Beautiful Kaua'i

Na Pali Coast, Northern Kaua'i. Absolutely breathtaking - and the hike took my breath!

As promised, here is the blog on our trip to Hawaii - and I'm actually getting to it before next year! (barely). We stayed a week on the island of Kaua'i, which is called the 'Garden Isle' for good reason. It has to be the most beautiful place I've ever been. It doesn't have the big cities like some of the other islands, so most of the country is still very pristine. The east side of the island is all green and jungle - ly. The west side is dry and kind of reminded me of Southern Idaho (ha-ha). We stayed at a resort called the Pono-Kai which means 'Good Seas' in Hawaiian. It was right on the ocean in a quaint little town called Kapaa'. Tom and I had a very nice, traditional plate lunch at the Pono Market and visited with some of the locals there. It was really cool because when they found out that we were WSU Cougs the football talk went crazy. The store owner's son went to WSU for a semester, but transferred to OREGON to go to school because Pullman was too cold! Imagine that - from Hawaii to Eastern Washington, yeah - Brrrr.

The Pihea Trail on the Na Pali Coast - not for the faint-hearted, or bad knees!

We did a lot of sight seeing. We went with Paul and Amber, and it was great fun to do all of it together. We went hiking up the Pihea trail. We were told that they once tried to link both sides of the island by road here, but the Na Pali is so steep that the equipment kept falling down the mountains so they gave up. It is absolutely georgous and well worth the wild hike to get there, even though it about blew my knee out. We also got to go on a Catamaran ride around the Na Pali Coastline. That was a blast - I loved every minute of it and laughed my head off when Tom's lunch flew away! We did some snorkeling off the boat - saw some turtles and dolphins. On the trip back to the other side of the island, Tom and Paul rode on the trampolines on the front of the catamaran and it was quite funny to watch when we hit some big waves! I think I want to live on a catamaran, somewhere where it's warm.

Dolphins, swimming next to the catamaran. They are really fast!

We also got to go to a Luau at the Smith Family Gardens. It was a very lovely place, even though it was raining most of the time we were there. The rain was warm, though, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. We got to see them take the Kalua Pig out fo the pit and we listened to several of the family members sing traditional Hawaiian songs while we ate. Then they put on a show which included an erupting volcano and lots of traditional Polenesian dances. It was very nice - and the landscaping there was wonderful with lots of fruit trees and palms. It was very interesting that you could drive down the road in Kaua'i and see banana and coconut trees just growing along side the road. Anyone could pick them. We got a lot of sun time in, too, at several beaches on the island. We spent the two days before heading home on Oahu at Waikiki Beach. We got to go see the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, very thought provoking and humbling.

The Japanese Buddist Temple on the north side of Oahu.

Tom and I drove to the north side of Oahu and visited the South Beach area where the waves are tremendous! We also stopped at a Japanese Buddist temple, which was very pretty and the gardens were, too. There was a bamboo forest there - the stalks were very, very tall! When the breeze picked up they would slam together and it was very loud, but really cool! On Halloween we were on the streets of Waikiki where people from all over the world come dressed in various costumes. Some of it was very fun, and some was a bit wild... I lasted a couple of hours, then had to go back to the hotel. It was a lot for this country gal to take in. But you can't beat the sunsets on Waikiki - postcard perfect every night! This was truly a trip of a lifetime for Tom and I, one we'll remember always.

The Moore Update...

Fall is here with a vengence - and the snow has already been flying. Actually, I think we skipped Fall this year. It was not nice - had a big freeze - all the leaves were gone within a couple of days. It's going to be a long winter.

Tom and I got a little reprieve from the cold as we were treated to a trip to Hawaii, compliments of Paul and Amber (thanks to you two - it was an awesome trip!!!) I will have to do another post telling about our trip and giving some pictures. If you are lucky, it will get posted before next year!

