Mountains and Cool Mornings

We returned from our whirlwind trip last Sunday night, and I feel like I have just barely recuperated from all the intense fun (etc.) a trip with one year old triplets can produce. It’s about time I  get this all down before it nags at me any longer. There is so much I want to remember. Here is my highlighted recap of our adventure.

• We woke up around 4:30 am, to catch our 7:15 flight. I couldn’t sleep until about 1:45 the night before (not for lack of trying), so I was still feeling the affects of the half a Unisom I took, and realized once in Utah that I had forgotten to put on mascara. At least my clothes were right-side-in. The babies, excepting a little bed-head, were right as rain when we left. KC’s dad flew in the night before to help with the flights. What a guy! Elise was also a huge help by taking us to the airport at 5:30 am! I’m lucky to have so many people willing to help us.
• Security was annoying, as expected. It seems they weren’t in as much of a hurry to check out the stroller as we were to get the kids back in it. Arg. We had to break out some valuable snacks early. The flight was a bit of a roller coaster. I had SO many new toys, books, three dvd players, and duffle bag full of snacks, which did work for a short time, but the kids started getting pretty squirmy and whiny a couple hours in. I had to change a diaper in the shoebox of a bathroom, and each of them really tested my patience at one time or another. There might have been a feeling of despair for a moment or two. (Being the mom makes you feel like you are responsible for fixing every problem, even if the one you’re holding is doing great. It’s a difficult place to be. My neck  and nerves got a work out as I was constantly checking everyone’s status. They don’t let us all sit on the same row because of the number of oxygen masks per row. Ugh. ) And then something magical happened, I saw Bennett asleep on Clyde’s shoulder, then Ruby on KC’s. I knew Alex needed to sleep too, so I took my turn in the back of the plane chatting with the nice attendant as I swayed back and forth until he drifted off. Man that kid is heavy.  I was in pain. The poor babies don’t quite know how to fall asleep in such conditions. It was a lovely 45 minutes, and I found myself waking up now and again to my mouth gaping open. I guess I was a little tired too.  We were warmly greeted by Janice, who  brought our borrowed car seats, graciously loaned by Melody’s friends (along with all the other gear we needed!). We got our rental van settled, and were on our way to Melody’s house, where we would stay for the duration of the trip.
• We stayed in Melody newly finished, and gorgeous basement. The kids were in heaven with all the new toys and rooms to explore. They expectedly woke up pretty early most of the days we were there, so we utilized our quiet dvd players for those long mornings that sometimes started at 4:30.
• The beautiful fenced in back yard was a hit with the kids and parents. What we would give to have such a luxury where we live. They were safe to run as they pleased. We got out there as early as those cool Utah mornings would let us. And I think my kids would play on the tramp most of the day if we let them. The yard is also home to an awesome garden that we had the pleasure of eating from on many occasions. Those Rejholecs know how to live!
• All five of us caught a cold. Most of us got over it quickly, and were still able to enjoy ourselves with the help of constant medicine, but poor Ruby doesn’t just get a little cold. She started wheezing after a few days, and I knew we needed to take her to the good old Instacare. Fortunately, there was one 5 minutes from Melody’s house. We arrived right when it opened, hardly waited, paid our regular co-pay, and saw the doctor shortly after entering our room. When does that ever happen?! After one quick neb. treatment, she was sounding much better. They handed me a prescription for albuterol, and a nebulizer, and just told me to return it when I was done with it. Again, when does that happen?! Utah is such a magical place. A trusting, clean, helpful, magical place. I was almost giddy after such a great experience. Afterward, we treated ourselves to French toast at kneaders with KC’s mom and sister Michelle. But the colds made for very long nights for the rest of the trip. Ruby’s coughing was pretty bad, and she gets insanely hyper after nebulizing. Like delusional.  Luckily, we’ve learned from their newborn phase how to function, and even have fun, on only a few hours of sleep a night.
• My sisters (minus Elise, who we really missed), Mom, and I took a quick trip to Park City together. We ate delicious food, perused the outlets, lounged in the hot tub, and laughed until we cried. It’s such a beautiful place. We took a ride on the ski lift, and enjoyed those breathtaking views. And our brunch was pretty amazing as well. I miss my girls. Can’t wait for our next retreat!
• There were many family gatherings on both sides. Always including lots of food, and lots of people. I know I ate too much almost every day, but it was so worth it. Melody and I love to cook together. We didn’t have as much free time to spend in the kitchen as we would’ve liked, but managed to make a few fun things. I wish some of the pictures were better, but you get the idea.

Virgin Strawberry Basil Mojitos

Flourless Orange Cake

Fruit Pizza

Coconut cake filled with Strawberry Mousse

Peanut butter, Cheesecake, Brownie, S’more Cake thing. (Similar to this recipe.) 

Grilled Pizza

• I think the kids had the most fun when we pulled out all the water toys. Melody’s yard really transforms into a toddler water park. I really wanted to try out one of the nearby splash pads, but realized I was much more relaxed just staying at Melody’s where the kids can’t run away. Plus, Ruby can’t  run around naked (the only thing that brightened her sick spirits one day) in public! Another great reason to be fenced in.

