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!!

Utah Vacation: Partay @ the Rasmussens

After East Canyon, we got to spend some time at the Rasmussen's home for a couple nights. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!) We LOVE them! They have always been the greatest examples to our family. Lori & Lou are so much fun! Lou's hilarious and makes us laugh all the time. Lori is absoluetly the most thoughtful person I have every met. When I grow up (I'm not yet?), I hope I can be even a little bit like her. All her kids are amazing! Alex is serving a mission right now in Cali so we sure missed him. But it was so fun to get to hang out with Zach, Jake and Anna. They are all grown up now. How does that happen? Jake was a tiny baby (ok-he was never tiny LOL!), the first time I met him. (15 years ago- oh my gosh- where does time fly?) They are great kids! Hope my kids look to them as examples of what to shoot for. Luv them! They shared their home, their garden, their camera/computer, their doggie and their amazing musical talent with us! It was so much fun!

While Brett was off playing at Lagoon and fishing (in his defense-he did take one or two of the kids with him each time;), the little girls and me hung out with Lori. She was so gracious to let Victoria be her helper. Victoria wanted to help her with everything! She dug potatoes and helped wash them for potato salad. She even wanted to cut them all up with her. She helped feed the dog and water the garden. Glory and Victoria even helped shuck corn. Big helpers, I tell ya! Lori also spoiled me by letting me visit some local quilt shops. Oh yeah! A fabric-aholic paradise! So much fun! She watched the girls for one and then watched them at a little park for the other. Thanks Lori! I'll have to show you what I make with the treasures I found! ;)

Around 6ish (Vacation time always runs more on "ishes"), most of the Seamons crew came down to the Rasmussens for a BBQ to say goodbye. Fabulous food and wonderful people! Brett and the kids even made it back for part of it. LOL! It was so great to see everyone. They are all so awesome! Thanks for making time to see us guys! We sure love you!

Before, we left town we had to make sure we got a "Stephen" picture. Brett's grandpa's name was Henry Stephen Seamons. Brett's dad's name is Garold Stephen Seamons. Then, Brett Stephen Seamons and his son Justice Stephen Seamons. Pretty cool! Lori and Lou named Zachary Stephen after Grandpa as well. The last picture we got of the 4 of them was at Justice's baby blessing so it was about time for another, ya think? Zach will be on a mission next time we come out so we made sure to fit it in even if we had to drag him in all hot & sweaty for a lawn-mowing break. Thanks Zach!

Utah Vacation: Skyler's Baptism

Part of our choice to go to Utah this week was to see our niece get baptizes as a Member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so proud of her decision to follow Jesus. Way to go, Sky! Our nephew, Zach got to baptize her and Grandpa Seamons, through his Priesthood power, gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was really special!

After the baptism, we went back to Grandpa & Grandma Seamons for a Partay! We ate and played and visited. It's been a long time since we've been with  Brett's Mom & Dad and all his sisters (except for the Mariann & her fam- they live in Arizona and couldn't make it- We missed you guys!) & all their kids. I believe we are up to a total of 32 of us (37 with the Millsaps). That's a lot of people squashed close together- oh so cozy! ;) LOL! It was fun to see all the kids play together. Yummy food and awesome people! We LOVED it!

Here's a little collage of Brett's fam: Man- What a good-looking group of people! Love you guys!

Utah Vacation: Temple Square & Cafe Rio

Today is our 14th Wedding Anniversary! Can you believe that? Holy Cow! I guess time flies when you're having fun! ;) We drove down from Layton to SLC to start out our morning with a session at the Salt Lake Temple. I LOVE this Temple! It's gorgeous and has an amazing history. We got to sit together in the Celestial room for a while after the session. It is so beautiful & peaceful! It's hard to believe we sat in that exact place 14 years ago with no idea what future was ahead of us. What a future it has been! ;) Many there be many more to experience. I love you so much, Honey!

