wilkinsonquints

Field Trip Friday--F

2012-01-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

The Final Field Trip Friday before the Festivities of Christmas began was a Fabulously Fun trip to the Fire station!

The Fab Five in Front of the Fire Engine

Fourteen of our Favorite Friends joined us as we talked to the Fireman about Fire safety

Friendly Kassidy

Faithful Kaydence

Funny Rustin

Free-spirited Kyndall

Flirtatious Ryder

This Fire Engine has a Fantastic name! We've had a Foto-shoot with the Quint 2 before, click HERE for the Flashback...

My Favorite part was getting to put on the Fireman gear! Some of the kids were Frightened at First but soon became Fascinated when they realized it was me.

The Full Crew of Field Trip Friends

Firewoman Rachelle and the Fab Five on the Fire Truck

The Field Trip Finale was a trip to Burger King for "Free Fries Friday"

Field Trip Friday--Y

2012-01-31T13:00:00.000-08:00

At the Year's end, near Yuletide season, I took the Youngin's on a Y adventure. We started at one of our favorite places...the YMCA. The "Y" has a great Youth playplace, and the Yard activities are nothing to Yawn at.

It's fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A

Next stop was Yogurt at YoYo's. I have to admit that I often have a Yearning for Yummy Yogurt.

YoYo's

Even the door handle is a Y

YoYo's had spoons in all of my Young kiddos colors (including Yellow)

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

MonkeYing around

Drawing "Y" on the wall was everyone's favorite part

All in all, the day Yielded a totally un-Yucky adventure!

Field Trip Friday--H

2012-01-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

I have to admit I have always had a soft spot in my Heart for HEB since we filmed a commercial for them and were on the front cover of their magazine. So when I thought about field trips for letter H, HEB was the first thing that came to mind. After a little bit of calling around, I found that taking a field trip to HEB is really quite easy (if any of you Texans want to do one, just go to www.fieldtripfactory.com to sign up).

The HEB tour was a Humongous success! We Had a Huge group of friends join us for the Happy occasion. The gal from HEB took everyone around the store, stopping in each section to talk about Healthy eating Habits and letting the kids sample Healthy Hors d'oeuvres from the basic food groups.

Happy quints Huddle outside before the HEB tour

The Handsome group of kids before Heading to the tour (I think it is kind of interesting that with the exception of a couple kids in the picture, everyone in this group is within 6 months age of my kiddos---there is such a range of Heights)

First stop--Produce! The kids learn "5-a day--the color way"

Follow the Leader

The Highlight of the tour was the meat department, where the kids got to Handle a live lobster!

Kaydence Hung back a bit, but Kyndall and Kassidy were in a Hurry to get their Hands on it!

Next Stop: Dairy where everyone got a "squish" yogurt (as my kids call them)

The Handout of bread samples from the bakery was also a Heavy favorite

The Hilarious Huddle of moms following the kiddos around. Our group got a lot of attention from other shoppers, However, my kids blended right in and the attention wasn't focused on me or my kids, which was a nice change!

The kids were sad to see the field trip come to a Halt, but were Happy about the bags of goodies they received at the end!

Thanks HEB, we had a Humongously fantastic time!

PS--Let me just state for the record that finding good descriptive words that start with H was much Harder than I anticipated---though I am sure it won't hold a candle to letter X!

Field Trip Friday--T and E

2012-01-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

Our field Trip this week was Totally Enjoyable. We Took the Train into Town to Eat Tacos and Take a Trip in a see-Through Elevator. We Took some friends of ours, the Woods, and even let Kaiya be Truant from her Educational Teaching for the Trip. The Quints thought the Train was Totally Terrific and the Elevator was Especially Excellent. Since I am a Tightwad (or "Thrifty" if you want to be politically correct), I was Excited that Tots 6 and under ride free on the Train.

The Eclectic Troops Tarry before Embarking on the Train to Town

Thoughtful, Efficient Kassidy and Tender, Empathetic Kaydence on the Train

Troublesome but Entertaining Rustin with Natalie

Talented, Enthusiastic Kaiya with also Truant friend Henry

Tenacious, Energetic Kyndall with Andrea

Talkative, Eccentric Ryder

Time to Eat--lunch at the Taco Shack

Of course the picky quints would not even Try the Tasty Tacos...instead they Took in a plate of Tortilla chips

Rustin wielding a Trash can lid

The Enormous Elevator was located in the Extravagant Hyatt Hotel in downtown Austin. The ride was Especially Exciting because the glass walls let you see the Exceptional view on the Excursion to the Top floor (number 17). The Tots were quite Entertained by the Expedition--I think we rode the Elevator about Eleven Times.

We also tried the Escalator, though that many Tiny Travelers on an Escalator make me Edgy

Kassidy, Ryder, Rustin, Kyndall and Kaydence Take a Time-out for a picture in front of the skyline

Henry and Kaiya---they Thought the hand-holding was Traumatizing, but it made for an Endearing picture :-)

Traversing the wall Tight-rope style

The Town: Austin Skyline and Congress Street Bridge

It seemed True to form that we Took notice of a Turtle in Transnatation while Traversing the bridge

I Thought it was Too cute the way their Tiny Tushes stuck out while they looked at the Turtle

Back at the Train station the Tremendous Trip came to an End

Field Trip Friday--J

2011-12-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

For J week, we kept our weekly Junket simple and close to home. We started with a Joyous lunch at Jason's Deli. It has been a long time since I have eaten there and I forgot how Juvenile-friendly that place is. The kids actually liked the food in the kids meals and they were especially Jubilant about all of the varieties of free crackers from the salad bar. To top of the meal, there is free soft serve ice cream for dessert--what JOY!

The Jubilant Juveniles Just before lunch at Jason's Deli

Juice Box Joy

Jovial Ryder

Jocund Kaydence

Jocose Rustin

Judicious Kassidy

Jazzy Kyndall

Following our Jaunt to Jason's Deli, we Jetted over to the park to play on the Jungle gym.

Ryder & Rustin

Kyndall

Kassidy & Kaydence

All in all, we had a Jolly-good time and the kids would Jump at the chance to take this Journey again!

2012 WQ+2 Calendar

2011-12-09T12:16:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let you know that I am planning a 2012 WQ+2 calendar this year. I am planning on having them printed at Costco again. Like last year it will include a few pics of Riley and Kaiya too. A few people have requested a copy of the calendar, even though it isn't all quints, so I thought I would throw the offer out there for everyone.....If you have a blank spot on your wall that you would like to fill with a WQ+2 Calendar, I would be happy to order one for you and have it sent to the Costco nearest you. You can then pick it up and pay for it at your Costco. The cost for the calendars is $9.99 plus tax.

If you would like a 2012 WQ+2 Calendar, just send me an email at rcwilkinson@gmail.com Let me know how many you want and which Costco you would like to pick them up at, and I will send in the order. Calendars take 5-7 business days to arrive.

Merry Christmas!!

Field Trip Friday--Review Week

2011-12-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

This week we decided to take a break from learning new letters and review the ones we know so far--A B C D K L M P R S. (and by "this week" I really mean a month ago, since that is how far behind I am!) For our field trip, we hit the road and went to Dinosaur World in Glen Rose, Texas. Dinosaur World is home to over 150 life-sized dinosaur replicas.

Picnic Lunch! I got up early Friday morning and put together a fabulous picnic lunch which ingeniously incorporated all our letters (apples for A, bagels for B, cheese sticks for C, etc.) Unfortunately my brilliance ended there. After we had been on the road for about 30 minutes, I realized that I had not-so-brilliantly left the cooler with our picnic at home on the kitchen counter! Dinosaur World is REALLY in the middle of nowhere, so fast food was not an option, but we did find a little grocery store and we were able to make a hodge podge picnic (though not quite as alphabetical!)

Kassidy, Ryder, Rustin, Kaydence and Kyndall---The park was kind of like a zoo for dinosaur statues. We followed a large circular path to see all the exhibits. Each one had a sign giving the dinosaur's name and info.

I tried to get the kids to stay and look at each dinosaur long enough for me to tell them dino's name, but some of them (most notably Kyndall--no surprise there) just wanted to run to the next one!

Halfway around the loop there was a pond with Koi fish swimming in it, which the kids found utterly fascinating.

Kyndall, Ryder, Rustin, Kassidy and Kaydence

Everybody's favorite dinosaur---the T-Rex!

Running from the T-Rex

The park also had a big playground, which my kiddos loved!

Kassidy

Kaydence---Kaydence had my favorite quote of the day....the kids kept running from dinosaur to dinosaur all day---I tried to slow them down by having them say each of the dino's names before moving on. At one point, Kaydence ran ahead and then stopped and yelled back at me, "Mom, LOOK---It's an Oh-My-Goodnessaurous!"

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

Eaten alive!

Our final activity at the park was a fossil dig. Each of the kids got their own tools and could dig for 15 minutes. At the end they could select three fossils to take home with them.

Budding archeologists

The kids had a blast and have been begging to back, so I think it was a successful field trip!

I didn't think he could get any cuter...

2011-11-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

...But I was wrong!

Rustin recently had to get glasses! He "failed" his vision screening at his 4-year check-up, so I took him to see a pediatric optometrist. Turns out he does have a few issues with his eyes, so the glasses help a lot! He was always a little slower at learning things like the alphabet before and had a harder time with our preschool activities, but now I realize it was because he couldn't see. I think he is absolutely adorable in the new glasses (which we had to special order because he insisted on having BLUE). So far he is doing great with them, but he is all boy, so I am sure it is only a matter of time before they get broken :-)

Wilkinson Family Reunion

2011-11-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

The Whole Wilkinson Clan (photo by Angie Moore Photography)

This August, Jayson's family had a reunion in Colorado. It was short, but packed with fun and creative activities. Each day had a theme. Day 1 was "Thriller". It started with a family photo shoot in Garden of the Gods---not exactly Thrillerish, but we did make some Thriller poses!

Zombie Pose: Riley, Jayson, Rachelle, Kaiya, Kassidy, Ryder, Kaydence, Rustin and Kyndall. (photo by Angie Moore Photography)

Waiting our turn, we snapped a few photos of our own...

The Original Wilkinson Family: Kevin & Sylvia Wilkinson, with kids (in birth order): Jayson, Alicia, Joel and Megan (photo by Angie Moore Photography)

Cousin Buddies: Trevor, Riley and Andrew

WQ+2 (photo by Angie Moore Photography)

Following the photos, we headed to Rudy's for Lunch. We didn't even have to drive all the way to Texas to find Rudy's, they now have one in Colorado Springs!

