3+2= 5 Times the Fun!

Since having the triplets, Craig and I believe that the absolute best presents are "gifts of time".  And since we have the most amazing and supportive family and friends out there, we have been blessed to have been given this gift from so many loving and very generous people.  Those who continually go above and beyond include Grandma Diane/ Grandpa Mike (EVERY Tuesday and Thursday), Grandma Mary/ Grandpa Ron and Aunt Kristi and family (Summer trip to Edwardsville/ Branson), Aunt Elaine/ Uncle Rick (Wisconsin last weekend :-)), Aunt Kelly/ Uncle Spencer and Auntie Kate/ Dave/ Isabelle (Calendars already marked for November 10-13, right?!?  Florida Keys for some wedding bells!). 

That said, when Craig and I found out we pulled Eric & Heather's name for the Christmas grab-bag, we immediately decided we had to give them an overnight...  How nice to finally be the ones that can give the gift rather than take, take, take!!!  It took a while to find a date, but it was so worth the wait!  All the cousins had a great time, and so did I!!! 

The fun started at 10:00 at the hotel with some swimming.  Everyone had a blast!!! 

We played several pool games, their favorite being "let's dump lots and lots water on Aunt Jennifer's head", with their second being "motorboat".  Since the first involved me being completely drenched for long periods of time, and the second had me carrying/ pulling/ swinging all 5 kids on my back, front and sides, I wasn't able to take pictures. 

Here is a picture of the kids playing another game, "Ring Around the Rosey". 

This picture did not capture the kids drowning, rather the end of the song "we all fall down", which they learned was hard to do in a swimming pool :-). 

Some cousin lovin' before naps... 

 While the girls enjoyed the peace and quiet during naps, they were busy painting beautiful art for their bedrooms.

Once the boys woke, off to Monkey Joes with very excited kiddos... 

 

Since Aidan weighs about the same as his 6 year old cousin, this picture cracks me up!

After we got back, all the kids had fun playing at our house, especially in the basement and with the star legos.  Connor earned a picture taking opportunity when he came up to me and said "Mommy, guess what this is.  I'll give you a hint...  It's very tall, has a cross on the top and we go there every week to play and pray." 

Great church, Connor, and good hints too!

Connor probably had church on his mind because his cousins reminded us to pray before every meal, including breakfast!  Sweet little role models, and how awesome that MY Godchild was asking to thank God for her meal!

Aaahhh, after almost 11 straight hours of nonstop cousin fun, all the kiddos chilled while watching a video.  Gotta love tv (aka quiet peaceful kids) after this crazy fun day!!! 

Before sleep everyone said their prayers and then both Abi and Anna read "There Was an Old Lady" to the boys, who listened attentively.  What a great story time for everyone!!! 

To my complete surprise, bedtime went perfectly.  All 5 kids were sleeping within a minute of lights-out and slept through the night.  Busy next morning, though.  I used to consider it a huge accomplishment to get 3 kids ready for church by 9:45, but today we had 2 extra AND we baked cupcakes! Thank goodness we were off to a peaceful/ serene place like church, I needed it after the morning ;-).  

After church we stopped at a park so all the kids could spread out and do their own thing.  Surprisingly all 5 wanted to play together on the climbing equipment (Anna is hard to see, hanging opposite of Liam, but she's there!). 

And finally we concluded the weekend with a little BBQ with Eric and Heather, so we could share our weekend experiences (and celebrate Heather's birthday). 

Hard to believe this was a present for Eric and Heather, as it was my family who had an extra special weekend!