Go, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go!

Last week was a busy whirlwind of activity. Monday through Friday Will attended zoo camp from 9am to noon. Since the zoo is across town, the triplets and I spent most of that time at the zoo, too. By the end of the week, they knew where to find their favorite animals, and Will had learned a lot, too.

One of the kids' favorites was the penguin exhibit. When we were splashing in the pool Thursday night, they had their beach balls and were pretending to be penguins. Will had studied penguins the day before so he was quite the expert. Imagine Allen's surprise, when, watching the four kids play, Will shouted at the little kids (but for all the neighborhood to hear,) "NO! Penguins don't HAVE balls!"

After two full mornings at the zoo, I was ready for a change of pace. After we dropped Will off, I took Ben, Maddie, and Jon and we stopped in ProCuts so the boys could get haircuts. They were perfect little angels in the chairs, and we were the only ones in the shop, so the stylists got a few extra hugs and smiles before the kids chose their lollipops and we headed out. Our next stop was the library for preschool story time. I wasn't sure how this would go since the last time we attempted a public story time, it was a stressful mess for me. Luckily, the stories kept their attention, then there was a short film related to the stories, and the kids enjoyed it. I think we'll do this more this summer since it turned out to be fun for all of us. We left after the program and went to get Will. We got their just early enough to get in the wagon and stroll through the zoo to find Will. Thursday, we ran to the grocery store and Walmart, then took groceries home. That was the only day we didn't go into the zoo, but went just far enough to get Will.

Friday, we ran into a friend of mine at the zoo. Leslie was on an outing with her 11-month-old triplets and her husband. We let the kids watch each other -- one trio seeing another trio. It was interesting, but I would've loved to have known what they were thinking. I don't know if mine realized they were looking at triplets, or were just fascinated by all the babies, or the wagon that was almost the same as our Radio Flyer we used this week. (Thanks for the photo, Leslie!)

The kids learned from granddad that bamboo is the tall plant that grows in the zoo and in the wild, pandas eat it. Each time (and there were M A N Y times) we passed bamboo, the kids would grab my hand and shout, "Bamboom! Bamboom! Panda-bear-food!" Friday, Jon stopped and filled his pockets with the bamboo leaves and I soon forgot about it. At nap-time that afternoon, I checked on the kids, and Jon was laying in his bed eating leaves. When I asked what he was doing, he proudly told me he was a panda-bear, eating his bamboom.

By the end of the week, with temperatures almost at 100-degrees each day, we were worn out, but we kept on going all weekend. Saturday, Allen, his dad, and brother went to the skeet shooting range for the morning. Shelley and I took the kids to the East Texas Oil Museum. I was searching for a kid-friendly indoor activity, and the museum was one that Will had been wanting to visit. After a long drive we arrived, and everything was going well. . . .until we came to a large statue of a man. The giant terrified Ben and Maddie, and that started the exhausting kid-carrying leg of the trip. We all sat in a tiny "elevator" for a puppet show and journey to the middle of the earth to see the rock formations. The shaking made Ben nervous, so he clung to me even more. At the end of the show, I stood up, and held both arms out for Jon -- Ben was clinging so tightly, I didn't have to use my arms to support him. We wandered around the oil-booming Main Street and just as Jon looked into the machine shop, the mannequin came to life and scared the tar out of Jon. From that point on, Jon clung to me and continuously told me, "Bye-bye now, Mama. I want bye-bye." Maddie was in Shelley's arms, and I did my best to carry two 25-pound little boys. We eventually got back in the car, headed to a burger-joint, then headed home. The guys played Rockband for a bit, and I was impressed that Jon copied his Daddy so well that he was keeping the exact beat that Allen was -- too bad it wasn't for real points, or we'd have been even more impressed with the score of a 2-year old.

