GNO: The Help

This was a busy week for our Fam but I managed to get away for a minute or two tonight. Yeah for GNO! We had so many ladies come out this time. So fun! We ended up with 18 ladies for dinner at Applebee's. The food was so yummy and the waitress was so fabulous to us. I love visiting and eating with these awesome Fargo ladies!

Then we headed to the movies. A few ladies had already seen it or needed to get home but we also had some other friends join us! Thanks Betsy (& her 2 friends), Robbie and Cortnee for meeting us! [This was Cortnee's 1st joining our crazy little group. Hopefully she comes back! LOL] We passed around tons of treats, we laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, and we cried some more. Then after we visited outside until we had to pee. What a great night!!

Delicious food, such a good movie, and awesome friends!

I love, love GNO!

Thanks ladies for getting out with me!

P.S. SAD Sidenote!--- KBro & I decided to take our dinners with us to the movie to finish them. We even got to-go-forks! LOL Then the movie was so good we never had time to take them out! Unfortunately, my camera was in there and in the process of swinging my bag, taking treats in & out and getting home- my Oriental Chicken Salad Dressing leaked. (Insert a humungous pouty lip here) It leaked right into and on my camera. Needless to say... my camera is DEAD! It won't turn on and the insides are filled with oily liquied. Luckily I saved the card and pulled the pictures off in the computer slot. But the camera is shot! I am so SAD! So until I get a new one.... pictures on the blog are gonna be slim! Dang!

Rendezvous with Friends

Heidi P. got a bunch of us together tonight for a Potluck dinner. Since all the hubbies are heading out to Minot again- it turned out to be like a big, busy GNO! The kids had a blast at the Park while we ate and visited. It was so fun that so many could come! I love the ladies here!

Most of the kids spent the majority of the time down at the Skate Park. Singing, dancing, sliding, skating and having a blast!

Yeah for GNO with kids!

Buffalo River

The weather has not really cooperated with us this Summer to make trips to Buffalo River be consistent. In fact, today was the 1st time we've made it this year. Man! Have we missed it! It was a perfect day for being at the Lake! We love meeting out there with friends. We'll have to see if we can make it there a few more times before school starts.

Dutch Oven @ the Park

We decided to try something new with our Dutch Oven Cooking Parties. We moved them to the Park. We figure it'll cut down the craziness (and need for the before-cleaning process) at one person's home. I was a little nervous at the idea at first. Especially cuz most of the free parks in town do not have bathrooms or running water. A little bit nerve racking for the Mommas but it turned out perfect. It was a smaller group than usual this time but that just meant more food for me!!!
I think the reason for the smaller group was... Most people are taking off for the month of July so they think they need the whole week to get ready or something! ;o) All the more reason people should come to everything before they abandon us for the Summer but... that's just my opinion! And it seems it doesn't count for a lot round here these days! LOL
The food was amazing as usual! We had Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken with Veggies, Jambalaya, Pink salad, butterscotch cookies, Apple crisp and a Blueberry/other fruit cobbler. Delicious!

We brought Sabrina with us this time. We also had the new Gill family to play with as well. All the kids enjoyed playing on the playground and swings. Funny thing...The entire playground surface felt like it was floating (because of the rains this week). Whenever you jumped off the equipment , it felt  like you were gonna sink into some kind of quick sand. Luckily most of the kids came away without too much mud on them!

 After dinner, the Z boys, Jared Gill and Brett got together a game of Kickball for the kids. They loved it!!!

We'll have to see if we stay with the Park Dutch Oven Plan but for now.. we'll count it as a success!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The weather has NOT cooperated with our Outdoor Summer Schedule yet. Wednesday and Fridays are supposed to be Parks and swimming. Yet RAIN has decided it likes those days the best. So instead of running around Gooseberry Park today, the Potters invited us to join them and some other friends at the indoor McDonald's playground. So despite the change of plans, the kids have fun just being with their friends.

Still....

I am chanting "Rain, Rain, Go Away!"

TOFW 2011: Saturday

Saturday was a busy day! Way before bright and early, I had a meeting so I left the Hotel before I normally would even be awake. (Early mornings are for the birds NOT the Seamons :) The other ladies enjoyed a bit of a free breakfast before coming to the Convention Center. Hope they enjoyed some for me! LOL. The Saturday Event was filled once again with music, friends, laughter, tears and learning. (See post about the Inspiring Words of the Presenters) Fabulous as always!

