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Ella had an eventful birthday weekend! My mom talked to me a couple months ago about taking her to Waco, TX to do a fun birthday girls trip for her 13th birthday. We weren't sure it would work with the Rockets playoff schedule, but with some help we were able to make it happen. I surprised her and picked her up early on Friday from school and told her we were taking her on a road trip to Waco. She is interested in being an Interior Designer and likes the show "Fixer Upper", so we thought it would be fun to show her where it is filmed since it's only about 3 hours from Houston. She was excited and off we went.
Well...little did we know, but the weather turned pretty bad and there were tornado warnings around when we were trying to leave. After a prayer, we decided to move forward with our plans and head out. We left and hit some pretty bad rain, stopped a few times, but then after about 30 minutes were ok the rest of the way. We found out later that there were funnel clouds behind us and the road we had taken flooded not long after we left. We were blessed for sure!
Our first stop was Bucees. Grandma bought her a slurpee and some candy so she was thrilled!
That was the beginning of a LOT of sugar for the weekend. ;)
When we got to Waco, we went to Inn and Out Burger for dinner. I love Burgers, but this one was a little bit disappointing. We then went and did a little shopping for Ella at Target and Hobby Lobby and headed to our rental house.
The house was small and cute, but it was not in a location we expected and completely in the middle of no where and kind of in the ghetto of a town called McGregor. We made it work and it was fine.
Ella used her new watercolors and we played Five Crowns and watched Planet Earth.
She was excited to hang out and share the king size bed with me!
Ella was fascinated by all the snails on the porch ;) Sadly I didn't see one...whoops!
The next morning we headed to the Magnolia market.
We looked around and saw what all the hype was about. We also took a short shuttle tour around the square.
Of course we tried the famous Silos cupcakes, and they were DELICIOUS!
We ended our outing at Barnes and Noble where she picked more birthday presents and then we went to Olive Garden where she chose dinner.
We had a nice time with my mom and sister and I am very grateful for their willingness to take time and money to make the trip happen and entering into Teenagehood fun for Ella!!
On Sunday, May 5th, her actual birthday, we had a low key day. It was fast Sunday so we went to church and then Ella decided to take inventory of all their beanie boos ;) haha. They have 163 between them!
Afterward we had dinner and opened presents.
She got some drawing stuff for sketching, gift cards, a squishmallow, and another beanie boo.
She got a camera which is what she wanted.
This shirt just reminded me of her, and she agreed.
Then she had asked to do Tie Dyed shirts, so we did our best to make them work.
They turned out ok even though they faded a lot on the first wash.
Then we had cake! I am so grateful for Ella. She is a great oldest child and a good example. She LOVES to read and is an experienced speed reader. She read a almost 700 page book on the 3 hour drive home. She reads everything! She also is very into music. She always has songs playing and she just loves music. She has a natural talent for music as well and does well on the cello and singing and when she practices, she could be great at the piano as well. She also is great at drawing and making Caricatures. She still is obsessed with anything SOFT and is very tactile and loves stuffed animals or beanie boos. She is a pretty even, happy girl and we love her and hope teenage years are kind to us all!
On April 20, 2019 Ragnar's parents, Hellmut and Ursula came to Texas for a visit. We always enjoy their company and were looking forward to their visit. The morning after they came was Easter Sunday and it was nice to spend a special holiday with them. The kids hunted for their baskets and found some eggs. We went to church and had a nice dinner and played games. It was a relaxing day.
Ursula was wonderful and played several hours of Hotel with the kids as they love the game. As the banker I retired after an hour and a half. That was long enough for me :)
Monday the kids had off of school still from the Easter break and their dreams came true when their Oma and Opa took them to Chuck E Cheese and McDonalds!
They loved it!
Tuesday we went for a walk to the park and played lots of games. We did some shopping and hung out.
On Wednesday we went to the Houston Rockets playoff game against the Utah Jazz.
It was too close of a game, but the Rockets ended up winning and so we were glad to witness that!
Thursday we relaxed and played more games and they went shopping with Ragnar and out to dinner.
Friday Daphne was able to come in for Channing's baptism the next day and we went to the temple all together. It was a nice evening.
Saturday they were able to witness Cavin playing soccer and Channing's baptism day!
I was so grateful they came to celebrate Channing's choice to become a member of the church.
Sunday Channing and Ragnar were brave and did a duet of "Choose Him Again" with Ragnar accompanying on the piano and Channing singing. It was beautiful.
On Monday while Deacon was at preschool we went down to Ragnar's office and went over to lunch.
We had a nice meal at Pappacitos. It was yummy and nice to have lunch with Ragnar.
The kids really enjoyed their visit and we are so grateful for their love and support. We know we are many miles, countries apart, but we are grateful for their constant influence and presence in our lives and especially our children's. Thank you for coming!
Channing decided last year that when she turned 8 and was able to, she wanted to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We have had her date set for April 27, 2019 for about a year. There were many factors in play that made the date a little questionable, but after figuring out Ellas orchestra competition weekend, a Rockets Playoff schedule, and Cavin's soccer tournament schedule, we were able to make it work. She was baptized on April 27, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.
We had a busy morning as Cavin was slotted the first game in the tournament, so we hurried and watched his 8:00 soccer game because Ragnar is also the coach. Then we headed to the baptism. We were a little on edge before since Cavin's game ended in a tie and he had to be the goalie in the shootout!!! They ended up winning and we were excited heading to the Summerwood Stake Center for the baptism.
Channing and Ragnar before the baptism.
Hellmut and Ursula
Aunt Daphne
Kerry and Terryl Speers
Aunt Natalie
This was my baptism dress, so it was special for me to have Channing be baptized in it and use it for part of her special day.
Our family was so proud of her.
The font where she was baptized by her father.
She's ready! Her father baptized and confirmed her. Her Grandpa Speers and Opa Hartzheim were the witnesses of her baptism. In her confirmation circle, there was Hellmut Hartzheim, Kerry Speers, Chris Speers, Nephi Mackay, and Ragnar. Ragnar and Ella also played a cello duet of "Lead Kindly Light." It was beautiful.
We were delighted to have cousins come support her.
Uncle Chris and Aunt Chira and family.
Her sweet cousin Charlotte, she just loves to play with.
Three generations of girls.
It was special to have both sets of grandparents in attendance. We didn't have a lot of other friends join us. Amber Brown and her family, Bruce and Pele Tate with Mallory Tate, Ben Pomazal, Ben Cuevas, Sharlene and Jane Hatch, Eva Armendariz and her kids, The Mackay family, and Brittany Raiford and her two children. We were super grateful for those who made the effort.
She looked beautiful!!
Her baptism towel!
We had dinner and celebrated together with lunch with the family and headed off to another soccer game. We love Channing and are so grateful for her goodness and example. She is a great girl and always trying to choose the right. I am so grateful she chose to follow Jesus' example and get baptized.
