Sunday Walk: Ten Mile Creek

For our Sunday walk this week, we took the Payne Family with us up to the Ten Mile Creek Picnic Area. We wanted to make sure we checked out the changing leaves before they are all gone. It's not quite Sardine Canyon (due to the fact that Helena is made up mostly of evergreens) but it was gorgeous! It was a perfect, chilly, Fall evening to enjoy God's creations. Beautiful!

As Justice as our guide (ok.. it was really Mom because he kept taking us the wrong way), we took everyone on the same hike we did for his fieldtrip. It's an easy little hike but through some gorgeous trees. We may have to try out the longer trail another day. 

With all the trees, we thought it would be fun to have the kids "hide" in the trees for a picture. It turned out pretty neat! Can you find all 7 kids?

I think most everyone's favorite part of the night [especially the Dads] was throwing rocks into the creek. LOL Let's just say that more than one person came home wet! ;)

We also spent the evening taking the Payne's Family pictures [they turned out so CUTE! I'm trying to be brave and start taking pictures of other people's families] and checking out the Moose Creek Campground down the street. We have big plans to both buy Pop-up trailers next Summer and doing some camping. This would be the perfect place! Thanks to our friends for joining us for a fun Fall night!

Relief Society Broadcast

Date night with the Payne's was to the Montana City Grill & Saloon. A little expensive but way yummy food! And so fun to have started a little tradition of going out with Brian and Allie. We love hanging out with them.


After dinner, the ladies left the men to pay the bill while we headed to the Church for the annual Relief Society Broadcast. We made it there a little late but I'm so glad we went. There is something about getting together with the women of the Church. And actually getting to sit and listen (who can do that at home with children or hubbys in the mix?) to a Prophet's voice. We also got to stay after and visit with some new friends over Ice Cream and brownies. What could be better?

A few things that really spoke to me this time were:
1- People need People! Being baptized means that I have covenanted to reach out to others and be an answer to prayers. I need to ask myself- Who needs me today that I could share God's love with?
2- I need to PREPARE to take the Sacrament each week.
   *Review my week
   *Repent of wrong doings
   *Pray to be prepared to be washed cleaned through Christ
3- The Lord allows us to be tried and tested. Even if we feel like we are being burned to the ground- God will not leave me in the ashes. He is building me in a beautiful temple! "After much tribulations comes the blessing"
4- Did you think to PRAY?  Prayer is one of the most powerful tools God has given me IF I choose to use it!

Helena Outdoor Fest

While Brett took Liberty to Billings with the Youth group, I took the younger kids to the Helena Outdoor Fest.  It was held out by Spring Meadow Lake. We only made it for the last hour because the kids didn't really want to go. But I dragged them away from their electronics anyways! ;)
It turned out to be a bummer that we went so late because once we got there we realized they had some really fun things to do. Next year, we'll go on time and try out the rafting, kayaking and the kid's Ranger Station.

But... this year, we got to try out a few neat things!

Our first stop was at the Bear Safety Exhibit. They had tons of things to see and do. We got to fill out a Bear Safety Sheet by visiting "bad" campsites and "good" campsites, a non-safe backyard, and checking out a couple bear hides.
They also had a Bear Olympics but we wanted to try a few other things out before they shut down. By the time we finished everything else- we missed it. We'll have to add that to next year's list as well.
Justice also got to become a certified Bear Sprayer. It's like pepper spray for bears. The kids learn to spray the can. Then the people send a fake bear screaming down a track at you going at a very high speed. As it gets close- you spray him!!! It's pretty freaky but a fun thing for the kid's to try!

As a reward for filling out the Bear Safety Sheet, all the kids got a poster to take home. Later on in the day, they spent an hour playing "I Spy" with their posters. Too cute!

 Next, Justice tried out the Archery Station. You had to be at least 9 years old. He liked it but said he needs some practice! ;)

While Justice did archery, I took the girls down to the lake to do a little fishing! They would have liked to actually catch something but it was mostly just to practice casting and holding the pole. Brett will have to bring them back sometime, for sure!

