Scones with the Coils

We have decided to make sure we use our new larger space to have more friends over. Tonight, the Coils joined us for Scones. So fun to have them over since they are so amazing about having people over to their place. Yummy!

BBQ at the Tubbs

I'm always trying to get the Tubbs to do things at their new beautiful home. When Brenda and I talked this week- we decided to do something for Labor Day together. So.. they invited a few families over tonight for a BBQ. We got to hang out with a couple families from both our old Ward and our new Ward. What a fun time!
Silly girls!

 It was so fun to hang out with the Tubbs, the Binghams, the Bywaters and the Piersons. Food was great! The boys loved starting a fire and playing football. And the girls loved running away from the boys and dancing! Fun times!

The kids were goofy and a bit chilly so they played in the cars quite a bit. Locking out the boys, etc. Unfortunately, we had left our keys in the van and someone locked all the doors. Brett had to use his super agent powers to jimmy the lock. Oh boy! Never a dull moment with us!

Quinn's Swim Party

Glory & Victoria got invited to a birthday Party for Quinn Fife today. They were so excited! They went swimming at the Broadwater Athletic Club. (It's water is supplied by some hot springs) They were in heaven!

1st Day at Montana City School

I cannot believe the Summer is over! Where does the time go? I took the kids last night to check out the school and make sure they knew where their classes and lockers were located. Starting a new school is always a little scary so we wanted to feel comfortable about where they were going. We realized that all the kids (except Justice) have been in new schools for the last 4 years. That's a lot of adjusting to new situations! What good, brave kids I have.

Today was their first day at Montana City School. It's a K thru 8th grade school so everybody is in the same school. (for this year at least). I drop my 2 middle schoolers off at the door to their wing of the school. Off they went! .

Then we got the girls settled in their classes.
Victoria has Mrs. Sharbano. She has a couple of girls from Church in her class so she was excited!
Glory has Mrs. Meyers. She also met a friend this morning- Elizabeth W.-who is also new to the school. They met, held hands and off they went for the day! ;)
Good Luck, Kiddos in your new school!

We Talk ALOT!

We spoke in Sacrament today. Everyone did a great job! Although some children were less than happy to speak AGAIN so soon! LOL
Writing my talk was, let's say complicated? Without the internet yet- getting information from the notes on my phone & a couple quotes from the internet to the computer to the printer was slightly tricky. I had to take pictures of my notes, Then hook it up to my computer with the cord. Find the pictures to transfer on the computer and then cut and paste them into a word doc. Whew! I think it turned out well though so guess it was worth it.
Maybe we've filled our "speaking in Church" quota for a while? Let's cross our fingers! ;)

New Ward Picnic

We had the chance to spend time with our new Ward Family tonight for their annual Ward Picnic. We're being brave and meeting new people. They've been super welcoming. It was a fun night at the Fairgrounds.

End of the Summer Activities

Because I'm so behind- I am going to lump all our end of Summer festivities together. Here's what the last weeks of our 2014 Summer consisted of:

August 12th- Is this Pool ever open?

We joined a group of friends at the Memorial Park Pool today for a short swim. If there's ever any kind of bad weather close by or in the distance, they kick everyone out of the pool. And have to wait at least 30 minutes before they will open back up. I seriously don't know why they built an outdoor facility there. It open for a month or so for part of each day except of course unless there's a cloud in the sky. ;) The kids did enjoy the little time they did have with their friends.

August 19th- Kayak Fun

We ended up buying kayaks for the kids but then the weather turned bad & we have been out of town. We haven't got to use them. So when the weather looked good this week, we ran out to the lake for a little kayak fun. The water was kind of chilly but the kids loved them!!!

Wednesday mornings- Summer Movie

At the beginning of the Summer, we bought movie passes for Wednesday mornings. It's been fun to go on a little date each week with the kids.

August 20th- Trampoline Get-Together

We took the opportunity to have a couple friends over to enjoy our trampoline. And riding the go-kart just always seems to happen as well.

