The Phillips Family - Life With Quintuplets!!!

Goodbye Stroller

2012-02-08T15:57:00.000-06:00

In the past few years, we have owned many strollers of various types and sizes: many singles, two doubles, two triples, and one 6-seater. We had gotten rid of all of them except the big one. The kids walk everywhere, and we really have no need for a stroller anymore, and they were getting too big for it, but I had great emotional attachment to this stroller. It was my life line when they were little, and we went out with it almost every day either for a walk or to run errands. I had told Bill that I thought we should put it in the attic and keep it to use for our grandchildren, but we eventually agreed that it was time to say goodbye and let someone else use it.

Here are the kids the last day we owned it. I would guess we used it less than 5 times all of last year, and it has been quite awhile since it has come out at all. I thought about taking them for a final walk around the block for old times sake, but it didn't sound good when I started to push them so we decided just to stick with the picture and not break it.

At just over 2 months old (Mark was 20 months), we took our first walk in it.

The quints were around 7-months old here, and I have always liked this picture.

It has been a great stroller. While I am so glad to be in a stage that doesn't need a stroller and where we can walk and do things so much more easily, I definitely have many, many fond memories with it.

Happy January

2012-01-31T10:57:00.000-06:00

Somehow it is already the end of January! Here are a few highlights from our month.

We took the kids to go fishing at our neighborhood pond. Mark has been before, but it was the first time for our quints. We only caught weeds, but we had a lot of fun!

Off we go! When we walk on a street that doesn't have a sidewalk or bike path, we stay on the "balance beam."

John, Becca, Mark, David, Kate, Ali

Once we got to a path, they could run!

Mark showing them how it is done.

I haven't gone the past few times when Bill has taken Mark. I was really impressed that he could cast and do pretty much everything himself!

Kate's turn

John

David's turn

Fishing was fun, but we also enjoyed the ducks and we ran races on the paths too.

The boys

Very interested watching Daddy find some weight for the line.

John's turn

An organization in our community just opened "Veggie Village." They will be growing produce to give needy families healthy fresh food. Their grand opening was last weekend, so we went to check it out. It was a great set-up!

Ali, Kate, John, David, Mark, Becca

They had some activities set up for the kids too. Here they got to each plant a few flower seeds in a cup they made from newspaper to take home and plant.

David watching Ali water hers.

Mark

There were some bunny rabbits, and the kids liked petting one.

The kids had fun, although they all said the highlight was the refreshments. There was a carrot cake shaped like a carrot that was a favorite! Yum!

Ali fell on the playground at school recently and cut her nose right between the eyes. It wasn't that bad of a cut, but we were concerned about it scarring and since it was right in the middle of her face, we visited the doctor. They were able to glue it together in the pediatrician's offce which was awesome! No stitches and no ER visit! It is almost completely healed now and looks pretty good.

John had surgery to repair an umbilical hernia in October 2009, and he had a follow-up appointment recently. He missed school and got to have a special day with mommy and daddy. We read, ran a few errands, went to lunch and played. He had a blast!

It was a pretty low key month just getting back into routine after the holidays. The rest of the pictures are just from day-to-day activities.

Ready for school! Mark, Becca, Kate, David, John, Ali

Helping Daddy rake compost into our garden. We are almost ready to plant for the spring.

The kids love to read. I thought David and Mark were cute sitting on the stairs in their jammies reading.

Mark can read some of the level 1 readers and will read those to his siblings, but with harder books, he points out things in the pictures and tells the stories. Mark is "reading" to his sisters. So sweet!

Ali loves arts and crafts! Since we made the study the arts and crafts room, she pretty much lives in there!

On the rare ocassions that she leaves the study, she is usually hosting a tea party. She is a great hostess and sets everyone's place carefully with plates, food, cups, and silverware. She always has everyone wait to eat until she leads grace. Lately she has started asking people to "clear their place" when they are done like we do at the dinner table.

Bill met us for pizza after swim lessons one day. There was a tv with Tom and Jerry on, and the kids thought it was hilarious! I was pretty entertained just watching the kids.

I feel like they have gotten so big lately! They are much more independent and capable, and we are trying to add more things that they can be responsible for. It used to be that their "helping" added more work for me, but now they are to a point where they really help with quite a few things. They can put their dishes in the dishwasher, they put away their own laundry, and they pick and lay out their clothes each night before bed. They can wipe down the table and sweep after a meal. With a step stool, some of them have even done loads of laundry. I love having 6 little helpers!

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T21:33:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! We had a very low-key New Year's Eve and start to the year. Bill's grandmother gave us a firepit for Christmas, so we decided to try it out today after church for roating marshmallows and making s'mores. It the first time the kids had done that, and while a very simple activity, they had a lot of fun!

The kids helped collect pine needles and small sticks for kindling, and Daddy got the fire going.

Roasting the first one

Mark

John and Mommy

David and Becca

Becca and Daddy

Ali

Kate

Taking a break to check on the garden. Most of it is done, but we are still getting some tomatoes and lettuce, the cauliflower seems to be growing and we harvested some nice cabbage that we cooked with dinner tonight. Even being in Texas, I am surprised anything is still growing since we have had several freezes already this season.

Friday night the kids had a sleep-over at Papa and G.G.'s house (my parents). That is twice in one week! This one had been planned, but Chirstmas night my parents gave us so that Bill and I could rest and get healthy. Friday, we really enjoyed an at-home date night. Bill cooked, and we did a bunch of work around the house and just enjoyed time together. We really appreciate having them near-by and that they are so excited to be involved with their grandkids!

My dad took this picture during their sleep-over. My parents lay out bedding stuff for them, but they come up with their creative arrangements all on their own!

Mark got to build a castle with Papa!

My mom makes homemade jam which we go through by the gallon at our house! When I was little, she used to make it from strawberries and raspberries from our own garden, but now we buy the fruit. Everyone was interested to learn how G.G. made it.

Papa has been off a lot during the holidays and came to the park with us one day. One of the favorite activities was making a train of people to go down the slide.

I had just a few pictures from last year that I never posted and wanted to share.

Us with all the kids in September

My parents with all the kids in September

These were both of Ali and about 6 months old, but I thought they were cute.

As I think about the past year and the one upcoming, I feel so incredibly blessed. It can definitely be challenging to raise six young children, and I certainly don't want to minimize that, but I just can't imagine life being any better than this. I am blessed with a great husband, six healthy children, parents I love near-by, a great home, food on the table, good friends, etc. I thank God for all the amazing things He has given us this past year and pray for His continued blessing and protection in 2012. Happy New Year to all! :)

Christmas Day

2011-12-28T13:36:00.000-06:00

Bill and I got up in good time Christmas morning to make sure we were up before the kids. We shouldn't have worried about it! Feeling under the weather, they slept in some. We actually went upstairs and woke them up!

Finally up, excited and ready to come down!

Stockings are one of my favorite things about Christmas

The kids spread out and immediately got to opening.

Moving on to presents

David

Ali displaying several things at a time

I felt rotten on Christmas and actually spent a lot of the day in bed. I got up in time to go to my parents' house for lunch, the happy birthday Jesus cake, and to open presents with them. Bill tells me that the kids had an awesome day, but a lot of it was a blur for me.

David

Mark asked for this LEGOs container truck for his second birthday and has consistently asked for it every Christmas and birthday since. It has a gazillion pieces and was not appropriate for a 2-year old but now he was ready. He loves LEGOs and is really good at them. He was so excited to finally get this truck!

Every time I asked Becca what she wanted, she said she wanted a purse with a wallet. She was happy!

My parents got the kids the Play Mobile zoo with various add-ons. Each kid opened one box of it, and we set it up on our train table to play with. The zoo is one of our favorite places!

John

Kate displaying one of Daddy's presents

Every time I asked Ali what she wanted, she said dress-up clothes. She was happy too! And she has lived in this outfit the past three days!

Becca got a cradle like this for her birthday, and Kate has consistently said that she wanted a cradle like Becca's for Christmas. I love the personalities in this picture. Mark is helping Kate while she waits patiently to rock a baby, John is showing G.G. something and I'm sure explaining it to her, David is sprawled on the floor and you can just hear the truck noises he is making by looking at his face!

My awesome parents offered to keep the kids overnight for a sleep-over so Bill and I could get some rest! We got the house cleaned up, and I slept about forever! Today I am finally feeling much better, and I think all the kids are over the hump too. While kind of a bummer to be sick for Christmas, it was kind of nice that it hit at a low key time with lots of adults off from work.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T13:32:00.000-06:00

With six kids, I sometimes feel like we are all battling for space: the kids want their own areas to play, we adults want some space free from kid things (doesn't happen!), etc. Well, Bill and I retreated in the battle. We moved our piano and desk / study stuff into our bedroom and plan to move the safe out soon and gave the kids the study. It was set up Christmas Eve morning for them with an activity table, seven chairs, art and craft supplies, puzzles, games, and a big present to open.

An easel! They LOVE it! And I am really enjoying having a space where they can color, draw, etc. whenever they want to.

Opening Christmas cards at their table.

Perfect spot to play with play dough!

We have all been sick lately. I took a representative sample of children to the pediatrician last week. (I always prefer to do that so I don't have to drag everyone and don't have to pay as many co-pays.) All six of them started nebulizer treatments and have taken turns feeling rotten. John had a fever and was out for the count Christmas Eve afternoon, so Bill stayed home with him but the rest of us along with my parents were able to make it to the family service at church. It was our first time taking the kids, and it was great! The program was perfect for their age.

When we got home, we had dinner and decorated Christmas cookies. John seemed to perk up by then and joined us.

