Hockey Time!

Friday night Ragnar and I were trying to decide something fun to do to get us out of the house. Ragnar was still at work, and said how about a hockey game, I can get us tickets.....So....we thought why not. So Friday night we went to see the Houston Aeros play at the Toyota Center. The kids were really excited to go to their first hockey game.

Dad and Ella!



We sat on the third row, so it was really fun. We were right next to the Aeros bench so we got to watch them come and in out of the box.

Seriously we felt like we were on the ice! The kids loved watching the zamboni (sp?) guy clean the ice.

The equipment manager next to us even slide an official "puck" through the poles to us. Cavin was so excited to have a puck, he wanted to sleep with it. Um....dirty, so it slept on the floor by him. They had a fun time.

Halloween 2010!!!

This year Halloween obviously fell on a Sunday, so we kept it pretty low key. On Saturday night we went over to my parents house and joined them for a trunk or treat at the church. They had a chili cook off and then the kids trick or treated around the parking lot. I love it for my kids because at their age they get tired walking too far, so they get plenty of candy in just about a half hour and really enjoy it. We were grateful grandma and grandpa and Aunt Natalie invited us in on the festivities as Ragnar worked the Rockets game.

Cinderella and the "ghost" pirate (as Cavin called himself)

Pretty pretty princess!

Arrrgggggg!!!

Posing with Grandpa Speers

And as always Aunt Natalie too (or should I say Snow White!).

We had a nice evening. The kids loved sitting on lawn chairs at the back of the truck and playing with grandma and grandpas flashlights! I hope everyone had a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Pre-School Party!

Ella is part of a "joy school" preschool program and each 5 weeks we trade who is teaching and whose house it is at. This week the Halloween party fell on the date I was teaching. Ella and I were excited for the party!

Here is Cavin the pirate and Ella the "Cinderella" princess (they still have some work to do on their costumes before Halloween!)

Here are the girls in her class, Ella, Ashlyn, Emily, Larkin, and Seneca! Aren't they cute!

Cookie decorating time!!

We had a fun time and Ella is really enjoying being a part of preschool. As for me, it's hard work, and I think I sometimes enjoy the 5 weeks in-between :), but we have cute girls and I enjoy watching them learn!

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.