The LAST Divine Secret of the Quad-Quad (Quad, Quad) Sisterhood

DAY 3

On Saturday the boys hit the golf course, while the girls had some "bonding time". (Right, girls?)

Here's a little video of the guys goofing off on the last hole. (I'll give them credit...They are a tad BETTER than this!!!)

Brad and I took the window of opportunity to take a date night for our last night in Tahoe. We took a long drive along the lake, ate some fantastic grub, and enjoyed some outstanding scenery off the beaten path......

The night ended once again with late late night conversation, games, and more stomach hurting, unable to breathe laughter.

DAY 4

Our final day was a quick morning of goodbyes as we all went our separate ways back to home. It was bittersweet as we were all so anxious to see our babies, yet not wanting our time to come to a close with these awesome friends whom we felt so attached to....

Chris, Mari, Conor, Gen, Joe, and Suz:

Thank you for a such a memorable weekend shared in the company of friends. We love and value each of you and look forward to a lifetime of friendship. (Incredibly cheesy? YES! Heartfelt? ABSOLUTELY.)

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More of what you really come to our blog for (THE BOYS) coming soon....

YET MORE Divine Secrets of The Quad-Quad (Quad,Quad) Sisterhood

I know, I know...you're like "Jen, get a grip. LT is over. Move on...", but I refuse. I'm cherishing my memories. (Remember this is my journal that you have the privilege to snoop through, after all.) Moving on...

DAY 2

Day two began with breakfast, thanks to Chris and Mari, and a walk along the beach taking in the beauty of God's creation. The mountains and the water are truly majestic. If you haven't visited LT, you need to place it high on your Must-See List.

We took in the beach most of the day, enjoying conversation (Yes, we talked about the kids - HOW COULD WE NOT??), comparing our matching swimsuits, and basking in the perfect weather. The girls turned out to be the least wimpy about getting in the mountain snow H2O. Fearless Quad Mamas! =)

Another fearless moment included Brad and I para sailing. It was one thing I regretted not doing on our honeymoon, so we seized the opportunity this time. We were not disappointed and the view was phenomenal.

We ended Day Two with some Deck Time, Out to Eat at Gar Wood's, and a classic Boys vs. Girls showdown of Catch Phrase and Charades. Ask the boys who got stomped.

Next to Last Post on LT, and then my heart will go on and on, Celine! ....

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Now that we've covered the background I'll get to the Travelogue part....

DAY 1

4:30 am (EST) Wake up + Pack Last Minute Things

5:00 am Leave for Airport (Thanks for dropping us off, Kristy)

7:30 am Depart Indy for Las Vegas (Meet nice man named Bill on plane who's an attorney for medical malpractice. He knows the flight from Indy to Vegas like the back of his hand, pointing out all the landmarks along the way)

12:40 pm Depart Las Vegas for Reno, NV

2:00pm EST/11:00pm PAC Arrive in Reno, Rent Vehicle, and Travel to Cabin in North Lake Tahoe, Switch Watch Back 3 Hours

We were greeted at the door by this lovely couple:

Conor and Gen McNulty (Sweethearts Inside and Out)
Residence: California
Quad Parents To: 2 Year Olds Russ, Libby, Ally, and Molly

Gen and I were able to hang out at the cabin, while Conor and Brad headed back to the airport to pick up Couple Number Three: The Steece's.

Joe and Suzanne Steece (Such a beautiful couple who shine with love for each other.)
Residence: Texas
Quad Parents To: 10 Month Olds Ethan, Ben, Savannah, and Drew

Since the Goerlich's missed their flight (You HAVE to watch this video of their experience if you haven't already done so)...we chowed on some Mexican and the girls kicked back in the hot tub waiting for their 2 AM arrival. I must admit...since that equalled 5am Indiana time, I threw in the towel and called it a night before the final couple arrived.

Chris and Mari Goerlich (So Genuine and Encouraging to Hang With)
Residence: Texas
Quad Parents to: 10 Month Olds Sophia, Finn, Cohen, and Noah

4 Couples, 4 Days, Un"4"Getable Weekend!

More Tomorrow...
Related Post: Divine Secrets of the Quad-Quad (Quad, Quad) Sisterhood

Divine Secrets of the Quad-Quad (Quad, Quad) Sisterhood

I'm having major trouble coming up with adequate words to depict our weekend in Tahoe with my Quad Sistas (and Bros). You should read Gen and Suz's posts, because they pretty much read my mind and typed it up and I'm sure Mari is gonna probably hitting "POST" while I attempt to put a downright amazing 4 days into a teeny little write-up.

In effort to keep from being too repetitive I decided to create a Travelogue to record some of the highlights from our journey. I'll try not to get too windy, but I may have to break this up into a few parts. Let's start from the beginning....

BACKGROUND:
Gen, Suz, Mari, and I started developing a friendship through our blogs initially. We were united by our unique circumstances along with the joys and struggles involved in "surviving quads". Many emails and chats later, our guys started picking up on how close we had bonded. Although thousands of miles separated us, there was a family-like friendship developing.

My true-love, Brad, threw out an email to the "Bros" with the idea of getting us girls together for a girl weekend. Over 150 Emails later, the date/place was set and the boys decided to join us!

The Boys: "Hmmmm...How Could We Get our Girls to Love Us 4Ever????"

Brad: "How 'bout a 4-Day Kid-Free Trip to Lake Tahoe?"
Bros: "Genius, Yo."

To Be Continued....

More Than Corn in Indiana?

Instead of pouting that they missed out on our recent trip, the boys had their own tropical retreat before we headed for Cali. Proof that there is "more than corn in Indiana". (You Indiana folk with me?)

I have MUCH to share about our LONG weekend with life LONG friends....SOON!!!!

Lake Tahoe, CA

4 Hot Mamas x 4 Cute Hubbies =
16 Adorable Children

Mari Goerlich, Jen Murray, Gen McNulty and Suz Steece

Having Fun In the Mountains & Sun

Who's That Girl?

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: 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