Just Five Moore

Merry and Bright

This is a picture of our Christmas tree Aubrey took yesterday with my phone, while spinning in circles. (Clever girl, she was so proud of herself.) It looks a lot like Christmas often feels, doesn't it? A bit of a blur and whirlwind that passes all too quickly.

While I want to slow it down, I can't. So I am going to try to spend time amidst the whirlwind remembering, thanking, and praising. 

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

Merry Christmas, everyone!

We are Thankful from A to Z

A: Atonement, Apple iphone (Is that wrong?)

B: Brownies, Band-aids, Books

C: Church family, Clothes, Colors

D: Daddy, Doctors

E: Electricity, Eating, the Earth

F: Friendships, Fruit, Flowers

G: Grandma & Grandpa, Glasses

H: Health, HEB, Haircuts (sometimes)

I: Ice Water, Ice Cream, Internet

J: Jobs, Juice, Jokes

K: Knots, Knights in shining armor

L: Loving family, libraries

M: Mommy, Modern Medicince

N: Nana, Nursery

O: Opportunities, Optimism

P: Papa, Piano

Q: Q-tips, Q-pons

R: Roku, Restaurants

S: Scriptures, Shoes, Sports

T: Time, Talents, Techie husband

U: Underwear, Umbrellas

V: Van that takes us on Vacations, Vitamins

W: Water, Wii, Windows (double-paned ones, to be exact)

X: eXtended Family

Y: Yard sales, Y'all

Z: Zhu-Zhu pets, the Zoo

Happy Thanksgiving! (Alpha idea swiped from here.)

Did I Ever Tell You...

about the time when, for Family Home Evening, we were going around the room telling things we loved about each person? One of the things Shayne said he loves about me is that no matter when we leave, we always get there on time.

Oops.

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These are a few of our Favorite Things

Alex

• Dinosaurs (and the DinoMixer app)
• Vacuuming
• Blue's Clues
• Eating bwef-fast (The first thing he says in the morning is, "Let's go eat bwef-fast!")
• Stuffed baseball bat souvenier from Chicago

Aubrey

• Pink and Orange
• Cupcakes
• Going to work with Daddy
• Spelling her name and singing the alphabet
• Strawberry Shortcake (the character/toy)

Gracie

• Spanakopita
• Playing baby or school with Aubrey and Alex
• Sudoku
• Teal and turquiose
• Practicing piano (over and over and over, and over again)

Shayne

• Biscuits (made by Daddy)
• Garfield
• Learning Spanish
• Hanging out with friends
• The LEGO Club magazine

Leigh

• Glazewear lipgloss
• Netflix (currently working my way through Cheers)
• Gary Schmidt books (The Wednesday Wars, Okay for Now)
• Shawni Pothier's blog, 71 Toes
• Words with Friends (Let's play! My user name is Leighness)

Brendon

• Cinnamon chip scones
• Mythbusters
• "Dunking at 11:00" (Late-night basketball at the church)
• A clean garage (Garage sale this Saturday should help with this one.)
• Enchilada casserole (That one is for all of the Moores...he's been converted!)

I also updated our favorite links in the sidebar, so check them out! 

Should Have Been Blogged: Shayne's Birthday

Welcome to a new series on the blog: Should Have Been Blogged (SHBB). SHBB will feature tales of events long past that I still want to record. Let's get started...

Shayne, like pretty much every other seven to ten year old boy, has spent most of 2011 wrapped up in "Ninjago" fever. Lego ninjas. So it was no surprise that his September birthday reflected that:

 

When given the choice between a party with all of his friends or a day with the family at the Legoland Discovery Center up in Dallas, it's also no surprise he was Legoland all the way.

 

My review: Much smaller than anticipated, but that could just be the memory of the five million people who were there with us Labor Day weekend talking. Shayne's review: Best birthday ever. And that's what counts.

 
Dallas skyline built entirely from Legos.

We had a birthday miracle when we were able to sneak back (with permission) onto the most fun ride they have, despite it being a one pass ride because of the crowds. It's very similar to the Buzz Lightyear shootout at Disney World, and we clearly got into it.

 
And, based on the scores, Shayne was clearly beating us into the ground.

We also got to see a Clutch Powers 4-D short film. Have we discussed Clutch Powers before? If you've got Lego fan in your house, I highly recommend tracking down the feature film. Total marketing ploy, but funny, clever stuff. 

Alex wasn't so sure about the 4 in 4D. Water, wind, snow!

A nine-year old. It seems like the entry point to a whole different ball game, both for him as a kid and us as parents. Love him so! Enough to go Legoland on a holiday weekend a million times over...

Sunday Journal

Yesterday we visited a few nursing homes to sing with our ward. One of my favorite moments, aside from hearing all the children sing "All Things Bright and Beautiful" (Why don't we sing that very much anymore?), was seeing this awesome outfit being sported by a resident's pet dog.

Seriously, what's funnier than a tiny dog wearing shades? The kids flocked to the well-dressed pup and her owner, and she loved it.

This week we were learning about the different parts of our brain, and on Friday when Gracie got the vacuum out after I asked her for the broom, she said, "Sorry! My temporal lobe just isn't working!"

Alex told me this week that he wanted a Bowser (from SuperMario) birthday when he turns three. Yes, future birthday party themes are still a regular topic of conversation around here. When I asked him "What about Elmo?" (from the last time he "decided"), he thought for a minute and said, "No, Bowser. With Elmo on the side." What?

 
Alex discovering the magic of dry ice while making rootbeer last week.

We went to the library book sale this week and scored big. Shayne far, far prefers to read non-fiction, science related books. Which is fine. But I also think it's important for him to read fiction at this point, but had yet to strike the iron with a book or series that really worked for him. Enter Diary of a Wimpy Kid for $.50. I don't know why we hadn't tried it earlier. Yesterday he couldn't be kept from it and asked for book light for the first time. Hooray! Up next, Harry Potter. A couple of his friends have been reading and talking about it, and he's ready to dive in so he can be a part of the conversation (and watch the movies with Mom).

So, I'm loving the Sunday blogging. I've now posted twice as much in the last two weeks as I did in all of September. Hallelujah, people!

Happy Halloween!

 
 

Hope you have lots of spooky fun!