We've had a lot of rain here lately. As in 12+ inches so far this month! Needless to say, after the mess in our basement earlier this week (as a result of the rain), I'm anti-water. So much so I make my children play in an empty pool.
I often find myself jealous when I read other blogs about beach trips with their kids, or see pictures on Facebook of families at the beach together. Here in Kansas City there aren't a whole lot of beach options. Sure there are little lakes, but because the lakes are relatively small the water is like bath water and the beaches aren't very large.
Yes, I have beach envy. Growing up in Maine I never really enjoyed swimming in the ocean (it was always so cold by my house!) but I loved swimming when we'd camp at Cape Cod so I feel like my beach standards are pretty high.
The other day the boys showed me we don't need to go to the beach when we can have beachy fun in our back yard...
It's baaaaack! Yesterday afternoon Pink Eye resurfaced in our house. I thought we were out of the woods - it had been well over a week since Tyler was last considered "contagious". Guess something he touched while he was contagious hadn't been cleaned and then Chase grabbed it. Darn! Last night Nick and I went on a cleaning frenzy and will do so again in about a day. Thankfully that pricey bottle of eye drops is only half empty :)
Speaking of drops, Chase totally takes the drops like a little man. He calmly lays down, closes his eyes and lets me put the drops in and then he calmly opens his eyes. He's the polar opposite of Ty!
The goopy eyes didn't hinder Chase's afternoon of fun in the pool with his brothers and Aunt Laura.
Don't forget, today is your last day to submit a question (or two or three!) to my Q & A session! All questions will be answered in tomorrow's post. Ask your question here.
Last weekend my parents arrived for a two week visit to the mid-west and Texas. On Monday afternoon they headed to Texas (driving) to visit my brother and his family for a few days. This coming Monday they'll return here for a few more days before heading back to Maine. Then two days after they leave Nick's family will arrive for a visit, which is why the "Fun With Grandparents" will consist of 3 parts!
We managed to pack a lot of fun into the first part of my parents' visit here. We took the boys to the pool at the hotel my parents were staying at. Let me just say, Jackson is CRAZY in the water! The kid was exhausting to try to hold and keep above water and we all traded off with him several times.
I promise you my dad was not trying to drown a grandson here... just happened to catch the fall on camera!
This one makes me laugh!
We also took Grandma and Pop Pop to the Triplets Plus of Kansas City family picnic. It was 100 degrees and miserably humid, but we all had fun anyway!
This would be Jackson wiping grass off his tongue after he face planted while running in the grass.
This isn't even the entire group... One set of kids took off running and their mom was chasing them down during photo time. There were some other stragglers too. It's tough getting that many kids to hold still for a picture!
The boys also played in the sandbox with Grandma and Pop Pop for a bit
Then I tried to take a picture of the boys with Grandma and Pop Pop... That didn't go so well. Tyler decided at that moment to be super clingy to me. This was the only one where he didn't look like he wanted to get away and wouldn't you know my mom wasn't looking at the camera?
This summer we've been using the same $4 kiddie pool we used last year. The boys have been relatively content to just run in and out of the tiny pool, but to be honest I was a little jealous I couldn't get wet too!
We've been waiting and watching for the seasonal merchandise to go on sale so that we could buy something bigger and that would last another year or two. Sunday we snagged a sweet deal at Target and yesterday was the first time the boys got to play in their new "Bee Pool".
One aspect of the pool I hadn't considered is it's ability to teach my children natural consequences. Yesterday I repeatedly told the boys that if they got out they had to stay out for a few minutes before asking mommy for help back in. Any time one of the started to try to climb back in on their own I would repeat "No, no. You need to ask Mommy for help. You won't like it if you fall in." Most of the time the boys would then firmly plant both feet back on the ground and sign and/or say "help please".
Twice though Ty decided to be a rebel and do things his own way. And twice he ended up head first in the water and crying because it freaked him out. By yesterday afternoon he was quite good at always remembering to ask for help back into the pool!
As promised yesterday, here's a little video footage from the crazy triplet pool party we attended on Sunday afternoon. It turns out I didn't take as much video as I thought! It's hard to truly capture the chaotic nature of the day when I couldn't get all 13 kids in one shot.
Sunday afternoon was filled with utter chaos. For a triplet mom though, the chaos was something to enjoy and thrive on! Here, let me run the numbers for you...
4 triplet families
12 toddlers between the ages of 19 and 21 months
One rambunctious 4 year old boy
Of the 13 children only 1 was a girl
Chaos I tell you! One of my triplet mom friends was kind enough to throw together an impromptu playdate/pool party/cook out on Sunday afternoon. There were several kiddie pools ranging in size from tiny to pretty large, a giant ball that is also a sprinkler, a slip 'n slide, a swing set and a fun climbing structure. Good times were had by all! Unfortunately Nick had to miss the fun as he had a final church service of the day to be at. Tomorrow I'll share some video footage with you, but for now here are some pictures of the day...
This past weekend it was finally warm enough to bring out the baby pool! Last year the boys didn't quite know what to think of the pool. Not much happened... Remember this from last summer? (Actually this is almost a year ago exactly! May 30, 2008)
This year the boys were a bit hesitant at first, but Tyler finally took the "plunge" and stepped in first.
Before we knew it all kinds of fun was being had! Jackson's favorite thing to do is to jump up and down in place several times followed by falling backwards onto his rear end. I think it looks like it hurts but he finds it hilarious!
A little while into pool time I told Nick we should make the Little Tikes slide end in the pool. He didn't think that was a good idea so we went back to watching the boys play. About 5 minutes later Tyler got out of the pool, pointed at the slide and then pointed at the pool. I swear that's a true story! The kid is a dare devil :)
Yesterday while the boys were playing in the pool I worked in my garden at the front of the house. When I left the water was nice and clean and when I came back it looked like this...
Apparently the pool was too close to some dirt this time!
**Yes, those are the same bathing suits as last year! Gotta love that BabyGap stuff runs big! The suits were big on the boys last summer, but perfect this summer!
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