Like usual, Deseret Book set up shop out in the foyer. During breaks and lunch, we had the opportunity to shop for books and music from the Presenters as well as other popular DB items. One fun thing that happened this year was getting to buy an autographed copy of To The Rescue: The Biography Of Thomas S. Monson. It is signed by President Monson himself- the TOFW representative switched the ones they were bringing out for the signed ones before he came to Minneapolis. Yeah! Jenny and I missed part of one of the presenters but it was worth it! They ran out of them quickly. There was so many great things to buy. I think everyone came home with at least one bag full of fun finds.

Another TOFW trip tradition involves a bit more shopping. After the event, we always take a short drive to Albertville for some Outlet Mall fun! By then my feet had already called it quits but I tagged along with some die-hard shoppers nonetheless. An hour or two and many, many bags later (hopefully everyone got a bite to eat), we all met back at the van. A little squishier than the trip down but we were ready to head home.

It always amazes me how women can talk and talk and talk and talk. No radio, no CDs and no sleeping (as far as I knew) and 3 hours flew by like it was 15 minutes. Thanks ladies for the great time. I loved being with you all. You are the bestest friends a lady could ask for!

Well....

Normally this would be the end of the story. We would roll into the Church parking lot a lot later than we should, pile out with our luggage and stumble to our respective cars to head home. We would hug each other and mumble incoherently our goodbyes. Another TOFW Adventure complete!

BUT...

NOT this time! Stay tuned because little did we know that at 11:00 PM our Adventure had just begun!

TOFW 2011: Friday

What if you had the chance to take a weekend to discover something new?
What if this was the year for you to make meaningful change?
We did. This is!
"CHOOSE TO BECOME just a little closer to the woman you were meant to be—through your testimony, through your relationships, and through your personal improvement. There is a whole world of possibilities out there just waiting to be discovered…come find the ones waiting for YOU!"
This weekend, the TIME OUT FOR WOMEN 2011 TOUR came to Minneapolis, MN. Eleven of my dear sweet friends and I joined 800 other amazing women  for an inspirational weekend of messages and music. [We're so sad that Lisa and Cheryl couldn't come- we missed you ladies!] This was the 3rd time that a group of Fargo Friends made the journey. As always- it was an awesome adventure!
We met at the Church this morning where we and all our luggage piled into a 15 passenger green van (so funny since last time we went in a Green Beast as well) that we had rented especially for the occasion. KTuck even stopped by to wish us luck and bring us a couple of bags of treats for our trip. She is AWESOME! I so need the recipe, lady! The popcorn was the best I've ever had. Thank you so much! We luv ya and wish you could have come.
After a prayer from the Bishop Sean (this was not an official Church activity so we called him Sean ;), we loaded our junk stuff into the back AND in the extra seats AND under the benches LOL! and all piled into the van. We were definitely cozy but so glad we could all ride together. Stories, laughter, treats, each other's laps and a box of chocolates were generously shared.

TOFW Tradition requires that we make a stop in St. Cloud, MN at the Gruber's Quilt Shop. I actually thought the tradition might not happen this time because my die-hard Fab buddy wasn't joining us (Brooke has a tiny baby at home this year and couldn't come). But most ended up wanting to go- so off we went. Beautiful fabric in every color you can imagine and idea after idea after idea. A Fab-Addict Heaven! 



Another tradition we enjoy on our TOFW trips is lunch @ Panera's. Yummy and quick! There's something for everyone which is a bonus! Yeah for delicious traditions!

We finally made it to the Millennium Hotel around 4 o'clock and Kristen did an awesome job of parking the Green Beast in the parking garage. She deserves a Green Machine Parking Metal! Then we got our key cards and got the ladies assigned as roomies. We were a bit bummed cuz they actually told me we had rooms across the hall from each other. In reality, we had 2 rooms across from each other and the other two rooms were on the other end of the 6th floor. Bugger! But we didn't spend a whole lot of time in them anyways so... whatever, right? I had an early meeting so I took off while the other ladies got settled, visited or took naps. I met up with them at the event at 6:00 PM. Yeah- let the fun continue! While we were taking pictures in front of the sign, Breanna (the TOFW Minn Team Lead) came and took pics and did a few videos of our group. We'll see if we end up famous!!! ;)

The Friday Night Event was awesome! I'll share some of the things we learned in a different post. After the event, we got together with some other ladies from Fargo (Martha, Brittney, and Marvia) for a late dinner. There was a fun, little restaurant in the lobby of the hotel which was open late and could seat all 17 of us. Perfect! The prices were way decent and the staff was great! Better yet we didn't have to load everyone in the van and drive anywhere. Lucky us!

