Thanksgiving #2 & Pie Night

Due to an Assistant Basketball Coach's crazy schedule- our new friend, Deanne completely missed Thanksgiving dinner. Her hubby's not here yet (He's coming from the West shortly after he finishes the semester) so she not only missed the dinner but is on her own for now. Well... from a Holiday Freak's perspective, that just isn't OK. LOL! So, even though she basically got back into town close to the midnight hour, we dragged her over for Thanksgiving Dinner Round 2. Actually, we made her drive over in a blizzard for it. Sorry 'bout that lady! To top it off she missed our exit and ended up in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a Fargo Blizzard. Nothing like initiation to becoming a Winter Fargonian! LOL!
Let me just say... YUMMMMY! Did I mention that I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner? I even tried my luck at my 1st turkey. Must say-- it was awesome! Even though the entire upstairs is decked out for Christmas, we did our best to make the basement as Fall-ish as possible. The Larsen's graced us with their presence as well. We are very thankful for such dear friends! (Kenzie was not exactly picture-ready and since Ryan blinked & she looked away- I'll respect her request for the dinner shot. LOL! Good thing I luv ya lady!)

After we stuffed our faces (quickly, I might add! Sorry about that Deanne LOL ;), we braved the cold weather over to the Larsens place for Pie Night. Also.. yummmmy! Not sure what we were thinking because we made 6 new pies. Let's just say, leftover pies are abundant at the Seamons house! Soooo good though! What a great night chillin' with Deanne, Larsens, Potters, & Roberts! So many things to be grateful for!

Yeah for Pie Night!

Long Live Pie Night!

Deck the Hall(way)s!

It is always quite a production but Thanksgiving boxes are put away and the Christmas decor is out!!!! Turn on some Christmas music- the Season is here!

Hope your Halls are Decked with

Love this Holiday!

XOXO!

Swimming @ the Governor's Inn

Thanksgiving weekend is like a vacation for the kids and an awesome break/Holiday for Dad but for Mom... it gets to be a few very LONG days! So what better way to break up the craziness than with a bit of swimming in the middle of the Winter? Wahoo! The kids have been begging to make it to the Indoor (Thank goodness!) Water Park at the Governor's Inn in Casselton. Well, we've only lived here 6 years and we finally made it. It was a lot of fun!
And better yet.... it turned out to be like a Partay with all the people we met there unexpectedly. Too funny! We ran into  our across-the-street neighbor, Nicole & her girls. (They actually moved out a month or so ago and are trying to sell their house- So...if you wanna live by us- it's for sell;) AND the Budges happened to be out there for the night. It was a lot of fun! Liberty & Anni had a blast together. Heather & I had a fabulous time visiting in the hot tub & watching the kids (including my BIG kid- love ya, Honey!). Heather even invited us to order pizza and eat dinner with them. Bonus!!! Love it when unexpected, fun things happen. Thanks Heather for dinner and the company!
Here's some of the fun we had-
Swimming & BBall:

Lily Pad Water Walk:

Water Sliding:

Eating Dinner with the Budge Family. Thanks guys! It was lots of fun!

Definitely have to do that again sometime!

Friday Fargo Favorites # 9

A Day after Thanksgiving Edition of:

[Notice the picture changed...

Thanksgiving's over so... Bring on Christmas, people!]

Today, in honor of yesterday being Thanksgiving, I'd like to pay tribute to those who I am most thankful for here in Fargo- my darling family! They are my greatest treasure!!! Here are some things that makes me smile when I think of each of them:

1. Brett

His muscular, gorgeous bod. ;) He is one HOT boyfriend! His touch of distinguished silver in his hair. The way he is so thoughtful and romantic. What man these days makes roses out of Hershey kisses for his wife?? He is the hardest working Hubby/Father I know. He works all day and then each evening our Honey-Do & Daddy-Look-At-This lists never end! He is so careful to make sure we all get some attention. He is so handy and can fix almost anything! He's AAAMMMAZING! The way he's become the "Norm" (from Cheers) @ the local Y- not the "beer drinking kind" but the "everyone knows you" Norm. Good thing I'm not the jealous-type wife! LOL. The way he is so complimentary about my work- whether it's my Mom job or my Crafting excursions. He is such a strong, righteous, honorable Priesthood holder. What a blessing he is in our home! He is so great at keeping our family close to the Lord- I even lovingly call him the Prayer-Nazi. LOL! He is more than I could ever ask for in a Boyfriend, Father-to-our-kids, Best Friend, Hubby & Eternal Companion. Love you so much, honey! XOXOXO!

