Reading to the ratties.

Just a quiet, boring, day at home today. The triplets have discovered the word bored...I fear it will be around for a long time to come LOL. They have also discovered their "tripletness" now we often see and/or hear them calling for huddles then saying "1, 2, 3 Go Triplets!" Oh boy.

Summer reading is in full swing, Jericho even wanted to read to the rats...and show them the pictures.

The babies are starting to get bigger, hopefully we can get them in the McMansion soon.

Jericho felt a book about a cat with a pet mouse would be a fun one for Remy, Star, Bumblebee and Hiccup.

Later Jason set the munchkins up with the sprinkler on the trampoline. Fun stuff!

Of course 2/4 had to get nekkid....this counts as today's shower right? :)

They were good at worn out at bedtime.

Not this again...

We had a long day ahead of us, so we started off with a yummy Pinterest inspired breakfast.
Coconut crusted French toast!

It was sooo good. A tiny tiny bit on the sweet side, but no one seemed to mind. You make your usual French toast dip (egg, vanilla, cinnamon and milk) but you use Sweet Hawaiian bread instead of regular bread, and after you dunk your bread in the milk mix you then put it in a bowl filled with coconut and cover both sides, then put it on the griddle and cook both sides as normal.

After breakfast we headed over to the old house, NO, we are still not 100% moved out LOL. We have the kids big wood play structure to get moved...we have totally been putting this off.

It is one big, heavy mofo!

Everyone wanted to get in the way help.

Haddie was a big help. She is also a girl who is comfortable with herself. Today I asked her if she wants to get your ears pierced yet. Hayden says... Nope, I like my ears just the way they are.
Good enough for me baby girl!

Loaded, now we have to line up someone that can pull it out from behind our house so we can hook up the Escalade and get it home. Then we get to line up some help to get it into our new yard and get the thing put back together once more. I think this will be the last time we move it, when we move out of the current house...in the next 5-7 years, it will NOT be coming with LOL.

After we left the old house we stopped in Portland to buy something I saw on Craigslist. This silly silly set of bowls and a plate are going to make a very funny Christmas gift for someone special :)
I just love them Hahahaha!

The trio's montage and a Pinterest win!

I got the triplets latest montage done...and only a couple weeks late ;) Yes, it is another long one...but check it out. You may notice that the warm and fuzzy more meaningful music was replaced this year. The kids helped pick out the songs they wanted on their video this time. They didn't do half bad if you ask me LOL. Enjoy a look back at my babies 4th year of life...I can not believe they are 5!

Sadly One True Media closed up shop...so our montages are no longer available to view. Thankfully I was able to buy them all on DVD though.
Now I just have to find a new way to make them, I really loved One True Media so bummed they closed :(

Now on to my Pinterest win! I saw this idea for no sew cafe curtains and thought it would be perfect for our kitchen window. I wanted to leave the top part open for light, but didn't want everyone walking by to see inside my house, or to see the dishes that every now and then pile up in the sink LOL. The idea is so simple, and did I mention no sew! I used a small rod, 4 cloth napkins, and 2 packs of little curtain clips and you are done. I got everything at Target for less that $25. $10 of that was the napkins, at that price you can change them out as often as you like for seasonal fun or if you just get bored. The selection was slim, but these are cute and work great. Keeping my eye open for more great napkins every time I shop.

"To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason

I know guns are a hotly debated topic...my views are those that my family raised me with, and they have not changed. Jason and I got to spend about 8 kid free hours today keeping our skills tuned up and having a little sporting fun at the same time. Jason's work has a gun and rod club, so a lot of his work friends and their families came out too. We even had a few youngsters join us, they were watched and coached very carefully by their parents and they did a fantastic job. Making guns taboo is about as effective for gun safety as preaching abstinence only is to preventing teen pregnancy. I am not sure just when we will introduce our children to guns, besides the safety ground work which has already been put down and gets refreshed often, but we will be doing careful introductions in the coming years. I do not think our founding fathers had anything wrong, and I certainly don't think we live in a utopian world where there are no bogeymen and the "good guys" have no need to protect themselves.  

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and passed on ... or we will spend our sunset years telling our children's children what it was like in the United States when men were free."
– Ronald Reagan

"A free people ought to be armed."
- George Washington

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson

More great quotes here...

It was a beautiful day, and spot.

There were about 10 of us up there, and the only fatalities were the targets and a tree LOL. 

The club members worked really hard on making all the stands...Jason's design and specialty, and setting everything out for us. 

 
They had a bunch of different "games" and things to do.

Jason spent a bit of time getting the new red dot on the AR fine tuned for accuracy. This is the tree that later, after taking many hits from a couple other AR's, an AK and a few shotgun rounds, fell over. 

 

Then we got started on the Nevada test. This was unofficial, but we did it the exact way you have to now...in the time allotted, to qualify for your conceal carry license in Nevada. Jason and I had just got our CC's for that state before they made these changes so now it is no longer good there until we go and do it all again. 

