Family of Stalkers!

I have always teased Rachel about being her biggest stalker. I am starting to wonder if there is some truth to my stalking abilities. It seems I am raising three stalkers, so they must have gotten that from me! Rachel might be safe when she comes here next week, but she might want to warn Hopkins that he is NOT safe!

On Saturday I took the four kids the Summerlin Hospital NICU reunion. We have attended every year since the boys were released. I owe their lives to those doctors and nurses and I love showing Robert, Noah, and Matthew off to everyone.

I thought I had everything under control that morning. I decided to trim their hair (please understand I had $8 scissors to work with) and then give baths in the morning. I had everyone dressed and ready to go right on schedule. I was doing GREAT! This was the first year that my boys weren't supposed to be napping during this event. They were READY to have a good time! I remember that long drive to the hospital, all too well. It's on the opposite side of the city from where I live. I remember traveling back and forth for the lovely 98 days that they were in the NICU.

As I was pulling off of the highway, within minutes of the hospital, it finally hit me. My wagon was in the garage! I have always kept the wagon in the back of my van, but I had taken it out for Catie to use this week. I was about to go to a party with four kids on the loose, one of which thinks he can conquer the world now that he has started walking. I decided that I could do it! I had visions of my boys actually holding hands with me and their sister. As we got out of the van, everything was going perfectly. Leigha held hands with Robert and Noah and I helped Matthew navigate his way from the back of the parking lot to the event. I was ever so cheerful to see that this event was OUTSIDE on the EDGE of a PARKING LOT. OMG!! Everything was still okay, that was until we got inside where I had to check them in. One of the doctors came up to us to say hi and off they went, giggling as they ran away from me in different directions. Poor Leigha was ordered around to fetch someone, ANYONE, and corral them back to me.

Once we headed back outside, that was it. It was going to be hopeless. There is no need to keep my children from the Easter Bunny (wish I had known that last month when I decided not to take them) or Santa Claus. My kids were MAGNETS to the characters in attendance. Do they really look scared of the big furry creatures?!





I knew I couldn't expect Leigha to stay glued to her brothers the entire time, so every time I thought I had them under control, I sent her off to do something fun. The first thing she wanted to do was to get get her face painted. On the side that's not showing, she had a beautiful rainbow.




The next stop was to get cotton candy. I was hoping the boys wouldn't be tempted to take a bite and find out how much THEY would love it, too. Thankfully, there was no way that I could indulge on anything since I had to keep the escaped convicts near my side.



Please take note of the two triplet strollers in the background of the picture. Dr. Asadifar joked around that we should just have a triplet reunion. I had never seen triplets before my kids were born. There were three sets of triplets in the NICU at one point during our stay. I have met so many triplet families that it just amazes me.

In the mean time, I lost my boys more times than I could count. If I couldn't see them, I started looking for one of the four characters. Sure enough, one of my boys (if not all of them) were under their foot.


There were times that my children tried to follow a character into the building or parking lot. That was a bit scary. I guess I have to have a talk with them about leaving with a hairy creature.



Leigha's last treat of the day was a snow cone. They kept offering the boys one and I told them that they didn't have a chance in hell of getting their hands on one. Leigha gladly shared with her brothers, after I told her she could get refills. Robert wouldn't leave the poor stand. I finally knew where Robert was for the next half hour--standing by the syrup pumps with the most pitiful expression of innocence on his face. Nice try, Robert!

All in all, we had a fabulous day. There were some hairy moments, when I couldn't see the boys, but everyone had a great time.


Every year the kids get a gift from the NICU. The first year they received t-shirts with a giraffe on it. Last year they received plain shirts with iron-ons that they could color. This year they received backpacks! They loved their new backpacks and wore them around the house for the rest of the day.