Exploratory Sapphire Mining

At Montana City School, they have the kids participate in an Exploratory class twice a year. For this end of the year Exploratory, Liberty got to do Sapphire Mining.
One of the families with kids at the school (the Davis family), volunteered to let the kids come up to their Sapphire field and learn the process.I got to drive some of the kids up  for the first day.  The first day was all about collecting & sifting. It was super hot and sunny that day. The kids got way sweaty and tired from all that manual labor. LOL The Davis' niece was in town so she came up as well. She had a ring that was made from one of the sapphire she had found there a few years back. How cool is that? Once they collected and sifted about 20 buckets full of rocks, they took the kids back to the Davis' cabin for a bathroom break and treats. Super nice of that family to share their place!

The next day, they took them back up to sort & clean & find the gems. Of course, my teenager didn't take any photos of that day. But I heard it was cold & cloudy. It would have been perfect if the days had been switched. But she did get a little pile of sapphires and garnets to bring home. We may try to get a necklace pendant to put them in so she can wear them. Way fun!

P.S. Justice did the SRO Exploratory this time. They went to a park for team building skills and then all got to have an ice cream at the Big Dipper. Yum!

Trek Kickoff

We are super excited (well- the parents are) about being able to participate in our Stake Youth Trek this Summer! Brett & I have never gone on one before and now we get to go as a Ma & Pa and also experience it with 2 of our children. Super neat! Tonight was a Trek Kickoff for the Youth & their parents. They gave out info, shared some musical and dancing talent, and had Pioneer games for the trekkers. Hopefully we will all have an amazing, unforgettable experience.

All Day Babysitting

Liberty has quite a few chances to do some long babysitting jobs here in Helena. Today, Hannah & her got to babysit these sweet girls all day. Glory got to go up for a playdate for a bit. It made her day!

SuperHero Party

I found a poster the other day on a business window advertising about a 1st annual SuperHero Party happening this weekend at the Great Northern Carousel. WHAT? A party made especially for us! How kind of them. ;)
We bought tickets and went on a search for what characters we should go as to the party. It turns out that we had enough stuff to do the entire Avenger Crew. (are you surprised?) You should have seen the reaction when we walked in! .... We were AWESOME!
They took group pictures:

They had free carousel rides:

Outside, they had tons of treats and games with prizes. Plus a chance to get inside a firetruck and turn on all the lights!

And of course, what Seamons Party would be complete without a photo op? ;)  Even a couple little boys came up and asked if they could take their picture with the Hulk! ;) too cute!

Avengers Assemble!

Justice Turns Twelve

Our favorite son turned 12 today. Wowzers! Hardly believe he'll be getting the Priesthood soon. Such a good kid! We started out his celerbrations with a fancy breakfast before school. 
We opened presents throughout the day. He got some pretty SUPER gifts! 

He spent the rest of the day playing on the tramp with the little girls, eating his Avenger cereal, bouncing his red, white and blue ball the girls gave him (it's been lost and they found it and wrapped it up for him) and playing on the Wii with Liberty. Good times!

We made him a T-Bone dinner with "real" mashed potatoes {and no gravy for him} & buttered broccoli. Delish!

For dessert, he choose to have a Chocolate Fountain. It was so yummy and made us all sick! LOL 

Happy Birthday Justice. We love you!

P.S. When our kids turn 12, we make it a little extra special by making a unique gift that explains why we named them their name and a "precious" coin to remind them how much they mean to us. {Here's what we did for Liberty} It took a lot of research but we came up with the perfect thing for Justice. We bought him a Masonic sword and made a special shield to display it. We made him a shadow box that explained about tons of things that Justice means and also explains in detail, the symbols on his Sword of Justice. Pretty darn cool, if you ask me! 

Here's a closeup of his explanation sheet. We connected his coin in the space left at the bottom left. I know it's huge but at least then you can read it. ;)

When I was Eleven

Memories of when Justice was Eleven...

