A Shout Out To Kelly on Her Golden Birthday!

Happy 30th birthday to you, Kelly! Hope you get to celebrate this special one in a big way! We miss having you here to cook for you. Hope all is going well in Iowa and just know that we are thinking of you and love you!

Hannah Banana's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Hannah! We love you!

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

-Abraham Lincoln

Congratulations on the New Home!

Just wanted to toast Gramma (again) on the upcoming purchase of her new condo. It is bright, cheery and in a great neighborhood. Hopefully all of the paperwork can come together and Gramma doesn't get cold feet. By the end of January, she should have a new address. She looked at it last week with Mary and liked it so Jim W., Marc, Mary, Connie, Tommy, Gramma and I went out yesterday and checked it out again. Gramma gave Tommy the thumbs up to make an offer and it was accepted. It is a little scary but I think it is going to be awesome!! Here are a couple of pictures. The first one is the front entrance; the second her kitchen; the third the kitchen eating area from the living room and the fourth her laundry room. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of the Buyskes gathered in Helena. We are missing the little ones and their families this year, but we are enjoying the comfortable quiet of Christmas morning. Hope everyone is having a very relaxing and enjoyable day, and we will see some of you tomorrow!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas from Texas

If you look close, there is a wreath on the Alamo. We took this a couple of weekends ago with thoughts of sending this out to all of your residences dancing in our head. It didn't happen. We hope you all are having a great Holiday Season and that we see you soon.

Happy Birthday!

Mikayla turns ten on Monday! We hope you have a great birthday.

Happy Anniversary!

Sunday marks Maurika and Mark's sixth anniversary. We hope they're whoopin' it up in Missoula to celebrate the occasion. They can be sort of like Devo (remember them) ... Whoop it, whoop it good!

Download Those Pics

Hey all-only Joey and Jen have posted photos to the Snapfish account Joey set up. I actually ordered some prints from Joey's Thanksgiving album and had them sent to Grandma. She was so thrilled to have actual photos. She said she now has some to take to her coffee group.
So let's get those pictures downloaded so we can all enjoy them and have the option of ordering prints for grandma.

Jerryworld

Sorry to post over John but I knew if I didn't do it now, I'd forget. Anyway, this weekend I was lucky enough to get to go to the new Cowboys Stadium (Jerryworld) and watch the Big 12 Championship Game between Texas and Nebraska. Then I got even luckier and a friend got us hooked up with luxury suite tickets. Free booze, food, and leather seats. It was absolutely amazing. The stadium is insane. It was a great game that ended on a field goal with no time left. It couldn't have been better.

The tags we had waiting on our seats.

The biggest, clearest TV I will ever see. That JumboTron was rediculous. It cost more than the Cowboys old stadium was to build.

We'll Be Checking It Twice ...

Abe started this blog a few years back as a place for family folks to post their Christmas wish lists. Well, that time has rolled around again. Hooray! So, hop to it and get to posting!

You can add a comment to publish your list, or post separately. Either way, your generous relatives will be able to see what you want. They can also choose to ignore it, but hey, at least they'll know. Please be sure to post here and not on Facebook. All those failing to post by December 10 will get coal their stockings.

Having said that, I'll start with my list ...
- give blood at Red Cross
- donate to a worthy cause
• Helena Food Share
• Helena Friendship Center
• Habitat for Humanity
• Oxfam
- DVD (not BluRay) Harry Potter & Half-Blood Prince
- gloves
- funky tie
- light blue socks

A Grizzly Thanksgiving

I don't mean to post on top of my previous one, but I had to put this up here before I forgot. Due to Nate's lack of common sense, he lost many a bet in the Cat/Griz game this year, and this was one of them. For those that couldn't be in attendance, he had to wear this shirt throughout the entire grilled cheese cook-off on Friday, and he wore it well I must say. I think maroon is a great color on Nate.

Family Photo Album

We have been having some discussion over this Thanksgiving weekend about pictures and sharing them among the family. There are always people taking pictures, and we occasionally see some of them on the blog or Facebook, but Grandma talked about never seeing them so we came to the solution of a family photo album online. I have set up an account on Snapfish for all of us to upload our photos from family gatherings so we can enjoy everyone's pictures. If you go to www.snapfish.com, you can log in with the following Email address: jbuyske@yahoo.com Password: moorefamily

Hopefully all of us will start to use this site to share our pictures and memories. We will try to get the ball rolling with pictures from this weekend.

