Gingerbread Houses are Moore Fun!

We made our traditional "graham cracker" gingerbread houses tonight with our good friends the Tranes who have moved to Singapore for a couple of years. They are back in Colorado for the Holidays! We also have Justin, Tyler, Jaimee and Ryan home for Christmas! The first three pictures are of everyone concentrating on their house building.

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The finished products! Some turned out really great...and then there was Tyler's!! But, I think everyone had fun making them regardless of how they turned out!

Jaimee and Hannah's --check out the vehicle and snowman!

Ryan and Jordan Trane complete with a back upper-deck patio!

Christian and Dave Trane--Best of Show! The blue candies on the side are the swimming pool!

Okay, so Tyler's was looking pretty good till the tornado swept through and did a number on it!

The Three Amigos worked really hard on this masterpiece. It's a two story mansion!


Our little country cottage.

After we finished our houses, we went to the basement for a little Guitar Hero III! Eric really rocks at this game and everyone got a kick out of watching him play on the Expert Level! Tyler and Jaimee are demonstrating how the game is played on Medium Level before Eric does his thing.

Ryan Trane didn't do too badly for his first try at it!

Everyone is totally mesmorized by Eric's guitar hero skills. We think maybe this is a marketable skill.

We had a great game of Catch Phrase to wind up our Christmas Eve Eve! A very fun night for all!!

Moore December Fun!

In search of the perfect tree!

Isn't she a beautie?

This past weekend was Tyler's graduation from Utah State University. I (Susan) got to fly over to Utah all by me one-zies to attend the festivities. Mike, Eric, and Hannah had to stay home to put on the Ward Christmas Party Program--which I hear was fabulous! The next couple of pictures are at The Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City. I spent Thursday and Friday with Kendi, Megan, Carter, and Bess (Glen was out of town). Friday night we met up with Tyler, Jaimee, and Ryan. It was so freezing--I really don't get the idea of outdoor malls in cold climates?! We had a nice, fun dinner at California Pizza Kitchen--we did a little shopping and then tried to see the Temple Square lights, but they turned them off just as we arrived (10:30). So we got gas and headed up to Logan. (We said goodbye to Kendi and gang after the shopping.)

Bess had a little crush on Ryan. I asked her if he was her boyfriend and she smiled and nodded her head up and down.

Saturday was the graduation! We are proud of Tyler for completing his Bachelor's Degree in Business Management.

Tyler, Ryan, Brandon and Amanda Brady (cousin and wife), and Jaimee.

I arrived back in Denver on Sunday night and Monday morning had three Triple Trio performances--two nursing homes and the hospital. It was a lot of fun singing a variety of secular and spiritual pieces. Mike came to see us and said we sounded great! He even had tears in his eyes on a couple of numbers, so I think that either means we were good and touched his heart or...we were really bad and he was crying tears of anguish!

Tonight for Family Home Evening, we delivered goodies to our neighbors and did a little bit of caroling. As said by Buddy the Elf, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud so all can hear!"

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Older Folks by Jean M. Brady

I was going through a stack of papers that I had been saving to file and came across this poem written by my mom several years ago. I thought I would share it.

Older Folks
by Jean M. Brady

Well, here we are
A bunch of older folks
Living in a world
Filled with younger folks.

How do we manage?
Where do we fit it?
Can we camoflage the age spots
Or arthritis that's set in?

Why try to hide them?
They're part of who we are
They show a life long-lived,
A life that's brought us far.

A life that's full of memories,
Some bad, more good,
A life that isn't over,
A chance to do more good.

A chance to make the most of life.
Enjoy the bright blue sky.
Make some someones happy
Before we say, "Goodbye."

I love you, Mom and Dad!!

My Turn to Disclose 6 Interesting Facts About Me

For those of you in the family who don't know about this, my niece, Marissa, has started a tagging game where when you are tagged you have to tell 6 things about yourself that most people might not know about you. So here goes!! Before you start this blog adventure, scroll down to the bottom of my blogs to my music playlist and press pause. I have a music video in this blog that you won't want to miss!

1. After graduating from BYU with an Associates Degree in Business Education, I got a job at McGraw-Hill Publishing in NYC (Rockefeller Center)!!! I rode the train to and from Grand Central Station everyday. The story that follows didn't happen while I was working, but I had come into the city one day for lunch and was walking down a subway stairway when both of my heels on my shoes (about 3 inches)got stuck in the grates on the step and simultaneously snapped off! I had to keep walking and get onto the train with no heels. I spent the lunch hour buying new shoes! One of my most embarrassing moments for sure!!

2. Behind our house in New York we had a 4-acre pine forest. The trees were mainly all dead or infested with something hideous that looked like fungus growing all over them. You could push the trees over without effort. There were even a few spottings of U.W.O.'s (Unidentified Walking Objects) that crossed our path as we strolled down the mysterious trail hidden deep within the woods. It was the singlemost greatest backyard anyone could ask for. (Those who we do not speak of only attacked us about 4 times in the 2 years that we lived in The Village of Wellsville, New York.)

3. We had a bank robber spend the night at our house when I was married to Kevin. He had just robbed the bank and had come to our house to take a shower. He left his bag with his gun and the money in our living room while he showered. The next day, the boys and I left and the FBI came and raided our house. He escaped but was later caught and is spending lots of time in prison in Caifornia. It was very scary!! He was a member of the church and was going to our ward in Denver while living in a halfway house after serving time in Canon City Prison in Colorado. He seemed like such a nice young man, but very confused to say the least.

