Lots of Family and a Backyard Barbecue

Saturday was probably one of the busiest days our kids have had, and they did great! We spent all day with extended family and they didn't get an afternoon nap...gasp! Yet they still managed to hold it together.

Thank goodness. Because I honestly thought the day was going to bomb. 4 Toddlers + No Nap = YIKES!

We started the day off as we normally do, and then put the kids down for their morning nap. We let them sleep extra long to try to give them juice to get through the rest of the day. Most of them took advantage of it (we did too! I love naps!).

Then we headed over to Pa and Ma's house (Sean's parents house) for lunch and a visit with the kids' great-grandparents who had driven in from St. Louis for a visit.

And Ellie started screaming the moment we arrived. Happily, she perked up after lunch and was a bit more agreeable!

Photo with the Great-Grandparents

After that, we drove about 45 minutes to the other side of town for their second-cousin, Morgan's 2nd birthday (follow all that? *smile*) This was the kids' first successful backyard barbecue. We tried to have a barbecue at our house last summer, and the kids only lasted for about 20 minutes. They didn't want anything to do with it. This time, it went much better!

And that is where Sean's cousin, Michelle, got some awesome photos of the kids! I had my camera but was so busy trying to keep up with the kids, that I forgot all about it.

We got to the barbecue and used the Choo-Choo Wagon to easily get the kids to the backyard. I seriously love that wagon! The party came to a dead halt as soon as we rolled in. The kids were a little overwhelmed and spent a few minutes taking it all in.

Someone said, "Why are they all just sitting there?"

So I answered with, "Because they are wondering why you are all staring at them!"

What? You haven't seen four kids before? Hehe!

There was lots of exploring...

Abby in the play house looking at the window box of flowers.

And lots of eating....

Morgan, The Birthday Girl, and Elijah eating a veggie stick

And, of course, lots of bounce housing (once the kids warmed up to it!)!

 Aw! I love good family photos! :)

 And then the kids tackled Daddy.

And Ellie thought Daddy was more fun to bounce on than the bounce house!

We also discovered all that is amazing about backyard swings!

Ellie thought it was fantastic and giggled all they way through her turn!

There just isn't a description worthy of the look on Elijah's face. Haha!!

Random extra pic. This is a photo of Uncle Brandon (Morgan's dad) helping Abby put back on her sandles. I really love this photo because it's a great example of how Sean's family always makes sure they are available to help us with the kids at family events. Brandon was barbecuing and hosting, and still stopped to help Abby with her shoe. I appreciate all of our extended family for such small acts of kindness like this! It certainly doesn't go unnoticed!

Understandably, the kids started to wear out as the party continued. They wanted to ride in their wagon instead of play in the bounce house. Sean and I took turns dragging them around the yard. Thankfully, they love their wagon, so that let us stay a bit longer. Look how cute this photo is of the kids looking at Daddy in the bounce house. Lol!

Michelle also got some great close ups of the kids!

Caleb

Abby

Elijah

Ellie

And then we headed home. The kids were flat out tired, but held their own quite well. As the Mommy, I was really, really pleased with how the day turned out. Yay!!

Does this mean that we can stay out a bit longer and explore a bit more when we go on our adventures now??? I hope so!

Saturday was probably one of the busiest days our kids have had, and they did great! We spent all day with extended family and they didn't get an afternoon nap...gasp! Yet they still managed to hold it together.

Thank goodness. Because I honestly thought the day was going to bomb. 4 Toddlers + No Nap = YIKES!

We started the day off as we normally do, and then put the kids down for their morning nap. We let them sleep extra long to try to give them juice to get through the rest of the day. Most of them took advantage of it (we did too! I love naps!).

Then we headed over to Pa and Ma's house (Sean's parents house) for lunch and a visit with the kids' great-grandparents who had driven in from St. Louis for a visit.

And Ellie started screaming the moment we arrived. Happily, she perked up after lunch and was a bit more agreeable!

Photo with the Great-Grandparents

After that, we drove about 45 minutes to the other side of town for their second-cousin, Morgan's 2nd birthday (follow all that? *smile*) This was the kids' first successful backyard barbecue. We tried to have a barbecue at our house last summer, and the kids only lasted for about 20 minutes. They didn't want anything to do with it. This time, it went much better!

And that is where Sean's cousin, Michelle, got some awesome photos of the kids! I had my camera but was so busy trying to keep up with the kids, that I forgot all about it.

We got to the barbecue and used the Choo-Choo Wagon to easily get the kids to the backyard. I seriously love that wagon! The party came to a dead halt as soon as we rolled in. The kids were a little overwhelmed and spent a few minutes taking it all in.

Someone said, "Why are they all just sitting there?"

So I answered with, "Because they are wondering why you are all staring at them!"

What? You haven't seen four kids before? Hehe!

There was lots of exploring...

Abby in the play house looking at the window box of flowers.

And lots of eating....

Morgan, The Birthday Girl, and Elijah eating a veggie stick

And, of course, lots of bounce housing (once the kids warmed up to it!)!

 Aw! I love good family photos! :)

 And then the kids tackled Daddy.

And Ellie thought Daddy was more fun to bounce on than the bounce house!

