Tipis on the Guadalupe

We had a great Easter weekend. Our friends invited us to the tipis on the Guadalupe river in New Braunfels, TX about 3.5 hours from our home. We went up Thursday afternoon and stayed until Sunday morning. 

I am not a huge camper, so these were perfect for us to experience the outdoors with some commodities to make us comfortable as well. There was ac/heat, a tv, a mini kitchen to cook, and our own bathroom/showers. It was a cute little tipi with 2 queen beds and a sofa bed. 

There was a swing overlooking the river and it was such beautiful weather all weekend. 

The grounds had ping pong, volleyball, corn hole, and tetherball which the kids enjoyed playing. They also played a lot of football. 

These cute girls had a fun time together. Channing, Jane, and Cheyanne. 

The first day we went kayaking and tried to swim, but only the kids were brave enough. The water was SO cold!!

Channing was not very confident her first ride in the kayak alone, but she finally made it back and did great after that. 

Our friends brought this lily pad float that the kids loved playing on. 

We went for a short hike to canyon lake and we spent a while skipping rocks together. Danny won the skipping contest. 

These 3 ladies are some of my favorite people and I am lucky to have them as friends. Becky Brown, Rachael Wharton, and Sharlene Hatch are the wonderful women and their great families we got to spend the weekend with.

Such a fun group of families. 

We went over to the Gristmill for dinner after our "hike". We had to wait a while so the kids occupied themselves playing duck duck goose. 

All the kids had great friends there. I'm so glad they have great youth to hang out with! Deacon's 3 best friends were there to, but naturally he was too busy running around to get a picture :)

We made dinners and each night we built a fire and made s'mores. 

They even bought some fancy thing to make the flames change colors. 

The kids enjoyed the s'mores!

The last night we had an Easter egg hunt on the property and it was fun to hide the eggs. One of the women bought these cute cookies to give the kids. I thought they were adorable!

We had listened to conference in the tipi, had a morning Easter devotional, listened to more conference on the drive back and then watched the last session at my parents home. Ella had her patriarchal blessing that my father, Kerry Speers, was able to give her, as he is a patriarch. It was a special blessing and I am so glad she was able to receive it and recognize all the wonderful things Heavenly Father has in store for her. 

We finished off Easter with a wonderful dinner and dessert with my parents, Natalie, and Chris' family. We have so many things to be grateful for. The atonement of Jesus Christ is at the front. I am so grateful for all He did and to know that He lives. It was wonderful weekend.

The End of an Era

This past week our family said goodbye to the Houston Rockets organization. Ragnar has worked for them for 12 years and joined when Cavin was just 10 months old. It is basically all our family has known and it is sad to move on. We were so grateful for the experiences that it has provided for our family over the years and while it is sad to move on, it is time. We will forever be Rockets fans and have great memories of that phase of our life. 

Last Monday we went to our last Rockets game as employee family members. 

The kids wanted to go to Ragnars desk one more time. 

One more family picture together. 

The kids' friends, the Browns came over to our suite and watched the game with us and made it much more lively.

We sure have loved all the events and games here in this arena. 
Here is Ragnar's last day of work at center court. 

Ragnar will begin working for Deutsche Windtechnik today. He is excited to be back to his German roots and try a new industry. I know he will succeed and be as beloved by his new co workers as his last. Here is to a new phase of life and his first day of work picture today. 

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.