Finally....

... some photos and notes from our visit.

We had a very good trip to Thomasville this time and made it both there and back uneventfully. The Disney DVD player with 2 screens definitely helped the travel portion as we made the previous 8 hour trip down in only 6.5 hours. We only had to stop twice for the girls to run around, stretch their legs, and eat; there was actually very little crying on the road. On the way home we stopped about half way and visited with some friends at their pool for the afternoon so it took a little longer, but we only stopped once coming home!! Overall, the trip went much more smoothly than last time. The only down side was that we didn't do quite as good of a job documenting it all with the camera this time around.


While we were preparing to head out on Friday the girls were incredibly excited to be going on an adventure. Ella had her bags packed and was ready to go very early on.

Fortunately there was an army of people here helping and playing with the girls while we were packing up the car... or else, we might never have gotten on the road. When the girls heard that it was finally time to load up to go see Gamma, they all came running.



We made it down on Friday night in time to pick Gamma up and have dinner out at the local Mexican restaurant with her. As the mother of four road weary children, I was extremely glad that the place was loud and the bar was empty. They blessedly sat us near the previously mentioned empty bar, so we encouraged let the girls run around the pool table as fast and as many times as they would. They had a blast and got out tons of "pent up in the car for hours" energy before we ever even got inside Gamma's house.

I guess because we are pretty scheduled people who seldom break out of the house during sleeping times, the girls all sleep poorly while we're on the road. It took them hours to get to sleep the first night, and they were up at 7am, as usual, on Saturday morning. We then visited with Scott's grandparents, or Ga-mu-der and Gan-daddy, as the girls like to call them, had lunch at Chick-fil-A, and then went back to Gamma's for naps. Ella's nap didn't take so she and Scott went downtown to spend the afternoon with Gamma at her antique shop.

Shortly after they left, a terrible storm blew in and the power went out almost immediately. The girls were sleeping, and I was sitting by the window getting caught up on my Bible study, so the power outage didn't bother me at all.... until I realized that all 6 of Gamma's phones are cordless, and I don't have cell signal anywhere near her place. Once the littles woke up I entertained them to the best of my ability with snacks and then several magazines I'd brought along on the trip. We sat in a little circle in the floor where they each looked through their own "book" for cupcakes, ice cream cones, cars, and babies. It was a pretty good way to spend the rainy afternoon.... who am I kidding, we had no other choice because the only transportation I had available was the Runabout and Scott was awaiting my call (the one I couldn't make) to know when to come back and pick us up. Fortunately, before they tore the place apart, the power came back on, and I made a very flustered call to Daddy to come rescue us!

That evening we went to one of Scott's favorite restaurants. We had debated going there all the way down to Thomasville because it is on the fancier, less kid friendly, side of the dining options there. Because the girls had all been doing so great we just threw caution to the wind and went for it. When we walked in and saw the tables all set up with breakable dishes, full place settings, and cloth napkin filled drinking glasses I questioned our sanity, but the girls did great.

On Sunday we went with Gamma to church.... rather, Ella and Scott went to church, and the babies and I went to the nursery. I am told that Ella was the only girl who went up front for the children's sermon and then on to children's church. I would have doubted she would go up to the front of the church by herself, much less to go on out to children's church, and with a bunch of boys, no less!! That kid surprises me each and every day with the things that she says and does?!?

After church we posed in the courtyard for a couple of family photos with Daddy and all his girls... myself, Ella, Maggie, Kate, Sarah, and Gamma, too.

After a quick lunch and long naps for everyone, we went visiting some of Gamma's favorite neighbors. We got a very sweet picture or two of all the girls with Ms. Kathryn. She was delighted to see the girls, but we weren't able to stay long at her place because it wasn't 'triplet proofed'.

We ended up our Sunday with a cookout at Ga-mu-der and Gan-daddy's house with lots of cousins. The other four girls had been to the beach all day and looked like little lobsters... where was your sunscreen?!?

We managed to have them all sit long enough for Ga-mu-der and Gan-daddy to pose with them. It's a good thing our camera is fast!

We had a great time and can't wait to see everyone again soon!!!