Brooks: “That was NOT me, mama!”
Clark: “Why do you think I’m standing all the way over here?”
Henry: “You think that was bad, I’ve got more where that came from!”
Clark “Move down, guys!” Isaac: “Nah, that one wasn’t me. It was the fish!”
Clark: “Listen to this one!”
Would you look at that contagious smile? Henry, you are a beam of sunshine!
Found this costume at a garage sale for a $1 last weekend. Everyone has taken their turn being “Sue-fah-man” this week. I think my superhero days with 4 boys have only just begun.
And now for some completely unrelated tangents:
Last weekend we had the opportunity to join Brad’s family for a reunion in a small town in western Indiana. Conveniently, the dinner was held at a park pavilion, which entertained the boys well into the night.
The boys kicked it old school on this 1950’s (or older) ride on, and proved it to be an “Oldie but Goodie”. Do you think they had quadruplets in mind when they designed this piece of equipment many decades ago?
(Side Note: Isaac had a bit of a leak on Gramma, so I had to change him into the “emergency outfit” that I keep in the car for such occasions. That’s why he doesn’t match the other boys attire. I don’t dress them alike often, but it seems like whenever I do, 1 ruins their outfit. Perhaps it’s an early revolt on identical dressing.)
Personally, I used to LOVE the merry-go-round, which paved the road for me to become a carnival ride enthusiast (back in the day). What was your favorite “old school” playground activity? What happens to be your kids favorite now?
PS Speaking of school, I’ll be sad to see a few friends summers come to a close. A special thank you to Tami, Jamie, and Kara for your extra hands on a few adventures and loving on our boys on multiple occasions! Our boys are blessed to have you in their lives!
This post should wrap up our Chicago Quadysseys. If you've missed Part I or Part II you can catch up here and here. Thanks for letting us take you along in our suitcases! (Hope you weren't near the dirty sock corner)!
He Said:
By the time day two in Chi-town rolled around, I was really ready to go when the alarm sounded. Day one had proven that I COULD enjoy time alone with the boys in the city, and I was ready to embark on a new adventure.
We had a laid back morning in the hotel with more PBS Kids on the large flat screen TV (we have a smallish old style TV at home) with cereal and granola bars. Then after getting the boys dressed and ready for their day, we headed for Navy Pier, which was a couple miles east of the hotel, right down the river from us. We made a short stop at the conference hotel along the way to drop off some supplies for mama. I had heard that another "blog husband" and his daughter, were also looking for something to do. So, after calling him and making plans to meet at the pier, off we went!
As soon as we got to the pier the boys started yelling "he-he, he-he, he-he". They saw them before I did, it was the Budweiser Clydesdales. Turns out, beer not only makes men bigger around when they drink it, but horses as well, because these things were HUGE! Once we approached them, only Henry actually wanted to get out of the stroller to see them, as they were a little too intimidating to approach.
We had some pretty amazing weather for the entire weekend, but the sun was SO bright on this day, that after walking around the pier for a while and taking in the lake and boats, we decided we had better find some air conditioning somewhere to cool off a bit. This is one wonderful thing about the mind of a 2 year old. Even the lobby of a parking garage can be a playground. All four boys ran round and round the lobby, entertaining their new friend.
We then walked back to the Sheraton to check in with mommy before heading back to the Westin for a nap. We could not set foot inside the Sheraton without getting out of the stroller to check out the boats on the Chicago River. Our boys got along VERY well with this sweet little girl....made me wish for a moment that I had one....BUT JUST FOR A MOMENT!! I am very content where we are at right now!
When we returned to the hotel for nap, the cleaning staff left a surprise for the boys on the bed. You would have thought they were presents under a Christmas tree, the boys were SOOO excited about this! Once they were down and asleep, papa took a nap of his own, preparing for the evening.
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She said:
Chicago, I forgot how beautiful you are in the summer! Seriously, you're spectacular!
Meanwhile, INSIDE I was able to attend a few BlogHer sessions on Friday and Saturday morning. Far better than the thought-provoking packed sessions were the people, however. How I wish I could go back for a few more days just to build more relationships! It was nice to "live INSIDE my computer for a few days" as Mommy from the Midwest describes it so well!
Before returning home to our little village, we enjoyed some of the sites of Chicago as a family of six. Sites and tastes, I should add. Who can resist a Chicago style hot dog, after all?
You know you're not in Hoosierland anymore when the signs read like this:
We spent most of the day checkin' out the art and architecture of Millennium Park.
One last clip for the memory vlog:
Chicago, you were a wonderful host! We hope to return soon. Thank you for the beautiful memories and helping us realize we CAN do more than we imagined with our family!
Henry Samuel
Brooks Layton
Clark Thomas
Isaac Edward
Two and a half years ago, you changed our world forever....for the better.
First off, I want to say a hardy welcome to any of you joining us from the London Times article! It's jaw-dropping amazing to think about our story being shared "across the pond".
Because so much of our Quadyssey took place separately, I decided to make the next couple entries into a He Said/She Said post. You'll get to hear Brad's side of the story (always a treat when he writes!) and then Mama's side of the story. Believe it or not , this is the CONDENSED version!
He Said:
Ja-bi-go, Ja-bi-go, when do I get to go back to Ja-bi-go? I am crying right along with the other Murray boys this week at having to end our little adventure in Chicago. The long weekend was fun, exciting, exhausting, liberating, encouraging, scary, and funny all wrapped in to one. Here's a look at our first day out on the town with Daddy:
Thursday morning, Jen awoke early and headed out for her event, while the boys and I slept in and hung out in the hotel room. When the boys started chanting "OUT-OUT-OUT!" I knew it was time to start our day. I got the boys out, gave them each a bowl of cereal, turned on "PBS Kids", and they were happy as clams.