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Preston has been pretty much absent from our lives. He has car keys and he knows how to use them. Actually, he's been very busy with Yearbook duties, running his school newspaper, he's an avid member of the FCCLA club and he's Keaton's official chauffer - I retired from that duty (there are some benefits to having a teenage driver!). He has also visited several of the area Community Colleges and a couple of the Universities to get a feel for what he wants to do next year. He's still pulling for WSU and hopefully that will work out for him.

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Keaton... well, what to tell about Keaton... He started wrestling practice this week. He's gained weight, now in the 150 bracket, so we'll see how he does this year. He's getting lots of excersize at practice and lots of being ground into the mats. Silly kid, he seems to like it. He has also been playing a lot at the ballgames in the Jazz Band. Lots of practicing for the Winter Concert, too. He is still in Driver's Ed, but getting closer to finishing it - we hope. I must appologize to any facebookers who have been the object of his postings (a bit annoying at times). That comes from his father's side of the family - ha ha!

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Winston is improving in school. We think he's doing great, and making great strides but he is still behind his classmates in reading and math. We recently started working with 'Touchmath' with him, and I recommend it highly for anyone teaching the basics of counting. He's getting a lot of support at school for reading, he's in the Title 1 program and also gets some tutoring on the side. It's helped a lot. We found out this week that he is far-sighted and has a stigmatism in one eye (one of his eyeballs is more 'egg' shaped than round). This could be part of his reading problem. He will have to have glasses to correct it. This does not bother him in the least.

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We are looking forward to having some of Tom's family here for the holidays this year. Paul & Amber family and Marcia over Christmas. Then Brien & Kari family for New Years. It will be a lot of fun getting to see them all again.

Changes...

Changes are happening with the Moores... We recently lost our beloved Oreo. She was 13 years old (91 in dog years). She was a great dog, although a bit annoying when we were picnicking outside. The boys have such great memories of her - she was a true friend to each of them. I can't say we'll miss her barking at everything that moved - but we do miss her friendly tail-wag when we drove in the driveway.

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Other changes... we finished the Den. It looks great! We went with the mahogony stain for the desk and panelling (instead of the cherrywood). Everything is so shiney and new looking. It's very comfortable to work on the computer there now.

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Winston has lost another tooth. Both of his top front teeth are loose... one because of being kicked in the mouth by a girl on the playground - but it was due to become loose any time, so it's nothing to worry about. Uncle Paul asked Winston what he wanted for Christmas this year and Winston replied "Two new teeth"!

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We recently went to Bend to help Marcia with some things. It was strange to be back there - so much has changed. We stayed at her house in LaPine for a couple of nights (actually we camped out there on our air mattresses - with no electricity or water). It was roughing it! But we enjoyed our time with her and Paul and got a few things fixed up for her.

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We took Preston's senior pictures. They turned out really nice. Next we get to buy his cap, gown and tassel. Seniors are expensive... and it will probably be more so when he hits college next year! He's doing great - GPA is up there compatible for WSU, so we'll see what works out.

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Keaton is hanging in there - really enjoying band. He's been playing at ball games and had to do a trombone solo in class the other day. When I asked him what he played, he said "I can't remember, I just played a bunch of notes together". I guess it worked out - maybe it's talent???

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Well, that's about it for now - trying to survive the cold Fall/Winter we're having already. Looks like rain - and perhaps snow - tomorrow morning. Can't wait to hit the beaches in Hawaii...

Growing up and out!

School has begun! I start work on Tuesday. The boys have enjoyed three days of school already. Winston is a great big First grader this year. He seems to be enjoying his class. Several of his classmates were in his class last year, so he is with familiar friends. Preston is a driver now, so he has the duty of driving Keaton to Jazz Band in the mornings. Thank goodness I don't have to do that anymore. He is yearbook editor and is doing a school newspaper this year - on top of starting a Journalism club, so that will keep him busy. Keaton is class vice president and will be a counselor at Camp Grizzly (for 6th graders) this year. I think the school is crazy to make him a counselor, but okay - they'll have fun! Winston had his 7th birthday recently. We got him his first real bike. He's pretty excited about it and begs us to take him to the park to ride it. There is a paved walking path there and he likes riding on it. We still have five pheasants, Tom just couldn't let them go so I guess they are pets. Tom also got the hot tub fixed, so we will be able to stay warm this winter! That's about it for us for now. Hopefully I won't wait so long before posting again!

