Bowling and the Moon

This past week we celebrated St. Paddy's Day and Pat's 32nd birthday. Every year his sister Debbie and her husband Pat have a big St. Patrick's Day party at their house. This year was no exception. Lots of Irish food and beverages later, a good time was had by all. The kids especially love getting to spend time with their cousins. Many of the Murphys were missing this year due to a nasty case of the flu going around, but those of us who were there had a great time.

Celebrating Pat's birthday at home


The next day, which was Friday Seamus had another CT scan down at Children's Hospital. Both Pat and I took off work to take him. Every time we think we're about done with that place we get a phone call from his doctor saying she wants to check something else. Thank God Seamus was super good! He stayed so still that they were able to do the scan without having to knock him out. That saved us hours this time around! He was starving since he couldn't eat the morning of, so we stopped to get him some breakfast. It was weird with just the three of us at the restaurant but I think he enjoyed all of the special attention. He even got a coloring book and a toy school bus from the nurse before we left the hospital.
Friday evening we took the kids to go watch Pat play in his indoor soccer game. It's not something they normally get to do since the games are normally really late. This one was an 8pm start so we figured we'd risk it. They had a good time hanging out with Aunt Kathy D and Mrs. Trakul. By the time we got home though, we had 3 super cranky kids.
On Saturday the kids bowled for the first time in the GCU Junior bowling tournament. We knew most of the kids who were there including the Hycki boys, the Swanneys and Dorothy. It was a lot of fun and they all got trophies. Drew actually won the "big" trophy for the 2-3 year old boy category and Margie, George, Fred, and Dorothy won for their age categories as well.

Acting silly at the bowling alley


Getting the trophies


The "Big" winners


Katie, Helena, Seamus, Clay, Drew, and Chris

As of today we have 11 days until we leave on our big trip to see Aunt Kathy Murphy in NC. All of us our getting super excited! Pat and I can't wait to just get away for a few days. We haven't gone anywhere on Spring Break in years and since it's not actually at Easter time, this was the perfect opportunity. The only other exciting this that's happened around here is that we had a really cool looking moon the other night... Here's a picture!

Home Improvement

On Friday we decided to take the kids out for a fun day since it was the last day of Winter Break. So I took the day off work and we went to the Flint Children's' Museum to play around. We almost decided to turn around because the traffic report pretty much said every car on the freeway was in danger of being in an accident. But we braved the wintry conditions because we promised the trio a "surprise" and made it to Flint in one piece. When we walked in the place was overrun with second graders, and we were quickly told that it was a field trip that was leaving in a half an hour. So we went to the areas without a lot of traffic, like the music room and the toddler room, but they had their eyes on the bigger exhibits. After the field trip was loaded onto their bus we more or less had the place to ourselves. Then they could deliver mail, ride in the helicopter and drive the fire truck. Then the three of them shopped in the pretend grocery store and stocked up the play house. After shopping the kids served Mary and I pizza in the play restaurant and we finished up by going into the Space Station. They had a blast running around and pretending to be a lot of different things. The next day we went to Lowe's with Grandpa and Grandma Huddas to build race cars in the Children's Workshop. They even all got a Lowe's apron and safety goggles to go with their Home Depot apron. On Sunday we went to Grandpa and Grandma Murphy's house for dinner and we got to play with Uncle ed, Uncle Tim, Aunt Robin and Conner. After time off its really hard to get back working, I guess we'll have to start counting the days until we're off in April.


Katie making some music at the museum


Helena making some music at the museum


Seamus Checking out the ball whirlpool


Where's the fire?


Seamus in helicopter


Helicopter Katie


Helicopter Helena


Seamus building his car


Helena bulding her car


Katie and her car


Helena in her Lowe's gear


Katie in her Lowe's gear


Seamus in his Lowe's gear

Frosty, Elmo, and Hockey Pucks

We've had a fun couple of weeks around here since our last post. It started with us doing a Valentine's project with Aunt Kathy D. The kids loved being able to use a hammer and glue, not to mention the fact that there were stickers involved! We went out to lunch afterwards and the kids got to spend some time with their Aunt Kathy. On Valentine's Day Pat and I came home to some cute cards from the kids and some cookies they made with Grandma and Grandpa H while we were at work. They were so excited to show us what they made.
It warmed up for a few days last weekend and we finally got the kids outside to make a snowman. They've been bugging us for a while now to make one but it's been so cold that we couldn't pack the snow to make it work. They were upset when he started to melt so Pat took them out the next day to try and fix him. Of course by that point it was cold again so they had to make due with a snowman that was half old Frosty and half new Frosty but it turned out pretty well.

