Houston Dynamo Soccer

Saturday evening we went over to The University of Houston's "Robertson's" Stadium to watch some (MLS) soccer. Cavin and Ella have been observing Ragnar watch soccer on Saturdays their whole lives and with the women's world cup we were keeping up with, they really wanted to see a "real" game as they call it. So since Ragnar always has connections at work, that was not a problem. We took the kids to the game, had pretty good seats, and they enjoyed the first half. The Dynamo scored twice so confetti flew down right above our heads and they were in heaven trying to catch it! However, the second half they got bored and the sun went down so it was dark and Cavin was so concerned that he needed to be in bed because it was dark! We have ruined him! ... He wanted to go home, so we left a little early. On the way out Ella said "Don't worry guys, we can watch the rest on sports center in the morning."....I sure am glad I love sports a lot, because Ragnar has definitely warped our kids into knowing....morning is sports center time!

We were pretty close :) Just hope the ball didn't come too close!

The confetti falling down!!! Yay!!!


It was nice and hot!!!

The "Greatest Show On Earth"

This past weekend our family went to "Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baileys circus". It is supposedly the greatest show on earth....and...although that statement is debatable, we had a good time. The circus was a little over my kids heads as they don't appreciate the strength or difficulty of the acts, nonetheless they had a fun time being together as a family! Ella said her favorite part was the acrobats on the rings, and Cavin like the motorcycles and tigers! For me, the motorcyclists were giving me a heart attack with seven motorcycles in one little metal ball, I thought for sure if one goes down, they were all going to crash! We had a fun day and we are glad we got to spend another day together!


The kids loved that there was white tigers too!



We can't leave out Channing, she slept in her car seat pretty much the whole time...as usual :)

Afterward we went to eat and watched a movie...I had to add these last two!

I just love her smile!

We feel super lucky to call these three healthy kids ours!

The Boy With Many Faces

I seriously could watch Cavin all day long! He has the funniest facial expressions! I just love them! Here are some that just make me laugh. This was all in a matter of a couple minutes of trying to get him to make a "real" smile face. He is has such a fun personality.

Saying "cheese!"





I think we finally got a somewhat "real" smile...silly kid is going to be a jokester!

Weekend Creativity

This weekend we got to have some fun family time. Friday Ragnar had off of work, so we took the kids to a place called Imaginations and had them pick out something to paint. Cavin picked a mickey mouse and Ella a rainbow. They love to do art. At home they color for hours! We had a fun time. Later we spent the afternoon with grandma and grandpa, and my sisters and then Ragnar had a sleepover with Cavin and Ella. Channing and I happily slept upstairs in our own beds! We all watched "Tangled" and had popcorn before they slept on the air mattress downstairs. Saturday I took Ella shopping to try and find her some school clothes and shoes, but we had little success, so we will go again. Sunday was my dad and brothers birthday and we went over Monday to join in the celebration at Red Robin! We were sad Corey is now moved so he couldn't be with us. I hope they both had a great birthday.... We sure do love having Ragnar home for long weekends! We have to cherish them before the season starts (or at least we hope the season starts!)

Let the painting begin!

I helped, but only a little :)


Ragnar and Cavin working on his masterpiece!

Movie and a sleepover!

I love watching their faces during movies!

Here is little Miss Channing who is a happy little lady!

She is starting to smile and we love it!

Summer Simplicity

This summer has been pretty slow. We are not going anywhere on vacation, we are just enjoying the last summer before Ella starts school. We placed a bid on a home in Eagle Springs, but it was a silent auction and we found out we were out bid. We will keep on looking, but hopefully it won't take two more years for me to find one I like! The kids have been great. They have such good imaginations, that it isn't too unbearable to play indoors because unless you are at the pool, it is way too hot! We try and go to the pool a few times a week, but it is super hot for everyone, especially Channing. We have enjoyed my sister who has been here for a majority of the summer, and of course we love going to grandmas house!

Here are my "super spies" as they call themselves


Don't you just love their attire and their marker sword :)

Ella and Cavin really do just love to play together and they love the ipad! I'm glad they have each other for a little longer before Ella is gone all day!

And this is how our sweet little channing spends her life. Sleeping! Of course, her brother and sister always give her a toy in hopes that she will be playing with them soon! She is smiling and cooing now so that is fun. I love our little family, and we have enjoyed Ragnars summer rotation of getting every other Friday off.

Movin On...

Today my brother Corey and his family left on their way to Michigan. They are moving there to finish his Radiation Oncology residency and are excited about the great opportunities that it will provide. I am so sad to see their family go as they have been in Houston for the past 8 years and we have always been able to have them around. We are excited about their new adventure and wish them the very best. Here is one of the kids last outings with them. We went over to our pool and splashed around. They sure are going to miss their cousins John and Madison.

Here they are, Cavin, Madison, Ella, John ...and then Ragnar

Riding the alligator

The grandkids in Houston...with grandma and Channing

This is how Channing enjoyed the pool....in the heat under the shade.

Ella sure loves playing with Madison

Hello guys!

John loved the diving board and went down several times.

Here is our sweet John....who is always kind enough to play with Cavin. We are sure grateful that they loved playing with our kids and that even though they were older they still entertained our children. We are grateful for the memories we have with them and so look forward to meeting their new cousins due to arrive in October. Thanks for everything!

A "Blessed" Day!

Today we had the opportunity to bless our sweet daughter Channing Ava. Ragnar did a wonderful job and the day was a special one. We are so grateful that our Heavenly Father trusted us with this precious little girl and that we get to spend forever with her. She was a champ all day and didn't even make a peep. She is such a good girl...somebody knock on wood....I hope she stays this way!

These are our three little kiddos. Ella, Cavin, and Channing

Her brother and sister adore her and were so excited for Channing's special day. As soon as Channing woke up, Ella screamed "Surprise" it's your special day!

I just couldn't leave out this picture of Cavin. He is getting so much better at smiling when we say to say cheese, and this one is definitely a good cheeser!

This is how Channing spent most of the day! Sleeping beauty

Here with Grandma and Grandpa Speers

Our two handsome boys!

Here is my side of the family...My family, my parents, sister Natalie, and brother Corey and his family.

Ragnar's side of the family...his cousin Laurie and her husband Cade and their 3 boys.

One of our first family photos :)
We are so grateful that our little family gets the blessing of being together forever. We sure wish Ragnar's parents were here with us, but we are so grateful for their service as missionaries in the temple and look forward to seeing them soon. We also missed our siblings who weren't here, but know they would have been here if they could have. We have such a wonderful family support system and it is days like this when I remember that FAMILY is really what this life is really all about!