Uncle Robert and I took these 3 monkeys up to Winco. Just needed a couple of things but got a small taste of what it would be like to have triplets. I'm not certain I'd survive. They really were pretty good but the reminders to sit down were on repeat even more than usual and 3 in the bathroom was quite an adventure.
Aubrey, Harper, and Maddie
Daddy makes a delicious egg sandwich!
MADDIE
AUBREY
They're Wild Things
Maddie
I don't even know???
It's a hand print on the left and a kiss mark on the right.
And then leave it to Cooper to balance the crazy scales. I was glad I looked through his work a little extra carefully this day so as not to miss this really great reflection!
"The author I think was trying to teach the reader not to be lazy or selfish and that family is more important then money or video games and stuff like that. And reading this book made family feel important even if you have bad parents or annoying siblings, and I thought how lucky I am to have neither of those things. It made me think of Joe from the story. He didn't have a lot and I don't know what that feels like because I have a lot. I think Babe and Me was a great story."
We planned a quick trip to Sun River for our anniversary this year. We had hoped to get snow and although we didn't get any while we were there we did get to enjoy the beautiful snow covered forest as we drove, as well as lots of snow already on the ground in Sun River.
I'm a planner through and through but with this being right on the heals of Christmas break I was not as prepared as I would have liked to have been so what was suppose to be an easy drop of the kids and head out Wednesday morning ended up being packing, a trip to Winco, a forgotten backpack, and less than clear instructions for Grammy. So as we pulled out of the pass there was a text from Grammy saying, "So they opened the boxes. Do you know who gets what?
Me: Oh no! Those are Evie and Hazel and Sadies! Sorry. Did not clarify who could open them. The babies have new socks coming from Amazon. I'm sure their sisters will share. I'm really sorry.
Grammy: Well that might be a problem. They're loving it.
Me: Shoot I didn't even consider you'd have to deal with the babies. Did they open them already? If so tell the older girls that's my fault and I'll rebuy it for them or get them something different. They used their Christmas money on that.
Grammy: We split the school stuff and one got the pajamas and the other claimed the thing with the clock. Not sure they're going to give it up. I saved one package for later so that one is safe.
Me: Well glad they're playing nicely. Hope the older girls roll with it for you. Sorry in advance for any drama you're about to face.
We stopped for lunch at Three Creeks Brewing, for groceries in Bend, and finally got to our place around 6:00.
Next morning I woke up to a text from Cooper saying, "Why did Wyatt get gum and Mentos but not me?"
I'm telling you I'm loosing it. The mentos were suppose to go in the car as a treat for the babies and the gum was suppose to be left with a note saying I couldn't find the one he wanted so I got this one for everyone to share. Instead I left both under Wyatt's pillow with no explanation. Bummer! Guess I needed this vacation even more than I realized.
Thursday we spent part of the day shopping, then went on a tour of the Deschutes Brewery, and ended with dinner over at 10 Barrel.
Friday we intentionally took the day really slowly. We didn't even intend to leave our place but forgot to get seasoning for the steak so we ran into Sun River where we bought the kids some gifts, played at an arcade, and got a few groceries.
Anniversary Dinner
So thankful for this guy! For the fun we had together and the years of memories we share. Can't imagine life without him.
Love you Honey!
But our adventure wasn't over... as we headed home we planned to get lunch in Salem and run a couple of errands before heading back to the kids but we got a call that the battery on the suburban had died. Uncle Ryan had jumped it and they were assuming a light was left on so Grammy and Robert had headed to Cooper's first basketball game with all the kids but they weren't sure. We told them we were actually already almost back in town so they could give us a call if it didn't start, which it didn't. Thankfully we were only about 10 minutes away so we quickly get them on their way home, still ran our errands, and then work on getting a new battery. Never a dull moment with the Troyer crew.
We were sad to have missed Cooper's 1st game but it's nice knowing so many of his teammates and his teacher went to his game so we got lots of updates and videos as we drove and ate lunch.
