Day 3 -- We hit the Big City!

2010-08-01T22:36:00.001-07:00

We got on the road to San Francisco, bright and early at 11:30. Rolled into the Golden Gate Park just in time for lunch and everyone was hungry. Muriel and Sarah provided a great spread and then we hit the playground.

Joseph is king of the mountain and there's another familiar face in the web... Camilla!

Sarah & Brigham, Hannah & Caroline coming down the cement slides. Mary Elizabeth is headed up with Aunt Muriel and after a few tries with Aunt Muriel...

she needs to do it herself!

Everybody loves to climb trees! Can you find all 8 kids?

Dinner at the Hong Kong Claypot in Chinatown--thanks Wilson for picking out the restaurant.

We took a little walk through the Chinatown night market and Aunt Muriel & Uncle Wilson could not say no when a little girl wanted a balloon flower, pretty soon all the nephews and nieces were lined up.

We ended the day by riding the trolley to Ghirardelli square and we had a little ice cream there. It was a great day!

Day 2 -- Strawberry picking and the beach

2010-08-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Our goal was to leave the house at 9:00 and we left by 9:35--pretty darn good for this group! Everyone love picking strawberries at Gridzich Farm and then yummy apple slushies. We got to the beach at lunch time, got out of the car and bundled up! It was cold. But by the time, we unloaded and got set up, the cold had burned off and it was a great beach day. Muriel, David and Heather joined us--but didn't make it into any of these shots.
The picking crew... We picked about 20 pounds of strawberries!

The kids spent most of their time digging this huge hole.

It was Mary Elizabeth's first time at the beach. She hung out with Dad and did not care for the water! Period.

Our Trip to San Francisco -- Day 1

2010-07-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

Our family has flown to San Francisco for a 10-day vacation. We are staying with my sister, Sarah, in Mountain View. My sister, Muriel, lives in San Francisco and has organized an itinerary for us. Today, our first full day here, we went to Muir Woods to see the beautiful redwood trees. The kids have had a ball with their cousins. Their backyard trampoline has been a big hit. And we're all keeping fit with a running club. The kids ran from 1-2 miles today before we set off. Funny story of the day: we were talking about getting our alarm system set at home. Our nephew, Soren, was in the back seat listening to our discussion about the possibility of someone breaking into our house. He jumped in and said, "Yeah, someone could break in and paint your house with black with sharpie paint." Hmmm.... Paul replied that we haven't had much of a problem with that kind of thing in our neighborhood.

Princess...

2010-07-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite stories was the Princess and the Pea. Here is one of my little princesses, sleeping soundly right on the floor. She did manage to find a quilt for some extra softness but I don't think we are going to pass the true princess test anytime soon, at least when it comes to sleeping on a pea.

Summer Birthday Party!

2010-07-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

This year, I had the GREAT idea to combine Stewart's and Joseph's birthday parties into one summer extravaganza. We picked a date that was almost halfway between their two birthdays. We rented a HUGE waterslide, sent out invitations, stuffed a pinata, baked cupcakes and presto! It was a huge success. The boys were on the waterslide until dark and they had a great time.

Christmas Day Titans Game

2010-01-17T19:46:00.001-08:00

Well if you have to go to a Titans game, we would definitely recommend a skybox! Paul received four tickets to the Nashville Titans game on Christmas day. It was our first Titans game and this was the way to go! It was freezing, but we had a great parking pass that took us almost to the front door. And then we zipped up the elevator to a box where you actually had a great view of the field and of course, the big screen TV's helped. Free food and a visit from the Titans cheerleaders just rounded out the experience. And despite the fact that the Titans were demolished by the San Diego Chargers, we had a great time and stayed warm!

