Happy Birthday Mike!!

Seeing as Mom and Dad no longer realize their children are still around, as they are caught up in their grandchildren, I thought I would remind everyone that today is Mike's birthday. He's the big 33 today, and the only consolation for him on that age is that it was Larry Bird's number. Anyway, hope you had a great day Mike, and you are an awesome older brother!

Flag Football Champ!!

I just thought I would give a shout out to Carter whose Flag Football team just won the 7/8 Division Championship. He was a great quarterback this season and well known for his long bomb. Jerry was a fantastic coach and we had a really fun team. Go Steelers!! :)

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY BEN!

Today is Benjamin James Wingerter's 29th birthday. He had quite the birthday weekend...visits from Jake, MaryBeth and Nate, a trip to the play off game and just hangin'. We wish we could be there to celebrate with you...but we are sending our love all the way to Dallas!

Love you Ben! and we can't wait to see you in a few weeks...

Mom and Dad

Masters Man

With a break in the birthdays it's a good time to congratulate my old man on getting his Masters Degree. Back in August after a lot of hard work, my dad received his Masters of Science in Financial Services from the American College. My mom thought it would be a good idea to steal Shannon's graduation robe and make him pose and, much to our surprise, he obliged. We're all very proud of you. From the emails that we've sent back and forth at work, the new designation (MSFS) looks great beside your name. Nice work, padre.

Drum Rolls, Trumpets, etc. The Christmas Names are Here!

Well another Christmas in the making!  The names have been drawn and here we are!  The first name is the one giving and the one behind the dash is the one receiving.

Connie - Annie

Bill   - Tommy

Jan - Connie

Marc - Mary

Johnny - Jan (lucky duck)

Annie - Marc

Tommy - Jimmy

Jeanine - Bill

Mary - Johnny

Jim W. - Jeanine

Jimmy - Jim W.

Rika and family - Sam

Abe and Dez - Jake

Hannah and family - Madison

Briana and family -  Shannon

Mike - Ben

Matt and family - Abe and Dez

Joey - Randa and family

Meg and family - Nate

Jen -  Rika and family

Molly - Nick

Nate - Bri and family

Shannon - Jen

Randa and family - Meg and family

Ben - Mike

Jake - Hannah and family

Nick - Matt and family

Sam - Molly

Madison - Joey

So, there they are - in the books for 2010.  Next will be requests for lists and ideas so you might as well just get them out there!

New Wells Manor

I went over to Missoula on Friday to play music at Sean Kelly's. It was also a great opportunity to visit Maurika and family. They're all doing well. They've been moving over the last few weeks, and are not quite done with the process. But they are settled into a new place at 339 E. Beckwith (Missoula 59801) just a couple blocks from U of M. It's a nice house on a corner lot. Here's an exterior shot from the street. Congratulations to the Wellses, and best of luck with completing the move!

That Time of Year!

Well, Connie texted and asked if we had drawn names for Christmas yet.  I didn't respond (cuz I didn't see the text - really) so she called tonight.  We decided that we need family input.  Do we want to do families like we have been doing for the cousins and individuals for the siblings and spouses?  So, we will make the decision by the weekend and either draw or not depending on what everyone wants.  I will do a facebook message to all of those with facebook too.  Let me know!

Ryan's Address

(Sorry to post this on top of Jen's.....Make sure you read hers!!!)

Thank you everyone who volunteered to send a letter or package to Ryan! I am getting the list together so hopefully you will get something in your email this week. And to answer Connie's question: You are assigned a week and can ship your stuff during that week or right before it. There is really no guarantee for when things will get to Ryan; the military shipping system isn't the best. Thus another reason to pack things VERY WELL! Flat Rate boxes are the way to go.

Aurie: We have an address for Camp Shelby but nothing for overseas right now.

