Fun in the Sun, fall 2023

Matt's 45th Birthday

Creme Brule birthday "cake"

We loved our cruise in the spring so much, Matt and I decided to go again to celebrate both of our 45th birthdays. We headed out of Galveston on a Princess line.

They had amazing desserts! (I was absolutely forced to pause my super-healthy diet.)

A beautiful, if windy, night under a full moon. 

The ice sculpture demonstration was pretty cool.

Before and after snorkeling in Costa Maya. We found a little hotel off the beaten track that let us use their private beach (we were the only ones there!), so we dived right in. The neatest part was being surrounded by a huge school of sardines. Thousands of flashing silver bodies all moving in perfect harmony around every obstacle, including me and Matt.

We were literally sitting in paradise!

Next stop was Belize. --You better Belize we went snorkeling here! Amazing perfectly clear, cerulean blue water! We boarded a boat that took us way out into protected waters where we went snorkeling, and then in another location, we petted sting rays and nurse sharks. I even got to hold one like a baby!

After roaming the island for a bit, we got to hand feed tarpauline. Matt nearly got his hand chomped. 

In Cozumel, we took the Atlantis submarine tour. I never in my life thought I'd actually get to go down in a submarine. It was amazing, though most of our pictures didn't turn out well because of the dark water.

The food was amazing, especially the desserts. We got lucky and were able to reserve a table next to the back window, so was always dined with the sunset.

 

Back to School 2023

September 5th, I got a call from Nana saying my dad had fallen down the stairs during the night. I rushed over. Obviously in great pain, he struggled to even get into the car. Driving to the emergency clinic, every bump was excruciating. Once there, they quickly did an x-ray and found he had broken his neck. They were horrified that he hadn't gone to the emergency clinic immediately. They were even more horrified that, because of the blood clots he'd had in his legs, he was on blood thinners. It was a miracle he was still alive.

After 6 weeks in a neck brace and with a little physical therapy, he was just fine! Miracle!!!

Jeremy flew down in early October to check on his progress. 

This school year, we started doing karate Friday nights at the community center. Sadie, Joseph, Annie, and Peter love it!

We also started going to several nature programs at the Kickerillo-Mischer Nature Preserve--Turtle Tots for Peter and Annie and Nature Investigation Squad for Joseph.

We had fun exploring the new Galapagos Island exhibit.

Birthday Blasts:

Joseph's 10th

Sadie's 14th:

Peter's 5th:

Halloween Fun: