Buried in the Snow

We have got SOOOO much snow lately! And it's been bitter cold! The kids were not listening or getting along so we gave the extra job of shoveling the front walk and driveway. After they did a pretty good job on the shoveling, we found them doing this.... Burying their brother in the snow. Oh Sibling Love!!!! ;)

Here's what our cars looked like after one storm:

Arctic Freeze

Cold days in Montana. 7 degrees this morning! Kids made their 1st snowman and a couple adorable Snow Angels. Cute stuff!

Saving our Plants from the Spring Snow Storm

Winter Storm threatened our plants. We tried our best to save them. We'll see how it goes.

Snowy Day

Seriosuly???? It's mid-April. Oh for the love of Montana!!! ;)

Snow Forts

The kids built some snow forts after the last storm and defended them with their lives. And Yes! There were a few tears shed over it! Gotta love sibling rivalry!

Dinner & Snow with the Paynes

Our friend are remodeling their kitchen so we had them over for dinner. Then the kids all went out and played in the snow. Fun times & friends!

Playdate in the Snow

Victoria had Sofie come over to play today. They disappeared outside (after they shoveled off the 2 foot snow drift on the back porch) and I didn't see them for hours.

I did catch a peak of them way down the gully doing some sledding.

Cute girls:

Let it Snow

Our family had a little wager going about when the 1st snow would come to Helena.

Liberty won!!!!

Is that yeah????

(I'm not ready for the snow but everyone else in my family is!! LOL)

Once there was a Snowman...

It's supposed to warm up a lot this week. Which means we could lose all the snow. So, even thought the little girls had the flu, the rest of us went outside today to build a couple Snowmen. Beautimus! (or weird & robotic... u choose for yourself)

Answer Your Text!!!!

We have completely enjoyed our Winter Break! We've got together with friends, kept up on some traditions, gone a few places, hung out as a family, played in the snow and slept in everyday (our favorite)!! Today was no exception.
Sometime around 10am, the Tubbs texted that they wanted to come play in the snow with us. Unfortunately, I did NOT respond. Actually Brett finally responded for me for the fact that my head was still on my pillow until past 11 o'clock. ;) Walt teased me later that he was totally irritated that I wasn't answering my text. {I've given his wife a hard time before about not responding to my text so he had grounds to growl at me} When I finally got up, the Tubbs came over to hangout for a bit.
Sadly, they got the "Real" Seamons Winter break disaster of a house. Sorry, Brenda! She spent a good chuck of time helping me tidy up a bit just so we could have somewhere to walk or sit that wasn't a total mess. Oops!
But at least the yard was perfect! Even Liberty got out for a bit of sledding fun! Always fun to be with friends! That is... as long as you answer your text!!! ;) LOL

Elders Quorum Sledding Party

The Elders Quorum threw a Sledding Party today on a hill behind the Church. It was freezin' cold but we had a blast! The only bummer was that the little creek at the bottom of the hill is NOT completely frozen over so it made for a muddy adventure! But it definitely gave a challenge to have fun but try and avoid it. Not everyone made it out unscathed. LOL Despite the cold day- they had a awesome turnout!

The hill was perfect for all ages. You can see it in the background here.

The other side was way steep:

Sledding Fun:

Snowboarders:

Crashes:

They also provided donuts & hot chocolate! Perfect to warm us up a bit!

Go-Kart Sledding

Brett bought the kids a sled so he could pull them around the yard behind the go-kart. They had snow much fun!

{Unfortunately, Brett took a turn and busted up the sled. Oops! Enjoy things while they last, I guess!}

Snow Day

The kids are out for the Thanksgiving break. Today it snowed ALOT! It was a perfect SNOW DAY! Justice made a Snow Chair (recliner style). LOL The girls helped Liberty for a bit to make a pretty cool Snowman!

P.S. It warmed up Thanksgiving Day (the next day). By Friday- the snow was completely gone. Crazy! But then it snowed again Saturday night. Silly, Montana!

