April Newsletter...

January through March have been super busy for Clark this year so we planned a little family weekend to kick off April.  It was fun to have something to look forward to and to get out of the city. Our friends' parents live a few hours south of the metroplex so we all headed out for the weekend for a little country fun!!

Grandma and Grandpa Cooper's house had so much to do and our kids were in heaven. They could run and play outside without us fearing that they'd run into the street or get kidnapped (not that we live in the sort of neighborhood but we never can forget that there are some crazies out there). There was a huge sandbox, tramp, horse, fire pit for smores, play house, swings, a mule, and lots of open space! Not to mention the huge house to play hide-n-seek, gun shooting (Dad's only), a dollar theater (girls went to Divergent and boys went to Captain America), and the DELICIOUS smokehouse restaurant we enjoyed (I always have mixed feelings on getting my meat cut off a slab while I wait in line to have it weighed).  I even got a tutorial on how to make the most incredible bread I've ever tasted. EVER. All in all, it was a VERY fun weekend and just what we were looking for. We're just grateful for friends who are willing to put up with our shenanigans for three days straight.  And don't mind Clark's brown sweater.  He borrowed several of Grandma Coopers for the weekend because he thought he left his at the office.  Turned out it was in the back of the van.

Next up for the month was Easter weekend!  We never really make a big deal out of Easter at our house.  Just more stuff to do and worry about.  I did do a couple spring crafts during the week and a reading schedule with the kids about Christ's life out of The Friend magazine, but other than that, nothing too crazy!  There were some fun church and community events going on so we attended those.  We started the weekend with a BIG WHEELS exhibit at the local library.  Obviously the boys were in heaven and loved getting to touch the machines we always point at while driving down the road.

The next morning was the Egg Hunt and Breakfast at our church.  Not much of a 'hunt' per say but still exciting for the kids to collect eggs full of candy.  Zachary could hardly contain himself in the car and subsequently poured out every egg "accidentally."  Most had jelly beans but there was an unfortunate M&M egg that got melted underneath him.  Figures!  We then headed to a little friend's birthday party, then to Michael and Marisol's for a couple of hours, then to Home Depot to buy new flowers and plants for our front yard, then planted the flowers, then ended our day with a pizza dinner on the front lawn.  Whew!  Everyone slept pretty good that night.

Of course Easter Sunday was enjoyable. We watched a lot of videos of Christ and read from the scriptures. Church was enjoyable and the kids had lots of interesting things to say after Sunbeam class. One of which was Leah being really concerned about getting blood on her hands and knees. :) Her comprehension of the holiday was sweet and I videotaped her testimony.  We had German pancakes for dinner and thought maybe we'd rename them Easter pancakes and make it a tradition since Clark claims it's is FAVORITE food ever. I'm writing this down so I don't forget for next year! 

I got one Easter photo for the day. 

Caleb. 

Our picture of Easter perfection.  Straight posture, pressed shirt, cute smile, and a goofy look.  His picture helps me remember that I'm here on earth living my imperfect life with a family I love so much because Heavenly Father's Son made that possible. And even though my kids, Caleb in particular right now, push me to my last nerve sometimes, I'm grateful I can ask for forgiveness and start over new everyday. That's the most wonderful thing about young kids. They are completely and utterly forgiving. No matter how I act or how I mess up with them, they put their arms around me at night and say they love me. That's how our Savior is. Completely and utterly forgiving. And when we come to Him at night in prayer, he envelopes us with His love and peace and says 'it's ok, I love you.' What a wonderful thing.     

The following weekend we all headed up to a wildlife sanctuary.  I bought season passes on Groupon and am excited to have a neat place to go occasionally to check out animals and go for nature walks.  There is a little village in the sanctuary with miniature log cabins in which the kids have so much fun.  They each pick a cabin and make it their own then proceed to invite one another over for tea parties and sitting on the porch.  We've even had a little glimpse of Caleb's hoarding problem and wonder if he'll end up on the A&E show when he is older.  He invited me into his cabin and had collected EVERY item from EVERY cabin and placed it on his floor.  However he was so proud and excited about his belongings.  Makes you wonder.  Anyway, we had a good time and wore the kids out.

