VM Water Carnival

West Fargo

Veterans Memorial

Water Carnival 2011

One HOT day!...

Free Swimming...

Rubber Duckies...

A Diving Board...

Friends...

Free Sno Cones...

Blue Lips...

Count us in!!!
Yeah!

Family Fun Night @ Elmwood

I LOVE the Summer in Fargo! They have the FUNest things for family! And better yet, they are usually FREE! Who can beat FREE?
Tonight, West Fargo Park District threw a Family Fun Night @ Elmwood Park. There wasn't tons of people there. It must have been a bit of a hidden or forgotten treasure. Yeah for us-- bummer for others. We had a blast!! Here was some of the fun:
Free Popsicles:

A fun, young couple from 104.7 Popster FM roamed around the park with a cooler full of Popsicles. The kids had as many as they wanted. What a sticky, yummy mess!

Free Balloon Creations & Face Painting:

There were 2 people free making balloon creations. These people were amazing!! They could make anything! By the end the kids had several awesome things including swords, teddy bears, puppies on bicycles, flower bracelets, owls, and all kinds of hats!

Also, there were a couple of girls doing face painting as well. The kids got peace signs, puppy faces, flowers and a Superman sign on their faces. Not to mention Bob 95 Tattoos and stickers! Wowie! These kids were spoiled rotten!

Dinner for a Buck$:

They sold dinner for $1. Can you believe that? We got a hot dog, a bag of chips and a choice of beverage ALL for a dollar. Score! Can't beat that in feeding a family of 6 OR... 10 if you count our adopted fam, the McPhersons. Thanks for meeting us guys for dinner and some fun!

Jungle Bounce House:

The kids had a total blast bouncing in the bounce house. The line was short enough that they only had to wait a turn or two and then they could go again. So much fun!!

Last but not least...
Bubbles & Hula Hoops:
The whole party was DJed by the Bubble Man. He had bubbles, bubbles, limbo, bubbles, hula hoops, and bubbles all put to music. The kids had so much fun! And I even tried my hand hips at the hula hoops. Well... at least I tried. Kinda embarrassing if I must say! Dylan is awesome at them! Maybe he'll give me lessons. LOL There was also a Mini-golf course that we never tried out. But it looked fun! Just ran out of time!

Yeah for a 

FAMILY FUN NIGHT!!!

I Hope they Call Me on a Mission

Our nephew Zach got his mission call. We are so excited for him! He is such a great example to our family! It's a big step and a really big deal to go through the Temple. We wanted to make sure that we supported him in that decision. So turns out that we had a little semi- unexpected trip to UT this week. I say unexpected because our plan was always to just send Brett but with the high price of plane tickets these days, Brett drove and took the older 3 kids with him. They had a blast! Since Glory & I were not there, this is a "second hand info" post narrated by the kids. LOL! But at least it's documented, right? And I just want to say... I am so proud of my hubby for taking some pictures! ;) Luv ya, Honey!

DAY ONE: July 13th 

Longest drive Ever!! We saw buffalo, took naps, watched movies, and only stopped 3 times. We finally arrived in Utah around 2 am. What a long day! Of course, the farther West you go- the more mountains you see, the happier Brett gets! ;)

DAY TWO: July 14th

Shauna was so kind to take the us in for a day or two. Once everyone could get out of bed, we took advantage of some time with her. We took a trip to the Lion House where Brigham Young lived. Liberty's favorite part was all the books (of course). Victoria loved the doll collection and Justice loved the jewels and the huge gold mirror. We also went to the 26th floor of the Church Office building to check out the view. It was HOT!

We went to McDonalds for lunch and had a fun time at the Gateway Fountains. Justice would put plastic cups on them and watch them shoot up like rockets. We even got to take a short tram ride. It was cool!

We also got to see Grandpa's name on a smooth stone wall that honored those that helped out in the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. Pretty awesome!

That night, we went up the Canyons for dinner. We got to hang out with Grandma, Grandpa, Janet, Skyler, and Ky. We explored the forest and got tons of scratches. But we did find an inch worm that we called Larry! But Aunt Janet wouldn't let us take him home. ;0( There was an amazing sunset though and Dad loved the mountains!