2. Liberty

She is such a beautiful, kind-hearted lady! She's growing up way too fast. She's an awesome reader!! She can read a book a day. (& the Harry Potter kind in a week and she's only 9- Crazy! And it's totally comprehension as well- how the heck does she remember all that info?? LOL)  The way she answers the phone- She's so polite and sweet. She is so fabulous at taking care of her siblings. She is always playing with them, helping them and watching out for them. She is a fabulous student! Every teacher she has says they wish they could just clone her. She's great at everything at school. She is so brave! I love that she's on Student Council and loves to be of service. She is such a good friend. She's an awesome, brave missionary. She's always trying to invite her friends to Church. She continues to be a great Artist. She's always coming up with new things to create. We love ya, B!

3. Justice

Justice ROCKS at Spelling tests- There are weeks I forget to study with him very well but he normally gets 15 out of 10- bonus words are like twice as hard. Way to go, dude! He is an amazing Wii player. He picks up on the games so fast. He has the most contagious laugh ever!!! He can get us all rolling. He's been coming up with some really great jokes lately. He loves to make people laugh. He really LOVES his Dad - who better to look up to than Brett? I love it! He's so stinkin' handsome in his new glasses.  He's a hard worker and loves to fix things with his Dad. He likes learning new things. He can't wait until he can go Moose hunting in northern ND. (He has a book that has a picture of moose there- so that's gotta be where they live, right? LOL! He is so patient for living in a house full of girls. Don't get me wrong- he is ALL boy & very often makes me question his boy-like actions but bless his heart for the way he puts up with all the estrogen within these walls. He's such a handsome, kind kid. Luv ya Buddy!

4. Victoria

Her cute little voice. I just love to hear her talk and all the ideas she comes up with. She has the most fabulous, moon-shaped-eye, smile in the entire world!!! Her cute way of saying outfit- instead... she got a new "alphabet." LOL! She is about the most fabulous bedroom cleaner alive. You tell her you're gonna vacuum and she's a woman on a mission & it's not shoved places either- it's real spic-n-span clean!  She's only 4 but she completely folds and puts away all her own laundry. Amazing! She is quite an artist- (the "need to replace a forest daily" kind of artist ;)- My entire bedroom door is covered with amazing artwork made for Brett & I. She is so tender-hearted. She wants everyone to be happy. She's the self-proclaimed one-and-only Baby Sophie babysitter. I LOVE how gentle and protective she gets- always making sure that babies have their "baby space" [that's usually blankets that she has laid out on the floor for them to have have an area to play in] She is so thoughtful and always finding ways to surprise you with some kind of service. What a fabulous lady! Luv ya!

5. Glory

She's a spit fire. The energy that girl has is extraordinary! I love the way she throws me kisses and catches them every night before bed. She has such an adorable face. I just wanna squeeze it! She is still my baby even though she doesn't look like one anymore. Lately, she loves me to hold her & lay in bed with her. "Lay my bed, Mom!" If I don't do what she wants or say no- it's usually followed by an audible "AUUHHHH!" She loves when I read her books- Dora books are her favorite! Well- really she loves anything Dora. Every morning, she asks for "a drink of water/milk & watch a Dora show 'gain". She's a cracker! I laugh at the way she calls women's chests -Bubbles! LOL! She wants to be just like the other kids. Whether it's being funny, dancing, drawing, reading, laughing, etc. She loves babies (to death sometimes). She is a disaster maker but also loves to help you in anyway she can. Enjoy it while it lasts, right? They grow up so fast! IIIIII LOOOOOVE YYOOUU Glory!

So.... WHO are you grateful for today?

