3rd Week in May

We had a busier week, the week after getting back from our cruise.  Here are some highlights. 

Cute Hudson and Carter in their Pokémon pajamas w/ Piper.  The boys helped move yard flamingos to all the seniors graduating high school this year.  

Steve put in a window up on the top bunk in our camper.  

It's so nice to have the extra light and air now.  Good work Steve!

Hudson at his T-ball game.  Pretty Peony in bloom in our yard.  More flamingos.

On Thursday, May 21st at Hudson's preschool, they did a Daddy and Me Day, so Steve was able to join him.  They planted flowers in the school's yard, did crafts, and had root beer floats.

On Friday, May 22nd, Carter and the 3rd grade performed multiple songs.  They all did an awesome job.  The message was great to keep trying and be kind to everyone.

Carter's program.

More songs.

On Friday, Steve and I went and did sealings at the Draper Temple.

On Saturday, we drove up to Burley to help unload my parents into their new house.  My brothers loaded up their stuff in Bruneau and drove it down in trailers.  Thankfully, ward members helped them pack up their stuff from the house.  Rose, Pauline, and I met them in Burley to help unload.  We got some lunch in Burley while we waited, then met them at the new house.  Anna lives in Rupert now (about 30 minutes away), so she met us there at the house as well.  She and her family had gone up several times to help them pack also.  Rose and I worked on unloading the kitchen the whole day.  We had to clean the kitchen cupboards, pantry, and fridge BEFORE unloading, as it was really dirty.  Steve ended up running to Wal-Mart to get cleaning supplies and a few other things.  Thankfully, they live pretty close to Wal-Mart now. 

Becky, our cousin, who also lives close in Burley, came over w/ her family to help unload.  She even brought 2 pizzas for dinner and paper products, which was awesome!  We cooked up the pizza that night for dinner.  There were also ward members and neighbors who came over to help unload.  We really appreciated everyone who came to help.  As my mom always says, "Many hands make light work."

Rose and I stayed at the house that night w/ our parents.  Pauline and her family got a hotel.  We put the kids to bed, but then Rose and I continued putting stuff away.  Carter was getting a migraine right before bed, so we gave him his medication along w/ Ibuprofen and Tylenol.  Around midnight, Steve came out of the room and said Carter was complaining of his ear hurting now.  Steve said he had mentioned his ear pain the past couple of days, but hadn't told me.  I looked up the hospital, which was only 5 minutes from my parents' house, and amazingly it was in-network!  Steve then loaded him up and took him to the ER.  Sure enough, he was getting an ear infection, so they started him on antibiotics while in the hospital and gave him some pain meds.

Hudson got hit by a ball, leaving a mark on his back.  My mom and I were working in the kitchen.  We tried to keep things low for her so she could reach most things in her wheelchair.  My dad was taking a break after a long day, about ready for bed.  Carter was in the ER that night.

Some pictures of the house and property.

We went to church w/ my parents on Sunday, then had lunch together.  Pauline, Rose, and I brought taco stuff for everyone for lunch.  Anna and her family came over as well for lunch.  We also cooked up the other pizza we had left.  Barbara met us at church and stayed for a little while too.

Making progress, unloading all the boxes.  When we unloaded Dave/Joann's kitchen, we put sticky notes on the cupboards so they could find things easier until they get used to where everything was.  I brought sticky notes and a marker and did the same thing, which worked great! A couple quick pictures before heading out that afternoon.  All 5 sisters!

We then drove over to Anna's house to see her new place.  

The kids were especially excited to see all their new baby animals!

Cute puppies and kitty.

After seeing all the baby animals and their new house, we went home.  We are thankful it's only 3 hours now, instead of 5 hours to get to my parents' house.  Rose ended up staying one more night, to help the next day since it was a Holiday, Memorial Day.

Great quotes:

Weekend after getting back from the cruise

We got back from our cruise Friday night.  We all went to bed early, then slept in a little the next day.  It's always good to be back, especially in your own bed.  We got caught up Saturday doing cleaning, laundry, and getting groceries.  

Pretty flowers in bloom: Dianthus, Daisies, and Perennial Salvia.

Our pretty colorful Irises in bloom.

On Sunday, I had a Ward Conference to attend.  That evening we went over to Dave/Joann's place for dinner.  They picked up Carl and brought him over as well.  We played a game after dinner.

Yeah, the Day Lilies are in bloom.  Silly Hudson in a Tupperware.

Diane's house is coming along!

Great quotes:

Off the ship, coming home

On Friday, May 15th, we were back at Port Canaveral.  Unfortunately, it was time to come home.  We packed up our last few things in our staterooms, then went to get breakfast.  

Getting breakfast at Cabanas one more time, then heading down to get off the ship.

The Disney Fantasy AND the Wish were both in port at the same time.  

We then took our shuttle around 8:30am, over to the airport, about 1 hour away.  

Thankfully our flight was on time, and we headed home around 12:30pm.  

The kids were tired.  Hudson sleeping on Nyles shoulder.

