Peaches & Applesauce

One thing we do every year in Fargo is order Utah or Colorado peaches. YUMMY! In Fargo during late August and early September, you can always pick them up at the Youth for Christ fundraiser or a Church member with connections takes orders and hauls some back. Either way- they get a little spendy but oh so worth it! They are like a zillion times better than the store bought ones. Delicious!
With boxes and boxes of peaches you have to find things to do with them- well besides peaches and cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner. LOL! Well, my amazing Recipe Guru friend, Brooke has a fabulous recipe for Frozen Peaches for Smoothies. So, McKenzie and I got together and made some. Of course- don't tell our Hubbies but we are quite a pair. LOL! Whenever we get together, we make slight adjustments to our recipes. That would be fine if either of us knew what we were doing but since we do NOT- it can get a little interesting! But hey- we haven't had any complaints from our fams thus far so, it's allll good! Thanks, McKenzie for braving ME when it comes to food recipes. The girls and I love hanging out with you & Baby Sophie. You're awesome! So- Back to the Peaches...Aren't they gorgeous? Love it!

Recipe for Frozen Peaches

13 peaches

1/2 can crushed pineapple (20 oz can)

1/4 c. lemon juice

1- 1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. frozen OJ, diluted

[We mixed a 12 oz. can with 2-2 1/2 cans water then measured out 1 c.]

***Makes 6 Qt size bags (2 c. in each)

Also- I don't think I ever wrote that KBro and I got together and made applesauce. I love the final product! I could just leave it on my counter and stare at it for days. It's so beautiful! (Thanks Brooke & KBro for sharing your apples.)

Yeah for the Harvest!

Primary Program

The kids participated in the annual Primary Program today. They did an amazing job!!!

This was their parts:

Glory-

Mom went up to hold her and all the Nursery parents sang You are a Child of God. She just smiled at all the kids instead of looking into the audience. She would have loved to be up on the stage with them the whole time! ;)

Victoria-

"I know Jesus loves me because my Dad earns money at work."

(She said she can't think of anything else to add to that. LOL- Also, she is having issues with being away from Mom lately so most of the program consisted of this sweet little girl with tears running down her face. Way to be brave though!)

Justice-
"I feel my Savior's love when I say my prayers, choose the right and feel the Spirit."
Liberty-
"I can follow Jesus Christ's example in many ways. Some of these ways are choosing the right, saying my prayers every day, studying the scriptures both personally and with my family, and keeping all of His commandments. Even though I am young I can also follow His example by being a missionary to share His Gospel message to others. I can do this by being a good example, giving my friends Gospel information or inviting them to activities or to Church. I know my Savior lives. I love Him and know that He loves me. I also know that as I follow His example, I will be able to live with Him again. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

What great testimonies they have!!! Luv ya, cute kids!

RS Broadcast

Tonight, I attended the General Relief Society Broadcast of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love my time to hear what the Lord has to say to just the women of the Church. Like usual, we had a potluck dinner beforehand. Let me tell you...You never go away hungry when these women bring food. It was so delicious! My favorite was the squash AND the fresh corn! Those are so much of the Fall season to me! YUMMY! I think I ate like 4 plates of food. I know, I know- PIG! But--- it was soooooooo good! ;)

The Broadcast was awesome as usual. Always uplifting and humbling all at the same time. Here's some of the things I learned:

From Sister Julie Beck, RS President:

She talked about how our history teaches us about who we are and what we are to do. She announced that the Church is coming out next year with a RS History publication. It should be pretty neat!

"The history of Relief Society teaches us that our Heavenly Father knows His daughters. He loves them, He has given them specific responsibilities, and He has spoken to and guided them during their mortal missions."

From Sister Silvia Allred:

She asked us to think about what helps sustain us in following the Savior. She suggested four simple things that we can do to continue to follow Him. 1- Daily Prayer 2- Daily Scripture Study (Both of which will allow the influence of the Holy Ghost to flood our lifes) 3- Obedience in keeping His commandments 4- Service

"I know that each of us has a vital and essential role as a daughter of God. He has bestowed upon His daughters divine attributes for the purpose of forwarding His work."

From Sister Barbara Thompson:

She talked about Compassion and Visiting Teaching. Of course, someone always does. Obviously, it's something that us women NEED to hear repeatedly! I really need to step up in this area. Don't get me wrong- I do visit and teach sisters in my ward all the time but I have a ways to go on focusing my efforts to those ladies that have been especially assigned to me in a VT capacity.