Kate

My mom and I had collected various presents throughout the year that we weren't sure exactly what to do with. It didn't work out to be the right number or seem equal if we divided them by six and didn't want to go buy more things besides the presents they were getting, so we decided to do a big box of presents. The box was wrapped but nothing inside was and everything was for everyone to share.

Discovering skirts, games, puzzles, toys, etc. I wasn't sure if this would go well or not, but the kids seemed to like it a lot and shared the contents well!

Here is a video of them opening a present:

The kids were excited going to bed and ready for Christmas!

Girls' Christmas Dance

2011-12-28T13:27:00.000-06:00

The girls' dance class did a brief performance for the parents. Very low key but a lot of fun with a cookie party at the end! My parents, Bill, the boys and I all went. The class split up into two groups to make room for all the visitors.

Becca

Ali

Kate

We have a ways to go before the recital in the spring, but they have learned a lot! Here is a brief video. The girls liked the red garland in their hair.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T09:23:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas! This was the main picture we used on our cards this year:

David, John, Mark

Becca, Kate, Ali

Since we moved this summer, we used our Christmas cards as our change of address notices as well and included this picture from shortly after our move.

Our family when we moved into our new house

Just as a contrast, this was our family when we moved into our first house ten years ago. Times have changed! :)

We have all been sick, but we had a good Christmas. I will post about it with pictures soon.

Family Christmas and Activity of the Day

2011-12-20T17:17:00.000-06:00

Sunday, we celebrated Christmas with a lot of Bill's family. We all gathered at his aunt and uncle's home about an hour from us for lunch and a wonderful visit! I don't think the kids (except maybe Mark) really remember Christmas from last year, and they were very excited to open their first presents! We had a great time. The kids especially enjoyed playing with their cousins.

Us with one of Bill's grandmothers, his mom, his sisters and their families and aunts, uncles and cousins

Mark had a gift card to Toys R Us that he used recently to buy a gingerbread train kit. He was very excited, and Bill and I helped him put it together last night during 4-year old time. Being the first time for all three of us, we were definitely amateurs, but we had a lot of fun!

The kids are out of school for two weeks, and all of their activities are done for the year. We have a cough in the house and it has been rainy so we haven't wanted to do any outings, so I have been trying to think of various household activities that would be fun. Since the gingerbread train was fun, we did some more building with everyone this afternoon. Each child (and me too!) got graham crackers, a bowl with icing, and a bowl with M&M's, smarties and mini-candy canes.

On my phone camera with fingers covered in frosting, this was the best pic I got. :)

Personally I built a tee-pee, a house with a chimney, a tunnel with a fire engine, and more. (It's the engineer in me trying to come out.) The kids mostly just decorated flat pieces, but hey we had a ball!

Mark was creative and built a sleigh.

John

Becca

Ali

David decorated for awhile, but...

then he decided it would be more fun to play pretend guns and just eat the decorations!

Kate was into it, and she carefully decorated each cracker before eating them one by one.

They definitely had a good time, and we are still looking for fun things to do on stir-crazy kind of days!

Misc happenings

2011-12-11T15:04:00.000-06:00

This morning, our family lit the third candle of Advent during the service. They did well, and we didn't set the church on fire so I considered it a success! :) It was the first time besides their baptism that our quints have been to "big people church." They were interested in the room and people and enjoyed the music, although we took them to the nursery after the candle was lit.

Daddy, Ali, Kate, Mark, John, David, Becca, Mommy

I always think it is interesting to watch their differences. Mark and Kate are watching the congregation, John and Becca are watching me read and Bill light the candle, David and Ali are sitting down looking at the pastors.

Mommy and Becca

Another thing I love watching lately is how much they help each other and work together. Don't get me wrong, they do their share of fighting too, but there is definitely a bond between them.

At the park after school, John was having trouble getting started on the rock wall. Ali came running over saying she would help! Another time, Ali was nervous climbing something, and David came to the top and yelled down encouragement, "You can do it Ali! I'm right here Ali!" SO cute!

Ali helping John

Even sleeping, they seem to enjoy being together! The boys all share one bed (by choice), and often 2 or more of the girls are cuddled together.

Kate and Becca

Everyone loves to help around the house. I frequently hear, "Mommy I want to help you!" Sometimes I struggle to find jobs for them all, and sometimes I will just get out 6 rags and let them "dust," but I try to let them help with as much as I can.

Mark making PB&J sandwiches for lunch.

I don't let our quints make sandwiches yet, but they do help with fruit. Peeling oranges, taking grapes off stems, etc.

Until recently we did not let the kids leave their rooms in the morning until Mommy or Daddy came upstairs to get them. They played with each other pretty well, and I do better throughout the day if I have a few quiet moments to get set up and prepared for the day. Recently we started letting them get up on their own in the morning when it is light outside. They pick their clothes the night before, and we lay them out in the playroom. They put jammies in the hamper, go potty and get dressed, but they still play in the playroom until they are told they can come down. It has actually sped our morning routine, and they like the responsibility.

We have rearranged our garage and set up areas for the kids to play. They have shelves with some toys, a table for coloring and crafts, a couch and chairs, etc. They even ride bikes inside the garage! This day we used sidewalk chalk just outside the garage.

Tea parties are a favorite activity. The girls have been saving their pictures from school and using them as placemats. We have a round rug in the entryway that they use as the table. Becca and Kate almost always come to the party

Ali is always the tea party hostess!

Mark's class from school had a playdate. Usually for class playdates I take all of the kids with me, but for this one, just Mark and I went. It was fun for me to visit more with the other mommies and for Mark to play with his friends. After that, Bill met us, and Mark got to have lunch with both parents, a VERY rare thing for us! It was a lot of fun.

Happy Advent!

2011-11-28T13:13:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of Advent, and we were excited to start the Christmas season. This is the first year we have lit the candles in the advent wreath, and we read about what the first one symbolizes. My family always had potato soup on tree decorating day, and we are continuing that.

David and John blowing out the candle together

After lunch we put up the tree. The kids helped me spread the branches

The tree is ready to decorate!

Becca, John, David, Mark, Kate and Ali

My family always gave an Advent gift, and it was usually an ornament. I love this tradition, and we continued it with our kids. It is always the first ornaments put on the tree.

Kate and Ali

The kids had a great time putting ornaments on the tree! The bottom half is all unbreakable ones that they are allowed to touch. (Some were ones they made.)

David and John waiting for more to hang.

Mark

John collected an armful of ornaments and then put them all on one branch!

He was so proud!

Ali

Becca

Kate

Becca taking a break with Daddy

The tree is done!

Becca, Mark, Ali, Kate, John, David

With Mommy and Daddy

With Papa and G.G. - We are so blessed to have them close-by!

On Saturday, the kids got to help Papa and G.G. with their tree and manger scene at their house too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T12:08:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a great day yesterday! Like most homes, we spent a lot of the day cooking, watched some of the parade on tv and some football while spending time with family and friends.

It was our first big meal in our new house. One of the many things I love about this house is that the dining room is big enough to accommodate a large table since we have a large family. It was our first meal at our new table, and we set up a utility table right next to it for the kids. (We have a table that seats 8 in the breakfast area, but I wanted to kids to be with us and not in another room.) It worked great!

Who's ready to eat?!

The adult table. We used my mom's china, which I love to do but isn't something we do often.

We had my parents, Grandma Helen, Uncle Mike, Aunt Janet (the three of them are family friends), and one of Bill's co-workers and his family come over.

Dinner was delicious, but the kids definitely voted that dessert was even better! Aunt Janet outdid herself and made heart-shaped mini-cheesecakes with toppings, chocolate cupcakes and pumpkin pie! Yum!

Who's ready for a bedtime story?

Hmmm, what should we do next...

Mark gets to stay up after our quintuplets go to bed and have "four year old time" for about 45 minutes most nights. The adults waited to have dessert until the little ones went to bed, and Mark was very excited to get to sit at the big people table and have a second dessert!

I asked each of the kids yesterday what they are thankful for. Very varied responses! Mark said Jesus, John said kisses, Becca said Mommy and Daddy and family, Ali said God, David said pizza, and Kate said Mommy and Daddy. Bill and I have so many things to be thankful for! We are so incredibly blessed to have six amazing, healthy kids, my parents close-by, a nice home and food on the table and so much more.

Quite a few friends have gotten into pinterest, and for awhile I wasn't interested. I recently started looking around on there and really like the site! I have gotten lots of new recipes among other things. For Thanksgiving, we used a couple of recipes as well as a veggie tray design and a center piece idea. The cucumbers were fresh from our garden, and the green beans at dinner were as well! The kids had fun helping Daddy pick the veggies.

One of the kids' pumpkins from Halloween became a flower pot centerpiece.

Earlier in the day we went to the park across the street and played in the backyard for awhile.

Becca

Last week the kids had Thanksgiving Feasts at school.

John and Mark had theirs on the same day, and Bill and I got to go to those. John's was first so he was the lucky quintuplet who got to go to two feasts, including big brother's!! When asked what his favorite part of his feast was, John said going to Mark's!

Mark

Becca, Ali, David and Kate all had theirs at the same time on the same day. I went to Becca's, while my mom went to Ali's and then we switched half way through. Bill went to David and Kate's.

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

The Aggies had their last Big 12 game yesterday. While it didn't end how we hoped, Gig 'em, Aggies!!

David, Ali, Kate, John, Mark and Becca

We go to Papa and G.G.'s house most Sundays after church. Last weekend, we took some pictures. :)

Papa with Mark and Ali

G.G. with Ali

Mommy with Ali. Ali sat in lots of laps and got in lots of pictures!

