San Marcos- My Home :)

This last weekend from Friday, July 21st to Monday, July 24th, I got to go home and get endowed in the San Diego Temple (July 22). It felt like the right time and it was wonderful! A few friends drove down with me and attended my endowment. These are some of the best friends a girl could ask for. The things they've done for me have literally brought me to tears. I love them. :) I'm so grateful I have them in my life! There were also some local friends and Utah friends, that happened to be in SD, who also came and it made me so happy to see them. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with all of them but I still love them! :)

Also, I am so blessed to have such a supportive, loving family. It was so great seeing my mom and 4 of the 6 of my brothers and their wives and children. One of my brothers even used his credit card points to fly in and be there for my endowment. That meant so much to me. :) I really love my family and it was such a wonderful experience being in the temple with most of them. I felt so close to my father who passed away last year. Families can truly be together forever through temple work!

Also also, it was so great being in my hometown of San Marcos! I loved getting to show my friends where I went to high school, middle school, elementary school, where my favorite restaurants are, where my church home ward is, etc. And the beach was absolutely perfect. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the water felt amazing. I realize that San Marcos still owns a huge part of my heart. I just can't get over the weather, the wonderful people, the restaurants, the nearby beaches... I love it all! 

And more than anything, I love my family and the home we grew up in. The home that my father and mother remodeled and had us children help bash in walls and clean out rubble to help remodel. The home where hilarious, loving, spiritual, emotional memories abound. The home where I feel so clean, comfortable, and loved. I want my future family home to feel that way for everyone who enters it. Just like how part of our Moore Family Mission Statement says, I want to make my "house a clean, comfortable, and heavenly place for all who enter it." My mom still makes my childhood home feel that way. She is an amazing example to me. So is my daddy. 

Overall, it was such a great weekend and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family in my life. I am eternally grateful for temples here on the Earth and the amazing ordinances performed in them. I can't wait to go to the temples here in Utah now! :)

Summer of 2015- My last summer with my Daddy. It was a great one. :)

I'm missing my summer of 2015 in California when my dad was alive. I got to work with him each morning and I loved it, so I thought I'd write some of my thoughts in this blog that I started many years ago. :)
I will always treasure the summer of 2015! It's so special to see exactly what your father stood for by being with him in his everyday work environment for a summer: my dad's actions and words spoke clearly to me.

Here are some things I learned about my dad (in no particular order) that I want to implement better in my life and prepare for in my future life:
-He loved his spouse (my mom) more than anything. He told her and showed her.

-He loved his children (my brothers, including their wives and children, and me). We didn't doubt that we were his and my mom's top priority.

-He loved the Book of Mormon (another testament of Jesus Christ) and connected everything in life to it which continues to bless our family's life tremendously as we individually read that great book every day.

-He loved the temple. Working in the San Diego Temple was one of his favorite times in life and he always encouraged our family to attend the temple as much as possible.

-He loved his country and defended its freedoms. Being a good citizen was important to him.

-He loved his Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He was never 24 hours away from speaking to Heavenly Father (through prayer) and reading about Jesus Christ (in the Book of Mormon every day, but also the Old Testament, the New Testament, etc).

-He loved people and genuinely cared about the well-being of those he came into contact with.

-He loved hard work. He was a big proponent of hard work and its benefits in life.

He was the humblest, most hardworking, and most spiritual person I've ever known. He inspires me to be a better person.

I know where he is and who he's with. I want to see him, Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ again. I have a lot of work to do and faith to build. Time to get to work. :)

Here's some pics from that wonderful summer. My brother, Hunter, worked with us before he had to go back to Utah for work and my sister-in-law, Alana, just decided to work with us one day to see what Dad and I did at work! These were some great times. :)

The Twins' Birthday/ Cups Song (Absolutely no correlation!)

Wow. It's literally been three and a half years since I've written on this blog! And once again I'm writing on my twin brothers' birthday. Well, Tanner and Logan are still amazing brothers. My height, age, and personality may have changed these past three years, but my love for my family, including these two brothers definitely has not! They are still the funniest and greatest twins a girl could ask for as brothers. :) And now they each have two adorable children since the last time I wrote (Tanner has a third on the way. Well, his wife does. Ha!). The way they treat their cute children and beautiful wives makes me love them even more. Unfortunately, Logan lives in Glendale, Arizona with his family and Tanner lives in Martinez, California with his family which are both too far away for me to see them regularly, but I know from when they visit and from the blogs my sister-in-laws write about them that they are outstanding husbands/fathers. And from personal experience when I grew up with them, I know that they are amazing brothers and just boys (excuse me, men now!) overall. :) They are definitely the opposite of thorns as my blog's overall title suggests, but I had to draw readers in somehow! Hehe! So happy birthday to the greatest twins on earth! I love them both a lot. Here's some pics of their families! (well, a lot!)

                                                       

          Tanner and Alana

 

Logan and Michelle

 

 

Tanner and Alana's Ava- So cute!

 





 

Tanner and Alana's Sienna- Presh!

 

Logan and Michelle's Landon- Aww!

 



 

Logan and Michelle's Chloe- She's an angel :)

 

Cousins! Landon and Ava

 

 

 

The love each other!

 

Haha. They show their love in interesting ways. :)

 

Logan and Landon (the new twins!)

 

Daddy's girl!

 

 

Aww Sienna!

