Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: The Final Chapter

Our Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation Video Series is finally coming to a close! Shewwww! Thank goodness there's no upcoming Disney World, Grand Canyon, etc. vacations in the near future! It's taken me 3 weeks to blog about a 4 day weekend! =) However, I have enjoyed sharing our "Ventures" with you and hope you've taken a little humor and pleasure in our amusements!

Here it is the Final Episode. (My apologies for my lack of coherency and to any Walgreens employees.)

We received our new van on Monday night from DEAR DEAR friends who made us an incredible offer on their 2004 Honda Odyssey. We are have already become Ody enthusiast! Guess we'll have to join the Ody Club! (Yes, it does exist.) Special thanks to the Brunings and to Brad's parents for letting us borrow their vans while we were in transition.

Our favorite features, which are unique to us as quad parents, are that we can fit 3 car seats across the back row (meaning for the first time we could actually carry an additional passenger + much easier access for "locking and loading") and there's enormous rear storage for the wagon and all of the quad gear! Yesterday was the boys first ride in it, complete with frozen custard from Ritter's to celebrate! God truly provided for our needs and we praise Him for orchestrating all the details!

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: "Reserved Room for the Griswolds, Please"

Start Here...
Prequel

Sequel I

Sequel II

After our "Griswold Moment" we hit the road for another 3 hour tour. We were more than relieved to pull up to The Residence Inn in Brentwood, TN (just south of Nashville). Regardless of being 4 hours late, we still beat my parents and sister + her family down, and were able to pull off the surprise.

Here's a peak at our BIG surprise. They were so shocked that the door slams on them! Hilarious! I think the boys were just as surprised with all the commotion.

I think they're shaking to another 50 Years!

Next Episode: "Memorable Moments in Music City"

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: Cheese Nips, Downpours, and Maurice

If You Haven't Already, Read The Prequel and the First Sequel Before Reading Further....

Let me set the scene for this next episode of Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation. Things were going quite smoothly on the first leg of the trip. The boys even took a 45 minute nap and the peaceful view looked like this:

HOWEVER, as we neared Lebanon Junction, KY (about 3 hours from home)the van went from an accelerating 70mph to 0 in a matter of seconds. God truly protected us as Brad was able to coast directly onto an exit ramp and into a gas station parking lot with absolutely no power. What does Jen do to keep from going into a panicked cardiac arrest? Turn on the video camera, of course!

7 Blessings and Provisions from this "Venture":

1. God's protection in an engine failing situation.

2. We were able to get the one mini-van rental left in the 50 mile radius, due to the Kentucky Derby. The first rental company we called had only a Ford Focus left on their lot (uh, definitely not "Quadmobile" material), the next was completely out, and the last had just gotten a cancellation for a Toyota Sienna. Coincidence? Nope, I don't believe in them!

3. My brother and his family were less than 10 minutes from the exit where we broke down when we called them to find out if they had even left Indiana yet. He was able to help us unload, reattach the overhead luggage carrier, reload, and hold babies while we transferred the car seats. It was an ENORMOUS blessing to have his help and to see a familiar face during an uncertain situation. (I should have videoed this part, but I must have been too caught up in the major shiftaroo!)

4. The semi-truck service station graciously took a look at our van, correctly pronounced the van "dead upon arrival", and allowed us to unload our Venture and reload our rental van under their garage during the downpour.

5. The Hertz Rental Company in Elizabethtown treated us with true southern hospitality. Due to our extreme circumstances, they made an exception and picked us up from our stranded location. Maurice, our driver, was able to refer us to a trusted place to have our van towed and provided enjoyable conversation along the transport.

6. Brad and I had an amazing measure of calmness that HAD to be from the Lord.

7. The boys were absolutely AMAZING! No major meltdowns, fits, tantrums, etc. Considering everything they endured we had no complaints from our little troopers.

Plus...it ended up being great blogging material!

Videos of "Venturous" Vacation: "The Calm Before The Trying to Stay Calm"

Read the Prequel to This Sequel First

Okay, so here it goes..... All of you who were unaware that Brad and I are elite members of the "Ultimate Dork Club". It's over - we've been uncovered. The Proof is in the Pudding Video.

Here's where our "Venture" begins. Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride. (Oh, and let me know if you're getting a laugh out of our pure dorkidity.)