I am pleased to announce we both passed!...even though we have only been able to go shooting about once a year on average....need to do better on that.
The test consists of...
Step 1- At 3 yards you have to shoot 6 rounds left handed only, reload 6 rounds...by hand, and then shoot those 6 rounds right handed only. You have 60 seconds.
Step 2- At 7 yards you have to shoot 6 rounds 2 handed, reload 6 rounds, and then shoot again. You have 60 seconds.
Step 3- At 15 yards you have to shoot 6 rounds freestyle (one or 2 handed your preference,) reload 6 rounds, then shoot 6 rounds again. You have 60 seconds.
You need a minimum score of 70% to pass. 252 points out of 360 possible is a passing score.
I hate to admit it, but Jason did better than me...he came out with a score in the low 300's and I was at 285. I think I rushed it...the 60 seconds is plenty of time, but it got into my head and I didn't take as much time as I should have. My brothers would probably make me write slow is steady and steady is fast 500 times if they knew ;)

I happened to snap a picture right as the poor fatally wounded tree fell...you can see the dust it kicked up. 

 

Trying out the new red dot on the AR...it is pretty sweet. 

 

 

They did a little "Hillbilly Poker," you got 6 shots at turned over cards, then you made your best hand with the cards you hit. It was a game of luck more than skill really, since you couldn't see the right side of the cards. My pair of 5's was beaten by a pair of 8's for the pot :( 
We played the game with pistols at closer range, then with unscoped rifles farther out and then scoped rifles even farther.

 

 Everyone got to see everyone else's toys...Jason dug this one LOL.

 It was a fun day. The munchkins had fun with our other new sitter, another teenager who lives in our cul-de-sac with her Dad and Aunt. This cul-de-sac is really paying off :)

When I'm 8.

"Maybe when I'm 8" this is Hayden's standard answer to us when we try to get her to go out of her comfort zone on things. Needless to say she has a very long list of things she will be doing when she is 8, that is going to be a very full year LOL.

The school the triplets will be attending next year is a 5 min walk from our house. I am so excited for them to start, almost enough to let them start this year...but I really think Xander needs the extra year. We headed to their future school to try out the playground today. It is a really nice school, when I was a kid we used to live right next door...and my little sister went here for a year. A lot has changed in the last 23 years or so LOL.

Haddie loved the playground....though she didn't do a lot of climbing on stuff, cuz you know when she is 8 she will be able to climb better. Just like she will be able to take swimming lessons when she is 8....and anything else that scares her or she thinks she won't be able to do perfectly. She is putting a lot of pressure on 8.

The biggest kid had a little fun too.

Jericho was a beast today. He was all over every dangerous inch of the big play structure. We have to remind ourselves that he is only 2 1/2...just look at him go.

Then he gave this climbing toy a try...he made it to the top from the outside then I grabbed him down.

Little Man kept us on our toes...but never needed rescuing.

The trio did a little climbing, but nothing like their little brother.

Miss Bug!

Jericho even managed to do one or two moves on the monkey bars...with Dad spotting him.

I see you Lily.

Then Jericho went back to try the inside climb on this toy. He has amazing balance and awareness of where his feet and hands need to be. After seeing him do this I told him rock climbing scares Momma and the answer is no LOL.

Just look at his feet...he would carefully make sure he had purchase wherever he put his feet or hands before moving on, he seriously looked like an old pro.

He is amazing.

Xander gave the rings a try. Check out my 2 1/2 year old in the back ground.

He has NO fear I tell you.

We headed inside to use the bathroom, Xander saw this art wall that a class did back in 2008 and loved it so much he wanted me to take a picture of it LOL.

Trying to get a couple group shots...some times you luck out and get a great one, and sometimes you don't Hahaha.

Whoa he is sitting still...must be getting close to lunch time.

It is a little funny that my 5 year olds are shown up by their little brother LOL. Here is Lily getting a little help from Dad, future sports star she is not, but I was glad she tried :)

Xan man.

Jericho was saying "Hello down there!"

My glow in the dark kids were about done being in the sun for the day.

Haddie's hair is finally starting to grow.

They met a couple of kids and gave hopscotch a try. The trio do not know the rules...and when Jason and I tried to explain it to them Lily hits us with a "This is not the adults rules, this is the triplets rules."

By the time we left Lily was actually doing it pretty close to the right way. Seems 5 year olds won't listen to their parents version of the rules of play....but will listen to some kids they just met. Yikes.

When we went inside to use the bathroom we saw that the school has been putting on free breakfast and lunch for kids under 18 all summer. We decided to stay today and let the kiddos have lunch there. They were very excited to learn they would be eating lunch in this cafeteria when they go to school here.
It got pretty packed in there, daycare providers were showing up with their whole classes of kids, it got crazy up in there.
While poking at her salad Lily says "Mom can I just eat my sandwich, because my salad is too salad-ey." Oh they crack me up!

On our walk home we stopped to pick some blackberries.

Brothers wub :)

The school is running a summer reading program. They gave out books and a form to keep track, every 100 minutes of reading earned a $1 to spend at the schools little prize station. This has renewed the kids love of me reading to them. They are also getting their first taste of the Ramona series, I loved these books when I was a kid.

After dinner we headed out back for a little trampoline time. Jericho must not have had enough...he did some baby planking and told me he was exercising. He is one strong little boy.

Oh they will be sleeping well tonight!