The kids found a pair of Papa's work boots, and trying them on was definitely fun! The four pictures below of kids in the boots absolutely capture each of their personalities!

David

Becca

Kate

Ali

You never know what fun toys you might find at their house! :) Next we practiced tying off with his lanyard!

John

Mark is tied off to Mommy

Recently, Bill's mom brought us a queen sized bed that she isn't using anymore. We decided at least temporarily to put it in the boys' room. Mark was on a twin mattress on the floor and John and David were on crib mattresses on the floor. We figured that John and David could share the big bed and Mark would keep his, but they decided that they all like sleeping together. (I posted a picture not too long back of them all sleeping in Mark's twin, so I shouldn't have been surprised.) Now their sleeping arrangement looks like this. I love that they enjoy being together!

A Great Weekend, Birthday Dinner, and Family Pictures

2011-11-13T13:28:00.000-06:00

This weekend, the kids had their first sleepover at Papa and G.G.'s house, and Bill and I had our first quiet overnight at home. The evening was actually kind of strange feeling, eerily quiet, but really nice. Bill cooked a fabulous dinner and we just relaxed. We slept 9.5 hours that night and then took our time getting up and moving in the morning! The morning was fantastic! We had coffee and brunch, ran a couple of errands, hung out at home, got a few things done and then had lunch before going to my parents' house. Thank you so much Papa and G.G.!!

We have taken Mark out to dinner for his birthday the past two years and said we were going to do that with our quints this year, and this weekend (while a little late) was a good time to do it. The ten of us went to a hibachi steak restaurant. The kids had a great time!

Our table: John, Papa, Mark, David, Mommy, Kate, G.G., Becca, Ali, and Daddy

Papa and the boys

G.G. with Becca and Ali (Kate wanted nothing to do with the camera at that moment)

The fire definitely caught most of the kids off guard! Kate was nervous and sat with her eyes semi-covered most of the time, although the others really enjoyed the show.

Kate settled fine when the chef left and did a great job with her chop sticks!

The staff brought ice cream with candles and announced that we had a quintuplet birthday and sang to the kids with all their names. They even brought Mark ice cream with a candle so he wouldn't feel left out. It was a great time!

As I have said before, we try to be very deliberate about making sure that the kids get pictures with us. On (or around) their birthdays, we take a picture of each child with Mommy and Daddy. We actually missed Mark's this year, so we did his at the same time. This was the first time we have done pictures by ourselves. Bill used a remote for the camera, we told the kids to look at the camera and say cheese. I thought the pictures turned out pretty well, especially considering that there is no one standing there getting them to look or smile!

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

End of T-ball Season

2011-11-09T10:12:00.000-06:00

Mark had a great time playing t-ball this season and is already looking forward to the spring!

Ready to run!

Good job, Mark! He's out!

Mark always had a large cheering section!

Mark with Daddy. I think they enjoyed getting to spend extra time together playing ball.

Good season, Orioles!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:25:00.001-05:00

The kids have been playing with lots of super hero toys lately, especially batman and spiderman, so this year for Halloween the boys were Spiderman and the girls were Spider girl.

All my Spiderpeople: Kate, David, Becca, John, Ali, Mark

I felt like we should get a picture without masks to see their faces.

Shooting their webs!

Saturday night, a local grocery store had some games and goodies set up, so we went with a friend. Their favorite game was Angry Birds, but I didn't get a picture of that one. Here Mark is apple bowling

The cookie stacking contest

Sunday after church, my parents came over for lunch and pumpkin decorating / carving. The kids each colored and stickered (is that a word?!) a pumpkin.

Helping Daddy

Becca was really into it! She wanted to help the whole time.

Helping Papa

The kids ran around a lot. They would help, then play, then come back to check it out. I think this was the only shot I got with all six of them in it. :)

Ali did help some with the pumpkins, but she definitely preferred the stickers. After decorating pumpkins, she decorated herself and all of the adults.

Ali and G.G.

Sunday evening, my parents' church had a fall festival with games, dinner, bouncy houses, and trunk or treating.

They had a photographer so we got a shot with everyone in it!

Papa, G.G., Mommy, John, Becca, Kate, Ali, Mark, David, Daddy

The kids liked the hot dogs and chips for dinner!

Hula hooping

Daddy and David doing the hula hoop ring toss

We went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. It was our first year in this house, and we enjoyed meeting more of our neighbors. The kids had a blast going from house to house.

Kiddos with Papa

Last week, the girls' dance class dressed up in their Halloween costumes. The picture was on my phone through a tinted window and is blurry, but I thought it was cute. They are doing their choo choo train during the tap portion of class.

Happy third birthday!

2011-10-27T06:40:00.006-05:00

Tuesday was our quintuplets' third birthday. They were very excited about turning three, and I think we had parties for a little over a week! Their main party was on Saturday, and we had a bbq and activities in the backyard. The kids are in four classes at school, and we invited all their playmates. It was fun having so many kids running around! They got to pick their outfits for the party, which they were extremely excited about too!

Ready for the party! Mark, John, Ali, Kate, Becca, David

With Dad and Mom

The bounce house is always fun

At the kids' activity table, you could decorate a cookie, color a picture, or make a crown

We sang "Happy Birthday" to each one of them individually. They LOVED that! Their faces glowed when it was their turn!

John

Becca

Ali - Her face in this picture totally captured the excitement!

David

Kate

My dad's birthday is three days before theirs, and mine is three days after, so my parents came over on their actual birthday and we celebrated all the birthday people with ice cream sundaes and presents.

Who wants ice cream?!

David

I still love that they will sit in a line and open presents in a semi-orderly fashion. They loved presents. What kid doesn't?! They also paid very close attention to what was given to them. We are working on the balance between having their own individual things but still sharing with other family members. We will probably be working on that for another 15 years! :)

Mark, Kate, Ali, Becca, David, John

Opening presents from my parents.

When I had asked the kids what they wanted for their birthday, the responses I got were pink, blue, a real baby, a real puppy, and a real kitty! No idea about pink or blue what; they just said "pink" or "blue!" Definitely no real babies, puppies or kitties coming to our house, but the kids seemed happy with what they got instead. :)

John absolutely loves tools! And he got lots of them!

Becca adores baby dolls. (She was the one who wanted a baby.) Among other things, the cradle was a favorite.

Ali loves playing tea party. She invites me to one about every five minutes. Ali rarely drinks tea with everyone else and seems to take her hostess duties quite seriously refilling plates and cups. Ali got a tea trolley with a tea set.

David enjoys playing dress up. He and Ali have an ongoing debate about a blue skirt in our house. Ali feels that it is for a girl because it is a skirt, but David feels it is for a boy because it is blue. He added to his dress-up collection, and I'm not sure anyone else has gotten to try it on yet!

Kate likes pretty much everything and is easy to please, but she has worn her new dress-up clothes non-stop too!

Helping Papa open his present

Papa really enjoys doing projects with the kids, and he got a bird feeder that looks like a truck that they are going to build together. John was funny talking about bringing his tools to help.

Bill's mom came for the party weekend, and we opened presents with her on Sunday. The girls all got a sparkly hat, wand, bag, and sunglasses which they love! Kate walked around with the wand one day holding it near everyone saying "sparkle, sparkle." No idea where she got that, but it was pretty cute!

Ali sporting a new hat

At the kids' school, the parents are invited to come celebrate each child's birthday and bring a treat for the class to share. We had four classrooms to visit and spread it out over two weeks. I let each kid pick what treat they wanted to take. Bill works very close to the school, so he was able to come to each of the parties too. I think the kids were all excited to have Mommy and Daddy come to school!

David and Kate are in the same room, and their class was first. Two classes go on the playground at a time, so they get to see Becca when they play outside.

If they had picked different things, I would have taken two treats to their classroom, but I was glad they both picked vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

David

Kate

John picked chocolate chip cookies

Ali picked rice krispie treats

Becca picked rice krispie treats too

I think we are done with birthday parties for now. It is hard for me to believe that they are already three; time is going very quickly! We feel so incredibly blessed to have all of our children and look forward to this year! Happy birthday John, Becca, Ali, David and Kate!

Pumpkin Patch and Dentist

2011-10-20T07:05:00.000-05:00

Our church has a pumpkin patch, and we went last Saturday to pick our pumpkin. The kids have gotten to where taking pictures is usually pretty easy. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx that!) I told each of them where to stand or sit and placed them. Most of the time it goes fairly smoothly.

As a comparison, this was last year's picture. (I realized after the fact that they were in the same shirts as last year's pumpkin patch outing. Oh well.) There were four adults working REALLY hard to even get them all to be in the frame. Obviously we didn't get smiles! We have come a long way! :)

The kids following Daddy out to the van. When they follow me like this, I feel like a Mama duck with my ducklings all in a row.

We went to the dentist for our 6-month check up this week. It was my first time to take them by myself, and it went exactly the same as the last several times. Some jumped right into the chair no problem, some were hesitant but warmed to the idea and did fine, and one screamed and screamed and screamed! All their teeth were healthy, and I think overall they even had a fun outing. They especially liked the stickers. Dr. Wheeler is an Aggie so we wore our Aggie shirts and gave him a great big "Gig 'em!"