Stay Tuned for the Next Episode: "Cheese Nips, Downpours, and Maurice"

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: A Prequel to Many Sequels

Before I start on some great reality footage of our "Ventures" to Nashville, I'd like to begin with some behind the scenes details of our trip. Around Christmas time, my siblings and I started planning a surprise 50th anniversary celebration for my parents. Their actual anniversary was February 21,2007, so we were only a mere year and 2+months late! The boys were born less than 3 weeks before their incredible milestone, and on their actual anniversary Clark became very ill with his digestive issues, so needless to say, their big day became a bit overshadowed.

Clark receiving fluids via a pic line due to premature digestive system 02-23-07

However, we wanted to honor this accomplishment of marriage and celebrate with them, regardless of the timing, so we began planning a trip for 17 to Nashville, TN.

My parents holding Clark and Brooks - Mother's Day 2007

We weren't sure how we would fit 4 pack-n-plays + four boys + their enormous amount of stuff in our Chevy Venture, but then a triplet buddy, Linda, gave me this great product recommendation: Kidco Pea Pods!

If you look closely at this picture you'll see four little boys asleep inside their little tents complete with their camo sleep sacks. We are in love with this product, because it can go anywhere, takes up minimal space, and folds up to the size of a flattened basketball. I'm serious! (And no, they are not paying me to endorse their product!) It's one of our favorite products thus far. And grandparents are pumped that they'll be able to stay overnight now! We had them "practice" in the playroom for one week to adjust to the new surroundings before trying it out for the first time in a populated hotel!

So that's some background prior to our official road trip "Venture". To give you fair warning, this post will be part of a mini-series of posts, complete with bloopers and more details than you probably wish to digest. It is sure to become a moment in history for our family, so I'm using the blog as a way to document the memories, which is one of the main purposes of this blog. Read at your own risk.

Next Up...

Videos of a "Venturous" Vacation: The Calm Before the Trying to Stay Calm

RIP Quadmobile

Our '98 Chevy Venture was laid to rest in Elizabethtown, KY over the weekend. The engine is T-O-A-S-T!

We were on our first real road trip to Nashville, TN to celebrate my parent's 50th anniversary when she decided to kick the bucket near E-town. I have LOTS of blog material and footage in the works to document our adventures and the awesome time we had with family, but I'm currently buried in laundry and searching for some new wheels.

If anyone has any contacts looking to sell a reliable van/SUV for an affordable price, please contact me via comment or email quatro_mama{at}yahoo{dot}com. We would also appreciate your prayers as we look to purchase a vehicle for our family in the next few days.

Adventures in the Venture

This past weekend Jen and I decided we would head for our hometown, Covington, IN. Every year on the weekend around Jen’s birthday, Covington has an Apple Festival on the square downtown. Covington is a very small town, and since we both grew up there, we were hoping to catch up with lots of people that we have not seen in a long time.

The night before, Jen spent a lot of time getting things ready such as bottles, diapers, clothes changes in case of blowouts, toys, and all of the other stuff that it to get away with four 8 month olds for the day. While she was getting that stuff ready, I was busy trying to find a way to get our quad stroller in the van so that we could take one stroller instead of two. I was able to remove the rear tires, the front tire, and the handle, which allowed me to fit it in the cargo space in the back of the van. (Quite an accomplishment!) I assured Jen that it would take me less than 5 minutes to reassemble the stroller once we got there.

The next morning, we got the boys up an hour early (8am) so that we could feed them their bottles and cereal and hit the road. Everything went really well and we were on the road by 9am or so. On our way out of town, the van lurched and the steering wheel locked up on the way around the corner and started making some crazy sounds. Fortunately, we were going slow enough that this did not cause any major problems.

I pulled into the nearest gas station to ponder what to do next. The van seemed to be running fine, and had quit making the noises. I was instantly upset that we might not make it to Covington, we were really looking forward to getting out for the day. Plus, so much planning and preparation had gone into this trip, that I was actually tempted to pull back onto the road and see how things went. But, in better judgement, I decided to get out and take a look. When I opened the hood I was greeted by a cloud of steam and spraying fluid. Obviously, I knew our plans were shot at this point.

I took Jen and the boys home immediately and headed for Big O Tire (who we always trust with our break-down crisis') in Brownsburg. They did their best to get me in, but the repairs would not be completed until Monday. God truly protected my family this past weekend. The van could have easily broken down on the way to Covington on the interstate, but He protected us from this. Our van has over 125k miles on it, so I expect it to break down from time to time, but I trust that God will take care of us. Ever seen a tow truck with room for 4 baby seats? We would certainly have to find someone to come pick us up (in a bus!) if this ever happened. I wish our van had lower mileage on it, but I am not willing to go into debt for a van with all of the other expenses we have going. I just trust that God will protect us from bad circumstances, and show us the way out when they are unavoidable.

God did bring some good out of the van problems though. Our friends Mark and Susie let us borrow their van for the weekend while ours was in the shop. (Which we ended up loving for the ability to fit 3 carseats across the back and JEN was able to load them all herself! Usually we have to hoist the boys carseats up and over the 1st row of back seats and this takes some serious strength from Mr. Gladiator.) This allowed us to go to Calvary Baptist Church in Danville, IL where Jen grew up and we were married. Calvary not only blessed us with a TON of baby items and other material goods, but they were so faithful to pray for our boys and keep updated during Jen's pregnancy. Their pastor allowed us to go up front with the boys and thank the church formally, we were blessed to be there! Thank you Calvary Baptist Church, we love you all!!

Brad, Jen, Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac

Colts Training Camp

Ok, new adventure, maybe new family tradition.......

Our new friends, the Reynolds, invited us to meet them in Terre Haute today to watch our beloved Colts prepare for another Superbowl season. The Indianapolis Colts hold their training camp each year and allow fans to come watch.

We decided this sounded like a fun new adventure to try, plus we were itching to get out and enjoy some cooler weather after our recent heat wave. It was a beautiful morning and so fun to get such an up-close look at some of our favorite players and coaches.

Here is a group picture with everyone who met us there today:

(left to right: Murrays, Reynolds, Boltons)

We had such and awesome time and the boys were very content most of the time we were there. We are finding that the more we push ourselves to get out and have some fun, the more things we are willing to try with them.

We got to watch Marvin Harrison make some great catches, and Peyton Manning calling some audibles, very cool from just a few yards away. I highly recommend Colts Camp!

Ok, going to try something new now, we took a couple of short video's for you today, posting video of the Murray Crew for the first time, let us know what you think!


(Boys showing their true blue)


(Clark laughing)

Ok, thats a wrap! Love you all!

Brad, Jen, Henry, Brooks, Clark, and Isaac

PS The site that pointed us to the Target coupons for baby food, Babycheapskate, featured us on their site today! Check this site out, it can save you some serious money!

Home Sweet Home

The air conditioner is up and running, our many bags are unpacked, and we are sleeping in our own beds/cribs. We survived! Actually, we got quite spoiled while we were "homeless" with a down feathered bed, home-cooked meals, feeders for the boys, a swim, and cold A/C!!!! A huge thank you to our host families, the Alexander's and the Gentry's. They opened their homes and loved up on our boys. (The Alexander's moved into their RV, so we could stay in their home. Now that is love!) Nevertheless, we are relieved to be back in our comfort zone of HOME. We really take so much for granted on a daily basis. I had no idea how much STUFF I use in one day. I wish we would have taken a picture of our stuffed van - you could hardly see the babies with 4 pack-and-plays, 2 bouncy seats, 2 boppies, an exersaucer, a gym, about 10 bags, etc. I think I took more with me for the few days away than I took my freshmen year to college! It seemed that the boys grew while we were gone. Clark turned over from back to tummy, acting like it was no effort at all. Henry followed suit just a few minutes later while we were discussing who was going to be next to rollover.

I have more blogging to do so keep hitting refresh over the next few days. Coming up.....bathtime fun and the long awaited professional pictures!

Here's some pictures from the last few days of yet another adventure in our lives.

We R Refugees, If You Please

Well after "living in a van down by the river" for about an hour,we packed up and headed to some friend's from church (actually my OB, how crazy is that?) basement for the night. It was nice and chilly - a welcomed feeling! It's been great! We have had MANY offers and we are soooooo grateful for how so many of you within hours were offering your homes, fans, your neighbor's nephew's ex-wife's dog's house.....In all seriousness, we have been taken care of well. Our next stop is another family's home from church. We'll be hauling up the boys and their ridiculous amount of "stuff" it takes for their survival this evening. The boys are going to the farm. Actually it's a restored barn made into a house. I'm thinking we'll be staying put there until the air unit is replaced. I'm not sure if we will have internet access from there, so bye for now! I'll post pictures of our great adventure when we are back home.

Cooled down

We are currently at a friends house, the boys are sleeping, all is well. Thank you all for all of your kind offers. Hopefully we will get this fixed soon and get back home! :)