A Visit from Belana and Manu

Our niece Belana Fingerle came to visit us in Texas with her boyfriend Manu. We did our best to host and show them around the place that we love. 

We showed them the famous Buc-ee's gas stations in Texas. 

Then we took them to the Toyota Center on New Years eve to see the Rockets play. It was their first professional basketball game. We had to sit across the arena since we didn't have seats together, but both sets of seats were great and it was fun to be back cheering on the Rockets. Unfortunately they lost!

First NBA game!

After the game we went and did fireworks at our friends the Cottens house. There was a lot of fireworks and luckily no one was set on fire ;)

The next day Cavin, Ragnar, Belana, and Manu went to our friends property and went shooting. They seemed to enjoy themselves and luckily they all came back in one piece!

Monday Ragnar took Belana and Manu to NASA which is always a tourist thing to do in Houston. 

Then they headed to Galveston to see the "beach" even though it was chilly. 

Cute Uncle and Niece! 

When they got back we went bowling together before the kids had to go back to school the next day. 

We played a lot of games together which was nice. I am glad most of Ragnar's family loves games as much as we do!

The last day ended up a little disastrous. We went to get a Covid test so they could fly back the next day. Well... Covid is out of control right now in Texas, so every place is too full to take people and this place is supposed to have results within 10 hours. Well we waited 3.5 hours to find out they wouldn't have the results til they were already supposed to have flown out. Ragnar decided to take them to the airport to check on the actual requirements while I continued to wait and while there, they found out their flight had been canceled! So, it ended up being a blessing that they went because they were able to get them on a flight leaving a few hours later to ensure that they would get back to Germany. Many flights were being cancelled, so it was the safest option even though it cut out a day of their visit. 

They hurried back to the house, packed, and we headed back to the airport. Thankfully they arrived home safely and all was well without the Covid test. It was nice of them to come visit us. We haven't spent very much time with Belana since we have always lived in different countries, but it was nice to get to know her and her boyfriend better and show them Texas! Hopefully they had fun!

Cavin Ordained As a Teacher

Cavin was able to be ordained as a Teacher in the Aaronic priesthood with his cousin Liam in town on January 1, 2022. Liam received the Aaronic priesthood and was ordained as a Deacon and we were able to get permission to do it all together which was special. Ragnar gave him a sweet blessing and my favorite part was that he was encouraged to develop his relationship with his mom as that would be a strength to him ;) 

I love this family of mine!

Marisa's husband Ethan had several of his siblings and parents come to attend along with my parents and two sisters. 

Cute Grayson and Cavin

I loved sharing this occasion with my sister and was glad she was kind enough to let us join in. 

Deacon is most excited that now he is forever the only Deacon again in our family :) We love our boys and were grateful for Cavin's decision to continue his priesthood path and be worthy to continue to serve His Heavenly Father. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true and am so grateful for the joy it brings in my life. 

A Warm Christmas Break!

This year Christmas Day almost set a record high for heat. It was over 80 degrees and quite frankly disgusting, humid weather :) That is sometimes the case for Houston! We did our best to enjoy the Christmas break and have fun with family!

We kept our tradition and the girls and I went with my mom and sister Natalie to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and to see the Nutcracker. It was definitely not one of the best performances. We were very underwhelmed, so we ended up leaving early and watching a ballet show on Netflix ;)haha. It was still a fun memory, and I am glad we still got to do it. 

We made gingerbread houses together which the kids always enjoy!

The kids love to make these Hersey pretzel m&m treats. We make them every year and we had fun making them. 

Ella and Channing handmade gifts and this was Olaf they made for a friend.

Cavin really loves the Santa Tracker and watches it most of Christmas Eve. We had my parents and sister Natalie over for Christmas Eve dinner, games, music, and Christmas story.

The kids love to sleep together Christmas Eve. 

I love the lights and the quietness of the night before Christmas and all the anticipation. 

They hear "Deck the Halls" from Mannheim Steamroller to come down for Christmas morning, then they rush down to find the pickle.

I hid it too hard, so I had to give a hint and then Cavin found it ;) haha

Cavin got NBA 2K for the switch, a kicking tee and kicking stand for practicing field goals, a blanket, mind games, pillow, a book, flag football equipment etc. 

Channing got a Chromebook, fidgets, movies, squishmallows, jewelry, sticker books and other random things. Ella got voice lessons, and actually started crying cause she was so excited. She got a sketchpad for the computer to do graphic design, makeup, shoes, jewelry and other things. Deacon got a few balls, ping pong paddles and net, squish mallows, movies, and a kindle. 

They had a fun morning. They are great kids, and thankfully easy to please as they are not ones who always want things. 

I sure love Christmas morning with them!

We went over to my moms house in the afternoon to hang out with my sisters and parents. The kids love their cousins. 

The boys played football. 

The girls drew most of the day!

Cute cousins. 

I'm glad I got to be with my parents. It's been a challenging year for them. 

We went to see Sing 2 together a couple days later which was cute!

A couple days after that Chris and his kids were able to join us at a park which was great..and sweaty!

They played cops and robbers, pickle ball, and flag football. Then we got a treat at Bahama Bucks!

The next day Belana Fingerle, Ragnar's niece came with her boyfriend Manu to visit. 

We took them to Buckees, chick fil a, and a Rockets game. 

After the game we went to our friend's the Cotton's home and hung out and watched fireworks. They were good ones, but so loud! We actually made it to midnight to cheer Happy New Year! This year held a lot of growth for our family, but each day I am grateful for who I get to share my life with. I am praying 2022 is a great one and we can challenge ourselves and not be afraid of getting out of our comfort zone.