Summer Fun...

As usual, the summer is slipping away before we know it. It seems every week is filled with activity, and lots of other things we want to do may have to be put on hold, as there is only so much time before summer ends.

We started this summer with Convention, which was very special and much needed. Then we had the family reunion in Idaho at Nat Soo Pah hot spring. We had so much fun visiting and swimming. The water was so relaxing. We all got sunburned - badly, but we were having so much fun we didn't notice until we had to leave. It took me 2 weeks to get over mine. We got to have the Moore cousins up to our place for a couple of weeks. The kids enjoyed more swimming, sitting around the firepit and going to Endicott for 4th of July fireworks! Then we went camping at Farragut State Park - more swimming (Brrrr!) and some hiking. We really enjoyed our time there.

Winston got to spend a couple of weeks at Grandma Chick's - a first for him without me there. Preston was there with him part of the time. Winston had a great time with cousin Tyra. Keaton has been visiting and working for his Uncle Paul. It sounds like things are going well for him there. He will meet up with Tom and Preston when they go on their 2nd annual float down the Deschutes River. Then he will come home with them and go with Preston to Yearbook Camp. Then it's dentist appointments and other appointments and school starts. Preston is excited to be starting his senior year. He's yearbook editor this year - and his senior project involves starting a student newspaper. He will be very busy this year. We are also looking into getting him into WSU next year. He's hoping for that. We also got the Geo fixed, so now he has a car. If all goes well, next week he'll have his driver's license (finally).

I'm still waiting to hear if I have a job this year. With the cutbacks, it's still unclear who will be going back to work at the school. Hopefully I'll find out in the next couple of weeks. Tom's keeping busy as usual. The bathroom project is done and it looks great! He's great! It's nice to have a spouse that takes my ideas and makes them reality. This post is pretty straight forward, and a little lame, but my brain is mush today. It figures, as it's one of the 'free' days without much happening. Anyway - this is what we've been up to.

CHICKEN RANCH

One week old baby Pheasant chicks.

Tom just had to do it. He got 100 more baby pheasants. I feel like a chicken farmer's wife now. It's amazing just how high-maintenance baby birds are. They are really cute, though. It's fun to watch them - they're just like little kids. They run and run and run, then they drop right in their steps - fast asleep. They sleep for a couple of minutes, then get back up and run again. And at night they cuddle up together in a big group. When they hear something, all their little heads pop up altogether. Our first batch (the original 22) are almost totally grown. They've been moved to a pen outside. They really like being out where they can roam through the tall weeds and grass. They are starting to change from the "cheep" sound to a light "phurt" sound. It is really cool. But I WILL be glad when it's release time.

The boys have started their summer vacation. Preston and Winston got to go down to Boise with Grandma Moore to visit their cousins. They are getting some time in visiting with Grandma & Grandpa Chick, too. Keaton decided to stay home. He will be leaving next month to work for Uncle Paul, so he wanted some down time here. We've gotten some work out of him - mowing, feeding birds, help with the 'bathroom project'. But mostly he's been sitting around playing video games. Ah, the life of a teenager.

So far I have not gotten to do much of my planned projects for the summer. I did get to totally finish a book or two. I haven't even started scrapbooking and I got some yardwork done, but what I got done needs to be done again. It never ends. I've spent a lot of time just getting all the little piddly errands done (especially things that I can't get done with Winston at home). I did spend a day at a class that was required for my job. It was very helpful. And I've been helping Tom with the 'bathroom project'. That pretty much sums up my summer so far.

Tom has been very busy keeping up with his 'babies', making sure they have enough room to roam, keeping the lights on for them and making sure their feeding situation is just right. He has also been hit with other things like all three cars breaking down at the same time. In one week he had to put new brake rotors (sp) on the truck, put a water pump and hose in the Oldsmobile, and reset an engine mis-fire in the Mountaineer. When it rains it pours! I think it was an automobile conspiracy - all three cars got together and said 'hey, we need some attention.'

