Sixteen Candles

Being that today, February 21, 2019 is the 16th birthday of my favorite triplets, I wanted to share with you all a little story from our past that still brings a smile to my face whenever I see a certain McDonald’s product advertised.

After seeing Disney’s live-action Cinderella and then eating lunch at Red Robin, the triplets and I decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach in Oceanside, so we packed our beach bags, loaded them in the car and took off.

The drive to Oceanside can be a bit lengthy at times and in order to maintain order I opted to make a pitstop at the McDonald’s along our route so that the four of us could indulge ourselves in what is McDonald’s second best seasonal offering: The Shamrock Shake. Obviously McDonald’s best seasonal offering is the McRib – the only way it could be better would be for it to be available year round! Anyway, I digress, with each of us holding a Shamrock Shake in hand we continued on our path to Oceanside beach.

This particular voyage was in the early days of my relationship with the triplets and during this time I would rotate each of them in the front seat to ensure that everyone felt that they were getting their fair share of coveted front seat time. On this particular trip Garrett was sitting up front while Logan and Gabby sat in the back. Not long after I cancelled this front seat rotation because it became increasingly clear that one of them sat up front better than the other two, which is why Logan became my co-pilot, while Gabby and Garrett took their seats in the back as permanent passengers.

As we progressed down California State Route 76 sipping steadily on our Shamrock Shakes enjoying one another’s company and the music of Britney Spears something highly unfortunate happened that completely altered the remainder of our drive and our lives forever.

Gabby started screaming and hollering as if she were in the worst pain of her entire life. Her screams of agony had mine and Garrett’s head whipping back around to see what was happening and the sight that met our eyes was worse than anything I think either of us could possibly have imagined.

Gabby had dropped her Shamrock Shake.

Her formerly nearly-full shake was now a spread of mint green, soupy chaos all over her legs and seat. The cold from the ice cream was causing her to squirm and worm about in agony. She had raised her body as much above the seat as the seat belt would allow and now the entire area where she would normally be sitting resembled a swampy basin. She was crying out in discomfort and loss, but because she understood the value of the Shamrock Shake, she proceeded to scoop the shake remains up in her palms and eat it by hand. This rapid motion of shake grabbing caused the shamrock swamp to spread beyond its seat formed bowl causing Logan to holler, “GABBY! KEEP IT ON YOUR SIDE!”

As I handed Gabby napkin after napkin from my glovebox encouraging her to use them to wipe up the mess rather than eating it I took notice of Garrett who had taken to filming the entire incident.

“Garrett!” I hissed, “quit filming your sister!”

“GAAARRRRRREEETTTTTT!” Screamed Gabby. “QUIT FILMING ME!” She cried looking more pitiful than she had at any moment prior in this now two minute ordeal.

Safe driving was no longer a viable option with all the chaos happening inside the car cabin, so I pulled over, took Garrett’s phone away, and started helping Gabby wipe up the mess. I handed Logan a couple napkins and instructed him to do the same. Although each of them helped wipe up the shamrock swamp, they did so quite begrudgingly. Obviously, Logan felt that he shouldn’t have to help clean up Gabby’s mess, and Gabby knew that each napkin swipe meant her emerald enjoyment was over.

Once we had the chaos cleaned the best we could without any cleaning supplies, Gabby had the audacity to ask me, “can we go to another McDonald’s and get me another shake?”

“Girl, you must have lost your mind for asking me that question,” I replied giving her a look of disbelief.

“But please!” She responded.

“No, we’re almost to the beach,” I said as I turned back around and started up the car.

“Come on, please!” She echoed.

“Gabby, the only way you’re getting more Shamrock Shake is if one of your brother’s shares with you what’s left of theirs,” I said as I drove back onto the road.

“Guess she’s not getting anymore Shamrock Shake then,” Garrett said with a sly little smile.

“GAAARRRRRREEETTTTTT!” Gabby screamed as she swiped the back of his seat causing all of us, including her, to laugh out loud.

This is one of about a million memories I share with those three and for as long as I live I will never be able to see a Shamrock Shake advertisement without recalling the events that unfolded that afternoon on the CA-76.

Two years ago, when the three of them graduated the eighth grade, I gave each of them a personalized Coca-Cola bottle with the nickname I reserved for each of them. Those names are just as applicable today as they were then and I cannot wait to share why.

Logan’s is, as I previously mentioned, “Co-Pilot.” He would always turn my seat heater on when needed, adjust the temperature accordingly, knew his way all around Temecula when I often didn’t have a clue, and always knew what Britney song to play, he was the perfect co-pilot and that is why he always sat up front. His co-pilot role isn’t reserved to the car though, he is always a voice of reason and greatly balanced in his decision-making skills. Logan is a natural born leader and now that he is sixteen I am eager for the apprentice to become the master. After he gets his license June 1st my days of driving in California are about to come to a screeching halt and I couldn’t be happier.

Garrett’s is SBG or “Sweet Baby Garrett.” Although you maybe couldn’t infer from the story, he is one of the sweetest boys in the whole world and my blog would be a fraction of what it is without his technical savvy. Garrett is one of the most honest and ethical people I have ever known and he is a information technology genius, which is why he is the only person apart from me, who has complete and total access to my webpage. He updates all the plug-ins, changes the colors, acquired ads (which we later lost for whatever unknown reason), and so much more, but everything apart from the writing Garrett runs on verybeneficial.net and he runs it well. He has been instrumental to my blogging success and I am beyond grateful and thankful for him.

Gabby’s is “Gabby Mercier.” Mercier is the last name of her future husband and Logan’s best friend, Colsen. While on the surface it may seem like her pseudonym is wholly dependant upon a man, the truth is anything but. If Gabby were a Disney Princess she would undoubtedly be more of a Mulan than a Snow White. She isn’t in need of a prince to rescue her, if anything, she is rescuing her prince. Her wit and will are unrivaled and there is nothing she cannot accomplish once she sets her mind to it. I stand by “Gabby Mercier” though because I guarantee about ten years from now Colsen and Gabby will be standing before me – a recently ordained minister – as I facilitate their beautiful wedding.

To Gabby, Garrett, and Logan, I hope you three have the happiest of birthdays and I miss you much and love you more! Since I can’t be there someone better send me the birthday hat/couch picture – and make sure you’re all smiling! You know I look forward to this one each year!

To my readers, as always, thank you all for your support. The triplets mean so much to me and it means a lot that you would be my audience as I share a little about them with all of you. I’ll be back next week with a memorable little story from mine and Melissa’s past that I hope will leave you all in a fit – of laughter – that is! Until then, I hope each of you has THE BEST week ever!