Something new that our family has started doing is visiting local bakeries for a sugar cookie fill.  I have found, for me, that it is the smartest way to go.  You pay for your sugar cookies and when you are done, you are done.  No extra cookies are laying around on the counter or packed in a bag in the freezer.  No extra frosting around either.  I LOVE sugar cookies.  Like more than any other dessert.  I could pass up most anything until presented with a soft, gooey sugar cookie.  So I like to go have them at the bakeries and then walk away empty handed with no further temptation.  However, we've now encountered a problem.  At a recent sugar cookie run after the wildlife sanctuary, we happened to find the most incredible sugar cookies I've ever tasted.  Not only that, if you buy six, you get six for free.  FURTHERMORE, the sugar cookies are gigantic!!  So now I'm really in trouble because with a family of five, of course we're going to buy the extra one and get six free.  But now we have cookies on our counter....really good cookies....and really BIG cookies....defeating the whole purpose of the bakery visit!  Ugh.  Back to square one.

 

To round out the month of April, our family came down with Bronchitis and Leah broke her arm.  We've actually had a relatively healthy winter so I knew we were bound to get hit with something before Spring ended.  Leah got sick first.  Low-grade fever and cough.  Then she started wheezing and getting crackling in her lungs.  That's a sign of RSV so I figured she had it.

One night after dinner, two days into Leah's sickness, the kids were playing in the living room and I was cleaning up the kitchen.  Apparently Leah and Zachary were sitting on their big balls on top of the coffee table (this activity could never end well).  Leah's ball rolled one way and she rolled another.  She started crying, which happens a LOT during the day, so I checked her out to make sure she was ok.  I felt both her arms because she said they hurt and moved the joints (which I feel bad about now) to see if she would cringe or indicate pain.  But she didn't so I gave her a rice bag to put on her arm. 

But she wouldn't stop crying. 

And when I asked her to lift her arm, she wouldn't.  She had to use her other arm to lift the injured one.  At the point I knew it was broken.  So we shuffled off to urgent care, Michael and Marisol picked up the boys, and she got an x-ray.  Surprisingly she fell asleep in Clark's arms while we waited for the results.  This ended up being a blessing because they were able to listen to her lungs, give her an Albuterol treatment right away, and check her oxygen levels.  She would've screamed and screamed through all of that if she was awake.  They diagnosed her with bronchiolitis which is worse than bronchitis.  Poor girl.  Double whammy all in one night. 

Maybe I'm new to this whole broken bone thing but they wrapped her arm in an ace bandage and said to make an appointment with an orthopedic specialist within the next few days.  That seemed so weird to me that she would have an unprotected broken arm at home while I casually set up a future appointment.  Wasn't this an emergency?  I was so confused.  Then I called the Children's hospital the next day and they couldn't get her in for a week!!  Not only that, they said that she would be fine waiting that long.  I felt totally uncomfortable with that timeline.  It just seemed too long for her to be in so much pain.  So I called and called and called and found a place up north who saw children and could get her in the next morning.  I was so grateful.  I actually got the referral from my pediatrician who gave it to me when I picked the nebulizer up for Leah's bronchiolitis!  So in a way I was grateful for her sickness which led me to a solution! 

She's all casted up and on her way to healing now.  She's still in pain most of the time and again, often forgets to be careful, but she'll only have the cast on for three weeks.  Clark watched the boys while we went to get the cast on and creatively thought to give the boys some pink casts so Leah wouldn't feel bad.  So sweet. 

