Bonanzaville Fieldtrip

One disadvantage to volunteering on a regular basis in your kids class is that in a bind- they think they can count on you! You just might find yourself on a fieldtrip or two that you never even signed up for. LOL. Mrs. Spanier had told me (not asked- mind you) that I was coming to the bread-making day. Not a problem- I made it work. I did my duty, right? You'd think I did. But then Liberty came home Friday and informed me that I was a chaperon for the all day fieldtrip to Bonanzaville today. I already was assigned a group and had a packet to study! Lucky me! ;) It worked out fine though. I found a babysitter and had a fabulous time!
We paired up with one of Liberty's best friends and her Mom's group for the tour. My group was a lot of fun. It consisted of 2 good-hearted boys and Liberty's little Ethnic-diversity posse. LOL. Such cute girls! They always flock to Liberty when I am there. Seba's family is from India, Gianella is from the Dominican Rebublic, Aluel is from Africa and Kaitlin is from the US. So fun! I was so glad I got to spend one last day with them before the end of the year. It was chilly and a chance of showers but we walked the mile or so from the school. We tried to not get blown away. Quite appropriate, I thought since we were going to study Pioneers. ;)

This was my 1st time at Bonanzaville. We saw and learned lots of cool things. Some of the kids favorites were the Air Museum, the naked manikins (in the Iron lung and the Barber shop--totally funny), the free candy, ringing the LOUD train bell a million times and running as fast as they could between buildings. What a fun day!

Hurricane FARGO

FARGO – A thunderstorm packing winds in excess of 70 mph tore through the Red River Valley late Monday, leaving behind a massive swath of damage and debris.
Tornado sirens in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area sounded at 8:54 p.m. as the storm brought a wave of heavy rain and strong winds, snapping power poles, downing electric lines and trees, and littering darkened streets and yards with branches, garbage and construction debris.

Xcel Energy reported more than 26,000 customers lost service in Fargo and West Fargo as crews scrambled to restore power. Power outages also were reported throughout the region, including Moorhead, Dilworth and many other communities.

Insane Weather!!! I'm beginning to think Mother Nature has a problem with Fargo. LOL. I know that normally a hurricane is somewhere near the ocean and I am also well aware that Fargo is NOT anywhere near an ocean but we did experience "a violent storm with heavy rains and winds blowing at over 74 miles per hour." Our family watched it coming. Brett called downstairs to me that a storm was rolling in fast. I barely had time to turn off the computer, and come upstairs before it hit and wiped the power out. There was rain and winds coming from every direction. Our trees seemed to be bending back and forth. I know, I know... what kind of idiots don't retreat to the basement!!?? We were mesmerized, I guess. After the middle of the storm had passed, Brett braved the rain to start up the generator. We had to keep up with the water running into the sump pump. Good thing we started it up because little did we know we'd be out of power for 21 hours. Crazy, right? We slept soundly thanks to our Emergency Preparation but little did we know the mess of a city we would wake up to...
In West Fargo, our streets are lined with gorgeous, old, huge trees everywhere. Well, the storm took it's toll. All over our neighborhood trees were split in half, fences were laying on the ground, leaves and branches filled the streets and even a house had a new 500lb. leaf-y roof decoration drapped across it. So sad! We luckily had no damage to our home except for small branches and leaves everywhere even though our trampoline was pushed 3 feet towards the fence. What a blessing! We're so glad that we listen to a Prophet and be as prepared as possible. Especially now... because you never know where a Hurricane might hit! ;)

Finished the BOM again

We finished reading the Book of Mormon again as a family. Yeah for us! It took us from Sept 26, 2009 to May 29, 2010 to make it through this time. Eight months and 3 days. It is so good for our family to hear the Word of God everyday. Sometimes it gets overwhelming but I know we are blessed for our efforts. I love the quote from President Ezra Taft Benson about the blessings available to those who study the Book of Mormon. “When individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, … Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986, 81).
We can also promise that reading the Book of Mormon will bring power to resist temptation and produce feelings of love within our families. President Benson said it this way, and the promise is sure: “There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life’ (see D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. These promises—increased love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness—these are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 54).
How awesome are those promises!!!??? Sign me up! Whatever it takes- we will keep studying the Word of God as a family!