A steal and a bucket. He's off to a pretty good start.
Heading into Thanksgiving break this year there was A LOT of sickness going around. In fact, it was so bad that they had to cancel school one day because there were so many kids and teachers sick and they were struggling to find substitutes. Anyway, we held on until break but Saturday of break Wyatt started not feeling well and then one after another the kids and Brandon went down with high fevers and fatigue. Sadie and I seemed to have milder symptoms but everyone else ran really high fevers for 3-4 days, then felt better for a day, and then were down and out for a couple more days. I've never had kids run fevers of 105+ before so they had me a little worried but surprisingly, though it lasted a solid 2 weeks, no one ended up at the doctors with any secondary infections which was great, and for the most part everyone was bouncing back by the time school started up again which meant no make up work. Hallelujah!!!
We always get our tree the day after Thanksgiving. This year we pushed it back a day or two but still drug the kids out before break was over, though they weren't feeling 100%.
Sadie and Aubrey
Miss Maddie
Wyatt and Aubrey
Daddy and his Twinkies
I always try to be done with a majority of the shopping by December 1st so that it doesn't consume the entire month but there are a lot of people in this house so while I did my best there was still a lot of preparations that need to happen in the month of December.
Sadie kindly helped me wrap the stockings this year while the rest of the kids weren't feeling well.
Every year I think I do more baking which I love but there are moments when I wonder if it's all a little crazy. This year Grammy was in Arizona so it took me WAY longer than usual to prepare all the treats but I did it!
Sadie when to the last Jr. High girls basketball game just before break and got to hold her volleyball coaches brand new baby McKinley. Such a sweetie!!!
One of my favorite traditions, the elementary Christmas gathering, was back this year! Each year the 1st-6th grade classes gather together the morning before break and recite the Christmas story from Luke, sing the 12 Days of Christmas, and hear a story read by Mr. K. Its so wonderful being a part of such excitement as they sing and chant for Mr. K and class by class stand to recite the portion of the story their class has memorized.
Then it was off to Evie's Christmas party before Christmas break officially began.
Christmas break was jammed full of activities. We decorated Gingerbread houses at Grammy's house, Evie had her first sleepover with Harper, Sadie Evie and Cooper attended birthday parties, we attended our churches Christmas Eve service, Wyatt went paintballing with a friend, we attended Oliver's birthday and let Hazel and Sadie slept over, Brandon worked at Blue Silo, and we went to a dinner and game night hosted by Grammy's.
GINGER BREAD HOUSES
Grammy does an amazing job hosting these 15 grandkids of hers. She assembles all the houses and prepares all the frosting so they get to have all the fun of decorating them with none of the frustration.
Uncle Caleb and Auntie Katie share a love for board games and have been passing it on to my kids. This year we added Dominion to our collection.
We actually even squeezed in a a few games at home which was super fun! In the past little ones haven't allowed for this.
BLUE SILO
SLEEPOVER WITH HARPER
GRACIE'S PARTY
Peaceful moments, though few and far between, do exist.
Flowers from Nana, Great Nana, and Licia
CHRISTMAS
This was a fun Christmas. The kids are growing up but they're still all really excited about giving and opening gifts, even the small stuff. The girls all got Our Generation dolls, we're giving these a shot in place of all the Barbies, and the boys got survival kits and games.
The babies got "lips" a.k.a. chapstick from Cooper
A taste of the chaos!
I also surprised Daddy and the kids with gel guns. They shoot orbeez and were a lot of fun for everyone.
Love this new tree I got from Dale and Tina.
We always head over to Grammy's house in the evening for dinner and to open gifts with cousins.
Brandon got me an amazing vacuum cleaner this year and this outdoor heater since we love sitting outside to grill on the weekends, but this time of year it can be pretty chilly.
I'm always a little sad to say goodbye to the Christmas season but am thankful for all the wonderful memories made and for the time together as the kids had 2 weeks off and Brandon took almost 2 weeks off as well. It was an amazing break!