Day of Gratitude Festivities

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We have so many things to be grateful for. We could make a never-ending list & still not touch on all that God has blessed us with. But just because this IS Thanksgiving a few of our favorite blessings are our Savior Jesus Christ, a loving Heavenly Father, a warm house [in Fargo- that's important! lol] family near & far, friends near & far as well, technology to stay in touch, health, the Restored Gospel, a free Country, bountiful amounts of food, beautiful white snow, auto-starts (well when we get one!), and making traditions with Holiday Partays!!!

We were so lucky to have some great friends join us for Thanksgiving. We had a full house for sure. Which is not really hard with our famous "cozy space issue" of our home. LOL! Our dear friends that joined us this year were the Ironroads (as our joint-custody states on Thanksgiving they belong to us), the McKees, the Potters, Kim Seiler & Rob Ironroad [Kim & Rob both came for dinner but left before I took group shots- they are in the dinner shots though- See below!] Thanks guys for spending your Holiday with us! We sure luv ya!

I can't even tell you how much I LOVE the Thanksgiving feast! I love it even more (if that was possible) when you have friends over and everyone shares in the food prep duties. LOL! Well everyone really outdid themselves. Brett made a magnificent Turkey! Best one yet- Sooooo GOOD! We also had an awesome ham, potatoes & gravy, 2 kinds of stuffing, home-made rolls with Turkey butter & jam, cranberry sauce, yams with pecans in a Turkey shape (yeah for Lisa!!!), pickle & olive tray, broccoli salad, green bean casserole, carrot/peas/corn, & pink salad. As far as pies are concerned (as if after that we had any space in our tummies for pie), we were supposed to have 3 but ended up with 8, I think! We had Pumpkin Pie [made by Liberty], Blueberry/Cream Cheese Pie [by Justice], Pumpkin rolls, Apple Pie, Coconut Cream, Banana Cream (to die for!), 2 French Silks, and lots of whoop cream! Full & happy are we! 

We cleared out the basement (Oh the joys of prep-work before a Partay) and filled it with friends and love and tables & lots of chairs! ! It's always comfy & cozy at the Seamons. Thanks be given to all our guests that make our live so rich! Thanks for coming everyone! 

After dinner- my photographic skills took a nap, I think. It's the only way to explain that I only took 29 pictures all night. And only 4 of them after dinner & group shots. Slacker... I know! But we had a fantastic time eating, visiting, laughing, joking and story-telling; playing & fighting on the Wii (thanks for being the Kindness Ref, Matt); letting the kids imagination go wild as they dressed up and played in the fort & the teepee [due to my brain-cramp there are NO pictures of this]; watching a little football; watching the Thanksgiving Charlie Brown movie; and enjoying each others company. What a fantastic Holiday!

 

Hope ya'll had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

All our love!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before the rush of the day, the craziness of madly cleaning the house, the slaving in the kitchen, the decorating for the partay, the laughter & enjoyment of the guests, the stuffing ourselves til we pop, then eating a slice of pie anyways- just wanted to take a moment to say how truly blessed we are!

Thank you for being a part of our lives. You are truly a blessing to us!

All our Love on this

Magnificent Day of Gratitude!

May you always have a 

MILLION things

to be grateful for!

Enjoy the turkey!

Midnight Sledding in a Blizzard

We had the Larsens and the Elders over for dinner tonight. (Thanks, Larsens for letting us steal the meal & the missionaries ;) We had a blast talking about Christmas traditions and the importance of being THANKFUL this week! LOL! The Menfolk even did a little dark night/brrr freezin' service for a couple of our single lady neighbors. Way nice of ya'll!

Afterwards, Kenzie went to do a little service of her own (& she says she isn't crafty!) while the brave Dads took 5 kids out on a late night sledding extravaganza in the blizzard. They all had a blast! The kids could have stayed up ALL night. They were totally bummed to do the Hot Cocoa Partays separately. But it really would have been ALL night if we had let our kids come into the Larsens place after. LOL! (That's the ONLY downside of having night-owl friends that live really close & we adore! We have to try hard not to wear out our welcome!) I knew the chance of me getting any photo shots on the hill without personally being there was low so this is as they were heading out:

Meanwhile, warm & snug at the Larsen home, Baby Soph got to go to bed (I think all the adults wished they were doing the same). Little Glory was in 7th heaven with a new Dora show. AND I worked on my Ornaments. My 6th Annual Fargo Ornament Exchange is 9 days away! AHHHHHH! Work to be done, people!