Unfortunately, once Justice finished Archery and we walked around the lake to check out some other things, everyone was cleaning up their stations. Dang! We did get to take some supplies home to do the Leave Art Project. Which made Victoria one happy girl! On our way back to the van, we collected all kinds of leaves to make our Fall Wind Chime? (You can see finished ones in the left top corner of the collage)

Flag Football

Since we moved into the area at the end of the Summer, Justice missed the chance to sign up for football with his age group. Bummer! 

Brett did however manage to get him on a flag football team with the fourth graders. The coaches were not that experienced with kids so it's been a rough season. (on more than one occasion, Justice had to ask them to watch their language. What a brave, good example kid!;) But it's been a growing season as well.

Justice is usually a defensive player. He loves the game! You'll find him often outside practicing catching with his Dad. He loves the roughness of tackling or grabbing flags and the thrill of catching and running for a touchdown. 

This season however, he got the chance to play Quarterback. It's not his thing at all but he stepped it up! He's quite the leader and a quick learner. He worked hard practicing plays and strengthening his throwing arm. It's been a great experience for him that he may have not otherwise ever tried.

Way to go, Justice! We are very proud of you!

1st MT Youth Temple Trip

Brett and Liberty had the chance to go with the Youth Group to the Billings MT Temple for Baptisms for the Dead today. They had to leave Helena at 5:45 am. Ouch!

Despite a few little mis-communications about the times, they had a great time! One of the youth that just got the Melchizedek Priesthood did all the baptisms. It was pretty special. 

After the temple, they fed the youth lunch before heading home. Liberty got a special treat when her car load decided to go to Cafe Rio for lunch. Yum!

We are really lucky to have such a great youth group here in Helena.

Yep... Pretty much describes how I've felt all week! I hate head colds! Grrr!

In the Service...

I am in desperate need of friends! With the craziness/busyness of a move, you don't usually have a lot of time to think about what it will be like on the other end. After the initial part of a move, you are busy exploring the new area, unpacking and getting everyone settled. But once the dust settles then you are left to wonder "who's bright idea was this anyways"?! LOL
I am a big believer in the fact that people need people. Friends are an important (maybe even essential) part of life. And making friends isn't just for the kiddos. But let's face it- as adults it may even be trickier.
I recently came across this quote- "If you go looking for a friend, you're going to find they are scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you'll find them everywhere." -Zig Zigler
So, I made a decision. Be brave! Put yourself out there! Find someone to serve! And that's what I've been trying to do. I've been making friends by de-junking attics, packing boxes, painting bedrooms, cleaning things, setting up a wedding reception, serving food, and lending a listening ear. It's been a lot of fun!

Primary Program 2013

The kids were in the Primary Program today. Liberty helped them all do their hair fancy for the occasion. So cute!
They all did a great job! They sang loudly and were way reverent for sitting on the stand the entire meeting. They had mostly memorized their parts and spoke them loudly and clearly. Way to go, kiddos! We are very proud of you.

Rug Angels and Major Zipline

The Payne's have us over almost ever week for Family Game Night. It's so much fun! Hopefully we'll be able to return the favor when we get a bigger place. There are several things we love about Game Night at the Payne's besides the company of course! ;)
One is making Rug Angels (you know, like snow angels?) on their amazingly soft, fluffy rug. Silly girls!

The other is the View! It's BEAUTIFUL!!!! We love to sit on the deck and look for wildlife. This week, we found a house that's for sale across the field (it's way out of our price range but wishful thinking is always fun!). Brian told us if we bought it he would put in a Major Zipline from his back deck to our backyard. Wouldn't that be awesome!? [the yellow arrow is the house for sell]

Gates of the Moutains

Today we went on an awesome adventure through the Gates of the Mountains!
The Gates of the Rocky Mountains were named by Lewis and Clark. Captain Lewis wrote on July 19, 1805,
“ this evening we entered much the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen. these clifts rise from the waters edge on either side perpendicularly to the hight of 1200 feet. ... the river appears to have forced its way through this immense body of solid rock for the distance of 5-3/4 Miles ... I called it the gates of the rocky mountains."

The Payne Family and us headed 20 minutes north on I-15 towards Great Falls. MT to a private marina [shown with the A marker in the map] off of Upper Holter Lake for a 120-minute cruise in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We bought and ate lunch at the little cafe before we loaded on the boat.

