Day 6 (part b) - It's a Fish Fry!

It was time for the Fish Fry!! Uncle Bob & Aunt Reba, Uncle Bennett & Aunt Sue, Ms. Donna, Harley, Harley's friend in addition to Grandma, Grandpa, and all of us were together on this day to enjoy some really great food! Grandpa cooked the fish and the ladies "threw together" some sides which resulted in a really great meal. The boys really enjoyed visiting with everyone! A common theme of our trip was that the boys just loved meeting everyone and was willing to go to anyone that was willing to hold them. There were plenty of people to hold them so it is a good thing there were plenty of babies to go around! Here are some pictures from the Fish Fry...

Andrew & Uncle Bennett share a moment....

Aunt Sue & Wesley sharing some laughs...

Wesley & Jared are guarding the door! Some of the men ate outside and the boys wanted to be out there with them. Uncle Bennett plays through the glass door...

Wesley loved to play with the old time radio in the corner. He kept trying to figure out what went in this slot. The reality of this situation is that he will probably never know about this "old" cassettes that would go into that mysterious slot. He will probably laugh if I mention a CD. I wonder what they will be using to listen to music when they get older...

Ms. Donna & Jared. Jared has become very conditioned to the camera. When he sees the orange light shine which is prior to the flash, he immediately lights up with the perfect smile. Prior to this picture, he was sitting in Ms. Donna's lap and was falling asleep. His eyes were getting heavy and he was starting to nod off. I took out the camera to take a picture and the second it hit his face he "struck his pose" and was all smiles. His ability to "love" the camera is impressive!! Jared is also quite the flirt and was a charmer with the ladies during the weekend. When Ms. Donna arrives with Harley and her friend, the boys were all eager to play. Below is a picture of Wesley and Andrew hanging out with the girls...

The boys enjoyed all of the attention they received. I truly enjoyed meeting everyone. We have received so much "virtual" support from our family at a distance that it was nice to give everyone an opportunity to meet the boys.

After the great food at the Fish Fry, Grandpa Dooker cooked some venison. It was really great! In addition to the boys being spoiled with all of the attention, Mike and I were totally spoiled with all of the great food. YUM!

One last note, I planned for the boys to wear a short sleeve shirt with the khaki shorts. It was a little cold on this date so we decided to put on shirts with long sleeves. It was not until they were fully dressed that I realized they looked like little Target employees....ha, ha!

Take care,

Day 6 - Morning with Grandpa!

It's day 2 in Junction (day 6 of our trip) and after a good night sleep, we are all ready to party! Today is Saturday and there is a Fish Fry planned at the house where many family and friends will be stopping by to meet the boys.

In the morning, the boys woke up and spent part of the morning playing with Grandpa Dooker. Here are some pictures....

I love this picture! It looks like Wesley and Grandpa are having a serious "man to man" conversation in which Wesley is sharing all of his wise advice... (note Wesley's right hand holding onto the doilies).

This is Wesley starting outside to where Squirt is playing. In this picture, you can see a great shot of the infamous pink doilies. Wesley loves to feel fabrics and textures. He found this doilies and latched onto it the before going to bed the previous night. We decided to let him take it to bed. When he woke up in the morning, he was still holding onto it. We got him out of bed and he kept holding onto this late into the day.

Here are the boys looking at Squirt who was outside of the door....

Here is a picture of Squirt. Squirt, we were sorry that you had to stay outside while we were visiting. We did not mean to evict you from your own home. (**Note - a few weeks after our trip to Texas, Squirt became very ill and had to be put to sleep. Squirt, you will be missed!).

After a morning of playing around, the boys had breakfast, got dressed and were ready for another day of fun. At breakfast on this morning, Grandpa Dooker made the boys some scrambled eggs. They were not a big hit with the boys but I thought they were wonderful. It was the first non-baby food that the boys have not eaten right up. We will try again at another time.

Take care,

Day 5 (part D) - Dinner at Isaac's

After a full day of fun, we got dressed and headed out to dinner at Isaac's. Isaac's is a restaurant in Junction. We were joined by Ms. Donna, Mr. Ford and Harley. It was relaxed (as much as it can be with three 10 month olds) because we had enough adults to take charge of one little guy. Ms. Donna was hanging with Andrew (as pictured), Grandma Peggy was sitting with Jared and I was next to Wesley.