Back in our rooms, we stayed up late and visited (at least we did in our room). That's what you do at a sleepover, right? Not much sleep but good times! Wahoo!

Haylie Baby

Haylie and Matt will soon be welcoming a new little one at their house. Haylie's girlfriends wanted to throw a Baby Shower to celebrate. Even with a bit of a MST (MormonStandardTime) beginning, we had a great turn out. [Oops! Sorry Haylie & Jen! LOL] I think I counted 16 of us when everyone finally came.

Background story: Before I had Liberty, I decided I was going to be the "Baby Shower Party Girl" for all my friends. I have an entire folder full of games and things.Well, let's just say.. where does the time fly? My baby's 10 this next month and the Baby Shower Folder needed a little bit of dusting. Oops! I'll just say that I've been saving them all for Haylie! LOL

At the shower...We visited until everyone got there and then we played a few games. First, we played a Candy Bar Matching Game. Kinda like Memory but the matches were a candy bar & a baby word. Things like: Engorgement & Mounds, Twin Boys & Mike&Ike, Breastfeeding & Milky Way, Baby Girl & Baby Ruth, Umbilical Cord & Licorice Rope, Bottle Feeding & Milk Duds, Conception & Skor, Sperm & Swedish Fish. Ya know- things like that. Haylie actually teased at the beginning and asked "Is this G Rated?" I teased her back and said that nothing about having a baby is G-Rated!!!! LOL The girls were getting frustrated on remembering where the matches were. They were blaming it on lost brain cells from having children (LOL) so I kinda gave them a few hints along the way! We had a good laugh.

Next we played the Memory Game. I brought out a platter full of "Baby Essentials" and let the ladies examine it for 2 minutes. Then I took it away. I gave them a bit to write down all the things they could remember. Some tried to cheat but they were no match for Jennifer and ended up doing worse after their papers were taken. See!!!! Cheaters never prosper! LOL. Teri & Ellen won with like 25 of the 31 items. Yeah! Haylie got to take all the items home!

The last game we played was a Mad Gab Game. We broke into 2 teams. The first team to figure out all 30- won! It was so funny to hear them because it was so clear to those in the kitchen what they were saying. But they had to repeat some of them tons of times to figure them out: Hilarious! Here's some for you to try. Good Luck!:

DIE

PURR
RASH

LAY
POOR
PANES

AIM
OTHERS
INN
STINKED

WON
MORR
DOG
TORSO
POINT
MINT

APE
PASSIVE
FIRE

RAW
KING
SHARE

DEAL
IF
FREER
WHOM

THIS
POSE
HIP
BULL
DIE
PURSE

Prizes for the winners (which I never took pics of. Sorry!) were those "layered cookies in a jar". They looked so yummy! Thanks Kenzie!

After games, Haylie opened presents! Her and the baby got way spoiled. Some really fun stuff. Home-made quilts, baby toys, a Porta-crib gc, clothes, a diaper bag, a diaper cake, gift certificates, an adorable Indian Papoose Snowsuit (oh yeah-she picked it out! ;) and tons of other stuff! This is definitely one LUVED baby! Whatever it is! ;) [They didn't find out what the sex of the baby is and it has really stressed people out! Haylie is loving it a bit too much! She likes to torture us! LOL] I found a cute Keepsake Book for everyone to sign. It keeps track of all the guests, gifts and even had a place for advice and luv notes to the Mommy!

After games, we had a fabulous lunch! Jennifer's meatballs, KTuck's feta cheese & tomato bread thingys, veggies, pastel M&Ms and 2 delicious cakes. I found the most adorable plates and napkins for the Shower. Unfortunately, they never got in any picture. I DID however find a pic of them on the Internet so I included it on the collage. "Mom-to-be"! Aren't they cute?? And look at Haylie's tummy! I love pregnant tummies!

Good Luck to Matt & Haylie in their new adventure!

Thanks for giving us an excuse to Party!

Luv ya guys!

