First Day of School!

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

Today was the first day of school for all the kiddos!  Riley is in 8th grade, Kaiya is in 5th and the quints are in 1st grade this year.  Everyone was excited to go back to school and had a great first day!

Riley

Kaiya

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

The Fab Five

1st grade, here we come!

The kids with the principal, Mrs. Villalpando

Kyndall (best thing:  writer's workshop, worst thing:  there were ants in the water fountain)

Ryder (best thing:  laying on the floor, worst thing:  no worst thing!)

Kaydence (best thing:  seeing Mrs. Wilder, former Kinder teacher, worst thing:  nothing, it was only the best day ever)

Rustin (best thing: that my teacher was the best teacher, worst thing:  only 2nd graders get to do the zip line)

Kassidy (best thing:  seeing Mrs. Brightly, her former Kinder teacher, worst thing:  doing school work)

Riley and Kaiya were too cool to have me come take pictures of them at their desk on the first day but here are their "best" and "worst" things about the 1st day of school.  Riley's best thing was going to Varsity Choir and the worst thing was not having friends in most of his classes.  Kaiya's best thing was that her teacher is really nice and super funny and wacky and her worst thing was that all of her best best friends are not in her class, they are all in another class together.

All in all, I think the day was a success and it was great having a quiet house for a few hours :-)

First Day of School!

Happy 6th Birthday Kassidy, Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall and Ryder!!

I can't believe my "babies" are 6 already!  The time has flown, and yet I can't remember life without them!

Happy 6th Birthday Kassidy, Kaydence, Rustin, Kyndall and Ryder!!

Yummy New Snacks and GIVEAWAY!

There are several treats that I remember fondly from my childhood….Big League Chew, Atomic Fireballs, Bottle Caps, Now & Later’s and Cracker Jack snacks.

One of the things I loved best about Cracker Jack snacks as a kid was the PRIZE!  I still remember the anticipation---opening the box and dumping out the contents to find the prize before devouring the popcorn.  Jayson says that as a kid, he would almost always choose Cracker Jack snacks over other snacks purely because of the prize. 

One of my favorite “Cracker Jack” memories is my uncle’s legendary marriage proposal.  My uncle carefully opened a box of Cracker Jack snacks, put the diamond ring inside and glued the box back together.  Boy was my aunt was surprised to find a ring instead of a sticker or tattoo!

Now Cracker Jack Snacks is making a comeback and we were lucky enough to sample the new and improved Cracker Jack snacks.  They now have three flavors:  Original (with more peanuts), Kettle Corn, and Butter Toffee.  The family sampled all three, and it was a tough call, but I think Kettle Corn was our favorite, with Butter Toffee a close second.  I found myself grabbing a handful every time I went to the pantry. And the best part about the new Cracker Jack snacks….they still come with a prize!

And now for the really great part….Cracker Jack brand will send one of you lucky readers can 6 packs of the new Cracker Jack snacks so you can decide for yourself which is your favorite!  To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment telling your favorite nostalgic memories of Cracker Jack snacks growing up.  Please also include your email address (so I have a way to contact you if you win!)  All entries must be submitted by Thursday, August 1st.  The winner will be selected at random from all entries.  Good Luck!

Note:  The Cracker Jack snack products were provided to us by Cracker Jack brand for our participation in this blogging/trial program.  These items were not intended as payment for any favorable opinions, and all opinions expressed in this blog post are my own! 

Yummy New Snacks and GIVEAWAY!

Field Trip Friday--Z is for Zoo

For Z week (about a year ago---still trying to catch up!), the Zoophilous group of pre-schoolers decided we needed to take a trip to the Zoo to see the Zebras and other Zoo residents.  We had a Groupon (I love good dealZ) for a Zoo near our Zip Code, so we decided to check it out.

We Zipped down to the Zoo in our siZeable van.  This Zoo was unlike any other we have been to.  It was small -- not a whole lot of animals, but those that were there we were able to get pretty close to.

The Zany bunch, buZZing with excitement to see the animals!

 Zooming down the path.

 The goat was all Zipped up to see us!

 We ran into this pony, just ZigZagging along the trail....when I said we could get close to the animals, I meant it!

Fortunately this one was behind bars!

 Caught this bear getting some Zzzzz's

 This Zingy camel was nice enough to smile and pose for our picture.

 The highlight of the Zoic expedition was not the animals, but playing in the leaves!

Sadly, the Zebra's were Zoned off way in the back...this was as close as we could get to the them!

Field Trip Friday--Z is for Zoo

Wilkinson Quints on "The Doctors" today!

Our family was in a short segment on "The Doctors" today.  You can watch a clip of it HERE. (I tried embedding it below, but not sure if it will work)

Wilkinson Quints on "The Doctors" today!

