Linger Longer & Flat tire at Church

We've discovered that our Ward is quite the Party Ward. Every 3rd Sunday, they have a Linger Longer after Church. They decide on a theme and everyone brings something to share. The theme this week was SANDWICHES. There was lots of food and lots of people. After getting our food, our family sat down at a table and no one sat by us. ;( That is until.... the Bishop came over and joined us. Then in his very loud voice (he's not a shy man by any means), he announced his disappointment in the Ward Members for not being welcoming to us. He said he'd have to make up for their slacker-ism. It was pretty funny! It was fun to visit with him and also meet some new people.
We were pretty much the last people out of the building. Guess we like to visit! To our dismay, when we reached our van, we discovered that we had a flat tire.
Everyone else had already left, so we had no choice but to change it out before we could head home. LOL The kids were a great help. What a Sunday adventure!

The Painted Pot

At The Painted Pot (http://www.paintedpothelena.com/), the Train Tour ticket allows you to make and take (or at least come back in a week to get it) a FREE ceramic magnetic in the shape of Montana. As a family, we tried out our artistic skills today. There was a place like this in Fargo so it brought back good memories. Fun times!

Taco de Sol

Along the Walking Mall, we stopped by Taco de Sol (http://tacodelsol.com/) for lunch for our FREE fountain soda. We also all got some tacos. They were so good! We will definitely be going back sometime. Yum!

The Parrot Confectionery

We had to stop by The Parrot Confectionery (http://www.parrotchocolate.com/) for some hand dipped treats. We all picked a chocolate and some Turkish Delight. Yum! Yum!

On the 26th- the kids and I went back for a Tour through the kitchen. We were supposed to see them hand-dip the chocolate but the Dipper had called in sick. Bummer! Guess we'll have to go back again sometimes. Darn! It was pretty neat though because the man that took us on the tour was Brian Ackerman- who just happens to be the owner. Aren't we special? LOL

Birds & Beaseleys

Birds & Beasleys (http://www.birdsandbeasleys.com/) offers a FREE gift to Train Tour riders. You can choose from like 5 different gifts. Choices included caramel bars, a bag of huckleberry popcorn, a spinning top, a small frame of an artist painting of different birds or a coloring book. We all left way happy! This FREE gift alone makes up for your train ticket. Pretty awesome!

Walking Mall

A few of our FREE deals are located along the Last Chance Gulch Walking Mall. We spent some time up there today. The Tour Train drove us through it but it was fun to walk down it as well. Here's some of the fun things we saw:

There are statues all over

One of the stores provides chalk

Reminiscent of the gold Miners 

An old Trolley

Taking a nap while Mom shopped in the Quilt Store

**The Last Chance Gulch Pedestrian Mall is located at the famous Last Chance Gulch in beautiful historic downtown Helena.

The Big Dipper

We heard a really great place for ice cream here in Helena is The Big Dipper. (http://www.bigdippericecream.com/) We had plans tonight to stop by one of our FREE deals but it was closed. So we went to The Big Dipper instead. YUM! We sat up in the loft. Way fun!

Last Chance Splash Park

During Brett's lunch break today, we went to the Last Chance Splash Park. (http://www.lastchancesplash.com/) We also met the Payne's there. It was perfect weather. We had a blast! Their prices are amazing and there's stuff to do for all ages. So fun!
Here's the Lazy River:

They have 2 different slides. One that is slower and winds around. And the green one that gives you whiplash and a wedgie! I know from experience! LOL

There is also free life jackets, a lap pool, a section to just play in the water,some diving boards and a little Snack Shack. They also have a little Splash Pad area but we never made it over there. What a fun place! Thanks to the Payne's for hanging out with us!

1st RS Activity with Liberty

Here's Liberty working on the PJ bottoms

Liberty and I were brave and went to the Relief Society Activity tonight. It was a sewing night so it was right up our alley. They were making pillowcases to donate to the local Children's hospital. They were also making reversible skirts and pajama bottoms. A few days ago, I took Liberty to get some fabric for a skirt because I thought it would be fun to do together. And I also got some fabric for pillowcases as well.
Tonight, we got started on a pillowcase but decided to spend our time learning how to make the skirt. That is.... until Liberty found some fabric in the RS stash that she HAD to make into PJ bottoms. It was quite the busy night for us! But Liberty is one happy girl so we'll call it a success!!! Luv ya, Sissy! We also decided that making pillowcases may be a great Young Woman's project for Liberty so we'll work on those later.