Here's an article with pictures of some of the rooms inside: http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=4d3530b157edb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 (It's called In His Holy House in the 1993 Nov issue of the Liahona found on lds.org)

We finally decided to NOT stay in a Hotel for the next two nights but to just stay up at the Davis'. (After 14 years, you'd think we would have the communication thing down, right? or NOT! Oops! Sorry, love! You are so patient with me!;) It eventually worked out great though because like I mentioned- we LOVE staying at the Davis' house! Well, after a fun Anniversary lunch in the Temple cafeteria (Pretty good food I would say), we headed back up to Cheri's to get the kids. [Thanks lady for watching them for us- we really appreciate it!] After naptime, we headed back down to Salt Lake to take the kids around Temple Square. There is SO much to see and we had very limited time so we took them to the big stuff. At Temple Square, the Christus statue is a MUST! It's gorgeous! We also went ot the North Visitor's Center and went inside the Tabernacle. One of the Sister Missionaries did a sound demonstration without a microphone. Pretty amazing!

Next, we did a shortened tour of the Conference Center. We LOVE the rooftop! We did the tour with a couple from Ohio. We made sure they saw the really important parts. ;) It was fun to be able to do a bit of missionary work while we were there. Glory ended up pretending to be a puppy the whole time and ruined the toes of her shoes on the granite floor. Silly girl! We even got to see a double rainbow while we were on the roof. Magnificent! We are so lucky! The pictures don't give them justice. After the roof, we got to go inside the auditorium. That place is humungous and beautiful!

We had planned to meet several of Brett's fam for dinner so we headed over to one of our favorite places- Cafe Rio! YUMMMMMMY! Love that place! Brett's mom-Lana, Shauna, Charlene, Jayden, Jordan, Miley, Janet, Skyler, Ky, Brett, Liberty, Justice, Victoria, Glory and me all were there! Let me tell you--It's always fun keeping kids together and quiet in a restaurant. Gotta love 'em!!! LOL!

After dinner, we headed back over to Temple Square where we met up with Shauna. We made a stop at the South Visitor's center. They have a miniaturized replica of the Temple and it's insides. HOLY AMAZING! That is a doll house my girls would love, love! We made a stop by the fountain where Brett proposed to me. AHHH- too sweet! (Tilt your head to the side- it sounds cuter;) And of course, we had to touch the Temple. A family tradition! I even took Liberty to the back door so I could show her my doorknob.

[STORY behind the knob: When we got married, it's tradition to take pictures on the steps by the doors. Well, people were teasing me about trying to break in. (These big doors are locked for obvious reasons) I played along and tugged hard on the door. Well, I guess I'm Superwoman or something because the doorknob popped off and rolled down the stairs. Oops! We all about peeped our pants (or dresses) laughing! I, of course, put it back on the best I could and we told the Temple workers about it but now whenever we see the doorknob- we laugh! AND then even better -a couple years later, my Uncle Bud found a belt buckle made from a mold of the front of the knob. He ended up giving us one so I actually have my own SLTemple doorknob at home! Too funny!]

Shauna got to explain some of the symbols on the outside of the Temple to the kids, we threw coins in the fountains, did a mooshy Anniversary photo shoot in front of the Temple before it got too dark and checked out the looking-glass lake. The Church turns everything it touches into something beautiful! It's truly amazing! I'm so glad we got the kids there!

Here's a picture of the inside of the replica. It's absolutely perfect!:

Even despite our little communication gliche, our Anniversary was pretty great! Thanks love for being such an amazing hubby! I love you so much! XOXO!

Happy Anniversary!

Utah Vacation: Hobo Dinners

A major reason that we love Utah is the gorgeous Mountians! Aren't they amazing? So, what wild west vacation would be complete without a Canyon dinner? We met the Seamons gang up Parley's Canyon at Washington Park. It was a gorgeous night. It was so great to see everyone. There was tons of food, of course. AND Shauna brought stuff for "S'mores for Dummies". Basically you  1-catch the marshmellow on fire (no painstaking turning to get the perfect brown crisp), 2-pull of the burnt outer layer, 3- roll the remainding gooey mess in candy, 4- smoosh between some chocolate and crackers, and 5- yummy! The kids loved it! Thanks Shauna! You're awesome!

Also, who can have dinner up the canyon without Hobo dinners? Not us!!! Cheri was nice enough to endulge us in our Hobo dinner need. She let us make some up at her house and cook 'em up the canyon. So delicious! I never could have enough of them. YUMMMY!

How fun is it to hop in the car and within a short bit enjoy the crisp, cool mountain air! What a perfect night!