They had 2 boats going out on this tour. One was the Sacajawea, a comfortable open-air boat (covered in case of rain). But we ended up aboard the BIG boat named  named the Canyon Voyager. It was huge! We had to stay seated while we got out of the marina but then we were free to walk around and out in the open-aired back. Way fun!

Here's the view as we entered the Gate of the Mountains:

On the tour, Steve- our guide pointed out all sorts of rock formations. We saw things like the Stony Elephant, the Devil's Slide, the Rock Monster, the Rhino and an Arch big enough to fit our boat through.:

We got to see some wildlife including big horn sheep, turkey vultures and an eagle's nest:

Steve took us by and told us the "tear-jerker" version of the Mann Gulch Fire.

But the highlight of the trip was as we turned around to head back. We got to experience the Gates of the Mountains opening as the boat came around the corner. So neat!

What an awesome experience! Thanks to the Payne's for hanging out with us! We luv you guys!

Elder's Quorum Steak Fry

Our Ward Family throws an Elder's Quorum Steak Fry every year. This year, all adults were invited out to Bishop Campbell's house for dinner. Fabulous food, gorgeous views and great friends. What a blast! Bishop even started a bon-fire when it got dark. We loved being able to visit and meet people.

They also provided  babysitting down the street in the Mangum's backyard. The kids had fun getting to know some more friends.

Breakfast GNO

Allie invited me to a daytime G.N.O. [Does that make it a GDO or a GMO? LOL] this morning with a couple of ladies- Loury and Kim. We met at the Park Ave Bakery for breakfast. Yum! I had the Quiche while the other ladies tried the scones and cinnamon rolls. All of it looked delicious! They also have way yummy treats there as well.
We had a great time visiting and getting to know each other.
After breakfast, we decided to take a walk down the Walking Mall and through Reeder's Village. (I haven't written about that  because my family hasn't made it there yet but we will!) We had a fabulous time! We found lots of things in common like school annoyances, Vampire Diaries, and breast cancer. We shall be great friends!!! ;) Let's do it again soon, ladies!

Water Watchers Fieldtrip

I was asked to be a parent volunteer for Justice's 5th grade Water Watcher's Fieldtrip. It was pretty awesome! We had a lot of fun. It's put on by the Water Quality Protection District of the City of Helena.
We started the morning out with a bus ride up to Rimini Road [2396 National Forest Development Road 218, Helena National Forest] to a campground near the Ten Mile Creek. I believe it's called Moose Creek Campground. It is Beautiful an only about 20 minutes from Helena!!!



The class was divided into 3 groups- Mrs. Siroky took one group, Mr. Gary Burton, from Water Watchers took a group and I took the last group. Each group did a different activity. Then we rotated.
1- Ten Mile Creek Stream Monitoring- Water Quality (The Chemistry of the stream)
2- Ten Mile Creek- Stream Investigations (The Physical Properties of the Stream)
3-Riparian Scavenger Hunt (The Biology of the Stream)

I was in charge of the Scavenger Hunt. We found things like moss with wet feet, horsetails, a leaf bigger than your hand, white and red berries, a root cage, and the bathroom [everyone needed a potty break by the time they got to me. LOL].
Here's some of the things we found:

At the Campsite there was a water pump. You had to have one person pump while one person held up this little lever just so that one person could get a drink. I think it was the kids favorite part!

Next, we headed down the road a bit to a Picnic area for a short hike. They dropped the kids off at different spots along the trail to sit quietly and observe nature. They had to fill out a journal with things like sounds they heard, writing poems about something natural that caught their attention, different textures they could rub on their paper, and drawing a hawk-view map of where they sat. It was neat!

After the hike, they gave the kids some time to eat lunch and goof around at the Picnic area. Then they hopped back on the bus to visit the next place.

Our final stop was to the Helena Wastewater Treatment Plant. Let's just say- STINKY and informative. LOL

Thanks Justice for letting me join you!

Firepit with Friends

Did I mention that I am not the only Shay in our Ward? Isn't that crazy? We even spell it the same. So I have become known as the "other" Shay. So funny!
Anyhow- the weather here finally cooled off a bit so, the original Shay and her family had us over for a Firepit tonight. It was fun to get to know a few other families from the Ward. Thanks guys for inviting us to your beautiful home. We had a great time!

