Orchestra Bananza!

Cavin is in beginners orchestra at TMS this year and had his first concert last week. 

He is playing the cello like Ragnar and Ella. He is really enjoying learning.

He did a good job and we had fun watching him. He is catching on quickly.

Also that same week Ella performed in the Region Orchestra concert. She tried out and made the region orchestra a few weeks ago and was pretty excited. All of the middle schools in the region try out and only a few are selected. I was so glad she was brave enough to try out.
Between Friday and Saturday, she played 10 hours of cello to prepare for the concert!!! It was so worth it when we heard them perform!

We got front row seats! 

The concert really was amazing!! It was short, but so good and I loved hearing the whole symphony!! The weekend didn't end as she had to play 3 more hours on Sunday for other performances she will be playing in! I am so proud of her for putting in hard work and for using her talents!! We love music in our home!

Grandpa Haws Turned 90!

A couple months ago I was talking to Ragnar and I mentioned wishing I could be there for my grandpa's 90th birthday as he is getting older and I don't know when I could get out to see him. Well, being the amazing husband he is, he called me a little later and said, you should go, it wouldn't be too many flight miles. So, I called my mom and dad who were already going and then got my sister Marisa on board and we went to Utah for his birthday.
I flew into Salt Lake City, Utah on his birthday, November 1, 2019. My cousin Ryan Jackson was kind enough to pick me up from the airport and let me ride with his family to Vernal. When we got there I first met up with my sisters and parents and Grandma Wall who is 94 and also lives there first. 

She still looks great! Unfortunately she is having some nerve pain in her leg so she was having a hard time walking for a couple days. 
We went over to see my grandpa and wish him a happy birthday that afternoon.

His house looks the same as I remember. 

After we checked in and said hello, we went to Don Pablos and had dinner with all the Jackson cousins. 

There was a big crew of them and it was fun to see them all.
On Saturday we did the big party celebration! Grandpa came in with this silly hat and wig! I love his sense of humor and was so glad that although he has been in a lot of pain, he was happy and in a good mood!

The party was put together by my mom and aunts.  

Both my Grandma Wall and Grandpa Haws were happy and well and it's fun that they live in the same town. 

Then my Aunt Laurie brought the cake to sing happy birthday and it slipped and almost landed in his lap ;) haha!! 

They had a slideshow and it was great to see Grandpas life and try and catch up with my cousins and Aunts and Uncles.  

At the party they had a lot of my grandpa's art work displayed, and he is a fantastic artist. 

After the party we took my Grandma to Cold Stone as she and my dad love ice cream! 

That evening my parents had a family meeting, so my sisters and I played games with Grandma and watched a Hallmark movie. She still loves games in her old age! It's been so cold in Utah, but it was not even a half mile to our hotel, so we walked home. I was definitely not in Texas anymore!

Sunday we went to church with Grandpa and then got to see my Uncle Randy and Aunt Jana. 

It was great to see Grandpa and hear him talk about his life and share some time with us.  

That night we went to the cemetery and visited my Grandma Haws and Grandpa Wall and other great grandparents.  

So many family members in that cemetery.

I had stayed the nights in the hotel with my sister Marisa and we had a great time catching up! I wish I got to see her more often!

Monday we drove back to Salt Lake and I got to see my friend Ashley for the day and we had a great time. I flew back that evening. It was a quick trip, but one that I will never forget. I am so grateful for the time I had with my grandparents. I don't know when we will be able to get back or how long they will make it, so I really was thankful I was able to sneak away and say hello! I am glad we have forever to work on family relationships. I wish we lived closer to my extended family, but am grateful for the family legacy we have. 

Halloween 2019!

This year we have been taking a personal finance class, so we we have been trying to budget and save in areas where we could. In effort to help with that resolve, we decided to try and make due with the costumes we had. The kids used costumes they had with the exception of Ella who we found something for. She had a youth party that she needed something for. Ella was a pirate, Cavin a basketball player, Channing a disco girl, and Deacon spiderman (we finally convinced him not to be a storm trooper for the 3rd year). 

We went to the Trunk or Treat for our ward and then a couple evenings later we went downtown for Trick or Treats in the suites.  

We got to take a locker room tour and they upped their game this year.  

The next night Ella and Cavin were trick or treating with their friends, and so I took the younger two with Channing's friend Mallory Tate to go out. We were only out for an hour and a half and they got tons of candy, so we called it good. 

It was a simple Halloween, but we had a good time.