It's been a pretty eventful month.  We've been to some fun parks and on some fun bike rides.  Unfortunately on one bike ride I lost our garage door opener so when we got back home I had to crawl in a window.  The kids were so excited about the whole situation and are still talking about it.  They've also really gotten into Peter Pan this month.  I like Peter Pan for several reasons.  One is that it's short.  But the main reason that I like it is because it fosters a lot of creative play that sometimes the newer Disney movies don't.  I like that it encourages imagination and fantastical situations...moreso than a plane flying in the air or a car driving on a track.  Those things are good too but I've really enjoyed seeing their imaginations go as they take on the Peter Pan characters and play it out in a new way.

A few more April items I'd like to include are Caleb and Zachary having many debates on Spiderman and his villains, getting new swimsuits for summer (picture taken before broken arm), and the boys taking a bath in the sink so we could show them that we did indeed bathe them in there when they were babies.  They always think we are joking.  But they had a great time and made a great mess.

I'll leave you with this gem from Zachary.  So my parents have wanted Clark to get rid of his green D.I. Bidwell Dragon shirt for years.  They think he needs to frame it and move on.  What's funny is that it always seems like he wears it when they come or when I take pictures but he really doesn't wear it that much at all!  When they were here last September, they were going to try and kidnap and frame the shirt themselves but didn't go through with the act.  So with all the bronchitis going on, I hadn't done laundry and Zachary didn't have clean pajamas.  So Clark offered him the comfiest, coolest shirt to sleep in and Zachary was SOOO excited to wear and sleep in it!

Sorry Mom and Dad, looks like the Bidwell Dragon shirt has found a new owner for many years to come!  :)

Marching Marching....

March is by far my least favorite month of the year.  Usually as we start into January, which is long and cold, I start to think that January is the worst.. But once March hits, I'm reminded that it is indeed the winner. March was particularly dreadful in college because we didn't have a Spring break. However, with having three toddlers I now dread spring break because all our usual hot spots are overrun with big school age kids. Caleb gets all panicky and defensive when there are a lot of big kids around which is both funny and stressful because he starts doing and saying weird things.   Beyond that, ever since playing at some parks over Spring Break with older kids, the triplets learned words like 'shut up' and 'stupid.' So I'm annoyed about that because I know exactly who the girl was that was saying that stuff. Luckily the trio aren't entirely sure what the words mean and use them incorrectly. Hopefully if I just ignore them (which is hard not to react immediately), they'll stop saying it and move on to something else.

Anyway, March has been long. Clark's been working very very hard and putting in so many hours. When he is at home, every time I turn around he's taking a nap. His napping capability is incredible.  Really I envy his ability to fall asleep so quickly.  Of course with three kids jumping on him the naps don't last very long and he soon gets caught up in a 'Dojo' building contest.  He and Caleb teamed up one Sunday morning and definitely won first prize for the tallest Dojo.

What's funny, maybe not to Clark, is that every weekend Clark says how badly he needs to wash his car and ironically it has been rainy and cold every weekend for the past month.  All the nice days have been during the week.  So finally he said 'whatever I'm going out!' and he and the trio washed his car in the pouring rain.  It's hard to tell but everyone was soaked when they came in!

Along with rainy days there have been some hot and sunny days.  We were given our trampoline in the fall so this is really the first time the kids have jumped on it when it's been hot enough for a sprinkler underneath!  I haven't even got their swimsuits out for the new season so for now it's underwear!  After an afternoon of working hard in the sandbox, they were THRILLED with a wet trampoline and the 'sprinkles.'  They couldn't stop laughing and squealing about it.  It was fun to watch and reminded me of all the times I did this exact same thing as a kid.  You just can't beat it.  Since then I've added some water balloons into the mix which has made this whole activity even more exciting!

Then in true Texas style, the next day is cold and the sprinkler stays off.  Socks, pants, long sleeves, and superman capes.  Also very exciting!



A few other March updates to remember include

...receiving a fun package in the mail from Great Grandma and Grandpa (thank you so much)!  They were special boxes with seashells inside and some nameplates.  We love and cherish all the handiwork from Great Grandpa.  The trio had a good time comparing shells and placing them in their boxes. 

...discovering the 'rocketship' park.  We've been there a couple times now and there is still more fun to be had!

