Our trip in a nutshell.

Here's Ashlyn at the airport waiting for our plane. We arrived a little early, which after almost missing our plane on the way home, I highly recommend. Here's our plane in the background. 1st trip for her and 3rd for me on a plane. I love to fly and would rather do that than drive any day. I hate driving.Ashlyn on the plane by her window seat. Her latest phase is acting like a lion if you can't tell.She also likes to pose like she is on the cover of Vogue. Maybe I should send this to United airlines. They could use it for advertisement and I could make some cash."We love to fly and it shows".Here we are at Dorinda's and in her makeshift ball pit. Sorry I was not better at capturing the whole trip on film. We had so much fun I forgot to take out my camera.We went shopping for her birthday. Oh and I forgot, I got my hair cut. For the first time that I can remember I allowed the stylist to cut my hair how ever she wanted. I really like it I just hope I can find the time to straighten it. How do you like my Jessica Simpson boots? OK, even if I wanted to wear these "stripper boots" they were over $100. I don't know which Ashlyn like better these or the red patent leather stilettos. She has style, what can I say?Here is Ashlyn modeling her new princess watch and her new outfit.One of her obsessions was the family cat. His name was lollipop. He was not as impressed with her as she was with him. Cats always seem to have that bored look though so who could tell.This was right before we boarded the plane to come home. I think Ashlyn is trying to show her sadness.This was a model of the Lincoln memorial (I think) that was in the Chicago airport. We had to change planes there.

Sorry I don't have more photos. If you check out Dorinda's blog you can see a few more. The photos could never have done it justice anyway.

Ashlyn had a blast playing with Kaitlyn and Caleb. I really never even missed my kids much because her triplets couldn't have been more like my own. Except Ryan of course is a boy and she has 3 girls. They were climbing right into my lap and calling me mommy after about a day. I even feel like I miss them now that I am home. Its such a shame that we don't live closer.

Thanks for the great vacation Nelsons!!

Virginia looks just like home.

I have photos to come when I get home to download them. We are having so much fun.

For those of you that don't already know Ashlyn and I flew to VA to wish a blogger friend a happy birthday. The time flew by and we are coming home today. I miss my 3 other children and can't wait to see them but I also wish we had more time here.

So wish Dorinda a happy birthday at http://www.nelsontriplets.blogspot.com/ and I'll be home soon.

Our little starlet.

On Sunday we took the kids to the local annual Threshing/harvest show. This was the first year I had gone since I was a kid and went with my dad and grandpa.

I couldn't wait until my kids were old enough to enjoy it because I really had a good time when I went. It was especially fun to watch my grandpa's excitement to watch the threshing. He loved anything related to the old time farming since that was how he grew up.

They had a pedal pull and as you can see Brooke got her photo taken. She wasn't actually even old enough to enter but before they started they let the 3 year olds try it. The kids each tried it even though they aren't quite 3. She did pretty good with assistance and so did Ryan but Gaby could have probably entered the contest. She is awesome at pedaling. She can already ride Ashlyn's bike at home.

They had a nice little playground near the eating area and the kids played on these sea saws for a long time. It was pretty pathetic that we had to teach them how to play on the playground. Guess that's what you have to do for farm kids.And I definitely have to get me one of these. They were all very willing to go in and we had to coax them back out. Time outs would be a lot easier for me.We had a really good time. The weather was nice. The kids got to try cotton candy for the first time. At first Gaby wouldn't eat it. She touched it to her mouth and tried to put it back. I finally shoved some in her mouth and then she was eating it by the handful. I never have known a kid that doesn't like sugar.

Notice anything?

If you are new to this blog you may be thinking "wow, what a cool blog". If you've been here before you may have noticed I redecorated a little bit. How's it look? Too flashy?

Meet Coco.

Ashlyn was begging for a horse one day and I made the mistake of suggesting we get a pony. Well a week later, after thinking about all the expense and risk a horse would bring to our family I told Lance I had changed my mind.As you can see it was too late. Lance had said something to Grandpa Ray and he went and bought 6 horses. This little pony was one of them.Ashlyn was thrilled for a whole 2 days. She was either riding him or standing beside him and chasing flies off of his face. The newness has worn off now so he only gets the occasional visit but he really seems to like her. One day she wasn't paying much attention to him even though he was following her so he nipped her on the back.Gaby gives a whole new meaning to the term bareback. Don't ask me why she isn't wearing a shirt. At least she has on pants.