Mark, Ali, Dr. Wheeler, David, Kate, John, Becca

When we went to Home Depot recently, there was a fire truck out front, and the kids all got to climb in it and try on the firemen's helmets! Every time we go to Home Depot now, they ask if there will be a fire truck. :)

Mark

We went to the zoo recently (of course!). I realize I post tons of pictures of the zoo, but we like it there a lot. :)

Kate taking a water break

What I said before about pictures being pretty easy was not true this day. It is always hard to get a picture with me in it, but they were especially uninterested this day. We tried to be creative and sat and all watched the orangatan saying don't look back, don't look back...

Look now! It wasn't our best picture ever, but we sure had fun taking it!

Our Garden

2011-10-18T07:23:00.000-05:00

The kids were very excited to help plant a garden at our new house. We started some things with seeds. The kids had made planters and flower pot holders at Home Depot during their kids' Saturday morning workshops recently so we used those for the seeds to grow in. Everyone got to pick something to plant.

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

We put the seeds in our bedroom to start.

Bill built boxes to use for raised beds, and we let the kids help tear up the grass and clear and level a good spot for them.

Going to get more dirt

Mark watering our first couple of plants.

This is what the garden looked like this week. We'll see what we get. We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, cabbage, bell pepper and carrots.

The herbs are on the deck and seem to be doing well. I use those a lot. The kids love smelling them when they are outside playing.

One on One Time

2011-09-26T15:25:00.001-05:00

Over the past couple of months, I have gotten to take each of the kids on a one-on-one outing. They have had individual outings in the past to go to the grocery store or run errands occasionally, but for these, they got to pick something fun that they wanted to do. John, Becca and David all chose to ride the trolley, play at a local splashpad and have lunch at Grimaldi's Pizza. Ali and Kate chose to eat at Crust Pizza then play at the Children's Museum. Mark picked to go to Incredible Pizza to have lunch, play games, bowl and race go carts. They all had a great time getting to have all of Mommy's attention. We talked, and I really enjoyed getting to see each of their personalities. I got to play with them more since I wasn't counting children!

John on the trolley

Playing with dough while waiting for our pizza

At the splashpad

Waiting to ride the trolley back

Becca on the trolley

Playing at the splashpad

With her dough

Waiting for the trolley

Ali enjoying her pizza

She cooked lots of meals for me at the Children's Museum

At the train table

David at the splashpad

David ate more pizza than I did! (And anyone who knows me will tell you that is a lot!)

Waiting for the trolley

Kate waiting for her pizza

Playing with the sand at the Children's Museum

"Fishing"

Kate and I stopped at the grocery store on the way home and played their game.

She won an "instant winner" sticker and got this bag! (We now use it for library books.) Almost all of the outings ended like this with a sleeping child.

Mark playing mini-golf. It was his first time for that.

Bowling

Games!

In the go carts. Mark had talked for weeks about wanting to ride in the "race cars!" The picture is blurry, but he was so excited about this!

It was a lot of fun and really special getting to spend that time with each child!

Fall Activities

2011-09-12T07:11:00.000-05:00

Fall activities have started, and the kids are having a lot of fun! We are continuing with swim lessons during the school year, and they look forward to that every week.

Mark is playing t-ball, and this is his first time on a team and playing games. His first game is in a couple of weeks.

On our way to first practice

His team is the Orioles. After practice they got their team jerseys and hats!

While Mark had practice, our quints had lunch.

The complex where he is playing is awesome! There is even a playground right next to the field where he plays! (It is also right by the concession stand and the bathrooms!) After lunch, we played.

The girls are doing a ballet/tap/acro class and were so excited to get their leotards, tights, dance shoes, and dance bags!

I realize I am biased, but man I think they are cute! :)

After their first class. I loved the tiny tap shoes and the crossed ankles.

John and David are doing soccer through our local rec center. It is a low key program, and there are no games. They are having a lot of fun and are especially excited that Daddy does it with them!

I love the fact that we have our own built in cheering section. The kids are really good about clapping and cheering for each other!

After soccer, we have been going to the park to play. I think this teeter totter would be a great addition to our backyard!

First Day of School

2011-08-30T14:43:00.000-05:00

Today was the kids' first day of school! Mark is in his third (and last) year of pre-school, but this is the first year for our quintuplets to go. We decided to separate them as much as possible. There are four 2-year old classrooms, so John, Becca, and Ali are each on their own, and David and Kate are together. Everyone did awesome this morning! All six walked right into their classrooms with no tears and no hesitation! In fact, Becca was the only one that came back to say goodbye. She ran back to me with a huge smile, gave me a big hug and kiss then ran back in. They are used to going places and being with new people, but they are not used to being apart from each other. Hopefully today is an indication of how the whole year will go! I let them pick what they wanted to wear today, but all six were excited to wear their new school shirts.

Mark, David, John, Becca, Ali, Kate

Bill is out of town for the week, and I was a little worried about trying to get first day of school pictures by myself, get them all to look at the camera and maybe smile, and be on time! (I ended up over compensating and was half an hour early!) So we took pictures last Friday when we went to their come and go day at school. Bill came to this too, and we visited all five classrooms for about 10 minutes each. It was hectic but fun. When they picked clothes that day, they all picked something different. Awhile back I had taken the kids shopping and let them all pick their own school shoes. In the past I have bought matching shoes because they are easier to spot on the playground, but now that they put on their own shoes, I didn't want them to match since they are all in different sizes. They all picked different ones without me saying a word, so it worked out great! They were so excited to wear them!

John, Mark, David, Ali, Kate, Becca

John, Mark, David

Ali, Kate, Becca

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

The kids go two half days per week, and I think they are going to really enjoy it! I think I will enjoy the time too! :)

End of Summer

2011-08-29T07:27:00.012-05:00

All of these pictures and the videos are misc things that I took on my phone duing the last month or so. This video shows a bunch of clips and daily life and is a pretty good representation of our crew :)

Ali and Becca during a trip to a local splash pad

It is a great park! We played in the water, had lunch then played at the park! It is nice being to the stage where I can do an outing like this without any help. It means we get to go out a lot more often. For me, the hardest part going out alone is when someone has to potty. Being potty trained is great, but it makes outings more interesting! :)

Whenever we go somewhere, I have Mark get out of the van first, and he stands on the white (or yellow) line at an assigned spot. Then as everyone else gets out, they take the person's hand in front of them and stand on the line too. It works really well! I think this shot was when we were grocery shopping.

I take the kids a lot of places by myself, but I had never taken them all to the doctor alone. We went last week to get our FluMist, and it went great! They read magazines and books and waited patiently. When it was time for the mist, they all volunteered for their turn and no one cried! I was very proud of them!

In the waiting room (another patient's parent offered to take a picture)

On a trip to Home Depot

Mark really enjoys Legos, and I have been really impressed with how well he can do them! We made one of the bedrooms at our new house the "4-year old room." (Only people 4 and over are allowed to enter.) He has Legos, a writing center, jigsaw puzzles, chapter books, and some other bigger kid toys in there.

When we moved, we got a new washer and a new dryer. (The washer had broken about 3 weeks before we moved, and that was rough!) The boxes were awesome! I knew the kids would have fun with them, but I was surprised by how much fun they had! I cut the doors and windows, and they decorated them and played.

Mark and David digging under our rockwall in the backyard

Kate and Ali swinging. The playset in the backyard is one of the kids' favorite things about the new house! It has been so hot lately, but this part of the yard is shaded, and I find it tolerable for everyone right after breakfast for about an hour.

I love when they play together. It doesn't happen all the time, but those are special moments.

We go to The Woodlands Children's Museum a lot! The kids really like playing there, and it isn't very crowded if you pick the right time of day. The rest of the pictures are from a few of our trips there.

Kate

Ali

Ali and John

Mark

Becca

David

The firepole is a recent addition!

Digging

Playing in the sand

Visiting the fish

Blue Bell

2011-08-26T07:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Bill and I took the kids to Brenham (about an hour and a half drive) to visit the Blue Bell Creamery. We took a tour of the facility and then ate ice cream. Obviously this was a popular outing! :)

David, Joh, Mark, Ali, Kate, Becca in Blue Bell hats

Reading while we waited for the tour

They don't allow cameras during the tour itself, but the kids had a great time!

Picking which ice cream flavor everyone wanted

Everyone picked cookies n cream

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

After Blue Bell, we decided to stop for lunch before heading home and discovered that kids under 4 eat free at CiCi's Pizza! I would guess a lot of people already know that, but it was news to me, and I was very excited! :)

Playing at CiCi's before heading home

Father's Day Pictures (sort of!)

2011-08-13T20:37:00.000-05:00

We have found it very easy to get busy and forget to take pictures, especially with Bill and me in them. We have made a point to make sure that on Mother's Day, each child gets a picture with me, on Father's Day with Bill, and on their birthday with both of us. We figured that guarantees it happens at least once a year. We were traveling this year on Father's Day and just hadn't gotten around to taking pictures until today. So here are our better late than never Father's Day pictures! :)

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

End of July

2011-07-29T15:52:00.001-05:00

We have enjoyed the month of July and here are some highlights.

This week, we took another trip to the zoo. My friend Melissa and her son, Finn, came too, and we had a great time! We decided to match all 7 kids in the same shirts, and it was SO much easier to count kids! This was by far the easiest zoo trip we have had! The kids walked or ran the whole time and didn't have to hold hands except in the parking lot. We saw lots of animals, ate lunch and had fun!

John, our friend Finn, Mark, Becca, David, Ali and Kate

The zoo had lots of water spots to cool off, and those were a highlight!

We have been swimming a lot more this summer than in the past. The kids are better able to play and have fun safely in shallow water, and they are much better listeners this year. They love the water!

We went to the Woodlands Mothers of Multiples swim party. This was the first year where Bill and I felt that the two of us could handle all of them by ourselves. They had a blast! We stayed in the shallow end where they could reach the bottom, and they played with toys and practiced their skills from swim lessons.