For ANYONE who wants to send him a little letter or whatever down in Mississippi, he is there for another month. Here is that address:

1LT Ryan Schulte
C CO 1-163rd CAV, 116 CBCT
BLDG 2490 25th St
Camp Shelby, MS 39407

(It might change the address to Hattiesburg, MS automatically - don't freak, same thing. )

Update

Well, I figured since Mom decided to let you all know the news of my passing the bar, I would update you on the happenings in my life. From August 15th to September 17th I attended Officer Development School (ODS) in Newport, RI. I loved every minute of it and am so excited to continue my studies at Naval Justice School, which is also in Newport. The picture of me in uniform is during graduation and is when I received my first salute from my Senior Chief. It is tradition that when you receive your first salute, you give the individual a silver dollar. Well, since silver dollars cost about $22, I handed Senior Chief a good ol' dollar coin. Anyway, I flew back to MT and will be here until October 10th, when I will fly back to Newport to begin school.

The reason for the first picture is to show everyone where I will be stationed following Naval Justice School. I will spend the first two years of my Naval career in Guam. It is a tiny little island surrounded by tons and tons of water and far far far away from MT and family, but I am really excited about this opportunity. I know that I can be stationed anywhere in the United States, but my opportunity to go abroad is limited, so I decided to jump on this and voluntarily chose this as my first duty station. I know a lot of you may be thinking "why?" when I could have chosen San Diego or Jacksonville or Corpus Christi, but I am thinking "why not?" I know that it will be a huge adjustment and an even bigger change for me, but I am looking forward to the challenge. I graduate from Naval Justice School on the 17th of December and I will drive back to MT to spend some quality time with family before heading off on a 14 hour flight to my new home.

Over the next couple of years I will be depending on this (and facebook for those of you actively on it) for keeping in touch with family, so make sure things stay current! Thank you all for the support over the years and I am so blessed to have such an amazing family who cares and looks after each other. I am sure I will see you all (hopefully) before I ship out, but I just thought I would give you all a little update on where I will be going.

Love always,

Jen

SHE DID IT!

A huge congratulations to Jen!  She passed her bar exam and is off to Naval Legal school October 10th.  We had no doubt that she would pass and we are so dang proud of her!  Onward and upward, Jen!  Love you much!  Dad and Mom

Happy Birthday, Jimmy and Nick!

Today marks the birthday of Jimmy and Nickolas! YAY! Hope you both have a great day today. We love you tons~

Care for the Company

Hello, Hello all Moore Family Members!!

This is my official "plea" to you. As most of you know, Ryan shipped out Friday morning. The rest of his company gets there today. So far the report from Mississippi is that it is a) hot b) not the Ritz and c) very busy. Hopefully he stays busy so the time flies.

To help that time go by quicker, I would like to set up some regular mailings to him. With both his brother and a good friend of our's, friends and family were assigned a week to send a letter, care package, thoughts and prayers, etc. It was a great morale booster for them and a wonderful way to stay connected.

If you would be interested in getting a week to send stuff to Ryan, just email me at schulte777@hotmail.com with your email and your physical address (in case I don't have one or both - not sure how I'll be sending the information out). I will then send a letter with the address information, a list of suggested items (but feel free to be creative), a copy of how to fill out the customs form with Ryan's information, and suggested methods of packing boxes by the military.

Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Love,

Meghan

Happy Birthday and Congratulations to Shannon

Today is Shannon's 23rd birthday and the day she hops in her new car (see picture) to move to Spearfish, SD. It's been an eventful year for Shannon. In May she graduated from MSU (GO CATS) with her nursing degree, she had a restful summer in Billings, and she starts her new job at Spearfish Regional Hospital on September 20th. On Labor Day weekend we went to Spearfish and found a nice, quiet one bedroom apartment. Shannon's very excited to get out there and get started. We're going to miss her around here though. Anyway, Happy Birthday Shannon and congratulations on the start of your new journey. We love you a whole bunch, and we're very proud of you.

Love,
Mom and Dad

Okay, so the boys have had their fun. I think the girls can one-up 'em. I say we start planning a girls weekend for all the wild women cousins. Significant others should be included. I'm sure Des could use an uptake of estrogen after all that testosterone last weekend! Let's get to planning!