A 4 year olds point of view.

When we took Ashlyn away for her birthday we got her a little camera of her own. These are some of her artwork. It doesn't even have a flash so I think she does a pretty good job. Apparently she is a shoe fanatic.

There is a really great one of Gaby with her finger up her nose but she would be embarrassed some day if I posted it.

Day 4, 5 & 6 of vacation.

Well I've forgotten most of what we did in the last few days except rest and catch up on sleep. I love how "vacation" makes you feel more exhausted than any normal day of the week.

I realized this morning that I forgot to mention that we went to the dentist on Monday. Ashlyn has been there but this was Gabriella, Ryan, and Brooke's first visit. They did awesome!! No one cried.I think it helped that they were a little older than when Ashlyn first went. She screamed bloody murder for her first 2 visits but now loves it.It also helped that I brought home some supplies from my last visit and we "played dentist" the night before so they knew what to expect. Ryan had a good report on his teeth. Brooke was told she needs to work on not sucking her thumb. Gabriella has 2 watch spots already. This did not surprise me as I've always thought her teeth would decay easily although she brushes the most and her teeth look the cleanest. Ashlyn has her first 2 cavities. They are tiny but still need to be filled. We'll be dreading that visit. It will probably change how she views the dentist from now on.
Last night Ashlyn and I went to a wedding together and then we met up with Lance's family for a big birthday bash for his Aunt Jean. The kids had a blast at the party. There were horse and buggy rides, karaoke, lots of food, and fireworks. We finally put them to bed at 11 pm.

Day 3 of vacation.

This is Storybook Land. This was not Ashlyn's first trip to this magical land.Here she is on the very same horse 4 years ago. She was only 3 months old. Doesn't she look like a baby doll? Here is Brooke's turn on the horse. By the way, if you aren't familiar with Storybook Land, its a park with statues of the classic stories. It really a great place to spend a day or two. There are lots of other things to do too.Gaby.Ryan.Here is a group shot. Riley and Amanda came too. No one would stand by the Cowardly Lion or the Wicked witch. They all kept looking behind them to make sure no one was moving.There are 2 rides at the end of the park. A carousel and a spinning ride that goes up and is supposed to resemble a balloon ride. Of course all the kids said the rides were their favorite part. There was also a little train that took you around the park. I think the train ride was their second favorite.If you're wondering why Gaby is the only one wearing a hat, its because she has such thin hair on top of her head and we didn't want her scalp to burn.

After the park, we stayed overnight at a hotel. It was Ashlyn's 3rd time staying overnight but the others had never been to a hotel. They had a great time. We swam in the pool (which I just realized I forgot to take any pictures). The room we rented had a king sized bed, a queen, and a pull out sofa. Lance and Ryan slept in the queen. Gaby, Brooke and I slept in the king, and Ashlyn slept in a big overstuffed armchair with an ottoman, pushed right next to Lance. They did really well until Brooke started screaming at about 6 am. She was crying asking "daddy, where are you going?" I think she had a bad dream. Or she caught Lance trying to escape the madness. We did have a good time over all but there were many difficult moments too. How many of you would dare to take 3 two year olds on an overnight vacation?

Day 2 of vacation.

Grandpa Ray's birthday. Grandma Vicky got the kids these outfits on her trip to Texas. They look really cute on them. I tried to get a nice shot of them all together. Its like pulling teeth (which Gaby must have thought I was going to do cause she couldn't keep her hands away from her mouth).Ashlyn and her cousin Amanda couldn't stand to be more than 6 inches apart. They spent most of the evening with their arms around each other. I love that she gets to spend so much time with her cousins.
As if getting 4 kids to all look and smile at the same time wasn't hard enough, here are 6. Ashlyn is the oldest at 4, then Riley and Amanda (who are twins) are 3, and Gabriella, Ryan, and Brooke are 2.

Day 1 of vacation.

As you can see, we went to the zoo. The kids had a blast only wanting to spend a few seconds at each exhibit before screaming to go on the next. We could have just as well been on one of those flat escalator walking things at the airport(what ever they are called).Here's mama bird with her little chicks. Ashlyn refused to sit with us. She is acting more like a 16 year old every day.

Ryan. Gaby.Brooke.Ashlyn.

Here is last year if you want to compare. Zoo 2008.