A lot of Sundays after church, we go to my parents' house and have lunch and swim in their pool. They blow up a little kiddie pool to have on the side. We had outgrown this slide, and I was planning on getting rid of it, but it makes the perfect water slide! The kids loved it!

I can take 3 kiddos swimming at a time by myself if I pick a shallow pool that isn't very crowded. There is a pool about half a mile from us now that is perfect! They have a pond there where the kids can look at the turtles and fish too! One week, I took the girls in the morning while a friend kept the boys, then switched at lunch time and took the boys in the afternoon while the girls stayed home. It worked great, although I was definitely tired!

When we all go, they pack their own backpacks. They like getting to be "big!" (I set out their towels, cups, and lunches. They get the one that is theirs and put their clothes in their backpack.)

Anxiously awaiting their turn at swim lessons. They are enjoying this activity a lot, and they seem to be doing much better swimming!

Mark is enjoying tball. His summer tball activity was a skills session. Each week they work on something different, but lately Mark has been asking when he gets to play games, so we may start in a league this fall.

I bought gloves for each of our quintuplets, and we all went to the field across the street to practice. Everyone got turns batting and fielding.

The house had a playset in the backyard when we moved in, and we love it!

The kids are all playing together better and better. Not to say there isn't any whining, fighting, or arguing, but it is getting better. This was before we went to the zoo. I didn't pose this picture (except to tell them to look up from playing and smile). All six of them sat on the steps and were singing songs, reading books and playing with each other nicely!

Dress-up is always a favorite!

Kate, Becca, Ali

David, Mark, John

Playdough is definitely another favorite!

Bill reading to the kids

The girls each sleep in their own beds, but it is very common for me to find all three boys snuggled into Mark's bed asleep!

Becca likes to make giant piles of things. I joke that someday she is going to be a hoarder! The pile on her bed keeps getting higher!

We moved!!

2011-07-16T07:48:00.000-05:00

Bill and I bought our first house shortly after we got married and have lived there for the past 9.5 years. It has been a great house, and our family has changed a lot while we lived there. It has 3 bedrooms and a little less than 2100 square feet. While definitely sufficient for our family, we were excited to get some extra space.

Bill and me with David, Becca, Kate, Mark, John and Ali in front of our house

We have been on the market for a few months. It has been challenging keeping the house up to show quality all the time while living in it!

The kids enjoy helping me clean and are getting to the point where some of it actually does help! They are good dusters, and they dry all the surfaces that I wash.

I packed the house myself. Packing home alone with 6 kids was actually not as hard as I thought it would be, although I definitely appreciated the couple times where someone watched the kids and I could pack alone. The playroom was my favorite! There is nothing breakable so I let the kids do it all! They dumped all the toys in boxes, I loaded up the van with the boxes and the kids, and the seven of us unpacked and set up the playroom at the new house together! I think they enjoyed being involved with the move.

One of the projects at the old house was repainting the boys' room and doing some repairs, so the kids all shared a room for awhile. They love getting to do that! It means less sleep, but at least they enjoy it.

Having lived in our last house for so long, there was a lot of sentimental attachment. It was our first house, our kids were all born there, our kids all learned to crawl, walk, etc. there, and so many other memories were made! One of the things I will miss most is our neighbors! We lived at the end of a cul-de-sac and spent a lot of time together over those years. Our street has tons of kids, and we loved playing out front.

The day that the for sale sign went in the yard, some of the kids on the street made pictures and cards for my kids saying they would miss them. I'm not sure they were old enough to understand that, but I was really touched!

The weekend before we moved, the neighbors had a going away party for us. We had dinner and enjoyed spending time with everyone.

My kids eating with a few friends

There was even a pinata! The kids all loved it!

Kate

David

Ali

Becca

John

Mark

After all the kids had a turn, Bill finished it off. The kids enjoyed the candy!

It has been a great house for us, and we are so grateful to have had such wonderful neighbors!

We closed on our new house on Thursday, June 30. Over the fourth of July weekend, we had painting, flooring and some misc projects done at the new house while Bill and I moved lots of boxes. It was nice getting to move some things room by room. I was able to clean and unpack as we went. Prior to moving day, we had the kitchen and the kids areas completely set up which made the transition much easier! The following Wednesday, the movers came for all the furniture and the remaining boxes.

Leaving the old house

Moving into the new house

The new house is much bigger than we are used to! It has 4 bedrooms with a study and has 3.5 baths. The extra bathroom was a big deal for me. I had trouble picturing 3 teenage boys and 3 teenage girls all sharing one very nicely. It is almost 3400 square feet and is laid out really well for us! The previous owners had updated it, and it is in great shape! We love the house and the location! The backyard has a nice deck with fans and they left a large wood playset for the kids. One of my favorite things is that there is a park directly across the street from us! It has a huge field, swings and 2 playset areas hidden in the trees. We have been walking there a lot and especially like going after dinner.

Walking to the park. (This was our first trip there, and Mark was running errands with Bill.)

Swinging

One of the play structures.

This has been our first full week in the house, and we are getting into a routine. The kids have settled in really well! We have met several neighbors, and they all seem very nice! We are really enjoying it and feel so blessed!

Columbus Day 3

2011-06-30T06:45:00.000-05:00

On Monday, we started the day going to the zoo. The zoo is one of our favorite outings at home, and Columbus has an incredible one! They had quite a few animals we hadn't seen, and we had a ball!

Seeing the Timber Wolves. When the wolf ran past, the kids would jump and squeal and run backwards. :)

The polar bears was definitely my favorite exhibit! There are two, and you could view them above ground and go under the water to watch them swim. We spent quite awhile watching them!

Watching from below

Bill and Mark in front of the polar bear exhibit

Papa and David

Jim and Terri are Becca's godparents. Here they are in front of the pink flamingos.

When we first entered, there were two pink flamingos out and the kids got to pet one.

The manatees were another highlight!

Penguins were a lot of fun to watch swim!

The kangaroo exhibit was interesting. People were able to walk through it without a cage or wall! There was a path right through their area!

In the aviary, you could feed the birds. Jeff and Kate had to go home the night before, so we had just enough adults for each to have a child plus one to take pictures.

Me with Ali

Jim with Becca

Bill with Mark

Bill and me with Mark and Ali

Papa and David

Terri with John

G.G. with Kate

Mark feeding the bird

After the zoo, we went to a local airport where Jim's company's plane is so the kids could look at some planes up close.

Jim and Terri with David, John, Becca, Kate, Ali and Mark

That evening we played outside blowing bubbles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. The kids really enjoyed it!

Becca

David

Ali

Mark

Becca and Ali

Mark

Kate

John with Daddy

We flew home on Tuesday. We had a GREAT time in Columbus! There were lots of great outings, but most importantly it was a wonderful visit with family! Thank you so much to Jim and Terri for having us!

Columbus Day 2

2011-06-28T15:53:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, we went to church. Their church prayed for us throughout the pregnancy and since then, and I think they were excited to meet the kids. After church, we had lunch then headed out for our next adventure.

Our first stop downtown was at a carousel. Mark has ridden carousels before, although it has been awhile. It was the first time for everyone else. They definitely seemed to enjoy it!

Jeff and Jim with Kate and David

Terri with Ali

Kate with Mark

Me with John

G.G. with Becca

Papa and me with Becca and David

After the carousel we went to see a replica of the Santa Maria.

Kate riding to our next adventure

G.G., me, Terri, Jeff, Paul, Kate with Ali, Kate, Mark, John, Becca and David

There was a building with some information before the ship. The kids were excited to learn hands on how a block and tackle works.

In front of the Santa Maria: Papa, Kate, Jeff, Terri, Jim, Bill, me, G.G. with John, Becca, David, Kate, Mark and Ali

Boarding the ship

Kate, Ali, Becca, David, Mark, and John sitting where they kept the livestock onboard

Becca, Mark and John steering

Kate and Ali's turn to steer

Sitting on the captain's bed - Becca, Kate, David, John, Mark, and Ali

Jeff is Ali's godfather. We were so excited that Jeff and Kate were able to come visit this weekend too! It is the first time we had seen them since their engagement, and we are thrilled that Kate is going to be part of the family!

Jeff and Kate with Ali with Columbus in the background

The boys loved rough housing with Paul!

Back at the house - Paul with David and Mark

Columbus Day 1

2011-06-27T15:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I tried REALLY hard to narrow down pictures from our trip to Columbus, but we had so many outings and so much fun that I think I need to break this trip up into multiples posts. So, I am going to post about each day we were there. We flew in on Friday afternoon. My unlce Jim and aunt Terri had borrowed six carseats and a mini-van, and they had enough plastic plates, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, sheets, and food (food was a big one) for our party of 10! It made our packing much easier! They and my cousins had visited us many times in Texas, and we were excited to get to visit them.

This picture was actually taken the morning that we left, but I wanted to start these posts with a picture of Uncle Jim and Aunt Terri with the kids!

Most of my pictures on the blog show what life and activities are really like. Below is probably one of the most deceptive pictures ever! :) We put the kids down with their six sleeping bags, six pillows, six sheets, and six stuffed animals all in a nice row as shown in the picture below. The night looked nothing like this! They had trouble settling to go to sleep and ended up in various different positions and arrangements. Bill and I ended up taking turns sitting in the room in the evenings until they quieted and went to sleep. Too much of a party environment otherwise. It worked out fine though. The first night took a long time to settle, but the next three nights didn't take as long.