DAY THREE: July 15th

We slept at Shauna's again. In the morning, she had to go to work but we did a little swimming in her pool before we packed up. Then we headed to Grammy & Grandpa Randy's for a BBQ. We got to see Grammy, Grandpa, Grandma Karla, Ryler, Aunt Tauni, Uncle Trave, Aunt Shiloh & her fam, and Aunt Danica & her fam. All the kids were going to stay for a big Grandkid sleepover while Dad went to the Temple with Zach but Liberty started not feeling very well. So Justice & Victoria stayed for the fun while Liberty went to rest at the Rasmussens. She got to visit with Anna & Jake and play some Wii before taking a nap for the evening. Poor kid! [We think it was the achy body flu bug]

After dinner, the Crump crew took a little trip up the canyon's for a sky lift ride to see the full moon. The kind where your feet dangle from the benches. Justice rode up with Grammy, Grandpa and Ryler. The boys were playing around and Justice almost lost his glasses. Oops! That would have been a long drop! ;) Good thing Justice is a good catch. It was like an hour ride straight up the mountain! Victoria got to ride with Grandma Karla who kept her warm. On the way up Victoria started to get a headache but when we got to the top- we all thought the full moon was awesome! Unfortunately because Victoria started to not feel good, we met Dad at the Freeway exit after and he took all us kids back to the Rasmussens. So much for the BIG sleepover. Sorry Grandpa! But it was so great to see everyone! Thanks for the food and the full moon adventure!

DAY FOUR: July 16th

Today, we went bowling with the Rasmussens. Grandpa & Grandma Seamons came with us too. Liberty was still not feeling very well but everyone else had a great time! We gave each other awesome bowling names like Godzilla, Linda and even Aunt Lori was Optimus Prime. ;) Then we had ice cream and went back to the Rasmussens for lunch and to play the Wii.

In the afternoon, we headed out to spend some time with the Laroccos. We ate dinner and watched a movie. Most of the Hill cousins came out for a sleepover with us. We had so much fun! We even got to see Uncle  Justin for a bit. We told him to send our love to the rest of the Fam. (We're sorry we missed the rest of the Sadler crew- luv you guys!)

DAY FIVE: July 17th

In the morning, we got to go to Church with them as well. It was fun to go to class with the cousins. After Church, we got to play and eat lunch with them as well. Thanks for having us out guys!

On our way back to the Rasmussens house, we made a little detour to see the Temple that Zach had gone through. It was beautiful! We really liked the trees and the flowers and they had the best grass ever! It was so nice and comfy and it didn't even itch! We of course had to touch the wall. Someday it'll be awesome to go inside!

Back at the Rasmussens house, we had a little going away Party for the Hills. Uncle Daniel got a new job and they are moving to Alabama. [Congrats guys and we wish you the best of luck on your new adventure!]  Dad took some pictures of everyone that was there. Our favorite ones were the funny ones! We are so silly! Aren't we a good-looking group of people? Can't believe how many of us there are now. And this isn't even everybody! Crazy! We got to have a yummy dinner and play with everyone before we headed up to the Davis' for another awesome sleepover! Thanks to everyone for spending time with us! It was so great to see you all! You're the best!

On our way up to the Davis', we made a stop at Grandma Karla's to say goodbye. We got to visit with Grandma, Ryler and Aunt Tauni for a bit! Tauni taught Liberty again how to make friendship bracelets! They are awesome! Grandma Karla also gave us some new pillowcases. Thanks so much! Love you guys!

DAY SIX: July 18th

We had a fun sleepover at the Davis and once again, Cheri spoiled us while we were there! She made us delicious smoothies for breakfast! We love those things! We had a lot of fun playing with their dog Cricket. For lunch, we went up Weber Canyon to the Oaks for lunch. It was so pretty! They had GIANT sandwiches! And the waterfall was neat! Sorry Shauna that we missed you!

