2021

Playing in the Snow

December was NOT a snowy month, but January gave us a chance to get outside and enjoy the fluffy white stuff.  Liesl tolerated her snowsuit MUCH better than Huxley did at this age (she even allowed us to plop her down and make a snow angel), and Huxley had a blast pulling Liesl around in the slide. On walks Huxley insisted that we tie the two sleds together with Liesl at the rear.  Huxley got to go sledding for her first time ever at the local park. Somewhat surprisingly, considering her reserved nature, she went down the hill all by herself a few times! 

Liesl's First Birthday

Unfortunately a COVID surge in the spring put a damper on what is normally a big milestone. We toned down Liesl's first birthday celebration, but maybe it ended up being better since you got 3 separate celebrations (one at each of the grandparents'). Liesl of course enjoyed tearing into all of gifts, and Huxley did a surprisingly good job of not being terribly jealous of all the new toys Liesl got.  This was also one of the first times you got to eat a dessert.  All kids love cake, no matter what.

Dad's Pandemic Hair

As we all know, Dad has been losing his hair since his early 20's. Back then he thought that by 30 it would be mostly gone. As a coping mechanism for the isolation of pandemic life, he decided to not cut his hair and see what happened. Below are the results. Turns out Dad can still get pretty shaggy, even at 36! Surprisingly, he received the most compliments on his hair in his entire life while rocking the mullet.

Liesl's First Easter (kind of)

Technically this was not Liesl's first Easter, but it was the first one where she could enjoy the festivities. Last year the holiday weekend was marred by uncertainty and fear from the newness of COVID. This year we were able to celebrate with family, in no small part due to the miracle of science and the development of amazingly effective vaccines and therapeutics in less than one year. Continuing what we hope will be a long-standing Easter tradition Gramps played the part of the Easter bunny delivering some baskets to the girls, and we had multiple egg hunts with family.

Huxley's Half Birthday

With COVID on the downswing, along with Mom and Dad's decision to celebrate Huxley's birthday in the summer, the stage was set for an epic celebration.  We decided to go all out this year and make in a "COVID controlled"/half birthday celebration. We rented two bounce houses, bought a bunch of food and drink, set up a tent, Grammy rented a pony, and we invited all our friends and family. As luck would have it the weather turned out to be a perfect July day, lots of people showed up, and everyone had an excellent time. The pony was certainly a hit, along with the Caterpillar bounce house. It was a pretty intense day, and sure enough, at one point Mom and Dad found Huxley hanging out inside, just taking a break from it all. We wouldn't have it any other way.  

Random Moments

You know those times when you're just sitting around, or playing in the yard, or take an impromptu trip to the playground? Just normal, everyday common moments? It's in those moments, repeated over and over for a lifetime, that forge bonds as family, parents, and sisters. The photos below attempt to capture some of those moments.

Fall and Halloween

Ah yes, one of the best times of the year. The in-between. When the summer has wound down, but there are still some perfectly warm and sunny days left. There is the excitement of the holidays just over the horizon, but before 30 days of cloudy, gloomy weather in a row beats down our spirits. Autumn. We spent this year similar to the years before. We continued our tradition of going to the apple orchard and trick-or-treating with the Hudsons, although Halloween was much cooler this year, and thus the fun of trick-or-treating did not last as long. This was Liesl's first year to really get a chance to get some candy. Suckers were a favorite.  We also attended the Portage fall festival with the Hudsons at the celery flats. There were lots of pumpkins, hay bales, art projects.....and a camel? Not sure how that one is related to the harvest, but the kids sure do like it!

Schurr Florida Family Vacation - Double Take (i.e., two kids)

We missed going to Florida last year due to COVID, but we were back in 2021!  This was Liesl's first time on an airplane and both Mom and Dad were nervous. Two kids under 4 on a plane for almost 3 hours? Oh boy.... Turns out Huxley is a great flier now, she just watches her tablet, reads, and looks out the window most of the time. Liesl on the other hand...we ended up making a little next of jackets on the floor by our feet for her on the flight back. She rolled around and had more than one tantrum down there. During our trip we did lots of swimming, visited Sea World, and went to the Magic Kingdom.  The girls both did amazingly well at both parks. No naps either day and they were still troopers waiting in line for attractions. The Disney day we left at about 9 AM and didn't make it back to our car until around 8 that night. THAT was a long day. 

The more trips we go on the more I realize memories as a family come in two types. One type are memories from everyday occurrences, local playgrounds, visiting friends, etc. These memories often blend together, but leave you with a sense of what life was like on a day to day basis.  The other set of memories are those made when you go on an adventure, take a trip, or get out of your comfort zone. Oftentimes they are sharp, vivid, and long-lasting. Neither is more important than the other, but together they paint a portrait of a life. Hopefully one that is rich, well-lived, and filled with wonder, joy, family, and friends. 

Christmas...2021 Edition

Well here we are at the end of another year. This one certainly felt more normal than 2020. COVID has become firmly entrenched in our lives, but has yet to fade with the emergence of Delta and Omicron in the second half of the year. Fingers crossed for a better 2022 on that front. We did most of the girls favorite things around the holidays this year, except for a visit with Santa. Not only was COVID surging, but lines to see Santa are insanely long! It seems to be either wait 45 minutes or make a reservation. Either way seems to take some of the magic out of it. Mom and Dad don't remember that being case when we were younger... Back in our day....