While they ate, my scramble began. I had to be out of the Sheraton by 1pm, and was hoping for an early check-in at the Westin (thanks Dan & Blanca for the amazing discount hook-up), so I had to get our room completely packed up before we left for our adventure in the city. The boys sat like gems and watched TV the entire time I packed, and our day was off to an awesome start!
Out the hotel I went and into Chicago traffic with 4 toddlers and to my delight, almost every single person we ran into had a smile or positive comment for us. I was expecting the "Big City" to be at least somewhat annoyed by our giant stroller getting in their way, but almost without exception, every person we spoke with seemed blessed to have encountered us. This included the awesome dudes at the Chicago Firehouse. Although the boys were too fearful of the new surroundings to take them up on their "truck tour", we had fun checking out the firehouse garage.
We didn't really do much other than walk down the entire "Magnificent Mile". (Not stopping in a single shop ladies, not a one!) The Westin River North, offered us a much appreciated early check-in and even an unexpected complimentary room upgrade! After single-handedly packing up a hotel room, packing the van, unpacking the van, settling in our second hotel for the weekend, AND the city tour, I put the boys down for a much needed NAP! Man was I glad to see mama at the end of the afternoon!
She Said:
While Brad and the boys were out on the town, I joined 49 other bloggers and the executives of Ford for a tour of the plant, test drives, and an open discussion on what women want in a vehicle. (I took all of your great suggestions with me!) It was a jammed packed, informative, day. I walked away seriously impressed with Ford's attention to details, safety, ingenuity, and interest in the consumer's needs.
After reuniting with the Fam, we headed over to the conference hotel to pre-register and introduce the boys to some AHHH-MAZE-ZING women! This was by far my favorite component of BlogHer. Getting to meet other bloggers In Real Life (IRL), each with their own story and motivation for blogging, was such a valuable encounter!
There were a few other "IRL" encounters of the day:
American Gothic IRL
Nina, from the PBS Kids Sprout Goodnight Show IRL
And a IRL encounter with the boats on the Chicago River. (My favorite picture from our trip so far).
Finally, no Quadyssey is complete without video!!!!
Chicago Quadyssey Part III is in the works! So glad we were able to take you along for this adventure!
Fasten Your Seatbelts for a Summer Quadyssey and a Half!
Chicago turned out to be a fantastic adventure for our family, and I look forward to sharing some of the highlights from our trip.
Starting from the beginning:
To be completely honest (which I try to make a habit of doing around here), I was feeling quite overwhelmed at the thought of taking all four boys to Chicago for the BlogHer 09 Conference. When our original plan of leaving two at home, and taking two along fell through, we were left with the decision of taking 4 two-year-olds along for the ride, or scratching the trip altogether. Personally, I was heavily leaning towards the "Call It Off" side. It was a lot to pack, a lot to coordinate, and A WHOLE LOT to put on my husband's shoulders, to care for 4 boys while I attended a conference in downtown Chicago. It seemed down right selfish. However, my man thought otherwise. He was up to the challenge and all in favor. Without his encouragement, persuasion, and confident assurance this trip would not have transpired.
After what seemed like weeks of packing, we loaded up 4 freshly bathed, pajamaed, barefooted, stuffed-animal-loving, mighty cute, boys for the Windy City!
The ride went off without a meltdown, and we began the check-in process. Did I mention I pretty much packed our entire house into the Odyssey?
The Sheraton Hotel and Towers was extra helpful and accommodating to our family. The room (which was one of my biggest worries) worked out perfectly. We had adequate space for "The Beast" (our quad stroller), the four Pea Pod tents, and all of our things.
After extensively testing the mattress' comfort and bounce performance , we placed the do not disturb sign on the door and called it a day!
The following day would hold many more sights and adventures!
These cards represent some of the BlogHer Beauties I had the privilege of meeting during our adventure to the BlogHer '09 Conference/Quadyssey to Chicago. It was an ahhhhh-mazing trip and I met some incredible, incredible women (and a few dudes too)! Thanks to all of you for your overwhelming kindness that you showed our family over the past few days. It was an honor to get to know each of you!
I have MUCH to share, so bear with me as I break it down over the next few days! And I'll also be revealing the winner of the Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. AND...I've wrapped up my 2 week Crystal Light Challenge over on my review blog, so check that out while you're waiting for me to post!
Sorry boys, we can't drive the tractor to Chicago. We're taking the Odyssey this time.
(Besides, we don't own a tractor. We just like to sit on them at the fair. But that's too much information to explain to 4 two year olds.)
The boys woke up this morning excitedly asking about "Bygo". We are almost packed for Chi-town...it's down to last minute lists and sitting on suitcases in an effort to get them to zip. Would you like to see pictures of our house packed into boxes baggage?
Soon we'll be headed down the highway...
And That's Just What They'll Do....
And One of These Days These Flip-Flops Might Just Walk Right Into You!
We have some adventures planned right around the corner, that might even mean getting to meet some of you!
Stay tuned for more details...
(Or you can comment about what you think I might be referring to in the comment forum if you can't wait that long!)
P.S. YOU try getting all 8 feet in one picture, next time!
P.S.S. Don't forget to check out my ongoing adventures of making H2O my BFF again over on my review blog! And check to see if you were the $100 Visa gift card winner in the Smartfood giveaway!
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PostRank Topblogs 2009 - Engagement Award