Yum!

The Quints favorite part is the cheap white bread

When we got back home, the real Thriller fun began...wearing our matching Thriller T-shirts (which we later tye-dyed), we made our own Thriller music video (inspired by the Michael Jackson Wii game).

Check it out below---we had way too much fun making it!

Thriller Day ended with everyone getting their own Feltie Zombie, made by my crafty mother-in-law. Each zombie was carefully crafted to match each persons interests and personalities.

The Feltie Zombie Display

Day 2 was "Harry Potter" day. Each person had their turn under the sorting hat to determine which house they were in.

Ryder getting sorted

Next, everyone went to the "wand shop" where their wand selected them. Once again, my mother-in-law's creativity amazed me---she actually made wands for everyone with their name inscribed on them and she sewed protective wand carrying bags for them to go in!

Stupify!

The hunt for the Sorcerer's stone

Churchify: Harry Potter Day was Sunday, so we also went to church :-)

The third day was "Down on the Farm" day. One of Sylvia's co-workers owns some horses and graciously allowed us to come over for some carriage rides

Ryder & Rustin

Kaydence and Kyndall

Kaiya

Kassidy

Horses were not the only animals on the "farm"

Final Group shot!!

After the reunion, we stayed with Jayson's parents in Colorado for a few more days. Another one of Sylvia's friends has pet RATS. The thought of it seems kind of icky, but they were actually quite cute, if you could get past their very rat-like tails!

Oh Rats!

Kaydence

The kids lost interest in the rats as soon as they discovered the wealth of toys at the house we were visiting!

Kyndall, my true animal lover, made friends with the kitty

Jayson

Riley

Kaiya

My friend Liz, who used to live near me and was so much help when the quints were born, now lives in Colorado Springs. She is either really brave or really crazy, because she drove up, picked up ALL seven of the kids and took them back to her house for a sleepover! The kids LOVED it! It was one of the highlights of the trip for them. Apparently, tree elves live near Liz and they leave treats in good little boys and girls shoes.

While in Colorado, I think we broke a record for the highest number of thrift shops invaded by quintuplets on a single day...

Goodwill

Salvation Army (I think...they all started to blend together after a while...)

ARC Thrift Store

We found the best deals at Goodwill! I came away with several pairs of jeans for the kids and myself for 99 cents! I have always been more of a clearance deal shopper than a thrift store shopper, but with my mother-in-law's help, I think I could become a thrift store convert :-)

Field Trip Friday--L

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

This week, Letter L was in the Limelight! We went to the Library, had Lunch at Logan's Roadhouse and Landed some new License plates! We were also Lucky to have a Lass named Chanda join us. Chanda used to Live in the Lone Star State and she Lended a hand when the quints were Little, but of Late, she Left Texas for a new Line of Labor in Tennesee. She was in town for the weekend and it was Lovely to see her again!

The Little Learners Latch on to Letter L's in front of the Library

The Little ones Love to sit on the Laps of the Lads and Lasses in the statue in front of the Library

Rustin didn't want to be Like the others, so he Lifted himself onto the statue's Latissimus dorsi.

Letter L in sign Language: Kassidy, Kyndall, Chanda, Kaydence, Rustin and Ryder

Looking forward to Lunch inside Logan's Roadhouse!

Love Kyndall's Leg in this one!

Lunch was Luscious! We were Lucky to *only* Lay to rest one plate. The staff was quite Likable and the other Lunch-goers did not seem to mind the Loud Laughter coming from our table.

After Lunch, we said "So Long" to Chanda and headed to Georgetown to pick up our new License plates. Later, my Little helpers installed the License plates on our Large vehicle!

Rustin's face in this picture made me Laugh!

The Superhero duo Latches the License plate in place---if only they were a bit more Lofty, they might be able to reach better!

Wilkinson Quints Plus 02----Love it!

Halloween!

2011-11-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it's off to work we go!

Soon after I realized I was going to be the mother of seven children, I knew that we would have to do the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs theme for Halloween some year. That thought was reinforced a couple of years ago when my fellow quintmom, Sara Tyre (who also has quints plus 2) did it with her family. This year seemed like my best chance---the quints were old enough to be great dwarfs and Riley and Kaiya were young enough not to protest too much. GG helped me with the costumes (she did the hard stuff like the boots and hats) and I think they turned out totally cute! I let the kids decide what color shirt and hat they wanted---of course they mostly chose "their" colors. I couldn't find a yellow shirt, so Kaydence ended up with light blue. She chose a yellow hat, but at the last minute, we couldn't find Rustin's blue hat anywhere! Fortunately, we had a "prototype" dark pink hat and Kaydence graciously let Rustin wear her yellow hat

Our church has a Halloween Trunk-or-Treat every year and I was amazed that the beards and hats actually stayed on until the very end. When it came to actual trick-or-treating, most of the kids ditched the beards after the first few houses..

The Seven Dwarfs: Dopey (Kaiya), Doc (Riley), Grumpy (Rustin), Happy (Kassidy), Sneezy (Ryder), Bashful (Kaydence) and Sneezy (Kyndall---no, that was not a typo, both kids wanted to be Sneezy, so we just didn't have a Sleepy)

The Prince (Jayson) and Snow White (Rachelle)

This picture of Rustin was just too funny not to include it---he is such a little clown!

Carnival games at the Church Trunk-or-Treat

Kassidy

Kaydence

Ryder

One of my good friends, Joy Park, just happened to be the witch from Snow White...I couldn't resist one of her apples!

Field Trip Friday--C

2011-10-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

Letter C was a Choice letter. There are a Copious number of things that start with letter C! For our field trip, we started at the Capitol building of the Colossal state of Texas. Our Capitol is rather Cool, I think. The exterior Construction is similar to the US Capitol and there is a reCurrant star motif throughout the interior.

I was surprised by how Cheerful the quints were as they Checked over the Capitol. They were Charmed by the squirrels Climbing the trees, and they were Crazy about the Canons. They were Curious about the rotunda and felt Compelled to Climb the Cyclopean staircases to get as high as possible.

Kaydence, Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin and Ryder at the Texas State Capitol

Colossal staircases in the Capitol Created Curiosity among the Cute Quints

Though the quints were Courageous as they Caught the view of the rotunda from the top floor, the Considerably spaced Crossbars in the railing Caused me to be Concerned!

The Canon

Countless strangers insisted on being Captured on Camera with the Quints. (OK, not really Countless, but there were a Considerable number!)

After the Capitol, we headed down Congress Ave to see the Cows on Parade.

During our Downtown Circut, we Caught a glimpse of over 20 Cows...this one is Called "Moosical Moosaic"

"Flowerida"

"Batsy at Twilight"

Halfway through our Cow Circuit on Congress, we stopped to Consume some Chow.

Lunch Consisted of letter C sandwiches, Cheese sticks, Concord grapes (I could be making the Concord part up---I really have no idea what kind they were), and Cookies

On a trip to the water Closet, the quints rode an escalator, for what might have been the first time---they were Crazy about it!

Cow Collage

The Concluding stop on our Capitol of Texas adventure was the Big Top Candy Shop.

Candy, Candy, Candy

The Copious amounts of Colorful Candy Captivated the Quints and made it Challenging to Choose what to get!

Conveniently, the Candy shop had five Chairs

From the outside looking in---The Candy shop was a Cool Close to a Considerably Crazy-Fun Day!

PS--Speaking of letter C, the kids Halloween Costumes turned out so CUTE----I'll post some pictures in the next Couple of days!!

Field Trip Friday--P

2011-10-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

Last week was "P" week at our house. Of course all my Pretty little Princesses were happy about that! Especially the ones whose favorite colors are Pink and Purple :-)

Pink Letter P Pancakes

Early in the week, my friend, Andrea, brought her Pet Parrot over to Play. The Parrot, named Ruby, was a little Panicked at the sight of so many Playful Preschoolers. But she became more Peaceful when the Petite People fed her some Pine nuts.

Andrea and Ruby with Kaiya, Kassidy, Kyndall, Rustin, Kaydence, and Ryder

Isn't she just Pulchritudinous?

Kyndall and Kaydence were Pleased by the Picturesque Parrot

The Posse of Preschoolers Pose for a Picture with the Parrot

For Field Trip Friday, we Packed the Preschool Passengers along with our Pals, GG and Tammy Z, into the Plenty-big van and headed to the Pumpkin Patch. Our favorite Pumpkin Patch is the one at Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls, which is about 45 minutes away. It has become a Perennial Practice to take Pictures at the Pumpkin Patch every year.

Pick-up Truck at the Pumpkin Patch

Plentiful Pumpkins

Peculiar Pine-colored Pumpkins

Petite Pumpkins

The Pentuplets Flash their Pearly Whites: Kyndall, Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder and Kaydence

Petting the goats was a Popular activity

Rustin gives the Passive farm Pet a Peck

Also Pleasing to the Preschoolers was the Tractor Train, Pulling a Procession of barrel cars. (Notice that they each Picked their Preferred Pigmentation of barrel to ride in)

The Passengers Pose for a Picture with the driver of the Plowing Machine Pretending to be a train. (The angle of the Picture makes it look like he is holding something, but it is actually a Pig made of hay bales in the background)

The farm also had Plentiful flowers for Picking.

Parade of Preschoolers down the Path

Plucking Petal-laden blooms

Plumage of Pink, Puce, Purple and Peachish

Pigtails and Pink boots go Perfectly with Pink flowers and Kaydence's Pretty Profile

Persistent Kassidy

Precocious Kaydence

Playful Rustin

Prankish, Pet-loving Kyndall

Particular Ryder

All in all it was a Perfect day at the Pumpkin Patch!!

Field Trip Friday--B

2011-10-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Last week we learned letter "B". Now, I know I shouldn't choose favorites, but let's face it---some letters of the alphabet are Better than others. There were so many "B" activities that we didn't have time to do them all. We spent the week Bouncing Balls into Buckets, Blowing Bubbles, riding Bikes, going on Bear hunts, Blowing up Balloons, playing with Barbies and Blocks, making Bats, and eating Breakfast food, Bananas, Bagels and Bread with Butter.

For our Field Trip Day, we went to the Big Bounce and then came home to Bake Bread in the shape of Bears.

