Ben is gettin' married!!

Ben Wingerter and Katie Zillner will be tying the knot June 14, 2008. We are excited to have Katie joining our family! Wish them the best while they plan the big event!
Love ya, Benny Boy!
MOM

Thoughts for Memorial Day

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg, 1863.

Memorial Day orators will say that a G.I.'s life is priceless. Don't believe it. I know what value the U.S. government assigns to a soldier's life: I've been handed the check. It's roughly what the Yankees will pay Roger Clemens per inning once he starts pitching next month.

Andrew J. Bacevich, a Vietnam veteran, teaches history and international relations at Boston University. His son died May 13 after a suicide bomb explosion in Salah al-Din province.

One last look

This is a photo from Thursday, standing by the Drava River in Maribor in northcentral Slovenia. I made a quick trip there with a couple friends.

Tomorrow, I have an early flight for a Memorial Day return to the USA. Thanks for bearing with my travelogue.

I'll be home soon

I had a great day on Tuesday. Spent time with a friend in Grado, Italy. It's a beach place, as you can see. We also visited the Roman ruins at nearby Aquileia. Yes, I'm having a good time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAKE!

The recent MSU graduate, Jake, celebrated his 22nd birthday on Sunday, May 20. Actually, I think the celebrating happened the night before! I know this is a day late, but better late than never!

Happy Birthday, Jakey! We love ya tons and wish you many, many more!

Mom and Dad

(we love that gold tassel, dude!)

Some Moore Spring in MT

Well the weather was nice again so Jake, our two neighbors/friends, and I decided to go up to Hylite Canyon for some hikes. First we did a two mile hike up to The Location Formerly Known as Blackmore Lake which is the name I gave it due to it being a small pond as it was pretty dried up but it was still in an awesome valley with a great view of the mountains. We stayed there for a bit and then turned around back to the trailhead. Next we went to Palisade Falls and did the small hike up to the base of the falls and ate our food we had packed. The falls were not huge by any means and you could walk right up the base and stand under them. It was a really cool spot to hang out for a while and we ended up loving the falls. If anyone comes to Bozeman and wants to do a small hike then we can take you up to Palisade Falls; it's a great place. I included a couple pictures of the falls.

PS - It's Jacob's birthday today, the big 22, so drop him a line.

Moore Goats!!

Yes Maurika, there is a Santa Claus. Oops, wrong story. Yes Maurika, there are new goats in Grantsville (congratulations by the way!!). We have 10 new kids with more on the way.

Hola mi familia

Hey there everyone. Just thought I would post a little diddy saying congrats to all the graduates and congrats to the rest who finished school. This year went by so fast, but I am actually a little relieved it is done. You would think that being in the theatre department just putting on plays would be drama enough for people...oh no. That is one thing I have learned since coming to college, drama never dies. Anyhoo, I am really looking forward to summer and spending some time away from Sioux Falls. I am anxious to see you all at the wedding! I am not sure exactly where I will be this summer, either in Helena or Washington, but I hope everyone enjoys the warm weather!! Much love!
Molly

Phone Numbers

Hello family members. Due to an incident involving a few beers, a hot tub, and a cell phone in the pocket, I have had to get a new one and thus lost all of my numbers. So if you could humor me and comment on this blog with your number, that would be great. Hope everyone is doing well and I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the Buyske/Schulte wedding.

The Wingy family at the ballpark

Here are all the Wingerters and Meuniers at Sam's baseball game. This was the day after Mother's Day and everyone was here. We were in Bozeman on Saturday for Jake's graduation. While we were there, we saw Jim Moore (the elder!) in the parking lot at Albertsons'. Talk about a small world! After a quick lunch, we came home and Miranda, Nate and Emma returned from a Seattle trip. We had a great day Sunday with dinner including Mom, Jan and Marc, Connie and Bill and Jimmy. Although dinner took a bit longer to cook than we anticipated, it was great anyway!

Miranda, Nate and Emma are returning to Durham on Friday. We are really going to miss having them in the house, but duty calls. Miranda begins her clinicals on Tuesday and both have to work next week. So after this extended visit, they are going back to the real world really quickly!

Ya'll have a great up coming weekend. We will be journeying to Medicine Hat Alberta for a baseball tournament that Sam is participating in. Should be a fun trip!

Later! Love you all!

Mary

The Wells-Coldirons add another!

That's right! April was a busy month for us: we sold our house in Renton, WA, bought a house in Missoula! , moved all of our belongings over 3 trips to Montana, lived with Kit and Greg for 3 weeks, Mark started a new job at American Eagle Instruments as the National Sales Director, home schooled the kids, Maurika interviewed and got offered the job as the Executive Director for the Hospice Care Foundation - but turned it down, Rileigh and Bridger unpacked their own rooms and met neighborhood friends, Truman turned 1 year old, and...

we got pregnant.

ok, i did run a little into May there with Truman's birthday...but had to include it as a monumental occasion.

Crazy, #4 is on her way, according to the chinese birth calendar it is a she anyway.

Piper Jordan Wells or maybe if the calendar is wrong we'll go with Finn for a boy.

This is our final addition, baring any new pets...

heard there are some new goats somewhere?

much love, maurika

A little more info ...