Everytime we finish the Book of Mormon as a family, we reward ourselves with a special dinner at Space Aliens. The kids get so excited! Food, games, togetherness and dessert! Perfect way to celebrate!

This time we also went to the movies! We saw Hop at the Safari. The kids really liked it.

This next time through the Scriptures we are trying something new. I bought the book, Scripture Study for Latter-Day Saint Families: The Book of Mormon. It's a little more in depth study than just reading it from cover to cover. We're excited! We'll let ya know how it goes!

Memorial Day

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service." Thank You to all those who give their lives for our Freedom!

We spent our Memorial Day morning at the Annual Memorial Day Breakfast for the ward. It was delicious and there were LOTS of people there. It was rainy so we skipped the Softball Game/Park part. Besides-we had big plans for the rest of the day! (See next post)

Glory's Blankie Surgery

Remember how Numm died last October? Well, now the top fabric of Glory's Blankie has seen it's last thread. Surgery was imminent! She handled it very well. She even helped. Thank goodness that the soft fabric is strong and still alive. This thing has been LOVED, for sure!

Memorial Weekend Camping Trip

The weather perked up a bit so we took our chances and headed up to Turtle River State Park for some camping with the Larsens. The original plan was to have 6 or so families come up for the weekend but due to moving and weather circumstances our numbers dwindled to two. We had a blast though! Turtle River is beautiful. We'll definitely have to go again especially because we recently bought a Popup trailer from the Babcocks.  We have never been big campers but let me tell you... plug that baby in, plug in a heater and some bedtime music and we are SET! We might even make this a Camping Adventure Summer. We'll see!
Back to our Memorial Day Camping...

We picked the best two sites in all the Park. We totally lucked out. If you ever go with a group, make sure you get sites 15 & 16, then 13 or 23. They are Perfect! We got up a bit late so we just had time to set up camp and eat a bit of dinner. The kids all wanted to help setup the Popup. Sorry Ryan- you're tent is cool too! LOL

We did Hobo dinners again (love them!)

and what camp fire is complete without Sh'mores? Yum!

Some of the kids were dying to go fishing. My amazing hubby braved 4 kids on his own in the DARK, mind you to take them. What a guy! They even got a couple. They were <-----------this----------> big! Literally! Like 4 inches. LOL. But Brett cooked one up over the fire and most the kids tried it. They loved it! Nothing like fresh fish. Too funny!

In the morning, we had breakfast burritos and headed for Church in Grand Forks. Nothing like Camp-Smoke Visitors in Sacrament Meeting! LOL When we got back we cleaned up camp while McKenzie played Old Maid with the kids. (The Larsens stayed another night) Then, we had lunch at the Playground. The winds had picked up and the temps were pretty chilly but the kids always have fun together.

We did a bit more fishing before we left. All the kids caught something. Maggie and Lilly think fishing is fun and easy! Oops! Sorry Ryan! (Gotta love beginners luck!) Glory carried her fish everywhere. She made sure he got a drink once in a while (even though he was long gone by then ;) The river was beautiful and protected a bit from the wind. Perfect fishing for little kids.

Thanks Larsen for inviting us! Let's do it again soon. Happy Campers are we!

Going with the Flow

We are supposed to be camping this weekend but Fargo's Mother Nature always likes the last say and today she said- "No way!" Mean Mama! LOL So.... we are going with the Flow! (literally because flow has to do with water and rain is water, right?)
We were all craving Hobo dinners so we made them anyways. The kids helped make them and Brett cooked them up on the grill. So yummy!

In the evening, the Larsen's invited us out with a few other friends to Casselton's Governors Inn for a bit of swimming. We had lots of fun! Thanks for inviting us, guys!

Then since we weren't eating breakfast in the woods, we did the next best thing. A bike ride to Sandy's Donuts with the Larsens! We love family bike rides, we love the Larsens and we LOVE donuts. It was a perfect substitute.

Bummer 'bout the weather but we had a blast anyways! Take that, Mother Nature!!

Fargo Favorites #35

Devoted to the Bs in my life.