Sunday was another busy day, but we had a blast! We found something different to do to celebrate Father's Day. Starting the day early to avoid the heat, Allen, the kids, and I went to a local blueberry farm to pick our own berries. I wasn't too sure what to expect, but if things didn't work out, we would just pack it up, buy some of the pre-picked berries and head home. What a treat it was that we all enjoyed it so much. We headed out into the fields, then I showed the kids which ones were the berries we wanted to pick. I even showed them how to drop them in the baskets, but I don't know why I bothered. After a few minutes of picking happily, I popped a ripe berry into each of their mouths, and that was the end of the collection process. After the little taste, it became a branch-to-mouth process for the little kids. When I asked Maddie if she was going to put any in her basket, she mumbled through the berries , "No! Put it in m'mouf!" When I asked where she put her basket, she claimed, "Mama can carry basket -- I put blueburries in m'mouf." After Ben tasted a few, he plopped himself on the ground to eat all the berries in his basket. He just kept stuffing them in, then when the basket was empty, he stood up to pick the berries just to eat them. Jon ate all his, but then collected some. We ended up dumping them all though, because by the end, there was a few inches of sand, leaves, and grass on top of the berries. After Ben had his fill, he sat in the sand and played -- filling his basket with the sand or tossing it to the wind. Jon continued collecting leaves, and Maddie kept picking and eating berries. Eventually she must have started filling her belly because the sweet little thing brought berries to Allen, me, and her brothers. She'd march up to us, shout, "Mouf!" demandingly, and we knew we were supposed open up so she could plop a ripe one in our mouths. Will, on the other hand, completely GOT it!! He did do his share of sampling, but he gathered enough to add to the collection to take home. Somehow (and with a little help from Mama) Will kept finding the biggest blueberries I've ever seen. Those were the ones he went around showing all of us. Every few minutes, he'd peek into my basket or Allen's to compare the stashes, and he was so proud when he had more. We eventually explained to him that I was dumping mine into Allen's bucket since he had the bigger one, and I still had Maddie's little basket. As big as the field was, the kids stayed close. When we'd call for them, they'd scurry over to us if they were mobile, or they'd shout "huh?" if they were playing in the sandpile. After we left the field, we stopped in the shop to pay for our basket of berries, and share some blueberry muffins -- the best I've ever had. YUM! We asked each of the kids, "Where did you put your berries?"

Will: "In the basket to bring home."

Ben: "In my here (pointing to his mouth)."

Maddie: "No-Ben put it in sandbox. I put it in m'mouf!"

Jon: "I ate it!"

It was remarkable that we could all find something to enjoy together, even if we weren't all picking the berries for the same reasons. I used a water bottle to splash the kids in the car on the way home so they wouldn't fall asleep, then we had lunch, and the kids (and Allen) napped for about three hours.

While they all rested, I filled the kids' pool and laid in it. I loved every bit of peace as I floated on the water listening to the wind in the trees, the birdsong, and the wind chimes. Eventually the kids woke up and got in the pool for the afternoon. While they splashed or played with Allen, I watched until they convinced me to get in with them. After a while Maddie wanted to chalk on the porch, so I wet part of it and she asked me to make a Nemo. That was fun till the boys came over and erased it. Then I made another, and Will drew a shark. The kids and I chalked and that somehow turned into face-painting and Allen grabbed the camera. I painted their faces, then Maddie and Jon painted mine. I had a wonderful time and it was worth it to still have a few funny colors on my face the next day. After dinner and bedtime, Allen and I finished the game of Empire Builder we started the day before.

It's funny that Father's Day turned out to be one of MY favorite days this year, but I'll take it. It was great to enjoy my family by letting go and acting like a kid. I had to grow up a little bit to help get everyone cleaned up, but I loved it all. We ended the day with thankfuls prayer that we have such wonderful dads and grandfathers, and that I've been blessed with a terrific husband who is an awesome dad.

Today is Monday again, and for the next few days, we are staying put. In fact, they will be lazy days for the kids, full of playing inside and out, reading books, and taking normal naps. I am scurrying to get all the laundry cleaned and put away just so I can find what we need to pack for our beach trip later this week. Today was such a "lazy" one that the triplets were outside and muddy before I realized they were still in pajamas and didn't have on pants. Oh, well. Now they are napping in diapers and (I think) everything has been washed and dried.