* Favorite color: Red, White & Blue
* Loves Pokemon & YuGiOh cards
* Earned Arrow of Light
* Started Middle School
* Loves fishing
* Graduated from the D.A.R.E. program
* Participates in Scouting
* Wears Captain America & R,W,&B shirts ALL the time!
* Quite the cooker of Eggs
* Loves the Kayaks
* Started wearing contacts
* Did Tackle Football
* Participated in the Montana Mucker
* Plays the Trumpet- solo at Christmas Concert
* Visited Fairmont
* Loves Driving the Go-Kart
* Did 2 Science Fairs
* Bears testimony every Fast Sunday
* Completed Hunter Safety
* Dad (Brett) is your Hero
* Enjoys being silly with Sisters
* Egg Fight Warrior
* Learned to love to read. Books of Dragons
* Lead roll in the BigFoot play at School
* Started babysitting (for Seedalls)
* Attended Merit Badge University
* Earned Faith in God Award

Hey Bud- We are sure impressed at what an amazing young man you are. You love life and laughter. You love to tease and have fun. You are super smart and thoughtful. You are a thinker and have great wisdom. You are righteous! You are one handsome kid. We are so grateful for you in our lives. Love you! XOXO

As Tall as Me?

I knew this day was coming. I'm actually pretty sure that I will be the shortest in my family at some point- but WHAT? Liberty has passed me by. What a tall gorgeous girl!

Grammy & Grandpa Randy Visit: Spring Meadow Lake

The first day Grammy & Grandpa were here- it was like Summer. We were even sunbathing on the back porch. However, the rest of the visit was more like Fall time weather! (Sorry Edette) Despite the chill in the air, we decided to share with them a walk around Spring Meadow Lake. It was so peaceful!

We spent a good chunk of our time looking for the Alphabet in nature so we could spell our last names. Here's what we found for CRUMP. Awesome!

Thanks for the visit, Grammy & Grandpa Randy! 

We love you guys! Come back soon.

Grammy & Grandpa Randy Visit: Painting

My Dad (Grandpa Randy) is quite the artist. I remembering him painting gorgeous oil paintings of Indians when I was growing up. [That reminds me- I need to figure out how to get my hands on one of those someday}
A couple years ago, he painted all the grandkids their favorite animal for Christmas.
People always blame (honor) my creative talents to my Dad. I think he is very talented and grateful he would share that with my family.
As a special treat, Grandpa Randy brought us up a fun way to express our creative energy! He brought us all canvas & we each did our own painting based off one he had done. [Acrylic not oil, this time] I loved how they were all so different. Even with a few getting frustrated (& NO for once it was NOT my Dad. Way to go, Daddy!) we are AMAZING!

Here's our finished projects:

Last Primary & Faith in God

Justice had his last day of Primary today. I can't believe he is turning 12 this week. Wowzers! It was fun to be the Primary President with the honor of congratulating him and signing his Faith in God Award. We are so very proud of his hard work and what an amazing young man he is becoming!

Grammy & Grandpa Randy Visit: Fishing & Dancing

While the ladies did some dancing (see here & here), Grandpa & Brett took the rest of the kids out for a little fishing. We haven't had much luck catching things here in Helena. That is... until now! Check out these beauties they caught & ate for dinner! Good times!

Plus a little game of Monkey in the middle.

Mama Rave- UpTown Funk

For most of us the last Mama Rave was a fantastic time. It's definitely something that is out of the ordinary and out of the comfort zone of most "Mormon" women. But for me- it's a time to get out with girlfriends, be a little silly, dance and come home with some lasting memories. It's an event that binds those who attend together for life. I mean, seriously, "CRAZY" binds people! LOL
Even though our numbers were smaller this time- a bunch of us got tickets and planned for a night out to the Mama Rave. Even my step-mom, Edette was in tow and agreed to join me and my crazy peeps! It was super awesome that she'd step out of her comfort zone and be a part of our fun night! Thanks Edette- I LOVEd having you there!

 We met for dinner beforehand at the Jade Garden. The majority of us ordered Lettuce Wraps for our meal. We pretty much wiped out their lettuce supply. LOL Shay C. said they reminded her of a breast feeding/sore nipple remedy. We about peeped our pants laughing as she demonstrated the technique. We giggled and laughed at the menu, fun stories and our interesting fortunes! Man these gals are silly!
After we were stuffed and worked it all off in laughter- we all headed over to the Gateway Center for the dance. They had a photographer there to take "runway" shots of our group. How cute are we??

For those who missed the details of the last Mama Rave- here's an explanation that they had on the web:
Helena's exclusive girls night out! Mama Rave is a " pop up" nightclub just for ALL ladies over 21. Drinks, dancing, dressing up - what more could you want?