Finished PJs

Finished Skirt

Great Northern Carousel & Out to Lunch

One of the FREE things on the back of our ticket was a ride on the Great Northern Carousel. (http://www.gncarousel.com/) I took the kids there today. It's a beautiful indoor carousel. They also have a fun little extra activity. While you are spinning in circles- you can grab these little plastic rings from this machine (see right bottom corner of collage). It's a little tricky but if you end up with the golden ring- you get a free ride! Also- if you get a different color ring- you can throw it at the hoops of the bear (pictured in the right top). It's kind of a fun way to keep your mind off of going around and around in circles. Anyone dizzy yet? LOL

Also- we choose today because Helena also does an Out to Lunch Activity all Summer on Thursdays. They have different bands come perform and offer food vendors outdoor of the Carousel. Two birds with one stone. I love it!!

Last Chance Tour Train

We heard that one of the best thing to do to start seeing Helena is to ride the Last Chance Tour Train. (http://lctours.com/) It's about an hour train ride all over downtown Helena. They take you through the old neighborhoods, past the Cathedral, by the Capital, through the walking mall, past the old Governor's Mansion, near our Church, past several Historical sites and you may even see the Wildlife roaming the streets. Way cool! We had a great time! I loved hearing the stories behind all the places.

It's not way cheap but on the back of the ticket- it has coupons/ free deals for several other things in town. Even if you do a couple of those things, you end up paying for your ticket. Awesome! And who doesn't like a train ride?? The day was beautiful. What a way to start off our Adventures in Helena!

Here's some of the sites:

Clark's Bay

Luckily, we made it to Church on Sunday so we could meet a few people. The Ward members were way friendly. In Relief Society, they announced that they were having playgroup at Clark's Bay on Wednesday. It sounded fun so I invited the Payne's to join us and followed Christa (a lady in our Ward) to the Bay.
It was only like 15 minutes away and it was gorgeous! It's located on the north edge of Hauser Lake which is part of the Missouri River. There turned out to be a really large group of people that came. I tried to be brave and meet as many people as I could. It's scarier than I remember. LOL It was a warm day and perfect for playing in a lake. The kids had a great time!

The Bagel Company

We left our washer & dryer with our house so we are slaves to the laundry mat for a while. Lucky us!!! On one of our trips, we decided to go to lunch at a little place next to the Clean & Coin while we waited.
The Bagel Company was awesome!!! Everyone got to pick what bagel they wanted and what they wanted to top it with. They had pretty much anything you could think of to put on a bagel. Yummy! And a fun toy corner for the kids. A definite place to go back to!

The Bagel Company

735 N. Last Chance Gulch

(406) 449-6000

OR

1421 11th Avenue

(406) 443-1900

Meeting the Paynes

It's a new concept for us but Brett's boss has been awesome to make us feel welcome. He and his family had us over tonight for dinner. The kids totally hit it off! They had a blast!
Their home has this awesome back view. During and after dinner, we spent quite a bit of time checking out the wildlife hanging out in the field behind them. Brett was in heaven with the mountain view and the animals.
It was way fun to get to know them. I think we'll be great friends!

The Donut Hole

As we were driving around town, we came across this little donut shop. It looked shut down (there was only one car in the parking lot) but the sign said OPEN so we stopped. We were a little leery- I mean afterall it's called the DONUT HOLE but we braved it. It was pretty good! Not a Sandy's or a Krispy Kreme but it will do! The worker said the mornings are crazy busy so we may have to come back sometime in the morning to experience that.
Thumbs up from the Seamons gang!

The Donut Hole

406.443.2325

20 East Lyndale Avenue

Deer Sighting in Montana City

Since we don't know anyone ad we have nothing in our apartment yet, we decided to take a drive to Montana City today. It's a couple miles south of Helena. I forgot how beautiful the mountains are! Gorgeous!!!

As we were heading home, right on the side of the road- we sighted a deer next to the road. I got out and took a couple pictures of it before it headed over to the next yard to find something else to munch on. You don't see that much where we came from. ;)