B pancakes for Breakfast. Rustin is even taking a Bite of his Blue plate.

The Big Bounce (Kassidy Bemoaned the Bright sunlight)

Ready to Bounce: Ryder, Rustin, Kassidy, Kaydence and Kyndall

Lunch Break: Rustin and Ryder with Best Buddy Soren, who joined us for the outing

Kaydence (eating a Banana!), Kyndall and Kassidy

1-2-3 Jump!

Budding Bakers: Kyndall, Ryder, Kassidy, Rustin and Kaydence (the Boys have Blue aprons and the girls have Butterfly aprons---all Birthday gifts from Grandma Wilkinson)

Baking Bedlam (I actually got smart this time and pre-measured all the ingredients into Bowls Beforehand, so they could just scoop and dump)

Building Bears out of Bread dough

A Bedraggled Rustin

Blotchy-faced Kyndall

Da Bears!

Beautiful Kassidy

Bashful and Bright Kaydence

Bedazzling Rustin

Brilliant Kyndall

Big Goof Ryder (who thinks he has to make a silly face every time I take a picture!)

The Quints 4th Birthday!

2011-10-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin, Ryder and Kaydence

I am more than two months late, but I am finally posting pictures from the quints birthday! Their birthday fell on Sunday this year, so we went to church in the morning and had a few families over for cake in the evening. They are old enough to really "get" birthdays now, so they were SO excited!

The Fab 5 with their gifts---Five is a very "normal" family size, so the quints birthday is like some families Christmas! (Something I should have thought about before saving all the present wrapping until the last minute :-) )

The present wrapping started out with order and taking turns....

...but quickly evolved into mass chaos!

The quints take a break----All that present un-wrapping can be exhausting!

I made each of the quints their own little mini-cake in their color. In addition to color coding, each of the quints has a symbol that they chose to identify their things when multiple colors are not available. Kassidy--flower, Kaydence--sunshine, Kyndall--heart, Rustin--basketball, Ryder--changes his mind a lot (for his cake it was a monster)

Kassidy, Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall and Ryder

Happy Birthday to Kassidy!!

Happy Birthday to Kaydence!

Happy Birthday to Rustin!!

Happy Birthday to Kyndall!!

Happy Birthday to Ryder!!

For the rest of the party guests, I made two cakes---a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling (to die for!) and...

Lemon cake with raspberry cream cheese filling

The day following the quints actual birthday, we had their "friend" party. After spending lots of time on Riley and Kaiya's birthday parties this year, I decided to make life easy on myself and have the quints party at the Big Bounce.

We invited all the kids from church who are in their Sunday School classes----there are 21 kids their age, so it was a big group! I was really interested to see what my kids would do at the party. They don't get invited on playdates with other kids very often and they are so used to playing with each other, that I wondered if they would stick together or branch out. To my surprise, none of them stayed together---they all buddied up with someone else.

Kassidy with her friends Paige and Marcy

Kaydence with her friend Emmie

Rustin with his buddy Weston

Kyndall was more of a free spirit, running around by herself---she did join a bunch of other girls watching a movie for a little bit.

Ryder with his pal Andrew

We sang Happy Birthday and had cupcakes. I made rainbow cupcakes (pink, purple, yellow for the girls and blue, green, white for the boys) but I was so busy I forgot to take pictures of the inside!

Party Room

Present Time!

Present un-wrapping quickly turned into a free-for-all!

The Party Kids!

The quints with the cute gal that hosted our party at the Big Bounce! It was so much fun, and the best part----I didn't have to get my house ready for a party, or clean up after the 4-year-old invasion!

Clean it! (New Video!)

2011-10-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

This was our family activity this weekend----making a music video in between sessions of Conference. The kids go around singing "Go, clean it! Clean it good!" now, so I hope the message sinks in :-)

Field Trip Friday--M

2011-09-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

This week we learned about letter M. Because we had our 4-year check-ups on our field trip day, we had to do more of a Mini-field trip. After we were done with the Miserable shots at the MD's office, we headed to McDonalds for the Midday Meal. I wanted to get the kids a Milkshake to try, but the Milkshake Machine had Mechanical difficulties :-(

After lunch, we headed home to watch a Movie ("Mulan") and eat Marshmallows. The kids thought it was Marvelous!

McDonalds: Kaydence, Ryder, Rustin, Kassidy, Kyndall

Making Merry Munching Mouthfuls of Mini-Meals

Kassidy (Mini-Mother)

Kaydence (Meticulous Maiden)

Rustin (Manly Menace)

Kyndall (Mastermind of Mischievousness)

Ryder (Moody Merrymaker)

Movie Mania---"Mulan"

Marshmallows.....

.....Mmmmmmmm!!

4-Year Check-Ups

2011-09-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

This week the quints had their 4-year-old well-check Doctor visit. I have been dreading this one a little bit because I knew that they would need several shots to get them Kindergarten-ready and now they are old enough to know that shots are not fun!

Our pediatricians office is really great with doctor visits. We usually meet with two doctors, the girls go in one room and the boys in another. The nurses there have the assembly line down to an art, so we are usually done in an hour or less. Now that the quints are four, I can manage a doctor visit with only one additional helper. We have come so far! In the early days I usually had to bring 3-4 helpers, and we would all parade in with a baby carrier under one arm and a diaper bag on the other.

The appointment went great, and I was once again amazed at the miracle of our situation----we were so blessed to get five perfectly healthy, normal children (plus two). Ryder cried pretty hard when he got his shots, but the other four did great!

Outside the Dr. office.....the sun was a bit bright!

Everyone's second favorite thing about going to the doctor....the fish in the waiting room! (the first favorite it getting from the treasure box when it is over!)

Kyndall, Kaydence and Kassidy---gowned up and ready!

Ryder and Rustin

Here are everyone's 4-year stats (they are all small for their age, but with Jayson and I as parents, that is definitely to be expected----we never planned on having a basketball team):

Kassidy
38 inches tall
31 lbs

Kaydence
36 inches tall
28 lbs

Rustin
37.25 inches tall
32.75 lbs

Kyndall
36.25 inches tall
27 lbs

Ryder
39.5 inches tall
34 lbs

Yay---now we are all ready for Kindergarten!!!

Arizona Summer Vacation, Part 2

2011-09-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Near the end of our Arizona Adventure, we took a cruise on the Desert Belle. The kids were super excited to ride on a boat.

Ready to board--Kaiya, Rustin, Ryder, Kassidy, Kaydence and Kyndall

Even though it was well over 100 degrees, the shade and breeze kept us cool

Tiare and Rachelle

Chillin' on the front of the boat: Kaydence, Kassidy, Rustin, Kyndall and Ryder

I love this shot my mom got of Ryder

Of course we all had to go help drive the boat! The captain was super nice!

Kyndall and GG

The boat ride was fun and informative, and the desert scenery was beautiful in its own way.

"Four Peaks"---the mountain depicted on most AZ license plates

Saguaro Cactus

Rocky cliff

Riley

Kaiya

We had only a couple of casualitys during the ride---my mom's lens cover and Kaydence's flip-flop both fell overboard.

Group shot with the boat

Kid-free dinner out! My dad was out of town most of the time we were there, but GG was kind enough to babysit the one night he was in town so that my parents, brother, sister and I could all go out to dinner.

Sunday my Aunt Jeanie invited us over for dinner---she made pasta (the quints favorite) and a chocolate cake that was to die for! (I loved it so much I made it for the quints birthday---hopefully I will be posting those pictures soon!)

The Kid Table

The Adult Table

Sitting on the porch swing: Rustin, Ryder, Kaydence, Kassidy and Kyndall

Our last day in Arizona we at breakfast poolside and enjoyed one last swim!

Kyndall, Kaiya, Kaydence, Ryder, Riley, Kassidy, Rustin

Water slide! Riley, Kaiya, Kyndall, Rustin, Ryder, Kaydence and Kassidy

Kaiya

Rustin

Tiare and Kyndall

Riley

Kaiya

All too soon it was time to say goodbye! We always have to take a "goodbye" picture in front of the office doors.

Farewell, Arizona!

Arizona Summer Vacation, Part 1

2011-09-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

Kaiya, Ryder, Kassidy, Riley, Kyndall, Kaydence and Rustin

After our fun trip to Arizona for Spring Break, we decided we had to go back---this time when it was warm enough to swim in the big pool! Jayson was busy preparing for a big upcoming conference at work and couldn't take time off to come with us, so we brought GG along instead. My brother, Shane, was doing an internship in AZ and living at home this summer, so we got to see him, and my sister, Tiare, flew down to spend the week with us too. We packed in as much fun and excitement as we could into the short 8-day visit!

Arizona, here we come! Thankfully, my kiddos are really quite good in the car for long car trips--as long as we keep the snacks and movies coming.

The first thing everybody wanted to do when we arrived at Mimi's house was SWIM!

Kassidy, Kaiya, Ryder, Rustin, Riley, Kaydence and Kyndall---ready for the pool!

How many quints can a floating turtle hold??

Girl's night at Cheesecake Factory with my Aunt Jeanie and her girls--YUM!

There was a movie theater near my mom's house that let kids under 4 in FREE, a fact that we definitely took advantage of! (All of the movie theaters here in Austin start charging at age 1) While we were there, we saw three movies!

Kaydence, Kassidy, Kyndall and Mimi

Riley, Kaiya, Ryder, Rustin and Tiare

Outside the movie theater

Wednesday was a big day---we had discount tickets to Jambo, and indoor kiddie amusement part. It was not very crowded and the kids had a blast riding all the rides.

The kids waiting for the roller coaster

Spinning barrel ride

Kaydence on the spaceship

Riley, Dylan (my cousin's little boy), Kassidy, Kyndall and Rustin on the Safari Train

Rhino Ride

Mimi, Riley and Kaiya on the bumper cars

Kaiya and Riley

Hippo Hug

After Jambo, we headed to lunch at McD's

Wednesday night we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner ($2.99 kid meal night!) My kids absolutely love eating there! It was the highlight of our trip!

The kids with the Rainforest Tree Frog

Waiting for dinner

Our standard pose by the elephant podium

We must have really worn the kiddos out that day, because on the way home, ALL FIVE fell asleep---a VERY rare event!!

The next day, my mom's friend, Janene, came over to give us all a roll-making lesson. I love homemade rolls and Janene makes the best rolls ever. I have been using her recipe for a while now, but I knew if I had the "roll lesson" that I could learn something to help me take my rolls to the next level.