Helena's Exclusive Girls Night OUT!Mama Rave was born out of a need to dance and have fun with our friends. Where can you go to dance and socialize?Zumba class...too bright! no margaritas (virgin style for the Mormons. LOL) !...and, uh, spandex!The bar...we aren't looking!Your living room?...tried it...We combine music, drinks, dancing in a fun atmosphere. Think "girls night out" in an organized and sophisticated way!Mama * Rave will be hosted quarterly, in varying locations. Typically 8 to 11 pm.Attire: Night club attire is suggested PLEASE NOTE: You do not actually have to be a "mother" to attend...Being female is mandatory.

Half way through the night- they changed photographers and did photobooth type pictures. It was super silly and we had a blast!

The DJ played WAY more applicable music this time and we danced the night away! What an amazing group of friends I have! Love you ladies!

Formal Stake Youth Dance

With Liberty being 14, she had the opportunity to participate in the Stake Prom this weekend. Our Stake has a fancy formal dance once a year. Most of her friends aren't old enough but we have some awesome friends in a different ward that offered to let Liberty join them. Their daughter, Heather just turned 14 as well. Perfect for them to have someone to hang out with the whole night.
It was so fun to get Liberty all dolled up. Sister Payne (her new YW leader) let her borrow some fancy black and diamond jewelry. It was perfect! Liberty is such a beautiful young woman. Blow me away! Her Dad almost didn't let her out the door. I loved that she let me do up her hair and wore a little make up. Where did my baby go?

When the Nelson came to pick her up- they brought both the girls corsages and had their Dads pin them on. How sweet is that!?

The darling girls and their Daddys.

Brett gave her a few tips on what to do if anyone tried to kiss her. LOL

What gorgeous girls!

The Nelsons (Glen & Becky) took the girls out to a fancy restaurant {Lydia's Supper Club} in Butte before they went to the dance. It took them forever but they left stuffed! ;)

The girls were super brave and had a great time at the dance. Brett had told some of his Senior Seminary Students  to look out for Liberty so she got quite a few slow dances in. Way to go, Sis! Funny sidenote- She had taken her high heels as well as some flats. She wore her high heels the 1st half. She said all the boys that asked her were pretty short. When she switched into her flats- it was all the super tall boys that asked her to dance. Go figure! What a perfect 1st dance! Super special THANK YOU to the Nelsons for letting her tag along. You are awesome!

Grammy & Grandpa Randy Visit: Walking Mall

We took Grammy & Grandpa to the Walking Mall. We showed them the historic statues and murals. We stopped by the Birds & Beasley shop, the Lasso the Moon Toy Store, and the Parrot Confectionery for some candy. We took them all the way to the end to show them the Helena Fire Tower.

Then we took them to dinner at the Staggering Ox. Delicious!

Grammy & Grandpa Randy Visit: Firepit

We treated Grammy & Grandpa to a Fire-pit Dinner. Yum! & STINKY!!!

The kids collected the tall grass and started a huge bonfire!

Grammy & Grandpa Randy: Rattlesnake Hill

We took Grammy & Grandpa on a hike up Rattlesnake Hill. Whew! What a workout!!!

Here's a 360* view from the top:

Liberty called her friend and she came out on her roof to wave to us. How fun is that?

Unfortunately, we spent the next day finding these gross little things around and on us. Gross! Guess it's tick season in Montana!

Grammy & Grandpa Randy Visit

Grandpa Randy & Grammy made a visit to Helena this weekend. We were so excited to have them! This is the 1st time they have seen our new home in Helena. They brought us this amazing house warming gift. My Dad put the puzzle together and then framed it. We love it!

We did lots of things with Grammy & Grandpa while they were here so stay tuned for several posts of our Adventures.
But here's some of the random fun we had together:

Grandpa and the girls did a puzzle together:

Liberty & Grammy shared some love for music:

Justice made them breakfast one morning:

Grammy & Grandpa brought up color-changing earrings and barretts for the girls:

They brought up some games to play with the kids:

We took them to see the Capital Building:

Glory & Grammy spent quite  a few days as conjoined Twins. Stuck together like glue. Lots of giggling going on here.

They even joined the kids at school for lunch on Monday:

We also treated them to our Scone Tradition: