Disney Cruise

We thoroughly enjoyed our Disney cruise over Spring Break. We have had a Disney Cruise on our wish list for years, and with Caleb graduating, it was time to make it happen.

Matt and Bryson were selected to participate in a family game where you had to match the answers of your child/parent. They only got one answer right. 😆

The boys LOVED the food. The older three would order two entrees some nights.

Napkin folding class

There was a pirate day with a fireworks display at night.

They loved the magician show. Matt got called up to go on stage. The magician did a class a few days later where he taught some simple tricks.

Towel-folding class

Family Time

As part of a ward activity, everyone attempted winning at the pie-eating contest. (Austin and I opted out.)

 

We went and saw a community theater production of Beauty and the Beast as a family. We had friends performing as Lumiere and Mrs. Potts. Caleb went with a date!

Summer Outings

Matt took the boys fishing one Saturday with Papa

 Last year I promised my boys we would try out the new water park 20 minutes away. Then Covid happened so we tried it this year instead. Ariane joined us.

This water park offered a variety of activities: obstacle course on a lake, petting zoo, a maze, axe throwing, and some archery in addition to the water slides. We had a great time!

Caleb was proud of his bullseye

The temple opened up for phase 3 (appointments only). We went with my extended family on May 22nd to do baptisms and confirmations. What a special experience to be together in the temple again for the first time in over a year!!

On June 12 we had a family fun day in the neighborhood with some fun games, rock climbing, photo booth, snacks, snow cones, train ride, etc. We didn't stay too long because it was extra HOT that day!

The Aquarium

We had a preschool field trip in January to the Downtown Aquarium. 

The Ferris wheel always makes me a littler nervous

My boys look thrilled on this "little kid" ride.

Austin and I did the carousel many times!

Other May Happenings

Our nephew, David Earl, was baptized. We were so happy to be there and share in his special day.

We did an Escape Room date with all my siblings (minus Lindsey). We were 2 minutes away from beating the record. :(

 Memorial Day we got together for Poison Ball and a Star Wars game at the church with some friends + lunch. Later that night we went swimming with friends as well.

Family Time

We did a family night painting with marshmallow paint. Inevitably it ended up on our faces.

The games on the table were a permanent fixture for the whole month of July. Caleb and I played at least an hour per day of different games. Carter has quite a few games that he really likes to play as well so I would play separately with him or sometimes the three of us together. Soon Daddy joined in on the fun and we did a few weeks of a family game every night. We've slowed down in August as we all got a little burned out. :) Carter's favorite games are Uno, Love Letters, It Came to Pass, and Rage. Caleb and I played a lot of Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan.

We went to an Astros game a few rows up from the field. Orbit ran right past us which the boys thought was exciting.

Carter learned how to ride a bike this summer. Matt tried earlier in the year to teach him, but Carter got too frustrated. A month or so ago, they tried again and Carter picked up on it really fast in two tries. The tricky thing for Carter has been practicing on a narrower space like a sidewalk, which we needed him to master before school started. We practiced almost daily, but he still has a tendency to weave because he'll concentrate on pedaling and forget about keeping his arms steady. I'm nervous about him crashing into other bike riders for the first little while!

For the most part, he is doing great!

February

I haven't been very good at taking pictures lately, and thus I feel like I have not had anything to journal about on my blog. I've resolved to do better since I love being able to turn this into a family book at the end of the year.

Here's a picture I snapped in January of all the boys napping together--a very rare occurrence! 

We've been taking afternoon walks together most days since Carter LOVES to ride his scooter. He's pretty darn fast too!

This past week I did a preschool field trip to The Downtown Aquarium which Caleb joined us for. 

Bryson had a great time on the carousel!

Family Goal for 2015: We are working month by month to memorize The Living Christ. It is quite lengthy, and I'm so impressed with how well the boys are doing!

Updates on the family

Caleb: He's still excelling in school and piano. He's been on the all A honor roll each 9 weeks at school, and the subject where he scores near perfect each time is math. We just discovered the other day that Caleb has the same talent I do on the piano! I haven't met any other person who can do this (except my older brother I think?). If you play any white note on the piano, Caleb can tell you what it is immediately--no thinking involved. The sharps and flats, as for me, take a little more thought. Soccer starts up in March!

Carter: His reading skills are improving a lot in preschool. He is the comic relief in the family, constantly making us laugh. Instead of riding in the double stroller to drop Caleb off at school every morning, he now rides his scooter. Even though I run with the stroller, I can't keep up with him. He's so fast! He asks every day how many more days till his birthday (March 30). We're gearing up for trying a season of soccer and getting ready to start piano.

Bryson: He's made significant progress with his speech, which has been a concern that he might need speech therapy. He is obsessed with the song, "Let it Go," not because we watch that movie frequently, but because the girls in preschool will break out in that song regularly. He does fairly well in preschool and wants to be included as part of the class. He copies what the other kids do for each of our activities.

The company Matt works for is directly affected by the drop in oil price, and there have been many lay-offs. We're grateful that he still has a job. I'm staying very busy with church service and teaching preschool. When I do have free time, you'll find me curled up with a good book!

Shurtliff Family Reunion Part 4

On the drive home, we decided to stop at the Corpus Christi Aquarium.

Touching the sea urchins

Watching the big fish

Visit to the sea turtles

This was a whale's blow hole at the entrance of the aquarium. The kids loved anticipating when the water would shoot up.

 Family picture in our matchy-matchy shirts :)

Kara snapped some family pictures of all of us

Our growing family

Silly one!

13 grandchildren and one more coming end of October

Siblings with Mom and Dad

And the "outlaws" who wanted their own picture :)

Just like last year where pink-eye spread around, this year did not disappoint and a stomach virus passed around throughout the family. The only saving grace (sort of) was that it didn't hit until after the vacation. So we were all able to still enjoy the vacation and not be sick. After vacation, it hit me like a freight train. I've never been so sick at a time in my life where I couldn't afford to be sick! Somehow we all pulled through and are so grateful it's over!