Rain rain, go away, and don't ruin our pictures

A family friend of ours, Alyssa, offered to take some pictures of the boys and I couldn't resist taking her up on that! We have been planning to do a spring photo shoot for a while, but our plans kept getting derailed and we couldn't get a date worked out. The first date we planned didn't work because their outfits hadn't come in yet (ordered from Etsy), the second date didn't work out due to Easter plans, the third date didn't work out due to lighting and the time of day we were planning, so we finally decided to do it on Saturday, the 18th. After talking to Alyssa, we agreed to do the pictures at a time that conflicted with our daily schedule (gasp). Due to the lighting and the sun, we decided that the ideal time to meet would be in the evening, around 6:30. Keep in mind that typically at 6:30, the boys would have just finished their dinner and would be heading upstairs to put on their pjs or take a bath. Sometimes we have to just live on the wild side and throw caution (and schedules) to the wind. HA!

So we agreed to meet at 6:30 and Alyssa had scoped out a really pretty area of Cleveland Park downtown where we could take the pictures. It took a bit of planning and preparation, but we did baths in the late afternoon, ate dinner early, got the boys dressed and made it downtown to meet Alyssa. We've never really had the boys out and about at that time in the evening, so from a behavioral standpoint, I didn't have anything to compare it to or look back on. I didn't know how they would do, whether they'd be tired, if they'd be grumpy or willing to cooperate.

Our plans were almost ruined once again with the threat of rain. It has seriously been raining so much here. We have flash flood warnings all the time. Alyssa and I were texting throughout the day on Saturday to decide if we wanted to go through with it or reschedule AGAIN when the skies were a little clearer. Since we had changed the date already so many times, I really didn't want to keep dragging it out and we went for it...with our fingers crossed that the rain would hold off. And it did. :)

Here's just a little preview of the photo sesh; these are just pictures that I took with my phone. I can't wait to see Alyssa's pictures. The lighting was just perfect, the flowers in the park were beautiful, the boys looked oh-so-handsome in their adorable outfits and the weather was cooperating, so it has the makings of a good shoot.

Thomas getting them into position

This was very early on, before everyone (ahem, Stokes) got crazy

Alyssa getting pictures of Ryan

So pretty, both of them!
Doesn't this look like it could go in a magazine?!?!

Stokes was wandering around but I got a quick shot
with William and Ryan (William wasn't too pleased)!

Side note: this wagon that they're sitting in is really cool. It looks vintage because it is! It's been in Thomas's family for generations. MaSha recently got it from a relative and got it worked on to make it was stabilized and such. I don't know how much the boys will be able to play with it, but it sure did make an awesome prop for these pictures! It was important for us to use the goat wagon for pictures now, before the boys got too big to all fit in it. 

On the behavioral front, they did OK. Ryan was an angel, of course, and William cooperated fairly well. We did have to pull out our phones and let him watch videos toward the end, but he did alright. Stokes, on the other hand, my fiesty little thing, was not having it. At all. He didn't want to sit still, he didn't want to smile or look at the camera, he didn't want let us hold him, he didn't want to do anything, except walk around. And not just walk around, he wanted to walk near the rocks and the stream. NOPE. Not happening. He insisted on holding on to my car keys pretty much the whole time (I was trying to use my hand to cover his hand and the keys in several of the pictures), and was pitching a fit when we tried to make him stand still or do anything that we wanted him to do. He wasn't interested in any of Alyssa's tricks to distract him and encourage him to look at the camera. He was such a little pill! I hope that we get a few pictures that he's not throwing a tantrum. If we do, it'll be a win.

Chasing after the wild man

The only time he was happy was when
he was off doing his own thing

Alyssa trying to chase him down

While it was good that the rain held off and we were able to get pictures without getting drenched, the bad part of having a lot of rain leading up to the pictures is mud. There was plenty of it. We all got filthy. White jeans?!? Great idea...unless there's mud around. Cute jon jons and white socks and knee socks?!?!? Sure - super cute...unless they get caked in mud. Oh yeah, and what about that humidity? The air was sopping with moisture, as were Thomas and I while trying to wrangle 3 toddlers who were out past their bedtime (while trying to look decent...fail on that front).

The aftermath of the muddy location....

Shoes that used to the white

Close up so you can see the mud damage
(this particularly dirty pair belongs to Stokes)

I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of their jon jons and the seat of my white jeans because those suckers were all pre-treated and washed that night shortly after we got home. Let me just say that they didn't make it to the dryer and are on their second round of Spray and Wash. Fingers crossed that something will work!!!

Everyone was exhausted and sweaty when all was said and done. The boys fell asleep in their car seats on the way home and we quickly put them to bed when we got there. I'll have to be honest, I'm not dying to schedule anything else during that time in the evening anytime soon, but hey,  you never know!!

Working hard in the yard

Oh you know, just doing a little yard work with my Da-da.
-Stokes
Sunday, April 12

These pictures crack up me. Just look at that determination and serious expression on his face! And just in case you're wondering, no, the lawn mower was not actually ON while he was playing with it. He just thought he was doing some really great work.

All of my boys on Sunday morning. *Swoon* (In case you haven't  noticed Thomas's daily attire, we're a fan of Polo shirts and khaki pants in this house!)

Stokes, Ryan and William

BBQ and football

This past Saturday was a very fun and eventful day for our family. We did TWO activities - woop woop!

Before we left our house, I had to take a few pictures of the boys. It was a beautiful day and the flowers in our yard were blooming and I felt so grateful. Look at these handsome little things!

Our day of fun started out with a BBQ fundraiser for a fellow triplet family. The fundraiser was set up to benefit the Long Party of Five March of Dimes team. The mama, Carly, has been an amazing resource and friend to me. I met her when I was not very far along in my pregnancy. Carly is a labor and delivery nurse and she and I met when I was in the hospital for a procedure about 14 weeks along in my pregnancy. She came and introduced herself and told me she also had triplet boys and I remember thinking that she looked so great and seemed to have it all together and that there was hope for me yet. She was so friendly and sweet and gave me her email address so I could continue to ask her questions about triplets! When I ended up in the hospital on bed rest, she made a point to come by my room several times while she was working to check in on me. She even brought me a gift while I was there! Carly and I had different issues throughout our pregnancies, but we had several things in common. We both had all 3 boys, we both gave birth way too soon (despite our bed rest and attempts to continue carrying the babies as long as possible) and we both had 3 babies in the NICU for an extended time. Our similarities don't end there. Unfortunately, Carly also has a son that experienced Infantile Spasms. I feel like we have some crazy connection and God has put us together for a specific purpose. Both of our major commonalities are fairly rare (triplet boys and a son with IS). Carly's son Brody has cerebral palsy and needs a lot of assistance and he, too, has lots of therapy. There are lots of things about Brody that remind me of Ryan. Carly is about a year and a half ahead of me, time wise with her boys, and I have a million more questions for her. She and I are planning to get together soon to have lunch and just chat. I want to ask her all about Brody's equipment and his prognosis; she's offered to advise me about certain things that they've seen a lot of success with in regards to therapy. I know I'm greatly benefiting by knowing Carly and her family, and I hope it's worthwhile for her, too, to get to talk to another triplet mom who understands at least some of what she goes through. So that's a long introduction to say that when Carly invited us to come to their BBQ fundraiser, there was no way we were going to miss it!

They had BBQ, beer, soft drinks, toys and games for the kids and an awesome Bluegrass band. It was all the makings of a great party! We didn't know anyone there except for Carly, but quickly met her husband Jim and other friends and family members of theirs. The food was great and the boys had fun playing around. I was so excited to meet the Long triplets in person after seeing pictures of them and hearing Carly talk about them. They were each so handsome and looked so different from each other. It was also apparent how different each of their personalities are....much like my boys! Another highlight was the bluegrass band. They started playing and immediately played Thomas's two very favorite bluegrass songs back to back - Rocky Top (Thomas is a huge Tennessee fan, after Clemson of course) and then Fox On the Run. At that point, we had to pack it up and head out due to our next activity for the day, but after meeting so many friendly and hospitable people, drinking a cold beer and listening to bluegrass, we were tempted to just hang out there all day!

