Great to be Eight: Victoria's Baptism

The highlight for our weekend was Victoria's decision to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so proud of her good example to our family and those around her. She has such a sweet spirit and always wants to do what is right.

Our family is so lucky to have Brett be worthy to hold the Priesthood. It is such a huge blessing in our lives. Brett had the opportunity to be the one to baptize and confirm Victoria. Victoria LOVES her daddy! They have a special bond already so this was a special day for them.

This was our families first time participating in a Stake Baptism. It was different but still really special. Instead of us planning the whole thing, we picked a song, asked one person to speak and did the prayers. Other than that, the Stake planned it all and even made up the Program. There was another little boy in a different ward that got baptized as well. 

Victoria asked Grandma Karla and Grandma Seamons to give the prayers. She also asked Aunt Cheri to give a talk. We got to sing some of her favorite songs- I am a Child of God, When I am Baptized and A Child's Prayer. The program was very sweet.

For her confirmation, she choose to just have her Dad, her witnesses (Grandpa and Brian Payne) and the Bishopric in the circle. Through the Priesthood Power, Brett was able to give her a very special blessing along with the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Very special!

We were so blessed by the fact that so many of our friends and family could be there to spend Victoria's special day with her. Thanks to Grandma Karla & Ryler, Grandma and Grandpa Seamons, Shauna, Cheri, Ethan & Halle, the Paynes, the Andersons, Bishop Campbell, the Coils, Sister Mueret (her Primary teacher), the Winwards, the Bywaters, Sister Snoddy (Primary Pres), the Mergenthalers (FIGGS leader) and President Christensen for being there. Also, she was given so many thoughtful, fun gifts. Wow! Thank You! What a lucky girl.

As part of the Stake Baptisms here in Helena [to focus more on the ordinance than a celebration after], they ask that you don't do any gathering afterwards at the Church. It was not what we are used to but we followed their counsel. So we took the family out to dinner afterwards (the Paynes joined us). But that's a different story. ;)

Victoria-
We are so very proud of you and your decision to follow Jesus. We are so blessed to have you be a part of our family! XOXO

P.S. Victoria and I had the opportunity to go to the Rexberg Temple and take pictures of her in her dress a few weeks back. Here's a few of our favorites of her in her Baptism dress. What a beautiful girl!

Here's the Program the Stake Leaders made up:

Here's a copy of certificate. She's official!

Fam Visit: Great Northern Carousel

After lunch we drove everyone by Brett's work. 

Then we took them all over to the Great Northern Carousel. It was SO COLD outside that it was great to have some where indoors to take them.

Most of the time you get coins to ride. But there was a deal that if you bought 10- you got 2 free. For the free rides, you get tickets instead of coins. We loved the saying on the back of the tickets. Here's the boys with their BIG smiles!

They also have a fun "Grab the Ring" Game as you ride. There is a machine that dispenses tiny rings. As the kids ride around, they can reach for them. Then on the other side is a big bear that you can throw the rings at. If you get the "Brass" ring- you get a FREE ride. And guess what? Liberty got it!!! Way to go, Sis!

Fam Visit: The Bagel Company

Grandma & Grandpa Seamons took us all out to lunch to celebrate Victoria's baptism. We decided to go to The Bagel Company. Yum!

P.S. Brett told the waitress to make him something she liked. She made him a sandwich that used thick turkey slices as the bread. Inside it had hummus, avocado and sun-dried tomatoes. He said it was way good!

Fam Visit: It's Fun Playing Hookie

We only had the kids go a half day to school and the rest of the day we played Hookie. We had lots we wanted to do so we split up for the afternoon.

Brett took some to go shooting. It was Ethan first time shooting a gun. He was so pumped! They all had a great time.

I took the others to the Walking Mall. We made a stop by the Parrot- candy shop. So yummy! The owner MADE a Diet Coke for Cheri from scratch. It's a good day as long as Cheri has a Diet Coke. ;)

Then we walked the Walking Mall checking out the statues and the little shops.

Liberty ended up not feeling well after school. (We think she may be allergic to anything Utah-ish LOL) So she stayed home. She and Grandma Seamons watched one of Liberty's new Harry Potter movies.