Field Trip Friday--G and X

 

The eXcursion for G and X was a bit ill-fated, but we had a Great time, nonetheless!  Our original plan was to take the eXpress train downtown and follow our "X marks the spot" map to find Guitar statues, Gingerbread house displays (this was right before Christmas last year) and the Grand Green Christmas tree at the Driskill Hotel.  Sounds Great, doesn't it?  However things kept Getting in the way.  Every time we scheduled our trip, one of the kids would feel Green and start eXpelling Gross Gunk (ie puking).  After postponing the trip three times, we decided not to eXtend any longer and we decided to Go a couple days after Christmas.  Kaiya was Growing ill the morning of our eXcursion, so we left her with our friends, the Gobers and started off on our eXciting eXperience!

 

X was one of the letters of the day, so taking an eXpress train was to be eXpected!

 At the station, we waited on platform G....how Germane!

 

 Dowtown, the kids Got their maps and were ready to GO! (Ryder, Rustin, Kyndall, Kassidy and Kaydence with Riley)

The map was supposed to take us to see a Gingerbread house display, but when we Got to the Four Seasons, they informed us that the display was GONE!

Next we eXplored the city, hoping to find the Guitars, however the website I had Gotten the information from was ineXact---the only Guitars that were still around were the ones we had seen on an earlier trip.

 

 The Gang with Guitar number 1

 

 By this time the Group was Growing Grumpy and wanted some Grub, so we stopped for a picnic lunch.  A Group of birds Gave the kids a scare!

 

 The Gang with Guitar number 2

We finally Got to where X marked the spot and the Gang was Gung-ho to see the Great Christmas decorations at the Driskill.....however....can you Guess?  Yep, the decorations were GONE.

 

 We relaXed for a while in the lobby, then headed back to the train station.

 

 On the way, we passed a firestation with a Quint firetruck---Goodness Gracious, this called for a Kodak moment!

 

 When we Got back to the station, Good-hearted Kaydence, Gorgeous Kassidy, Gleeful Kyndal, Goofy Rustin, Garrulous Ryder and Groovy Riley all agreed that we had an eXtreemly Good time!

 

Field Trip Friday--G and X

First Day of SCHOOL!!!

After counting down for 1854 days, the BIG DAY finally arrived....watch out world, the quints are in KINDERGARTEN!!!

It is so hard to believe that my babies are in school!  They were SO excited!  We used a large paper chain to count down the days (not for the entire 1854 days...just the last 100 or so...) and they loved everything that brought them one step closer to school---buying school supplies, picking out backpacks, trying on new school clothes, Kinder camp, meeting the teachers. 

For the past couple of years, I have debated about how (or even if) I should split the kids into Kindergarten classes.  I have talked to several mothers of multiples who have done it different ways and in the end, Jayson and I decided to split the kids three ways.  We wanted to give them as much independence as possible without having five different classes/teachers/homework to keep track of.  With that in mind, we put Kassidy and Rustin together, Kaydence and Ryder together and Kyndall by herself. 

We were so lucky to get the three most fabulous Kindergarten teachers the elementary school had to offer :-)  So far the split is working great and all the kids are absolutely loving school!

Riley started his second year of middle school.  He turned 12 this summer and it is so hard to believe that only nine months, I will have a TEENAGER in the house!  I am already getting scared!

Kaiya is loving her 4th grade teacher and has been signing up for every extra curricular activity she possibly can.

Of course, I had to take a plethora of pictures of the momentous occasion!

Riley--7th Grade

Kaiya--4th Grade

Kassidy--Kindergarten

Kaydence--Kindergarten

Rustin--Kindergarten

Kyndall--Kindergarten

Ryder--Kindergarten

Kaiya and Riley

By the school sign:  Kyndall, Ryder, Rustin, Kassidy, Kaiya and Kaydence

On their way!  Ryder, Rustin, Kaiya, Kaydence, Kassidy and Kyndall

One more picture in front of the school

The kids with Principal Villalpando

Kindergarten, here we come!!

Kassidy

Kaydence

Rustin

Kyndall

Ryder

As for me, I am still trying to find all that extra time I am supposed to have now that the kids are in school all day!  For the past five years, I have put so many things off, thinking "I'll do that when the quints go to Kindergarten", so I was excited to get started on my loooong to-do list.  However, I definitely over-estimated the amount of extra time I would have (go ahead, I know you are dying to say "I told you so").  I was a little (ok a lot) over-zealous and I agreed to all kinds of things---room mom, swim team board member, three part-time jobs, teaching extra classes and hosting book club to name a few.  So, instead of leisurely working my way through my mega to-do list, I have been frantically working on whatever project/assignment has the nearest deadline.  But, I think I am finally getting a better handle on things....and I can't deny that I LOVE having a few QUIET hours during the day---shopping ALONE, eating a couple of meals without constantly getting something for somebody, going the bathroom without someone asking me questions on the other side of the door, putting things away and having them stay there (at least until the kids get home from school!).   It may not be quite the nirvana I imagined, but it is still pretty great!

Rachelle & Mimi celebrating the first day of school at The Cheesecake Factory!

First Day of SCHOOL!!!