Lions and Quints and Quads, Oh My!

On our recent trip to Denver, we met up with the Arnold Family at the Denver Zoo. Maureen Arnold and I have been in contact ever since the quints were little. Maureen has two older girls who are the same ages as Riley and Kaiya, and she has a set of quadruplets that are just a few months older than my quints. They live in Wyoming, but were willing to drive a few hours so we could get our two families together for the first time. It was so much fun! We have so many similarities in our families and our situations that it was great to be able to talk about our struggles and successes and compare notes.

The kids had a great time as well. The Denver Zoo is awesome, and all the kids enjoyed seeing the animals. The Riley and Kaiya bonded right away with the Arnold girls (Brooklyn and Alyssa). It was kind of funny to listen to their conversations. One I overheard went like this:

Riley: So is it really loud at your house all the time?

Brooklyn: Yes! Sometimes all the babies are crying at the same time!

Riley: That is the same way at our house. I can hardly hear myself think!

It was a fabulous day, and I hope that we can meet up with the Arnolds again next time we go to Colorado.

The Arnolds and the Wilkinsons at the Denver Zoo--4 adults + 4 "big kids" + 9 3-year-olds

The Quints and the Quads check out the giraffes

Ryder and Rustin---best buddies!

Looking at the Rhinos---every time we get together with someone whose kids are the same age as mine, I am reminded of how SHORT we are---With me being 5' 2" and Jayson being 5' 7", our kids aren't going to be starring on any basketball teams!

Lunch Break: Kassidy, Kaydence, Kyndall, Rustin, and Ryder

Lexie, Rylee, Maddox, Maureen (mom), Matt (dad), and Shilah

Alyssa, Brooklyn, Grandma Wilkinson, Riley, Kaiya

Quads + Quints: Rylee, Shilah, Lexie, Maddox, Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin, Kassidy, Kaydence. We always get a lot of interesting looks and comments when we take the quints places, but we REALLY got some looks with both families together!

Riley and Grandma Wilkinson---I love this picture!

5 little monkeys looking at 5 little monkeys

The Dads with all the kids---is that a crazy amount of kids, or what!!!

The Moms: Rachelle & Maureen

I thought it was quite appropriate that the sculpture the kids were climbing all over was entitled "Abundant Joy". That sums up our lives pretty well :-)

PTBC Update: Today was day 2 of "Potty Training Boot Camp"....pretty much more of the same. Lots of accidents (10-#1 and 2-#2) and only Rustin has figured out how to make things come out on the potty. Spot Shot has become my new best friend. I am confident that the rest of the kiddos will catch on any day now...at least that is what I keep telling myself :-)

Lions and Quints and Quads, Oh My!