Pumpkin Painting!

Last weekend we went to our neighborhoods "Fall Festival", they advertised free pumpkins for each child with a coupon, so we walked on over to get our pumpkin and take a look at the fun. Sadly, the pumpkins were gone already (within the first hour), and Ella was devastated. She REALLY wanted to decorate a pumpkin. So, after a couple days of her sad story about how all the pumpkins were gone, Cavin and I went to get her a pumpkin while she was at preschool. She was very excited to see her surprise. So, since carving at our childrens age, is far too much work, we decided to paint them. Ella being the "girly girl" that she is, had to have hers pink, and Cavin just mixed the colors and had fun. I love how exciting life is when you are young.


A work in progress...

Pick a color, any color!

Cavins finished pumpkin.

Ella's pink beauty! Now for Halloween......

Round Three!

These two crazy kids are so cute, we just had to add another to the crew :) So....we are expecting our third child sometime this spring. Official due date May 2, 2011. We are super excited and I personally am also super nervous! Our kids are estatic though and cute little El asks me everyday if I am feeling o.k. and if the baby is making me tired! She will be a great helper, and cute little Cavins response...."mom has a baby in her tummy, and I have a daddy baby in my tummy". Don't think he quite gets it! :)

Carrie Underwood Fun!

Monday night Ragnar called me and said that he would be "hosting" the suite for the Rockets during the Carrie Underwood concert and asked if I wanted to join him. Well, of course, I love Carrie Underwood and said yes! So, thankfully my sister in law Stephani was so willing to take the kids for part of the night with such short notice. The concert was Wednesday night and it was really fun. She had Sons of Slyvia and Billy Currington open for her. I definitely could have lived without the Elvis impersonator, Sons of Slyvia, but I enjoyed the rest of the concert. Carrie even got in a blue truck and rode through the air during one song. She is fun to watch, mostly because she just has an amazing voice!

We ended up getting two extra tickets, so Brad and Emily were able to join us!

They even were able to come down in the suite, so it was fun.

We had a good night out, and were so grateful for Steph for taking the kids.

A Farewell!

On September 21, 2010, Ragnar's sweet Oma Beck passed away. She lived 97 good long years. She was a very strong woman, with a lot of courage. She survived two world wars in Germany and so many hardships, but remained strong through it all. We are grateful for her example and that she is now in a peaceful place. Ragnar and I were grateful to be able to be there for the funeral on October 1, 2010. It was in Salt Lake City, where she resided the later years of her life. We got to see family and friends. All the cousins except one were able to be there and it was fun to catch up and celebrate Oma's life.

Here she was holding Cavin 2 years ago.

While I don't have any pictures as our camera was acting funny, there are many that were taken of the funeral and all the cousins.

I did get to take a minute to visit my sister Marisa and her husband Ethan and I got to meet my new nephew Liam. It was nice to say hello to her and a couple family and friends and to be there for a few days. I am so grateful that my parents were able to take the kids for the weekend. Thanks again, and until we see you again Oma, thanks for the life you graciously lived.

A visit from the grandparents!

We have had such a busy past couple weeks, which is not something I am used to saying! Ragnar's Oma passed away at 97 years of age. We are all sad, but I think she is probably pretty grateful to finally be on the other side. Ragnar and I will be flying out to the funeral for a couple days to remember her. On to happier things.... One of the things I wanted to document was our visit with Ragnars parents Hellmut and Ursula. They came here last week for a visit and the kids were so excited. Cavin would wait on the stairs in the middle of the night saying he needed to see Oma and Opa. I think next time we won't tell him so early that they are coming! A couple months is an eternity to a child! We were able to have a nice time, and here are some of the things we got to do.

Friday we met with Ragnars Aunt Brigette and her husband Kent and their daughter Laurie and her family, Cade, Benson, and Connor along with Ragnar's parents and our family. We went to the Rainforest Cafe downtown and had a nice dinner. Cavin was a little nervous about all animal noises, but he warmed up after a few minutes! It was fun to visit and catch up with everyone. We were celebrating 4 birthdays within a couple weeks!

Speaking of birthdays...... Saturday was Ragnar's 33rd birthday! He is getting so old! This is a game called Tip Kick that he used to play when he was a kid that his mom got him. He LOVES it!

The kids are decorating a poster for dads birthday.

Opening presents after donuts for breakfast!

We went to the pool and had fun splashing!

Oma enjoying the sun.

Cavin and Ella

We also went to the zoo on Monday. The weather was REALLY nice which isn't a normal occasion in Houston. The kids were even chilly when we got there (hence the blanket)!

Watching the sea lion show in which Ella was so disappointed that they didn't do tricks on their nose with the balls like in the picture!

Waiting for the show.

Ella was calling to the monkeys to look at her!

Here is our family at the zoo.

After we went to Chili's for lunch!

Back to Sunday.....Ella participated in her very first primary program and she was so excited to sit on the stand!

She said two words "Be honest", but she said them very clearly and loud, so we were proud of her.

Both her sets of grandparents and Aunt Natalie were able to be there to support her and she was excited.

And as always, Cavin was there to support.

We had a great time with them, even if some were tired and not feeling well, and some were a little crazy :) We are so grateful that Hellmut and Uschi took the time to visit. Thanks for coming! We look forward to seeing you again!

The Small Things

It's the small things in life that make you happy. For me, a carb-aholic, that is fresh warm bread that you finally got right just from scratch. Even happier for my mom, I used the wheat grinder in the process! Now, I hope it tastes delicious for my in-laws tomorrow!

Labor Day Weekend!

Labor Day weekend came and went. It was a relaxing one, but not too eventful because it rained pretty good the whole weekend. Saturday we went and hung out with my parents because my kids had been asking to play over there for a couple weeks, so we relaxed, watched football, and played. Sunday was Sunday...church as usual, then meetings. Monday we were supposed to go to Galveston to hang out at the beach, but there was a flash flood watch, and the weather was thunderstorms everywhere, so we went out to eat with my parents, sister Natalie, and my brother Corey's family. We had a nice time. We ate, and then we went bowling which the kids were very excited about. I am grateful I live close to some of my family. I only wish we lived close to all of them.... on both sides!

Here are the kids "pretending" to play with the buttons.

Aunt Natalie and Ella

Cavins turn to roll the ball!

After a good round, John is going to get his high fives! We enjoy our family, and had a nice weekend. I was just so glad that Ragnar didn't have to work. Yay!