First Vacation and City Strolling

We made it all the way from Ethiopia to Kansas with just us and three babies and little hitch and yet now a simple jaunt to the store seems like too much work. So last Saturday a group of international adopters met in Kansas City to share experience and Ethiopian food. Jerry and I took this opportunity to finally get brave (again) and spent the weekend in the city. Then came our first dinner out with three babies (three LOUD babies) in a crowded city . . . where’s that wine, hurry!? Phew . . . it went great, the babies had a blast and many restaurants and crowds later, I rate it as a great mini-vacation; our first family vacation. The trick is to eat at loud places where cries and screams are muffled, with roomy floors to maneuver a couple of strollers through, and populated by young people who don’t care much about babies, even triplets. And the babies were always good when we kept strolling or riding.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. So all I have is the babes in car seats in our minivan (oh, I know, it’s embarrassing, really, I’m not a soccer mom . . . the van was cheap, used, and we rarely drive it and there was just no way we were going to fit three car seats in our little car . . . we tried . . . oh, BTW, we actually turned down one van we looked at for the very fact that it actually had a soccer decal on the side window!); and below is Jerry in his groovy shirt with the babes in strollers. Note, we do not always separate Tsega like this; we rotate who sits where.

About these strollers, love them! They are Instep Safari Swivel Strollers, a double and a single. We got jogging strollers because they are smooth, lightweight, and the best at maneuvering since the single front tire swivels all around so they turn on a dime. And where we live all-terrain is a must. The best part is, they are not something from Dr. Seuss like our older stroller (see previous post for picture) so we can more easily walk through crowds either without notice or they don't realize what happened until we're already past. We still got attention and it’s mostly all good, but I feel much more relaxed now out in public. It’s actually pretty cool when you’re waiting to cross the street and people shout “too much cuteness!” at you from their cars (referring to the babies, or maybe they were talking about Jerry and me . . . ?), or a street vendor yells out, “I love your babies!”. The only bad comment came from a nut bag who old Jerry he should shave his beard (never!).

Before we left Jerry gets out a bag and announces he is taking this particular bag. I thought it looked heavy like it was already occupied. So I take a look and totally scream when I see a baby inside. Wasn't expecting that! (Sira doesn't look happy being screamed at.)

Since I flaked on pictures, here's another poor quality video to see these high quality boys in action.

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