Disney World

Back in January we had a semi family reunion in Disney World. We were there with my brother Dan and his family, my sister Joanna and her family, and also my brother Jacob and his wife. We had a great time!! We stayed on Disney property, which was a first for us. We enjoyed all of the four main Disney Parks: Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and of course the all time favorite, Magic Kingdom. We enjoyed all of the rides, including some of our favorites: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Hollywood Tower of Terror, Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tea Cups, Dumbo, Peter Pan, and many, many more!!! I loved watching the cousins play together, I have to admit being an aunt is pretty good! :) Can't wait for the next Moore family reunion. At the airport waiting for our flight to Orlando! First view of the castle. Day 1. Magic Kingdom.Dancing in the street in Magic Kingdom. Andrew and Ben hanging out in line for Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor.Ally and Ellie.Carter, Grace, and Ellie hanging out in Minnie Mouse's house.It's been a long day for everyone! :) But it's not over yet... Let's head over to Epcot for dinner at the Coral Reef. Carter chowing down on a banana while waiting for dinner.

Day 2. Breakfast with Mickey and the gang, at Chef's Mickeys. Nanitzi, Mickey, and Andrew.

After breakfast we spent the rest of the day at Epcot. Hannah and Andrew.Dinner in Epcot at the Biergarten in Germany. Live music and dancing!! We had a blast. Carter and Uncle Jake.Day 3. Going for a morning swim at the pool at our hotel. Ben, Andrew, and Ally. Birthday Ben. Ben turned 9 while we were there in Disney World. We had the best lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe. Our waitress was hilarious, the food was amazing, and we had a great time! If anyone is going to Disney World, I highly recommend going. We spent the rest of the day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Day 4. We enjoyed a nice day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Dinner that night was with Cinderella's family. (Which includes Prince Charming!) Hannah, Prince Charming, and Lexy. Ellie was terrified of the evil stepmother. She didn't take one bite of food until she had left the room. One week off his mission and the ladies are already hitting on him. Andrew and one of Cinderella's stepsisters.Carter wasn't a big fan!She even asked Ben to dance with her. After dinner we took a boat over to Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks. Jacob and Nanitzi.The Love Bug. Our hotel. Day 5. Was a little bit of everything. We started off at Magic Kingdom. Andrew, Hannah, Mom, and Dad. Carter has had his fill of princesses. Face paint time! Grace, Ally, Carter, and Ellie.And that afternoon some of us made our way over to Hollywood Studios for another round of our favorite rides. Andrew, Hannah, Ben, and Lexy.We went the the Indiana Jones show in Hollywood Studios, and Mom was chosen to be an extra on the set. It was great!!Day 6. Back to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. Andrew, and Hannah.The Dole Whip Float. A Moore family favorite. Last ride of the week. Carter, and Joanna. Last picture in front of the castle before we left the park.

We had a great time, memories that will last forever!!!

January 24-31, 2010

Home Sweet Home

Well now that things are back to normal, well as normal as things get around here, I will catch up on my blogging. Andrew came home a couple of weeks ago from his two year mission for our church in the Canada Winnipeg Mission. We had a lot of family here in town for his homecoming. We had a great time. Andrew came home on a Friday afternoon. We all met him at the airport, and he got to see almost everyone that he hadn't seen in two years, including my nephew, Carter, who was born a couple of months after he left. It is great having him home.

Fun story... While we were waiting for Andrew's bags, we were all taking pictures. A guy came up to Lexy, and then when he got close, he said ,"Oh man, never mind! Some of my friends told me they were taking pictures with Taylor Swift." So for the record, I am Taylor Swift's aunt! :)