After lunch, we headed back to the Davis' and did a little swimming in the neighbor's pool! They had a diving board and we had a blast! Even Cricket came to swim with us but it was a little too cold for him. It was so funny! Aunt Cheri made us homemade pizza for dinner. We have so much fun where we stay with the Davis'! Justice actually even tried to negotiate that he should just stay and we could pick him up when we come back next year! LOL [It's OK...I'm used to it- Mom is chop liver when it comes to competing with Aunt Cheri- lol! Luv ya, Cher]

DAY SEVEN: July 19th

We got up early and after goodbyes, we packed up and got back on the road. Another really, really, really, really long drive! We didn't even make it back until 3 am this morning! Wowzers!

THANK YOU to everyone for making time to spend with us! I'm sure there are tons of things we left out but we enjoyed every minute! (Well except the not feeling well parts!;) We miss you so much! See you next year!

(DISCLAIMER: I'm gonna have to move this to it's proper place (July 20th) at some point!

But I have been waiting for some pictures from other family members to post it.

*hint*hint*hint*

Seeing as I haven't gotten any more pictures,

I figured I better just get up what I have and add to it later if I need to

If I post it where it's supposed to be- you'd never see it so

I thought I would put it here for a couple of days! ;)

While Dad's Away... the Girls will play!

There was an unexpected (sorta) trip to Utah made this week by part of our family. Our nephew, Zach is leaving on his mission soon and went through the Temple for his Endowment Friday. We are so proud of him!! Zach is such a good example to our family. We wish him the best of luck in his new adventure as he serves the Lord for the next 2 years in Mexico.
We've tried really hard whenever possible to support our family members as they make these important Eternal decisions. The "sorta" part of the trip is because normally we would just fly one of us out but cost-wise this time, it was more economical for Brett to drive out. The 3 oldest kids decided to go as well. I'll tell you about their trip soon but with that said... this post is about Glory & Mom's Week Long Date!!! We had so much fun!

Some of the fun we've been up to has included:
*Overnighting Mom's ring to UT cuz the diamond fell out
*Finishing the 4th Volume of the Blog Book- it's being printed as we speak type!
*A Pretend Birthday Party with Dora cupcakes and a new Tutu
*Easy Shopping Trips (oh my! One kid is a piece of cake!)
*Swimming at the Larsen Pool with the Adalaide and Garret
*Dinner & Dinos with Jen Neuteboom
*Playing at Gooseberry Park with our friends (Some are back from vacations- yeah!!)
*Making Strawberry Freezer Jam & eating lots of strawberries. Glory Loves strawberries!!!
*Playdate with Brotherson girls while Mom went Fabric Shopping
and joining Brotherson's for Gnomeo & Juliet Movie night
*Playing with Baby Alisa while her Mommy sewed beanie hats
and Mom mending the HUGE pile of clothes that has been long neglected.
*Playing with Carson Tucker & Copper while Mom had a Girl Date Night
*Vietnamese Dinner @ the Lessers and watching Toy Story 3 with Jessica
*Swimming at the Larsen Pool with the Adalaide and Garret AGAIN
*Singing and recording songs like the Harry Potter Puppet Show Song- Too funny!
*Cleaning out Closets- Forget about a clean house... I LOVE, LOVE a clean closet!
*Surviving a 4am Tropical Storm
*Lost & lots of Painting- Glory's outdoor art and Mom's Unfinished Projects--
finishing up the downstairs bathroom wall and refinishing the curb-side desk!
*Late Night Movies- Wowzers! Can anyone one say 2am everynight? Ooops!
*Trip to McDees for Ice Cream (oh and dinner!)

Thanks little Glory girl for spending the week with me!

You are an awesome date!

IIIIIIIIIIIIII LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE YYYYYYYYYYYYOU!