Stewart's glasses

2010-01-17T19:39:00.000-08:00

So after a couple of notes home from school, mom finally took Stewart to the eye doctor and was horrified when she realized how poor his vision was! So that night, we went to Costco, picked out glasses and waited... Stewart was a bit apprehensive about the new look and lucky for him, the glasses didn't arrive until the day school let out for winter break. So with some trepidation, he put them on and spent the next few hours checking out the difference in his vision with and without glasses. It was a dramatic enough improvement that he has kept his glasses on. And while he has been nervous showing people his new look, the response has been so positive that he is completely comfortable now.

Caroline turning 4!

2009-12-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

Today Caroline turns 4-years-old and we have been celebrating! We had a mid-day party without her brothers, but with somewhere between 12-15 school, church and DS friends. We were thrilled that Caroline was able to blow out her candle! And boy, was she excited too! Here she is pictured with her school buddy, David. Also, one child's mother made this darling outfit for her--had to include that!

Just another crazy day...

2009-12-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

Recently, I counseled someone about to watch my children, "don't turn your back on Caroline, she's a little tornado" and right behind her is Mary Elizabeth, learning all the tricks. Caroline does not let a little thing like counter height spoil an opportunity for good fun. She just pushes a chair over to where she wants to go and climbs right up! ME is quickly behind her. Recently, we've discovered the potential water fun at the kitchen sink. This is the picture that greeted Daddy one night as he came home from work. And where was mom? In the laundry room, of course!

Halloween 2009

2009-12-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Mary Elizabeth and Caroline were in the full spirit of Halloween this year! ME really mastered the word "candy." However, our boys were faced with a dilemna--trick or treating or the Vanderbilt football game which was conveniently scheduled for 7:00. It was a surprisingly tough call! And mom, being a somewhat lackluster Vanderbilt fan and a traditionalist, opted that there must be at least some trick or treating. So the compromise was trick or treating from six to seven and late arrival at the Vanderbilt game. Blaise and Ken Palombo went with our boys to a very cold, but mildly exciting game.
Also in this post, we have our annual Halloween-costume-Moore-family-cousins photo. You may notice that a few of the cousins are wearing pioneer apparel. This was in honor of the Little House on the Prairie musical that many of us attended that afternoon. It was a busy Saturday!

Where does the food go?

2009-10-23T05:36:00.001-07:00

It was a pizza-at-Costco-night and we brought some back home. I guess Caroline hadn't had enough to eat and so she pulled up a chair, opened the box and pulled out the biggest "piece" of pizza we had ever seen. Actually, it was three pieces stuck together. This little girl can eat and eat and we have no idea what happens to all the food in that little body!

First Day of School!

2009-10-23T05:30:00.000-07:00

School started this year on August 12th! Joseph is in the first grade and Mrs. Whitaker is his teacher. Stewart is in the 2nd grade with Mrs. Blackwell as his teacher. The boys were not very excited to go back to school, but that's life for several more years! So far it's been a great school year thanks to some good teachers!

Stewart's Baptism

2009-10-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Stewart turned 8 this year, August 6, 2009. We celebrated his birthday with a baseball party. We were thrilled to have my sister, Sarah, and her family visiting from California. But of course, the most important thing about Stewart's birthday this year was that he was old enough to be baptized. We are so proud of Stewart for making the decision to be baptized and making the commitment to Heavenly Father to be a member of His church, to obey His commandments and to follow Jesus Christ.

Stewart was baptized two days after his birthday on August 8th by his Dad. Aunt Sarah and Mom gave talks. Stewart and his cousin, MaryAnn, played a violin duet, "I Like to Look for Rainbows." This is what Stewart remembers from his baptism, "The water was hot! I was happy and excited to be baptized like my other friends at church and become an official member of the church. I know that my baptism was a promise to keep Heavenly Father's commandments. I feel happy about my baptism because I know I can turn to Heavenly Father when I keep my part of the promise."

Caroline is 3!