Sun Dogs

"Sun dogs are beautiful accents to a winter day or night

as the rainbow is to a showery Summer day."

-Hal Borland

To tell you the truth, until this morning, I had never even heard of them. After he took the kiddos to school, Brett asked if I had seen the "sun dogs" outside. The what???? We went to the window so he could show me. Way pretty! They only lasted for a bit this morning and then they were gone.
So what are Sun dogs, you ask? "Sun dogs, or mock suns, are technically called solar parhelia (parhelia meaning "with the sun") and appear as bright bursts of light formed when sunlight passes through ice crystals at the proper angle." So there's your Science lesson for the week courtesy of the Seamons. ......You're welcome. Enjoy!
Brett did get another shot while he was out.

It looks like the Star of Bethlehem brought to you by

the Beautiful Fargo Snow.

Tis the Season! (I mean, almost ;)

Delicious Turkey(s)

FHE (Family Home Evening) at its finest with a Thanksgiving twist. YUMMMY!

Hope you Enjoy your Turkey as much as we did!

White, White Everywhere!!!!

Hope all those in Fargo said goodbye to the grass yesterday because we won't be seeing it again until April. HaHa! It's NO fun to drive in or freeze in but Wow! is that WHITE beautiful or what!!!? Don't answer that- just enjoy my view from the window. Happy Fargo Winter!

Back porch when we woke up this morning

Front Window View before the snowplows & basically all day!

Side Door View during the Storm today
after Brett had snowplowed

Here's Saturday night before the storm. The girls did snow Angels in the powdered sugar (lol) while Brett & Liberty hung up Christmas lights. (Don't worry- We won't turn them on until the day AFTER Thanksgiving. It's a Seamons house rule! "If you aren't THANKful you get no Christmas!" LOL) Can you imagine what the girls could do in the 2 feet of snow from today!

Snow Angels

Hanging up lights

PS. We snowblowed or shoved the driveway 4 times in the last 24 hours. Gotta love Fargo!

Friday Fargo Favorites # 8

1. Fabric Pumpkins
Every Fall for the rest of my life- when I pull out the November decor box, I will think fondly of my dear friend, Brooke Cook. A couple years ago, when we were serving in the Relief Society Presidency together, we were in charge of the Super Saturday Craft Day. One of the projects ended up being fabric pumpkins that Brooke has made a gazillion times. They are so easy and about as cute as you can get. We sewed up seams of tons of them that year. Every year since, it seems we make a couple more. I have them all over my house for November. So stinkin' cute! Happy Fall, ya'll!!

2. Babylock machine
When Brett found out that they wanted him to move to Fargo for his new job, our first reactions were probably the same as the rest of you-- "Fargo?- like the movie??" or "Where's that???" or "Do people really live in North Dakota?" LOL! Needless to say, I was afraid that moving to the middle of nowhere would put a huge damper on my Sewing opportunities. Questions like "do they sell fabric there?" or "do they even know what a Babylock is?" are important questions to a quilter! Well, luckily, Brett let me buy my Babylock Embrodiery Machine before we left Utah. I LOVE it! I never want to go back to a non-cutting/ foot pedal machine again. I'm totally spoiled! It is such a fabulous machine and has kept me sane on many cold Winter Fargo days. Better yet, there is one Babylock dealership here- only one but what more can you ask for? So see-- we're somewhat civilized here! LOL!

3. Hilary Week's CD from TOFW

One of my favorite memories of Fargo will always be TOFW (Time Out for Women). It's a Women's retreat with Motivational Speakers & Musical Performers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Until recently, they never held one in Utah. So, I had never really even know about it until my move here. A group of my Fargo girlfriends went for the 1st time in 2007. OMH! So FUNominal! We had the best time ever! The MC for the Weekend was Hilary Weeks. She was amazing! She's beautiful, funny, a loving & realistic mom, a wife, a Mormon, and an amazing singer. Spending time with my girlfriends and listening to Hilary was amazing! Everytime I listen to her CD- it brings me back. I LOVE it!

