A visit from the Grandparents!

It's been a long time since the last post. Not much had been going on. Ragnar is constantly working and I am hanging with the kids! This week Hellmut and Uschi got to come and visit us from Germany (after their trip to Utah and their cruise!). The kids had so much fun and we love to have them and are so grateful for the willingness to always travel to come see us.



Ella had fun hanging out with Oma and always had someone to talk to and Oma even did her hair and played dollhouse and had a teaparty!


We started out with hanging out with Aunt Gigi and Ragnar's cousins Laurie and Cade and their cute boys Benson and Connor! It was fun to see them and we REALLY need to see them more since they live in H-town too! Then we headed to the Rockets game! I think we all actually had a great time, I was surprised they actually seemed to like the game! Ella was clapping and cheering defense :)

We played a lot of bowling on the wii and now Ragnar and Hellmut are both pros!

We also went to the Galleria and shopped and rode the train and went to the Rainforest cafe which the kids were excited about!

You have to do something with trains if Opa is in town! They even gave us a ticket to ride :)

We just played and hung out and had a nice time visiting. We are lucky that our kids have such great grandparents on both sides!

It was fun to let them see our kids personalities and show them Cavins love for Cars and Ellas never ending chatting! As soon as we dropped them off at the airport Cavin kept saying over and over all day "OPA, OPA!!!" Then Ella would say and I miss OMA already!

We will miss you, thanks so much for coming, we hope you made it home safe!

Daddy Daughter Day!!

Last Monday was bring your child to work day for Ragnar at the Houston Rockets organization. Ella was so excited to go to work with Ragnar! They had a whole day planned for them. They got to eat breakfast, then go to a cookie decorating class, a dance class with the power dancers coach, then meet Luis Scola. Afterward they had lunch with dad and then had arts and crafts and time with Clutch and then watched Up and ate popcorn! It was a fun day for Ella and she had a great time being out with dad! As for me....it was so weird to have her gone all day, I can't believe how big she is getting. It was super quiet and lonely without her jabbering all day! Cavin is going to have to really start talking or else it's going to be pretty quiet with Ella in kindergarten in a while.

As for the Cavin, we had fun playing, as long as he has cars, he is just fine. He does have a nasty trend going though, he has been sick every Friday for a month now. The weekends no longer have their apeal. I sure hope this trend ends FAST!

A New Year!

This year started with a bang, and I hope it continues to go as well throughout the year. I started off the New Years Day running the Kingwood, Texas half marathon. I feel like a half marathon is a good distance, because you have to train, but running isn't all you do like when I trained for the full marathon. It is a good challenge, but not so time consuming. I ran with my friend Lindsey and can honestly say I totally enjoyed it. I wasn't nervous like usual, I wasn't so competitive and worried about time, I just ran. Let's face it, that is what I love to do. Running this race just for fun really reminded me why I love to run so much. It doesn't always have to be about winning, but sometimes the joy you feel when you do something you love. It was a great start to the new year.

(this is the largest medal I have ever seen... it's like the size of a dessert plate!)

Next we bought a car! My parents have a van that they no longer need, so we bought it from them (for a really good price:) Our whole 5 1/2 year marriage we have shared a car, and while it is possible it is definitely not convenient, so I am glad to have a little more freedom! I am definitely entering the van mom category earlier than I anticipated though! ahhhh!

Then, we bought a laptop! Well more like it was a gift from Ragnar's parents! We are excited about it as Ragnar has been wanting one for some time now.

Finally, Our house went back on the market. We hired a different realtor and after a year of having renters, we are hoping for better luck! We feel pretty optimistic!

We feel really blessed already this year and it's only January 2nd! So much happened in just one day.... I really am hoping and looking forward to a New Year!

Christmas Time

The cousins wearing matching pj's! (we need Caden here!..
and you can tell Cavin was loving the pictures!)

Ella was the angel in the nativity :)

Madi was Mary, John was Joseph, Ella was the Angel,
and my dad was the donkey :)

Ella's dollhouse

I can't believe how much time you spend preparing for Christmas, and how fast it comes and goes! I feel like you build and build for the special holiday and then it is over so fast! This year we had a fun time with the kids, because they get so excited about everything. Christmas Eve we went over to my brother Corey's house and his family did a nice turkey dinner and then the kids did a talent show and reenacted the nativity. It was a fun night. The kids love being with their cousin and were really excited about their matching pajamas! Christmas morning we went opened presents and Ella loved her dollhouse and Cavin his train set from his oma and opa. Maybe he will have his love of trains like his Opa Hellmut! We spent the rest of the day with my parents. They bought us a wii so we have had fun playing together. We have had a fun holidays together. We are glad Marisa and Ethan could come to share it with us as well. Maybe next year everyone will be able to be home!

Merry Christmas!

We just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope you are able to remember Christ and the reason we celebrate this wonderful occasion and that you are able to share it with family and friends. Have a very merry day!

Christmas is Coming!!

We are so excited for Christmas this year. The kids are at such a fun age and I will love watching them open their presents. We took a few pictures before church that we wanted to share. There aren't many of Cavin because we have 12:30 church and we woke him up to hurry and leave, hence the crazy hair and untucked shirt! I wish I would have had these before I ordered my Christmas cards! Merry Christmas!

Ella and Cavin look like twins to me in this picture!

This is my very favorite! I love how she lifted her leg!


What we are always doing! Twirling!

Winter

I'm proud to announce that Winter does exist in Houston, Texas. This is now the second time I have seen snow here in Texas. Now, it won't last long, tomorrow is going to be 50 and I'm sure the temperature will go on back up, but one day is fun! I do not miss what seemed like everyday in Logan!