Happy 3rd Birthday Kassidy, Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall and Ryder!!!

It's official....the quints are now THREE years old! I can't believe it! What an amazing adventure the past three years have been! We have come so far, and yet I know that there is much more craziness yet to come. I feel truly blessed to be the mother to these five precious little ones (plus two others). They have brought out the best in me and in many others whose lives they have influenced.

Here are some pictures I took this morning. The outtakes were just as cute as the "real" pictures, so I thought I would include some of those as well :-)

Kassidy, "The Mother Hen". Kassidy likes to be in charge and make sure everything is going as it should. She is very opinionated (hmmm...I wonder where she got that trait????) and she likes to be a helper. I think she is going to be my shopping buddy when she grows up. Of all my kids, she is the most like me, both in looks and in personality.

Kassidy Outtake

Kaydence, "The Sweethart". Kaydence is super sweet as long as you don't cross her. She has the cutest little voice---when she talks to you in that voice it is hard to say no! Kaydence is the most content to play by herself and she is more of a follower than a leader. She is very detail oriented and can find the tiniest objects on the floor.

Kaydence Outtake

Rustin, "The Clown". Rustin is full of personality. He owns every bit of his red hair. He loves to cause trouble, but he always does it with a smile on his face. Of all the kids, he gets the most excited about things. He might be the first in line to steal some ones toy, but he is the biggest teddy bear. Rustin hates shoes and ditches his at the first opportunity.

Rustin Outtake (his is more cute than outtakish)

Kyndall, "The Spitfire". Kyndall is spunky and smart---a little too smart sometimes! She is as much of a troublemaker as Rustin, but in a different way---her misdeeds are much more clever. She loves to make me panic by hiding and not making a noise, while I run around the house looking everywhere for her. While Kassidy wants to be in charge, Kyndall is usually the one the others follow, maybe because she always looks like she is having fun.

Kyndall Outtake

Ryder, "The Charmer". Ryder continues to be my most high-maintenance child. He loves to be held and given a lot of attention. When he does get a lot of attention, he is as good as gold, but when he doesn't....watch out! Ryder loves shoes--his or anyone elses. He even sleeps in his shoes.


Ryder Outtake

Wilkinson Quints: Kyndall, Ryder, Kaydence, Rustin and Kassidy---3 years old!

To see how much the quints have grown over the years, check out these links to some of their other birthdays:

The Birth Story---July 31, 2007

Wilkinson Quints First Birthday

Wilkinson Quints Second Birthday

Happy 3rd Birthday Kassidy, Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall and Ryder!!!

The Room Your Room Could Be Like

Riley and Kaiya have really been into making their own videos lately. I think it is cute that they are trying to be like their dad, and they have a really great time doing it. It will be a while before either of them is the next Steven Spielberg, but their videos are improving over time and I thought their most recent video actually turned out pretty great. Their latest creation is a parody of the Old Spice Commercial (The man your man could smell like). Riley and Kaiya wrote, acted, filmed, edited and even posted the video to YouTube entirely by themselves! You can check it out below:





If you haven't seen the Old Spice Commercial it is mimicking, you can watch it below (if you watch this one first, Riley and Kaiya's video will make more sense).

The Room Your Room Could Be Like

Splish, Splash!

The past couple of weeks have been pretty relaxed---especially compared with the rest of our summer. It is the lull before the storm, I guess, since we have our big, big road trip coming up in week and a half (where we will drive all the way to Spokane, Washington).

I accidentally left my camera battery charger at my parent's house in Arizona and I have been going through picture-taking withdrawal! I have taken a few pictures with my cell phone camera but I don't have a fancy iPhone or anything, so the picture quality isn't always the best. I hope to get my charger back soon :-)

Last year at the end of the season I found this blow-up pool on clearance. The kids have been loving it this year. Because it was nice and sunny outside, I did manage to get a few good pictures with my phone.

Kyndall, Kaydence, Riley, Kassidy, Kaiya, Ryder and Rustin play with water guns in the pool

More Water Fun!

Riley

Kaiya

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

I can't believe how big and grown-up they are all getting! The quints will be THREE on Saturday!!

Splish, Splash!

Kristen's New and Improved Photography Website

One of my favorite photographers, Kristen Duke, has recently updated her photography website. The new website combines her blog and website into one user-friendly interface. I love the new colors and the header! You can check it out HERE. If you like it, leave her a comment, because honestly...who doesn't love comments?? (Plus I will earn more "brownie points" with her for sending people to her site, and I want her to keep wanting to take pics of my family---she does a great job!)