1. Babies
Lots of new babies have joined our midst this year. One every month to be exact! (Well we had 2 in Feb but that's cuz one came early) They are so cute!!! I am totally enjoying the Grandma Stage with this little bundles. So fun!!!

2. Baptism

In larger areas of Mormons, they hold Stake Baptisms. Here in Fargo, they are a little more personal. We just had Justice's recently and then got to attend Karl's. He wanted everything just like Justice. Too cute! It's so fun to see these kids know, love and want to follow the Savior.

3. Best Friends

I have made some of the best friends here in Fargo! It's crazy to look back at my time here and see how many of them have moved away. I plan on devoting a post or two or three or... well however many it takes to highlight some of those that have left Fargo. I've been a slacker at keeping up on the blog anyways so we'll see how soon I can get to that but they know who they are for now. And hopefully they know how much I love them and miss them! {I do have AMAZING friends that stay as well- and I love them just as much!;}
4. Boys

I love the "boys" in my life. I don't always understand them... why do boys do what they do anyways? LOL But they bring so much joy to my life as well. Where would I be without them. I love you guys!

5. Beautiful World
Popcorn popping on the Apricot Tree! They only last for a short bit here but I love, love, love the trees on our Sunday walk in the Spring. Gorgeous! How does Heavenly Father do that?!

Are there things that start with B

that you are grateful for?

Playing with Oreo

Every week at piano lessons in Casselton, [when the Eriksons aren't there to play with] the little girls like to play with Beth's puppy, Oreo! I am not a dog person AT ALL! But he is pretty cute and the girls LOVE him!

Congrats to 2011 Grads

We have had the opportunity to celebrate with lots of Graduates this week! Congratulations to Rachel, Peter, Mariah, Adam, Jack and Ellen! Good Luck with all your adult-adventures!

Also, KBro  finally conceded to let us help with Ellen's Partay! I got brave and decorated some pretty fancy cupcakes for the occasion. (I enjoyed it so much I might have to sign up for a cake decoarting class or something;) The weather was a bit ND windy but the rain stayed away. Yeah! Everyone had a great time and she had SO many people come to support her and wish her well. We'll miss you, dear Ella! Stay away from the RMs at least for one semester, OK? LOL!

Sealed for Time and All Eternity

Some of our dear friends were finally (hurray!) sealed today for time and all eternity in the Bismarck Temple today. Congrats guys! We sure love you! Thanks for letting us invite ourselves. What a special day! And thanks for lunch. We are so happy for your family.

Special thanks to our amazing kids and the Ironroads for letting us join in the special day!

Fargo Favorites #34

1. Apple Tree Blossoms

We now have 3 apples in our backyard and they are all blooming. I love apple blossoms!!!

2. Backyard Fun

We have the FUNnest backyard ever! I love it when the weather gets warm enough that we can be out there to play and share it with our friends. Yeah! Umbrella tree is getting leaves, the swings are out, the tramp net is up and the zipline is being enjoyed. Now if we could get our garden in. Project for another week, I guess.

3. Ground Wheat
Since I already had my Wheat Grinder out, I decided to fill our Wheat Flour Jar. I love how ground wheat looks and feels and smells. So beautiful!!!

4. Lying Weather Men
It's a sort of double edge sword but it is a fact of life here in Fargo-- Not sure how they all keep their jobs but the Meteorologists in our area are wrong 80% of the time. Unless I actually see it raining or snowing or sunny- I tend to not believe a word they say. Wouldn't we all like a job where we could get paid to be wrong almost all the time? LOL! I am grateful lately for them though because they have been predicting yucky weather. Luck for us... we have an 80% chance that they're wrong!!!!

5. Co-op Preschool

Sad day but this was our last Co-op Preschool day! These kids have become such great friends this year. Can't say we learned all our alphabet but we sure had fun. I was pretending to cry about it and the kids totally made me laugh. Gwen told me- "Don't worry, we're going to Buffalo River on Fridays". Then Victoria leaned over to Gwen and quietly said, "My mom just cries cuz she thinks I'm cute." LOL! {I keep telling her I'm gonna miss her so much when she goes to Kindergarten and what am I gonna do without my cute girl all day. I guess that's how she translated that. Cute girl} Yeah for the Summer but so sad for Preschool. I'm gonna miss having these cute kids together!

