94 Cents and a Parking Token

Alright, alright.  Been slacking, I know.  Computer issues, camera issues, and baby issues.  Blah, blah, blah.

After the Falls, we were headed to Raleigh.  More family time, and supposedly the beach and the Hall of Fame.  OK, what were we thinking???  Who goes on their first vacation with 3 little bitty children and decides to drive 3100 miles in 8 days?  Well, the hubs and I do of course!!!  The same people who decide to drive on a toll road with absolutely NO CASH.  The only toll road along our entire trip that ONLY takes cash.  This of course led to a frantic search along the floor boards of the car, and dumping out my purse in order to find EXACTLY 94 cents and a parking token, to which the toll money "taker" thought we were nuts, but after much pleading, let us pass on through anyway.

So we head to Raleigh and arrived about 5am after driving the 56 miles of construction through D.C.  Why would we find out if there is construction first?  That would be just silly.  We got to see Aunt Suzy again, and 2 of my cousins.  They took us to the absolute coolest museum for kids ever - Marbles Kids Museum (http://www.marbleskidsmuseum.org/galleriesandexhibits).  In which, they had the biggest Legos I have ever seen, so my cousin Andrew and I absolutely had to build a fort, complete with windows, doors and roof (after which the kids didn't even really play in, but we had a good time).

So we left Raleigh, and decided that there was no way in hell we were driving out of our way.  I mean AT ALL.  The kids were really not having a great time in the car at this point, so we decide to just pick an attraction on the way home.  So, we decide to go mining for gemstones. 

Yep, we went to the backwoods of who knows where with our 3 small children and bought a bucket of rocks to mine for gemstones.  Now, don't get me wrong, the people seemed fairly nice, but people make entirely too much fun of Alabama when everyone we met had like 2 teeth.  I digress....We bought a bucket of rocks.  We do have a whole slew of uncut gemstones now, and one of the smoky quartz that I found was made into a necklace, but I'm still having a hard time with buying of a bucket of rocks from a man that only had 2 teeth.  As usual though, the hubs and I had a good time, sifting through rocks and letting the kids play.

After that, it was beyond time to go home. 

All in all, we had a great vacation.

I Want to Slide Down on My Butt



Niagra Falls.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Everyone should go - at least once.  Correction - everyone should go at least once and ride the Maid of the Mist.  I knew when we rode the boat it would take us close to the base of the falls, but I had no idea HOW close we would be. 

Incredible. 

Awesome. 

Breathtaking.

Even the baby falls were amazing.             

We took all the babies on the Maid of the Mist.  Ella LOVED it.  If you've never ridden, you have no idea that you get soaked and it's a little scary - this of course is why my little thrill-seeker was having such a great time.  She was laughing and screaming and waving her arms around - meanwhile, Maggie and Karlie are not really enjoying themselves at all. 

When we got off the boat, the hubs (who took Karlie) and I took turns going up the stairs on the side of the falls.  Ok, that was crazy.  You could barely make it up to the top with all the wind and waves coming at you!  Karlie was petrified, and still, all she has to say about the biggest waterfall ever is..."I want to slide down on my butt."

Still.  That's it.  It was the biggest waterfall ever, and she wants to slide down on her butt. 

Crazy kids.

Farm Girls

We are in New York, first leg of our trip.  It is one of the most beautiful parts of the country that I have ever seen.  The people are unbelievable - extremely nice and REAL.  We're staying on Stephen's (the hubs) Aunt's dairy farm - I have never seen so many cows in one place at a time.  Every morning we have to take a trip around the farm and see all the cows, and every night we have to say goodnight to them.  The very first of one of these trips, all of our girls ended up covered in poop running and falling through the barn and had to be hosed off-it felt a lot like home, except at our house it's usually some mud puddle they made.  Because of our excursion, every time Karlie sees a cow, real or not, she exclaims, "they have really big poops and pees."  It's still funny now, a hundred of such exclamations ago.

Yesterday we went to ride horses and then to a Cider Mill.  The girls were unbelievable.  We could barely keep Karlie off of the horse long enough to let the babies ride!  She was a natural! 

Maggie loved it too.  She was all smiles the entire time.  When we took her off, she would follow the horse around the arena yelling.