Becca at breakfast on Saturday

Uncle Jim reading to David

Not too long after breakfast, we loaded up and went to a park. The kids always have a good time playing! We had my parents, Bill and me, Uncle Jim and Aunt Terri, my cousin Paul, my cousin Jeff and Jeff's fiancee Kate all there, so the ratio was awesome! (Paul lives in Columbus too. Jeff and Kate flew in from St. Paul for the weekend.) With that many adults, we took a man-to-man approach. I don't usually get to run around and play since I am usually counting all the kids to make sure no one escapes. I had a great time just getting to play!

David

John

Ali

Kate

David

Mark

Ali

Kate with Uncle Jim

G.G. and Uncle Jim with Becca and Ali

My great-aunt Susie and great-uncle John drove in from Cleveland around lunchtime on Saturday. I had taken Mark to visit them when he was less than a year old, but this was the first time they had met our quintuplets. My kids were really excited that there were two Johns and two Kates!

Susie and John with Mark, John, Ali, Becca, David and Kate

(backrow) Papa, G.G., Aunt Terri, Uncle Jim, Jeff, Paul (middle row) Bill, me, Susie, John (front row) Ali, Mark, John, Becca, David, Kate

That afternoon we made cupcakes for Father's Day. Aunt Terri and Kate both have pre-school experience and were great about involving the kids and letting them get dirty through participation! They poured in ingredients, stirred and put the mixture into the cupcake papers.

John

Kate

John, David and Becca

John and Susie had brought a new book for each of the kids. The kids love books and were really excited to have a present! Kate is reading to a group.

Terri had a bunch of fun stuff to use with play dough! We did this activity more than one day, and it was lots of fun!

We drove over to see Paul's house that afternoon. Saying that Paul is into projects would definitely be an understatment! He builds engines, airplanes, furniture, you name it. He does woodwork and metalwork. He also has one of the cleanest and most organized shop areas I have ever seen!

Papa and Uncle Jim are looking on as Paul teaches David, Mark and John how to use his lathe.

Paul is David's godfather. They are pictured here in front of Paul's milling machine.

Checking out some of the airplanes in the basement.

Aunt Terri works at their church and was able to take us there for the evening. We played with some of their toys in a large multi-purpose room with lots of space to run! We used their big kitchen and large pots to cook for the 17 of us and had dinner there too. It was a great spot with plenty of room for us!

Here Katie is helping set up an obstacle course for the kids.

John

Ali

Becca

David

Ali

This picture totally captures Becca's personality!

I will post more about the trip soon! :)

Our first airplane ride!

2011-06-23T13:53:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, my parents, Bill and I flew with the kids to Columbus, Ohio, to visit some of my family. Mark flew once as a baby, but it was our quintuplets' first plane ride! We have a LOT of pictures, but I thought I would blog the actual travel part first then do a second post about the visit itself. The kids all did amazing on the trip! I always expect they will do well and have fun, but I was even surprised how smoothly it went!

David, John, Becca, Ali, Mark and Kate - They carried their own backpacks the whole time with their drink, toys, books and extra clothes that I had packed.

John helping Daddy with a suitcase

Getting through security was the part that I was most nervous about. I wasn't sure if the kids would want to walk by themselves or if they would be intimidated by all the people and gadgets. They were fine. They lined up behind me, and we played "follow the leader" right through. The people at security were great! They gave the kids high fives as they went through and were really friendly with them.

I love how close they are in this picture

We had a snack in the terminal and watched planes while we waited for our flight.

Boarding

I had packed notepads, crayons, stickers, books, baby dolls, stuffed animals and few other goodie type toys for them to play with. They enjoyed discovering everything in their back packs during the flight, although they might have been most entertained by going potty! (On a side note, I was grateful that all of them are potty trained. Trying to change diapers on 2 year olds in those small spaces would have been tough!)

Mark

John

Becca and G.G.

The plane was small and had one seat on one side and two seats on the other. We arranged it that each adult sat with one kid, and two kids sat by themselves across the aisle from an adult. Ali has really come out of her shell a lot lately! She used to be pretty clingy with me in new places and intimidated easily. She actually volunteered to sit by herself and did well! Ali moved to sit with G.G. and Becca part way through the flight, and they let her stay on G.G.'s lap during landing.

Ali

David

Kate

We made it!

Mommy, Papa, G.G., Daddy and kiddos saying hi to Aunt Terri and Uncle Jim (taking the picture)

After a great visit and lots of fun (stay tuned for next blog post to hear about that), it was time to go home on Tuesday.

Ali, John, Becca, Mark, Kate and David with our plane in the background

Watching planes and trucks out the window

The kids were exhausted and slept for quite awhile during the flight home!

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

Our flight home ended up being really long! They delayed take off (after we had boarded and moved away from the gate) because they changed routes due to a storm and wanted to calculate to make sure we had enough fuel. They determined we had enough, but part way there they decided we were low on fuel and diverted us to Dallas. We sat on the plane for about an hour while they refueled and waited for clearance to go again before flying back to Houston. The flight was supposed to be about two hours and 40 minutes, and it was double that! Fortunately the kids slept most of the way to Dallas. We had a snack on the plane (that I had packed) while there, then read and played during the last leg of the flight. When we got off, most of the other passengers commented on how great they did!

Watching the refueling outside the plane window

The trip went very smoothly, and I think we all even enjoyed the travel part! I will post about the visit as soon as I get through all the pictures! :)

Happy birthday, Caylee!

2011-06-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago, we drove to College Station (about an hour and a half from us) to celebrate Bill's niece's first birthday! It was a lot of fun!

Mimi (Bill's mom) with all 9 of her grandchildren

Mimi with our kids. They love getting to see her and play with her!

Happy birthday, Caylee!

After cake, the kids played in a wading pool, a sprinkler and on a slip and slide. The slip and slide was a highlight for sure!

Mark, Becca, David and John

Mark

John and Becca - I love the facial expressions!

The birthday girl

David

John

Kate

Ali climbing a tree

We were so glad that we could be there to celebrate Caylee's birthday and had a great time visiting with friends and family!

The Era of Activities

2011-06-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

We have entered the "era of activities!" The kids are all doing swim lessons, Mark started t-ball, and the quintuplets are doing gymnastics! It seems like they are really enjoying everything, and I think it will be a fun summer!

Mark's first day of t-ball

This week focused primarily on base running

The quintuplets sat and watched very patiently for the entire hour!

The second week they worked on fielding and ball handling. I didn't get a picture of Mark doing that, but I got a picture of the quintuplets watching. We thought our Astros shirts were appropriate for t-ball.

Gymnastics is a very low key class through a local rec center. I just wanted them to get to have an activity and get to be in a group with other kids and learn to listen to a teacher. There are 13 kids in this class!

The gymnasts! John, Becca, David, Kate and Ali

When we first got there, Ali was really nervous and Becca stuck pretty close to me. The class is not parent participation, but the teacher asked parents to come in at least the first class to help the kids get comfortable. Within about 5 - 10 minutes, they were all fine, and I stood in the corner and watched. This week, I didn't even go in the room. All five lined up (David was even the first one and led the whole class in) and walked right into the room. They followed the directions and did great!

Waiting their turn - John, Ali, David and Becca. Kate is a little cut off on the far right side of the picture

John ready for his turn

Here comes Kate

Becca

Ali

Kate

Put your hand on your head to get a sticker for a class well done

We put the kids in swimming at an indoor facility near us. The boys are in one group, and the girls are in another. Their two classes are back to back for a half hour each. They are great listeners and follow directions well, but I must admit it is a lot of work for me taking all of them by myself to this activity. The pottying, drying, dressing, etc. is totally worth it though. I am anxious for them to know how to swim and am excited watching how much fun they are having learning!

The boys listening to the teacher

David kicking around the pool

The boys started last week, but the girls' time slot wasn't available until this week, so last week the girls just watched. Ali was pretty nervous, and I wasn't sure how they would do this week, but it went great! All three of them walked right in, followed the teacher with no problems and listened to all of her directions! I was very proud of them!

The girls watching - Can you see the fear in Ali's eyes?!

Ali, Kate and Becca kicking

John, David and Mark waiting for their turn in the water

This morning, my mom and I took the kids to their first movie. We saw Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. They sat through the whole thing and seemed to really enjoy it! This picture is really blurry, but I included it anyway.

The Zoo

2011-06-11T23:22:00.001-05:00

The zoo is still one of my favorite places to go! The kids love it too! My parents and I took the kids last week hoping to beat the heat. It was definitely hot, but we had a great time!

Ready to go in

The zoo lets you feed the giraffes, but we have never hit the timing right to get to do it. This time we did! All six kids got a turn to feed a giraffe a lettuce leaf.

Papa, Me, G.G. with Kate, David, Mark, Ali, John, and Becca (the giraffe by Papa is Mtembei)

Mark

John

Becca

Ali fed Miles

David

Kate

We had a pizza lunch by the giraffes and ostriches.

Everyone got to pet a baby alligator

We have a duck pond very close to our house, but the duck pond at the zoo is still one of their favorite things to see.

I did manage to get them to turn around for a picture!

David, Kate, Becca, John, Mark and Ali

Papa and David

G.G. and Mark

We always stop to see the pink flamingos. The kids had said they wanted to see if the baby flamingos were pink yet. They had started pinking (don't know if that is a word) last time we went, so we were very surprised that they weren't totally pink yet!

Swimming and Dinosaurs & Dirt

2011-06-05T19:23:00.001-05:00

I have taken all of the kids swimming at least once in small groups at a neighborhood pool, but today was the first time this season that we all got to swim as a family. After church, we went to my parents' house for lunch and to swim for the afternoon. It was a blast! It is striking to me how much the kids have grown since last summer and how much better they are at listening to directions and how much braver they are!

