Industrial Strength Improvements

Life is changing so fast around here! The kids are officially registered for Kindergarten (this fall). Soccer starts up soon. I'm getting ready to head back to work part-time. Meanwhile our babies are turning into super independent little people with BIG attitudes and busy lives ;).

These realities have us thinking that a remodel might be in order to keep up with them all! A few ideas...

Forget the fancy industrial sized washer and dryer of my dreams. I think once soccer starts we are gonna need our own laundromat!

We've moved on from crowded, chaotic bath time to "big kid shower time." With 3 high mainance little ladies in our ranks, we think this might be an ingenious idea. Think of all the time we will save in the mornings!

Now that we are on metered water, Conor and I are always trying to find new ways to conserve, while removing the temptations faucets provide for Ally (the resident "drip...drip...drip...drip" serial offender)...

Like many households, keeping up with dishes is a challenge. Why not go commercial/restaurant style?

Maybe turn the play room into a computer lab.....Lord knows once they get into homework and online learning games, the battle for screen time will ensue!

We joke around, but would love to actually have some extra space to try a few of these out! I'm open to all suggestions...any other ideas?

Oh man, one thing is for sure, life will NEVER be dull. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Seattle or Bust!

After two weeks of VERY sick kiddos, Conor and I were incredibly lucky to have a romantic 24 hours away! It was EXACTLY what the doctor ordered. The occasion? Brian (Conor's oldest friend) and Tricia's wedding.

It was MY first time in Seattle and I landed just in time to change my clothes and head off to the wedding with Grandma Deb, Auntie Erin, and Uncle Joey. Conor was in the wedding and flew up a few days before. Our kiddos were SOOOOOO jealous! I was texting them pictures the whole time! ;)

Erin, Deb and Me

It was a BEAUTIFUL and intimate ceremony. Just gorgeous!

The STUNNING Bride and Groom!

Tricia and Brian

The McNulty's

(Papa Jon was stuck at home recovering from surgery- we missed him)

Conor, Erin, Deb

Uncle Joey and Auntie Erin

My man and me

Conor and Joey

Let them eat cake

Conor and Erin

Conor and Me

Erin and Debbie

The wedding was a blast and so much fun to just BE together. Ya know?! Thanks for a beautiful night full of great memories, Brian and Tricia! You two are going to have such a wonderful life together, we are so happy for you.

The next morning we got our stuff together and hit the town! ;) No, really! Deb, Joey, Erin, and Conor set off to visit Papa Jon's childhood home in the Greenwood area of Seattle...

How cool. Deb says it looks "almost exactly the same!"

AND chow down on some YUMMY fish and chips at the famous Spud's in Greenlake...

NERDS!

Joey and Conor

Doesn't that look GOOD!?!

Meanwhile, I soaked up every moment that I could with my brother, Andrew! He's in the Navy, stationed just outside Seattle. I DO NOT get to see him enough. Words can't even explain how much I miss him...

Andrew and Me

I even got to meet his better half, "Andrew #2," for the first time in person (not on Facebook ;). Ladies, he is one brilliant, super awesome, SINGLE dude. Just sayin.............

Me and Andrew #2

AND I got to meet my brother's darling girlfriend, Rachel! They are VERY cute together and she puts up with his shenanigans, God love her. My brother has a pretty fantastic life up in the great NW.

(L to R)

Me, Andrew, Rachel, Andrew, Christine

To top off a great day, our way cool, crazy awesome cousin, Christine, also met up with us. Talk about a fun way to spend the afternoon. I WISH we'd just had a little bit more time together. It was such a fast trip but so worth it!

I love my family

Christine, Andrew, Me

My little bro and me- I HATE goodbye! HATE IT!

Too soon it was time to head back to the airport and say our goodbyes. It was such a great way to spend 24 hours. Thank you so much Tanya, Kat Lou, and mom for watching the kids and making it possible. We came home feeling like a million bucks and the kiddos barely noticed we were gone. LOL! ;) I can't wait to go back to Seattle again, what a fun city full of people we LOVE!

Happy Valentine's Day 2011!

From our house to yours....

(L to R)

Molly, Libby, Russ, Ally

Conor and Gen

We hope your ALL having a fantastic day!

XOXO

Conor, Gen, Russ, Ally, Molly, Libby and Penny

The Land Of Oz

Thank you for all the love on our last post. It has been a VERY rough couple of weeks around here. BUT, today things are looking up. The kiddos were FINALLY well enough to leave the house. Woot WOOT! AND Russ is doing a million percent better. I'll keep you all posted when we know more about what's going on with him.