Katie and Frosty


Helena and Frosty


Seamus and Frosty

On Monday of this week we took the kids to see Sesame Street Live down at the Fox Theatre. Of course the night before we had a really bad snow storm so it took us almost 2 hours to get there. Luckily we planned ahead and left early so we made it with plenty of time. One of the perks of the storm was that there were LOTS of empty seats. We had a great view of the stage and the kids loved it! They were dancing to the music and did really well until the very end. Seamus decided that he'd had "too much Elmo" as he put it and wanted to go. It was lunch time by the time the show was over so we took them next door to the Hockeytown Cafe for lunch. Or the "hockey puck" as the kids call it since they have a giant spinning puck on the roof of the building. We had lunch with a ton of other families who were at the same show so it was pretty busy. Our food came really quickly though and since they were hungry the kids pounded down some hot dog, chicken, fries, and chocolate milk. Big mistake... at least for Helena. She was still so excited and got to use a straw with her milk which they don't normally get to do. Poor thing ended up puking at the table and then twice more while I tried to get her to the bathroom. Needless to say, that ended our lunch pretty quickly. Of course at this point Helena had puke all over her, our extra clothes were in the diaper bag in the car, Pat's at the table with the other two, and Seamus is yelling that he wants Mommy... I got Helena back to the table to grab our coats to go and Seamus decides he has to go potty. Now, we've been really working with him on potty training and didn't want to stop the progress so Pat takes him to the bathroom while I take the girls to the car. Helena is still so distraught about the puke on her shirt that I have to strip her down in the car to change her. Remember we had a huge storm so it's freezing cold outside and snow is everywhere. I go to change her shirt and it falls into a puddle of slush. So now Helena is standing half naked in the car freezing her skinny little butt off while I'm tearing the diaper bag apart looking for another shirt. She finally was redressed just as Pat and Seamus get to the car. Seamus then tells me he peed on the hockey puck. At this point, Pat and I just laughed. Sometimes having triplets just makes you have to laugh or else you'd cry!

On our way to see Elmo!


Our new spinning Elmo light-up toys

Boyne 2011

This past weekend we took our annual trip to Boyne Mountain with the family. The last two years we’ve rented out a condo that all of us stay in together. We left on Friday morning and on Friday afternoon after a quick stop for lunch and a stop at the outlet mall in Westbranch, we got there and set up. The kids were going to be sleeping in their new sleeping bags they got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa H. on the floor. They were also going to use their new pillow pals as bedtime pillows. Needless to say, they were super excited about being there. We took them out sledding to tire them out and all 3 of them loved it this year. On Saturday we spent some time at the water park and then went sledding again in the evening. We didn’t bring the camera into Avalanche Bay but all 3 actually went down the water slide at least once this year. They played in the fountains, went down the kiddie slide, and even hung out in the hot tub. I think the highlight for everyone was when we went down the lazy river in tubes. Katie tends to freak out on things like that but she did surprisingly well. Aunt Becca, Uncle John, and the boys were there so I think that helped out. We went around so many times that Helena actually started to fall asleep. The water was kind of cold so we decided to call it a day at the water park and head back to the condo. After lunch the kids were in desperate need of a nap so we took a drive into Petoskey so they would sleep. Good thing too because they all crashed and were ready for the GCU dinner when we got back. Sledding that evening was even more fun than the night before because Pat tried to go snowboarding. Very comical stuff! Sunday we packed up and headed home. The kids were so over tired that they actually came down with some fevers and flu-like symptoms for a few days. Probably a coincidence but I doubt it. It was way better than last year though when everyone came down with the stomach flu. Yesterday we decided to take the kids out to Rain Forest Café at Great Lakes Crossing. They had been cooped up all week so a dinner out and a walk around the mall sounded like a good idea. To say that the kids loved it would be an understatement. Their little heads were on swivels from the time we walked in, until we walked out. We even got them a fancy souvenir cup with an Icee inside. The moving animals, lights and sounds, fish tanks, and good food made their days. We actually ran into some friends of ours as well while we were there. Tomorrow we will be making some heart shaped shelves at the Home Depot with Aunt Kathy D. Should be fun!