...working more on my braiding.  Leah is a great muse to practice on.  She waits patiently for a whole 30 seconds then starts whining.  As a result, my skill may take longer than anticipated to master. 



...sleeping over at Michael and Marisol's!  Man....what an exciting thing for the kids.  They can hardly contain themselves knowing they will soon be sleeping over there.  I kept telling them that 'Friday is sleepover day!' so they had to wait all week and now every Friday they ask to go over there.  :)  They sleep in a room full of toys, each in their separate bed (Leah has a cot), and keep Michael and Marisol up way later than they would like I'm sure.  Then of course, the morning comes fast and it's time to play again.  Marisol has a magical attic.  Things keep coming out of there which add to the excitement and fun at their house.  It sure has inspired me to keep and take care of all our toys because you never know when you'll need to pull them down from the attic in the future!  They sure have a good time though and we're grateful for such wonderful friends.

...celebrating Marisol's birthday!  In true Marisol style, she ended up buying the kids some balloons and giving us the movie Frozen.  Luckily we sang to her, had some cake, and gave her a card we had made otherwise it would've felt like the kids' birthday instead!

...and finally, fake-napping with Dad.  All the kids ended up on his lap one day and I said that once upon a time they could all fit on his chest.  So we snapped a picture and compared.  Leah and Caleb switched places but they sure have grown!  Either that or Clark is pulling a Benjamin Button on us and shrinking.  And isn't it amazing how Clark hasn't seemed to age one day since having newborn triplets?? 

The main event of the month was having Clark's mom come to visit.  She came for ten days and helped get us through the end of March.  Of course her first morning here she came bearing gifts:  Hawaii shirts from Papa, Lego kits from Gram Rox, and peanut butter balls for Zachary and Clark!  Oh and let's not forget the GOBS of candy...peanut M&M's, candy corn, licorice, etc... (most of which was provided by Gram Rox).  So the first morning was fun and exciting and thanks to Gram Rox and Papa who contributed to that! 

Her stay here was super fun and super busy!  She didn't waste any time getting the kids into their explorer vests and off to the park.  It's always strange being alone at the house but I took advantage of the time to exercise, shower, get dinner going, and tidy up.  They went on a couple more explorer walks and bike rides.  The kids LOVED it and apparently were very kind and obedient while gone.  :)

We did a few small outings while Gram was here too.  Nothing big since everything is so expensive now that the kids are three and we have to pay for each of them.  One afternoon we met Clark for lunch near his work which was really fun then headed to a nearby mall.  The mall is awesome (never been there) with attractions like LegoLand and an awesome aquarium but again, $20 per kid just isn't working for me.  So we settled on an awesome train ride around the mall which was probably equally as thrilling as any big name attraction and 1/5 the price.  They pretended they were on the Polar Express.  Furthermore, nearby the train there was a life size alligator who opened his jaws so we could throw pennies inside.  Scary!  To top off the mall trip we had some cinnamon/sugar pretzels on our way out!  Can't beat those mall pretzel places.

On another day we went to a place called KidMania.  It's an indoor jungle gym that is HUGE where both kids and adults can go inside the structure.  Super fun and popular.  It can get a bit overwhelming for the trio though because they could often see us or each other but not know how to get there.  So Gram and I rotated to keep the kids together.  Once they got tired of that that we played in the arcade area for a bit and Zachary could not part from the motorcycle game.  It was a very fun and tiring morning so we all came home and collapsed for a couple of hours!  I think there might have been some heating pads and Tylenol involved too.  :)

Gram's trip would not have been complete without a surprise ice cream trip to McDonalds!  Smiles all around!

I think my kitchen was cooked in more during her visit than the whole previous month!  She started with sugar cookies, then introduced me to a new freezer jam technique (which is AWESOME!), then tried a new roll recipe I had which also turned out awesome.  So why not make cinnamon rolls right?  So she did.  Then she rounded out the week with Anie's caramel popcorn recipe!  So good!  I'm still working off the pounds I put on while she was here.

Other Gram activities included foam sticker sheets, flower necklaces, hair-cutting for all the boys, and reading.  LOTS of reading.  She probably read 50-75 books to the kids.  We even had to make a trip to the library to replenish.  The trio love stories.  Clark has this automatic switch where if he sits down to read or participate in reading time, he's asleep within one minute which leaves me doing all the reading all the time.  He says it's something about my voice that puts him to sleep!  Nice.  So I loved that there was another enthusiastic reading voice in the house.

I'm tired just remembering and writing about how much stuff happened while she was here.  She was apparently pretty tired too because one afternoon she didn't quite make it in the house from the car.  She fell asleep against the house....



Ok that's not what really happened.

She was actually out making stick stacks with the boys.  The sun was nice and the boys came in to eat dinner.  I kept thinking she was out there cleaning up the sticks or talking on the phone.  Next thing I know I am getting a knock on my door from our neighbor informing me that a homeless woman was asleep against our house!  Ha.

Ok that's not what happened either but Clark and I have been laughing ever since because that's probably what our neighbors were thinking!  The way the houses are situated our garage faces the alleyway.  So to see anyone in the alleyway is rare but to see someone asleep in the alleyway is very strange.  So we totally laughed and I snapped a picture to remember. 

Clark wasn't home as much as he would've liked while she was here but I certainly enjoyed her company and conversation.  I even got her watching a little Project Runway!  The kids had SUCH a good time with her.  I love seeing them be so kind and open with their grandparents.  In the past this hasn't been so great but with my mom coming last month and Clark's mom this month, it's been great to watch them finally favor both Grandmas over me once in a while.

Thanks for a fun visit!  Can't wait until next time!

I'll end with this little gem from Leah.  So probably about one year ago when I lived here in crazy town with three two-year-olds who weren't quite good at communicating yet, fought a lot, and were constantly testing their boundaries and independence.  If a situation escalated between the kids, I'd usually follow suit and  be yelling at someone for something.  So I started praying, during family prayer, that Heavenly Father would help me to be patient and calm and to not yell or get frustrated.  I did that for a while and as the kids grew and were able to start praying on their own, they incorporated my prayer into their own.  Now the following phrasing happens in EVERY prayer EVERY day in EVERY situation including primary and primary class (airing all my secrets), "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, please bless that Mama won't yell or scream or get mad or sad..."  Oh geeez. 

Sometimes it's embarrassing that they say it so much and so publicly but on the other hand, I do need the help and extra prayers so I won't object!  I figure that Heavenly Father listens to the prayers of sweet innocent children more than he listens to mine anyway.  :)

You've Been Grandma'd...

You know Grandma Nelson is in the house when a few things happen: slicked over hair, towel head wraps, and high-rise pants.

 

 Of course when I tease the kids that they've been grandma'd, they totally love it and think it's the best thing ever. Leah wore that head wrap for almost an hour and Zachary has taken a liking to a tucked-in shirt/high pants. Whatever! We really did enjoy my Mom's visit this month. She arrived on the first day of February and brought a nice cold front with her. It was in the 30's and 40's for her entire stay so we were confined to the indoors. I was incredibly grateful she was here because I would've lost my mind being stuck indoors for two weeks.  She did get one warm day (high 60's) so naturally we spent it outside in the sand box and on the tramp.  We did a lot to stay busy during the cold spell though...especially with Valentines day approaching.

We made some Valentines sugar cookies one afternoon but the cooking went terribly wrong.  We decided to half the recipe but didn't end up halving the flour.  When Clark got home he asked, "what happened?  These cookies taste like flour!"  Looks like I need to teach him to praise everything I cook regardless of taste.  :)  We corrected ourselves the next day and had some yummy sugar cookies to fill up the cookie jar.  The kids were obsessed with looking in the jar to make sure it was still full.  They had their fair share of frosting-less cookies and enjoyed every bite.  They never get these sorts of things so it was really special and perfectly ruined their appetites.  Oh well.