Ella on the other hand wasn't too sure she was into it.  She was a little peeved that we kept picking her up out of the sand she was eating.

She perked right up when we put Mags on the horse with her though.

And here is all three - what a picture!  They all had a blast! 
Afterwards we went to the Cider Mill and got to pick out the tastiest apples we've ever had, then feed the ducks.  How bored are my kids going to be when we get home?

Oh well, can't wait to see what they'll think of "the biggest waterfall ever"!

On the Road Again

Actually it's literal.  We are on the road to upstate New York as I am typing this.  Vacation Time!!!!!!!  It was mandatory - the hubs' boss told him to go on vacation and he'd throw some cash our way.  He told us to get all the way away.  Sooooo, after thinking and thinking on it.....we decided to go!  Ha, ha, can you imagine the excitement in our house the night we found out?  We haven't been on vacation in 5 years - and that was our honeymoon.  The difference is that now we have these babies and all of their stuff. 
Here's the jeep loaded to the max.  We actually had people at the gas station ask us exactly how many babies did we have because of all the strollers. 

Here's my girls - packed in like sardines around their stuff.  Karlie Bea is beyond excited - she gets to see a huge farm with tons of cows and ride horses (the hubs' Aunt's farm), see the biggest waterfall ever (Niagara Falls), go to the beach for the first time, and see lots of race cars (Nascar Hall of Fame).  But really, could you ask for a better vacation for a 3-year old?  Honestly, you can't ask for any better at 30 something either - especially when it's mandatory!

Well, it's midnight.  The babies are asleep and the hubs is beginning to nod at the wheel, so it's my turn to take over.  Hopefully we will be greeted with lots of moos by 9 in the a.m.

Are You Kidding Me?

I'm having a morning.  One of those mornings.  I woke up at 5am this morning ecstatic about being awake all by myself - I was going to get stuff done I'm talking about.  And I have - I picked okra, already flashed it and have it in the freezer, watered all the gardens, cleaned the garage from the 18year old cocker that decided it was her potty last night, did 2 loads of laundry and made bread.

Rocking this morning.  At 7am, when everyone started to wake up, I made breakfast got everyone fed, changed all the sheets and began my grocery list.  Then walked back into the garage, had to re-clean it from the cocker.  Came back inside and got smacked in the face with the broom from Mags (didn't hurt but screwed up my contact).  Picked up Ella after breakfast and she took a huge bite out of my shoulder.  Fell all the way down in the kitchen because everyone was under foot as I was putting dishes away.  Had my foot smashed by Karlie who decided that it would be cute to jump on top of my foot with her dress up shoes.  And now, as I was playing on the floor with the girls, Mags just threw up all over my face and shirt.

It's only 9:30 now and I'm thinking it's going to be a miracle if I make it through lunch.

Knip Knop

The hubs and I bought a ping pong table this weekend - from Craigslist of course.  We've been wanting one for quite some time, but frankly we didn't really have time to even play.  But, now all the birthday parties and such are done, the gardens are basically maintaining themselves, and the babies are actually all going to sleep at the same time at night, FINALLY we can sneak out to the garage and have a little one on one time.

Soooo, after weeks and weeks of smack talk from both sides, we were finally able to face each other down from across the table.  The hubs has a very long wing span to his advantage - and has some skills no doubt.  But lets just face it - I can more than hold my own on any game where volleying is involved. 

First game - I won.  Second game - Joseph, our house guest lost to me.  Third game - the hubs beat Joseph.  Fourth game - the hubs beat me.  Now we're at a tie.  I cannot wait to play again!  What is it about playing sports with your significant other that is so fun? 

That was seriously the best $40 we have EVER spent.

Note to the hubs - I'm going to beat you down tonight son - please don't cry afterwards!!!!!

Response to Anonymous.....

So this is strictly dedicated to "anonymous" who said that they didn't believe my couponing.  See the pic here?  This is what I bought yesterday for $14.  Since the Charmin and Diapers alone are well over $14 there's your proof.  Here is the receipt if you need more proof.  And since this is really a boring subject, why would I lie?????? 

On a much happier note - how cute is the noodle??