Janene and Rachelle

Everyone was excited to "help"

Just as we were finishing our roll lesson, Candice (aka Dr. Park who delivered the quints) arrived with her baby Lauren. It is always fun to see her!

Kyndall, Kassidy, Rachelle, Rustin, Ryder, Riley, Kaydence, Kaiya, Lauren and Candice

Stay tuned for part 2 of the trip...

Field Trip Friday--D

2011-09-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last week we were learning letter "D", so I decided to take the quints to feed the Ducks for our Field Trip Friday. We have gone to feed the ducks at the Arboretum in the past, and although the kids always have a good time, I have found the ducks there to be a little bit on the snobby side. I think they get fed so frequently, that they don't get care about food much. The last time we went, we had a hard time coaxing the ducks to even come close to us, and when they finally wandered over, they just looked at our bread crumbs in disgust and said, "Quackity Quack Quack" (which by interpretation is "Seriously? We waddled all the way over here for THIS? We are too good for your store-brand bread...next time stop at Great Harvest before you attempt to feed us").

On the night before our scheduled field trip, I was taking Riley and Kaiya to their volleyball practices, when I noticed that the YMCA has a large pond with LOTS of ducks in it! I immediately decided that our duck-feeding field trip needed to be at the YMCA.

Friday morning, we arrived at the pond, excited and armed lunchboxes for a picnic and with baggies of bread to feed the ducks.

Kaydence, Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin and Ryder---armed and dangerous!

Almost immediately, the ducks (and geese) sent a welcoming party out to greet us. I could tell already that these were no snooty Arboretum ducks!

We walked out on the pier and started tossing bread crumbs at the ducks in the water. They were so excited, they were climbing all over each other to get the crumbs (the ducks, not the kids). The kids were happy, the ducks were happy, all was going well.....UNTIL Kyndall accidentally dropped an entire piece of bread on the pier. The ducks could not contain themselves...they started jumping (can ducks jump?) onto the pier and attacking the bread.

Kyndall's dropped piece of bread

Once the slice of bread had been devoured, the ducks turned their attention to US. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by about 30 hungry ducks/geese who looked like they were ready to attack. The kids were completely freaked out at this point. I ushered them up the pier and to the nearest picnic table while attempting to distract the ducks by throwing bread crumbs behind us. The kids and I climbed on top of the picnic table for safety. It was quite a site! I really wish I would have gotten a picture of the ducks as they surrounded the table quacking at us! In the moment, I was too busy trying to figure out my defense strategy if the ducks became even more aggressive and started jumping on the table with us.

My first thought was to take our remaining bread and throw it as far away as possible to get the ducks away from us. That plan did not work so well. The ducks would leave momentarily to chase down the bread, but always came right back. Then I decided the best thing to do was hide all food and hope the ducks would give up.

Standing on top of the picnic table

The ducks/geese momentarily distracted by the piece of bread that I threw as far as possible.

Kassidy, Kaydence, Ryder, Rustin and Kyndall----eventually the ducks started to give up and wander away. The kids sad down on the picnic table to watch them from afar.

Kyndall and Kaydence were the only two brave enough to walk back out on the pier after the ducks lost interest in us.

Back in the water, the ducks/geese didn't look quite as menacing as they did when they were chasing us!

Rustin, Ryder and Kassidy didn't dare leave the safety of the picnic bench.

At this point, the kids had decided they had had enough of the ducks, and we found a picnic table across the field (far away from the ducks) to eat our lunch.

Picnic Time!

No sooner had we sat down and taken out our food, when Ugly Duck and his Sidekick appeared. It was back to the top of the picnic table.

Ugly Duck acted like he pretty much owned the place. He circled the table and pecked at the bench and my legs during our entire lunch. Sidekick was a little nicer, but did jump onto the bench a few times and had to be shooed off. Ugly Duck was VERY persistent. When I got home and looked at my pictures, I realized that he was in most of them---he pretty much stuck to us like glue the entire day! Ugly Duck finally gave up after about 30 minutes and he and Sidekick retreated, much to the kids relief!

We finished the afternoon by playing on the nearby playground (it was mostly fenced in, so no more ducks!) Hopefully our little adventure didn't cause any permanent psychological damage to the kids :-) Despite our Debacle with the Ducks, I thought the Day was Delightful!

Field Trip Friday--S

2011-09-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, we worked on letter "S". We started our Field Trip Friday with S-shaped pancakes.

Kassidy, Rustin, Kyndall and Kaydence (Ryder had a Sleepover at a friend's house so he wasn't here for breakfast)

Next we made Somewhat Slippery Snow cones

After the Snow cones, we put on our Swim Suits for a Splendid day of Splashing at the Sprinkler park.

Rustin, Ryder, Kassidy, Kaydence and Kyndall

Kassidy

Kaydence

Ryder and Rustin

Kyndall

To finish off our "S" day, we made a Super Scrumptious dinner:

Spaghetti,

Salad,

Salad dressing,

Star-shaped breadsticks,

and Strawberries!

Field Trip Friday--R & K

2011-09-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

Kyndall, Kassidy, Kaydence Ryder and Rustin

With the new school year starting, one question I get all the time is "Are the quints in preschool this year?" The short answer to that question is NO---at least not a "real" preschool. They do not qualify for the preschool run by the school district and "regular" preschool tuition times five is a LOT of money, so instead I am making up my own. Each week we focus on 1-2 letters of the alphabet. We do lots of activities, songs, books etc to go with our letter. Fridays have become our "field trip" day. This week we were learning the letters "K" and "R", so I did my best to come up with a field trip to go along with it!

"R"

"K" (gotta love Kyndall crossing her eyes!)

For the "R" portion of our field trip, we decided to sight see in the neighboring town of Round Rock. Round Rock is one of the larger suburbs of Austin. Both Riley and Kaiya were born in the Round Rock Medical Center, but I didn't know much about the history of Round Rock.

Round Rock was settled in 1851. After the civil war, it was one of the stops along the route for moving cattle from South Texas to Kansas. The route became known as the Chisolm Trail.

Along the Chisolm Trail is the round rock for which the city of Round Rock got its name.

Kaydence, Kyndall, Kassidy, Ryder and Rustin check out the Round Rock. This was the first time I had seen the round rock and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed---it is smaller than I imagined and when I heard round, I thought spherical. Nevertheless, I am glad I finally got to see it!

The kids sitting ON the round rock. Normally there is a creek that flows through here, but with our big drought this summer, there wasn't much water.

Next stop on our Round Rock field trip....the railroad tracks! Round Rock is also where the big-time train robber, Sam Bass, was shot and killed in a historic gunfight.

The kids were kind of nervous about being on the train tracks....they were worried that a train was going to come along at any moment and run them over. I told the kids that if a train came, it would toot its horn to let us know and we would get out of the way. This made Kyndall worried about the loudness of the horn and she walked around with her ears plugged.

Kyndall, Rustin, Kaydence, Ryder and Kassidy

More railroad tracks...

For the "K" portion of our field trip, the best I could come up with was a trip to Burger KING for lunch, complete with King crowns.

To finish off our tour of Round Rock, we drove through Old Town Round Rock and stopped at the famous Round Rock Donuts.

Believe it or not, this was actually the first time that the quints have ever had donuts!

Quint Olympics Obstacle Course

2011-09-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest Quint Olympics Video! We actually shot all the footage last summer (except for the awards ceremony), but haven't gotten around to editing it until now. I can't believe how much the kiddos (all seven) have grown in the last year---they look so little to me in this video! We had them all wear workout clothes for this episode and I have to say I think the sweatbands are pretty adorable. My favorite part of the video is the awards ceremony at the end---it's hilarious!

4th of July Festivities

2011-08-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Kaiya, Riley, Kyndall, Ryder, Kassidy, Rustin and Kaydence on the 4th of July

We spent the 4th of July doing the standard Independence Day activities...neighborhood bike parade, cooking out on the grill, making homemade ice cream and swimming. I was bummed that with the drought conditions in Texas this year, we didn't get to do fireworks, but we still had fun!

Starting line for the neighborhood bike parade

Kyndall, Ryder, Kassidy, Kaydence and Rustin----ready to show and set to go!

The whole Wilkinson family after the bike parade

The quints "help" GG make some homemade ice cream

Kaiya, Jayson, Rachelle, Kyndall, Riley, Kaydence, Ryder, Kassidy and Rustin

Jayson made a short video on 4th of July....if you missed it, here it is again:

Swim Lessons

2011-08-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

The quints have been taking weekly swim lessons for several months at the Nitro Swim School and I have really seen a lot of progress! They all LOVE the water now and have no fear of jumping in!

These are some pictures taken by the Nitro staff during swim lessons. I thought they were super cute, and I was also impressed that they got the kids to smile and look at the camera---no small feat!

Ryder, Rustin, Kyndall, Kassidy and Kaydence with teachers Ms. Sami and Ms. Bonnie

The Girls with Ms. Bonnie

The Boys with Ms. Sami

Riley's Harry Potter Birthday

2011-08-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

In June, Riley turned 11! This was his year for a big "friend" birthday party. He is a HUGE Harry Potter fan. At my last count, he had read all seven books in the series at least four times each. He has been Harry Potter for Halloween twice and Draco Malfoy once. Even his room is decorated in a Harry Potter theme, so it was no surprise that he wanted to have a Harry Potter themed birthday party. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Alicia, who recently threw a Harry Potter party for my nephew and mailed me all of her leftover stuff and thanks to the internet, we were able to put together a pretty fun party!

Party Invitation--outside

Party Invitation--inside. Using a mixture of baking soda and water, we wrote an invisible ink code word in the blank space on the bottom of the invitation. When heated, the solution turns brown, revealing the code word.

Decorations--I wish I could take credit for these, but they all came from my super sister-in-law

Staircase Banner

Hogwarts House Banner and Dining room (the ceiling has been "enchanted" to look like the night sky)

Hogwarts students (aka party kids)

When the kids arrived, we used a sorting hat to sort them into different houses. Each kid got a robe for his/her house (robes were made from XL Men's black t-shirts cut up the middle and ironed on house crest).

Each "student" received a wand (pencil spray-painted gold) and a Lesson's book, which they used for each of their "classes".

They started in "Charms" class, where each house (team) was given a list of spells which they had to match to their function.