 

Shell and Flan, Ava and Landon :)

 

 

Oh the Clo!

 

 

Logan with little Chloe. He's smitten!

 

 

Shell and Landon

 

Tanner, Alana, and Ava :)

 

 

And finally, the twins! :) They're so lovely!

 

Happy birthday Tanner and Logan! Love you!



 

 



 

 

Now, on a completely random note (you never know where this teenage mind of mine will take you!), I heard an amazing version of the Cups Song from Pitch Perfect! I've listened to it so many times already! These people's voices are just so great! Check it out if you want by clicking on the link below! :) Enjoy!

Cups Song- Pitch Perfect

My Momma

I truly believe that I have the best mother ever. :) No offense to other mothers, but I believe that I do. I don't think I could've asked for a better mother than mine. For those of you who know me, you know that I'm the only girl and I think that I've always been okay with that not only because my big brothers are all loving, oversized teddy bears :), but also because I have such a great mother who is better than a sister. She's my best friend and I love her so much and I'm so thankful for all that's she's done for me. She always makes sure that our family has family night, makes sure me and my brothers have delicious food in our bellies, and she always tells me, my brothers, and obviously my dad that she loves us. I've never ever doubted my mom's love for me and I make sure that she never doubts my love for her. I even made up a song that we sing every night when I say goodnight to her that says how much I love her. It's really short and fast and we both sing it. I can't give out the lyrics because they're just too priceless and secret. :) I also showed my love for my mom in kindergarten when I'd run out of the school grounds and jump into her arms and she would swing me around. I didn't even care that people would stare at us like we were freaks and I still don't care what people think when I hug and kiss my mom good bye today. The more people, the better. I want everyone to know how much I love my mom which is why I hope everyone reads this. :) I love you Moore than anything in the world momma and I hope you never forget that..........I won't let you. I love you muth. :)

Christmas Time!

I know I haven't written in some time-okay, awhile- but now I'm writing again. Sorry to those non-existant followers of my blog about not writing anything in six months. I just had to write about this Christmas season though and I'm also extremely bored, but it's mostly just because I want to write about Christmas. :) I just have to say that I love Christmas time. It's not because of the presents, although that's a small part of it, but it's because I love it when my mom decorates every inch of our house and I love rainy days where I can sit in my beautiful house and cuddle up in my snuggy and read a good book (Twilight series, my sister in laws and mother know what I mean about Twilight! haha). And I especially can't wait for the rest of my family to come down from Utah on Dec. 18th. I love it when all my family is home! Unfortunately, one of my brothers still won't be home because he's on his mission and I miss him terribly. But I'm still very happy for the rest of my family to come down. :) And even the beautiful decorations, fabulous Christmas music, multiple kinds of hot chocolate with whipped cream, and my wonderful big family can't distract me from the real reason we celebrate Christmas. It's the celebration of our wonderful savior, Jesus Christ. That's what Christmas is all about and that's why it is such a great holiday. That's why everyone feels warm and happy, because of the wonderful spirit of Christ that flows through the air. Sure presents are nice, but the best thing about Christmas, at least to me, is the wonderful warm feeling I get of our savior's birth. That great feeling is priceless and that's why I love Christmas. :) Merry Christmas everyone! Remember the real reason why we celebrate Christmas and enjoy your time with your family also. I know I will. Forever Moore :)

My Awesome Missionary Big Brother!

Today I got to speak with my brother Jensen over the phone. Jensen is on his mission and he is leaving the MTC and tomorrow he should be in Mexico, I think. It was so wonderful hearing my awesome brother's voice. I have been reading all his letters and writing to him, but it was so great to hear the sound of his voice. He is very excited to teach the people of Mexico about the gospel. I love him so much. His sarcastic humor is so hilarious. I always loved hanging out with him and playing one-on-one with him in basketball in our backyard. He always destroyed me of course, but it was still fun! I really miss him a lot. I also missed my other four brothers when they went on their missions, but Jensen is closer to my age and he has been a big part of my life. So it was sad when a big part of my life left. It took me a while to stop crying every day. I just love him so much and I am so proud of him. He is such a great example to me and I hope to be righteous like him, and all my other brothers and my parents. I can't wait to see him in 22 months! I will never stop writing to him on his mission and I will never stop reading his letters either. I love you, Jensen! You are truly missed.

Happy Birthday Tanner!

I also didn't get Tanner a present and I want to try to make it up to him just like Logan. Tanner is older than Logan by ten minutes. To me, it seems like Tanner is twenty years older than Logan because Tanner is way mature and Logan is so........ not. :) haha. I love Tanner just as much as Logan and my other brothers. He is so hilarious and he gives the best impersonation of the Grinch. I always laugh when he sticks out his stomach and walks like the Grinch. Maybe Tanner isn't as mature as I thought. :) haha. I love his warm hugs and his funny laugh. He is a great brother and a wonderful example to me. I love him so much. I will never forget that Tanner was an assistant on his mission because he won't let me or our whole family forget. haha. I'm very sad that he doesn't live with us anymore, but I'm very happy that he married Alana. She is the only girl that I will allow to take my awesome brother, Tanner, away from me. I love you so much, Tanner. Thank you for making my life brighter when you lived with our family. And thank you for helping create a sweet, beautiful baby girl that I could call my niece. I can't wait to receive a big warm hug from you again. :) Love you.