It's always fun to have family here and show off some of the things around where we live. But it's also fun to just hang out and be together. And be silly in most cases.

And who can pass up a Group Hug (or two or three) from Shauna!

Halle even showed us her killer gymnastic tricks in the back yard. This girl has some skills! (the only problem is that now my girls want to be able to do tricks like her. I see some broken noggins in the future. ;)

Fam Visit: Happy Dance on Faith Lane

We took the Fam to Faith Lane to check out our new home. It was so fun to show them around.
We were so excited everyone got to see it. We tried to explain where things will be and our plans for the yard. We even got to show off our dog. ;) He pretty much used all of their butts for his personal backrest. Dumb dog! LOL The kids LOVED him though.
It was sunny but WAY windy [which made it a little bit chilly]. Welcome to Montana! The Grandmas spent most of the time in the cars. To get out of the wind for a bit- the kids and Shauna danced the "Booty Dance" in the basement. So funny! Before we left, Brett let the boys ride on top of the truck which was "EPIC", I heard. ;)

For fun- Brett got out the Go-Kart and most everyone got to take turns riding or driving it! It was a huge hit. 

Everyone had such a good time- it made the girls do the "Happy Dance"! LOL

Thanks to everyone that came out to see it. We can't wait for it to be done so we can host the Party at our place.

Fam Visit: Band Concert

We had our own little Band Concert today at the apartment. The Fam wanted to see Justice play his trumpet. They also wanted to hear Ethan on the piano.  Then the boys joined forces and did a trumpet/piano duet. They even added a bit of drums with it. And I think that Brett even sang it at one point. Pretty awesome! Here's the best video I got of their performance. It's a bummer because it cut off before they did the variation verse. Oh well- they still sounded great!

Fam Visit: School Lunch

The younger girls were so excited to have visitors join them for lunch at school today. They LOVE it when people come to lunch with them!!! It made their day to show off their extended family to their teachers and school friends.

Glory with grandma Karla and Ryler

Victoria and Halle

Monkeys at Recess

Fam Visit: The Big Dipper

After our picnic in the park, we made a stop by the Big Dipper for an Ice Cream treat!

Fam Visit: Memorial Park

Today is a Memorable day! 

We have visitors here in Helena. Family came into town for Victoria's Baptism this weekend. We are so excited!

We took them to Memorial Park for a picnic. It was windy and chilly but fun. The girls played in the castle-ly/fort thing while the boys played catch from opposite towers. The boys record was 36 tosses without dropping it. Way to go, guys! [Grandma and Grandpa Seamons came a little later but I forgot to take a picture]

Park Lake Drive

Brett is looking for some places to fish or shoot so we went for a little drive today. We drove down to Clancy to try and find Park Lake. We made it about 5 miles from it and then the roads got way snowy and treacherous. Brett wanted to keep going but luckily for us a man in his big honkin' truck was coming down. He cautioned us to turn around because they almost got stuck. Thank you, Sir! We had to back down the mountain road for quite a while to find a place to turn around. Even though the kids and I were terrified, Brett reminded us that our lives would be BORING without him. [Don't tell him this but he's probably right.]

Despite not making it to our destination- it was a beautiful drive. The rock formations are gorgeous.
We did get to see a Llama. That was cool!
On our way back down, we stopped at a little stream to throw rocks. The kids loved it!

Been Waiting for 13 Years...

Liberty has been patiently waiting for 13 years for this day. She is soooooooooooo excited! She has been very patient in waiting to watch PG-13 movies. (Something we have encourage our kids to do to protect them as long as we can from the things of the world)

Well... the wait is over!

Brett and I decided to stay up with her until midnight and watch her first Superhero PG-13 movie with her! She watched the clock carefully and was super-duper ecstatic when the time flipped to 12:00. So cute!

Can you guess what show we watched for this momentous occasion? LOL

We decided to let her sleep in as our first present to her. Then we served her breakfast in bed and a serenade of Happy Birthday Cha-Cha-Cha!

She was way excited about presents and flowers and especially being 13!

Mom painted her toes her favorite color while we watched General Conference.