FHE Boxes

A handful of friends came over to my house for Playgroup today. We have been talking about FHE boxes lately so we decided this would be a good time to make them.  Well--- 11 kids under five including 3 little babies+ 7 mommas + a HUGE craft project + lunch + lots of phone calls  (it rang like this was Grand Central) = Some fun and a whole lot of chaos! We did end up finishing 12 of them, feeding all of us and having a smorgasbord of yummy desserts cuz everyone but me brought treats. Score! LOL. The kids had a blast and it was fun to see so many ladies out. I've missed days like this in Fargo so YEAH!

Some of the kids

OK- so you might be wondering "What are FHE boxes?" Let me tell you... Several years ago, my dear friend Christine had this FHE Box idea for a Relief Society Super Saturday thing. {She's always full of fabulous ideas like this} Well, at the time she made them- I made maybe 20 or so for gifts, of course. I'm sorta a Bulk-maker-freak or at least I used to be. LOL And of course while doing that, I made a box to store in my Craft Room that had all the leftovers which were labeled and organized and had a disk with all the info on it. You know-- just in case I ever needed it again. [And yes, I admit it-- I'm Sick!!! I am still prone to the Pack-Rat disorder. Recovering but sadly still have it sometimes.] It doesn't help though that now here we are almost five years later and all of a sudden I need all of that stuff. Still you are probably wondering- "OK, woman! Tell us what they are already!!"
Here you go...
1st- What is FHE? "Church leaders have instructed members to set aside Monday night as “Family Home Evening.” This is a time for families to study the gospel together and to do other activities that strengthen the family spiritually, create family memories, and increase unity and love."

FHE Box

2nd- FHE BOXES are an amazing little life-saver for Monday Nights with young children! It contains 30 fast and easy FHE lessons all in one place-the size of a shoe box! Proof that great things can come in small packages. LOL Inside the box are items kept separate in 30 snack size baggies. My kids simply pick out what interests them. It then becomes the visual for the lesson. We turn to the corresponding page in the handy dandy lesson book [that also fits inside the box], read the story and whoala! -- lesson complete! Each story also includes a scripture that you can turn to as well. So you could study further if your attention span is longer than the one at our house. Here's from the 1st page of the Lesson book:

30 Fast and Easy FHE Lessons

Directions: Have someone choose a bag out of the box. Look at the number that is on the bag or item. Turn to that page in the cards that coincides with that number. While you and your children look at the item, have someone read the short story.

1 Compass

2 Candle

3 Pencil

4 Dove 

5 Sacrament Cup

6 Baby in Basket

7 Animal

8 Joseph

9 Towel

10 Gold Coin

11 Whale

12 Lion

13 Money

14 Stone (Clear)

15 Seeds

16 Sword

17 Baptism Song

18 Missionary Tag

19 Fish

20 Hair

21 Ruler

22 Tree

23 Ring

24 Goatskin

25 Rock

26 Grapes

27 Sun

28 Apple

29 Picture

30 Pail

31. Fly

32. World 

(I'm working on adding the last 2)

This BOX works awesome at our home! We have other fun things for FHE lessons as well (that's a different story for another time!) but we love, love, love this option! And now 12 more families have life on Monday a tiny bit easier as well! Yeah! Thanks Christine for sharing your fabulous box!

Assembly Line

Much Needed GNO

Despite the Suburban trying to thwort my plans for a successful GNO [it broke down on the side of the road in Casselton after piano lessons], my boyfriend came to my rescue. He drove all the way out to get Liberty & I and then even watched Julie's boys so she could come with me. (Thanks Love!)

Julie & I even amazingly made it to Olive Garden in time to order with the other ladies. It was a great size group which once again was in a rush. Poor waitresses! LOL!!! Cheryl O., Teri, Lisa M., Marie W., Bobbi & Katie, Julie M., Jill, KTuck and I enjoyed each other's company as we scarfed down our dinner. Oh the sacrifices we make to get out for a night! ;)

A tad bit late [oops!] but some of us ventured to the Century for Jennifer Aniston & Adam Sandler's new movie, Just Go With It. Let's just say.... LOVE Jennifer Aniston & Bailee Madison! AND That's all we're gonna say 'bout that! Save your money people and watch it on Netflix when it's free & with a big group of people to split the cost! Sorry ladies! Good to be with you though! We'll hopefully pick a winner next time. ;0) I did save my night however by watching Forever Young when I got home. Now that is a REALLY, REALLY, GREAT movie- So watch that one instead!

Despite the late start and the bad movie- it's always good to be with the ladies!- So thanks for joining me! It was a much needed GNO!