Archery Date with Dad!

The past few years for my dad's birthday, I have been trying to give him a gift of an experience together. This year I gave him an archery package for two. I thought it would be fun for both of us to try it. It always takes a couple months to get to redeem the gift as he travels a lot and we usually wait for the kids to go back to school. Friday we were able to go and have a morning together.

We were lucky that when we got there right after it opened there was no one there, so we got to do our own thing for an hour.   

We didn't really know what we were doing at first, but we definitely got better and better and hit the target paper the majority of the time.  

I hit my forearm a few times when I would hold my arm too close to the bow, but I learned after a few bruises ;) 

We got pretty good at this distance.  

I had a couple bulls eyes and my dad did as well.  

 

It was a fun morning and I'm glad that my dad still has the desire to try new things and get out and use our bodies. I have fun hanging out with him. Afterward, we went to World Burgers and got lunch. It was a nice morning. Happy late birthday dad!

All about Rags!!

September was a big month for Ragnar. On September 12, 2019 he was called by President Hales in our stake presidency to meet that evening. He came over to our house that evening and extended a calling to Ragnar as the 1st counselor in the newly forming bishopric. We both weren't sure what to think. Ragnar is an awesome guy and very capable. I knew that this would come, but I thought we were still a waze out. Nevertheless, he got on the phone the next morning and called his dad to see if he could quickly fly in to ordain him a high priest so he could be sustained in the calling. Hellmut was willing and able to come, and so he booked a flight. On Sunday, having not been told who the bishop would be, we found out he would be serving with Bishop Larsen and Craig Stephens which he knew in college and was neighbors with at USU.

They were sustained as a bishopric on Sunday and since none of them were high priests, they each had their fathers fly in to ordain them. Bishop Larsen was able to get his there Sunday, and Ragnar did his ordination on Tuesday night in our home. With Hellmut's visa, he had to wait 72 hours to get here, but we were so grateful he was able to make it. He was serving helping with the Frankfurt temple and we knew it was a busy week.

Father and Son! 

Hellmut was ordained by President Thomas S. Monson, so it was important for them both to have the same line of authority.

These great men were here to support him. My dad, Shane Larsen, Hellmut, Wyatt DiVall, Brenton Scott, and Bruce Tate. Hellmut ordained him as a high priest in German, and Brenton Scott set him apart as a counselor in the bishopric.
He is excited to do something new and work with the youth. He's a little unsure about what to do at this point and it will take some growing pains, but he will do a great job and I am excited for him. I, however, am not excited to have to be released as the Young Women President. I have been having a hard time with this new phase of life with all the kids gone, and now not to have a calling to focus on, I am a little unsure where that will leave me. I will do my best to support Rags though and I know he will do his best.

We went to Ihop the morning Hellmut was headed out to leave for a quick breakfast. It was yummy, but not even a few minutes after this picture, Ragnar left to take him to the airport and the rains came down with a vengeance. Tropical storm Imelda had hit and we got an enormous amount of rain in just a few hours.  

On his way back from the airport, Ragnar realized he wouldn't get to work, so he headed home and the streets began to flood. He wasn't able to get home, so he parked his car at Kroger, about 5 minutes from our house. Luckily, his friend in a truck was driving by and was able to get him a good portion of the way home before even he couldn't get home.  

The water on the street rose so fast and the kids and I started hauling furniture up the stairs as fast as we could.  

Ragnar ended up soaked running the last mile of the way home. It started to go down by the time he got to us. For about an hour I was really worried our home was going to flood. 

It was a crazy storm and unfortunately homes did flood in other areas and the clean up relief started a couple days later. We were blessed to be ok, but others were not as fortunate. 

A few days after Imelda, was Ragnar's 42nd birthday! 

We both worked out in the morning and he led the workout with his new bootcamp group he goes to at 5 a.m in the morning. Then we had birthday donuts!!

For lunch I went downtown to meet him for lunch. We went to Morton's and enjoyed a good meal! 

That evening we both had to be at church for our callings, so we got a late start on celebrating his birthday. The kids all made him presents and Cavin made him a cute homemade trophy cup. 

He wanted a weighted vest for his working out. Hard to believe that at 40 pounds of vest, that is still 45 pounds less than he weighed last year on his birthday.  

We had his favorite chocolate chocolate chip bundt cake. I am so proud of him this year and all he has accomplished. He has worked hard and I am excited to see what his 42nd year will bring!