What Brightens your day?

Bread Making

I got to volunteer at the School today for a "Bread in a Bag" Project for the 4th grade. A lady comes and talks about Farming in ND and teaches the kids to make Bread in a Bag. It was fun to spend time with Liberty & her friends one last time before the year ends. 10 more days! Can you believe it?
Liberty's bread turned out amazing! We had it with some of our home-made strawberry jam for dinner! Delicious!

Funny little the Mormon saves the Day story-
I got there early to help set up things. There were 2 ladies in charge telling the parent helpers what to do. The 2nd lady asked the Main lady where she wanted to set up the wheat grinding stuff. [That way the kids get to see first hand how the wheat they were going to talk about gets from the field to their bread- a once in a lifetime experience for some of the kids] The Main lady said she had run out of wheat so they were NOT going to do it this time. Well... "I have wheat," I said. She was a bit surprised but said she hadn't brought the grinder. Well.... "I have a grinder," I said. I actually have a hand grinder and an electric grinder- which one do you prefer? She asked where I live and one of the other moms who knows me said "like one minute away". Well... OK then. So, I quickly ran home to raid my food storage. I grabbed both grinders and one of my 5 gallon buckets of wheat. Back at the school, people were amazed at how much wheat I had. I didn't dare tell them I have like 20 to 30 times that much at home- (Mormon food storage to the rescue). LOL! So by some random turn of events, I got put in charge of showing the Westside 4th graders how to grind wheat. Too funny! Oh the joys of unexpected opportunities to share my food storage with others! I love it!

Meeting Baby A.L.I.

The kids are all finally over their coughs and runny noses so they got to meet Miss Ali tonight. They loved feeding and holding her. She is gonna be one loved little chicka!

Mr. & Miss Fixits

Remember those bikes I told you that Brett collected from Clean-up week? Well, I must have teased him too much about last year's one still being in the backyard. It must have been a "I'll show you" moment cuz he & the kids fix, scrubbed and cleaned them all up this weekend. They look fabulous! They're gonna sell them on Craigslist to make a little mula. Way to go guys!

Fargo Favorites #33

I'm really slacking on my Fargo Favorites (I know I am deceitful to post them in the right place when I get around to posting them way past Friday BUT I'm saying better late than never. And in this case- my vote's the only one that counts. LOL I finally ended up getting this posted on Wed of the next week- oops!) But oh well- here we go!

1. Freezer Meal Exchange

KTuck and I were the only ones up for making Freezer meals this time. But it worked out fine. We made two of 6 different meals and then swapped. It's was in preparation for a new little one joining their fam soon. I may have went a bit overboard this time. What can I say... I got on a roll. I ended up making 35 meals in two days! Yikes- Can anyone say insane??? It's taken me a week to want to even eat anything. LOL Too many good smells all blended together can be yucky, I guess! But my freezer is stocked up and I'm so excited!

2. Piano Lessons

We decided to get the kids into Piano lesson when they turn 8 years old. We started teaching Liberty ourselves but soon realized she needed someone who knew what they were doing. LOL. Alma Christensen plays the Organ for Church and somehow I talked her into teaching Liberty. It was supposed to be a swap of services rendered but she has yet to finish her 1st assignment I gave her for Applique Sewing! Big Trouble Lady! Luckily, we insisted on paying her for lessons anyways. Liberty has really taken off. It's so fun to have music in our home. Justice is scheduled to start soon. Unfortunately, the Christensens are in the market for a new job so they'll be leaving us soon. Dang! Thanks so much, Alma! We will miss you!

3. Da Bunny, Da Bunny, oh we love da Bunny!

[*Warning*-Animal lovers plug your ears!] OK- that's a lie. I'm not really grateful for "da bunny" because he eats my garden but he does live under our deck and we see him (or her) every day. And we may end up with bunny babies at some point so I figured I better feature our bunny friend before my Hubby BBs him. He is cute though!

4. Tulips

The only part of my garden that I seem to be able to grow and be proud of are my tulips. They grow in a round part of my front yard flower garden. They are so pretty! And better yet... they grow all by themselves. Yeah! My kinda plant!