Next they went to "Care of Magical Creatures" class where everyone made their own origami owl. (I was so busy running the party that I didn't get pictures of these, but they were cute!)

Page from the Lessons Book for Care of Magical Creatures

The third class was "Divination". I the kids several different Jelly Bellys and they had to taste them and use their powers of divination to determine what flavor they were.

The fourth class, which was definitely everyone's favorite, was Potions! I found a great "potion" online that changed colors and bubbled. The kids thought it was great!

Potion ingredients

Potion Instructions from the Lessons Book

Basilisk Venom: red cabbage juice (made by chopping up red cabbage, putting it in a bowl and pouring boiling water over to cover. Leave for 20 min--water will be purple = red cabbage juice)
Mandrake Root: long pretzel stick
Boomslang: Powder laundry detergent (changes the potion's color)
Eyeballs From a Blind Cat: Garbanzo beans (does nothing, just sounds gross)
Truth Serum: Vinegar (changes the potion's color again)
Bat Dung: black beans (just for fun)
Horn of Bicorn: Baking soda (makes the potion bubble up)
Hippogriff Gizzards: saurkraut (just for fun)
Gillyweed: Italian seasoning (just for fun)

Mixing up the potions

Riley's bubbles over

We ran out of time for the fifth class, which was going to be "Transfiguration" (basically charades with the Harry Potter characters)

We ended the party with a feast in the dining hall and cake.

The "feast"--nothing too magical, just pizza, but I did put a drop of food coloring in the bottom of each of the cups, then covered with ice, so that when the Sprite was poured in, everyone's drink turned a different color

Riley with his friends and Hogwarts cake

The goodie bags were also courtesy of Alicia (my sister-in-law). She had some leftovers from her party. They were so great! Inside the goodie bags, we put Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, Butterbeer and a golden snitch.

Goodie Bag

I love planning fun kids birthday parties, but they sure are a lot of work!!! Riley loved everything, though, so it made it all worth it!

On Riley's actual birthday, we celebrated with a small family party

Riley with his presents (Back: Kaydence, Kassidy, Ryder and Kyndall, Front: Kaiya, Riley and Rustin)

I loved the creative duct tape wrapping on this present from Grandma and Grandpa Wilkinson---almost too cute to open!

The kids crowd around Riley while he opens his presents. Riley is a GREAT present opener---he gets super excited about everything and always jumps up to give the present giver a hug and a Thank You.

Blowing out the candles on his Sour Cream Lemon Birthday Pie!

I cant' believe that I am old enough to have an 11-year old! Riley starts middle school this year and I am just not ready for the drama that usually comes with that. I am sure he will do great--he is such a happy, positive, upbeat kid. His mind is always thinking up some new invention. He has a quick smile and a giggly laugh that is contagious. He has really matured a lot this past year and become much more responsible. I am lucky to be his mom!

Utah Valley Half Marathon

2011-08-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

I am still playing "catch-up" with the posts from my crazy summer! Back in June, I took a quick trip to Utah to run the Utah Valley Half Marathon with my dad and my sister, Tiare. My trip was only four days long, but I managed to see several of my Utah friends and family members and eat at all of my favorite Utah restaurants.

When I flew in to Salt Lake, my friend Meagan Greenleaf picked me up from the airport. Meagan was one of my best friends in Austin before she moved. Meagan was babysitting Kaiya for me the day I had the ultrasound that revealed I was carrying quintuplets, so she ended up being the very first person I told.

"Girls Night" with my sister, mom, grandma, sister-in-law, cousins and aunts on my mom's side of the family. Quite a group! I have a large extended family! I have 64 first cousins (47 on my mom's side and 17 on my dad's side).

Sam, Mimi, Tiare and Rachelle in front of my Alma Mater! Go Cougars!

For lunch we met my old roommate and bridesmaid, Becki for lunch at Zupa's. It has been several years since Becki and I have gotten together, so it was so much fun to catch up!

Rachelle, Papa, Tiare: Friday night we picked up our race packets!

After picking up our packets, we headed to Mimi's for our carb-load dinner (I chose to consume most my carbs in the form of chocolate). Both sets of grandparents came with us.

Bright and early Saturday morning, my mom dropped us off at the starting line. My first half marathon was the Zooma Half back in April. It was a very challenging course with lots of hills. This race was mostly downhill and the scenery was amazing! I loved it!

My dad (aka "Papa") and Tiare are on their way! Yes, I was the crazy person who carried my phone and took pictures the whole way.

One of the scenic hot spots on the route: Bridal Veil Falls

Mt. Timp---gorgeous! Unlike Texas, Utah got TONS of rain this year and everything was so GREEN!

Coming out of the canyon, we ran past BYU

Mimi and Sam kept trying to follow us in the car and cheer us on. Sam took this picture hanging out the window.

WooHoo---I made it to the finish line! My time was 2:02, which was 5 minutes better than my previous half marathon time. I was happy!

Tiare, Papa and Rachelle at the finish line

Chocolate milk at the finish line....this is my kind of race!!

Can't you just hear the theme song from "Rocky" playing?

Papa, Tiare and Rachelle with our cheerleaders, Mom and Sam

After the race we headed up Provo canyon for a picnic with the Curtis (my dad's) side of the family

Tiare, Mimi and Rachelle

My Grandma and Grandpa Curtis---don't they look so cute?? They just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary!

Me and my Aunt Debbie---my brother's call her my "look-a-like"--what do you think??

Late night snack at Yogurtland. It was so much fun hanging out with my mom, sister and sister-in-law all weekend! My brother Shane and Sam just got married last summer, so I haven't had a chance to get to know Sam very well until the Utah trip.

Me with my Grandma Rappleye. She just celebrated her 90th birthday---doesn't she look amazing? If any of you saw the TLC special "Texas Quints", she was featured in the 2nd episode.

Sunday dinner at my Aunt Kathy Sue's house with my cousins Heather and Heidi and their families.

The "goodbye" picture: Sam, Tiare and Rachelle.

It was SO nice to get a few days break from my "mom" responsibilities! I came back rejuvenated! I am trying to talk myself into running the FULL marathon next year!

Giveaway Winner!

2011-08-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and your favorite books with me! I am definitely going to be checking out some of those books! I am always looking for a good read, although lately I "read" all my books by listening to the audio version while I run, clean house, fold laundry, etc. I love books that make me LOOK for things to clean around the house just so I have an excuse to put on my headphones and keep listening to the story!

With a little help from Random.org, I randomly selected a winner for the book giveaway. Congratulations to Carol!

Thanks to a recent long road trip to Colorado, I finally had time to read Mark Shaver's book, "A Critical Loss of Balance". If you missed my last post, the book is about a dad whose daughter was kidnapped. Although she is returned safely, he goes a little crazy and sets out for justice. I thought the book was suspenseful and entertaining. The premise of the book was interesting. I enjoyed reading it, however, I felt it was lacking in character development. Some of the characters were a little flat and unbelievable. Overall it was an engaging read and it definitely helped fill the 30 hours in the car!

If you are interested, ‘A Critical Loss of Balance’ is available for purchase on Mark's website at the special promotional price of $12.99 or $3.99 for digital download; simply type the word "BALANCE" into the "discount code" box for this offer HERE.

Book Giveaway!!!

2011-08-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

As long as I can remember, I have always had a passion for reading. When I was a kid, I would go to the library and check out the maximum number of books that they would allow (which was 15) and read them all before they were due two weeks later. Every summer, my mom would offer incentives to my brothers to get them to read more, but she would implement consequences for me reading too much. I learned early on that reading in the family room, kitchen or other visible area was the quickest way to get asked to do some kind of boring chore, so I often hid out in my room (which my dad started referring to as “the cave”) with my book. I love mysteries, courtroom dramas, medical thrillers and I always think a book is better with a little love story thrown in. I am definitely a “happy ending” kind of girl. My most recent reads include “The Hunger Games” series, “The Help”, and “Unknown”.

Although I have always loved to read, I never really enjoyed taking English in school. In fact, when I went away to college, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew for certain that I did NOT want to major in English or Elementary Education. Kind of ironic, considering I spend my days taking care of young children and my free time writing a blog!

I have always been horrible at keeping a journal. In fact, my journal, which is not even half full, is the same one I have had since I was eight years old. I love taking pictures, so I have always relied on the saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words”. I first began this blog in 2007, a few weeks after we found out that we were pregnant with quintuplets. We thought the blog would be a good way to keep family and friends updated on the progress of the pregnancy. Somewhere along the way, I discovered that I actually LIKE writing! Many people have asked how I can continue to keep up the blog with my crazy busy life, and the answer is that writing has become a release for me. After a long crazy day, writing blog entries actually helps me to unwind. I also LOVE that I have a record of our family and our experiences.

As an avid reader and novice writer, I was excited when I was offered the chance to host a giveaway on my blog for a new book by Mark Shaver entitled, “A Critical Loss of Balance”. Mark is a fellow Texan! This is his third mystery novel. I just got my copy of the book and I am excited to start reading it!

Here is a brief description of the book, “Cliff Elliott thought he had endured the worst thing a parent could endure when his nine year old daughter was kidnapped, but he was wrong. The circumstances that led to her return were far worse than anything he could have imagined. Now Cliff, a man who rarely uttered a cross word, a man whose temperament and nature were as gentle as any man’s could be, had his life thrown irreparably out of balance. Left with no other choice, Cliff set out not for revenge, but for justice; a justice he hoped would restore the balance that was now absent from his life. His pursuit of this balance thrust him deep into a world that he had never experienced before; a world to which he was indeed a stranger. The price to be paid to regain his balance though, was much higher than he ever imagined it would be. In fact, Cliff almost paid the ultimate price as he was forced into the world of those who took his daughter. So take a walk in another man’s shoes and try to imagine what you would do if you were faced with, ‘A Critical Loss of Balance’.”

Now for the really exciting part…..one of you lucky readers can win your own copy of “A Critical Loss of Balance”!!! To enter the giveaway, simply leave me a comment telling me how you started writing (if you are a writer) or what your favorite book is (if you are a reader). Please include your email address so I have a way of contacting you if you win! The deadline for entering the giveaway is Sunday, August 7th. The winner will be chosen at random. Good Luck!!

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

2011-07-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my babies are 4 years old!

Downtown Austin Adventure

2011-07-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

The whole group, getting ready to embark on our downtown Austin Adventure!

