A November Sunset ...

One night last week Dennis called on his way home from work wanting me to be sure to look out front and see the amazing sunset. This picture doesn't totally capture the beauty, but it shows it was a beautiful site. We get lots of clouds here in Utah ... and clouds make for beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I am grateful for the beauty that is all around us. We live in a very beautiful state!

A Lesson on ATTITUDE ... and how it can change experiences!

I am documenting an experience we had with the hotel we stayed in ... near Disneyland. Normally we stay at the Fairfield, which is a Marriott property, and a nicer hotel. We decided to shop around a bit and see if we could find something for a little less. I found the Ramada Maingate on Expedia and not only was it significantly cheaper, but they had a small breakfast and free parking ... so we went for it. (The comments I read on Expedia weren't complimentary ... they said it was quite OLD and not like a usual RAMADA, but it was close to the park and an OK motel for a Disney experience!!)

Here is Dennis in the Chrysler Sebring (yes, it is a convertible) we rented. It was fun to run around in ... and our room was in front of the red car behind him.

To continue my story ... we arrived at the hotel about 9 a.m. on Sat. and were greeted by a very friendly staff member who gladly did all the paper work for our room, gave us a parking pass so we could go over to the park, and she invited us to go and have breakfast! We were told to come back about 3 p.m. and they would get us the key to our room. We quickly ate and walked over to our favorite place ... Disneyland ... and took in all the excitement of Christmas!

Since we had to be at the airport at 6 a.m. (up at 4 a.m.) ~ by 3 p.m. we were pretty exhausted, and ready for a nap, so we went back to get the key to our room. Our room was not anything to brag about ... in fact it was a bit worse than we expected!! My first thought was ... we have blown it ... and we will not do this again!! (I had to keep telling myself ... At least we are saving some $$!!) We took a nap in the not so comfy bed ... and then went back over to the park for the night time festivities ... (fireworks, snow, and World of Color), and got back about 12:30 a.m.

Sunday morning Dennis was reading some of the signs on the back of our door, and this is what he found ... It says ... Ramada Maingate ... Saga Inn ... and he called me over to see what he had found. We had stayed at the Saga Inn on our honeymoon ... 41 1/2 years ago ... and have been unable to find out which hotel it was. In fact, we actually thought they had torn it down because for years we had asked people where it was and no one knew! We were so excited ... we were staying in that same hotel!! No wonder it was old (we're old!) ... and that was a long time ago!!! We talked to the front desk and they said the hotel is still owned by the same family ... and yes, it was the Saga, but they changed to a Ramada property many years ago!! Can you believe that??? Our attitude towards this OLD ... slightly musty ... hotel, totally changed. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there ... ATTITUDE ... that's all I can say ... it is EVERYTHING!!

After discovering where we really were, we found this logo on the back of the front building ... one of the original Saga Inn signs. (The original Inn had a large knight out in front) We heard from employees that the owner wanted this one to remain, and we are glad he did! We really enjoyed our stay and most of all are grateful for the 'de ja vu' experience we had and the lesson we learned about how 'attitude really does make a difference' ... and we changed ours!!

Sunday visit to family!!

I really had 'good intentions' ... but somehow they did not come totally to pass. We spent our Sunday out in Murrieta, Lake Elsinore and Corona visiting, and had a great time. (I wanted us to take pictures everywhere we went ... and this is the only one we remembered to take!) Here is Dennis, Mom Moore and I before we left her at her cute apartment.

We started the visit in Murrieta at Donna and Eric's home. Eric was at church meetings but we saw Donna, Brandon, Jason and Madison.
Our plan was to have Sunday dinner at Mary Alice and Larry's ... but before dinner we went to Lake Elsinore to visit some dear friends, Russell and Teresa Dix. Russ has been suffering from cancer and we needed to take the time for a quick visit. He is the Menifee Stake president and we have known them and their family for years. It was good to see how they are doing.

Lunch at the Grosdidier's was very nice. Larry cooked a delicious pork roast. It was fun to see them in their home and to enjoy their company. (Larry helped Dennis take the top down on our convertible ... rental car ... and we took mom home in it!)

Then we headed for Corona ... and visited with the Keller's. They invited us to stay for their traditional Sunday taco dinner. It was yummy as well. We had a great time visiting and getting to see so many family members. We wanted to visit Gallaugher's too ... but Della had to sing in a program in Redland's with the So. Cal. Mormon choir, so we didn't get to see them. Next time we will see them for sure as it will probably be for Darren's wedding!

Disneyland ... November 2010

Nov. 13 ~ 16th, 2010

We planned our trip to So. Calif. at this time so we could be at Disneyland after CHRISTMAS was up at the park, and we were not disappointed ... beautiful weather and a lot of beautiful Christmas decorations. Above we are on Small World ... a favorite, for sure.

Isn't this the cutest Mrs. Claus you have ever seen? We just had to stop and snap a photo with her. (She said Santa had gone out to get more cookies ... and he doesn't need any more!!)

In California Adventure ... on the bridge ... behind is Mickey's Fun Wheel, which is also one of our favorites. Notice the amazingly beautiful weather!! We are dressed in long sleeves because we had to leave that night and head back to COLD Utah!!

One of our last rides for the day was another favorite ... The Hollywood Tower of Terror ... so we took a picture of the picture!!

Many hands ... A Circle of Love!

We tried many times to get a good picture of our hands ... and had a bit of a time getting it just right. This one is the best we did ... but I wanted to add one more. The top left is Mom's, and she is resting on Donna, then Carolyn, Mary Alice, Della, Diane, me, and then Carol has her hand back in Mom's other hand, completing the circle of love. (we are in birth order) I love what it represents!!

I wanted to include this one as well ... as it shows Mom's hands in the middle and all of her daughters around hers. We discovered we all have similar hands ... not the most beautiful, but they are hands that have been taught to serve ... and to love ... and that makes them special.

Moore Girls Reunion Oct. 2010

One of the first things we discovered is we needed a photographer in order to get us all in the pictures. This one Carol is taking ... and it is Mom and all of her daughters: Mary Alice, Ruth Ann, Mom and Donna in front, Carolyn, Della and Diane in back. (Taken in the photo spot ... Donna's entry way!)

We spent a lot of time sitting at the table and just chatting ... this time Carolyn is the photographer ... Mary Alice planned all the meals for us ... and they were yummy. Lots of good conversation time and plenty to eat!

Carol and I tackled trying to figure out how to use the Cricut cutting machine ... and actually got a plaque/tile done for Mary Alice to replace one that was broken by her cat! It took two of us to figure it out, but we made a great pair!

Diane and Della worked on a baby quilt for Julie ... made out of her husbands army uniform ... since he is deployed at the moment. It turned out beautiful!

Mom/Sisters Reunion ~ Oct. 2010

Here we are ... all 8 of us ... at Froyoland in Corona (Eric and Donna's yogurt shop) ... eating their yummy yogurt!! (Back row: Donna, Della, Carolyn, Carol, RuthAnn ... Front: Diane, Mary Alice and Mom)

While we were there we all had to sign papers at the title company so Mom could sell her Wildomar property. It gave us an excuse to get out of the house and have lunch!! (Della, Donna, Ruth Ann, Mary Alice, Carolyn, Carol, Diane and Mom)

Any Moore gathering wouldn't be complete without a trip to In n Out Burger ... a family tradition! While we were here (in Temecula) we asked a worker to take our picture and ended up telling her of our history with In n Out ... and she went back and told her manager who came out to meet us. She loved hearing from us about Harry and Esther Snyder and that it has been a tradition for 62 years (I should know, it is as old as I am!!)