Snow Fun

This weekend we decided to prepare for our ski trip in a couple of weeks by "Camping Out" in our living room after a day of snow fun. Saturday after the kids' nap we all went outside to play in the snow. We went sledding in our back yard and tried to build a Snow Man. Unfortunately the snow was too powdery to make a snow man so we just took a couple extra runs on the sled. Katie only went on about half of the sled rides, but did better than last year when she screamed the whole time. After sledding we had some hot cocoa and started to get read for our camp out. At bed time instead of going to their rooms we set up every one's sleeping bag and Pillow Pals, popped up some popcorn and stayed up late (9:30 is late now) watching a movie before brushing teeth and getting into our sleeping bags. No one really slept in the sleeping bags, Helena kept everyone awake because she said she had "too much energy." The only ones who came close to falling asleep were Mary and me. Seamus was quiet but kept crawling out of his bag to give goodnight kisses. I guess he's not used to having people sleeping around him since he has gotten his own room. Today we went through some stuff in our basement then had the kids walk around the basement in their skates to see how well they could balance. They all did really well, and we plan to take them skating at our ski trip in a couple of weeks. Tomorrow we have their second dentist appointment. Hopefully they cooperate and have no cavities, I would feel guilty if they do because I'm the one who brushes their teeth. The pictures are from sledding in the back yard.


Katie playing outside


Seamus playing outside


Helena playing outside


Katie and Mommy sledding


Helena, Seamus and Daddy sledding

Christmas Pictures

Christmas Eve By the Tree


Clay performing the first ever recorded Spoon Ear Hang at Christmas Eve Dinner


Santa Steve visiting Christmas Eve Dinner at Grandpa Huddas' House


After Santa stopped by our house


Coming Downstairs Christmas Morning


Oh Boy Presents!


Seamus opening a present


Helena opening a present


Katie Opening Present


Christmas Katie


Christmas Helena


Christmas Seamus


Christmas Kids


Trying out sleeping bags and Pillow Pets


Katie and Seamus helping take down the tree/singing Jingle Bells

Christmas Update

Merry Christmas everyone! This is the first post in a very long time that will have no pictures attached. We are currently without a laptop power cord so we are unable to download pictures to our computer without connecting the actual camera to the desktop and who has time for that. Long story short, we almost burned the house down with a faulty cord a few days before Christmas. Smoke, melting carpet, and sparks means we can't recharge the laptop battery right now. Hopefully the cord will arrive soon and I can update with some photos but until then, here's what's been going on...
Christmas Eve was at my parents house this year and most of my mom's side of the family was in attendance. We even got a visit from Santa Claus (aka my brother Steve). The kids had a good time playing with their cousins and even tried most of the traditional Christmas Eve fare.
On Christmas Day we woke up super early to see what Santa left us under the tree. Katie was running around the house trying to find Santa since she knew he brought her presents at my parents house the night before. It took some convincing and a super-cool new play kitchen to get her to come by the tree and open presents. After a quick breakfast we headed out to church. My mom and other family members sing in the choir and we all enjoyed listening to the singing. The kids even made it through the whole mass thanks to some snack traps filled with Cheerios. After church we headed to my parents house for more gifts and Christmas dinner. My parents have been doing a theme-based meal for the last 10 years or so and this year's theme was Middle Eastern food. My brothers and sister-in-law did most of the prep work and cooking and without a doubt this was the best year yet. Tons of garlic sauce, tahini sauce, hummus, kabobs, and shwarma later we were all stuffed and planning out next years theme which will be Mexican! We hung out there for a while and then headed over to Pat's parents for another round of gifts and food. His family always does a white elephant type exchange and everyone has a blast cracking up at some of the crazy ideas people come up with for gifts. By that time it was way past the trio's bedtime so we headed home with some very cranky 2 year olds.
Sunday we spend the day hanging out at home and my parents came over to see what Santa brought. Pat's sister Kathy who was in from NC also came to stay in the Aunt Kathy bed for a few nights before she had to head back home. We got to go back to Pat's parents and spend some more time with them and his brother Tim and nephew Conner while she was in town as well.
Yesterday Kathy had to head home and my mom underwent some precautionary surgery. My dad was at the hospital forever yesterday so I brought him a snack and went to keep him company for a while. Mom was finally out of recovery and into a room around 9pm last night. They had gotten to the hospital around 10am with surgery at 1pm so needless to say, they both had a very long day. We went to make sure she was okay and settled for the night and then headed for home.
This morning Dad headed back to the hospital to be with her and Mom actually came home this afternoon. She'll be out of commission for a while but we're hopeful that her recovery will go smoothly. Today was also the day that Pat got to pick up his new car. We turned in his Caravan since the lease was up and decided to get something with a little better gas mileage. Even though the new Malibu won't fit 3 car seats, it will hopefully save us some on each fill-up! Well, it's been a very hectic few days. I hope everyone had a great holiday. I'll post pics as soon as I can. Merry Christmas!!