"The Savior has asked us to do the things which He has done, to bear one another’s burdens, to comfort those who need comfort, to mourn with those who mourn, to feed the hungry, visit the sick, to succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and to “teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.” To me these words and actions describe visiting teachers—those who minister to others. Visiting teaching gives women the opportunity to watch over, strengthen, and teach one another."

From the Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson:

It was really neat that the Prophet spoke. I think that it's always been one of his counselors that has spoken in the RS Meeting for as long as I can remember. He is such a sweet and amazing man! His sense of humor and memory are extraordinary. I just love him!

He spoke about Judging Others.

"Mother Teresa, a Catholic nun who worked among the poor in India most of her life, spoke this profound truth: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” The Savior has admonished, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” I ask: Can we love one another, as the Savior has commanded, if we judge each other? And I answer—with Mother Teresa—“No; we cannot.”"

And He spoke about Charity

"There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action."

Last but not least- I learned (and continue to each time I do anything with them) that one of my favorite parts of the RS Broadcast is the women I am able to be with. I am so grateful for their different gifts and personalities. I am so lucky to be a part of them! Luv ya! (Thanks to Barb Taylor for taking the picture!)

 

You can view highlights

 http://new.lds.org/pages/general-rs-meeting-sept-2010?lang=eng

 or watch the entire meeting here:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid66819209001?bctid=618047726001 

(President Monson's talk begins at minute 58- it's worth watching ;)

Primary Activity

Today the kids had a Primary Program Practice & Quarterly Activity. The Primary Presidency always does a fabulous job! Sister Walen asked me to come take pictures so, yeah for me!- I have pics to blog about.

After their morning practice, they broke up into Junior and Senior Primary groups.

The JUNIOR Primary went to the Primary room with Sister Cudney & Sister Cook for some activities. They had a great time! I wasn't in there but Brooke took pictures so here's some of the fun they had:

The SENIOR Primary went to the gym. Sister Walen broke them into three teams and they had a blast!! They had a relay race with different stations. After each station, the kids got to "decorate" one of the leaders. Sister Ironroad volunteered to have her hair done up with chocolate-dipped clips. And Brother Larsen (the Stand-in for the Bishopric) volunteered [ok his lovely wife answered the phone but "he is such a great man" LOL!] to be made into a Human Pinata. What great sports they both were!

The Teams: (The green Team won. Way to go guys!)

The six different stations and the brave leaders:

After the Activity, they all had sack lunches made by the Primary Presidency. Thanks ladies- the whole day was great! Check out Justice's new glasses. Isn't he look so handsome? (Victoria thinks he looks just like Brother Larsen! ;) All I can say is that Justice is one good-lookin' Buddy Holly! They look awesome on you Buddy!

Fence Fixing

What a hard-working hubby I have!
Our side fence has had a leaning problem since we moved in. Unfortunately, it has not been high on the priority list. AND what is fence etiquette anyways? Who do they belong to and who is supposed to foot the bill? Well, I guess in this case since the posts are on our side- it is ours. Our neighbor stuck his head over the fence the other day and told us we need to fix it. His wife was less than polite about it from their back door. ;) She strongly stated that it almost fell on her the other day. She's a little on the dramatic side but it was leaning pretty bad lately. Well, Brett has been gone more than he's been home this month so not only do we have no desire to spend the money on that right now but he also really doesn't have the time. BUT- my hubby is amazing and so....

In his very small bit of spare time between traveling- he propped the fence, took out 2 of the posts, dug deeper holes, put in new posts, pored cement, and put the fence back together. The rest of the fence will have to be done at some point but at least it isn't gonna fall on her anytime soon. Thanks Honey! You are so handy!! XOXO!
(I unfortunately never got a picture of how bad the first 2 were leaning but they did have a big satelite dish connected to them as well- I'm sure that made it seem more dramatic. In the bottom right picture, you can see how bad the back couple are leaning- that gives you an idea.)

West Fest Parade

Every year, West Fargo throws a big community Partay that includes a parade. They have businesses and schools and local churches that are in the Parade. The last couple of years, because of Liberty being on Student Council at her school, she has got the chance to participate. And of course, we go to the Parade to support her and perhaps collect a "little" candy in the meantime. ;) McKenzie & the girls joined us for their 1st Parade ever! (at least- according to Maggie's recollection) We got TONS of candy and memoribilia. Everyone had a great time!

Way to go Liberty & Student Council!