Just a couple more days ...

After considering all the logistics, including travel, I think we should plan for the Thanksgiving feast to start at 4 p.m. If this time really won't work, please comment right away.

Mary will need to let us know when we can start using the school kitchen. I'm sure there will be some cookin' going on before we go there. Those coming from out of town should post special needs regarding pots, pans, ingredients, and so on.

It's gonna be great!

BURN THE BIRD - REGISTER RIGHT NOW!!

Des and I just registered for the Burn the Bird run (or walk) on Thanksgiving morning. Registration ends midday on Tuesday, so sign up now!

To register for the race, click here

Looks like there will be event t-shirts for sale at the race, so we elected not to do special Moore shirts.

Finally, as Meg mentioned below, we could have some nice volunteer pick up the packets on Wednesday. If everyone's busy on Wednesday afternoon, we can all just arrive a little early and pick up the packets before the race.

Let us know in the comments section here if you've signed up!

Reality Check Update....

Maybe next year.........but probably not. Go Griz!

The Trophy For The Winner Of The Moore Family Grilled Cheese Throwdown

Reality Check

I was going to be all mature and facilitate a nice discussion on where everyone was watching the game.... but forget it. As "sophmoric" as it may be, enjoy the picture. Here's to a Cat's VICTORY!!!!!!!!

Burn the Bird Run

First - apologies to Nate for going over his Cat/Griz post. I needed to post it now or I would forget about it.

So...onto the run.

Hot Ticket had an article with more details in it today. It stated that "Racers" can register on Active.com by searching "Great Falls, MT." Registration is $20 and includes socks for the first 150 people. After socks run out, racers can pay $10 or $20 and received a T-shirt. Other prizes will be scattered throughout the registration packets.

Packet pickup is Wednesday Nov. 25 at Fish, Wildlife, and Parks headquarters, 4600 Giant Springs Road, from 3-7 pm. There is also packet pickup and late registration before the race from 6:45 to 7:45 AM at FWP.

I was thinking it would be easiest for everyone to register themselves and then designate someone to go pick up packets and have then in a central location (i.e. Grandma's house or Wingerter's?). I talked to one of the organizers and she said 1 person can get all packets.

What is the thinking on this?

And what is the latest with T-shirts???

I'm SO excited for this thing!!! Oh - and Ryan isn't having surgery anymore - woohoo! So he'll be going along with (most) activities. He's opting out of the race.

Brawl of the Wild.

Well... it's here. The annual family divide. Where is everyone watching it this weekend? (Go Cats)

Grilled Cheese

Seems to me that mother would be the most impartial judge for the grilled cheese cook-off contest. I vote myself in as chief judge!

Menu for many (update)

Looking forward to a great weekend! Here's how the holiday menu stands so far. Thanks to y'all for signing up. I think we have all the bases covered now -- great! Feel free to add personal touches as the creative urge strikes you.

Turkey #1 - John and Ann
Turkey #2 - Geigers
Turkey #3 - Mary & Jim
Dressing - Kit
Potatoes - Miranda & Nate
Gravy - John
Green salad - Maurika
Fruit salad - Kit
Pretzel salad - Jake
Hot vegetables - Tom & Jeanine, Bri & Peter
Cold vegetables - Mary & Jim
Cranberry sauce - Shannon
Bread or rolls and butter - Nick
Sweet potatoes or yams - Leo & Sharon
Pumpkin pie - Connie & Bill
Pecan pie - Connie & Bill
Apple pie - Geigers
Pies - Kit
Pi - Nate Meunier
Appetizers - Abe & Dez, Nate, Bri & Peter
Milk - Mary & Jim
Wine - Connie, Mary, Maurika, Abe, Miranda
Coffee - Mary & Jim
Juice or other soft drinks - Mary & Jim
Beer - Joey
Paper napkins, paper towels - Joey

Ten Years After!

Happy Anniversary and Congratulations to Hannah and Jerry! As of Thursday, November 12, they've been married ten years and have quite a lot to show for it (such as this picture).







