Our first family trip is over and I think it's safe to say that it was 50% fantastic and 50% nightmarish. Since being home this past week, I've gone back and forth on whether it was more fantastic or more nightmarish. Still not sure so that's why I split it down the middle. We LOVED seeing all our family though and for most of my side it was the first time they'd seen the trio!
We set out the weekend before Thanksgiving and gave ourselves plenty of time to reach Idaho. Zachary was trying to convince us that he could get us there faster but Dad overruled him and much to his dismay, he was strapped into a car seat. I'm nervous for when this kid actually gets his drivers license.
Our kids have never spent more than one hour in the car at one given time so they had a rude awakening on our first leg out of Texas. We kept it short, six hours, and stopped at a hotel that night. We had only been in the car five minutes at this point...making a stop at the library. They had no clue what they were in for.
The first night at the hotel was really when the nightmare began. Let me just say that not ever having slept the kids in the same room made for difficult sleeping arrangements. We got a one bedroom suite thinking that would be plenty of room but unfortunately it wasn't. Caleb slept in the closet and cried from 11pm-1am. Leah and Zachary slept in the living area on opposites sides of the couch. Leah was having major allergy issues or something because she could not breathe and cried from about 10pm-2am. We did have some much needed silence from 2am-6am but needless to say, it was a rough night. We planned to drive through the next night so we were nervous about our lack of sleep. The kids were thrilled about our view...
Unfortunately our hotel only had two high chairs which made for an interesting eating experience the next morning. We ate the hotel breakfast and were apparently very entertaining to watch while I spilled oatmeal all over everyone and the boys threw their food on the ground. I think they were just testing their limits since it was their first time out of the triplet table. I was definitely happy to get back up to the room where no one was staring. I've gotten used to being a spectacle while out in public but for some reason the stares that morning were getting to me.
We checked out just in time for the kids' nap and hit the road for another four hour ride until we hit Albuquerque, NM. There is a great aquarium there so we decided to let the kids stretch their legs for an hour. Big shark tanks, jellyfish, sting rays, and lots of room to run made for a great stop!
After the aquarium, we drove a couple more hours until we made our last stop before the long night drive. Much to my dismay, we were in a small town without many activities to choose from. We spotted a brand new McDonalds Play Place so I loaded up our pockets with disinfectant wipes and let the kids run around. We were the only ones there so Clark went up and down the slide with the boys. Leah, risk-averse by nature, played on the ground where it was safe. There wasn't a ball pit, which was perfect, because I've heard that's where all the germs live. Who knows. We then did a little bedtime routine in the car, changed into pajamas, and headed out! Only 12 more hours to go...
Wednesday morning around 4:20am, we pulled into my parents driveway and unloaded. They were not expecting us since we were going to be staying at my sister's house and planned on arriving a couple hours later but we could not drive one second longer. The babes were awake and screaming so I called my parents and said, "Surprise, we're five minutes away!" Of course they happily jumped out of bed and helped unload. We were SO happy to be done driving. Mainly because Leah, with her allergies and lack of one breathing airway, for some reason could not sleep sitting up in her car seat. She'd fall asleep for 20-30 minutes then her nose would get all congested which would wake her up and the crying would begin. This obviously woke the other two up and this happened over and over for 12 hours. Basically it was just a nightmare of a night. We recovered as much as we could the next day so that Thanksgiving would be enjoyable. Luckily, we were feeling much better when the turkey arrived! Dinner was delicious but what was truly amazing was that our ENTIRE family was together. Six children, five spouses, nineteen grandchildren (one more on the way), and two parents made for a very long Thanksgiving table.
All the boys were off cleaning the church and playing basketball so us girls stayed around to cook and snack off delicious cheese balls!
Three other grandchildren were born in my family just months before the trio last year. So there were six one-year-olds running around which, as you can imagine, was pretty crazy. At this age they all don't really play together either. I'm sure that will come in later years though I always kind of expected them to instantly be friends and get along. The following picture is a good depiction of how Leah behaved during the trip. Not feeling well, her first tooth erupted, and she had/has MAJOR stranger anxiety. She was attached to our hips 100% of the time so when we set her down for a cousin picture, she was not happy! One of the cousins had to leave early so there are only five babies pictured.
Leah and Zachary are having a baby meeting regarding whether they will actually eat the Thanksgiving food. Sweet potatoes were a hit as well as a marshmallow salad but that was about all they ate. Actually they did eat a couple kernels of corn and several rolls. Let's hope next year is more successful.
Caleb was trying to convince cousin Olive that he would be very careful with her pacifier. She didn't buy into his lies and quickly got it back.
Zachary in his cape sitting in the magic basket. We're still waiting to see what superpowers he has besides how big he can open his mouth.
Buckets were made to go on heads right?