First arriving at the BBQ

Bounce house time!
Stokes

Thomas trying to teach them to jump

They weren't sure what to do

They ran into each other and it was so funny!

Figuring it out and Maddox came by to play for a minute, too

Ryan - waiting patiently in his stroller

Coming out by way of the slide

So many toys, so little time! They were having lots of fun

Handsome Ryan eating lunch

William and me dancing to the bluegrass music

Meg, Brody's NICU nurse (and a member of our church), came
to the BBQ with her family. Here she is holding Brody and
reconnecting with him. NICU nurses and doctors are incredible
people and hold a very special place in my heart.

The band

The food

Carly, me and William

The Longs and the Peerys - count 'em up...
that's 4 adults and 6 little boys!

Although we hated to leave, we had a prior commitment with some other friends. We had decided way back that we were going to take the boys to the Clemson spring game, the Orange and White game, along with the Atwoods. For those of you that don't know, the spring game is a where the players on the same team play against each other. They're broken out into 2 different teams and they scrimmage. It's definitely more of "football light" kind of game since they want to make sure no one gets hurt. It's really just a way for fans to see how the players are doing and get a preview of what we might see in the fall when the season gets underway. It's also a way for the coaches to get a feel for the players and it helps to decide who gets the starting jobs. Anyway, we thought it would be a good experience to take the boys Death Valley for their first taste of Clemson football during the O&W game. It's usually not very crowded and is super laid back. I can't image trying to go for the first time amongst a sea of 86,000 people wearing orange. So this was our best bet.

We planned to call the Atwoods when we were getting close to campus so that we could park near them and do a little tailgating before the game started. Our plans got derailed, however, when we were late, traffic was backed up, the lot where the Atwoods parked got full and we couldn't get in, etc., etc. We ended up getting there after the game had started, parked at a totally random parking lot away from the Atwoods and just had to go meet up at the stadium. Nevermind that I had stayed up late to make ham and pickle roll-ups, packed blankets on which the boys could play, had a cooler full of beverages and a memory card in my camera waiting to capture a thousand special moments. Alas, we had to roll with it. So the crazy thing was that there were SO many people at the game. Seriously. There were 37,000 people there and there was a new record set. This created a slight issue with our strollers. We didn't know where to put them. We've been to a spring game before and there was plenty of room everywhere. Based on our previous experience, we thought we could just stroll up in there, find a whole row to ourselves and fold up our strollers right next to us in the stadium. Nope. Not this time. We wandered around in a crowds and just pretty much stopped in a breezeway for a while so we could come up with a game plan. This was good because it was shady and there was a nice breeze, all the kids seemed to be OK hanging out in their strollers and people watching, and then we saw our friends the Hornes!

Suzy and Thomas Horne

William clapping

Showing us "Touchdown"!

Brent, Hayes and Thomas

Brady enjoying his ice cream

Stokes and Ryan - just chillin'

So we hung out there for a while and eventually made our way to the other end of the stadium and got the strollers into the stadium in the handicapped area (which was empty, and was the only reason we took up shop there). At this point, the game was in the 4th quarter, so we just hung out and talked there until the game ended.

All the kiddos - Brady, Hayes, William, Stokes and Ryan

It wasn't exactly what we planned or expected, but it was still fun none the less. I think the boys got a good first taste of Clemson football and had fun on their first visit inside Death Valley. No one cried or got scared when the cannons went off for each touchdown. No one got too fussy or bored. They pretty much just like looking around and taking it all in. They also had fun hanging out with their new buddies, Thomas, Suzy, Brady and Hayes. :)

Pictures with Ryan before loading him up and heading home....

It was a fun and busy day. There were no official naps, no meals and snacks in the high chairs, we were just seeing how the day went and hoping that we had packed enough stuff to be prepared for whatever they needed. The boys were troopers and did great and Thomas and I enjoyed the whole experience. Maybe one day we'll brave a sold out game with 86,000 of our closest friends with all 3 boys....maybe. ;)

This boy was whooped and could not keep his
eyes open on the way home. Sweet William....ahhhh.