JKKS: The Letter C

The kids are so cute at our little weekly Preschool! Today, we had it at our home. We did the Letter C & the Number 3. There is so many things that start with C. We had a blast!!! We colored crowns. We made catepillars out of egg cartons with 3 bumps. We glued cheerios onto a letter C. We read The Hungry Catepillar and pretended to be them on the tramp. It's hard work being a catepillar!  We were exhausted! OK- I was exhausted!!!! LOL! We also built colored chains and watched a little cartoon by the Cat in the Hat. We had a fabulous lunch full of C things and got a lot of groups of 3. Letter Themes are so great! Yeah for the Letter C.

Michael's Ordination

We are so proud of Micheal today!

Over the last couple years, we have had the opportunity to become really close friends to the Cudneys. Today, was a special day for their family. Mike turned twelve recently and today he recieved the Aaronic Priesthood. We are so proud of what a great kid he is and his decision to follow the Lord. Way to go, Mike! Thanks for letting us be a part of your special day! Mike had quite a day of firsts. First, he recieved the Priesthood. Next, he gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting which by the way, he did a fantastic job! A little joke, introduction of his topic, a personal story and his testimony. Fantastic!!!

Allison threw a little Partay for Mike after Church. Way yummy lunch and some good friends! Thanks for having us over! Here's the guests: (Doesn't Mike look snazzy in his new suit!? Thanks Michael for putting it back on for me so I could get some pictures- You're Awesome!)

Brett had the special opportunity of ordaining Michael today. Brett was very honored that Mike would ask. I wanted to get a picture of them together in their suits (remember- I had to ask Mike to get back into it after the Party) so continuing with Mike's day of firsts, Brett did a little tie-tying lesson. It was fun to see them tie them together. Mike was pretty nervous but he actually tied his own tie for this picture. He did an amazing job!!! Man- they're good lookin' men in their suits!

Congrats, Mike! We are so proud of you!

Girl's Day Out to the Temple

I had the opportunity for a Girl's Day Out to the Bismarck Temple today with two of my awesome friends. Haylie & Deb have been my dear friends for a long time. We definitely don't get to spend enough time together lately so it was great being able to spend the whole day with them. We headed out early (OK- early for me!), and made it there early enough to visit with some of the Temple Presidency that we know (The Smiths used to live in our Fargo ward) and to just relax and enjoy the Spirit in the Temple. After the Session, we got to sit for a very long time in the Celestial Room. After a bit, we were the only ones there. We just enjoyed the peace and quiet and beauty of that special room. We also got to visit about what we'd learned. That's one of my favorite parts of visiting the Temple with someone- finding out what Heavenly Father taught them that day. It's pretty amazing how we noticed a lot of the same things as well as got our own little inspirations. It really struct me today that I need to find JOY! I sometimes get so busy in this life that I forget that everything around me can bring me joy! Heavenly Father has blessed us all so much- sometimes we just have to notice! So- thank you, Heavenly Father, for the beauty all around me- help me to notice it and find the JOY you have in store!

After the Temple, we went to lunch at: DiDonna's Italian Restaurant, 505 East Bismarck Expwy, 223-0012 Sister Smith recommended a whole list of new places we can try when we come out. I liked it! It was fun to try a new place. It was just a little family run place but had pretty good service and some yummy Italian.
On the drive back, we absolutely LOVED the clouds. They tend to be so bright and fluffy and close to the earth here on the flatlands! ;) And this time- I even got to see Jamestown and White Cloud! Wahoo! LOL!
Thanks ladies for getting to the Temple with me. Sure luv ya!

Bloomin' Seamons: The Harvest

I totally slacked on my Garden posts this year! Oops! Once we got back from our vacation, I just never got way excited to get a post up. Some things had died and other hadn't done very well. Good thing it's not our day job! LOL! We do LOVE the Harvest though. And despite not having a fabulous garden year, we have enjoyed lots of yummy stuff! And it looks like we should have lots of Butternut squash! I'm so exicted!

Happy Harvest!

DUDE- You're killin' me!

This kid is a cracker! This morning at bathtime- after I'd already helped them get bathed- I went to work on something in the kitchen while the girls played for a bit longer. Well... little Miss Glory decided to dump the entire, brand-new bottle of shampoo into the tub. (The second one in 2 weeks, I might add)  The first time, I have to admit it was a little bit funny to walk into a Mountain o' Bubbles but today- NOT so funny! And I probably didn't handle it to well either. Naked, screaming, bubble-covered kids while I drained the tub and rinsed them off. ARRRRGH! Just call me Mother of the Year. Sorry girlies! (Thank goodness that they forgive easily!)

