Our whole purpose for turning the seats around was that we decided to take a road trip and head up to beautiful Lake Tahoe for the day.
Steve and I have never been stupid enough brave enough to take the girls very far. There is a long list of reasons why. Here are a few of the reasons I can think of off the top of my head:
- The girls still take 2 naps a day and at this age, it's pretty much impossible for them to nap unless they are at home in their cribs.
- We are outnumbered.
- We almost need a small trailer to take all their necessary gear along with us.
- The word "trip" implies some version of a vacation. Taking a trip anywhere with 2 year old triplets is not a vacation. It is WORK. Even if we are only going 2 miles in our own neighborhood to visit my brother.
- No place is toddler-proof....which is usually manageable when you only have 1 toddler to watch. In our case, broken collectibles and knick-knacks is pretty much a guarantee. And it's always fun when the people we are visiting have pets. It's amazing how fast the girls find the cat litter box and pet food that is meant to be eaten by the pet, not them.
Being the naive smart mother that I am, I planned for us to leave around 10:30 in the morning, the usual time that the girls go down for their nap. It would be perfect. They would sleep the whole way there and wake up feeling happy and refreshed.
Who was I kidding? The girls were more interested in pinching playing with each other on the way up that they had little time for sleep.
Riley did yell out "night-night" repeatedly on the way there.
She probably meant it more like, "Hey idiot parents, you know this is my nap time right? You know it's not pretty when I don't get my nap, but go ahead and keep driving if you want. I'm fine with acting like a fool in front of complete strangers out in public. Screaming.....crying, it's all good."
Both Riley and Makena, finally fell asleep when we drove into Tahoe. A 30-minute catnap was all they got.
For most of the ride, the girls were happy to ham it up for the camera!
Steve and I changed the girls into their swimsuits and hurried out to the beach. Alyssa, who was napless at this point, was ready to lose it any minute and was crying to get out of the stroller.
The picture below was the only one I took of the girls on the beach.
We were too busy chasing the girls around. It seems they aren't the least bit afraid of freezing cold lake water that knocks them down with each wave that comes to shore.
I was hoping that the girls would be happy to play in the sand. Envisioning that they would play at our feet for hours making sand castles or just filling and emptying their buckets.
The sand held their interest for 30 seconds.
They were much happier running towards the water that was too deep and cold. Our beach fun lasted for a little over an hour.
Luckily, we have another reason to visit Lake Tahoe. My Aunt Laurie and Uncle Bob live there and we decided to further test our napless toddlers by stopping by for a visit on our way back home.
I gave full disclosure before we stepped foot onto the property that I could not be held responsible for any crying, screaming, biting, or tantrum-throwing behavior that our beautiful children might display.
Lucky for us, Laurie and Bob have a beautiful back yard that kept the girls entertained. They immediately found the horse and doggy statues that were the perfect size for my 2 year old toddlers!
And who knew that the dog cage could provide so much entertainment? It was also the perfect size for my 2 year old toddlers. Steve and I were tempted to leave ther girls there and head to the casino for a buffet dinner.
Food, water and shelter all in one enclosed area.
I don't think Murphy, the dog, would have been too happy about the 3 intruders playing with her stuff.
Murphy even got to come out and play with the girls for awhile. She licked the girls every chance she got!
The girls were angels while we visited Bob and Laurie.
It seems they were bottling it all up for the car ride home. They only screamed cried for 45 minutes to an hour. I thought Makena's head was going to start spinning though...she was THAT upset.
Riley conked out about 1/2 way home and slept through the hysterical antics of her sisters.
Makena finally calmed down by playing with a container of playdough.
Steve looked at me like I was crazy for giving it her. He reminded me that I wasn't the one who cleaned out the car that morning. Apparently he had to do quite a bit of scraping to get the crusty goldfish and grapes off the back of the seats that had been smashed there for months.
I also heard the words, "We're never doing this again" come out of his mouth at some point in the day. At that time, I was in full agreement.
But when I look at pictures like this...my memory is totally wiped of all the work and drama that goes along with being a triplet mommy. It's only been 24 hours and I am ready to pack them up and head out on another adventure.
Only if we get to come home and put the girls down for bed in their own cribs.
I'm still smart enough to know that there isn't enough vodka and pineapple juice around to keep me sane if we tried an overnight trip.