4. I am taking College Spanish 1 at our local community college. I am working on my Bachelor's Degree from BYU and have to take 4 semesters of a foreign language to substitute for the Math which I just don't think I could make it through. After I complete my Spanish requirements I will only have 4 BYU independent study classes until Graduation!! I should be done before Hannah graduates High School.

5. I was a nanny for three children in White Plains, New York for the summer after my freshman year at BYU. 6. I was the Longmont, Colorado Stake Girl's Camp Director for 2 years. It was funny because when I was sustained in our ward, one of my friends made a gasping, chuckling noise that just said it all: "Yeah right, as if she could do that!" I did do it and it was one of the most fun callings I have ever had.

Well, I hope that fills you in a little bit on the exciting life that I have led!! I tag Melecia, Kendi, Jenny, Paul, and Joel!!

November "Autumn" Tulips

Do you ever get those days when you just feel like nobody loves you, or for that matter even likes you? I was having one of those days (weeks?) and just plain feeling ugly, fat, and plain down on myself and life in general! I had no reason to feel that way, I might add, I'm pretty sure it was hormonal! Whatever the case, I felt down right stinky!!!

My sweet husband (tried to hide so he wouldn't get his head chewed off--just kidding!) ordered me these gorgeous tulips and had them delivered to the house!! I was so happy and felt loved and cherished again. It's amazing what a little thing can do to improve one's mood!

I was delighted to get Tulips in November! Who'd have thunk?

Have a nice day and do some little nice thing for someone else! It doesn't take much to bring a smile to someone's face!

Halloween 2007

I guess you are never too old for Halloween Fun! At the last minute, Eric and his friend, Caitlin, decided to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Eric looks pretty good in that cheerleader uniform, don't you think?? GO NIWOT!!

Hannah, ("Bella" finally gets her wish! Will it be worth it to be a vampire for all eternity?) Lexie, as Izzy, from Gray's Anatomy. Our traditional Halloween dinner! We had some scary food and fun games! Eric and Hannah helped a ton. I had to go to my Spanish class and they got everything ready including all the decorating (table and the front of the house) and a lot of the food!

Hannah's friend, Lexie, and her mom and sister came for the festivities as well as Eric's good friend Nick Jones.

I thought I had a better picture of our punch bowl, but I guess this dry ice in the water pitcher gives you the effect. Dry ice is sooo cool!

Eric and Nick made these tasty cupcakes. Don't you want to try one?

This was an extra special treat! We didn't know these candles were going to do this!!

It's Pumpkin Carving Time!

For Family Home Evening tonight we carved pumpkins and made caramel apples! Some traditions are just too good to ever stop! We haven't traditionally made the apples before, but it could be the start of something new!

These cute little jack-o-lanterns were grown in our garden! How fun is that? I told everyone they should name their pumpkins something that started with Jack. I dibbsed Jack Sparrow, Hannah's is Jack, the Pumpkin King, Eric didn't say a name, and Mike chimed in with, I'm calling mine a Jack-A__(bleep)! Now there's a Mikeism for you!!

Good thing she has an ortho appointment tomorrow to straighten up everything she knocked loose! Oh well, she deserves a sticky, gooey apple after nearly three years in braces!!

Some FHE's are just more successful than others. This one was great!!

Happy Halloween!!

Fall Fun in Colorado!

We love the Fall! The colors are so beautiful, the air is crisp, apples are in season, pumpkins and cornstalks abound! We grew a little garden this year and the pumpkins and cornstalks on our porch are part of our harvest! We had our first freeze and snow flurries yesterday!! Saturday it was 80 degrees and today it was back up in the 60's with the sun shining brightly! That is one of the things we love best about living here! If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will clear up and be sunny again.



We had a fun birthday celebration for Mike! He loved hearing from the far away kids and enjoyed dinner, cake, and ice cream with those of us who are here. He had requested Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner, but I surprised him with crab legs, baked potatoes, and Johnny Carino style wedge salads. Ummmm!

This past weekend was Niwot's homecoming. Eric is in the singing group, "Evenstar" at Niwot and they performed the National Anthem at the start of the game. Eric didn't stand out at all!!

Mike and I took a turn selling concessions at the homecoming game to earn money for the tennis team. It was a lot of fun, kind of stressful making so much change at such a fast pace, but still fun. At one point, I turned around to the other helpers and with a huge grin said, I love this! This is so much fun!!" They all looked at me like, "You really need to get a life!" I said I should probably get out more and maybe get a job at McDonald's or someplace where I get to make change and serve food quickly!! I was exhausted at the end of our shift! We took our hotdogs, drinks, and popcorn up to the bleachers and watched sadly as the Cougars got beat. It was fun watching the band and the dance team perform.

Can you even think of a better date night than working at a concession stand?

The dance was held on Saturday night at the school. Eric didn't take a date (although I know it looks like he did.) He just went with this group which included this other single girl. He said he had a lot of fun and danced the night away with a lot of different girls. Mike and I went to eat at Red Robin and there must have been 100 Niwot homecoming kids there eating. I'm sure Eric was grateful that his group chose to eat elsewhere so I wasn't all in his face with my camera while he was trying to eat!