Party On, Gen...Party On, Suz!

(BTW- Gen and I did not discuss what we would blog, nor what we would name our seperate posts...make sure and take a look at her recap of our weekend as well. FREAKING hilarious how much we are alike! Same title...same verbiage throughout. Hysterical)

Long before I met my internet-quad-mama-best-friend for the first time in Lake Tahoe, CA (June 2008)...



I was dying to meet the McNulty 4 in person!

This past weekend, my dream became reality! The moment I found out Genny was going to need a hysterectomy at the ripe old age of 31, I was making plans to fly out there and take care of her...(ya know, considering I'm a quad mom AND surgical/recovery nurse!) But NOOOO! G just HAD to get that utie out and was scheduled for the ONLY weekend in 2010 that I absolutely could not make it...(my brother-in-law's wedding weekend). Tsk, Tsk, woman. ;)

But it worked out even better because we modified plans for Auntie Suz to celebrate the McNulty quads' 4th birthday in the sunshine state- just a couple of weeks later!!!! Let me just tell you...one of the BEST WEEKENDS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE! It was SO special to experience the day-to-day life of Gen, Conor, Ally, Russ, Libby, and Molly McNulty.


We went to the river right behind their house in their AWESOME neighborhood...



...stopped along the way to inspect EVERY, and I mean E-V-E-R-Y insect that we happened to cross paths with (Here we are saying hello to Mr. Caterpillar for about 10 minutes! Cracked me up...the kids are SO precious) AND- might I add that Penny is the BEST DOG EVER?! LOVE HER.



We played on the neighborhood jungle gym (Russ, Molly, Ally, Libby) and ran errands for the big birthday party that was the next day. I enjoyed just being a part of "the average, stereo-typical McNulty" day.



Friday night, I was finally able to meet my absolute FAVORITE hot mama of triplets---none other than Casey Quilao! We had the perfect dinner night out at Benihana (thank you, Conor- for holding down the fort!)...holy freakin' cow. AMAZING food! and even BETTER company. ;) Awwwww. Seriously, CQ- you are one of the coolest, most down-to-earth chicks I have ever met. I told Joe that you are a gal that I could spend every single second with for months, and never get tired of. Love you 2 pieces....not to mention those beeeeeautiful, precious little girls!



ADORABLE. And SOOOO well behaved. Little ladies. I told Casey that I wasn't going to believe one word she says about temper tantrums and fighting. Uh-uh. Nope. Not these angels! ;) LOVE. THEM.



Saturday was the BIG Birthday Party at the McNulty casa. I don't know who's idea it was to have it at the house---but it was pure genius. Every one had a great time, especially Princess Penny. ;)



The Birthday Kiddos and Auntie Suz. Gosh. I seriously love these guys as if they were my own.

Cute story: the girls (especially Lil' Libs) would constantly come up to me and ask for more lipstick. They would all gather around me and watch me put on make-up...requesting everything I applied. At one point, Gen told them to "stop bothering" me...and I was like, "G, are you KIDDING?!! I am LOVING this!!! 3 girly girls who enjoy watching me put on make up?...who let me pretty-them-up?!" SO much fun. Sav would be in estrogenic-heaven.


Party peeps...aka: my new buddies! It is NO surprise whatsoever that the Mac's are surrounded by amazing friends and family.



And here she is, folks---the wonderful, strong woman who single-handedly made Genevieve Caridi McNulty the incredible Mommy that she is today. I LOOOOOOOOVE you, Nani Donsie. Such a blessing to finally meet and hug in person!!! You are breathtakingly beautiful- both inside and out, exactly how I imagined you. Thank you for raising your daughter to be one heck of a lady.



Sweet Gramp...I wanted to take him home with me.



11 kids between the 3 of us! Casey, Me, Gen



Molly came running up to me after the opening of the presents, almost out of breath and cried, "Auntie Suz! Auntie Suz! I have shoes just like YOU!" I just about died...she is so adorable!

Perfect party...good times. Sunday morning, Gen and I were headed to San Francisco & Berkeley. A girls' only trip to see where G went to college and spent a good chunk of her adult life (pre-quads). We had a friggin' BLAST and it was beyond special to share in her sweet memories. I even got to see where Conor proposed in the rain!


But first things first...I just HAD to try one of these "IN-N-OUT" Burgers that every one and their dog has told me about. OH. MY. GOOD. GOSH. I have died and gone to heaven. HOOOOOLY COOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IN-N-OUT attendant: "Will you be eating in the car or taking it home?" (insert Suz chuckling at the absurdity of the question) "Uhhhh....CAR PLEASE!" Gotta be kiddin' me. They give you a tray to set on your lap and everything. I have dreams of: double-double, "animal-style", no tomatoes, large fries, large Root Beer. Oh yes, and you had better believe that I looked it up: THE FRANCHISE IS COMING TO TEXAS!!! YEEEE HAWWW!


A little shoppin' down the infamous Haight Street with my Cali girl showin' me all the hippie-lovin' hot spots.



Gen also took me by her alma-mater (USF), where she & C met for the first time. The campus was beautiful! We drove through the city...Chinatown, Little Italy...



and ended up at the infamous Pier 39 and Fishermans Wharf. LOOK! There's Alcatraz!!! I thought that was SO cool.



Awwww...Pier 39's Sea Lions are SO bloody cute!



After some fresh calamari and sugary donuts...we headed to our hotel room to get ready for dinner. That's right. Did I mention that Conor put us up for the night in Berkeley? Freaking awesome. Thanks C-Dawg!



Yummmm....Sushi at Kirala!



SOOOOOOOO GOOD!



and then back to the hotel for some good old fashioned bed jumping! (Kids, do NOT try this at home) OMG. Gen and I have never laughed so hard in our lives. I gave Gen a T-shirt as a gag gift (take a closer look) and wanted to snap some fun pictures... while trying to get airborne... setting the camera on timer. It takes 3 pictures right in a row---like a photobooth...FUN TIMES! HUGE NERDS.


Check out this slideshow and I dare you not to laugh outloud!...especially when we both fall off the bed at different times...




BEST. TRIP. EVERRRRRRRRRR.


So, the next morning (Monday) we headed back into Sac-town and I packed up for my long flight home. We all said our good-byes and Gen, the quads, and even Penny piled into the burb to take me to the airport. {Sniff, sniff}. After checking in my bag, I proceed to the gate where I was to receive my boarding pass and...


DENIED! OOOO...OUCH! Don't cha love it when airlines over-sell their flights? How is that even legal? Awesome.


No more flights to Dallas that day, but my suitcase sure as heck made it on the plane. Go figure. Is it sad that the first thing that popped into my head (after I had calmed down), was: "YAAAAAAY! Now I can eat IN-N-OUT again!" And then of course, overwhelming joy that I would be spending yet another night with my besties! ;)

We took it easy Monday night because we had to wake up super, insanely, early (4:45am to be exact) to head to the airport the next morning. Any flights before 7am should be illegal, if you ask me- I'm just sayin'. Gen was such a trooper!---being the non-morning person that she is. God love her. And after several plane changes and layovers, I finally made it home-- with my luggage sitting in Dallas waiting for me. (Pheww)


I already missed the McNulty 6. :( But was also super excited to see my little munchkins as well! I can't count how many times Joe said that it was "so good to have you home"...always great when Daddy has to take care of the kids without you...a whole new-found appreciation for what I do on a daily basis. (smile)

And I can't post without thanking all the people who made this trip possible: Joe, Joyce, Shirley, Dids, Kate, Jess, Ed, Ashley...thank you SO much. I love you more than you will ever know. You rock my socks off and I appreciate your time, your energy, your love...YOU ALL, so much.


To Genevieve, my identical-twin-sista-from-anutha-mutha:

Umm...so yah, I didn't think that I would start crying while I type this part out (I'm not a cryer, remember? tee hee)...but I'm already tearing up at the first couple of words. You mean the friggin' WORLD to me. I think your mom said it best when she praised God for the blessing of bringing you and me into each others lives. We say it all the time, but I honestly don't know what I would do without you. You are the laughter on my crazy days...the sunshine on my dark days...and the beauty on my ugliest of days. Thank you for loving me, just the way I am (and my entire family for that matter).

This weekend was perfect. Absolutely perfect in every way. You were an unbelievably gracious host and super fun travel-companion. ;) Thanks for the boisterous, belly laughs and unforgettable memories. They will forever be cherished. With many more to follow...

I love you, girlfriend.

"Exes and O's",