Now that things are getting back to normal, I had to share our recent AMAZING trip to Kansas. It was an incredibly special weekend we will never forget! So how did it all come together?

For MONTHS, The Fantastic Mr. Billy Graf (husband, quad father, and author), schemed to bring all of us Quad Mommas and Daddy's together. The reason? Moni's birthday! Can we just pause for a minute and give this guy a round of applause!?! It was no small feat and he actually pulled off the SURPRISE, she had NO IDEA!!

But, I'm getting ahead of myself here..

The weekend started with me running away from home! Well, not really. I loved on our kids and promised to "be home soon." Then, left our babes in the loving hands of Shelby, Aunt Lou Lou, and Nani Donsie. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS TRIP POSSIBLE! We had the time of our lives!

Shelby and the crew

Me and my babies

They had put me through the ringer that week and I would have been happy to just take a quiet trip to the grocery store. By the time I jumped in Conor's car, I felt like a kid ready for summer vacation!

FREEEEEEEEEEEEDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Conor and I decided to fly into Dallas, spend some time with the Steece crew, and then road trip it with the Goerlich's. We haven't seen each other since AZ, but as always, it was like no time had passed.

Joe, Chris, and Conor

The Steece dudes doing their thang!

(L to R)

Andrew, Ben, Ethan

Sav Steece, my future daughter in law ;)

Mari, Suz, Me

Swagger Wagon!

Though FUN, the trip from Dallas to the KS house was the longest of our lives. We COULD NOT WAIT to get there and hug on all our quad mammas and meet their hubbies! !

When we pulled up to the house, I'm pretty sure that Suz, Mari, and I jumped out of the car and ran into the house before Chris even put it in park! The bond we quad moms share is just unexplainable. Jenn King said it best, "I'm so glad that God chose my friends for me!" It's just so incredibly special. The dudes hit it off instantly too and it was like we've ALL always been friends.

Soon after we arrived we all piled back in cars and headed to a REAL BARN for the surprise. KS was a bit of a culture shock for this native Californian. BUT, I LOVED IT! When we arrived we were ushered back into a horse corral and knew it was gonna be a good night! ;) The surprise went off without a hitch and the party began. Meeting all of Moni and Billy's family was so great. Talk about an awesome and supportive group of people! No wonder Moni and Billy are so darn amazing.

Waiting for the Bday girl!

Ready to surprise our sweet Monster!

With our Bday girl! I love this picture, it's SO us!

Pretty Bday Momma!

Moni and Me

The next day we got moving and headed over to the Graf house. I could NOT wait to love on those BEAUTIFUL babies! AND apparently we brought the California sunshine with us because the weather was amazing. We spent HOURS in the backyard and to Billy's great disdain, I taught his kiddos a little too much about tree hugging! You KNOW you LOVE me Billy! They are such sweet and smart kids, like little sponges!

Champ and his best buddy Laine

Forest

Pius

The Graf dudes are ALL BOY! LOVE IT!

I fell in love with little Danna.

We bonded over sunflowers and long walks in the wheat fields.

Suz and Me

You know what else was also SO COOL!?! The fact that they don't have fences and they actually KNOW all their neighbors! Then there is the land, it's flat as a pancake and you can see everything for MILES! What a seriously cool place to grow up.

After we had worn the kids out, the AWESOME Auntie Lainie came over to watch the kidlets so that we could all go out for a bite to eat. She is a saint! THANKS LAINIE!

Feeding the masses!

I'm still amazed that we were only down 3 couples.

It was such a bummer that they could not make it.

Next time we will be a complete set of 32 ;)!

Later that night we hit up a local Karaoke bar. I'm pretty sure that with the combined talents of our lively group, Wichita will NEVER be the same. It was epic. EPIC!

Billy and Moni Graf

How cool is this? Casey Walker's band, Cavo, made the list!

Beth and Casey Walker- their kids are gonna have some SERIOUS talent!

The weekend was over too soon! NONE of us were ready to leave. With the ride to Witchta being far too long, the ride back was WAY too short. We've already started planning our next get together. We can't stand to be apart for too long.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to Billy for making this all happen. You are a rock star hubby and friend. We have loved getting to know you over the last few months and it's been fun to watch you and Conor continue your bromance! :) Also, a HUGE shout out and THANK YOU to ALL the family and friends who watched ALL our kiddos over this wonderful weekend. These trips are so amazing and so very important to us all. Thank your from the bottom of my heart for helping keep them alive.