4,687

Before I go on about the weekend I want to take a moment and tell you all how much I appreciated your votes on the Circle of Moms Top 25 Parents of Multiples contest. We flippin WON! We'd never entered any contests before, and frankly, we entered this one on a whim, a suggestion by my cousin Jenna. We had no idea how much fun it would become. Because so many of you kept voting, it kept us motivated to keep on promoting it. I've now seen firsthand the power of networking via Facebook and Twitter as well as the good ol' telephone, as so many of you were so gracious to post the link on your pages which YOUR friends then posted on their pages, and so on and so forth. We knew all along there wasn't a grand prize at the end but it totally didn't matter! It was something to do for a month, something to anticipate every few hours, and something to unite us! I absolutely loved the camaraderie it created! I don't know who you all are who voted, but 4,687? You're amazing! We are humbled.

The best part is the competition (though it hardly seems fair to consider fellow mothers of multiples competition, cuz really, aren't we kind of all on the same team??) But hey, that's what makes any race worth running right? A competitor so good they keep you on your toes and make you want to do better! The Great Umbrella Heist was one of the first blogs I ever started following and I love her girls to pieces. The McLeary Quads I didn't find until the contest, but now I'm hooked! And there were SO many new blogs I found and have become rapidly addicted to as well! So hey, another reason it was all worth it! So there. That's my politically correct "acceptance speech." Now let me tell you the more humorous side of things.

Let me not sugar coat this. The last 5 hours of the contest were flippin hilarious! You would've thought there was a million dollar prize waiting for us at the end the way my friends and family campaigned for votes. No joke. My dad texted me no less than 20 times that last day with updates as to how many votes we were ahead or behind. But in his spare moments he made it a point to call all of his clients and suggest they read our blog and vote for it! For him, it was a way to make positive contacts with people he hadn't talked to in a while. He could seriously be a great campaign manager to someone. My mom had done the same thing weeks earlier with all her friends! And then there were my beloved friends and family who were repeatedly posting the link on their FB pages reminding their friends to vote if they hadn't yet that day. The pace the whole day was frantic because those McLeary quads were keeping up an equally feverish pace! It was awesome! As excited as I was at 5:00 when we ended the contest in 1st by 36 votes, I was immediately sad that it was over! Hmmm...perhaps we'll find another contest somewhere!

Anyhoo, thanks again for all the love and thank you specifically to the McCleary Quads and The Great Umbrella Heist for such a fun month! As they would say at the Oscar's..."I share this honor with you!" hee hee..."I am humbled to be in your company!" (Well it's true.)

Now moving on to my weekend. My best friend Jen's daughter Ava turned 1 this weekend! We went to Phoenix to celebrate! I know I told you yesterday about the margarita/daiquiri machines, the keg the food,etc. but now I'll leave you with some photos of the kids...

L to R: Colton, Ethan, Hunter, Ava (yes, she's so smart, she's playing the Wii)

Child proofing. Gotta love it. Ava is none too pleased that her mommy is locking her out of all her fun places!

Who doesn't love a good watermelon?

No joke. Best toy in the house. 4 watermelons.

Sweet Ava! I miss you already!

My big kids eating at the table with no booster seats. :(

Ethan was hard at work. I think he had a conference call or something.

Best part though is the screensaver...go ahead and look at the screen. There were bubbles floating all over! He was IN HEAVEN! You could hear him from the other room yelling "Bubboos!"

In case you had ever wondered how a mother of triplet could possibly have lost so much weight so quickly, here is part of your answer. Leg lifts with a child on top. Up, down, up, down, up down. (And then don't forget that what one child does, the other two want to do too!)

So we may or may not have forgotten to actually put the 1st birthday crown on Ava during her party, but have no fear, Colton the poser put it on! He's ready to celebrate!

And now, let's talk about my frat boys. I was in a sorority. I KNOW what goes on frat houses. I regret to inform you that my boys fit the mold...

Here is Colton learning to play Beer Pong with some random guys.

And here is Ethan tapping the keg.

So proud...so proud..

We had a great weekend and a super fun party!

And then there's my Hunter anecdote for the day. She already knows how to spell her first name, so I thought I'd introduce her to our last name. I wrote it with sidewalk chalk and she spelled it aloud. I said, "Your name is Hunter Bunch." To which she spent the rest of the day repeating, "I Hunter Buch." Shortly after, she began to name the rest of the family, "Coco Buch, Etan Buch, Daddy Buch, Mommy Buch, Pipa Buch, Manny Buch." Hold up.

Manny Buch? Who the heck is Manny?

Oh, right. And there you have it. Manny Bunch. :)

And if you're counting like me, we're T minus 2 days until we depart for Kansas City for the adventure of our lives. Tonight, we tested out the 'Traveling Toddler' straps as we rolled the kids around the house. All I can say is it worked like a charm!! Look out airport, the Bunches are rolling in!

And now, I'm going to relax. No more contests, no more Blog-a-days, just...nothing. It's been fun! I thank you again for joining us this month! I'm already looking forward to the next Blog-a-day challenge!