A pool, a picnic, and presents!

This weekend we were reunited with my cousin Glenda, who lived with us last summer but spent this summer as an intern in Hawaii. We missed her lots and were thrilled to have her spend a couple of days with us before she begins her (gulp!) senior year in college.

Three things we loved about her visit:

1. SWIMMING ...

Glenda arrived on Friday afternoon, and as soon as the Fab Four had their snack, we loaded them into the Choo Choo for their first trek to the neighborhood pool. Three out of four kids loved the baby pool (Jude tolerated it after initially refusing to get in), no one drowned (despite a couple of accidental dunkings for Isaac and Lucy), and there was only one meltdown (you guessed it: Dahlia didn't want to leave)!

2. REUNIONS ...

On Saturday morning, Glenda accompanied the six of us to our first NICU reunion picnic. The hospital where I delivered the Fab Four holds this event every year so that the wonderful people who cared for these miracle babies can see how everyone has grown since being released from their ward. We were happily surprised to run into some friends as soon as we got to the park, and Glenda snapped this shot of two healthy sets of quads with four very thankful parents:

The Fab Four meet the Murray Crew
(l to r: Isaac, Clark, Henry, and Brooks)

Although it turned out that our kids were too young to enjoy most of the picnic activities, it was still fun to walk around, talk to friends, and just do something different from our usual routine. Before we left, we ran into the kids' two primary care nurses, and Glenda once again stepped in to record a special meeting:

Gretchen and Amanda reunite with the Fab Four

Although Ted and I could have easily handled the outing on our own, it was nice to share the experience with Glenda, who visited the babies in the NICU and spent several months helping us take care of them last year.

And last but not least ...

3. SOUVENIRS!

The first thing Glenda did when she got to the house on Friday was to produce a box of presents. Among the gifts she brought us were four adorable Hawaiian outfits for the kids ... that I totally forgot to have them model while she was here. Oops! Hopefully these pictures, taken after she went home, will make up for my faux pas:

Dahlia and Lucy, in love with their beautiful muumuus

Jude and Isaac, goofing around in their Hawaiian shirt sets

Thanks for making this such a fun weekend, Tia Glenda!