Mark and Daddy

Me with Ali, Becca, and Kate

Papa with David

G.G. with Ali and Becca

Papa and John shooting baskets

Drying off. My parents put beach towels in the kids' Easter baskets from them instead of grass. Each kid got a different design which they love! Almost everything in our house is "community property," and they get very excited about something that is specifically theirs.

I look forward to spending a lot of time in the pool this summer!

Last Thursday, our community recreation center put on an event called "Dinosaurs and Dirt." I registered the kids awhile back not really sure what it was. They colored and made dinosaur door hangers. They played a dinosaur game. Then the dug for dinosaurs in the sand and finished the event by painting a wooden dinosaur. They had a really good time.

Digging

Mark

Kate

David

Becca

Painting

John

Kate

Ali

Water Fun and Blueberry Picking

2011-06-01T21:02:00.000-05:00

Bill took the day off today, and we took the kids to a local splashpad for some water fun. They had a ball! I definitely think this will be a fun summer spot!

Mark

After running around for awhile, they all gathered and sat in one spot together and played

Ali, Kate and Becca

Ready to run!

Last weekend we went blueberry picking with some friends. It was a lot of fun, and we picked over 4 pounds of blueberries!

Mark was a good picker! He got to go with some friends last year and was helpful teaching his brothers and sisters which ones to pick. Around the house this week, they are still informing me that I shouldn't pick the red ones or the green ones.

David

David mostly ate blueberries.

Mark, David and Kate

Ali was a good picker and got a lot in her bucket!

John and Mark

Kate has eaten enough blueberries this week that I think she might turn into one!

Ali, Kate, David, Finn, John, Becca, Mark

We had a fairly low key Memorial Day weekend, but the kids said their favorite part was making a flag cake with the blueberries we picked.

End of school and small group outings

2011-05-26T15:35:00.000-05:00

Today was Mark's last day of school for this year, and they have had some fun end of the year activities. Last week was Splash Day. He had a great time playing with the spray bottles, bubbles, shaving cream, games, etc. and I was glad I got to go too!

Fishing for stickers was his favorite activity

Today they had an ice cream social.

I have been doing more small group or individual outings lately when I have been able to. John and I made a trip to Target. I think it was the first time I have had only one quintuplet with me except at doctor's appointments. He had a blast! He insisted that he wanted to carry this basket and did, even with items in it, for quite awhile! I think his favorite part was looking at all the vacuum cleaners! My favorite part was when he hugged and kissed my leg and looked up with a very happy face and said "I love you, Mommy!" I've started taking 2 -3 at a time swimming at a local pool; however, I don't get any pictures of that.

Last weekend, Bill's group at work had a family picnic. The kids had a blast playing outside and eating bbq and cake. They also had a pinata which the kids thought was a lot of fun! Although I think Ali was a little concerned that we were hitting the horsey...

Kate, Becca, Ali, Mark, David and John playing peek a boo from behind the fence.

Everyone played in the dirt a lot, but I think Ali shows it best!

Ali in our front yard. This picture was unrelated, but I thought it was cute :)

Happy 10th Anniversary!

2011-05-19T16:25:00.000-05:00

Today, Bill and I celebrated 10 years of marriage! I am so fortunate to have him as my husband and best friend, and I am grateful that we get to share our lives together. Last weekend, my awesome, wonderful parents kept our kids for 2 nights!! Bill and I stayed at a nice hotel downtown and ate at some restaurants we had been wanting to try. It was a wonderful, relaxing time together!

Wedding day - May 19, 2001

This was our 5 year anniversary picture

This one was taken by Misty Green last November, but I love the picture and think it is close enough in timing to count as our 10th anniversary picture

Household Fun

2011-05-17T06:45:00.001-05:00

I had some new pictures from day to day life on phone that I thought would be fun to share.

The kids really enjoy watching me mop the dining room! They lie down on the floor like this and ask me to take their picture almost every time.

The Target near us recently did some remodeling and got new carts. While Mark was at pre-school, I took our quints shopping and was excited that everyone fit in one cart!

These next pictures are just around the house.

Mark playing with a new toy from his birthday

John

Becca with a friend

Ali playing dress-up at Papa and G.G.'s house

David captured the badguys! (And maybe some good guys in there too)

David and Mark

They will group together and ask me to take their picture a lot now, although that doesn't always mean they will smile or look. :)

Kate very focused on what she is working on. She is pretty good with tools!

Last month, Mark's school had a family picnic. The kids had a great time running around after lunch playing tag! I think they will really enjoy school next year!

These are a few from one of our favorite parks.

Mark

Kate and David

Becca

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T20:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Mark

John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

I had a great Mother's Day weekend! It was busier than usual but lots of fun. Bill came home Friday night with a sweet card, roses, a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries. We celebrated Mother's Day just the two of us that evening. :) Saturday we took the kids to Home Depot for their monthly project and made flower pots, went to the park, went to a birthday party, and then went to dinner at a friend's house. It was the first time we had gone to someone's house for dinner with all the kids (except for family). We really appreciated the invite and had a great time! Today we went to church then to a park to take pictures. Then we went out to eat for lunch with my parents. I am so grateful to have a wonderful mother and to have the honor of being the mother of six incredible kiddos!

Happy fourth birthday, Mark!!!!

2011-05-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

Mark turned 4 last Tuesday! I can't believe how big he is getting! We had a party in our backyard on Saturday. There were close to 100 people who joined us for BBQ and cake to celebrate. He had a great time!!

Mark picked a dinosaur theme and picked this cake

David enjoying his cake and ice cream

Becca, David, Kate, Ali, and John enjoying the cookie decorating

Thank you to everyone who came and helped make his day extra special!

Bill's mom, sister, niece (10 months) and sister's dog came and stayed with us. We really enjoyed having them come visit! We have talked about getting a dog again sometime soon, and the kids loved playing with Sasha! She is amazing with kids!

Mark rode his bike, Aunt Beth walked Sasha, and Caylee rode in the stroller with our quintuplets to the park. It was so much fun getting to see Caylee play with our kids! Becca was convinced that Caylee was her baby, and she looked like her feelings were hurt when I would tell her that she was Aunt Beth's baby. :)

Last Tuesday, Bill and I took our quintuplets and went to family day at Mark's school. He was "star of the week" for his birthday, and we got to bring a treat and celebrate with him and his class. Here he is showing the class a poster he made with pictures he had picked as well as some of his favorite things.

We got to go to "music and movement," join the class for circle time, play on the playground, and eat lunch. I also read a book to the class. It was a lot of fun! Mark really enjoys school, and I think everyone will this fall!

This sandbox was huge! And it was definitely a favorite spot.

Kate enjoyed running in circles with the tetherball

I don't know what this thing is called, but it was fun! Mark is spinning John

Ali, Kate and John

Ali and Kate

Becca

That night we went a Japanese hibachi grill / sushi restaurant with friends to celebrate Mark and Bill's birthdays. (Bill's birthday was on Wednesday.) Mark and Finn liked watching the "silly chef." The chef even let them each try to spin the spatula and fork and spin an egg on their plates.

They sang happy birthday to Mark and Bill and brought ice cream. Yum!

My mom and I took Mark to lunch on Wednesday. We rode the trolley to a pizza place on the waterway. It was a gorgeous day, and Mark had a blast!

Mark had Stripes this week. Stripes is the class "pet," and each child gets turns with it. They take pictures and scrapbook about their adventures with Stripes then tell the class about it the next week.

Happy fourth birthday, Mark! We love you so much!

On a side note: I started watermarking our pictures. Another individual was taking my pictures and blog posts, changing the names and claiming it was her and her family. (Unfortunately this was the second time we have had this happen.) I am hoping that the watermarking will discourage that. Thank you to the people who emailed letting me know about these incidents!

Happy Easter Part 2

2011-04-25T22:50:00.010-05:00

Happy Easter! This weekend was full and fun!

On Friday afternoon, we took pictures at the same local park where we went last year, and the kids were SOOOO cooperative! It was a very easy experience getting to take pictures in Easter outfits.

Kate, David, Becca, Mark, Ali, John

Kate, Ali, Becca

David, Mark, John

Saturday, one of our neighbors organized a cook-out and Easter egg hunt for the cul-de-sac. It was awesome! I have often said that we live on an amazing street with great neighbors; this was definitely a weekend that reminded me of that again! We ate lunch, the kids hunted Easter eggs in several yards, and they got lots of goodies! They were excited with all the activity and to spend so much time outside!

A favorite "goodie" was definitely the sunglasses!
David

Ali became a professional egg-hunter this weekend! By Sunday, she collected so many eggs that her basket was oversflowing! She was very serious about the task at hand!

Becca

Saturday night, we had a small crawfish boil with a few families. The kids liked getting to hold crawfish before cooking them and all six tried one! All six kids agreed that they were too spicy and opted not to eat them! :) We did most of the crawfish boil after putting the 2 year olds to bed.

Becca

John

David

The bounce house is always fun!

My parents (papa and GG) brought a present (a new children's Bible) as a group Easter present. It was wrapped enough times that each kid got to unwrap a layer. We read the Easter story from their new Bible before they got their Easter baskets from Papa and G.G.

Ali

Kate

Easter baskets from Papa and G.G. - Kate, John, Mark, David, Finn, Ali, and Becca - my favorite thing in their baskets was their beach towels! Each had a different design and the kids were really excited to have their own towel.

