50th Wedding Anniversary

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to these 2 amazing people!! (Lana & Garold Seamons) Wish we could have been there to celebrate with all of you. Thanks for your love & example to all of us! Congrats!!! Xo

Grandma & Grandpa Seamons

Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Seamons for coming to say goodbye. Love you tons! Happy 50th Anniversary in December. What great examples you are to our family. Xo

Twenty Years... on One Knee

Twenty years ago in this very spot- this amazing man got down on one knee & asked me to marry him. Best decision ever! Luv you! Xoxo

20th Anniversary GetAway

Brett and I celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary this weekend!!! We braved leaving the kids by themselves and did a little getaway to Idaho. Perfect distance to not be in the car forever.

We found a fun theme-room Hotel in Idaho Falls. We stayed in the Venice room. It was awesome!

They provide Bubbly on our own little private "balcony".

We drove down to Blackfoot & spent time with our friends for a wedding reception. Then came back to spend the night at the hotel. We even rented a massage table. So amazing! I need one of those at home!

They delivered breakfast to the door in the morning. We got it a little late so the Hot Cocoa cream was melted but everything was delicious!

Once we checked out, we headed downtown to explore a little, We did a little shopping then saw that they have a special exhibit at the Museum. It's right up our alley so we decided to stop. "Rebels with a Cause"

We caught the tale end of the Farmers Market so we tried Mexican Street corn. Oh.My.Heavens!!! It looks and sounds gross but it was super fabulous!

We checked out the Falls. The Idaho Falls Temple is closed this week so we just enjoyed the view.

We found a little place to eat lunch. It was called Diablas. The owner was our chef. We just sat and watched her make our lunch. It was so good! I tried the Seafood Eggs Benedict. It came with fresh yogurt as well. (like homemade- Yum!) Brett tired one of their signature sandwiches and a super fresh salad.

We did head up to Rexberg to do a session at the Temple. It's the 1st time I've been inside so it was a special day! We are going to count this as our Touching Temple photo for Rexberg. Love it!

I am very lucky to be married to Brett. I can't believe we've been together for over 20 years. Crazy! Love you Honey! XO

P.S. Before we headed home- I got to stop and hug my friend Amber. She lives in Rexberg. They were having a Ward Party at the Church so we stopped by for a few minutes. It was so fun to see her. Bummer that I forgot to take a picture. Dumb! Oh well! Good to see you, lady! Xo

Fun @ the WorldMark at Maui

Dad & Edette celebrated their 25th Anniversary this past week! Hau‘oli lā Ho‘omana‘o!! Way to go!!! ;) About a year ago, they invited us to come party with them in Hawaii. They have time share points and got a condo for each of their kids & their families that wanted to join in their celebration. We are so grateful for their invite and this amazing adventure we get to have! Thanks Dad & Edette! We love you! XOXO
One of the fun activities we did at the World mark was making Kukui Nut bracelets at the Community room. We actually got to see a Kukui Tree later this week. We made bracelets and anklets. Love them!

We didn't get a chance to make one but I LOVED these Banana Leaf Bowls they made. One lady that was making it told me that she still has one from 15 years ago. They just dry out and stay gorgeous. Next time that I'm in Hawaii- I gotta get me one of these! ;)

One thing I love about the Time-share condo thing is that you have a full kitchen! We made an amazing dinner Sunday night. So delicious! We even BBQ-ed out our front door next to the beach. Fun!

The girls also loved picking flowers to put in their hair. They had flowers everywhere! Our favorite flower to pick was the Plumeria which is the most common flower in Hawaii. We picked ALOT of them during our stay. {I guess I should say that we picked them "up" ALOT. We tried hard to have the girls not pick things off trees.}

We found lots of Geckos around the condos. This little guy lost his tail when the kids picked him up. He is so cute and tiny!

Here's the view from Auntie Tauni (that's what Glory called her all week which was super appropriate because everyone is "auntie" in Hawaii! ) & Uncle Trave's condo. We stayed in a ground level 3 room condo to the right of here. We could hop the fence and cross the street to the beach!

Funny side note: The first night we were in Hawaii and driving to the condo late at night-- drivers were crazy!! They seemed to do whatever they wanted on the road. Run red lights- no problem. Park wherever you want- go ahead! Drive faster than the speed limit- it's your choice!! So that became our Vacation Motto- "It's Hawaii, we do what we want!!" 