Harley was lucky enough to get the "hot" seat between Wesley and Andrew. The boys had learned that there is much better food on the plates that we eat from. As such, she had little hands grabbing at her plate from both sides. She handled it like a trooper with a tight grip on her plate.

The boys enjoyed the dinner quite a bit as they were able to eat a mountain full of french fries. Wesley was sitting with me and I tried to bring him a few things back from the salad bar. In addition to his french fries, he was willing to eat the cucumbers and pickles that I gave him. The boys are so excited to try anything that isn't baby food, they seem to be eating anything. Keep it up boys!

After a great night of dining with family and friends, we headed home to get a good nights sleep. Ms. Joleen came over when we arrived home to play with the boys and help get them all ready for bed. It's so nice to have extra hands around when we are changing them for bed. It was a good thing the boys were able to get some sleep because Day 2 in Junction was a Fish Fry!!!

Take care,

Day 5 (part c) - Hanging out at Grandma's House

After our morning of fun, the boys rested up during their nap. During their nap, Grandma Peggy ran out to get some great Texas BBQ for lunch... yummy!!! This was the beginning of great few days of food. (Boys, I am sorry that you were still eating baby food during the visit... oh, the food was sooooo good!)

The boys woke up from their nap and were enjoying playing in and exploring their new space. Wesley walked up to the baby gate that was used to block off the kitchen and the first thing he tried to do was climb it. Every place is always more interesting when you know you are not supposed to be there!

In addition to the BBQ, we also had shakes that afternoon once the boys were awake. During this trip, the boys learned that if they stand by someone that is eating something, they will get to taste whatever that person is eating. We left with nice little boys and we picked up some little beggars along the way. However, they are so cute, how can you resist? Wesley even became a little aggressive with his begging and we joked that we picked up a "Ragin' Cajun" during our stay in Louisiana.

The boys did not have to beg for all of their food during the trip. Grandma Peggy had three travel booster seats for the boys. They were great! The base of the seat is inflatable and will deflate to fold up. They were perfect for the boys. While we were at Grandma's, the boys also got a little spoiled because they were use to being fed by one person moving up and down the row. For each feeding at Grandma's we would team up to feed them with two spoons. In the picture to the right, you can see Daddy and Grandma Peggy feeding the boys.

The boys enjoyed playing at Grandma Peggy's. She had some new toys for them when we arrived. There was a turtle with different shapes that fit into the shell, a ball that rolls and plays music and a cone that has different shaped rings that stack on the cone. (THANK YOU GRANDMA PEGGY!) The boys love their new toys. In addition to the new toys, we brought our toy box with the "old faithful" toys..... just in case.

Aunt Debbie stopped by to visit this afternoon. She brought the boys a Learn & Play table and three little trains (THANK YOU AUNT DEBBIE!). The boys love the Learn & Play table but they also loved playing with the boys (go figure). In the picture to the right, you can see Jared standing on top of the box. This was cute for a few minutes until he decided to dismount the box without the grace we had hoped for. He fell off the box but was quickly back on his feet.

Aunt Reba and Uncle Bob also visited this afternoon and brought the boys the cookie cake at the top of this post..... YUMMY (THANK YOU!!)!! The boys went back down for their afternoon nap as they needed to rest for the big evening.... dinner out on the town.

Take care,

Day 5 (part b) - Kimble County Courthouse

After leaving the General Store, we headed over to the Kimble County Courthouse to visit with Grandma Peggy's friends and co-workers. We were very happy to see Ms. Donna. Ms. Donna was so helpful when the boys were first born. She accompanied Grandma Peggy to Tallahassee to help "man" the crib. I was glad she was able to see the boys again when she was not having to feed them, change diapers or keep them from crying. Below is Andrew with Ms. Donna...

Below is Jared hanging out in Grandma's courtroom....

Jared spent most of the trip flirting with the ladies so I was not surprised that he only spent a couple moments on his own two feet before being scooped up my Ms. Joleen (pictured below). He is going to be quite the heart breaker. He sure moves from the arms of one lovely lady to another without any trouble.

The boys were busy visiting with everyone but Andrew did not allow us to forget that we had moved into nap time. He decided (so kind of him) to allow us to keep visiting while he decided to take a nap in the arms of Ms. Joleen. She was rocking in the chairs in the jury box and he was very happy to rest his eyes right there ....

Well, where is Wesley? Wesley did not spend too much time in the court room where we were sitting as he was busy strolling up and down the hallway with whomever was willing to walk with him. Click here to see a post with him pictured while walking during this visit. The picture was posted with his post in which he started walking when we arrived home from the trip.

With Andrew reminding us it was nap time, we decided we had enough fun for the morning and we headed back to the house. We arrived home and put the boys to bed for their morning nap. Our morning was busy but there were many more friends and family to meet in the afternoon.

So far, the boys love Junction as Junction seems to love the boys!

Take care,

Day 5 - The West Bear Creek General Store!

We made, we made it, we made it to Junction, Tx!!! Our first day in Junction was planned full of visits and meeting family and friends that have been supporting our "little" family since we found out we were expecting triplets. Our blog has some loyal followers in Junction and it was time for the boys to meet their "fans."

The boys' morning nap started at 10:30am and we wanted to get two visits completed before the boys melted down at nap time. The first stop was the West Bear Creek General Store. We arrived at the store bright and early in the morning and the boys were greeted by many friendly faces! Here are some pictures from our visit at the store....

Grandma Peggy and Andrew. Andrew is sporting a mighty fine cowboy hat! He was working on saying "howdy mam" with a slight tip of the hat.

Jared with Ms. Laura. Jared took his turn with the cowboy hat.
Grandma Peggy and Andrew. Andrew had to try on every hat in the store trying to find the "right fit." This was a Texas Tech hat. Surprisingly, this was not the "right one." (Don't worry Andrew, you can wear a Texas Tech hat and shirt but we know your blood still runs Garnet and Gold... Go Noles!)
One more attempt for Andrew... below he is pictured with Grandpa Dooker. It was nice of Grandpa to offer the hat right off of his head to help Andrew in his search.

Here is Jared with Grandpa Dooker. Jared was not as interested in the hats as Andrew. Jared was more concerned with charming all of the lovely ladies at the store.

Grandpa had to pass Jared on so he could flirt with Ms. Karen. He was showing off some of his strong standing skills. He was also starting to work on a couple new teeth so he was really chewing on that finger.

Below you can see Jared being the charmer and cuddling with Ms. Linda. The boys were a little tired from their long journey to junction and late night playing with Grandma. Even though they were tired, they still had enough energy to meet their Junction family that has been following them since before they were born.

Don't worry, Wesley was at the General Store as well. He was hanging out with Dad during the visit. We tried to put a cowboy hat on Wesley and he was only concerned with feeling the texture of the hat. Knowing that Wesley likes to feel different textures, Daddy decided to let him take a rub on this big fella hanging on the wall.

We did not end up getting a hat for Andrew but we did leave with three Texas Tech camouflage shirts that were a gift from Ms. Linda (THANK YOU!). They are great shirts and will definitely help us remember our all too short visit to the store. Before we left, we were shown several blog posts that were stacked up by the register. The group at the store follow our blog and print out the posts for visitors to see. We felt like little stars!

Don't worry, this will not be our last trip to Junction. Next time we are there, the boys will be able to run around the store and we will pick out our gifts based on what they break. You will hear smash and I will reply, we will take one of those!

We enjoyed meeting everyone and we look forward to seeing you again in the near future!

Take care,

Day 4 - Are we there yet, are we there yet?

We are back on the road for the final leg of our trip to Junction!! We stayed the day at Ms. Heather's to hang out. After the boys had their baths, we hit the road around 3:30pm. We drove with the boys for a couple hours while they napped. After the boys' nap, we decided to stop for dinner. Daddy was willing to brave an actual sit-down restaurant. During our initial adventure to a sit-down restaurant, he was not interested in going and had said that he did not want to do it until they could ask to go out to eat. Well, the boys have proven to be little Angels in public so we decided to stop at Denny's!!

Daddy ran in to verify they had three high chairs and we were in business. We unloaded the boys and headed inside to eat. The boys were wonderful and quite the charmers! They drew attention (as always) but continued to surprise the spectators by remaining well behaved.

We fed the boys their dinner which was heated by the very nice Manager on duty. After this meal, the boys also had mashed potatoes and cucumbers from Mommy's salad. They enjoyed both but were most entertained by waving the dessert menus. I think they were trying to tell us to order something for the off of this menu but alas... not yet!

After refreshing everyone's diaper, via the diaper changing station in the bathroom (which proved to be allusive), we were ready to get back on the road for the last two hours of our trip! We are almost there Grandma!

On the way out of the restaurant, it was getting dark, it was windy and we felt like we had become characters in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" movie. There were hundreds of birds flying in packs from one tree top to another and then to a power line over the street in front of us. I am not kidding when I say it felt like they were attacking!! We hurriedly got the boys into their car seats and jumped into the truck. The truck was covered in bird poo but we managed to get everyone inside and strapped in without getting a struck. I took a couple pictures but it was getting dark and it is hard to see the volume of birds. Here is a picture of the tree covered with birds. All of the dark spots on the tree are birds....

We were finally back on the road and we hoped the boys would sleep the rest of the way to Grandma's house. Well, after spending over 15 hours in the car seats over the past few days, Jared decided he had HAD ENOUGH and he wanted OUT!! Shortly after leaving Denny's and getting back on the road, Jared started to get fussy. He was not really crying but was clearly uncomfortable and frustrated. He gave him a bottle and he was quiet but then fussy once done. We tried other means to soothe him but he just wanted out. At one point, we pulled off the road to check and make sure his straps were not hurting him. He was fussy and as soon as I opened the door, he started smiling and laughing! He just wanted out! We decided to just push on and get to our final destination. We joked that this was his version of "are we there yet, are we there yet?"

Grandma Peggy called us a few times to check on where we were at and she probably felt we were torturing poor Jared with the sounds he was making. With over 18 hours in the car seats over a few days, having only one of them fuss for a couple hours was considered a victory.

We finally arrived in Junction and were welcomed with open arms by Grandma Peggy & Grandpa Dooker. The boys were happy to finally make it to our final destination. They played for a couple hours and finally turned in for the night. We had a big day ahead of us so we all needed to get some rest.

Take care,

Day 3 (part c) - Ms. Heather's House!

We finally arrived at our second destination in Tomball, TX!

Ms. Heather is my good friend that moved to Texas a few years ago. When the boys were initially born, Heather had her plane ticket and was ready to come and help man the crib. The day before her departure, her son Declan had an ear infection and she was unable to travel. I was so happy to visit with Heather, introduce her to the boys and to meet Declan.

We arrived around dinner time and the boys were warmly welcomed by Ms. Heather and her sister, Kristen. The boys quickly adjusted to another home. With three new babies descending onto the home, Declan was a little overwhelmed and began protecting his toys... very funny! Ms. Heather was also a little overwhelmed with three babies at the same time as she continued to repeat their names as she was trying to match names to faces.

The boys are use to having to be their own self advocates. This basically means they are able to take what they want. We fed the boys dinner, again in the triple decker. While we had dinner, Ms. Heather's oldest son Dominic played with the boys, for the low price of $1. I wish we lived closer, I like those rates!! Andrew was quite the charmer and stole the heart of everyone at this stop. Dominic expressed interest in Andrew and Cecilia would ask for Andrew to sit next to her. Even Ms. Heather found Andrew very amusing.

The children in the picture at the top of this post, from left to right are Andrew, Dominic, Cecilia, Wesley, Declan, Patrick and Jared. Patrick was at gymnastics during most of the evening. He stopped at the house long enough to get his things as the older boys stayed at their Aunt Kristen's house so that we could stay overnight. Thank you for giving up your room for us!

Cecilia was very sweet to all of the boys. Cecilia is growing up into such a nice young lady! It seems like yesterday that she was being born and now she is a beautiful little lady. In this picture you can see her playing with Jared. They were putting all three of the Curious George dolls into the triple decker. Each George was properly secured into his seat.

We had a very nice evening with everyone including Ms. Heather's husband Chris and his parents Marsha and Terry. The next day, we spent the day in Houston to visit. We wanted to spend the day visiting with Ms. Heather. In this picture, you can actually see Ms. Heather a little bit. She was working in their office and Jared was standing at the door hoping she would come out and play :-)

Thank you Chris, Heather, Dominic, Patrick, Cecilia and Declan for your hospitality! Hopefully we will be able to repay the favor very soon and you can come visit us in Tallahassee. While we had a great night and following day with Ms. Heather and her family, this was not our final destination. We still had one more leg of our trip to get to Grandma and Grandpa in Junction.

Take care,