Daphne Visits!

This weekend Daphne came to Houston to visit. She is unable to come for Thanksgiving or Christmas, so we celebrated them both a little early. We went to the boys soccer games in the morning and watched them play. 

Then we played games and set up the Christmas decorations and listened to Christmas music. I love to set up Christmas and the spirit that it brings. 

Ella is getting good at helping setting up the tree.

After we ate turkey dinner and enjoyed a great meal! Thankfully Daphne brought a turkey and did the hard work!

It was delicious. 

Daphne always does fun things with the kids, so this time she did a nonverbal IQ test for all the kids. It was fun to see where they were at. They are all super smart..which I already knew :)

We watched a Christmas movie, played more games, and then she was kind enough to come with me and Ragnar to work and do signs. It was much more fun to do together. We had a nice weekend and are always glad when she can come. It was a fun early holiday weekend. 

Halloween 2020

This year everything has been different and Halloween wasn't any exception. We were able to have a ward church Trunk or treat outside which was nice. We also were able to go trick or treating in the neighborhood with our friends. It was a simple holiday event. We had soccer games in the morning and my parents came over to watch and support, then celebrated Halloween in the evening. It was strange only having the younger two with us as our older two were with friends. The kids are happy and healthy, so even if Halloween wasn't a thrill a minute, we were glad to be able to celebrate.

We recycled some costumes this year. Ella made herself a deer costume. Cavin was Harry Potter, Channing was Hermione, and Deacon was Spiderman.

Baton Rouge!! A Special Trip for Channing!

This past weekend we went to Baton Rouge, LA to spend some time with Daphne. We enjoy going for conference weekend and had fun playing games with her and hanging out in the nice weather. We are on fall break, so Channing was able to have a special trip and stay 3 days longer with Daphne to have special Aunt time! When Ella was turning 10 she got to have a special weekend as well, so Channing has been begging for her turn. She loves her Aunt Daphne and couldn't wait!

We enjoyed nightly walks around the temple with Cortex.

The kids enjoyed rolling down the hill! Even Ragnar wasn't too old for some hill rolling fun!

We left Channing Monday night and she stayed with Daphne until Thursday. 

They made A LOT of treats! Channing loves the Kids Baking Championship show and always wants to bake the things they show on there. I don't love cooking, so I indulge her sometimes, but don't have the energy to spend hours in the kitchen. Thankfully her Aunt is a better sport than me and they baked to their hearts content!

She is so happy baking!

This is her always! Taking the measuring to the extreme! She is always singing and dancing while doing it!

They first made eclairs!

They went and got pedicures!

They made macrons. 

They played and hung out with Cortex, went for walks, went swimming and basically had a great time together. 

She even got to sleep with her Aunt and Cortex. 

The drive home took a REALLY long time as there was so much traffic. A normal 4 hour trip took almost 9.5 hours. I felt so bad for them driving.

Channing loved telling me about it, and I think she could stay there forever, but we are glad to have her back! I am so grateful for Daphne's influence in our lives and especially in the kids'. They truly adore her and she is such a wonderful support of them! We sure love her!

Family Pictures 2020

This year we used the same photographer as last year to take our family photos. I really love capturing my kids growth every year. I sure love to see how much they have grown and matured each family pictures. Although this year the pictures weren't my favorite, my family is! I am grateful to have another year of a healthy, happy family life!

September in a nutshell!

September has flown by! With the kids back in school and schedules mostly resumed, we are back to the busyness of life. Somedays I almost wish we were still in quarantine so we could just hang out as a family. Many sports resumed and the boys started soccer with the Texas heatwave again. Cavin is playing on the team Lightening with his dad as the coach again. Deacon is playing for the yellow volcanoes with Wes Brown as his coach again. They sure love to play and I really enjoy watching them!

Cavin also began his first tackle football season with his Timberwood Middle School team. He was placed on the A team which is the higher team and is working hard. Football doesn't come naturally to him as he is not a rough and tumble kind of kid, but he is learning to be more aggressive and tackle and I am proud of him for trying something out of his comfort zone. 

His first game they lost, but he is learning. He is playing as a safety and a wide receiver as #19. 

The oldest two children and Ragnar also practiced and performed a cello trio in church that was great. They played "Lead Kindly Light." It was so fun to see the 3 cellos practicing together and working together on something they all enjoy. Cavin has only played a year, but he practices hard and is catching up just fine. 

Unfortunately it is hurricane season, so we had to go help in Lake Charles and Orange, Texas with hurricane cleanup. The older two kids were great and really wanted to go. It was super hard work and very hot, but they did awesome and I am proud of them for wanting to serve.

Ragnar celebrated his 43rd birthday on September 25. We had donuts and went to Salt Grass for dinner. My parents and brothers family joined us for dinner that evening. We sure love Ragnar and are glad we got to celebrate another year of his life!

Another milestone was Ragnar and I were able to go on our first Blood donation date. He was finally able to donate blood in the United States! Yay for being able to help. 

We've had a good month and are continuing to be blessed by health. We are able to go back to church face to face and we are looking forward to the world healing so things can move forward faster.