Grandma was introduced to our Frozen book.  This book is very special and gets pulled out for everyone to play with when Leah has success in the bathroom.  We've realized that Leah's currency isn't candy, stickers, or little trinkets.  She's motivated by social situations where everyone is playing with her.  The Frozen book does just that.  So Grandma was included and probably never wants to hear any of the Frozen songs again for a long long time.

We had fires almost everyday and loved them!  We've never used our fireplace so much....it was great!

We prepared for Valentines day by painting hearts, making a tree with heart leaves for Dad, and sending out Valentines to family.  Valentines day was beautiful and Clark even made it home early!  We played crack the egg on the tramp (we always jump on the tramp after playing in the sandbox to get all the sand off), ate Valentines french toast, presented Dad with his Valentine's, and spent time outside opening cards we received in the mail from family.  I asked the members of our family to participate in a cousin Valentine exchange and it turned out so great.  The kids were thrilled about getting personal letters in the mail and collecting them in our box prior to the holiday.  So we all sat out on the blanket, read the Valentines, ate treats and loved all the love we were feeling.  Thanks to all the cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents who participated! 

Other activities during Grandma's stay included Grandma sewing toy bags for the trio in which they now all their belongings around the house, mending about six articles of clothing I've been avoiding, eating at Chili's, putting on puppet shows at the library, watching The Bachelor, decorating the kids' doors, and doing a big grocery trip.  I happened to have quite a few church things going on during her stay so it was nice to be able to slip away quickly without having to find a babysitter.  She also graciously babysat on Valentine's Day so Clark and I could grab some dinner.  We went out to Cheesecake Factory and endured the hour wait; however, it went fast and we had no where to be and no babysitter to pay so we enjoyed our time just hanging out and eating good food.  A good Valentine's day it was!

The kids have been really playing so well together this month.  I've really seen a shift in their interactions, pretending, and conversations.  I have found myself sitting in the kitchen afraid to move for fear that I would disrupt their little groove they had going on.  So I just stay put until someone needs me.  Very strange experience.  But I'll peek in on them and find them having a pretend sleepover or a picnic.  If Caleb is in charge they are usually on an expedition to the North Pole.  They will build with the CitiBlocks for long periods of time now and I am incredibly impressed with how high they can build.  They have recently been getting up in the morning, going into each others rooms, and starting to play without coming to get Clark and me.  Maybe they like the feeling of being sneaky and quiet but we certainly don't mind as long as it is after 630am.  I have found that the enjoyable moments are starting to outweigh the hard moments.  It's fun to see them grow and tell us the crazy stories they think up.  Zachary's stories involve something or someone getting broken in half and thrown in the garbage, Caleb's stories are about everyone with their bags of toys headed somewhere then we see a monster and run away, and Leah stories tend to be more of embellished nonfiction tales.  She'll take a real life experience of hers, exaggerate it in some way, then laugh hysterically.  Half the time we don't know what is happening.  I imagine that very soon they will have a bunch of inside jokes that I am not a part of and cannot understand. 

Here's the sign that we made for my Mom before she came.  Clark used his panorama phone thingy which is why he has so many feet but it did capture the poster perfectly.  Pretty cool! 

I'll end with a story about Caleb.  Every other Wednesday I have a Relief Society Presidency meeting at my house.  Usually the kids have just gone to sleep when the other presidency members arrive.  One presidency member has very dark hair and a short, spiky, boy cut.  So when she came in the door (they usually walk right in to avoid ringing the doorbell) Caleb happened to be headed into the bathroom at the same time.  I was in the kitchen when that happened but went to check on the kids before starting the meeting.  Caleb was still in the bathroom and matter of factly said, "Mama, there's a man in our house."

I didn't know if I should laugh or be totally worried at the fact that he could've gone back to bed knowing that he saw a strange person walk in the house, who he perceived to be a man, and not be grabbing his closest sword to protect me.  Looks like I'll have to take care of myself around here.  :)