The 'bathroom project' has come along very well. We finally had a whole weekend to devote to it, and it's getting close to being done. We got the window and shower installed, tile put in and grouted, and the walls sheetrocked, mudded and painted. Phew! Now we need to put the sealer on the floors and shower, then it can be in use. We still need to put up the wainscoating and trim, but that can be done anytime - yeah, anytime. More importantly, we will have our shower back.

We got to enjoy convention in Walla Walla - it was very good and much needed. Next we are heading down for a couple of days at Parma. It will be good to see friends that we haven't seen in years. Then we are taking a few days up at Henry's Lake where we will check out Yellowstone. Then comes the Chick family reunion at Nat-Soo-Pah near Twin Falls. It should be lots of fun. The theme this year is "Flash back to the 80's". We get to dress up on our 80's style duds and be in an 80's lip-sinc contest. It will be interesting - but fun. We are looking forward to getting to see family, both mine and Tom's, while we're on vacation.

Almost 2-months-old Pheasants.

It's been a long 2 weeks...

I am finally... finally officially on Summer Vacation. The kids still have two more weeks left, but I'm done working until next fall. Yay! I plan on keeping up with my flower beds, scrapbooking and doing some reading this summer - on top of all the other activities that go on every summer.

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A little over a week ago Winston broke out in a terrible rash that covered the lower part of his face. It was really bad - just a mess. After having our doctor check it out, we found out it was a 'soft tissue infection' which is a fancy way of saying he had a staph infection. He had to be on really strong antibiotics and couldn't go to school for seven days. Tom and I were trying to figure out how to juggle our work schedules so someone could be home with him. Thankfully, Grandma Moore arrived and saved the day! Winston's first day back to school was Friday and I think he was glad to be getting back to the routine. He is doing well, still a bit red, but I think it's finally going away. We hope so, anyway.

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The older boys are really looking forward to the end of school and a start to their summer. They had the school picnic the other day and enjoyed playing dodge ball against some of their teachers. Preston is officially done with track now. He placed 8th at Districts in the Triple. In order to go to State he had to place 7th or better. Maybe next year. Keaton has been doing a lot around here, helping his Dad with his various never-ending projects.

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Tom's projects: he recently became the proud Papa of 22 little baby pheasants. He's raising them to let loose in the wild. They are really cute, but kind of a nuisance to take care of. Their environment has to stay a certain temperature, so he marches out to their pen at different hours to check and turn on heat lamps or turn them off. So far we've only lost one because it got too cold. Another project - he started up the remodel on the upstairs bathroom again. The shower base is in, lights are in, outlets are in. Now we need to sheetrock and start prepping to get the tile in. It's really looking great, in a mid-construction sort of way. The never-ending project: mowing the lawn (with 3 acres of grass, it takes a while) he loves this part of the job, though. We also got our garden in and our flower beds straightened up. It's looking so nice. The Lilacs are blooming and it smells great - and it's nice to sit on the patio and listen to the bees humming.

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As for me, I finished off my school year subbing in the solution room yesterday. It's kind of the detention/study hall. Most of the kids in there were around Jr. High age. Talk about mouthy kids - I spent most of the day telling them to sit down and be quiet over and over and over again. I'm glad that's done. It makes me thankful for my boys, and although they aren't perfectly behaved at all times, at least they know to show respect to others. I couldn't ask for better kids.

A Picture of my Kitchen:

Here it is: Nice, simple, clean - until my kids get home from school and drop their bookbags and tennis shoes on everything. I'm really glad it turned out so nice. The bathroom is on hold for a couple of weeks. That's okay, we could use a break.

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Preston made the newspaper last week. He got first place in Triple Jump. Here is the quote from the paper: "Lone win for the boys came in the triple jump where Preston Moore planted a 36-2, more than three feet ahead of the rest of the field." Woo-Hoo! Way to go, Preston! Keaton is no longer in track. He made some poor choices in one of his school classes (A-hem - cheating on test) so we decided he needed to take a break from sports the rest of the season.