With four great kids and a life of faith, Hannah and Jerry have done quite well. I want to be the first to wish them all the best and say, "We love you."

Happy Birthday, Will!

Happy birthday to this special 4 year old! He got to go fishing with Dad today and tomorrow he will dig for fossils. He is quite the boy. We hope that you had a special day, Will. We love you much!! Gramma and Grampa

'Tis the Christmas Season

Happy November everyone. Johnny, Annie and Joey were over for dinner last night and Annie suggested we draw the names for Christmas. Being the compliant person that I am, we did. Below are the names of the "Giver" first and the "Receivee" second. Last year we chose to do it by families so we stuck with that premise this year. Here it is - read and cheer!! :
Marurika and family Jen
Abe and Dee - Meunier family
Hannah and family - Nick
Briana and family - Molly
Mike - Shannon
Matt and family - Jake
Joey Philpot family
Meghan and family - Ben
Jen - Madison
Molly - Sam
Nate - Michael
Shannon - Matt Buyske family
Randa and family - Joey
Ben - Abe and Dee
Jake - Schulte family
Nick - Borten family
Sam - Wells family
Madison - Nate

Adults:
Connie - Jim M.
Bill - Jim W.
Jan - Jeanine
Marc - Ann
John - Tom
Ann - Bill
Tom - Jan (lucky you!!)
Jeanine - Connie
Jim W. - Johnny
Mary - Marc
Jim M. - Mary

There you have it. You can start bugging for Christmas lists at any time!!!
Have a wonderful holiday season!

Are we all in or folding?

It is decision time.  Do we want t-shirts like this guy or not?

If we do: I need you to post by WEDNESDAY November 11th the following info:

• name
• size
• quantity (these make lovely gifts...)
  

If our orders can be narrowed down to 12 per size then we will get pretty slick pricing of $15/shirt.  

Shirt design is NOT completed, and if you have photos or suggestions, please email them into Abe or Maurika.

Nate, this may be the perfect comfort blankie for you when you lose the grilled cheese competition...  thinking of you.  

love, maurika
 
 

The menu for many

It's time to start planning the feast. Everyone contributes. I'm going to suggest some items, but if you have a great idea for something to bring, add it to the list! Keep in mind that oven space may be limited, so the more preparation beforehand, the easier it goes.

Turkey #1 -- John and Ann
Turkey #2
Stuffing
Potatoes (mashed, please no prefab)
Gravy -- John
Green salad of some sort
Hot vegetables
Cold vegetables, including olives
Cranberry sauce
Bread or rolls and butter
Sweet potatoes or yams
Pumpkin pie
Pecan pie
Apple pie
Pi
Appetizers (be creative)
Milk
Wine
Coffee
Juice or other soft drinks

... add to the list as you see fit.

Looking forward to seeing y'all!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Just thought we'd send along a lil' belated Halloween bliss! Hope ya'll had a fun one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!

We all know that today is Halloween and everyone will be getting stuffed on candies and goodies, but it is also Mike's 32nd birthday!! Can you believe they made a whole holiday just to help celebrate his birthday?! Crazy! You're one amazing brother and I know you will be a wonderful Dr. I hope your day is special and fun!! Love you!!!

Happy Birthday Ben!!!

Well, well, well....look who is growing up.
Big brother Ben has turned twenty-eight.
He is no longer up to his baseball but he's
still living the life down in Texas. Sorry
that you don't have the best cell service
that we are all cherishing, but you should
be back in our social world soon enough.
We are all looking forward to seeing you
over the Thankgiving week. By the way,
I'm sorry I'm posting over John's post but
I believe that Ben's birthday should be
known by the rest of the family too.
Lots of love,
The Wingerters: Mom, Dad, Sam, and Maddie

Happy Anniversary!

The year has gone by quickly - it seems like only about, say, 365 days ago that we were celebrating in Rancho Santa Fe. Happy Anniversary, Abe and Desiree!

Hope you're having a good time in New York City, and we look forward to seeing you in Montana at Thanksgiving.

The AlaMoore City

When winter hits Montana, the birds aren't the only ones who came to the South. I was lucky enough to have my parents and sister come down to San Antone for a weekend of awesome Texas fall weather (75-80 degrees with no rain) and some good times. It was 99 degrees when I picked them up from the airport but luckily the temp dropped 20 degrees the next day.