Okay ... it's a lot more info. This post on the Perry Moore Family blog lays out some history of Slovenia. It includes the lyrics of "O Slovenia" (on the new CD), with notes and photos.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just wishing a Happy Mother's Day ( or a Happy Materinski Dan if you are in Slovenia) to all the mom's out there. Thanks for all that ya do! I was looking for a picture to put with this and found the Wikipedia article for Mother's Day; Here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother's_Day

Croatia

Took a quick trip on Saturday into northwest Croatia. This first photo is at Novigrad. We also visited Umag, another small port city. Rather than show you a scenic photo, here's a human-interest one.
Finally, we went back to Slovenia for dinner in the old fishing village of Piran. It has long been one of my favorite places; I have enough photos of Piran to fill an album. As we were leaving, a parade of antique cars tooted through. Here's an old Fiat.

A Few More Pictures

Ok, I just had a couple more cute pictures that I wanted to post. First, this picture of Kaitlyn is special because this dress is one that Aunt Jan actually gave to Maurika when she was a baby. I thought that was pretty neat to see the next generation in it 30 some years later.

This picture of Carter is funny too because about five seconds after we took this picture he fell backwards off the log. Traumatizing at the time but funny in retrospect.

And I love this picture of Mikayla swinging up in the mountains. She is such a sweetheart.

Love again to all.

Philpot Famiy News

Just thought I would join the crowd and throw up some recent pics and an update. We just got back from San Francisco where Mikayla and Kesiah were flower girls in my best friend's wedding. They did such a great job and even made it down that huge flight of stone stairs without a falter. I also got to be a bridesmaid and Carter had the distinguished position of handing out programs. We really made it a family affair. Jerry is doing well too, he was such a trooper driving the whole way to California and back. And we got to see some fabulous spots along the way; the Redwoods, the beach, and Lake Tahoe to name but a few. Anyway, I love this picture of Carter and Kesiah dancing, they were non-stop! And Kaitlyn is growing on up, laughing and smiling away. She is such a great baby.

I also just finished a big fundraising event for work and am looking forward to kicking back a little this summer. It is going to be the pool and sunglasses for me! Hope everyone is groovin' right along. Oh, and can someone comment on the exact final dates of the BIG family reunion in August. I seem to have lost the final email. Thanks. Love, Hannah

Moore from Slovenia

This is the little village of Prvačina (purr-vah'-chee-nuh) where I am staying with Jimmy and Jadranka Čelik.
I've been taking long walks in the area and snapping a lot of photos. May 1st was European Labor Day, and I've seen a lot of May poles around. This one, in the nearby town of Dornberk, had a red flag, while most of them have the Slovenian flag. I can't speak to the politics of choice of flag.

Finally, here are my hosts, Jadranka and Jimmy, along with an old friend, Borut.

Slovenian Scenery

Many of you received a message and picture from me today. I decided to post a couple more photos. The countryside is beautiful. Spring is well along; I even saw farmers taking the first cutting of hay.

Jimmy and Jadranka walking with a friend at the resort where I lived and worked 13 years ago.

Vinyard near Jimmy's house.

Well I want to join in too...

Everyone else seems to be updating their lives and I want to join in on the fun as well! First off, I don't know if mom has said anything to you all, but my Grandma Jo is in the hospital so if you all could say a prayer for her that would be great!

So, school is school. I am looking forward to the day that I am let free...for the summer that is. I still don't know where I am working. I will be in Helena, that I know. I am so glad that the weather is nice, it just lifts the spirits! Theatre is going well. We just closed a show last weekend...thank goodness! It was not the best show Augie has done. Auditions are coming up Monday and Tuesday for the first show of next year. It is a really great play called "How I Learned to Drive" by Paula Vogel. It is so great so I am hoping for a part! In other related acting news- I made my first commercial. I didn't get paid, but that was okay. It is a really cheesy commercial for an auto body shop. It is super cheesy, but hey, it was experience! I think I will get a dvd copy of it, so if any of you are dying to see it, I may show you! Other than that, not much else is new. I am taking a make up class and having a lot of fun with that! You can really freak some people out! Anyhoo, love you all and hope to see you this summer!! Oh, and earlier this week I decided that next summer in June and half of July I will be backpacking across Europe with some of my friends from school. I am totally stoked! Just thought I would rub that in! :) Love!

My Future

I figured since everyone else is updating about their lives, it is about high time I do as well. Let me start off by saying I am having an okay track season, I have yet to throw a big one, but it is only a matter of time. We only have two meets remaining in the season. We have one at home and then our Conference meet. The weekend after I graduate I will be heading to Charlotte, NC to compete in the National Track and Field meet.

I am graduating this year, believe it or not. That is in three weeks. I completed my thesis paper for Honors Government, so if any of you are interested in reading an 85 page paper on how DNA has impacted and changed our criminal justice system, let me know!! Other than that, classes are classes and they are winding down quickly.

Finally, for the future plans. I am not sure how many of you know where I applied to Law School, but I applied to UM, Gonzaga and Notre Dame. I was accepted to Gonzaga and UM, and wait-listed for ND. I was going to give ND till the end of May to give me an answer, but as time passed, I became more and more interested in Gonzaga. The above picture is a picture of where I am going to be living in Spokane next year. I am going to Anacortes this summer to live with Matt and Kelly and Will, and then in July (after the wedding) I am heading to Australia for the month.

I think that is about all I can update on. Hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather wherever you are!! I miss you all and I cannot wait to see you at the big wedding this summer!!

Love

Jen