Carter was also trying a nap for a little while, then watched a show.

We had a layover in Austin again, where we got some dinner, then got back on a plane to fly home.

Last stretch to get home.  

Carter started getting a migraine, so we gave him his meds.  He took another nap.

The crew, ready to be home!

Back to SLC!  Hudson loves to see his name on the stores in the airports :)

Rob came and picked us up from the airport.  He stayed at our house w/ Piper 5 of the nights.  The first 2 nights, Charlotte stayed at our house to be w/ Piper since Rob was out of town.  We really appreciate both of their help!  

We ordered some Cafe Rio on the way home.  When we got home, we unloaded the bags, then Steve went to pick up our food.  While he was gone, I mowed the lawn, as it needed it badly.  After dinner, we unpacked some, showered, then went to bed.  We were all really tired from a long day of travel.

We had another fun, memorable, family vacation.  We're so thankful for the time we had to spend w/ one another, and look forward to our next adventure!

Castaway Cay

On Thursday, May 14th, we stopped at Disney's island, Castaway Cay.  We had breakfast, then made our way off the ship.  It was overcast as we got off the ship.

Dumbo at the front of the ship.  Getting a picture in front of the ship.

Making our way over to the beaches.

It really started to downpour, so we took cover for a bit.

It cleared up after a bit, so we made our way to the beach.  

They asked us not to get in the water yet though, so we started playing on the beach.

We thought we couldn't go in the water due to lightning, but later found out there was an "unwanted creature" in the water aka a SHARK!  Castaway has a barrier that they've made to keep "unwanted creatures" out and keep the waves to a minimum, but somehow it still made its way in.  They were chasing it around w/ boats, but couldn't get it to go out of the barrier.

No one allowed in the water, so playing in the sand.  Picture w/ Olaf.

Steve and I went for a walk, checking out what was going on.

Yep, no one was allowed to be in the water, so sad.

The boys digging holes in the sand.

The cast members on boats who were trying to run the shark out of the barrier.

We were hot and hungry, so we went and got lunch.  Some lizards were near our table.

Hudson then played at the small splash pad for a while.

We then came back to the beach, hoping we could go in, but no, we still weren't allowed.  We put our chairs in a little bit though to cool off as it was getting really hot!

They were NOT letting us in the water, so Diane and I left back to the ship to start packing to go home the next day.  Steve stayed w/ the boys to let them dig more.

The boys coming back to the ship.

A few pictures along the way.

That night for dinner we were back to Animator's Palate.  Crush, the turtle interacted w/ us.

Yummy dinner and dessert.  The pork chop was REALY good.

Carter playing w/ the crayons.  Our main server Shane from Jamaica, the assistant server Crystal from Dominican Republic, and the Maitre d Rittesh from India.

Another kind gift in our stateroom.  Playing a little shuffleboard.

Beautiful sunset on our last night. 

We went to the final play "Believe" then went up on deck for one more late night snack and movie.

Our last towel animal.

We made the most of our day at Castaway, though definitely NOT what we had planned/envisioned.  That was our 7th time at Castaway, and the first time we couldn't get in the water due to a shark.  We'll certainly remember this trip to Castaway, though.  It's always hard the last day knowing you have to get off the ship the next day.  Overall though, it was a great day!

Day at Sea

 On Wednesday, May 13th, we had a day at sea.  We slept in a little, then had breakfast.

Getting pictures with Tron!

Sitting in the windows for fun.

We found lots of little ducks around the ship.

Then playing mini golf up on deck 13.

Fun sailing on the Disney Fantasy.  

We watched the last few minutes of drawing Olaf, and found a fun motorcycle to ride in :)

Then we went and watched the matinee of Frozen.

Then we learned some magic tricks from Kid Ace who performed the night before.  He even came and talked to Carter.  He asked him to come up and demonstrate, but Carter didn't want to ;)

Then more Midship Detective and meeting Stitch.

Then dinner time at the Royal Court.  It was nice to see out the window as we went.  

Yummy desserts.  Unfortunately, someone got hurt and needed to get more medical help, so we had to go back to Nassau to drop them off there, then get on our way to Castaway.

All of us at dinner.  Silly Nyles.

Meeting Minnie Mouse after dinner.

Taking the person off the ship to an ambulance.  Wall-E towel animal.

We got macaroons this time as a surprise gift.  We couldn't find our towel animal and Hudson had to use the bathroom.  When he opened the door he found this sitting on the toilet!  We laughed so hard!  I don't think we've ever had a towel animal on the toilet before.  Too funny!

Since we already watched the show in the afternoon, we were free to swim in the evening, which is fun.  We rode the AquaDuck together, which was surprisingly not too cold even at night.  Hudson was officially tall enough to ride it as well!!!

We were at Nassau for a little longer, then finally pushed off.  

We watched a movie up on deck while swimming and got a late-night snack.

It was a great day at sea, relaxing and doing fun activities around the ship.  We were excited to go to Castaway Cay the next day, our final day.