Anhuiser Busch Bench
Mom and Shannon at SeaWorld

The Crockett Hotel behind the Alamo

My Dad playing me in cribbage on the deck of my apartment.

My Dad's empty seat after I kicked his butt twice in cribbage.

Up next for San Antonio? Welcoming the Wingerter boys and the ND Irish to the Alamo Dome for a Halloween showdown with Washington State. Stay tuned for pictures of what's sure to be a crazy weekend.

Kudos to Sammy...

I just wanted to give a brief shout-out to Sam who led the Bison to their first victory of the season against Butte last night. It was senior night and yet the Blue were led by a sophomore...and a Moore to boot! Go Sam! Way to carry on the Wingerter tradition!

There was also a video interview featuring Sam done earlier this week, but I can't remember what TV station it was on. Yah..I know.

Anyway - Congrats Sam!

Off to see the Wizard

Kaitlyn picked out this costume at the Halloween store and won't take it off. So I thought I'd take some pics and share the joy of Dorothy. :)

Isaac is 2 months old!

I know most of you haven't met this little chunk yet, so in celebration of his 2 month birthday, I thought I would post a couple of videos so you could see him in action. Enjoy!

Grilled Cheese Throw-Down

As some of you may have been privy to, there have been rumblings among the Moore clan about a grilled cheese sandwich throw-down over the Thanksgiving holiday. Those mentioned in the mix have been Nate, Desiree, and myself, as far as I know so far. We are planning on having an Iron Chef-esque contest with our grilled cheese sandwiches, with judges to boot. So, what we are looking for are any other interested parties in competing, and some who may be interested in judging. We would take the names of those interested in judging and put them in a hat, then draw three names to be the final judges. So far the rules are still being ironed out, but I think the one constant so far is that the cooking will take place with only the chefs allowed in the kitchen, and the judges will taste each concoction without the knowledge of who created it, so as not to impart any unfair biases. I also think Friday would be a perfect day for this contest to occur, in an attempt to break up the post-Turkey day sandwich monotony.

So, if you are interested in cooking or judging, post your intentions here so we can get this ball rolling. This Turkey Day is shaping up to be a momentous occasion in the Moore family, so let's just add to the memories!

Grama's Visit

So Jim has not so gently reminded me that I need to put up a post of Grama's visit to Utah. My excuse is that I couldn't find my camera under a pile of papers on my desk therefore my belatedness is acceptable. :)
So here are a few shots of dinner at Jim's. He cooked us up some awesome chicken and I brought the potato salad. Always a stressful thing to submit that delicacy to Jim's tastebuds but he and Grama said it passed the mustard, of which there was little. Of course, the recipe is patterned after Grama's cooking standard but she told me it was a lost art for her so the tradition is passed on to the next generation here. All of you should know that Jim is actually the keeper of such culinary secrets, I always have to call (or text actually - and he is getting better at that) to remember what is and isn't acceptable. (Whoa, that is a lot of potato salad detail!)
Anyhoo, it was wonderful to get to visit with Grama and Jim. My kids always love seeing Moore familia, though those moments seem to fleeting. And they especially love chillin at the ranch and enjoying the multitude of animals they will never own. Thanks Jim for the great evening and for the opportunity to chill with the most fabulous Grama on earth. :)

Thanksgiving!

Hey all, the Thanksgiving get together is generating tremendous family-wide buzz. Attendance is at 42 and gaining! For those interested in running (or walking) the Thanksgiving Day 5K along the river, sign up at the Burn The Bird website. It's an untimed fun run that starts at 8 am. As always, the Moore the merrier!

Finally, although the 5K does not appear to have official t-shirts, there is an outside chance that there will be some Moore-specific shirts generated by certain interested parties.

Chicago 2016! Wait ...

... that's different. And disappointing. What was NOT disappointing was our trip to Chicago. Abe's pics are okay, even commendable, but check these out.



The band member is Eddie, the ND service student who lived with us this summer.


The rooftop photo shows Ann's nephew Zach and his partner Amy on the roof of their new abode in downtown Chicago.

Abe mentioned the Seqway tour. It was a blast!