4. Construction Season over
I've told this joke before but it is appropriate to tell it again... There are only 2 seasons in Fargo. ONE is Winter. The OTHER is Construction!!! LOL! So true, so true! But our Season of Construction is almost at an end for this year. Yeah! No more ugly orange barrels, no more Speed Limit 40 signs on the freeway , no more dug up holes, no more lane closures, no more min fine $100, etc. Hurray! Unfortunately, it's probably the lesser of our two evils. ;) But there's a season for all things, right? Goodbye Orange- Hello White!!!!

5. The Safari

At the Seamons home, movies are the prime rib of entertainment. We LOVE them! Since moving to Fargo, we have instituted Friday Movie night- which we enjoy thoroughly. But on special occasions, we brave us all at the Theater. What beats a movie on the big screen with popcorn and licorice? But- have you taken 6 people to the movies lately? It's a killer on the pocketbook. So hence- my Fargo Favorite for today is The Safari Theater in Moorhead, MN. It's what we lovely call our Dollar Theater even if it is $2.50 a ticket. It's right off the freeway just across the state border. Less than 15 minutes and we get to enjoy some affordable big screen entertainment for the whole family!

So... What are YOU grateful for this week?

20 Minutes at Walmart

..........

No... that is not my 2 year old!!!

It's my almost 5 year old... for 20 minutes!!!

Insane & Embarrassing!

Several people gave me dirty looks or asked if they could help.

An old Grandma gave her a hug and rubbed her hair for 3 minutes to try to get her to stop. She told her she could hear her across the store. Yah... it was REALLY, REALLY LOUD!

Five people left my line so they wouldn't have to hear her.

And NO- I was NOT beating her!

But wipes HAD to be bought and I was not putting all my stuff back and

after the way she acted there was NO way I was buying what she

was throwing the fit for. Holy moly, girlfriend!

Oh, the joys of Motherhood!

Gotta love it OR at least try not to pull your hair out!! LOL!

Lost Behind the Sewing Machine

I have been a little MIA these past couple weeks. I kinda have been struggling with a self pity-party of friendship changes and the way I cope is usually with fabric. It's a constant friend of mine- something I can always count on to be there (even if I don't want it to be ;) Literally!!!...Have you seen my Craft Room??? LOL!) So.. here's what I've been up to lately with my eternal friend:
Lilly's Bedroom Quilt. This is McKenzie's first Quilt. She kind of got thrown into a huge project by allowing me to "help" her with it! ;) The fabric is from Moda's Frolic line. McKenzie learned how to piece, pin, iron, put on borders, and bind. (Well..sorta- she kept us fed for sure! We did discover that she is an amazing "Nester" if nothing else! LOL ) The quilt turned out way too cute! One down & at least one more to go!! Hang in there, Maggie- we'll get to yours soon. I promise!:

Gobble Gobble Quilt completed finally. I have had this for quite a while. Just got brave enough to get it to the quilter. Got the binding on in one day- I was so excited! The back of my couch is all set for Thanksgiving:

A Closeup of the Quilting. I LOVE it! It's in variegated thread:

Jill Erickson's stockings (This is her first applique project- pretty awesome!] Jill has wanted to learn applique for a long time. She finally got brave enough. She found a picture of some stockings online and asked me if it were possible to make them & if I'd teach her. Of COURSE! Anything's possible with a picture! And a chance to share my fabric room & fabric for applique- Absolutely!!! We have a few finishing touches but they are really turning out cute! Way to go, Jill!:

A Christmas line of fabric that has taken on a life of it's own!!! But it's so darling! I found this fabric 2 Fridays ago. I had NO idea what I was going to make with them but I bought some of it all anyways. I did a little google search and went crazy! Can't wait to get them all quilted! I'm going to try to do a couple of them myself! Yeah for me!
The Christmas Quilt: I bought soft. minky cream for the back and then I have a striped binding. The brown stripes on thw quilt are chenille so they will fray after I wash it. It'll be a bit like a rag quilt effect. So freakin' darling! I hope to get it quilted with some kind of holly berry pattern. I can't wait!!!:

My December Wall hanging cuz everyone should have a wall hanging for every month, right? I think I'll add stars or peppermints buttons to the tree tops. I have brown binding ready as well.:

My Tree skirt for the "big tree" that I'll someday have. LOL! {It might look a little humungous under my 4-foot fiber optic tree} Once it's quilted, I'll cut it between the two side presents and cut out the middle of the red bow. Then bind it in that striped fabric on the right. I am so excited about this one!!!!:

Peppermint Lollipops for the kids. The kids LOVED the peppermints on the wall hanging and asked if they could have some for fun. Why not? I think they turned out really cute. Glory loves to really lick it. Too funny!:

Here's a close up of them:

Thanks Fabric Friend!!! Such fun things we can do together!