Oh ya...this guy took up walking during our vacation. See how excited he is about it? He was walking toward me in the picture and laughed the whole way. So cute. Don't mind Zachary picking his nose.
I'm sure you've been wondering what our kids slept in considering three pack-n-plays would not fit in our van. I did some research on travel tents for toddlers and found that they are VERY expensive (when we were having to purchase three). I came across these indoor/outdoor tents that were significantly cheaper but the catch was that they closed by velcro...not zippers. I figured our kids were young enough that it wouldn't be a problem. It never was. I napped the kids in their tents for about three weeks prior to the trip so they would be nice and familiar with their surroundings. Everyone did well except Zachary, having the ability to stand up unassisted, who would stand and push on the side of the tent knocking it on it's side and collapsing on him. That happened twice then I think he learned his lesson. Pretty sad to walk in on though. The sixth cousin missing from the pic above and her older brother are in the tent with Zachary. He's just giving them the grand tour.
After concluding our stay in Idaho, we headed south to Utah for Clark's brother's wedding. Obviously his family was all in town so we were excited to spend some time with them. Unfortunately, at this point, all three of our kids were sick. I totally expected this going to a colder, drier climate and being around a lot of people. They all had bad head colds with terrible coughs and runny noses. Their noses were all dry and cracked which was so sad. The dry weather was killing us. I hate to admit it but Leah slept with us a few nights because it was the only way she would sleep. I was willing to do just about anything to get a couple hours of shut eye.
Despite feeling ill, we still celebrated Clark's birthday during our trip with gifts, singing, and a 'C' cake! Leah is on Dad's hip showing everyone how she can fold her arms...
Ever wonder what three high chairs look like? I did! Now I know that cleaning three separate trays and seats is much more time consuming than one table and one surface. These little buggers did not eat well on our trip. I don't know if it was the fact that they were sick or that lots of people were around watching them but I made them the same things I always do and they refused to eat. So frustrating. I don't think they suffered any ill effects from the lack of calories though. We did MUCH more snacking on the trip than we do at home so I think they made up for it.
We couldn't be just minutes away from our Alma Mater and not take a stroll around campus! The babies were dressed in the warmest clothes we brought (zip up hoodies in temperatures around 32 degrees) and we headed into the sea of students. What's funny is that the students seemed more annoyed with us than anything. The fact that we were walking slow or taking up the whole hallway, etc... They didn't want to stop and bask in the miracle of three babies born at the same time! I kept waiting for someone to stop us in our tracks...but no one did. Fine by me!
Of course the big celebration arrived and we were so excited to be a part of such a special day. The kids stayed at home with babysitters (note the plural) while we attended the ceremony. That was the first time I had ever left the kids while they were awake. Of course I was nervous and had a nice long list for the babysitters. Luckily Clark's sister was also leaving her five month old so with everyone waiting at the door for me to give instructions, I kept them short and sweet and kept referring the sitters to my detailed list. :)
When we returned four hours later, the sitters said everything went perfectly! I'm still wondering if they were being completely honest. However, no one was crying when we walked in and apparently the kids ate the ENTIRE lunch so I have no reason not to believe them. Maybe we should've stayed out a couple more hours. :)
This was the first time the trio had met their younger cousin on Clark's side so we figured the best way for everyone to get acquainted would be a bath party! I think we could have fit one more baby in there comfortably...
After all the turkey, pumpkin pie, playing with cousins, bath parties, and much more...we headed to bed early our last night with Clark's family because we were leaving at O'dark 30, as Clark's family calls it. With 21 hours ahead of us, we were optimistic about our getting home without any issues. That optimism quickly disappeared when we got into bed in Albuquerque and saw on the news that the storm of the century was about to hit! We contemplated getting back out of bed and trying to beat the storm through the night but thought better of that idea and decided to get a good night of sleep. We definitely paid for it the next morning when we drove through terrible wind, snow, and ice-covered roads. The weather added a few hours to our already 10-hour day so here's what we listened to for the last three hours before home...
Poor babies. We made it though and I think the kids have forgiven us. Although when we put them in their car seatsnow they scream and arch their backs. It's quite the wrestling match.
Caleb is still battling an upper respiratory infection complete with a 10-day course of antibiotics. The other two are coming out of their sicknesses luckily and I think we've managed to catch up on our sleep as well. We certainly loved seeing everyone and we also loved coming back to our own beds. Isn't that true with any vacation? Just wish we lived less than 26 hours away so it would only be a day trip! Thanksgiving 2011 was definitely memorable!
A couple tips we received from other moms of multiples who have traveled long distances in the car included using travel tents, small collapsible umbrella strollers, sound machines for sleeping in hotels and at relatives, and boxed milk that doesn't need refrigeration so you always have milk available in the car (some moms went back to using formula for the trip because of the refrigeration issue but we wanted to stay as consistent as possible, hence the boxed milk).
