Houston Livestock and Rodeo 2013

So this past week the kids and I rode down to the rodeo with our friend Candice and her three children Tyler, Tyson, and Emma. My kids love to be with their kids and although it was spring break, we got there pretty close to when it opened and we had a great time. We weren't sure how we would do with 6 children under 6, but the kids were troopers and we had fun. I can't tell you how many people we passed that would make comments such as "wow that's a herd you've got there" or wow you have got your hands full! We managed just fine, thank you very much and they are great kids!

We went over to the market and the kids practiced being farmers, this is one of my kids' favorite things each year!

They got to practice milking a pretend cow ;)

Channing was in heaven sharing a stroller with her little buddy Emma....she loves rubbing Emma's head :)

The kids rode a couple rides and had a fun time with each other. The girls are in the purple car and the three boys are in the orange car...Emma obviously opted out!

They sure do love carousels!

Here is Cavin, Tyler, Ella, and Tyson. Oh how we love their family!

We had a fun time. By this picture Channing was ready to go so she is there in the stroller....just not worth getting out. We had a fun time and the rodeo is one of my favorite yearly traditions of living in Texas. We were glad to share a beautiful day with great friends!

Hartzheim Update

It's been a while since I posted. We have been busy, but with nothing so noteworthy that I wanted to blog about it. So I decided that I would just give you an individual update on each of us.
Ella has been loving first grade as has been the case the whole year. She had go Texan day at school and loved it. She gets so excited about everything school related. 

She is growing up so fast! She is also still loving gymnastics. She is getting stronger and stronger.  She always tells me Monday is her favorite day because she gets to go to gymnastics and have family home evening! 

 Besides not being able to watch ANY movie with her because she is so sensitive...or I would say incredibly emotional, she is a fairly good kid and a good big sister.

Cavin is in love with soccer. He started last month and that is all he can talk about. He is on the "red dragons" and is his favorite number, number 8. He is getting better and better and the concept is coming along well. His main issue is that he is SO clumsy and usually when he trips he takes down all the boys with him!

Here he is at his first game

He happens to have coaches that go to our same church so when he sees them he always says hey those are my coaches, Coach Western and Coach Paul! Other than soccer Cavin still loves numbers and always has to wear a shirt with numbers on it. He also loves to play the wii and hang out with his dad. I think it is sweet how much a little boy loves their father. 

Here is a picture of Cavin when he was surprised before naptime by his dad who stopped by from work! And here is his latest creation!

Channing is something else! I cannot tell you HOW many people stop me in stores and ask me where her red hair comes from and tell me how beautiful it is. I swear it's like people have never seen a red head before! One older lady at Chick Fil A even thanked me for having a red head because she saw a documentary that said that red heads were becoming extinct! Really???? Guess I'm glad I could help!?

She does the most random things and has the funniest personality! She is so sweet and happy at home, but if we go to a store, the red in her comes out and she is not as pleasant! She loves to sing and LOVES her brother and sister..and Aunt Natalie. She is a fast learner, and notices things around her very quickly. 

She has this silly new thing with her tongue and it's always out!

As for me, I am just doing the usual and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love watching my kids learn and grow. I am still running and cleaning, and keeping stripes in the carpet ;) My friends surprised me with tickets to Bruno Mars at the Houston Rodeo for my birthday this week and he put on an amazing show. He is awesome. Then yesterday Ragnar got our family and my sister and parents a suite to Cirque de Soleil and we enjoyed that as well. I have great family and friends!

And as for Ragnar....this is how he spent the last couple weeks....

The Allstar game was in Houston this year and he was not sad at all about having to "work" it. He loved every second and still loves his job. The season only has about another month left and I must say, I am not too sad about that. I am about ready to have him back home!
All in all, everyone is doing well and we have much to be grateful for!

A Visit from Opa Hartzheim

In January we had the pleasure of having company from Ragnar's father Hellmut. He was kind enough to stop through for a few days on his way to his grandsons baptism. We had a nice time visiting with him. The kids loved to have him around. He and Ragnar went to the Rockets game on Saturday night and Hellmut had the opportunity to warm up a bit coming from Germany and before he headed to Utah.

 He and Cavin had matching Angry Bird jammies and Cavin thought that was pretty cool!

We got to go to church and to breakfast together and just relax. We enjoyed his visit and look forward to having his wife join him next time! Thank you for coming!!!