Fairmont Vacation: Condo Fun

Soon  after we married, we got roped into one of those Timeshare presentations and ended up buying one. We paid way more than we should have but with joining the exchange program, we have definitely done some fun things and shared it with others. So not a total loss. However, after we moved here, we used our exchange to visit Fairmont Hot Springs. It's only a little over an hour from our home. After one visit, we were hooked. We even bought a week from them so we can go ever year. We hope to sell our other one and just enjoy time here instead.
We really like to visit when it's cold and possibly snowy. That way we take full advantage of the HOT Springs part of it. Our family loves it there!
Check out this shot of the resort one morning we were there. That's steam coming from the pool.

We bought a week with a two room condo. We enjoyed hanging out together- playing games, watching movies, making yummy food, popping popcorn, sipping hot cocoa, climbing trees and being together. We also LOVED swimming! But that's another post. ;)

The day we left- it snowed ALOT!!! We took advantage and played in it. Snow much fun!

Our whole family LOVES pretzels so we treated ourselves to some before we left. Poolside as well. Luv it!

Let it Snow

This morning we woke up to a Snowy mountain! There was snow on the rooftops and our deck until the sun came out and quickly melted it. I love the view from our back deck when there's snow on that mountain. Gorgeous!

Fam Visit: Sleepover, Snow & So Long

For our Family Fun Finale, we decided to have Ethan and Halle over for a sleepover. The kids wanted to watch a movie and Cheri needed to get some sleep for the drive home. We had a great time! We decided to watch a late night showing of the Croods. The kids think that show is hilarious!

 Do you see any similarities? LOL [BTW- this was NOT on purpose. Too funny!]

In the morning, we woke up to SNOW!!! What an appropriate Helena Farewell! ;) 

Saying So Long, Farewell-
Grandma & Grandpa had to leave after the Staggering Ox on Saturday to get back to see Uncle Daniel get put in the Bishopric. We were so grateful that they would make the trip. And that they got home safely- even if it was 3 o'clock in the morning.
Little Glory ended up not feeling well Sunday morning so her and I stayed home to let her sleep. The Davis' and Shauna left after partaking of the Sacrament. We didn't get to say goodbye but I heard there was lots of group hugs given. LOL Thanks so much for coming, guys and gals. We had a blast! We're serious about having the kids up for a Summer sometime! We would be so happy!
Grandma Karla and Ryler came for a quick lunch and hugs after Church before hitting the road. Thanks so much for the sacrifice to come up. We really appreciate it!
XOXO to everyone for spending time with us and being with Victoria on her special day! Luv ya!

Snow Jump & Pool Partay

Today, we took advantage of all the never-ending snow we are getting!
This morning, the kids decided to go jump into the snow on our back patio. Silly kids!

Then the Family went out to Faith Lane for a Pool ParTay this afternoon. (They all jumped into the hole of our new home since we can't do anything else there right now) We had a blast! Brrrrr!

Brett diving in

The kids jumping in up to their armpits

Sun Dog & Nose Hairs

Taking the kids to school today in the -9 degree plus some wind, freezing-my-nose-hairs weather,  I got to experience our first Helena Sun Dog. It only lasted a couple of minutes but it's so beautiful!

I managed to take a quick pic with my phone. It's not the best photo but it was gone before I got home to get my real camera.

Lincoln Branch Adventure

From Helena (A) to the Lincoln Branch (B)

Our family had the opportunity to help out in a small branch in Lincoln, MT today.

