brave, take 2

Anytime I take these four girls anywhere by myself is a test of bravery.

Yesterday's bravery started with picking them up from school. Making sure they all got zipped into their coats. That each one had a backpack. And everyone was holding someone's hand as we navigated the parking lot.

Tysen immediately asked if we could go to McDonald's for lunch. Tessa quickly added, "The one with the slides." Shame on the McDonald's RIGHT NEXT TO their school which doesn't have a play place.

Which leads to the next act of bravery: riding in the car with these girls and their questions and stories for half an hour as we drove to a McDonald's with slides.

Kenzi wanted to know if their great-grandpa Buck was wearing shoes in heaven and if he had a nickname like "Mr. Silly Pants". Kaylee said when she got to heaven she was going to make him cupcakes, which prompted Tysen to say "I don't like pizza." Tessa then asked how many people are on earth and if 7 billion people would fit in her house as long as no giants showed up.

Arriving at McDonald's required another parking-lot-everyone-hold-someone's-hand-I-wish-I-had-eyes-on-the-side-of-my-head challenge. Followed by me praying they wouldn't sit down and eat french fries with strangers while I ordered 3 cheeseburgers with no mustard, 6 nuggets, extra barbecue sauce, two large fries, and 4 waters while stocking up on ketchup and napkins. Lots of napkins.

As soon as we sat down Tessa had to go the bathroom. Which reminded Kenzi she had to go. NOW. And Tysen too. But not Kaylee. She wanted french fries. So I bravely tried to keep hands from touching anything too gross in the kids bathroom, sinks from being stopped up, hand sanitizer out of eyes, pants pulled up and buttoned before exiting the bathroom, and one eye on Kaylee making sure she didn't choke on her sandwich.

After an hour of slides came possibly the bravest act of the day. Taking them all to the grocery store. I got my work out in pushing 120+ pounds through an icy parking lot, then up and down the aisles looking for "four things so we can each hold one". Not to mention talking to every person in the store who has a twin, a premie, or knows someone who knows someone who has triplets but finds quads unimaginable.

The easiest part of the day was taking them back to my house for a game of hide and seek. We did lose Tysen for a while--long enough for her to wet her pants (she's really committed to hiding)--but we found her in time to get them all home for dinner. And you can bet that Aunt Katie slept well last night!

Being brave with these girls is worth every laugh, every worry, every challenging question, and every hug. I'm looking forward to a year of bravery with these soon-to-be 5 year olds!