Where does the time go?

A little more than four years ago we took our maiden voyage in our pop-up to the same campground we visited last weekend. Our twin girls were barely one. They crawled and climbed and generally had a good time with their big sister on the campground's playground.
Fast forward four years and here they are, on the same slide...ok, opposite slides...running, climbing and generally having a good time with their big sister and THREE little brothers.
I wonder what changes the next four years have in store.

A League of Our Own

Another part of our weekend adventure was heading out to the local casino for some bowling. If you can stomach walking your sweet, innocent children through the smoke-laden money dump, it's really a nice, clean, smoke-free bowling alley.

This was Seth and Sam's first time bowling. Sam really got into it. He only accepted help the first two frames and they he 'dude it' himself. I love the tongue hanging out.
Madelyn worked on her big kid swing. She beat the rest of us! I think next time we'll let her try it without bumpers.
Seth gave bowling a try too but he was far more interested in the machines surrounding him. He was fascinated by the ball deliverer and the touch screens. He managed to keep all fingers and toes but did reset his brother's game mid-throw once.

Adventure #2: Bernalillo, NM

We headed north this weekend to the town of Bernalillo for another camping adventure. It's not far from home but it's an area we don't often go to for recreation.

We decided to check out the Coronado State Monument. It features ruins from the Kuaua pueblo. Every time I go to visit ruins like this I learn something new. This time I was struck by the fact that the people used to enter their homes from the roof. This allowed the homes to be built without doors to maintain privacy and cleanliness. Did I mention that the homes at this particular pueblo were believed to be 2-3 stories high? I wonder how this worked for small children. How about six small children?

The kids liked this replica room.
We also headed to the bosque of the Rio Grande for a walk.
This backdrop never gets old.
Daddy gets a break from picture duty to be featured in one.
Mark gave the girls a lesson on skipping stones. My super strong and talented husband can not only skip stones but was able to throw a stone all the way across the Rio Grande.
Back at camp, we spent time reading from the Little House on the Prairie series.
As always, Harrison is content just being surrounded by his adoring fans. He's learning that a toy or two isn't bad either.
To end our weekend we headed to the group camping area. We failed to notice that our site didn't have a grill or fire pit until we were a day in. Not to be deterred from this hallmark camping experience, Mark packed the camp chairs and a box of wood and we headed for the group area WITH a fire pit. He made a small fire and I started assembling s'mores. The girls took turns roasting marshmallows. We told stories of marshmallow shampoo. And the kids, all but Madelyn that is, turned up their noses at the yummy, gooey treats citing their stickiness as a problem. They were all much happier back in the warm van with clean hands and a 'raw' marshmallow for dessert.

Little do they know but we're going to try again next month!

Over the rainbow

What is it about this time of year that makes my kids experiment in inappropriate ways? Last year it was 'cooking' on the wall furnace that resulted in gooey plastic all over. Today it was my sweet blue-eyed, almost three-year-old stamping rainbows all over the floor of the craft area. The picture is of a 1x1 ft section. There was much more but the dark tile diluted the effect when taken in all together. My frustration is fueled not only by my incredibly long list of things to do that doesn't include scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees, but also by my frustration with myself for not noticing he was gone long enough to create this masterpiece. Rrrr!

I think I'll have a cup of tea, regroup and count the minutes until tonight when I get to spend three and a half hours in piano and dance lessons with a baby and two two-year-olds who aren't involved in either.

Our cheek-y chap

Harrison's most commented on feature are his cheeks. They are just so soft and plump.

Makes you want to squeeze 'em, doesn't it?

All aboard!

Seth has always liked things with wheels. Whether it's cars, trains or tractors, the kid likes to watch things move. Seth lovingly refers to his collection of vehicles as 'beeps' and he often crams as many as he can into his small hands so that they can travel with us around town.

For Christmas he received a conductor outfit. He loves the cap!
He also received his name train from Nana and Papa.
And while the girls went to the American Girl store in Dallas, the boys went to a hobby train store. They left with only catalogs but Seth is happy to spend his days dreaming up his own locomotive.
In fact, he even inspired Mark to break out the model train that my mom gave him years ago that once belonged, in part, to her father, I think. Seth was one happy little boy!

One last stop in Dallas

You can't go to Dallas with three little girls and not make a trip to the American Girl store. Yes, the company that preys on parents with their beautiful unsolicited catalogs has become the staple of wish lists for our girls. Nana supports this love affair and we do too, as we are able. Their dolls are wholesome and I especially like the historically-based ones. What a treat for all the girls (me included) to actually see the catalog come to life!

They have doll stylists out on the showroom floor (on the left). Clearly the economy is doing just fine in Dallas (on the right).
Our American Girl stowaways from home and the new additions from the store.

Adventure #1: Dallas, TX

For our first adventure, we headed east to Dallas, Texas.

We've been researching travel trailers for the last year. Yes, we're that type of couple. We plan and research everything so much that when we actually do make a big purchase it's somewhat anticlimactic.

In this case, the hunt for the right rig was the emotional part. Should we buy now or wait until spring? Will prices fall more or hold steady? Is that really silver metallic fabric inside?

So, we showed up the last Tuesday of 2009 at the RV dealership feeling a little anxious and a little giddy. Upon inspection of our new home on wheels, we were relieved to find that the interior fabric was by no means as offensive as it was on the website pictures. In fact, we like it! By the way, it is not metallic or silver. It's actually a bunch of different shades of brown.

The hardest part of our purchase was driving away in the beginning of a snowstorm. Mark did a great job enduring the white knuckle conditions both on the road and in the passenger seat. We set up camp at Hickory Creek Park and got down to the business of camping.
The thing we like best about this particular trailer is the bunkhouse. Not only are there four bunks but the bottom bunks connect to form one big bed. Perfect for our large crew!


The weather was much better the next day. The high was around 50 degrees. So, we stepped out for a walk around the park.

Here's the rig! We never thought our van would look small.

Why everyone should have a twin

Adventure awaits in 2010

After all the Santa gifts were open and everything started to settle down on Christmas, Mark and I handed the girls a clue (the boys were too busy playing with Matchbox cars). It was the beginning of a scavenger hunt we had prepared for them to share some of the vacation plans we've made for this year.

The girls have never really done a scavenger hunt so they were a little confused at first. Once they got the hang of it, they loved it. We had a hard time keeping up with them. Of course, we were handicapped by our media equipment.
I love the look on the girls' faces in this one. They were super excited to learn of our Spring Break plans to visit California.
Off to the playroom to find the next vacation destination.
Chloe (and everyone else) can't wait to head west in March.Stay tuned for more vacation reveals!