Friday Fargo Favorites #7

1. Freezer Meals
I discovered Freezer Meals here in Fargo. I know that they aren't a Fargo-Only thing but I love that for me- this is where they started. I love making them, freezing them (individually on cookie sheets so they lay really flat), stacking them, admiring them and of course, eating them! Minimal dirty dishes on the serving day and always fabulous! I also have become crazy about cooking up extra Chicken and Hamburger so that all I have to do is defrost and throw it in whatever I'm making. Of course, I used what fruits and veggies we grew in the garden to save for the long winter and made up lots of yummy jam. So... Tada! Both of our freezers are stocked full of meals, meats, peaches, butternut squash, rhubarb (thanks Jen!), zucchini, freezer jam and bags of smoothie fruit (I'm trying hard Cheri to be like you! LOL)!!! Yeah for Freezers!


Inside Freezer



Outside Freezer



2. Last of the Leaves

Even though having 4 big trees in your yard can be a pain in the Fall- I love watching the kids rake, jump, play and laugh in all the leaves. We cleaned up the last of them this week but the kids LOVED every minute of them. Goodbye until next year our dear Leaf Friends!!!!

3. Hunting Season
I'm really NOT an animal person so the Hunting Season doesn't make me cringe like others. (I'm not a "Run, Bambi, Run" kind of person- Sorry Jen LOL!) I don't believe in animal cruelty by any means but a little meat for my family makes it a worthy cause. One of my fondest memories of Justice here in Fargo will always be the Deer Hunt the year before he started Kindergarten. So funny! Brett had brought home a Bambi from the Hunt. He hung it in the garage for a few days to do whatever it is that that does! ;) The girls tried to avoid being out there. A little too gross for us! But Justice would go out to visit any chance he got. Then, it came to the meat processing event. Matt & Brett had a little helper as they did their thing. Justice stood behind that deer and held it's legs the whole time- for ALL of it! LOL! Yucky! To make matters even funnier- he ended up explaining the whole process to his Kindergarten class for Show-n-Tell. The kids thought it was great but the Teacher... not so much!!! Gotta love kids growing up in ND during Hunting Season. LOL!

P.S. Justice got to go for his 1st Deer Hunt yesterday. He's been begging Brett to go for years. He gladly got up at 5:15 AM to go. He LOVES being with his Dad!

4. Yard Work

I love my yard here in Fargo! Growing up, I never really remember helping in the yard (I don't remember a whole lot so that doesn't mean I didn't ;). Then as an adult, Brett & I spent the (1) first 8 years of our marriage in a condo, (2) followed by time at my Aunt & Uncle's place [NO- I did NOT mow his yard- LOL!!], (3) a few months in our 1st real home but pretty much during the Winter, and (4) 6 months in an apartment here in Fargo until we (5) bought this home. But- let me tell you- I LOVE to be in the yard!! No green thumb by any means but get me in the dirt and behind the lawn mower and I love it! This week, I mowed up the last of the leaves, moved some Iris' to the side of house, and built up around the window well. Pat on the back for me!!

5. Tucking in my Socks

You always know the weather is turning cold when I resort to tucking my socks into my pants to go to sleep. Too bad the worst is yet to come!!!! LOL! We've been teasing some of the newcomers lately that living in Fargo during the Winter is like Childbirth. It can be painful to go through and by the time it's over- you think you could never do it again. But then sun starts to shine, the snow melts, you enjoy the friends and all the memories, the pain fades and you do it again!!! So, my advice to my new friends---Just tuck your socks in ladies and enjoy the adventure!!!! In the Spring, I'll make you T-shirts that say "I Survived a Fargo Winter" LOL!

So.. What are you GRATEFUL for this week?