August 22nd- Barefoot Sandals

Whenever the girls go play at the Paynes- they end up coming home with some amazing Pinterest crafty thing. Allie is amazing that way! Here's what they came home with today! Super cute!

August 23rd- Liberty's Babysitting & 1800s Party

Liberty had the opportunity to do a zillion babysitting jobs the week before school started. She babysat twice for the Stovalls, twice for the Schoenfields & an overnighter for the Smiths (she had a partner in crime for this one- her friend Mikal). She rocks!!! To reward herself for a long week, we let her go to a Mikayla's 1800s birthday party at their lake cabin. Liberty got there late so most of them had changed out of their costumes but they changed back into them just for her. Such sweet girls!

August 23- Mud Puddles

It rained a lot and pretty much flooded our front and driveway. They kids had a blast!!! BUTT they got a little muddy! LOL

August 24th- Gavin's Movie Party

The Andersens had us over for Gavin's birthday party. They wanted to do a movie on the projector in the back yard but it rained!!! Grrr! But they did adorable treats bags and showed a movie in their playroom. We had a blast!

August 26th- Popcorn Circus

Since Gavin's Party, Liberty has been asking to make "Skinny Popcorn" all the time! They pop it and then spend an hour throwing popcorn in the air and trying to catch it. It's like a circus around here! ;)

Fun Summer Memories!!

SUPER excited to be in the Neighborhood

We made cookies tonight and took them around to our new neighbors with this little note. Everyone is super nice. We LOVE this street already!

We also received treats from neighbors when we moved in. So sweet!

BBQ Disaster

So...
we learned something about our new house today.
**It is NOT Montana WIND-proof.**
Put together for 5 days and used only twice- our BBQ blew away and got smashed & dented to make it look like we've had it for years. The only reason that it didn't fly away completely was that it was hooked to the gas line. I know... super safe. The storm seriously came in so quickly and blew everything off my back COVERED deck. I lost one of my gorgeous red Adirondack chairs. Broke the arm rest off. I'm so sad!!!
Oh well. That's life sometimes. Now, it's back to Lowes to buy something to tie everything down. Grrr!

Work BBQ

I can't even tell you how lucky we are to have such amazing people that Brett works with. It's like a big extended family. I love it! Since we set up our BBQ this week, we decided to throw our 1st official Work Party at the Seamons house. I adore these people!!! We ate, visited and even did some hula hopping. We are amazing!!! LOL

Here's the Super Team! What good-lookin' men!

Fielzers Visit

Some of our dear friends- the Fielzers- from Fargo came for a visit. Can I tell you how much I love visitors!?
Lucky for us- Teri's mom lives in Montana. Hopefully that makes it so we will see them every year or so. [HintHint]
We had a BBQ at our home. Glory adored their dog and even designated herself as the Pooper Scooper. So funny! Tony helped Brett set up the BBQer and made some pretty amazing steaks! And of course the kids loved the Go-kart rides! Teri made us Huckleberry Ice Cream. I'm in heaven!!! {Now that I'm a Montana girl- I am in love with Huckleberry anything!}

They stayed in a hotel for the night and then the next day Tony took all the kids on a hike up Mt Helena in the late morning. (Brett went for a bit of his lunch break but had to head back to work after the cave. Tony braved the rest of the way to the top with 6 kids and a dog all by himself. What a brave man!!! Everyone made it back down. Mostly hot, sweaty, a couple scrapes and some grouchy faces but alive!! LOL) While he was hiking away- Teri, Liberty and I checked out Costco, the fabric shop, the Parrot candy shop and the walking mall.

What a fun visit! They also left us with come beets and some green beans from the garden. We ate like Kings & Queens this week. Yum! Fielzers- Thanks for making us a stop along your way! We love you guys!

Anniversary Celebrations

Imagine 7 hours in a minivan, a bad headache, a few Ibuprofen, and a little nap before a super sweet hubby made a special dinner & treat to celebrate. That would be my 18th Anniversary! ;) Long day in the car but my kiddos are back home and I am one lucky girl! XOXO!