THE EPIC COUSIN WEEKEND!

First and foremost, happy birthday Madison! Second.... wow, boys. That was a spectacular weekend, and we may need a few blog posts to do it justice. I don't know if my post will be big enough to do the job.

Thursday night, Nick, Nate, Ben, Jake and Mary Beth arrived and we had a nice evening at home with some cribbage (Jake dominated) and late night pizza. The Buyskes and Fabianne (Des's sister) arrived the next day and the cousins toured around Chicago a bit while Des and I were at work. Friday evening we went to an art gallery where a friend of ours had an exhibit opening then out on the town for dinner. Because we had to get up early on Saturday, we went home fairly early and intended to get to bed. We were having so much fun, though, that bedtime turned into about 2:00 a.m. Joey and Mike played a little guitar. Matt, Jake, Nate and I had a memorable discussion out on the deck (where Nick slept!). The girls did girl stuff.

Our place is not very big. But with a little creativity, everybody was able to cram in there . . .

Then in the morning it was time to hit the road for South Bend for the big game! Here we are in the elevator leaving our place...


We battled some rain on the road and at the tailgate, but it didn't dampen our spirits. The wetter the better! A friend of mine from law school had his tailgating van all set up for us and we grilled burgers, had a few beers, and even had a little dance party pre-game. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much. (Coo coo ka CHA!)
Everybody got into the game, thanks largely to Matt's connections. What a rollercoaster it was. This is how we felt for about half of the game:
And this is how I prefer to remember it:
After the game, we were all pretty depressed for a couple of hours, but we went back to our tailgate and made the best of it. Before you know it, we were having fun again. So much so that we were the very last people in the parking lot at the end of the night! Then we went to my friend's house to hang out and hit the sack. Des whipped up some late-night pasta for the boys, which I missed due to a little nap. Hard to keep up with these guys!
On Sunday morning, the Buyske boys headed back to Chicago to catch (or narrowly miss) their flights. The rest of us had a nice walk around campus . . . Overall, it's difficult to put into words how much I loved having everyone come up for the weekend. This is such a wonderful family that we are all a part of and it warms my heart to see the cousins make the effort to get together like this. Miss you guys already.

Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Just want to jump in and post birthday wishes for Maddie!  This girl is something else.  Since the day she was born she has followed her brothers in all of their sports activities.  She is a real supporter of all that they do.  She is making a mark of her own, too!  Hope that your day is special.  Since you have the wrong year on facebook, I am guessing you are either 13 or 14 today.  Either way, you are one fantastic birthday girl, niece, sister, daughter!!  Love you, Marc and Jan

Speaking of family reunions...

... ONE WEEK UNTIL THE MALE MOORE/BUYSKE/WINGERTER COUSINS (minus Sam, next time little bro) INVADE SOUTH BEND TO OFFICIALLY GIVE OUR WELCOME AND BLESSINGS TO COACH KELLY!!!!! GO IRISH!!!!!!!

Moore Family Reunion 2012!

Just want all of the Moores to know that we discussed at great length the 2012 reunion last weekend.  We were all together for Mom's 86th birthday and in planning our next family picnic I brought up the fact that we have $400 towards the next Moore reunion and told Jimmy (the younger) that he had better get in gear and get to planning.  We have some great ideas for where and when, so just keep in mind that we will be getting together in the summer of 2012!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy 86th birthday, Mom!  I was hoping someone else had some more recent pictures of you, but I will use last year's birthday picture.  You have a large family that adores you and you have done so much to earn that adoration.  We are so lucky to have you as a part of our lives.  I hope you have enjoyed your day!

Happy Birthday, Big Ben!

Happy birthday to our sweet little grandson who turns 3 today!  He is lucky to share his birthday with Gramma Jeanne.  He is such a clone of his daddy - tender hearted, blue eyed, curly blond hair, basically adorable.  These pictures show the many faces of Ben.  Enjoy your day and remember that we love you!  God bless, Grampa and Gramma