We also discovered all that is amazing about backyard swings!

Ellie thought it was fantastic and giggled all they way through her turn!

There just isn't a description worthy of the look on Elijah's face. Haha!!

Random extra pic. This is a photo of Uncle Brandon (Morgan's dad) helping Abby put back on her sandles. I really love this photo because it's a great example of how Sean's family always makes sure they are available to help us with the kids at family events. Brandon was barbecuing and hosting, and still stopped to help Abby with her shoe. I appreciate all of our extended family for such small acts of kindness like this! It certainly doesn't go unnoticed!

Understandably, the kids started to wear out as the party continued. They wanted to ride in their wagon instead of play in the bounce house. Sean and I took turns dragging them around the yard. Thankfully, they love their wagon, so that let us stay a bit longer. Look how cute this photo is of the kids looking at Daddy in the bounce house. Lol!

Michelle also got some great close ups of the kids!

Caleb

Abby

Elijah

Ellie

And then we headed home. The kids were flat out tired, but held their own quite well. As the Mommy, I was really, really pleased with how the day turned out. Yay!!

Does this mean that we can stay out a bit longer and explore a bit more when we go on our adventures now??? I hope so!

Freedom on Wheels

We are happily, finally recovering from a rough few days at our house.

We knew that this summer could potentially be a long one as we start to introduce our kids to germs. Since the kids have been so protected, they haven't been sick yet. The middle of last week, Caleb came down with his first virus and promptly shared it with the rest of the kids. It made for five very long, very sleepless days and nights for our entire family. 

Thankfully, the kids finally started to perk up on Sunday afternoon. We decided to celebrate by getting themselves (and us!) out for some fresh air.

We took our brand-new Choo-Choo Wagon out for a walk around our neighborhood!

This wagon is something that I have had my eye on since we got pregnant. It is a very popular choice among higher-order multiples in terms of transportation. For me, it means I can finally move all four kids from one point to another all by myself.

Sean's side of the family all pitched in to get this for us for the babies' first birthday. I was so excited when the babies opened the packages! My mother-in-law joked that they almost wrote my name on the packages instead of the babies! Haha! Fair enough! :)

The company offers the original colors and the USA edition plus a trailer. It's very fitting that we have the USA edition since I consider it to be "Freedom on Wheels!"

Getting Ready to Walk the Neighborhood!

Daddy, Ellie, Abby, Caleb, and Elijah

Daddy pulling them up the big hill (and I cheered him on from the side!)

Neighbors were out doing yard work, so we asked them to snap a quick family photo. It cracks me up because all of the kids were distracted by their dogs!

Ellie: "What did you think, Daddy? Did you have fun pulling us? Can we go again?"

Abby: "Why do people stare at us? We're just kids."

Caleb: "Hold on for dear life!"

Elijah: "The back end of this thing gets bumpy!"

From an "out in public with the quads" point of view, it was really interesting. We had heads hanging out of car windows as they drove past, one lady was taking photos of us from a distance, three people stopped us to ask about the babies, and one guy asked where we "bought all them kids at"....and we were only walking around the neighborhood for 30 minutes!

I also took a short video of us walking around....if you'd like to see it, click here!

We are happily, finally recovering from a rough few days at our house.

We knew that this summer could potentially be a long one as we start to introduce our kids to germs. Since the kids have been so protected, they haven't been sick yet. The middle of last week, Caleb came down with his first virus and promptly shared it with the rest of the kids. It made for five very long, very sleepless days and nights for our entire family. 

Thankfully, the kids finally started to perk up on Sunday afternoon. We decided to celebrate by getting themselves (and us!) out for some fresh air.

We took our brand-new Choo-Choo Wagon out for a walk around our neighborhood!

This wagon is something that I have had my eye on since we got pregnant. It is a very popular choice among higher-order multiples in terms of transportation. For me, it means I can finally move all four kids from one point to another all by myself.

Sean's side of the family all pitched in to get this for us for the babies' first birthday. I was so excited when the babies opened the packages! My mother-in-law joked that they almost wrote my name on the packages instead of the babies! Haha! Fair enough! :)

The company offers the original colors and the USA edition plus a trailer. It's very fitting that we have the USA edition since I consider it to be "Freedom on Wheels!"

Getting Ready to Walk the Neighborhood!

Daddy, Ellie, Abby, Caleb, and Elijah

Daddy pulling them up the big hill (and I cheered him on from the side!)

Neighbors were out doing yard work, so we asked them to snap a quick family photo. It cracks me up because all of the kids were distracted by their dogs!

Ellie: "What did you think, Daddy? Did you have fun pulling us? Can we go again?"

Abby: "Why do people stare at us? We're just kids."

Caleb: "Hold on for dear life!"

Elijah: "The back end of this thing gets bumpy!"

From an "out in public with the quads" point of view, it was really interesting. We had heads hanging out of car windows as they drove past, one lady was taking photos of us from a distance, three people stopped us to ask about the babies, and one guy asked where we "bought all them kids at"....and we were only walking around the neighborhood for 30 minutes!

I also took a short video of us walking around....if you'd like to see it, click here!