Jan. 22, 2010

2009 Family Newsletter Pictures

Hannah, Bill, and Charlotte

Dan and Meridith, and Family

Sarah, Marc, and Family

Joanna, Ryan, and Family

David, Ayanna, and Family

Jacob and Nanitzi

Catherine and John Elder Andrew Moore

2009 Family Newsletter

Greetings from the Moore family! This year we decided to let each family member tell about themselves and their family. Bill and Charlotte: Bill's position at Pfizer as an Associate Research Fellow, Biology Project Leader and Laboratory Head was affected by a restructuring of the research portfolio early in 2009. This is giving him some firsthand experience for his calling as stake employment specialist. He thoroughly enjoyed his career at Pfizer/Pharmacia/Searle/Monsanto, but is also excited to explore new opportunities to use his broad background and experience in biochemistry, enzymology and discovery research. While he has enjoyed being home more over the last several months, he is anxious to get back to work. Charlotte and Hannah have enjoyed having him home more but have become accustomed to their own routines and also have travel plans that are better served with Bill employed. Any leads or suggestions for positions in pharmaceutical or life science research are certainly welcomed! You can connect with him and check out his professional profile on LinkedIn.com under William M. Moore and contact him directly at wm.m.moore@gmail.com. Charlotte continues to enjoy being a grandmother to our 8 grandchildren (soon to be 9) and homeschooling. There is only one student left in our homeschool. How did all those years go by so fast? She has also been teaching the girls (ages 16-18) at church this year. Daniel, Meridith, and Family: The other Moore's in St. Louis are doing well. Dan is still running the Claim Service Center for Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. Mer is busy with her business, WorDelicious, and finished the Lake St. Louis triathlon for the second year in a row. Lexy is having an exciting Jr. year - leading her summer softball team to an ASA Regional National title, and her High School team to the quarterfinals - earning Conference Player of the Year, All State - 2nd Team, and All Metro honors. Ben is enjoying 3rd grade, playing sports - tackle football and basketball, and Cub Scouts. Grace is enjoying Kindergarten. Ally is enjoying pre-school and can't wait for Kindergarten this fall. We are thankful for our many blessings and wish each of you all the best in this new year! Sarah, Marc, and Family: Sarah, Marc, and Joseph moved back to the Washington, D.C. area this year. Marc is employed by the Navy, but is actually working on a transportation project with the Federal Highway Administration. Sarah started a social work PhD program at The Catholic University of America. Joseph is an energetic and chatty three-year-old who loves trucks. Joanna, Ryan, and Family: Hey from the Hawkins! We are still in Texas and of course love it, but always wish we could spend more time with all the family! Ryan is enjoying another year with Acme Brick. He stays plenty busy with work and all the church assignments. Joanna just finished her second Marathon in October and stays busy with the kids at home. Ellie just turned 4 and is so fun. She has been taking tumbling and loves all things princess and pink. Carter is a busy 18 month old little boy! He loves to rough and tumble and loves any sport with a ball. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas! David, Ayanna, and Family: Ayanna and David had a big year. On November 14th, Shaia Jade Moore was born to their family. The primary focus of their year was experiencing their first pregnancy and preparing to become parents. Ayanna and David enrolled in Bradley classes and had a goal of attempting natural childbirth and they were successful in pulling it off. Shaia is a great blessing and has brought wonderful new changes to their family. They plan to "hibernate" all winter and spend time with her. Ayanna is in her fourth year of teaching fourth grade in Liberty, Missouri. This will be her last year teaching as she plans to stay home and raise their new baby. David continues to direct the sales organization at his company, Affinity Biotech. Jacob and Nanitzi: Jacob and Nanitzi are still in Texas. After finishing a 12-story hotel in July, Jacob was fortunate to be offered a position with another Lend Lease company, Actus, working on the Privatization of Army Lodging (PAL) at Fort Sill, OK. While it requires him to be away from home during the week, he is grateful for employment in an industry that has seen so many lay-offs. Nanitzi continues to work as a dietician for the WIC program in Fort Worth. When she’s not at work, she stays busy with volunteering at church, going to the gym and getting ready for the arrival of their first baby, a boy, in April! Catherine and John: Time has flown by this year for the Rains family. John has worked as a contract scientist for Millipore and Pfizer. He completed his EMT training in the spring and has been offered a job with Abbott EMS starting this month which he is really excited about. Catherine is continuing her graduate studies at Saint Louis University School of Public Health and working for the Prevention Research Center. They both teach and work with the young people (ages 12-18) at church and are having a fun time. To keep in touch with them throughout the year, visit www.rainsintheplains.blogspot.com. Andrew: Has been serving a mission for our church in the Canada Winnipeg Mission for the last two years. He returns home on January 22, 2010. He plans to attend Brigham Young University in the fall. Hannah: Is 16 and is enjoying her sophomore year. Hannah was in the play Beauty and the Beast this past June. She enjoys teaching and playing the piano, singing, hanging out with friends, and driving around with her new license! She looks forward to having Andrew home before he leaves for college. We appreciate your friendship over the years, and look forward to hearing from you! Hope you all had a wonderful and joyous holiday! Best wishes!! Bill and Charlotte

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I haven't been very faithful to blogging over the holidays. So here are a few things that we did this holiday season. Catherine and her husband, John, came over on the 20th and stayed with us through the holidays. It was fun having them with us. Making our gingerbread house. (12/21/09)We also went to the St. Louis Zoo's Wild Lights with the grandkids. (12/22/09) We acted out the nativity scene the Sunday before Christmas with my brother Dan and his kids. (12/20/09) Christmas Eve my sister, Joanna, and her family were in town. We did our traditional caroling as a family, and that night we acted out the nativity again with her two kids. (12/24/09) Christmas Eve is my favorite part of Christmas. Christmas morning! We did get a little bit of snow while we were opening our gifts. I think it counts as a White Christmas. (12/25/09)My sister, Sarah, also came with her family on Christmas day. Joseph and Grandma.

The Sunday after Christmas we got quite a bit of snow. Joanna was leaving Sunday morning, but they stayed long enough to have some fun in the snow. There was enough snow that they canceled church. We enjoyed a relaxing Sunday together as a family. (12/27/09)

The 30th of December there was a stake dance that Lexy, Anna, and I went to. We had a great time! (12/30/09) New Years Eve was lots of fun. We had a late night dinner at Denny's. It was really fun! Lexy and Anna came with us. Afterwards we had a Moore family dance party in our basement and rang in the New Year! (12/31/09) Every one is gone now. We took down the tree and all the decorations. We had a great Christmas and New Year! I can't wait for it again next year!!!