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Winston will be celebrating his summer birthday in class on Monday. He's super excited and is adamant that he needs to bring chocolate cupcakes. Hostess cupcakes, here I come! Baking has not been my thing lately.

Home Improvements - Again.

It seems with this old house that the home improvements never end. Yesterday I finally finished painting my kitchen. I got rid of all the old cow wallpaper and changed colors. I went to pick out a wall color, using a piece of our oak cabinets to match it to. I wanted a warm tan color. I found one that looked really nice in the store and bought it. When I put it on the walls at home, at first - next to the old white - it looked like, well, not what I expected. It has a definite 'gold' cast to it. But I paid a lot for it and Tom said I should paint at least a corner to see if I still didn't like it. So I did. And I let it sit for a couple of days. Then I kind of started to like it, so I kept painting. Then we put up white wainscoating over the lower half of our walls. Together, the wainscoating and the paint look terrific together. Now I really love it. I think it was the color that was meant to be for my kitchen - for now...

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During our kitchen re-do, I asked Tom to move a couple of outlets that were under the kitchen window. I thought maybe we would like to put in a larger window someday, and it would be nice to have those out of the way, just in case. So he went to move them, broke into the wall and found two older outlets with the old-old-old wiring in them. One of them was still hot! So he decided to junction it off to fix the problem. Somewhere in the process of all this, it caused the boys' bathroom, all the way upstairs, to lose power. Uuuughhh! Thus began phase 2 of our home improvement saga!

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So yesterday, as Tom was tracing out the power problem, he broke into a wall in the upstairs bathroom. The good news is that he was able to restore the power by re-routing some things. The not so good news is that since he had a hole in the wall, we decided to go ahead and begin the tear-out phase to remodel that bathroom. Winston really loved that! We have been talking about doing it for a long time, so here was our opportunity! Out went the bathtub and old shower enclosure. In came a new window. The plan is to tile in a walk-in shower. We already have the tile left over from our other bathroom remodel, so we just have to get the other parts to make it work. I think we will have plenty to do for the next few weeks - or months.

Busy, Busy, Busy - and Moore Busy

We've been back from vacation over two weeks and it feels like forever. Spring is always such a busy time of year for us. Not only do we have LOTS of yard work to do, but the kids all seem to have more activities. The boys have had three track meets. Preston placed 2nd in triple jump at the home meet the other day. He has beat his personal record to jump 38 feet, 5 inches. Keaton placed 4th in the pole vault, jumping 8-1/2 feet. He jumped 9 feet during practice one day. They have been practicing very hard every day after school, sometimes putting in a little more time than necessary because the coaches have been willing to work with them a little longer. It's really neat to see their dedication to the sport.

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Keaton started driver's ed in March. He has qualified to get his driver's permit. I need to get him in to get it so he can finish. We also need to get Preston in to take his driving test, then he will have a real driver's license - and he can drive his brother to Jazz Band first thing in the mornings, and I can relax for an extra half-hour before work.

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Speaking of Jazz Band, we went to the spring concert and Keaton played his trombone with the Jazz Band in it. They played some Count Bassie (sp) "Shiny Stockings" and some other Jazzy songs. They were amazing. They recently competed in a CBC Band competition and placed 3rd. They also placed a +1 in a mass band competition which is an extremely good score. They really sounded professional. There was one point where all of the trombones stood up and played a solo part. It was great!

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Winston has been busy building again. Lately he's been moving furniture - disassembling his bunk bed (much to my surprise when I went to tuck him into bed one night). The living room has been re-arranged several times. He has also been installing lights and switches all over the house. He draws them out on paper and cuts them out, then tapes them to the walls where he thinks we need new lights, or new light switches. We have "New" lights all over the house, in practically every room. I have been very surprised to see some of these 'paper' lights in some very high places. He certainly keeps life entertaining.