Summer has been so hectic, that I can't seem to get caught up with my posts! These pictures are from clear back in May. When Kaiya was baptized, both my parents and Jayson's parents came for the occasion. We have lived in Austin for twelve years now, and have already done the standard Austin tourist attractions many times, so I decided that we needed to do something a little different with all of our out of town visitors this time. After looking online, I discovered that there was going to be a big art festival downtown, which sounded like great fun to me. They closed off several blocks of 6th Street and had all kinds of vendors, food, clowns, etc. No one else would voice an opinion (except my mom, who also thought it sounded fun), so the plan was made.

Once we got to the festival, it didn't take us long to realize that it was a BAD idea! A couple days before our adventure, I had asked several friends if they had some small, single, umbrella strollers that I could borrow for the day, to avoid taking the "silver bullet". After my first three unsuccessful phone calls, I decided to give up. This might seem a little crazy, but having quintuplets has become so "normal" to us, that sometimes we forget what an anomaly we are to other people.

At the festival, there were huge crowds of people, and the quint stoller drew people to us like moths to a light bulb. It was CRAZY! I am used to people stopping me in the stores to ask me questions, but this went WAY beyond that---we could barely move without people stopping us or running over to take our picture. We stopped to look at a few booths (which would have been fun under other circumstances) but we soon realized we needed to switch to Plan B!

I love this picture of us at the festival---the looks on everyone's faces pretty much says it ALL---the only one smiling is me---the guys are looking around for the nearest exit route (bet they won't be so slow to voice their opinion during the planning stages next time!), and the kids were tired of seeing nothing but strangers and camera flashes.

We left the festival and walked about 2 miles through downtown Austin to get to Butler Park. The park is bordered on one side by Lady Bird Lake. In one area of the park, there is a spiral sidewalk leads up a small hill. At the top of the hill, there is a terrific view of downtown Austin. The park was awesome! It will definitely be added to our list of "standard" tourist attractions to take visitors to when they come.

Grandma Wilkinson and Mimi with the kids in front of a guitar statue we found on our city hike

Lady Bird Lake: Ryder, Kassidy, Kaydence, Kyndall, Rustin, Riley and Kaiya

Jayson pushes the Silver Bullet up the spiral sidewalk

Kaydence, Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder & Kyndall: At the top of the hill, somebody had put a piano---way too fun!

Riley and Kaiya

Grandma and Grandpa Wilkinson with all the kids

By the time we got done at the park, we were starving! We decided to try a well-known Taco joint called "Torchy's Tacos". We walked another two miles in the heat, dreaming of eating in air-conditioned comfort only to find out that the "restaurant" was actually a trailer! Although there was no air-conditioning, there was a covered patio, and the tacos were every bit as good as their reputation!

Walking to Torchy's

The Quints in front of the Torchy's Taco Trailer

Jayson and Rachelle enjoying our legendary tacos!

Mimi and Papa

Better than any playplace, the kids had a blast playing in the little sitting area. A few chairs and a napkin dispenser is all it took to make them happy!

The patio even had a small stage, which the kids enjoyed "performing" on.

Despite its disastrous start, everyone agreed that our Downtown Austin Adventure was a success!

Keepin' Cool in the Pool

2011-07-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Kaydence, Ryder, Rustin, Kyndall and Kassidy

A couple weeks ago we went swimming at a friend's house. The quints have been taking swim lessons for about 3 months now (once a week) and they can't actually swim (at least not well enough to keep them from drowning), but they have become totally fearless of the water. I found these floaties last year (called "puddle jumpers") that I absolutely LOVE. The kids are able to do all kind of things in the water and the puddle jumpers really help keep them safe. They are even coast guard approved as life preservers.

1-2-3 GO! I love the "wave" reaction on this one

Kaydence cracks me up---she is such a little fish. She is fearless and loves the water---which is the complete opposite of how she was two summers ago.

Riley and Kaiya take a turn showing off their jumping skills

Watermelon Waffles

2011-07-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

Between swim team and my summer school class (that I taught), our mornings have been super busy this summer. To make up for it, the day after my summer class ended, I decided to make a fun breakfast for the kids. After my friend, Kristen Duke (photographer extraordinaire) posted about these "watermelon waffles" on her blog, I knew we had to try them! They were actually quite simple to make and they turned out so cute! The kids loved them :-)

Kassidy, Kaiya and Kyndall get ready to dig it!

Rustin

Kaydence

To make them, I just simply used food coloring to die 1/3 of the waffle batter green and 2/3 of the waffle batter pink. Then I poured the pink batter in the middle of the griddle, the green batter around the edges of the griddle, and sprinkled some chocolate chips in the pink portion (for those that wanted "seeds" in their waffle). YUM!

Super Swimmers

2011-07-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

This summer, both Riley and Kaiya have been participating in swim team. In past years, I have tried to convince the kids to sign up for the more challenging (and therefore less popular) swim events. (Being a statistician, I figured if less kids signed up for an event, that improved the odds that my kid would get a place ribbon.) All my attempts at persuasion were totally unsuccessful. This year, the rules for signing up for events was a little different. The swimmer was allowed to choose two events and then the coach would select the third event. The very first week, the coach picked Riley to swim the individual medley event---one lap in each of the four strokes. To my surprise, he LOVED it and has signed up for the IM every single week since. I decided the coach was a genius, since I know he would not have loved it if I had made him sign up for it! Every week he has been improving a little bit, but this week, he actually beat his previous time by 13 seconds and took home the first place ribbon!

Yay Riley!!

Diving off the block (in the team medley, not the IM)

Riley in the final leg of the IM---not only did he win, but no one else was even close! (it helped that there were only four people competing...)

Kaiya also got her first heat-winner ribbon of the season at the meet

Kaiya diving off the block

Even though swim team is very time consuming, I think it is so great for the kids---good exercise and it helps them really learn how to swim well. I am hoping that the quints will be able to be on the team next year!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T17:22:00.000-07:00

Patriotic Toes

2011-07-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

Last week while the boys were away on a playdate, the girls and I decided to give ourselves a patriotic pedicure!

Kassidy, Kaydence and Kyndall show off their toes.

Happy 4th of July!!

New(ish) Video!

2011-06-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

Back in October, Jayson made a video of the kids to promote the premiere of "Texas Quints". TLC didn't give us permission to post the video in time, but it was cute, so Jayson added an intro to it and is posting it now! (Note: the main part of the video was made in the Fall, so the kids are referring to the TLC special "Texas Quints" that aired LAST October---we are not announcing any new shows!)

Kaiya's Baptism and Mother's Day

2011-06-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Kaiya turned 8 this year, which means that she is old enough to get baptized. Due to scheduling conflicts, the first day after her birthday that would work for everyone was May 8th, which also happened to be Mother's Day! Kaiya was so excited.

Kaiya was being such a turkey when I tried to take her picture before the baptism---She did not want to cooperate. I kind of liked this more candid shot of her, though.

I threw this picture in to show the back of the dress. Her dress was absolutely beautiful---it was made by a very dear friend who does not want to be named (Here is a hint...if my family was "The Brady Bunch" she would be "Alice")

Outside the church before the baptism: Riley, Kaiya, Rachelle, Jayson, Kassidy, Ryder, Kaydence, Kyndall and Rustin

The whole fam with both sets of grandparents and my brother Ryan who all came for the baptism. It was awesome to have family come to support Kaiya on this special day!!

Kaiya in the dress she was actually baptized in. This was MY baptism dress when I was 8!

Kaiya with Jayson, who baptized her

The actual baptism was very nice. Jayson's mom gave a short talk on Baptism, and then Jayson led Kaiya into the font. I stood on the side by the entrance to the bathroom to help Kaiya when she came back out of the water. As I stood there, I saw all the quints with their faces pressed up against the plexi-glass looking down into the font---it was very cute, I wish I could have taken a picture. Kaiya was beaming as she came out of the water. After the baptism, Andrea Woods, a family friend sang a beautiful solo of "I Think When I Read That Sweet Story" and then Kaiya was confirmed by Jayson.

After the baptism: Kaiya with Mimi and Papa

Kaiya with Troy, Cassaundra and Ellis

I spent so much time behind the camera that I never got a picture of ME with Kaiya--Bummer!

After the baptism, we had everyone over to our house for refreshments---this was the refreshment table.

Kaiya with a baptism gift from Mimi

It was great that Kaiya's baptism fell on Mother's Day----that means we got to spend Mother's Day with both my mom and Jayson's mom---something that has never happened before! We invited a few more of our favorite moms (GG and Cassaundra) and their families over for Mother's Day dinner before the baptism. For anyone familiar with Cafe Rio, I made a copy-cat version of their Barbacoa Pork Salad----it was SO good---tasted just like the real thing! (I used the pork and dressing recipes from HERE and the cilantro-lime rice recipe from HERE, if anyone is interested.)

I was too busy running around and didn't get any pictures of a salad all made up, but this was the buffet line.

The quint table at dinner (the only parts of the "salad" they would eat were the tortilla, cheese and chips)

My brother Ryan, who lives in McAllen (about 5 hours from here) came up for the day. He is still a swinging bachelor, so he isn't quite used to the noise and chaos at my house, but the kids LOVE him :-)

Riley and I (He gave me the frying pan for Mother's Day)

Me and my mom

Kaiya and Riley with Grandma Wilkinson (Jayson's Mom)

Mommy Bloggers

2011-05-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I was interviewed for an eHow article on Moms who blog. I thought it was a pretty good article. Click HERE to read it.

Swim Lessons

2011-05-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost here, and in Texas that means keeping cool by spending as much time in the pool as possible! I have always been extra cautious when it comes to kids and water---you just never know what could happen if you turn your back for an instant. With five toddlers and only one of me, it is impossible to be watching everyone all the time. Last year we didn't go to the pool very often (much to Riley and Kaiya's dismay) and when we did, we took lots of reinforcements. With swim season quickly approaching, we decided to sign the quints up for swim lessons! My hope is that by the time we go to Arizona this summer (where Mimi and Papa have an un-gated pool in the backyard), they will be able to swim well enough to get to the side of the pool if they fall in. Their first lesson was about a month ago, and they go to lessons once per week. There are 10 stations that they progress through. So far they are only on station 2, but they are definitely making improvements...and they totally LOVE it!

Ryder, Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin, and Kaydence: First day---peeking through the window at the pool

Getting ready to line up on the first day---a little nervous and a lot excited!