5. Raspberries

We grow raspberries. ...Not very well but we grow them. ;) We are going to transplant them to a different spot this year but I love that they just start growing in the Spring all by themselves. Hopefully they will produce better where we move them. We'll see.

What are you grateful for?

Justice's Music Program

Justice had his 2nd Grade Music Program today. He did a fantastic job! He really likes to learn all the songs. I'm so glad we can support the kids in their programs. Thanks for inviting us Buddy!

Mrs. Dyrdahl has decided to retire this year so this is her final class of her career. Good luck to her in her new adventures!

Hail Storm in May

{This pic is after being in the freezer all night and melting a bit while we found a quarter}

There was an incredible Hail Storm last night! It rolled in incredibly quickly, was incredibly loud and produced incredibly large hail stones. Crazy!!!! It is May, right?

Mother's Day!

FIRST- A little Mother's Day Wish to all the Wonderful ladies that love us and have a role in "mothering" us! You make our world a better place! Happy Mother's day!
NEXT- Brett & the kids made the weekend really special for me. They are so thoughtful and kind and always know how to make you feel special! Love you guys!

Mother's day Breakfast

Brett had a very busy weekend but got up early Saturday to make me breakfast and let me sleep in. He had it all cooked and keeping warm in the oven when I got up. Thanks, Love. You're amazing!

I love being able to dress up fancy for special occasions. It's a Holiday Freak thing! LOL So today, I used a whole bunch of my Bday gifts from Brett, the kids and KBro to get snazzy-ed up for Church. Such a cute outfit and RED is my favorite color! Yeah! In Sunday School, Brett taught my lesson for me. It's always nice to have a "week off" once in a while. Thanks, Honey! Then for our Mother's Day gift from the Bishopric, we got a Kit Kat Bar (you know- the "Take  Break" treat. LOL) with a poem written by my talented Hubby! Isn't it sweet?

WOMEN ON THIS Special Day
NO GIFT WILL QUITE SUFFICE
THERE’S NOTHING WE COULD REALLY GIVE
TO EQUAL YOUR SACRIFICE

THIS CANDY BAR’S A TOKEN
OF WHAT YOU MEAN TO US
EVEN THOUGH IT REALLY WON’T
DO YOU PROPER JUSTICE

Candy bars ARE LIKE WOMEN
OUR LIVES YOU TRULY BLESS
WITH UN-WAFER-ING FAITH
AND PLENTY OF SWEET GOODNESS

LIKE CANDY, THERE IS A VARIETY
OF WOMEN THAT CAN BE FOUND
AND WE WISH YOU WERE SOMEWHERE CLOSE
ON THE DAYS YOU’RE NOT AROUND

SO PLEASE ACCEPT THIS TOKEN
OF OUR Gratitude AND Love
WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR INFLUENCE
AND THANK GOD ABOVE

Don't I have the cutest kids ever?!!!! I just wanna squeeze 'em! ;) After Church, the fam let me take a nap while they made me a fabulous dinner and dessert. Wow! They should start a restaurant. Loved it! YUMMMY!



Mother's Day Gifts

My family totally spoiled me! They made and got me some fun, fun stuff! Thanks for all the amazing gifts guys! (and thanks to their Primary teachers who put a lot of work into helping them be so thoughtful) I love you all! XOXO

 Hope you had a

Magnificent Mother's Day!

Finally Posted!

UPDATE- I'm all caught up so scroll down a bit and read all about our fun weekend!

Concerned friends have wondered if I am still alive. I am! Keep posted because we've had Bdays, a family visit with lots of fun things, a Baptism, and a Friday I need to be thankful for. Not to mention that Mother's Day is already tomorrow! AHHHHH! (I almost have all the pictures done but I have to be in the right mood to have something to say about them ;) We'll see how blog-productive my Saturday can be! LOL

Somewhere Round the Rainbow...

While we were outside today enjoying the great weather, we saw this amazing rainbow- It's ROUND! Crazy, huh? The girls couldn't quite see it because the sun was so bright so we took several pictures for them to look at it. Gorgeous! I LOVE rainbows!