18th Anniversary- Walk Down Memory Lane

I can't believe that I have been married for 18 years. Holy Moly!

I was blog-stalking reading my good friend and came across a post she wrote about her hubby on their anniversary. It was so sweet and told their story through pictures. Right up my alley! So I decided to copy her. Thanks Shay!

I don't have the best memory but I do love pictures. They say "a picture is worth a thousand words", right? Here's a little tribute [our entire marriage together in a nutshell] to the amazing man that I am lucky enough to spend my life with. XOXO!

In 1995-  Brett was the most gorgeous, thoughtful, kind guy I had ever met. I'm sure our views of this year vary greatly. LOL But this year was proof that if you are at the right place at the right time- miracles can happen. I was so in love with him from the beginning!

Brett took Shay to Homecoming Dance at USU

August 6, 1996- We dated for an entire year before we were married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. Brett was so patient in our 6 months of dating and 6 months of engagement. My family adored him and I'm sure everyone felt that I didn't deserve such a perfect guy.

1997- We both worked full time and Brett graduated with his Bachelors Degree. We celebrated our 1st anniversary.

1998- Is kind of a blur of ups and lots of downs and figuring out how to live together. Marriage was not what either of us expected. (Maybe I should say that I'm sure Brett wondered what he got himself into.) I was young and mean. {at least I'm not in denial} Brett was always so patient and loving and willing to forgive. I am a very lucky lady! But--- we sure look gorgeous here.

1999- From the outside looking in- We made a pretty gorgeous, perfect couple. But truth be told- year three was rough. Meshing lives together, working, going to school and learning to communicate was not something I was good at. I have no idea how I managed to get such a good man. He taught me a lot of what married life really should be like. So glad we made it!

2000- Man! we are a cute couple!!!! This year we started to figure things out. Brett worked on his Master's Degree and worked full time while I worked as well to help pay for stuff. We figured out that marriage is hard but worth fighting working for. We also found out we were pregnant with our first child.

2001-  A baby girl joined our family this year. Even though I was impatient waiting- in hindsight- it was the best thing we could have done- to figure out US before we brought someone else into the equation. We were tired [lack of sleep], poor and happy! Brett finished up his Master's Degree this year. What a smart man AND no- I still do not call him "Master"! LOL

2002- Life was good- requiring adjustments along the way but good. Brett has always done everything possible to work hard to provide for our cute little family. He always amazes me how he manages to juggle life, money, marriage and fatherhood. He does such a good job at it!

2003- Our family was joined by a baby Boy. We were cramped in a tiny condo but content!

2004- This year brought lots of changes to our family. We sold our little condo and stayed with family for a while. Then we bought a home to fix up only to find out Brett got a new job and had to leave for training for 6 months in Georgia. Brett is so handy, smart, brave, hard-working, diligent, and handsome. We missed him tons!!! After his training, we sold our home and moved across the country to Fargo, ND. This was the first time I ever lived anywhere but Utah. But I was so excited for a new Adventure. I would follow Brett anywhere! I was so grateful to be living under the same roof again.

2005- Life was good- enjoying our new home, community, friends and each other.

2006- This year, we bought a home and had another baby girl join our family. Brett worked hard even when he wasn't appreciated by his bosses. I was so grateful that he supported me in being a stay-at-home mom. He always told me how he worked to support me in my more important job. He is such a good man!

2007- I think this was about the time that life got fun. Let me explain- Up to this point I was a little lot uptight and controlling and quite a party pooper. I have had tiny kids for 6 years which is a hard job even if you have an amazing Hubby who helps around the house, supports you and does more than his fair share of household duties. But I think I started to lighten up a bit this year. (or Brett may still be waiting for this to happen- let's not ask him. ;) We had AMAZING friends and tons of good examples in Fargo. Couples that taught me by example and counsel to enjoy my Hubby and my life. Thank you, Brett for a WONDERFUL life! XOXO

2008- We added a little Glory to our family this year. We did lots of simple, fun things together. Brett is still as gorgeous as the day I met him. Maybe even more.