Waiting for the teachers at their station

Everyone's favorite part--hiding in the lockers after getting dressed

Everyone got a t-shirt on the first day!

Open Wide!

2011-05-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

About a month ago (I know, I know, I am really behind in posting!) the Quints had their first dentist appointment (ok, so I was also behind in taking them to the dentist...). They were so excited to go! Our friend, Darrell Park, is our family dentist. He, and the staff at Buttercup Dental were terrific---very accommodating with our large group, and the hygienists were great with the kids. We had a fabulous experience and everyone's teeth looked perfect!

Train table in the waiting room...we had to play on the way in AND on the way out!

Choosing a toothbrush--they didn't have all of the quint's colors, but they did have five different brushes, so everyone was happy

Ryder and Rustin had their teeth cleaned together---so cute!

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin showing off his clean mouth

Kyndall checking out her teeth in the dental tool

Dr. Park checking Ryder's teeth

Everyone's favorite part: picking something from the treasure box!

Check out those pearly whites! They can't wait to go again in 6 months!

Easter!

2011-05-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

Life has been so crazy lately that I have just been living from one deadline to the next! I have lots of catching up to do on the blog, starting with Easter! Everyone was so excited about Easter this year. The quint are at a great age for holidays! They love everything about them. As soon as one holiday comes, they start asking me what the next one is going to be.

The night before Easter we had our traditional "egg-dying" party. This is the first year that we let the quints participate. Egg-dying is not really my kind of thing---I have a hard time getting past the visions in my head of stained clothes, floor, etc. But I know the kids love it, so I try to hide my anxiety :-) I also do my best to take all precautions---putting trash bag art smocks on the kids, doing the activity outside on a trash-bag covered table, etc. The kids had a blast!

Easter-egg Dying Party

Kaydence

Rustin

Ryder

Displaying their eggy art: Ryder, Rustin, Kaydence, Kassidy and Kyndall (notice how they all choose to dye the eggs in "their" color)

The whole crew

Easter Sunday we dressed up for church. Thanks to my brother's wedding last summer, everyone had matching outfits to wear

Ryder, Kassidy, Kaydence, Kyndall and Rustin

Riley

Kaiya

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

The goofballs

Riley and Kaiya

Riley and Kaiya did NOT want to do this pose, but I thought it was cute :-)

Riley and Jayson

Too Cool

Jayson & Rachelle

After church, the Easter Bunny paid us a visit during naptime. At our house, the Easter Bunny color codes all the eggs (even for Riley and Kaiya) that way every kid gets the same number of eggs and the older kids can have their eggs hidden in more difficult spots.

After the hunt: Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall, Ryder and Kassidy

Riley and Kaiya

For Easter dinner, we went over to our friends, the Woods' house. The Woods kids spent a couple hours in the afternoon filling over 100 Easter eggs and hiding them in the yard for the quints to find. The kids were so excited about going on the hunt! They ran around filling their baskets with eggs until Kaydence discovered an ant in her basket. When we opened one of the eggs, it was crawling with ants! Instead of candy, the kids had filled the eggs with Cheetos's, which are apparently highly desired by ants and quints alike. We had to abandon the hunt and herd everyone back inside.

Rustin's basket of ants

Ryder's reaction when he found out his Easter eggs had been invaded by bugs

The kids all got new jammies in their Easter baskets. Rustin and Ryder got Buzz and Woody jammies---they LOVE them! Rustin will go up to Ryder and push one of the "buttons" on his chest and Ryder will say, "To infinity...and beyond!" and then Ryder will pull Rustin's "string" and Rustin will say "There's a snake in my boots!", then both of them will dissolve into gales of laughter. They are hilarious!

Pampers Campaign

2011-05-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to everyone who entered to win the $50 gift card from Pampers! There were so many great ideas of how to pay it forward that it was really difficult to decide a winner. In the end, the statistician in me took over...I assigned each entry a number and I used a random number generator from Random.org to select the winner. The winner has been notified via email.

Pampers Little Miracle Mission Campaign

2011-05-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

In celebration of its 50th birthday, Pampers is recognizing how much parenting has changed over the years, and is sharing their belief that every baby is a little miracle that deserves to be celebrated, supported and protected, by unveiling its Little Miracle Mission campaign – a program that delivers acts of kindness to miracles and their families while encouraging parents to support others.

The brand recently kicked off the Little Miracle Missions campaign by delivering a giant act of support –donating care packages to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) across the country. Celebs Joey Lawrence , Ali Larter, Mark Consuelos and LaLa Anthonywere on-hand in New York City to personally deliver a care package and thank you basket to Mt. Sinai Hospital and their staff.

As part of its Little Miracles campaign, Pampers sent me a $50 gift card to "pay-it-forward". I was challenged to find someone in need and use the funds to help in some way. I decided to help a family in my community who recently had a little baby boy. The family has been hit hard by the economy and their home is being foreclosed on. I have been so impressed by this mother and her faith and optimism despite the challenges they are facing. This sweet mother always has a smile on her face and feels blessed to have this miracle baby, despite the extra financial burden.

I used the $50 gift card to buy diapers and wipes, then I added a few more things on my own to create a baby care gift basket. My mom who was also in town pitched in as well. After all the many wonderful things that people have done for me, it was great to be able to give back. I love the spirit of kindness and community spirit that Pampers is creating with their campaign.

But this is not all...Pampers would like to give one lucky Wilkinson Quints reader a $50 gift card to help YOU pay-it-forward also! If you would like to be involved in this mission to help celebrate parenthood, all you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know what you would do with the $50. On Sunday evening (May 15th) I will choose the "winner". Some ideas are to use the money to purchase diapers for a family who could use them, use the money to prepare meals for a family, or even use the money to host a larger fundraiser for a family. I'd love to see what creative ideas you all can come up with!!

Even if you do not with the $50, you can still participate in the Miracles Missions programs, and support little miracles across the country, by logging on to Pampers Facebook page (Facebook.com/Pampers). Pampers will issue different missions throughout the entire year to celebrate all aspects of parenthood, and with the help of parents, family and friends, they hope to touch the lives of every baby born in the next year.

The gift basket

The whole family went to deliver the gift

The quints LOVED seeing the little baby---only 6 weeks old! Holding him brought back so many memories of my own babies! I can't believe my "babies" are almost 4!

Let those creative juices start flowing and leave me a comment (along with your email address) telling me how you would use the $50. Don't wait....the contest ends Sunday, May 15th at 7 pm CDT.

Moms on the Run!

2011-04-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran my first ever half-marathon! It has been a goal of mine for several years, so I am glad I finally got to do it! Several of my friends also ran in the marathon. The race course was at the Hyatt Lost Pines resort, which is about an hour from where we live, so the night before several of us drove down and stayed in a hotel overnight. It was so much fun just driving down, eating dinner and hanging out with my friends KID-FREE!

Paige, Janet, Rachelle, Angelica, Joy and Lyndsee---our big night out at Chili's (which was the best that Bastrop had to offer)

Pre-race group shot. My friend, Janet, originally decided to sign up for the race and then talked the rest of us into it...as more and more people joined us, we decided to get matching shirts and officially call ourselves the "Moms on the Run"

And we're off... Coincidentally, my friend Kristen Duke also ran the race. (Kristen is the amazing photographer that has taken so many pictures of my family) She ran with a camera (of course!) so I snagged this picture from her blog.

When we signed up for the race, the Zooma website described it as "challenging", but we really had NO IDEA what we were getting ourselves into. The course was VERY hilly. This is the elevation map taken from GPS watch during the race! (ignore the initial drop at the very beginning--the satellite hadn't found us yet!)

The race was hard, but it felt AMAZING to finish! My final time was 2 hours 7 minutes, (about 9:44 min/mile) which was better than I was hoping for. I came in 479th of 1390 runners. I absolutely gave it my all---by the time I finished, I didn't think I could take another step!

Post-Race: Moms on the Run! Paige, Joy, Cheryl, Janet, Rachelle, Angelica, Lyndsee and Lorraine (looking at this picture makes me realize how SHORT I am!)

I have actually signed up for another half-marathon in Utah in June. I will be running with my Dad and sister, Tiare, and I am really looking forward to it!!

April Fool's Day!

2011-04-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

After my failure at being the green-pancake-making-mom on St. Patrick's Day, I knew I had to make it up to my family on the next superfluous holiday, which just happened to be April Fool's Day. I've always loved a good practical joke, so I always look forward to April 1st. I often do the lunch box switch-a-roo on my kids, where I take something from their lunch, carefully open it, replace the contents with something else and then glue the package back together. They have come to expect that little surprise, so I knew I had to step it up to the next level. This year I decided to do an entire April Fools Dinner. Coincidentally, we signed up to feed the missionaries on April 1st, which just gave me a few more victims for my devious plan.

Thanks to Kristen Duke who posted this link on Facebook, I came up with a great dinner plan. The April Fools Menu included spaghetti with meatballs, cupcakes, bundt cake and red punch to drink....or at least that is what everyone thought they were getting...

"Spaghetti and Meatballs"

The "spaghetti" was actually tinted frosting piped through a plastic bag and made to look like noodles. The "meatballs" were actually cake balls, and the sauce was strawberry jam. Kaiya was pretty concerned when I brought this out. Even after I told her it was cake, she asked if she could take the noodles off before eating the cake.

"Cupcakes"

If dinner is actually dessert, it follows that dessert should actually be dinner. These cupcakes were actually mini-meatloaves, baked in cupcake liners and topped with mashed potatoes which had been piped through a plastic bag to look like frosting. The "sprinkles" were chopped red peppers. I really got everyone good on this one. Even the missionaries were surprised to bite into them and find that there was no cake or frosting involved in these cupcakes! (Riley loved them though, and asked me to make them for dinner again just like that. He said he doesn't normally like meatloaf, but having them topped with the potatoes made it super-yum.)

"Bundt Cake"

This bundt cake is actually a pizza roll. The bread base is filled with pepperoni and meat sauce and the "frosting" is melted mozzarella cheese.

"Red Punch"

To wash it all down, I served red punch...not really! I made Jello in cups with straws to make it appear like a drink. Rustin was especially confused by this one---he kept getting so frustrated that he couldn't get anything to come up his straw.

Kaydence

Kyndall

Clockwise: Jayson, Kaydence, Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin, Kassidy,the missionaries, Kaiya and Riley (after everyone figured out they were being duped, I did pull out a salad to go with the cupcakes and whipped cream for the Jello)

Riley, Rachelle & Kaiya---I love Kaiya's expression....you can tell that she isn't quite sure what to make of it!