Talking in Sacrament & Ward Newsletter

With a move comes the opportunity to speak in Church. It's usually just a given for us. Brett and I were asked to speak and I volunteered Liberty to be our youth speaker. [Don't tell her that I did that. She was NOT a happy camper] I think all our talks went well. Brett talked on hearing/following the Prophet's words, I shared some thoughts on an article about Hope and Liberty spoke on Family Friendship. We're awesome! LOL
Also, we wrote an article about our family for the Monthly Ward Newsletter. It was kind of fun to introduce our family to everyone. Here's our little blurb:

Farmer in the Dell

Through Brett's work and also Church, we heard about a fun activity going on this weekend. Because we are Adventurers here in Helena, we took the opportunity to go.
Locals call it the Farmer in the Dell. It's a West Mont Harvest Days Family Fun Day off of York Road. They do it every year. All the proceeds go to help support WestMont. *West Mont is a non-profit charitable organization that has been helping Montanans since 1973. They provide a wide range of services for individuals with disabilities to help them reach their maximum potential.



After parking in a field, we headed to the Pumpkin Patch to get our free pumpkins. The kids were so happy! Not sure they will make it until Halloween but we will have some really cool fall decorations on our porch until then.

We made plans to meet the Payne's out there for lunch. It was great food. There was entertainment as well. All the performers were from West Mont. They were so excited and energetic. So cute! One guy even lip-synced to Elvis. It was a hoot!
We also got to meet several people from the 3rd Ward that knew Brian & Allie. It's a possibility that we could move into that ward so it's good to meet people.

After lunch, we waited in Brett's shadow (we've had some really hot days lately!) to get a Wagon ride. It was short but sweet. Then they let us quickly pet the horses. The kids loved it!

There was a lot of other things to do as well. Bouncy houses, gun shooting, a petting zoo,  pumpkin painting, mini-golf, sack races, face painting, and treats to buy. We divided and conquered several other things before we left. It was so much fun!

Liberty said she thought the face painting looked like something she would like to learn to do. We talked to the lady in charge and she said if Liberty practiced this year, she would love to have her come help next year. That would be way fun! Anyone want to volunteer for Liberty to practice painting your face? LOL

Crazy about Band

The East Helena Schools are CRAZY about Band!!!!
We had to push hard to get Liberty involved because they actually start the kids here in 5th grade. If you don't start then- you are out of luck. Fortunately, because Liberty had piano experience they were willing to give her a shot. She's adjusting alright but it's tough. After 5th grade, they don't do instruction anymore. It's all about learning the new songs for the next concert coming up. Luckily, she is making great "Percussion Buddies" and they are teaching her the ropes (or the notes as the case may be LOL). She is really enjoying it! She's also gone a couple times after school to get a little extra instruction. She's a quick learner so she should be fine.

Justice decided to try his luck at the trumpet. It's been tricky for him to learn how to blow the silly thing but he has a great attitude about it. He practices everyday until his head hurts. I'm really impressed! I think he'll get the hang of it.

They both have the same Band teacher, Mr. Pipinich. He's very enthusiastic and great with the kids. He'll be good for them. He's very open with communication with the parents as well. They each have several concerts scheduled during the year. I think it'll be a great fun!

Unfortunately, with a Band-crazy community comes lots of expenses. Holy Moly!!! I about died this week when I got them all set up with their instruments and books. It was painful! They have rental agreements at the local Piccolo's Music Store for band students to get their instruments [due to it being the only music thing that all of Helena & East Helena elementary/ middle school kid's can get into, the schools can't supply everyone an instrument). You can do a rent to own program at Piccolo's but they charge a 15% interest rate for the next 2 years OR you can get a 20% discount for buying it up front. To the Seamons Fam, that's not even a question. Interest that you pay SUCKS! So we bucked up and bought all the stuff. [Insert heart-attack] A nice whoppin' $661.98 (Bells & Snare Drum: $256 + Used Trumpet, cleaner, and grease: $367 + books & music stand: 38.98) OUCH!!! But if you look at the fact we could have ended up paying approximately $1010 total with the contracts then we got a CRAZY good deal! The kids better LOVE band! LOL

Here's the owner, Barb and her staff at Piccolo's that help us. They are way nice!