Birthdays, Anniversary & Disneyland - Oh My!

Okay I am really bad at blogging. Almost as bad as Pat is at typing. Mattie, when do you find the time to do this? Well I will start by wishing Aunt Sharon a very Happy Birthday! I'm glad your birthday follows our anniversary so I never forget. And yes yesterday was Scott and I's 15th anniversary. We exchanged very loving emails. You have to love Navy life! It has been a fast 15 years. I feel like we just got married. Now if only we looked like we did 15 years ago! I look forward to the next 15. Oh and let's not forget that today is Oscar's 10th birthday. Happy Birthday Oscar! I guess that means I only have 2weeks to plan Sami's party. Well last Sunday we went to Disneyland for our annual Christmas trip. Even though we do it every year there is always something new to do or experience. This year the girls were beside themselves because Miley Cyrus, aka Hannah Montana, was recording a performance for the Christmas Day special. This year we saw the lights go on at Small World. As you can tell Small World is not Samantha's favorite ride. Every year they do "snow" after the fireworks but this year they have decided to do it throughout the night. So shortly after watching the lights go on they went off and after a little conversation between a child and their grandma over the speakers it started to snow. It caught everyone by surprise. It was magical. Then while waiting for the parade to start we saw a guy propose to his girlfriend in front of the castle. Lucky for him she said yes. And as always the fireworks were great. I love going at Christmas because it isn't about standing in line and riding all the rides. It is about seeing the reindeer and decorating cookies and just sharing the spirit of Christmas.

FYI

Just a quick post to let everyone know Scott's address. One of the most valued things while away from home is mail. Email is great but snail mail is wonderful too. Especially with the holidays coming up. It is always nice to get Christmas cards from the people back home. As a matter of fact Scott has already requested a care package. I hope you all have a chance to drop him a letter or card.

MM2 (SW) Moore, Robert S.
USS Germantown LSD 42
Eng. Dept. Div. Oil Lab
FPO AP 96666-1730

We Love You Scott

Well after months of work ups and thinking about this horrible day it is here. We got up at the crack of dawn and headed down to pier 6 to see Scott off this morning. I did surprisingly well myself. The same cannot be said about the girls. Meaghan started crying almost as soon as we got out of the car. Samantha wasn't any better. As a matter of fact she cried almost non-stop for 2 hours. It is never easy to say goodbye but at least I know what to expect while we are apart. I was reminded several times today of that first time Scott left. To see all of these really young women, a lot with babies, standing on the pier sobbing and scared really pulls at my heartstrings. They really don't know what comes next. The lucky ones will go home to their families. However at the end of this deployment they will all have grown and become extremely strong. Being deployment number 4 doesn't make this any easier for me. It actually makes it harder in some ways. While I don't look forward to the challenges ahead I know that I am strong enough to handle them. I too will soon start counting the days until my husband returns. Some things never change! Scott has already called home a few times and is doing well. He has asked me to pass on his email to everyone - MOORER@lsd42.navy.mil . He is settling into his "new" ship but can't wait to get back to the Tarawa. Hopefully in a few months he can say goodbye to the Germantown and return to his ship. We just want you to hurry home Scott. On a happier note - we want to wish Jade a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I can't believe you are ten already. That means Sami is soon to follow. Would you two stop growing up? We hope you had a great birthday and hope to see you soon. Oh and for Mattie- you wanted to know about Meag's bangs. Well I have been trying to even them out as they grow. Right before school started she thought she would try and cut them off because she was tired of having bangs. A picture really is worth a thousand words!

This is Halloween, This is Halloween

Okay I know Halloween was days ago but I just now have the time to do this. So consider it a late treat. The night before Halloween Scott and I stayed up until 11pm to finish all the outdoor decorations. Being that he won't be home for Christmas Scott kinda went over board on Halloween. But it was great! The girls had a great time carving their pumpkins. Samantha did most of hers by herself. I don't know why but I still can't believe she is as old as she is. Meaghan drew hers out and I carved it. As always Halloween was big deal in our neighborhood. We had sooooo many people come to the house. We gave out over 400 pieces of candy and could have given out at least another 200. We had lines going from the front door to the end of the driveway. Even after we ran out of candy we still had people coming up and taking pictures in front of our house. After taking the girls out trick or treating Scott dressed up and scared the people coming to our house. The girls had fun trick or treating but would rather stay home and give out the candy. As a matter of fact Meaghan said she just wants to hand out candy next year and bypass the whole trick or treating thing herself. I was glad that the costume debate ended up without any major meltdowns. Meaghan decided to be cheerleader again and Samantha went as Elizabeth from Pirates of the Caribbean. All and all it was a good night. Now if only I can get Scott to put away the decorations he took down before he leaves on Monday!

Halloween is here!

This past weekend was filled with Halloween activities. Friday night Scott and Meaghan started putting out the outdoor decorations. In our family outdoor illumination is a big deal! And now the tradition is being passed on. However I think Meaghan was more interested in using the ladder to do her Sharpay (from High School Musical) impression. Notice Samantha is nowhere to be found. The moment the decorations came out she went to her friends house. Smart girl! Scott is still working on the decorations. There are certain items that can't go out until Halloween but the pre-staging has already begun in the garage. We also attended Jazlyn's Halloween themed birthday party. For this event Meaghan went in her Mulan costume. Sami was a gypsy . Somehow we didn't get a picture of that. Sunday after church we took the girls to Sea World for Trick or Treating. Meaghan was a Chargers cheerleader and Samantha changed her mind at the last minute and decided against the baby outfit she had brought. So she kept on her church clothes, grabbed an old cell phone and told people she was an agent. That was my doing because I jokingly gave her the idea not thinking she would take me seriously. While at Sea World they had a chance to feed the dolphins. However I think Scott enjoyed this activity the best! This month has been full of different activities for which my girls believe they need a different costume each time. My favorites are still Pippi Longstocking and Fern from Charolette's Web. I hope the girls know how lucky they are to have a Grandma willing to make these costumes every year. Thank you Grandma!!Thanks again April (Ito) for letting us borrow your pink pig! Somehow with all of their different costumes they still aren't sure what they are going to be for Halloween! And they are still trying to talk me into getting them something new. So now we are back at school after a week off due to the fires. It would have been more fun to drop them off and go rather than stay and work. But all the kids were good today and anything beats being stuck at home wondering if you'll be the next to be evacuated.

In the Beginning...

Well I have finally done it. I have my own blog. I get hours of enjoyment reading everyone elses so I guess it is my turn. First of all we have survived the fires! They have made a mess of San Diego and I feel so terrible for the hundreds of people who have been impacted by them. I can only hope there will never be a fire this bad here again. Now on to happier things. We spent Sunday at Disneyland, "The Happiest Place On Earth". It was however the first day of the Santa Anas and even Winnie the Pooh could not have imagined a more blustery day. Still it was a great day. The lines weren't too long and the parks were all dressed up for Halloween. Meaghan was happy she got to ride Tower of Terror. And Sami got to ride the Orange Stinger which made her day. I can't wait for Christmas when it becomes "The Merriest Place On Earth". Of course by the end of the day when you have been beaten up by the wind and have walked all over both parks does anyone really live happily ever after?