Kristen is also running a promotion on facebook right now---if you become a fan of Kristen Duke Photography, you have a chance to win one of her landscape prints. Click HERE to become a fan and find out the details!

Kristen has been taking pictures of the quints since they were one month old. Here are some of my favorite Kristen shots:

2-Year Photos: Kassidy, Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin and Kaydence

Kassidy, Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin and Kaydence

Wilkinson Family Photo, June 2009

December Picture for the Wilkinson Quints 2009 Calendar----this just might be my most favorite picture of the quints ever!

Quints--about 10 months old

Kassidy, Kyndall and Kaydence---about 4 months old

Christmas Card Picture, December 2008

6 Months old--Kassidy, Rustin, Kyndall, Ryder and Kaydence

6 Months Old

The Quints in their Blessing Clothes---About 3 1/2 months old (Kyndall, Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder and Kaydence) This one is also a contender for my favorite photo ever of the quints!

Wilkinson Family, September 2007 (Quints are about 1 1/2 months old)

Kristen's New and Improved Photography Website

More Road Trip Pics, Part 2

Last summer, we visited my parents just days after they moved into their new house. It was a short sale home and many things were not completed on it, including a nearly finished pool. We stared at the cement hole in the ground every day of our trip, telling ourselves that the next time we came to visit, we would be able to swim every day. Well, 10 months later, the pool STILL wasn't finished! There were lots of problems with the county and permits, etc. My parents tried their best to get that pool done before we returned home, but unfortunately the closest we came to swimming in the backyard was playing in a couple of baby pools! (five days after we left, the pool was finally finished and my parents assure me that on our next visit we will get to swim!)

Getting ready to swim: Kaiya, Kaydence, Ryder, Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin and Riley

Water fun!

The little kids didn't seem to care that the big pool wasn't finished---they had a blast playing in the kiddie pools.

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

Just Chillin'---Kassidy and Kaydence

Kassidy and Kaydence

One of the kids favorite activities from the trip was a visit to the "Bouncy Jungle"---a large inflatable playplace.

And they're off!

Ryder, Kyndall & Kassidy

The big slide---fun for toddlers and parents alike! Mimi and Rachelle with Kaydence, Kassidy, Ryder, Kyndall and Rustin

Kaydence

Jump!

Riley

Kaiya

The big Velcro wall blocks were also a big hit. Rustin, Kyndall, Kassidy, Kaydence and Ryder

The kids ate all their meals at a little picnic table in the kitchen.

Riley's birthday happened to fall on the day of the wedding, so we officially celebrated on another day instead. Riley's favorite birthday "cake" is the Double Cream Lemon pie from Marie Callendars. Fortunately June is discount pie month at Marie Callendars so that works out pretty nicely!

Mimi, Tiare, Rachelle, Jayson and Riley

Jayson, Riley, Rachelle, & Kaiya

Riley got a kid-sized guitar for his birthday, which he was very excited about!

While in Arizona, we also packed in visits with as many friends and family members that we could.

Rachelle & Candice with Ryder, Kaydence, Kassidy, Kyndall and Rustin. Candice (aka Dr. Park) was the resident who delivered the quints three years ago. She has since married and is expecting her own baby (just one).

Shannon & Rachelle...Shannon was my best friend in high school and my college freshman roommate. It has been 13 years since we have seen each other, and it was so fun to get our families together!

Blast from the Past---this is Shannon and I moving into our dorm room our freshman year at BYU. Don't you just love the hair and clothes? How about those three-inch high shoulder pads?? I never left home without them!

We met some of my cousins at Chick-fil-a for lunch one day

One of my cousins has a new baby and the quints were totally fascinated by him!

My aunt and uncle own a Mathenasium, and since I am sure my kids are all child geniuses, we thought they could get ahead on their math skills while we were there. Actually, I think the only math they did was counting the candy pieces my aunt Jeanie kept slipping them when I wasn't looking :-)

When we realized that swimming in my parent's pool was not going to happen this trip, we found another pool to swim in. I got Puddle Jumper life vests for the quints this year and so far I love them---The kids still need lots of supervision, but I feel a little bit more secure with them wearing the life jackets!

Ready to swim: Riley, Rustin, Ryder, Kaiya, Kyndall, Kassidy and Kaydence

Ryder--the friend whose pool we borrowed just happened to have goggles in all the quints colors!

Kassidy and Rachelle

Tiare and Kyndall

Rustin, Kassidy and Kaiya

Eating push-up pops in the pool

More Road Trip Pics, Part 2