Fargo Favorites #42

1. Dragonflies

Lately, we have had a Dragonfly Infestation. Not sure where they have come from but they are tons of them and they are everywhere. They are a bit freaky flying all around you especially when there are like 10 of them. But if you're lucky enough to get closeand you hold really still-- they are really quite beautiful. I caught this one on film while I was taking pictures of my neighbors flowers (cuz I am a flower freak, don't ya know!). Isn't this BUG amazing?!
2. Full Moon

This week, we had the chance to experience the full moon. So crazy! I love how BIG it looks. And one advantage of having NO mountains is that you get to see it across the entire sky. Now that's looking on the bright side of things for ya! LOL

3. Red River Valley Fair
This week the RRV Fair came to town. We live fairly close to the Red River Valley fairgrounds. Close enough in fact, that if you close your eyes, you might think you are right there at the concerts. Can anyone say LOUD?? We didn't make it there this year but we did drive by slowly (due to vast amounts of people in the road ;) and snapped a picture. Looks like fun!!! Maybe next time.

4. Netflix as we know it!

It's truely an end of an era. So sad! We took so long to jump on the Netflix bandwagon and now life as we know it will shortly be coming to an end. We have taken full advantage of our movie watching opportunities with this awesome company. We may very well be the exact reason why the prices are skyrocketing. Oops! Come September however, we will be changing plans. We can't decide what to drop cuz I'm too sad to think about it yet. Oh well- someday I may find a Money Tree and life will be good. LOL

5. Scone Dough

Not sure if they would agree but I attribute this Fam Tradition to the Babcock Family. We LOVE making dough in our breadmaker and then having people over to make scones. Everyone gets to make there own shapes. We get lots of fun things fried up! Then we offer lots of serving choices. We usually have butter, cinnamon/sugar, powdered sugar, honey butter, nutella and home-made jam. So delicious! Anyone want to come over tonight? ;)

P.S. Because the reason that the Scone tradition is on this week's Gratitude List is due to the fact that Elder Eric Rigg is getting married, I feel a p.s. is necessary. After his mission here, Elder Rigg went to school where he met and fell in love with Ashley Williams. (Her parent are in our ward) They have been here all Summer visiting. Its been fun to have them here and see Elder Rigg, umm, I mean Eric off his mission. They left this week to head West befor they get married and so we had them over before they left. Good luck guys!!! We will miss you!

What are you Grateful For?

Green Thumb: Part 2

We've had lots and lots of water around here that has thwarted our garden's growth. Dang! But it's still growing... slowy but surely.

And as part of our harvest, (thanks to Justice & Dad for picking and cleaning and freezing them all for us) Glory and I made Strawberry Freezer Jam. Yummy! I love how pretty they look!

Fargo Favorites #41

1. Time Warps

I'm sure this happens everywhere but here in Fargo, we all seems to be in a time warp. No matter how long you've been gone- if someone comes to visit- it's like they never left. I LOVE it! Elder Krupa was one of our favorite Missionaries here in Fargo. He left Fargo for Rapid City, SD in January. We can hardly believe it's been 7 months. Well, he was in town for a meeting and asked if he could stop by to visit. Are you kidding??? Of course!!! We made a big fancy dinner for all the Missionaries and had a great time. It was like he had never left! Love that about Fargo!!

2. SummerTime

Oh what do you do in the Summertime?? In Fargo... Anything outdoors! Soak in the rays, Baby! Heaven knows we need them!

3. Our backyard

We don't have a big, fancy house or live in a ritzy neighborhood or drive nice, expensive cars but we have an awesome backyard. It's just the perfect size to fit in a few really fun things for the kids. We have a trampoline, a zipline, shade trees, a swing set, a sand box, a basketball standard, a hammock, a few Go-Karts and some fun water stuff. I love that we have stuff that makes people want to come visit! It helps especially if you want to be the Party people! ;)

4. Parks

Fargo has some great parks! I love that the kids and I can meet up with friends and play. So fun!

5. Popsicles

Who doesn't love popsicles in the Summer? We have had some really hot, humid days lately. Luckily, I bought tons of popsicles for our 4th of July Party! Then Brett thought maybe we wouldn't have enough so he bought another ton. Needless to say- eat away my little friends. We have got enough popsicles for the whole Summer!

What makes you happy???