2009- This is the year that I started experimenting with my hair. I went long, short, black, brown, red, layered, curly, straight. I was brave. Looking back- Brett was too. ;) He was always telling me how beautiful I looked no matter what color or length I adorned that month. [even when pictures might proof otherwise. LOL] I am so lucky to have a man that loves me and still finds me attractive after 13 years.
I also started blogging this year. As I look back at it- I am truly amazed at what a perfect, fun, loving, silly, safe, happy life I have. I owe that ALL to Brett!

2010- What a perfect little family we made together! Brett is very patriotic, a good citizen and defender of truth and right. He is such a good example to our children and others!

2011- This year, we made plans to move out of the country to Bogota, Columbia. We were nervous but excited! It is because Brett is a smart, trust-worthy, Spanish-speaking, kind, hard-worker that opportunities like this are open to him.

sidenote- I went back blonde because that's what Brett said he liked the best

2012- This year our lives were turned upside down. Our hopes of our new Adventure were dashed when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in April. I went through 4 rounds of Chemo and 16 rounds of Herceptin. I ended up having a bilateral mastectomy in August. I lost all my beautiful, long blonde hair that Brett had waited for a couple years to get back. ;) I lost my "womanly" figure- at least what was left of it after 4 kids. But somehow Brett never stopped loving me and telling me how beautiful I was. I think he may have fudged the truth a bit this year but I love him for it. ;)
I can't even tell you how much I appreciated Brett this year. He was there every step of the way. If he was ever fearful or angry- he never showed it. He never worried about the cost or the time or the ugliness we faced. He was my rock of faith and love and laughter. I couldn't have made it through this year without him.

2013- This year we started a new adventure but not where we had originally planned. Brett's job took us across the country to Helena, MT. Brett has such great faith. His favorite saying to me when I'm stressed out about life is "We'll find Zion, We will!!" I always roll my eyes at him when he says it but he's right. He is laid back and trusting in the Lord's plan. He is such a great example to me. I can't say enough how much I don't deserve him but am forever grateful he is in my life. What a gorgeous man!

2014- This year has also been an adventure. [Is there anything but Adventure in our lives these days? LOL] First, we decided to build a home together. Don't they say that "building a house is one of the most stressful things you can do with another person"? It was stressful at times, for sure. But I think God having us survive a year of a Cancer-fight made it seem like a piece of cake. ;) Don't mistake this that I was a angel the whole time (I know the picture below can be deceiving. LOL) BUT Brett was. Where did I find this man???
Over 19 years of being together- we have learned (perhaps some of us are still learning) to have faith, have fun, be silly, love each other, laugh and not sweat the small stuff (some of the time).

Wow! That's quite the life we've had together!

Happy 18th Anniversary, Honey! I love you more than I could ever tell you. XOXO Thanks for the amazing life you have allowed me to share with you. I'll be the first to admit- I don't deserve you. But I'm glad you're mine. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Luv you forever!

P.S. Not that anyone will ever ask me but my advice to those that want a happy marriage- "No one said it would be easy but it will be worth it. Even with all the ups and downs- enjoy the moments!".

UT: Church Office Building with Shauna

On Monday morning before most of us headed back home (the three younger kids stayed at Cheri's for a few extra days)- we stopped by the Church Office Building to see where Shaun's been working this Summer. She has this amazing office. Check out her view. Beautiful!

She took our family up to the Observation Deck and also to the basement for lunch. We love spending time with Shauna!!! Thanks Shauna for showing us around. We had a great time! (P.S. I love the pic of the kids by the fountain outside. It just goes to show- it's not all fun & games at the Seamons party. Oh my grouchy teenager! LOL)

Oh my heavens! I love taking pictures of the Salt Lake Temple!