The Happiest Place on Earth
As we drive home on Highway 5 from Thousand Oaks Chris and I reflected on our first road trip as a family of six with 7 month old triplets and a four year old. We decided that this trip was a huge success from beginning to end. In front of me are the huge rolling mountains of Southern California, city lights all around us and it is a beautiful 78 degrees outside. I remember when I was first pregnant with triplets, a time I like to call Sleepless in Sacramento, and I thought to myself at 2am that I am never going to get to go anywhere again. I really thought that. Who wouldn't think that? And although Hawaii or Cabo San Lucas is out of the question right now, our little road trip to Southern California was very much a wonderful vacation for all six of us. We spent Wednesday and Thursday at Disneyland and California Adventure Park and Ava had the time of her life. Chris and I had a very good time as well, even sneaking in a couple of fun rides ourselves.
Friday was such a gorgeous day that we packed up a big lunch and raided Chris's brother's house for beach supplies and spent the day at Malibu Beach. We built many a sand castle that day but Ava was terrified of the ocean. At 2 ½ years old she spent lots of time in the waves with Chris in Hawaii but at four years old I guess mortality has set in. It was the most peaceful and beautiful day. All the while Chris, Ava and I were enjoying ourselves around SoCal, Dick and Sherri were working very hard taking care of three babies. They kept them on a great schedule, walked them up and down Rayburn Street countless times and enlisted the help of family and friends at various times throughout the day. Without their help we would not have been able to take this vacation and have so much fun with Ava and we are very grateful to them. Elsa, Violet and Preston are for the most part very easy-going happy little triplets and they love to see new people and are very accepting to have anyone come in and hold them and feed them . . . um, well, because they have had to be.
The triplets at 7 months:
Until next time, the mothership is signing off.
Our Ava-isms for the Disneyland trip were plentiful, but one that sticks out in my mind is when we went to breakfast with Goofy at Disneyland Hotel and Ava turned into the paparazzi. We gave Ava our camera to take a few pictures of the cool characters she saw during our breakfast and next thing we knew she was flying all over the restaurant snapping unauthorized pictures of Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale and Balu from the Jungle Book. Honestly, it was one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen watching a four year old running around the restaurant chasing down characters, the flash going off like crazy. The best part about it is that she took some truly fantastic pictures. I will put some in below.
Another funny moment was when we got on the huge ferris wheel and chose the section with carts that spin and slide. We all thought that would be pretty fun, although I couldn't believe Chris was willing to go on a spinning ride. We get up to the very top and all of a sudden the cart we were in felt like it was dropping from the sky as it slid about 30 feet on rails and then got to the end and swung back and forth for about 2 minutes. We were not seat belted in and I was even a little scared. I was worried about how Chris and Ava were going to react. I looked across at Chris and he looked terrified as he clutched the seat and clung on for dear life. Ava just said “it's not so bad daddy”. We all just laughed and laughed, half scared and half amused.
Friday was such a gorgeous day that we packed up a big lunch and raided Chris's brother's house for beach supplies and spent the day at Malibu Beach. We built many a sand castle that day but Ava was terrified of the ocean. At 2 ½ years old she spent lots of time in the waves with Chris in Hawaii but at four years old I guess mortality has set in. It was the most peaceful and beautiful day. All the while Chris, Ava and I were enjoying ourselves around SoCal, Dick and Sherri were working very hard taking care of three babies. They kept them on a great schedule, walked them up and down Rayburn Street countless times and enlisted the help of family and friends at various times throughout the day. Without their help we would not have been able to take this vacation and have so much fun with Ava and we are very grateful to them. Elsa, Violet and Preston are for the most part very easy-going happy little triplets and they love to see new people and are very accepting to have anyone come in and hold them and feed them . . . um, well, because they have had to be.
The triplets at 7 months:
Elsa – the most curious baby. She is also the easiest baby right now, competing neck in neck with her brother. Violet was bumped out of the first place position when she started waking up early in the morning, taking shorter naps and screaming at the top of her lungs when she is unhappy with something. But more about Violet in a few. Elsa is a crowd pleaser with her big brown eyes and her funny lighthearted personality. Literally the only time Elsa gets upset is when she is very overtired or very hungry. She plays by herself, she loves to watch people and she has an amazing ability to grab anything and everything and put it in her mouth. She is the most avid rolling and is closest to crawling. She is just about the sweetest thing there is.
Violet – oh Violet. She is hilarious and has the biggest personality. She smiles this big open mouth smile whenever she sees someone and her idol is her big sister still. Ava can do no wrong in Ava's eyes. Violet is a sweet girl who has bright red hair and brown eyes and goes from 0 to 10 with her emotions and there is nothing in between. She has the loudest cry you have ever heard and a little temper but is loving and good and she is very funny.
Preston – my boy with his big baby blues and his smile that he flashes to anyone who looks his way. He loves his food and he is a very good sleeper. He gives big hugs that make my day so nice. He is going to be my sweet and sensitive boy who doesn't ever hurt a fly. Preston still spits up a lot. Can't wait for that to end. He is the most loving mellow boy.
At the end of a trip I am usually very eager to get home and get back into my routine but going home means a very strict routine that includes lots of hard work with less helping hands. Of course I will always love to be home but I have spent so much time at home the past year that getting away for a week has been a huge breath of fresh air.
Until next time, the mothership is signing off.
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