Sunday morning, we went to church. There was no Sunday School, so it was Mark's first time to come to "big people church." After a late night Saturday, Mark was pretty tired. He enjoyed the music and even said the Lord's prayer with the congregation, but he napped all through the sermon. :)

After church, we had some people over for lunch. My friend, Melissa, organized an Easter egg hunt in the backyard which was awesome! Each kid had one large egg with their name on it plus a bunch of little eggs that were fair game for anyone.

Ready to hunt - Kate, Ali, Becca, Finn, David, John, Mark, Miles, and Oliver

Becca hunting eggs

John

Kate

Ali

Look at all her eggs!

Becca

Bringing out nine Easter baskets

Some edibles, a bug watcher, flashlight, a new cup, etc. The kids were excited about their baskets!

The kids had no problem getting into their goodies!

John and David

Kate excited about her chocolate bunny

Bill reading to the "big boys" Mark, Miles and Finn - All three boys are very close in age turning 4 this month.

Happy Easter Part 1

2011-04-25T22:24:00.008-05:00

We have had a really good time lately, and I wanted to share a few highlights! Last weekend on Saturday, we went to The Woodlands' Mothers of Multiples Easter party at a local park. It was so much fun! We ate lunch, played, and did an Easter egg hunt.

Bill and me with Ali, Mark, John, Becca, Kate, and David - After the egg hunt

They had live ducklings and bunnies to pet. The kids all got to hold them. They really enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I could say the animals did. It may have been a tramatic day for the duckies and bunnies! (because of all kids, not just mine) We say that someday we would like to have a pet again, so we practiced holding the animals gently.

Ali

Becca

John

David

Kate

John playing in the tunnel

After church on Sunday we went to my parents' house and had lunch and dyed Easter eggs. We put all the dye cups, the eggs, the crayons, etc. on the table with the kids around it and let them loose. That was a little more chaotic than I expected. While I can't say that I found it to be a relaxing experience, I think the kids had a great time!
John was completely green from his finger tips past his his wrists. He looked a little like the Hulk! I wish I would have gotten a picture of that.

Home Depot Project

2011-04-08T14:57:00.004-05:00

Home Depot does a project once a month for kids, so we decided to check it out. My dad, Bill and I took the kids and met some friends. This month they built a planter. It was a great set-up! The kids each got their own supplies, all the tools were available, they each got their own apron, and it was totally free! Very awesome program!

Papa, Bill and Bill with Mark, Becca, John, David, Ali, Kate, and Finn

Mark John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

The kids did pretty well! John was able to put the small nails in the holes and hammer them in himself! David and Becca probably enjoyed the hammers the most. :) Mark and Kate were very deliberate about the projects and did a nice job. Ali was the least interested, but she still had a good time. My friend, Melissa, suggested that we let the kids paint their boxes, so we went to her house Monday and let them do that. (I might add that it takes a very special friend to invite all the kids over AND let them paint in her kitchen!)

Kate painting

Now we just need to get something to plant in them! It was definitely a fun outing, and we plan to do it again!

Bluebonnet Pictures

2011-04-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

The bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas, and many people take annual pictures in bluebonnet fields in the spring when they bloom. We are some of those people!

Kate, David, Becca, Mark, Ali, John

Mark John

Becca

Ali

David

Kate

Bill and I went by ourselves to do the pictures (Bill was the photographer, and I watched the kids not in the picture) and didn't take the stroller. The kids enjoyed running around and we played at the park after we finished pictures. I was struck by how far we have come over the past year! Below is our picture from last year. Last year we took the stroller which my dad pushed around with five kids while Bill took pictures and I tried desperately to get a child to look and smile. Kate's face in the picture really shows how the day went! This year they were so much easier! We decided day before that it would be a good time to go and went straight from pictures to a birthday party at a park. It is so nice getting to a stage where we can get out more easily and with less planning.

While I was a little disappointed last year that we didn't get a better picture than this, I have grown to really like and appreciate this picture!

Becca, John, Ali, Mark, Kate, David

Day to day stuff

2011-03-21T07:20:00.000-05:00

We have a lot of fun with our day to day activities and thought I would share a few. Each kid gets one day of the week where they get to pick breakfast and pick and lead grace before meals. They really enjoy it, and they seem to have learned about days of the week too! Mark starts on Monday, and we go in birth order, then Mommy and Daddy share Sunday. Below is Kate leading one of our favorite prayers:

In case you didn't catch all the words, they are "Thank you God for giving us food! Thank you God for giving us friends! Thank you for the friends we meet! Thank you for the food we eat! Thank you God for giving us food! Amen." We call it the Superman prayer since it is supposed to be to the tune of Superman. :)

Usually when I go to the park, I put all six kids in the big stroller. Mark rode his bike this week for the first time and did great! It is about 3/4 of a mile I think.

My view during the walk to the park with Mark riding his bike out in front

David and John digging at the park

When I used to take all the kids with me to the store, I put them in the stroller. Now I am able to fit the kids in two carts. I push one, pull the other, and I actually have room to get a week's worth of groceries if it isn't a huge list! The kids love to grocery shop which they probably get from me. It is one of my favorite activites whether by myself, on a date with Bill or with the kids!

I have been cleaning out closets lately. It is hard to do the closets in the kids' rooms since they are in there sleeping when I have the time to work on it. So I moved the girls into the boys room for a few days and finished up my projects. They really enjoyed it although there wasn't as much sleeping as usual!

Not sleeping during nap, but aren't they cute at the window?!

Mark and John playing dress-up

Dr. Wheeler, Mark, Becca, Kate, Ali, David and John at our dentist appointment

David was so calm about it! (Mark always is too.) David climbed right up on the table, relaxed and stayed there the whole time. He liked the tv on the ceiling. The other four chose to sit on a lap, and only one cried.

After the dentist, we went to McDonald's for lunch and played

Coloring in the kitchen

Becca and her fashion sense

We recently went to Home Depot to pick up some plants. The kids were great helpers!

Then we played with the riding lawnmowers!

Ali

It's nice they had enough for everyone!

We bought tomato, green pepper, cilantro, basil, zucchini and arugula plants, and the kids each got to plant one. We added watering the plants before breakfast as one of the things they get to do on "their day." That is very popular! They get to go outside and use the big watering can, and everyone else cheers from the window. Very cute!

Kate and Daddy

Becca

Mark and David

We have started having lunch with Papa and GG each Sunday after church. We have gone to a restaurant, taken a picnic to the park, and gone to their house. It has been a lot of fun, and I am enjoying the variety!

Kate enjoying ice cream at Papa and GG's house

David and Ali playing at the park after a picnic

Mark found a big stick!

We have had birthday parties almost every weekend, and the kids have had a lot of fun! One of the most common songs they sing now is Happy Birthday!

The kids play together and communicate with each other more and more all the time! Below is a video of them playing ring around the rosies. It's cute watching them run around asking each other if they want to play although I didn't catch that part on video.

Fire Station

2011-03-17T15:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday we took a tour of a fire station with the moms' group from our church. I had not been on this tour before and also found it interesting!

Mark, Ali, David, Becca, Kate, Finn and John waiting for the tour to start

John, Finn and Mark checking out the fire truck

Getting to check out the gear room

The firemen were awesome and showed the kids a lot and answered all their questions!

Everyone got a turn to sit in the fire truck

Mark

John

Becca

Kate

David

Ali

There was a big storm while we were there! Mark said his favorite part of the tour was when the lights went out! (We lost power, although their generator kicked on.)

Getting hats

Thank you!!

I actually came away thinking that a fire house would be perfect for my family! They had a big kitchen, huge table, good sized living area plus a large room for training where we would put toys. The firemen each had their own bedroom and closet, there were a bunch of toilets, showers and sinks! Plus the garage was tall enough and big enough for both our vehicles plus a bunch of storage! And the gear room would be a perfect mudroom for coats, backpacks, shoes, etc.! Too bad they don't sell fire houses! :)

We were planning on going to the park for a picnic after the tour, but the weather didn't cooperate. We went to Finn's house and had lunch and played and had a great time!

Kate

Houston Rodeo!

2011-03-12T19:38:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo! We took the kids last year and had a great time, but I think this year was even better! The kids were much more aware, and it was definitely easier!

Ready to go!

David, Mark, Kate, John, Becca, Ali

Ali fed the chickens and collected eggs at Fun on the Farm

At Fun on the Farm, each child gets a basket while they complete their farming tasks. They sell their goods at the farmers' market and use the money to buy a snack at the general store. It was a lot of fun! The kids enjoyed every stop!

Becca watering her seed

John planting his seed

Becca picking her tomato

Checking out the real cow. We have almost the exact same picture from our trip last year, and I am amazed how much bigger everyone is now! And how much more hair all the girls have!

I am usually the one getting the kids to look at the camera and smile, so it is hard for me to be in pictures. I love that other than Bill and me, the cow is the only other one looking at the camera!

Kate milking the cow

John picking a peach

GG and Kate pause for a break
The kids all loved getting to sit on the tractor! John was too fast, and we missed a picture.

Mark

David

Ali

Kate

Becca

Picking up corn

By chance, we ran into Bill's cousin, Amy, and her family there! It was great seeing them, and I don't think we could have planned it better if we would have tried!

Me with her baby, Kate, son, Cole, and our kids, Mark, John, David, Becca, Kate and Ali

I love the look on David's face! The kids really enjoyed seeing everything!

Checking out a cow

We had lunch while we were there. Pizza is always a favorite! Then we ended at the pig races before heading home.

It was a really fun day, and I already look forward to next year!