AND THEN....

After nap, we took Liberty to piano lessons in Casselton. I had just grabbed little Glory out of bed and put her straight in the car. After getting Liberty settled, I went back to the car to read some books to the kids while we waited. Yah- that's when I actually looked at Glory. AAAAAAAHHHHHH! She at some point before nap, had found some SCISSORS!! and cut her hair. It is seriously as short as Justice's right on the top by her callick. I am NOT a happy camper! I loudly stated- "Glory!!! Only Mommies cut hair, honey!" She replied, "Sawwwee Mom!" Dang! What do you do? I can't even fix it at all unless we buzz the whole thing. I guess at least we don't have to worry about her bangs falling in her face- oh yah- cuz there are NONE! LOL! So, here's my little Mullet Baby!:

Gotta love days like this as a Mommy!

Oh JOY!

Blog-aholic

Quote of the Day:
Liberty said, "Mom, if I didn't know better- I'd say you were a Blog-aholic"
Out of the mouth of babes! LOL!

Boise State Football Game

The Potters invited us over tonight for a little Boise State Football Party! They went all out! There were so many yummmy snacks (after our over-eating at lunch it was a perfect dinner)- Heidi's Chicken is to die for! Salsa, chips, chicken wings, veggie tray, fruit, candy, and a plethora of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!Every dessert that people made or brought was a chocolate lovers dream! SO GOOD! ;)

The Potter kids were all in their Football fan attire including the painted football faces. Too cute! My kids were so excited to get to hang out with them for a bit. The Tuckers, part of the Larsens and Bishop all came as well. Jamison is a hoot! Even if you're not a football fan, you can't but help be excited about it when he's around. But be warned...you should probably bring ear protection if you want to walk away with any sense of hearing. LOL!

Since it was a school night, I took the kids home at half time but the men folk stayed. I guess it was a football fans dream game. They were down by ??? (non-football fan writing here- LOL) and came back to win it in the last minute! Wahoo! Go Broncos!!

Dutch Oven Partay

You know how we LOVE to throw a Partay! And Dutch Oven Partays are the best! We had a few friends over today for a Dutch Oven lunch. It was a lot of fun! It felt like a crisp, cool, Fall day. Jacket weather, for sure but it beats the sweat-like-a-pig weather from the last one. Perfect for cooking over a hot oven. Well, I guess I wouldn't know- since the Dutch oven cookin' is left up to the men folk! Thanks guys! We had the priviledge of having over the Brothersons, the Mausolfs, the McKees, the Wrights and the Babcocks. What fabulous friends we have!

The food was delicious as usual! We had BBQ pork ribs, Brats, the Wright's awesome Chilli & Cornbread, salad, chips, watermelon, lemonade, Cream Soda and a fresh veggie tray. Then, there was just as much dessert as there was food! We had Eclair cake, Cherry cobbler, Apple crisp, popscicles and home-made Crepes. YUMMY! We stuffed ourselves way too much!

There's always more than food at a Seamons Partay! The kids all got to enjoy the zipline EVEN the big kids. Go Ellen! There was some Wii competition and an extravangant camping adventure under the trampoline. I love the kids imaginations! The weather cooperated just for the Party! Thanks Mother Nature!  She sent the chilly weather but stayed the wetness until we were pretty much done. We really appreciated it! It started to downpour as we were just cleaning up (and then for hours after). We had to use umbrellas to get our guests to their cars! Too funny! Drenched would be a good word for those without the umbrella escort.

Thanks for everyone that came! We love spending time with ya'll!
We should do one more before it snows! ;)
Larry- You better have one by then- I expect BIG things from you!

Buggy Wheel Rug

While in the WMSTR Ladies Activities Building, I found a new project for myself! A Buggy Wheel rug!! I love rugs! These things are awesome! You can make them smaller out of bicycle rims. I'm so going out to find me some!

WMSTR

After a fabulous Friday late-over and a Saturday Morning drive-by run to Sandy's Donuts (We LOVE Sandy's donuts- although the kids were really bummed we didn't ride our bikes down)-- the Larsens and us decided to head East to the 56th annual Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion!(http://www.rollag.com/about.php) It's something we've heard about for years from Sister Charlene Nelson but never have made it to. Well, with a fanatical tractor-lover as our new friend, (aka Ryan- he was like a kid in a candy store LOL!) this is the year! It's held in Rollag, MN every Labor Day weekend.

