vacation bible school
My little grandniece, Mackenzie Moore is growing up so fast that I can’t believe it. This year she has started Kindergarten, and she is having such a great time. Mackenzie loves learning, and she loves being around other kids. Like her mom, Lindsay Moore, Mackenzie is a very social girl. She makes friends easily, and with her smiling face, she is always well liked. Mackenzie has decided that she enjoys all the “specials” like art, PE, music, and library. Over the summer, she and her mom and dad, Shannon Moore, did a lot of bicycling, and Mackenzie learned to ride without her training wheels. That was an important skill, because now she and her mom ride their bicycles to take her to school every morning. It is such a special time for both of them.
Mackenzie’s sparkly personality and style make her a friend to many people. Mackenzie has made friends with all the neighbors, and she goes to visit them regularly. They love her so much and look forward to her visits. I remember her mom doing the same sort of thing at church, basically floating around the room to greet everyone. She didn’t do it like most of us do…the old “Hello” and move on. No, she actually talked to them and they to her. That is the kind of “visits” Mackenzie does too. That’s why all the neighbors love her. She truly cares about her neighbors. Their ages don’t matter to her, because she only sees the people, and Mackenzie likes people. And because she is so sweet, they enjoy having her come over too.
Mackenzie’s 5th year was a fun one, and quite busy. She and her parents did quite a bit of traveling. They went to Texas for the Wyoming Bowl Game. Her daddy is one of the coaches, so Mackenzie goes to lots of games, and she understands football more than most girls her age. They will be headed back to Texas for another game this weekend. They also went to California and visited Disneyland and did lots of camping over the summer. Then, Mackenzie and her cousins, Ethan and Aurora Hadlock, and Adelaide Sawdon all went to Vacation Bible School at her church. During that week, Mackenzie received Jesus as her savior! It was the 
greatest moment of the whole summer!! Mackenzie loves her cousins so much. She also has a cousin named Khloe on the Moore side of her family, and those two girls love to spend time together.
Now, Mackenzie is ready to begin her 6th year. It is a blank slate, where she will be free to create all the beautiful things her heart desires. Mackenzie has many talents, and whether she chooses ballet or sports, I know she will always do whatever she does, with the biggest smile on her face. It’s all part of her sparkly personality. Today is Mackenzie’s 6th birthday. Happy birthday Mackenzie!! Have a wonderful day!! We love you!!
The past year has been a year of spiritual growth for my niece, Lindsay Moore. It’s not that she wasn’t a strong Christian woman, because she really is stronger than most people, and she has had enough trials to break many people, even strong Christians….but, not Lindsay. She grew stronger and stronger. This past year found Lindsay being led to start a Christian podcast, which is going very well. Her podcast is called, “The New Way To Live” and it is excellent. I highly recommend you have a listen.
Lindsay and her husband, Shannon Moore’s daughter, Mackenzie is growing up so fast. Lindsay took her to her first day of Kindergarten, and now they are getting used to a full day school schedule. Since Lindsay works from home, this is quite a change for both her and Mackenzie. Mackenzie is Lindsay’s mini-me in so many ways, and both of them are very social people, who light up the lives of the people who are blessed to know them. The Moore family are all pretty social, and pretty athletic too. This summer all of them got new bicycles, and now Mackenzie can ride without training wheels. That will make for lots of fun family rides in the evenings.
Lindsay is very active in her church, Harvest Christian Center in Laramie, Wyoming. Lindsay has spoken at 
several of their conferences, and also helps out with the Vacation Bible School every summer. The Bible school has been a great opportunity for her nephew, Ethan Hadlock, as well as nieces, Aurora Hadlock and Adelaide Sawdon to come and spend a week with her, while attending the Bible school. Lindsay regularly brings a “gang” of kids with her to the daily activities. This year, since they are too old to attend the Bible school, Ethan and Aurora helped out as volunteers. Aurora got to be in Lindsays class as a volunteer. That was especially cool, because Aurora loves to help out. They all had a blast!!!