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As for Tom and I, besides work - both of us getting extra time in at both of our jobs lately - we've also been redecorating the kitchen. I decided the old peeling wallpaper had to go, so I removed it (cows and all) and repainted the walls with a tannish-gold color. Then we put up wainscoating and painted it white. It looks very nice - a lot less cluttered - and should be easier to maintain. When the fingerprints get too deep, we can just paint over them! It's taken us a couple of weeks to get most of it done, and we are very tired, but satisfied with the results. There is never an end to the work that needs to be done to these old farm houses - it's a good thing we both enjoy this kind of a hobby.

we love the ocean!

Having a great time, seeing the waves, dodging the rain - but enjoying great company!

What a Rag-Tag Bunch!

Some Friends of ours, Rob and Janelle, recently sent this picture to us. It was taken in our back yard. It's pretty indicative of what we look like when we're just kicking back here at home - running around in pajamas or whatever is comfortable. This was taken last fall when their family came over for a visit. We had a great time playing games. We will be spending our Spring Break with their family this year, at the Coast. We will surely have a great time there, also.

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Preston and Keaton enjoy being in Track together. Keaton has started Driver's Ed. We are waiting to see which will get their driver's license first between Preston and Keaton! Winston got his stitches taken out and is continuing to keep things lively. Tom and I helped out with the Little Guy Wrestling Tournament last Saturday. We helped serve breakfast to the 500 little wrestlers and their families. Some of those little guys look like they're just babies! They were so cute! I don't think Winston has the discipline for wrestling - but we'll see when he's older. We're getting poured on with rain here, but at least it's melting the snow. We're all counting the days to Spring Break!

What More Could Possibly Happen?????

The picture speaks for itself.... We've had a crazy couple of weeks. Last Thursday morning at around 7:00 a.m. our power went out. Just before it went out, we heard a loud crack and crash. One of the big ponderosa trees across the road from our house came down and cut through the power line. Needless to say, we were without power for several hours and our road was cut off from town. I had to drive 30 miles around to get to work that morning. Then Tuesday of this week, Winston hit is head on a counter at school. They called me in to see him. He actually had a hole in his head between his nose and forehead. I had to take him in to the clinic for stitches. That was quite an adventure - it took four of us to hold him down so they could put the injection in to do the stitches. I think the whole clinic could hear him hollering. Now he thinks he looks pretty cool! I just can't imagine what could happen next - they say these things come in threes.

1st in the Round Robin...

We've been enjoying following Keaton's progress with wrestling this year. For a sport that we never thought any of our boys would be interested in, it has turned out to be a great one for Keaton. He wrestled in a two-day tournament this past weekend. We got to go for the Friday matches. In both days he won 5 out of 7 of his matches. He won the Round Robin Medal, which is just an exhibition prize, but it's the only one they give for the exhibition matches. He now has two wrestling medals, having won 3rd in Bi-state last year. We call him the "Take-Down King" because that seems to be his technique. He likes to get the guys down on the mat early and get them pinned before they know what is going on. If he isn't able to do that, and they have a long drawn-out match, he loses more of his chances of winning. One of his coaches told us that he likes the fact that Keaton seems to learn from his mistakes, and he remembers which holds to try to make work at the right times. It's so cool to see everything click for him with this sport!

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Preston has been working hard in school. He enjoys playing basketball and hackey-sack during his lunch hour. He is glad to be co-editor in yearbook because he just directs the students on what to do, he just has to make sure they get the deadlines met. He's looking forward to track this spring and having Keaton take it, too. He's been doing a lot of reading, and has gotten a couple of new games that he's been enjoying (a little too much at times!)

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Winston is learning to read and write. It's really neat, because he's been picking it up a lot on his own lately. We got him a new pillow the other day. He decided the pillow's name was going to be "Max" and it is his new friend. He decided to measure 'Max' on the door where we keep track of the boys' heights. He measured and marked the spot and wrote the word "MAX" all by himself, then came and got us to come see. He's also been making plans to remodel the kitchen for me. He keeps telling me where the new lights need to go and where the Microwave needs to be moved to. Today he told me we need to build a swimming pool for the kitchen. We aren't really planning to remodel - but Winston is making plans!