Some firsts for Ella

So this past week or so has provided some first experiences for Ella. She has been dying to try gymnastics for quite some time. Most little girls see the Olympics and want to start and be like those gymnasts. I have had her on the waiting list for two gyms for a while and I called last week to check and there was an opening for her and her friend Emily. She was SO excited. So the first week she struggled to gain some strength, but loved every second, and this week she had some definite improvement and she wants to go everyday! I am glad she is enjoying trying something new!

Here she is in her new outfit from her Grandma Speers. She was SO excited to have a leotard (which is underneath ;)
Then on Sunday.......obviously the day before this picture....she lost her first tooth (she technically has had two gone that were pulled by the dentist, but these are the first ones at home that were loose)! She had been wiggling it with her tongue for weeks and I couldn't stand it anymore! I so badly didn't want it to come out because I hate the phase when kids start to get the big goofy looking teeth, but it had to be done. So....her father worked on it for a bit and then I got the pleasure of being traumatized but successful. Out it came and I hated every minute of it. She is so excited to have her tooth gone and the funny lisp that comes with it. Oh man....can she stop growing now!
Here she is right before it was pulled.....

And here is the picture the next day we took of her missing tooth for the "Lost Tooth Book" that her teacher has at school that she was super excited to write in.

Aunt Daphne

Ragnar's sister Daphne went to Germany for Christmas and on her way back to Utah she came through Houston for a few days. We were so grateful she spent her precious vacation with us. We have a wonderful time with her and the kids love playing with her. 

She is great at playing with the kids and the kids enjoyed showing her the trampoline.

We went bowling...and she beat us....but we still let her come home ;) We played games and Just Dance on the wii and even though "she is not very good" at wii Mario kart according to Cavin, he still let her play! Ragnar, Daphne, and I were also able to go to a Rockets game and watch them win. 

Channing warmed up to her and kept calling her name by the time she was ready to leave.

Thanks for coming Daphne....I especially enjoying chatting with you!

Saying Goodbye to Memories

So this December has been a hard one for our vehicles! On December 20, 2012 Ragnar got rear ended on the freeway driving to work by a lady who had also gotten hit by a mustang behind her. The mustang totaled her car and hit the SUV that hit Ragnar so thankfully the SUV took most of the brunt of the accident which allowed Ragnar to walk away just fine. Even though the mustang was smashed, every one in the three car accident was o.k. Since the accident happened right before Christmas the insurance was very slow about making an assessment of the damage to our car. It is a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu so it wasn't worth a whole lot. It is however our first car we bought when we got married and it served us well. In the meantime of trying to figure out what happened to that, our van starting making lots of noise, so we took it in because we thought it was the brakes that were under warranty. It ended up being something way more expensive and it is also an old car which we were planning to replace this year.....so all in all, long story short....we ended up having no car. So we had to buy something and since our 2000 Toyota Sienna lasted through our family for thirteen years, we decided to buy a brand new one. So we bought a 2013 Toyota Sienna.

Here is our old Sienna....it was so sad for me to say goodbye to it. It was a good car for us. I hate change, so all of the things that didn't work in it didn't bother me! I guess it was time to be retired though.

And here is the new one....it is Cypress Pearl ;) a.k.a green. I am praying it will last another 13 years!
So car shopping is miserable and yesterday we found out we get to do it again! Oh boy! They totaled our Malibu too because the frame damage they say was too severe. It ended up being a blessing because what it is worth on blue book is WAY less than what their insurance is giving us for it. So I guess this year will be new for everything. A new house, and two new cars! Not exactly what we had in mind but I am grateful we have transportation!

The last time we will see the old Malibu. Seriously it is kindof sad to get rid of the only two cars you have had in the span of one week! Oh the memories we have had. Goodbye Malibu and Sienna.

Christmas Season 2012

This year we were lucky to be surrounded by wonderful family and friends for Christmas. My Grandma Wall was able to come from Utah at 87 years of age and enjoy the season with us. She took a tumble while she was here and we were so grateful she was ok and even more grateful she was here with us. She was able to stay with us for a few days as we were able to "share" her with my parents. She spent Christmas eve with us and got to be with the kids for Christmas morning. 

Here are their treasures from Christmas. Ella got two "American dolls"(not the real ones) and Cavin got a wii game and remote and Mario stuff, and Channing got everything Minnie Mouse

Here they are a couple days before Christmas right before church

The girls!

The boys...who got photo bombed by Channing ;)

It was definitely an interesting year having a bad wind storm on Christmas and having no power at my parents house most of the day, but we enjoyed each other and my two sisters Natalie, and Marisa and her family were able to also join us so that was nice. Thank you for everything to my mom and dad and a special thank you to my Grandma for taking the time and effort to come visit us and for allowing us to have a Christmas we will will always remember. We love you!