Lincoln Branch -Helena Montana Stake
1349 Lone Point Dr
LINCOLN, MONTANA 59639
UNITED STATES

First Meeting: 10:00 AM
Sacrament Worship Service: 10:00 AM
Branch President James Bosshardt
+1 406-362-4602

The Lincoln Branch is pretty small. I think they had 26 people in attendance today. That included the 6 of us, 2 missionaries, and 3 or 4 men from Stake callings. Our Stake Leaders try to help them out by asking for volunteers from other wards to travel out there and speak a couple times a month. That way the members from Lincoln aren't speaking every week. Our Bishop asked our family if we would be willing to do the Sacrament talks today.
Lincoln is a little over an hour away from our home in Helena. [It took us 90  minutes in the snowy weather this morning] The kids don't particularly love early mornings or speaking but we all got up and went anyways. I think it was an awesome experience for our family!
The Lincoln Branch meets in a little home that the Church rents. The Sacrament Meetings are held in the family room. You stand in the corner and speak to 2 different rooms- one to the left and one to the right. The kitchen is right in the middle of the home so you walk through it no matter what class you go to. The Primary children (3 kids) meet in one room off the garage. It has a small room off of it in case they want to split the older kids from the younger ones. We doubled their attendance today. ;) The Young Women meet in a corner of the kitchen separated by a divider. It was Liberty, one other girl and the leader. The Relief Society sisters meet in a bedroom. It was just me and the teacher until we recruited one of the YW leaders to join us. The closet in there has been made into the Clerk's office. The other room is the Bishop's office. One of the bathrooms has a jetted tub. The garage has been insulated to be their cultural hall. They have several long tables in there for events they plan. Actually the Branch fed us lunch afterwards with the fresh bread they made together yesterday. Yum! It's actually a really fun building but so different than what we are used to.
It made me realize how very blessed we are to have such a beautiful big building in Helena and other places around the world. It was good for our kids to experience something other than what they are used to. I hope it will help us not to take for granted how blessed we are.

I wanted to share a couple neat, spiritual experiences from today that I think are note worthy:

* We were asked to speak today on “Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." (Alma 37:6–7.) Each of us spoke on a completely different topic.
Glory- small and simple things that the Savior did- that I can do.
Victoria- By small and simple things, I can make my home a holy place
Justice- Small and simple things I can do to prepare for a mission
Liberty- Becoming Spiritually prepared by small and simple things.
Shay- Serving others by small and simple things
Brett- By small and simple things- great things some to pass
(Even our RS/Priesthood lesson talked about small and simple things and service. Luv it when it works out like that!)
We love how Gospel Principles can be applied in so many ways. And it really is by small and simple things that we can make the world a better place and return to live with our Father in Heaven.

* Since I was one of two students in RS, I had lots of opportunity to make comments. We were taking about how important it is to attend and serve in the Church. One of my comments was about a friend from Fargo that was having a really rough time in her life. She was in the midst of a messy divorce due to a cheating. She had 3 kids, had been a stay-at-home mom and was without a job. She felt alone and overwhelmed. She first asked to be released from her calling. Then she made an excuse to not come to Church sometimes because of sick kids or custody issues. Pretty soon her and her kids were completely inactive. Life didn't get easier because she didn't have a calling or didn't come to Church. In fact, her and the kids have really struggled emotional and spiritually. It has taken her several years before she found the courage to come back. And it's hard! I talked about how it is so much easier to just stick with it- even when it's hard and seems impossible- than to try to make up for all the things Satan can bring into our lives if we fall away from the Gospel.
My comment was just something that I felt added to the topic of the lesson but little did I know that the other sister there today is going through that EXACT same thing. It lead to me pleading for her to stay strong and stay close to the Lord. I don't know if it will make a difference but it's crazy how the Lord knew I needed to be there in that class today!!!

* The Lord was definitely looking out for us this morning. We feel like He really wanted us to be in Lincoln today. The roads getting there were a little freaky but God really watched over us. The bad storm that was supposed to hit this area last night- it waited one day before it hit. It was a small thing but we were very grateful!

Names in the Snow

Brett and the little girls went out to play in the snow for a while today. They wrote names in the snow. SNOW cool!

Glory spelled her name

Victoria spelled DADDY