Ella Girls Camp 2021

Ella was able to go to girls camp at camp Olympia during spring break week. I was so grateful she got to go. Given how this past year has gone, we weren't sure if they would be able to. I really think the youth need these experiences, so I was so glad she got to go.

We had almost 40 young women from our ward go. We have such a great group of youth in our ward and I am so grateful!

They got to swim, canoe, horse back ride, do archery, and all sorts of fun things!

Ragnar got to go as a Bishopric member since the Bishop was out of town. Thankfully, Ella still likes having him around and it was a nice evening together. It also helped that he brought them all Crumbl cookies ;)

I am grateful for the experiences the kids get to have, and I am grateful Ella is such a good kid!

38 and Counting!!

 March 16, 2021 was my 38th birthday. As it is every year, it was during spring break. My friend Rachael and a lot of others were going to be gone during spring break, so she hosted a fun party the weekend before for me. The weather was beautiful. We had a couples night where we played glow in the dark ultimate frisbee and soccer.

You can't have an evening without Ragnar taking a selfie!

We have some great friends and such fun couples to be around!

Jordan and Rachael serenaded us with some songs. We played bingo and chatted and only left with one injury! It was a really fun evening. 

We also celebrated the Sunday before my birthday with my family since Ella was going to be at girls camp. Ragnar bought me a yummy cookie cake. 

We have this saying from when we were engaged at my grandmas house. She had a pillow that said this, and we have used it as an inside joke since then ;)

Ragnar wanted to give me my whole name...so I ate PLENTY of cookie.

Of course we had delicious burgers as well. I was glad to have my brother, sister, and parents to celebrate with.

On my actual birthday morning, I went for a nice run and came back for traditional breakfast donuts!

I went with Ragnar and the three younger kids, my parents, and Natalie to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and it was delicious! We came home, played games, watched a Hallmark movie, and Channing brushed my hair. It was great.

Overall, we celebrated my birthday several times and it was wonderful. I am grateful for wonderful people in my life to celebrate another year with. 

Staying Active

Deacon and Channing started Spring soccer season with the Texas Heatwave mid February. Usually Deacon and Cavin play, but this season Channing really wanted to try it out. Cavin will start school soccer the end of March so we decided not to enroll him with the Heatwave as well. Deacon still plays with Coach Wes Brown and he is on the orange Dynamos team. The are still undefeated and he scored 4 goals in the first quarter of his first game. Channing has a team with Coach Anne Johnson our friend called the Tornadoes and she is happy to have some friends on her team as she learns the sport and gains confidence. 

I love to watch them play and improve each week!

March 6th-

The first weekend in March is always the Woodlands half marathon/marathon. For the past decade I have run this race whenever I have been physically able. This year due to financial situations, I decided I needed to save the money and didn't officially register for the race. In effort to keep tradition, I mapped out a route and ran the half marathon on my own. I didn't worry about my time or anything else. I just ran. I ran because I love to run, and I am grateful for the body I have been given. I ran because sometimes our goals look different than we envision them, but that doesn't mean we can't still achieve them. So this half marathon was for me, to remember that there are some things you can't change, but you always have a choice. Today I chose to be positive and reach my own goals, regardless of whether it was an official race or not. It was beautiful weather, I felt great, and Ragnar was there biking beside me the last 3 miles. It is great to have his love and support. 

Deacon also finished his first basketball season with the YMCA. He played on the Ninjas team with Coach Hatch. He did well and loved playing. He is a good athlete and really fun to watch.

I am so grateful we have healthy bodies and we are able to play sports. 

A whirlwind week!

The kids had a week off of school for a winter break and it has turned out to be even longer off of school for weather reasons. We took the first weekend and headed to Baton Rouge for our last hurrah with Daphne! 

We got to Baton Rouge and Daphne had these cute Mardi Gras decorations for us to celebrate with. Mardi Gras was cancelled, but we got to celebrate one more time in our own way. Cavin loved the beads and we still have all the beads from when we went to the parade. We also got beignets one more time which we love. 

She always has fun random things to discover ;)

We watched a movie on the wall with a projector and sat in lawn chairs since most everything is packed. It was fun. We watched The Princess and the Frog because Louisiana connections all around ;)

We went to the temple several times to take Cortex for a walk. 

We also made paper airplanes to try out there. Ragnar and Cavin's were the best. 

The younger two love to go on morning walks with Daphne and Cortex. 

We went to LSU one more time and saw Mike the Tiger.

We also went to church and took one last family picture at the Baton Rouge temple. 

We played lots of games which we love. 

The last morning we went to the park and had a nice fresh morning together. We really had a nice time being with Daphne and were so glad we got to go there one more time. We will really miss having her close and driving there for fun weekends. She really has been the best aunt for the kids and they have adored spending the last 5 years with her. 

The rest of the week we played and went to my parents and then went to the Rockets game. 

Friday Ragnar and Daphne headed to Utah. They squished in the UHAUL and off they went. 

Valentines we just hung out together and prepared for the winter snow storm which was very weird to say in Texas. 

Ragnar and Daphne thankfully made it to Utah without a problem and met up with their sister Sandra. 

Meanwhile here, in Texas, we were colder than in Utah!!

We actually got snow and it reminded me how much I really don't like being cold!! So many are without power and I am so grateful that we still have it for now. 

It was 16 degrees and the kids were so excited to go out but only lasted 10 minutes at a time. It was so cold!!

Channing made a tiny snowman and so did Ella. 

The kids had no school Monday and a "snow" day tomorrow which I never thought would happen here. haha

I love how excited they were. It was fun the first day when we knew we had power and heat. After that, the next 3 days were hard. Ragnar wasn't able to get home and had a nightmare of cancelled flights. We didn't have power for long stretches. I had great men in the ward and a ministering brother, Ben who helped me. Finally on Wednesday afternoon when Ragnar knew he wouldn't be able to get home for another day, I turned off the water to my home, prayed that the pipes wouldn't freeze and made a long, slow drive to my parents who had power and heat the whole time. Ragnar finally got home late Thursday night and all was well in the end. A lot of stress, and staying up all night hoping I had turned the water on enough to keep the pipes from freezing, and some night sleeping by the fire with no heat! We made it though, and it was a week we won't forget!