19th Wedding Anniversary

Nineteen years ago today- Brett I started our life together!!! Time has flown by- that's for sure! I'm very lucky to be married to him. And even luckier that he sticks with me! XOXO

Because of our BIG upcoming trip (details coming soon)- we kept our actually anniversary pretty low key. But we did get out on a date for dinner and a movie.

And our sweet Victoria made us a banner & decorated our room with love notes. What a sweet girl!

Chresher Hunt for 19th Engagement Anniversary

Can I just say how absolutely lucky I feel to be married to Brett?!! He is one in a million or bazillion, maybe. He is kind, fun, thoughtful and way more romantic than any girl deserves. AND he has taught these traits to our children.
This morning, there was a crockpot on the counter slow cooking some dinner. Plus several "secret" whispering sessions going on between Brett and the kids. I hate to admit it but it didn't even occur to me that it was a "special" day. [A downfall of having a man that makes every day with him special ;)]
So, after I picked up Liberty from the library, I was surprised that all the secretiveness and dinner and home-made decorated table had a purpose. Oops!
To celebrate our 19th Anniversary of our Engagement- everyone got in on the night's festivities.

Glory started out the evening with a "Chresher Hunt". LOL How sweet is this girl??? She did all the clues by herself written on napkins. [having been mentored by some pretty amazing other family members in the past]

Justice & Victoria had made the table "perfect" by setting it fancy, decorating the napkins and making special placetags for everyone. Justice helped Brett cook us dinner. Man, I love these people!

Next, Liberty gave me a pop quiz. She asked me questions and I had to answer them as if it was 19 years ago. Then she asked me for the answers to the questions for 2015. It was a tricky test! ;) Supposedly, Liberty had a sheet with the "right" answers on it. I was a little perturbed that Brett insisted on the fact that he knew all the correct answers. Who the heck can remember back that far???? LOL BUT---It turned out that Brett had made a copy of a page from my journal from 1996 and typed it up. That tricky boy!! {And look at me... a professional documentor even back then. LOL}Pretty much none of Brett's changed at all in the past 19 years. Mine changed quite a bit. However, that actually is pretty fitting since Brett is pretty much the same man I married 19 years ago. ME----- pretty much a totally different person. Hopefully a little improved at least in some areas. ;) LOL

Finally, Brett shared our engagement story with the kids. He read them all the clues he had written to send me on a Scavenger Hunt to find him waiting to propose to me at the Salt Lake Temple. We had a good laugh at Cheri's holdup of the night and the fact that Jill cried because Brett didn't include her in the planning. LOL It was fun for the kids to hear details and ask questions. We couldn't find any pictures of us on the Hunt. Bummer! But we did remember that my dad had taken a picture of me when I walked in the door to his house. I might have to ask him if he knows where that picture is. Oh the memories!!
Here's the Scrapbook page of our engagement night after we went back to Brett's parents house for ice cream. Don't barf at the plainness and dorkiness of my scraping back then. ;)

Here's his hand written clues when he was making up the poems. And YES- I do have the original typed ones in the original envelopes in my journal. Man! I'm an awesome documentor! ;)

What a special night to share with my cute little family. 

I am so blessed to have them in my life because of

 a question Brett asked me 19 years ago. 

Love you, Honey! XOXO

Hijacked Blog---It happened again.

Yes, this is Brett.  I am not as eloquent as Shay, but this MT Partay Called Life has been hijacked again.

February 23, 1996
19 years ago on this date, I asked a beautiful young woman to marry me.  She had dazzling eyes and a smile that could melt an iceberg.  Sympathy, love, my 1980-something Chrysler LeBaron…I don’t care what it was, I’m glad she said yes.  In August we will celebrate 19 years of marriage.  I had no idea where life’s roller coaster would take us.  The ride has been super fun and exciting, even if there was the occasional headache from the ride or just the faint smell of puke from the amusement park;)  If I could do it all over again, the only thing I would change is that I would have knelt on both knees instead of just one.  Shay, I think you are more beautiful now than 19 years ago.  You are GORGEOUS and I still love the eyes and the smile.  Along with your increasing physical beauty (hard to beat, I know), your inner beauty is yet more impressive.  You are a beautiful, talented, loving, serviceable, caring, wonderfully amazing lady.  I’m a better man for being with you and am grateful you said yes.

50th Anniversary

We used to "Home Teach" Dave & Marlene in our last ward. We got invited to attend their 50th Wedding Anniversary. It was a great night!

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!".