kids we set up my old slip n slide on our hill. The kids really did not get into it at first as they were afraid to slide down it. However, once Mommy decided to jump on it they all LOVED it! We had so much fun sliding down the slip n slide. We would make trains, go on our backs, butts, and stomachs.
It was a good time had by all. We put a pair of underwear on KJ so he would slide better down. It did the trick.
Enjoy the Pictures!

We're Back!

We have been gone for over a week. First we went to Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's to help celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. We had a picnic for them at a park and tons of their friends came out to help celebrate too. It was a lot of fun and such a nice event.
We then headed to the new lake home that Jon's sister and brother in law built. It is beautiful. We really had a great time hanging out with family for a week.
We had lots of firsts with the kids and we made lots of fun memories.
It is funny how it is so nice to get away and have a little vacation but then it always feels so good to get home and settled in again.
It is currently 9AM and only Aimee and I are up right now. We are still in vacation sleep mode!!!
I will blog more later!

Highs & Lows

I think I forgot to do this last week. Whoops. It just goes to show how busy we have been these past few weeks.
We are getting ready to head out for another mini vacation so as I am sure you can imagine it is a lot of packing packing and more packing. I tell people that if I could just put my house on wheels life would be great!

Highs:
Having Cameron here this week has been a high. She is so delightful to be around and the kids really enjoy her. She is going back home tomorrow and we will be so sad to see her go.

I have really been enjoying the kids lately. I miss them tons when I am at work and I can't wait to get home and spend some time with them. They are such neat little people now.

Singing with the kids. They always ask for me to sing to them now and I love to sing so it is fun. They sing along with me and we all seem to enjoy it.

Swimming the other day was just a blast. My friend Kristin called me last night and told me that she really enjoyed herself. It was just one of those days where the kids were being good and we were just so relaxed. This was a high.

Seeing GG Del on Sunday and Monday and getting to spend some extra time with my mom was a high too. These times seem to be few and far between these days.

Lows:
I did not get much sleep last night. It was just one of those nights so I am really tired today. I have a ton to do tonight so it is hard.

Our little kitty Dexter is having some problems with his ears. I feel so bad for him. He has a double ear infection, yeast infection, and he is on three different medications for it. Poor kitty.

Hearing of a death of an 8 year old girl. This always hits home with me these days as I cannot even imagine what that would be like. Say a few prayers for her family.

That's all folks. I am not sure what my internet connection will be like for a few days so I this blog is quiet that is because I am off enjoying my family and relaxing.

Happy Friday!

Fun at the Pool

Today we all headed over to our friends Sue & Denny's house to swim in their pool. They were not at home but my BF Kristin was and she hung out with us all day long. It was a beautiful day here so it was an awesome time at the pool. My skin is a little red tonight as the sun screen must not have held up for me. Oh well a little color won't kill me.
Cameron really had fun swimming with the kids and hanging out at the pool. I think she swam all day. Once the kids went down for a nap I jumped in the pool and swam like a fish. I have not done that in years and it was so much fun to be a "kid" again. At one point I had even forgot that the kids were in the house taking a nap. It was a great day!

We have HELP!!!

I have been absent from the blog world for a few days as my mom and I took the kids up north for a little visit. We went to a wedding while Grandma and Grandpa E has the kids overnight and then we went to GG Del's house for a few days. Once again when we got to GG Del's it was so amazing to watch the kids take off running for their GG Del. Aimee shouted "hey guys it's GG Del" and they all sprinted to her. My mom and I just watched in amazement.
While we were visiting GG Del, my cousins little girl (okay not so little as she is 11) asked if she could come home with us for a few days and help with the kids. I was thrilled as it is so nice to have an extra set of hands around to help with the kids. They love C too so it is really sweet to watch them follow her around. Jon and I are thrilled to have her here helping us out. It is a big win win for everyone.

Perfect End to the Day!

Tonight I got home just in time to put the kids to bed. After we got all the teeth brushed, I took time to lay with each of them on their beds. We started to sing songs. Their current favorite is Jesus Loves Me.
You can imagine my surprise when they each wanted to take their turn singing the song to me. KJ went first and it was so sweet to listen to his little voice sing about Jesus and How he loves him.
It was also sweet to watch how they each took a turn singing the song and they would actually listen to each other sing too.
Mommy sang a few of her favorite songs to them too. It was such a fun snuggle time. I really enjoyed ending my day like this. What a blessing.

Preschool Pictures

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Daddy Jon! We are so blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for working so hard for all of us. You are so generous, dedicated, handsome, fun loving, hard working and helpful. You are an incredible father, husband, son, and friend. We could not ask for more.
We love you!

Highs and Lows

So I have been pondering an idea that I thought would be fun to try. I am going to blog weekly highs and lows (mostly Highs). When I was in high school, I belonged to a youth group we used to share weekly highs and lows.

Here is goes:

Weekly High
Jon, the kids, and myself all went over to some "new" friends of ours for dinner the other night. They live on a lake so we got to spend time hanging out of the beach and playing in the sand and water. Then they took us on a boat ride. It was quite the site with 7 kids and 4 adults on one boat. We all had a great time and the kids LOVED it.

Another high this week is that Aimee is starting to "try" and poop on the potty. There is light at the end of the tunnel! Once she catches on to this then we will be 100% trained in this house during the day!


Weekly Low
I have developed a rash all over my legs. I am not sure if it is from sunscreen, chlorine, sun or what but it looks bad and feels bad! I hope this clears up quick!