• The babies also loved playing at KC’s parents house. They were in the final preparations of the wedding, and still found time for a few visits. They love all of KC’s and his sister’s old toys, and got creative playing with other things in the house. KC’s even took them over there a couple times by himself. Quite the little break for me! They threw a little pre-birthday party, complete with banana chocolate chip muffin/cupcakes and presents! Lucky kids.
• Something I’ve craved for a the past few years is a good campfire. And what better place to fulfill that need than up the beautiful American Fork Canyon. I suggested we make it an adults-only event, since I would never in a million years bring my kids anywhere near an open flame. Mom and dad got the campsite for the night, and we all met up there for hot dogs, s’mores, and games that made us laugh so loud, I’m sure the neighboring campers were wondering what could really be that funny. It was just what I needed. That mountain, pine scented air is intoxicating. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. And those stars are something else. These are things we really don’t have where I live now. Not that Maryland isn’t beautiful, I just miss what I grew up with.
• We tried to do fun things with the kids and their cousins  as often as we could. One day we took them to a little aquarium in Sandy. I was pretty impressed with this place that was once a grocery store. There were some awesome animals there. The kids were so fascinated, and of course, loved finding Nemo. We left when they were clearly ready for a nap, but managed to stop by Beto’s for lunch to go.
• The reason for this trip, was KC’s sister’s Wedding. Remember Camille and Tyler? Well, they tied the knot last Saturday, and we were so happy we could make it to Utah to celebrate with them. They make a beautiful couple. The ceremony and reception were up Provo Canyon at a beautiful ranch, not to mention it was catered by Café Rio. It was a great time, and wonderful to see to many familiar faces we  haven’t seen for quite a while. The babies made a quick five minute appearance for pictures after the ceremony (thanks Mom, Dad and Katy for bringing them all the way there!), and then it was off to bed with them. I was sweating and exhausted after that five minutes. There was open water in every direction. I’m so glad we made plans to have them come after the ceremony. We might have gotten a decent picture or two of the kids, though Ruby refused to wear her headband. That’s a toddler for you. We are so happy for Camille and Tyler. Hopefully it isn’t too long before this whole group is together again.
• We said our goodbyes on Sunday afternoon, after a delicious dinner made by Jonny, with Mom, Dad and the Rejholecs. It was nice to have an evening flight, so that I was able to leisurely prepare throughout the day. I cleaned most of our laundry so I wouldn’t have mountains of it when I got home. I highly suggest that strategy whenever possible. KC’s dad came with us again. I prepared as well and I could, and prayed for a good flight. Security went a little smoother, and the individual bags of popcorn really helped while we were in the airport. The employee at the terminal desk called us to make sure sure our three lap-children weren’t added as a mistake. When she saw our situation, she made sure we were all sitting as closely together as possible. Whew!  And then another emplyee came over and said “Triplets! You poor thing.” I was a little annoyed, I gotta admit. Especially since, at the time, the kids were being really good. Of all the comments I get, that one isn’t usually welcome. But I shrugged it off, since she doesn’t really know how much fun it is to squish and kiss all three of them on a daily basis. Maybe she just felt bad for us having to fly with all three, but still. Oh well. We were more than delighted when all of us had one or two empty seats next to us. Alex began to get tired immediately, and laid on my lap while finishing the rest of his popcorn. There were a few small wrestling matches, but they were mild and short-lived, as the babies realized it was their bed time and started to calm down. After some trading around (sometimes a baby who I‘m not holding will see me, and demand to sit on my lap, so we trade), I ended up with Ruby, who promptly fell asleep with my lap as her pillow. I was able to watch my individual TV to my hearts content, and later, Ruby even squirmed into the seat next to me, so I was free to sit and stand as I pleased. Nice. She and Alex (who KC ended up with) slept most of the flight, while Bennett, after a one hour nap, woke up and stayed up. Poor Clyde. The boy was hyper! Happy at least, but really wired. I gave him a sucker, my last resort, and he just bounced all over that empty row while he watched Nemo. Then he took Clyde sucker, and was really in heaven. We finally made it home around 11:30 pm, where Elise was waiting with our van. What a trooper that girl was.  The babies were so happy to see their house, and part of their giddiness was probably the fact that they were able to fun free after hours of sitting. They were finally in bed around 12:45 am, and I was finally in bed at 1:30, after a long hot shower (totally worth staying up for. )

So, we’re pretty much back into the swing of things. There is no damage from the hurricane as far as I can see, although we’ve had some pretty intense rain just about every day since we got home. It’s great to play with the Ribeiras again, and Lili and I are back to our daily outings and dance parties. The babies were sleeping until about 8 for a couple days, which was heavenly, but they are slowly making their way back to their early wake-up. We’re at about 6:45 these days. Hopefully we can hold on to that for a while. As much as I loved them sleeping in, I don’t love keeping them up later at night. That 6:00 bedtime was lovely. I hope we can keep 6:30-6:30 as their permanent schedule . We’ll see.

We miss Utah, and all the good memories it holds for both of us. It was great to see some friends and family as often as we could. And I absolutely loved staying with Melody and seeing her kids that have changed so much. She was so patient with having so many extra people in her house. The kids were always loud and making messes, but luckily she had a toddler too, so she understood what she was getting herself into when she agreed to let us stay there. Her home is so beautiful and has inspired me to be more organized. It was really hard to say goodbye.  It’s hard to live so far away from your twin sister. I really really hope that somehow we see each other again very soon. 

But we are glad to be home, and to be back to all the people and things we missed here. Thanks again for all the Fun, Utah! Until next time (which, since the kids will be TWO on Monday (!), won’t be too soon with the crazy flight prices and all.)