If you are interested, you can find the complete recipes from my dinner HERE.

Spring Break--Part 3, the Finale!

2011-04-04T11:34:00.001-07:00

If you missed them, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our Spring Break Adventure.

Thursday was St. Patrick's Day, so of course I woke up early to prepare a fabulous green breakfast for the family and prepare lots of fun Irish games for the day...NOT REALLY--actually I completely forgot about the holiday until my mom reminded me (which Riley and Kaiya were only too happy about, since it meant that they got to pinch me). My mom made Riley some green eggs for a snack and that was about as festive as we got (sorry kids, I'll make it up to you on April Fool's day---promise!)

Riley with his green eggs and no ham

Thursday afternoon Dr. Candice Park (now known as Dr. Candice Wood) with her mom and her new little baby for a visit. Candice was the resident doctor who took care of me during my pregnancy and who delivered the quints. It was so fun to see her! The quints especially loved the baby :-) (notice that she and her baby are wearing green and she even brought us green cookies---there is one mom who didn't drop the ball for St. Patrick's day!)

Kassidy, Ryder, Kyndall, Kaydence and Rustin look at baby Lauren while Candice snaps a photo.

After our visit with Candice, we headed out to the farm. My cousin's husband, Steve, is a dairy farmer and owns a small dairy farm out in Florence, AZ. I am not much of an animal person, so I really respect anyone that can do that for a living---especially in the Arizona heat! Steve and Kiera were great to give us a tour of the farm and let us help feed the baby calves.

Kaydence, Kassidy, Ryder, Kyndall, Riley, Rustin and Kaiya come face-to-face with the cows.

My cousin, Kiera, and her little boy Ledger

Kaydence, Ryder, Riley, Kyndall, Kassidy, Rustin and Kaiya

Filling the bottles for the baby calves....brought back memories of the early days when I used a similar process to fill bottles for the quints :-)

Heading out to the calf stalls

My cousin says that this little cow is considered "perfect": black face, white stripe and pink nose.

This little guy was born only a few hours before we got there.

Feeding the calves (Note: this is a rare sight---my MOM is feeding the calves. If there is anyone who is less of an animal person than me, it is my mom!)

Front: Kaydence, Ryder, Kyndall, Rustin and Kassidy, Back: Riley and Kaiya, Driver way in the back: Dylan (Kiera's son and second cousin to my kiddos)

Friday was our last day in AZ and we went to "Makutu's Island", a big indoor playplace with crazy slides, tunnels, fireman poles, etc. The kids thought it was super fun, but some of the less adventurous ones wanted me to go with them on everything. That was when I realized I am not as young as I used to be :-) My cousins, BrieAnne and Kiera, met us there.

Makutu's Island: Kyndall, Kaiya, Kaydence, Ryder, Rachelle, Rustin, Kiera, Dylan, Ledger, and BrieAnne

Friday night we had dinner outside on the patio

Papa, Riley, BrieAnne, Kaiya and Mimi

The "Goodbye" picture---it is tradition at my parent's house to take a picture in this spot before leaving

Ready for the trip home.

The drive home went fairly smoothly. I came up with a new plan for rest stops and actually managed to shave 5 minutes off our stopping time!! (It's the little things that make life exciting.) At our first rest stop, the kids were happy and well-behaved. As we paraded in, I could hear comments like "Oh, how cute!" and "That is so adorable!". By the time we got to our second rest stop, the kids were tired and ready to be done with traveling---they were not happy or well-behaved. The only comments I got were "Oh, you poor thing!" and "I'll pray for you!"

All in all, the trip was a lot of work, but a lot of fun! Crazy or not, I am glad that we did it!

Spring Break--Part 2

2011-04-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

If you missed the "Part 1" to our spring break adventure, click HERE.

One of the most anticipated activities of our spring break trip was swimming in Mimi's pool. This was the third time we have visited my parents since they moved into this house, but because of some issues with the county, the pool was not finished on our previous trips. Despite my mom's best efforts at pushing things along, the pool was finished just two days AFTER we left last summer. This time the pool was finished, but COLD! Only Riley was brave enough to go in the main pool, the rest of us wimps had fun swimming in the heated hot tub instead!

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

Kaiya

Riley braving the big pool, despite the 54 degree water

Swimming in the hot tub

Tuesday was dollar day at the movie theater, so we decided to go see "Tangled". I think everyone in Mesa had the same idea---the theater was packed. With the high price of movies these days, we don't take the family very often. In fact, this was only the second time that I have taken the quints to the movie theater. (The first was last summer when we saw Toy Story 3 on our last trip to Arizona) We all loved it---definitely my favorite Disney movie. Ryder thought it was pretty cool that the main guy character's name was "Flynn RYDER"---a fact that he kept announcing to everyone around us.

After the movie we went over to a friend's house to pick citrus. My family lived in Arizona when I was in high school, and one of my favorite things about living there was the citrus. We had orange and grapefruit trees in our yard---there is nothing like fruit right off the tree! The kids had a blast! (except for Kassidy, who fell asleep in the car on the way over and slept through the whole thing...)

Rustin, Kyndall and Kaydence pick some oranges

Kaiya's "prize" grapefruit

The Pickin' Crew

Wednesday was Kids Day at the Rainforest Cafe---all kid's meals were $2.99. Usually when restaurants advertise "Kid's Eat Free" or similar deals, the fine print reads one free kid meal PER adult meal. With two adults and seven kids, it isn't such a great deal. At Rainforest, we could get as many kids meals as we wanted for $2.99. We took the kids to Rainforest Cafe when they were barely two-years-old and they were scared of all the animated gorillas and elephants. We have a picture of Kyndall eating with her head down on the table so she wouldn't have to look at anything. This time they loved it! In fact, at the end of the trip when we asked them what their favorite part was, this was it!

Looking at the big fish tank on the way in.

Kaiya, Riley and Papa

Kassidy, Kaydence, Ryder, Rustin and Kyndall

Mimi and Rachelle

Cute barstools! Riley, Kaiya, Kassidy, Kaydence, Kyndall, Rustin and Ryder

We tried to take a picture of all the kids in front of the elephant podium at the entrance to the restaurant. I tried to narrow it down to one to put on the blog, but Rustin was so funny in all three, that I had to put all of them. I have no idea what he is doing....maybe I should have left him there---he looks like he would fit in great with the monkeys!

Arizona has some of the most amazing sunsets! This was what the sky looked like when we came out of Rainforest Cafe.

............Stay tuned for the third, and final Spring Break post!

Spring Break--Part 1

2011-04-01T12:24:00.001-07:00

When people find out that I have quintuplets plus two older kids, I often get comments like "I don't know how you do it...if I was in your shoes I would go CRAZY!" They say it in a way that assumes that I haven't gone crazy, which makes me want to laugh, because I think being a little crazy is one of the survival skills of having quintuplets, or even having a lot of kids. For example, Riley and Kaiya (and me) had the week of of school for spring break. Jayson is trying to save up vacation days for a family reunion this summer, so he couldn't take any time off of work. A normal, sane person would have found some fun things to do with the kids around town and called it good. Not me---my "little bit of crazy" kicked in and I thought why let seven kids and a home-bound hubby stop me from going on vacation for spring break? I carried five babies to 34 weeks gestation, I survived an entire year with five two-year-olds who had to skip their nap to attend 1 pm church, I potty-trained five kiddos all at once (ok, mostly potty-trained), I CAN DO HARD THINGS! So why not take five three-year-olds and two older kids on a 16-hour road trip by myself? In fact, why stop there, why not throw in an extra kid just to make it a REAL challenge?? Yep, it's true...having seven kids really DOES make you crazy.

We left bright and early on Friday morning (the kids missed one day of school so we could be in Arizona for the weekend). In addition to my seven kids, I also took Roger, one of Riley's friends, who wanted to hitch a ride to Arizona to visit his cousins. I made sure he knew ahead of time that he would have to work to earn his way, but I don't think he was quite prepared for how demanding the job would be!

We're off! Sleepy, but excited for the trip!

The drive there actually went pretty smoothly. Riley and Roger changed out movies and passed out snacks while I drove. We made three stops for potty and gas. This was the first road trip we have taken with the quints since they were potty trained, and I worried that it would take forever to take everyone to the bathroom at each rest stop. To help, I brought three little pottys in the car, along with some sanitizing wipes (to clean the pottys) so all the girls could go potty at the same time. It definitely helped, but it still took a minimum of 30 minutes each time we stopped.

By our last stop, the kids were going crazy being cooped up in the car, so I let them get out to eat and play in the playplace for a few minutes. We were soooo happy to get to Mimi's house!

The next day, Saturday, we must have REALLY been crazy because we decided to take seven over-tired children to Kohl's. (We had a 30% off coupon and it's hard to pass up a good deal!) The demographics of Mesa, Arizona are a lot different from the demographics in Austin, Texas. In Austin, having a big family is kind of a novelty. In Mesa, there are a lot more big families, and at this time of year there are a lot of "snowbirds" (retired couples who live in Arizona during the winter). In Austin, when we go places, we tend to stand out and people look at us with awe...in Mesa, we are just another large family and I am pretty sure (given the looks we got) that we were a big annoyance to many of the snowbirds shopping in Kohl's that day. On the upside, I did find some great deals!

Saturday night we met up with aunts, uncles and cousins that all live in the area for a picnic at the park. We went to a park in Gilbert called Freestone Park. It was awesome! It is a beautiful park (and beautiful is not a word I use often when referring to Arizona!). There was a large pond with ducks, waterfalls, playground, a train and some kiddie carnival rides. The kids loved it! It was so much fun to watch their faces on the mini-Ferris wheel--pure joy!

Watching the ducks

Ryder & Rustin

Kassidy, Kaydence & Kyndall

Riding the train

Sunday we all went to church. The quints are in the "Sunbeams" class at church. When we showed up to my mom's ward, we doubled the size of their Sunbeam class (we did call ahead to warn them).

Ready for church: Kaydence, Rustin, Kassidy, Ryder and Kyndall

To be continued...

Picture of the Week

2011-03-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

I found this note on Kaiya's lunch sack one day this week....it is kind of sad when you are so busy in the mornings that your kids start writing their OWN notes on their lunch bags---she even signed my name for me!