Moran Family Fun

Abigail was baptized on her birthday, June 6th, 2010. I think it's kind of neat that she was able to be baptized that day she turned eight. She and Micah Jensen from her primary class were both baptized that evening. I was not sure how that would work out but it ended up being pretty nice because there was less for our family to be responsible for. The service itself was simple, but I think that was good for Abigail and for her friends that she had invited to be there. We were so grateful that many of her friends from Primary were there to support her and Micah, as well as a friend from school, her school teacher Mrs. Ahola, and one of Jared's friends from work. And of course it was extra special to have Becca, Gram and Grandpa Keeffer here for her big day. So for anyone who doesn't know this, Abigail has a really fun personality! Abigail and Sophie Layer after the baptism Abigial and Gram Keeffer, it was really awesome to see them talking and having fun together Becca, ...

Our sweet, funny Abigail turned eight this year. Her baptism and actual birthday were on a Sunday so we spent the day before celebrating her birthday. Abigail says that she loves to roller skate and thinks that's she's a pretty good skater. All she wanted to do for her big day was go roller skating so that's what we did. It was kind of funny that once we got there she was scared and didn't want to skate nearly as much as I thought she would. I guess skating on the concrete basement floor is very different from skating on a smooth, slick skating rink and going so fast was scary for her. She started out on her Barbie rollerblades from home, switched to some old fashioned skates from the rink, and then tried some real (not Barbie) rollerblades. The third time was the charm because once she got on those real blades she did much better. After that we went home for her favorite dinner, meatball subs. Every time I'm planning meals she asks for meatball subs or spaghett...

This year is Madison's first in Young Women and she is really excited about going to camp this summer. In most of the wards we've lived in the youth have done some sort of dessert of service auction to raise money for their summer camps. Our ward here did just that this month and asked Jared to be the auctioneer; something that he was really, really good at. In fact, the youth raised enough money that the girls will not have to pay anything out of pocket to go to camp this year. I didn't get any good pictures of that night, mine all ended up sort of fuzzy around the edges. Luckily Becca was there so I borrowed some pictures from her blog! Natalie chowing down on the spaghetti dinner. It must be nice to be three and to just be expected to make a mess with your food! Jared in auctioneer mode, he did a wonderful job. I can hear him now, "Come on people don't be cheap, just one more dollar! Going once, going twice..." My contribution to the dessert auction, a tota...

We spent a day in Cologne while our family was visiting; if I had realized just how far away that is from our house I might have chosen a closer city. Like the one we live in; I mean there's a church here and you can buy chocolate at the grocery in town. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as impressive as the Kolner Dom or the Lindt Chocolate Museum but it would have been the same general experience. Okay, not really, and despite the LONG drive the cathedral in Cologne and the Chocolate Factory were worth seeing. Construction on the cathedral began in 1248 and was finally completed in 1880. The Cathedral was built to house the remains of the Three Kings and was designed to be a grand monument to them. The Kolner Dom is one of the best known cathedrals in all of Germany and over 30,000 people visit it every day. The Cathedral in Cologne was the tallest building in the world until the Washington Monument was completed in 1884. Jared had visited the cathedral before with Madison and Emily...

Who knew that just 30 miles from our house is a French military fortification meant to keep people from Germany out of France? I didn't! But it sounded so interesting we had to go for a visit. The Maginot Line was built along the German/French border after World War I to defend France from a possible German invasion. The Line itself was a series of forts and outposts that would defend the border. It turned out not to be an effective defense as Germany still invaded and conquered France during World War II, but it was an impressive effort by France. If you want to learn more about the history of the whole thing this is a good site http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/maginot_line.htm Samantha at the beginning of the path down to the Fort. I'm not sure why she chose to wear her Easter dress and bring a white patent leather purse but at least she looked cute. Becca, Samantha, and I walking through one of the passageways in the Fort. The lights were spaced pretty far apart, but we ...

Our first day traveling with my family during their visit we went to Luxembourg to visit the American Military Cemetary as well as the Bock Casements in Luxembourg City. Since we all couldn't fit in the van together we took just Emily and Natalie along with us and left Madison at home with Samantha and Abigail (it is so nice to have a live-in babysitter!) It was kind of gray and cold, but the weather wasn't too bad overall. We have been to the Cemetary in Luxembourg before when Madison and Emily were little so it was neat for me to take Emily there again eight years later. I was excited to see Landstuhl (where Madison, Emily, and Abigail go to school) on this map of German and American offensives during World War II. Can you see it there by Emily's head? Natalie mostly wanted to run around between the headstones so I had to convince her to use her "walking feet". She also loves to collect rocks wherever we go, she calls them her special rocks. It's a Jewish tr...

Some more proof (in case anyone needed any) that Jared is awesome: 1. He was recognized as Volunteer of the Year for all that he does for our community 2. He's been promoted to Master Sargent 3. He removed another 8 stumps from our yard making it even easier for him to mow the lawn and for the kids to run around and play 4. He took two weeks off work to spend time with my parents and sister during their visit and spent a lot of that two weeks staying home with the little ones so I could travel around with them 5. He has the girls with him tonight while I'm relaxing on the couch eating popcorn and watching TV - the house is so quiet right now 6. And tons more that I can't think of right now; I'm so grateful to have such an awesome husband!