2008-12-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

Caroline just turned 3! That's an exciting birthday for any child but it is an especially important birthday for Caroline. She will now transition from early intervention services into the school system for her therapy. So this week we have been saying good bye to all of the therapists that have been coming into our home for the last few years. All of these wonderful friends will now disappear out of Caroline's schedule. (Yes, Mom is a little traumatized.) But we are grateful for the contribution they have made to Caroline's development and now we look forward to working with a new group of wonderful teachers and therapists. We had Caroline's IEP meeting with the school on December 10th and it went well. She has a great team that will be working for her and we are looking forward to a new beginning. When the boys go back to school in January, she will start as well. All three will be at the same school, although Caroline's day will be much shorter. She will go to school four days a week from 8:30 to 11:30.

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!

2008-12-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

Paul and I had "the moment" of Christmas last night. Stewart's violin teacher had organized a Christmas concert at a nursing home. Stewart did a great job and he was a great hit with the residents in the home. They were so tickled with him because he was so young and playing so much music. At one point, the teacher had him stand next to a teenage girl. His face was priceless as he looked up at this girl, who seemed almost twice as tall. We were so proud of him and we both teared up as we watched him trying so hard to do his best! Our joy in our son's musical accomplishment coupled with the cheer he was bringing to the people in the home made Christmas for us this year. The night just got better when we were able to participate in the opening of my brother, Peter's mission call. We were able to call in using various cell phones and listen as he read his call to the Auckland, New Zealand Mission. We were absolutely thrilled for him to work in this part of the world and so proud of him to be willing to accept the call. He is a wonderful example for our sons!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving hosted by Paul's brother, Perry and his wife, Dawn. We enjoyed delicious food with all of Paul's family. We have had lots of blessings to be grateful for this year.
Paul and I, with his parents and our two girls, attended Joseph's Thanksgiving program. Since it was during the school day, I think Joseph had the biggest crowd. Joseph was a "wompanoag" (sp?) or American Indian.

Halloween

2008-12-18T14:30:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun on Halloween. We invited all of Paul's family over for chili and a hot dog roast. Unfortunately, we could not get our new gas pit to fire up and so the hot dogs were boiled! But the kids had a great time trick or treating. Caroline really got into it and would do her little "please" sign. The boys were Vanderbilt football players, Caroline was a butterfly and Mary Elizabeth was our little bumblebee.

Buddy Walk - October 18, 2008

2008-11-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Do you know how loved you are?
This year's Buddy Walk was the day after we moved into our new house. We weren't going participate but the a couple of young women from our ward, Jennifer and Marissa Scott, approached us about doing the Buddy Walk. So they took over, the planned everything, designed t-shirts, got donations, set up the website, created banners and sign and brought a great group to do the walk. We ended up with 65 people walking with and raising about $2,500. We were overwhelmed and extremely grateful for the support. Donations can still be made for Caroline's Stars.

1819 Grey Pointe Drive - October 17, 2008

2008-11-20T08:39:00.000-08:00

We've moved! After a whirlwind summer where we worked like dogs to put our house on the market, we sold it on August 9th. We left on an extended vacation on July 23rd, frantically working until we walked out the door. And it was worth it! On the flight home, 2 1/2 weeks later, we had an email from our realtor with an offer. We were so blessed not only to sell our house quickly, but not being home so that we had to have it perfect with 4 small children underfoot.

So then we were left with the dilemna of where to go... We had not expected to sell so quickly and we had not had time to look around because we were so focused on getting our house ready. After looking around for a few days, we were very discouraged and as a last resort, went to see a house we had looked at a year earlier and hadn't liked. It was in a neighborhood that was a great fit for our family for various reasons. So we walked in and loved it! It just felt like the right place and we had our realtors start making the deal happen.

We moved on October 17th with the help of my parents, Les & Joan Moody, who flew in from Utah, lots of people from church, and of course, Paul's family, who are all here locally. I grossly underestimated what was left to be done and so my parents and Beth & Brierra Palombo had to work pretty hard to get us really out the door. When it was time to unpack, we had an army to help us out with a handful of teenagers from church, all of the Palombos, my parents, Paul's parents and brothers. It was impressive and we were so grateful!

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