There was so much to see! (and found out later that we missed tons of the kids stuff- Oops!) Even if we had gone the entire weekend we still probably would have only seen half of it! I think I read that it's like 200 acres or something! Crazy! We made it there just in time for the Morning Parade! [Hey-- that is awesome timing considering the SMT that us and the Larsen set our watches to LOL] These machines were humungous and old! Pretty amazing!

They had a fabulous Kid Area! The kids got to try out old kitchen items, play playdough, play old-time games, do art, try on old hats & play clothes, and even do a little laundry! They could have stayed in there the whole time and been just as happy!

After pulling the kiddos away from the Kid house, we used the "bus" system (tractor-pulled rides) and made our way to the other side. We got to be old-fashioned farmhands. It was pretty neat! We got to pet the animals, grind corn and see how they took care of all the animals. It was hard work!!!!

We also got to take a Train ride. We rode in the cattle cars. Thanks to Kenzie we called it the Pollyanna Train. It was loud and smokey and tons of fun!

Of course, treats are always important! The kids all got popcorn to share while we were on Main Street. And after our train ride, we couldn't pass up the Triple Scoop ice cream cones! YUMMY!!!

Like I said, there was way too much to see. But we did check out the old schoolhouse, rolled down the big hill, peeked in the Ladies Activities room (see my post about Buggy Wheel Rugs- I am so excited for my new project!!), saw some displays, got scared of the Lochness Monster and did our best to stay out of the mud and dust! We're really glad that the Larsens dragged us along!

After our WMSTR adventure was done, we made our way to Hawley to eat at the "Lip Store". At least that's what Maggie calls DairyQueen. We ate outside with the scorching sun and the bees (Thanks love- it was perfect! winkwink) The kids are hilarious because even after spending last night until midnight AND the whole day together, there were still tears about it not being long enough! You can't buy that kind of friendship! LOL!

Thanks for hanging out with us, Larsens! We had a blast! Next Labor Day.... we got plans!

The JKKS Preschool

Victoria & Glory started at the Just Kute Kids PreSchool  today! They had a fabulous time!
Actually-- a few lady friends & I decided to do a little Co-op Preschool for our kiddos that aren't in school. (Jen, KBro, KTuck and Shay as teachers) Between moves and kindergarten and those putting their kids into real preschools, our stay-at-home-kid numbers drastically dropped this year. Well, we decided on Fridays because 1- we only wanted to do it once a week and 2-still have a day between Mommy & Me Playgroup and our little Preschool day. We made it a longer amount of time than in years past because well, truth be told, we just want a day out to run errands without any kids. LOL! Three hours seemed like a good amount of time to drop off, do what you needed to do and get back. BUT because we want to feel like awesome parents [not that we aren't anyways] we are officially calling it PRESCHOOL! (it sounds way better than Run Your Errands group ;) We are assigning a LETTER and a NUMBER to each Preschool day so we can count it as such.

The kids are really excited that they get to go to Preschool. I LOVE it!! Glory even wore a backpack today and Victoria made sure she took a pencil. AND KBro always does a fabulous job! She set the bar WAY high today! Thanks  alot lady! They colored Apples, wrote their letter Aa, went on a walk in the blustery wind to collect ONE of a bunch of things, played a violent Ant game LOL, ate clown sandwiches for lunch, and played with toys. They had a great time! I had to drag them out.

As for me- I got to run an errand, drive home and unload it all, get some laundry done, take a shower, do my make-up, drop some stuff at the school and make it back on time. Wahoo! Thanks ladies- I'm so excited!

Lost in a Good Book

For those wondering why my constant Partays have suddenly come to an end....

HELP! My mind is not my own this week! I have seriously been invaded!

Don't panic though. I have simply been lost to the sci-fi world that Stephenie has created. Hopefully- especially after a couple really, really late nights- that woman (Meyer) will give me my life back. LOL! Good thing I am not an avid reader by nature OR I might never return to my little grey house on our small town street. (Although you'd never know since my Fargo friends have ruined me with their love for this author- Thanks a lot ladies! Seriously, 3329 pages in the last couple of months is almost too much to comprehend. LOL) With the last page turned and my RWB bookmark finally laying on the side table-- my dishes, laundry, my dear fam & my neglected blog may finally find me. But- dang- it's SO hard to find my way back!

LOL!

Gotta love being lost with Stephenie Meyer!