Then her best Helena friend, Ann came to spend the evening with us. We took her to the Faith Lane property to show off our new house. Here's the girls in Liberty's new room.

For dinner, we had all of Liberty's favorite stuff. Lemon chicken, white rice, cooked/buttered broccoli, crab & avocado salad and virgin strawberry margaritas. Yum!

For dessert, we made her Blowndies. (brownies & cookies together)

After we dropped Ann at home and got the other kids to bed, we stayed up late and watched another one of our favorite Superhero movies. We have lots to watch to catch her up for the new Avengers movie coming out in May 2015.

Happy Birthday, Sis! We love you tons! And so happy to share our favorite shows with you! XOXO

Liberty Memories of being Twelve

When you were TWELVE, here's some things you did or enjoyed:

* Joined Young Women's
* Went to the Temple for the first Time with Mom & Dad
* Participated in Youth Activities
* Attended Encampment
* Drove the Go-Kart
* Started to Babysit
* Visited the Cook's Cabin
* Went to the Percy Jackson Movie with Friends
* Watching and playing Robin Hood
* Best ND friend- Josie Disher
* Moved to Montana
* Pretty much stopped wearing contacts
* Began attending EVMS
* Joined the Band- Playing Percussion for Mr. Pipinich
* Visiting and swimming at Fairmont Resort
* Wearing Mismatch Socks
* Outgrew the "B" nickname
* Creating outfits out of old sock and fabrics for your Barbies
* Playing MineCraft
* Loved playing on the Kindle- til it broke
* Colored hair
* Texting friends on the "kids" phone
* Wearing the Cookie Monster Hat- ALOT!!
* Best MT friends- Ann Dodds & Cady Surrenedok
* Hanging out with the younger girls that look up to you- Sadie B, Micah L, Katelynn G
* Learned to Ski
* Wears same shoe size as Mom
* Bossing around your Brother & Sisters- 5. 4. 3. 2. 1!  ;) lol
* Attended 1st Woman's Broadcast with Mom & Victoria
* Loves sleeping in
* Loves to Read
* Favorite colors changed to Teal and Purple

Dear Liberty-
    I admire what an amazing beautiful, young woman you have become. You are smart! You always amaze me with your A+ grades. You make friends easily and are such a good example to all that you associate with. You are a great helper. You are creative and fun-loving. It's fun to have you getting older and being able to do new things together- sharing shoes, coloring hair, attending broadcasts, watching movies, staying up late and talking. I hope you remember to always CTR. Luv ya so much!! XOXO
                                                                                                                              -Mom

LDS Women's Broadcast

The general women’s meeting will be held in the Conference Center auditorium on Saturday, March 29, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. (MDT) and will be broadcast to many areas of the world.All women, young women, and girls eight years of age and older are encouraged to gather together, especially as families, in meetinghouses to view the broadcast.

It was a very special night for me to take Liberty and Victoria to the historic General Women's Meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This is the first time that it included all women from age 8 and up.

The Church had awesome music, video and messages to share about being Covenant Women and taking care of each other. They did a great job at trying to keep the younger girls interested. It was uplifting and sweet to have my girls there with me. I hope they will learn to love going to it like I do.

Afterwards, we joined some of our beautiful lady friends for dessert. A Treat fit for a Dairy QUEEN! It's always so fun to be together and with friends!

Spring Break: Free Time & the Pool

In our free time- we slept in, watched the Disney channel, ate breakfast and dinner in the lobby, did a little shopping at stores that we don't have in Helena, ate at Cafe Rio (twice) and swam in the Hotel Pool. It was great Spring Break in Billings!!

We love Cafe Rio!! Not only for their food but for their sense of Humor! They are almost as funny as us! LOL Check out some of our favorite signs from Cafe Rio. So funny!

"Affection for bees"

"Never doubt how much we love you, Amigos!"

"Not really, it's just normal ice!"

Spring Break: The Reef

We promised the kids to take them to a Water Park while we were in Billings. We took them to The Reef inside the Big Horn Resort. It was a blast!!!

There was so much to do. Glory wasn't quite tall enough for the slides but everyone else loved them!

All the kids loved crossing the Lily Pads!