Good Timin’ it in Tucson with 18 BFFs

In the weeeee hours of Thursday morning of October 14th,

 

the McNultys, Goerlichs, and Steeces headed across country to our desert rendezvous in Tucson, AZ!

 

We had to break up the 15 hour drive with a nice, long breakfast break at good ‘ole Mickie D’s in Midland, TX. The quads were able to run and play for about an hour before we hit the road again.

 

Time to switch drivers…here’s Joe behind the wheel…armed with Sunflower seeds, coffee, and sports radio.

 

after hours and hours of endless road, tons of truckers, Immigration checkpoints…

 

oh, and the occasional tantrum or two…

 

(Ummm…what’s that Sav?…Sorry, I can’t hear you thanks to these awesome earplugs from Grammy & Grampy!)

 

…we finally arrived in ARIZONA!

 

Some of our besties met us at the door!!! Boy were we glad to see you, Goerlichs!!! Nothing like good ‘ole fashioned curbside assistance.

 

That evening we set out for a dining experience at a local Mexican restaurant…loved watching the kiddos holding hands  and catching up!

 

The next morning the kids went downstairs to try out the Sheraton pool (while Mama caught up on her sleep!) When I saw this pic of Mari’s- I immediately thought that it should be an advertisement for Puddle Jumpers! Ha!

 

After a nice nap (yes, all 8 kids in one room)- the Mac 6 had arrived!!! Yaaaay!

 

We still needed to waste some time before our rental property would be available- so Mari, our travel agent extraordinaire, found this little gem of a place: Trail Dust Town. FREEEEAKING AWESOME!

 

The kids (and Daddies) had a blast running around the square, chasing each other---lots of laughs!

 

Conor---playing with our 3 little guys…wondering what life would be like with more testosterone in the house.

 

Chris and Mari- gathering the quads for a nice game of “ring-around-the-fountain”…always checking over their shoulders to make sure that Drew hasn’t disappeared for the 4th time that afternoon.

 

McNultys and Steeces unite!

 

After scoping out our amazing house!!!!- we started a quick movie (it was a scary part for Ben- doesn’t take much) before putting the kids down for the night.

 

I looked over and saw sweet Sav and precious Mo-Mo sharing a seat. Aren’t they cute? Like 2 long-lost friends.

 

I was laughing as I was going through all of our pics---there are hardly ANY of the adults! We LOVED playing with the kids throughout the day, but definitely looked forward to nighttime- when we could play games and chat and catch up! We were having too much fun to stop and take pictures.

 

 

Conor teaching the little dudes how to play some pool. (or scolding them for playing too rough? It’s a toss-up!)

 

Never a dull moment…”Hey Ally--- you seen that 4 ball…what about Joe’s Aggie hat?”

 

I caught lil’ Libs sharing her horses with Savi…it’s the little things that I hate that our kids never get to do together- like weekly play dates or a trip to the zoo together, etc. It was so special to witness these priceless moments over the weekend.

 

This  was tooooo adorable! The McNultys and Goerlichs were going for a walk, when Sav came running inside with huge crocodile tears. She wanted to go on the nature walk too! So, I quickly slapped on some shoes and sent her out the door. Mari captured Molly’s excitement to see her buddy running up to the group! Awwww. Seriously melts my heart.

 

Auntie Gen- teaching the little ones about that tricky cactus that has the ability to jump out and grab you while on your daily jog. (tsk, tsk)

 

So precious. Friends for life.

 

Getting ready for another  big group walk. Sav somehow scored Auntie Mari’s awesome fedora and came running up to me with the biggest grin on her face.

 

Roll call! Sound off: “Russ, Ally, Libby, Molly, Noah, Sophia, Russ, Cohen, Sav, Ethan, Ben, Andrew”

 

Group hug! (LOVE Russ and Finn in this pic!)

 

The kids LOVED stopping and looking at all of the neat Halloween decorations. (Ben wasn’t too sure about the big black cat)

 

What? Its almost time to put the munchkins down for the night?!! Yeeeeee-hawwww!!!!!

 

We spent lots of time in the backyard pool! Here are the girls---just havin’ a little girl-talk. SO CUTE!

 

The Dads- rough-housing in the water. (Conor with Drew, Joe with Ethan, Chris with Molly)

 

2 full moons!

 

A couple of chicken-fights

 

I’m telling you the truth---having 3 sets of quads ages 4, 3, & 3- was not hard at all. There was a never-ending stash of snacks that we would freely hand out constantly throughout the day. This night we made a huge pot of mac-n-cheese! Bon Appetite!

 

Heading out to the park---Sav sharing her pony-pom-poms with her BFF (Molly). The height difference cracks me up- Molly the tallest, and Savi the shortest. Gen told me that Molly ran over to her after I took this picture and said, “Mom~ I’m really tall!” SO FLIPPIN CUTE!

 

Load ‘em up and head ‘em out! (like a herd of well-trained cattle)

 

A sight to see, I’m sure…

 

Oh wait…where’s Ethan and Andrew? That’s right…at the very end of the line. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. I’m not kidding when I say that my kids have zero stamina. Our friends witnessed it first hand! lol

 

Such a cool park! How far did you say it was, Conor? 26.2 miles?

 

Quadling shadow puppets

 

“Who LOVES suckers?!!!” (as we bribe them for yet another group photo)

 

Alright…everyone is walking out of the park- starting the walk back to the house…but wait, where are Ethan and Andrew?…That’s right- back at the gate, staring at who-knows-what. In their own little world, I tell ya.

 

We knew the walk back would be a grizzly one for the Steece crew. Good thing Auntie Gen, aka- the ox, was there to carry 2 of my children while holding the hands of 2 of her own. Cracks me up. Don’t ever mess with G. Mac. Seriously---she is one tough cookie. Just look at those calves!     (I love you)

 

Balloon fight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great idea, Auntie Mari!

 

 

“The Matrix” (Drew) sure does love his “yogurt popsicles” (I thought it would be fitting to sneak this one in there…no tellin’ where this guy might pop up)

 

 

Mari and me, sittin’ with our boys

 

and here is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PICTURE FROM THE ENTIRE WEEKEND:

 

LOVE. IT.

 

LOVE. THEM.

 

We thank God for the blessing of you all, in our lives. This trip was one that we will remember for a lifetime. We absolutely cannot wait to see what 2011 has in store for our crazy eighteen!

 

(Don’t forget to check out Gen’s post and Mari’s video from our weekend---awesomeness! I also have LOADS of video that I need to sort through. Priceless footage!)