The Moore family took a wonderful two week vacation this summer with their new trailer. They went to Fremont Lake in Pinedale, as well as to Alpine, Thermopolis, the Big Horn Mountains. Then they went to Spearfish, South Dakota, where they got a tour of Shannon’s old stomping grounds…Black Hills State University, where he was a quarterback. Then it was on to Chadron, Nebraska, where Shannon’s parents are campground hosts at Chadron 
State Park. They had a great time and very relaxing and visiting with Tom and Mary Jo Moore. Then, they ended their vacation at Vedauwoo, Wyoming for the last 2-3 days. It was a wonderful trip, and a highlight of their summer. Now, it’s on to the next school for Mackenzie and Shannon (as a coach for the University of Wyoming Cowboys), and back to her schooltime activities for Lindsay. Today is Lindsay’s birthday. Happy birthday Lindsay!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Aurora Hadlock is growing up before our very eyes. She is in her second year of middle school this year and it is her first year in middle school without her brother, Ethan, who is in high school now. Aurora will be playing volleyball at school this year. She really loves playing and is good at it. I know it’s going to be a great year. While Aurora loves summer with all its free time and fun, she really never gets tired of school, with its activities. She is a social kind of girl, and likes being around other kids…especially her cousins.
Aurora loves school, and in her mom, Chelsea Hadlock’s words, “She is still devouring books and going into her second year of Advanced Placement English.” Aurora loves anything with that has to do with words. Who knows, maybe she will become a writer. Aurora is a smart girl, and she gives things a lot of thought. That is likely why she loves English and 
reading. Of course, when she was little, her big brother loved practicing his reading, and his favorite audience was his little sister. Ethan loved his baby sister so much, and while little girls might want to “mother” their siblings, Ethan really just wanted to make Aurora happy. He liked seeing her smile and laugh. Of course, he wasn’t above a little teasing either. It didn’t matter, because Aurora thought her brother was the “best thing since sliced bread.” And, she isn’t above teasing him either.
Aurora’s aunt, Lindsay Moore always has a unique way of thinking and speaking about people. Of Aurora, Lindsay says, “Aurora! Notorious for leaving a sock everywhere she goes! Aurora is the sweetest Aurora! Mackenzie and Adelaide delight in being with her! She and Ethan came to volunteer for vacation Bible school for a week! She got to help me with the preschooler group, and she was such a good little volunteer! She is fun loving, goofy, sweet and kind!” Aurora, Ethan, and cousins, Adelaide Sawdon and Mackenzie Moore have gone to Vacation Bible School each year, in Laramie with her 
aunt, Lindsay Moore for a while now. Aurora and Ethan are too grown up now to go as a student now, so they go as volunteers, and this year Aurora was assigned to her Aunt Lindsay’s class. Aurora has always loved being a helper, and as a volunteer for the preschool group, she had a great time. Plus, she was working with her Aunt Lindsay, and that made it even more fun. Aurora is a sweet, happy girl and very good with little kids, so I know she had a blast. The preschool class might just be the most fun, because they got to play in soap bubbles. Entertaining preschoolers is harder, but I don’t know of a kid that doesn’t like to play in soap bubbles. Aurora had a great summer, and now she is ready to get this back to school. Her next journey is just beginning. Today is Aurora’s 12th birthday. Happy birthday Aurora!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grandniece, Adelaide “Addi” Sawdon is seven years old today, and she is going into 2nd grade. While Addi is a good student, and truly loves learning, she told her mom, my niece, Jessi Sawdon and her dad, my nephew, Jason Sawdon that “she’s only excited for school because her birthday is two days after school starts.” Addi may not be really excited for school to start, bus I think that is because summer vacation will be over, and I can certainly understand that, but I think that once she gets back into the swing of things, including Girl Scouts. Addi loves being a Girl Scout, and all the activities they get to do. She sells Girl Scout Cookies, and my husband is glad about that, because he loves those cookies.
A few days ago, Addi told her mom that she wants to be a scientist when she grows up. Being a scientist is a great career, but Addi wants to take it one step further. She wants to be a scientist that performs “musical” experiments. When I saw that, I thought it was an “autocorrect mistake” from her mom’s phone, but it wasn’t. Addi’s mind is clicking right along with amazing ideas. One experiment she wants to try is “putting music into bubbles and then as they pop, she wants to know if you would hear the music. That may seem like “child’s play,” but I think that is a really well thought out experiment 
idea. I was really proud of this little girl. Addie is very interested in dinosaurs, and seriously, if she could meet a dinosaur, she totally would!! She loves dinosaurs and the little kits that let her “excavate real bones.”
Recently, she got a “big girl” bed and has had the best nights’ sleep ever! Or so she says. I’m sure that going from those little beds to a nice big bed would make for a great night’s sleep. Another reason Addi loves Summer, is that she gets to go to Vacation Bible School in Laramie with her cousins, Ethan Hadlock, Aurora Hadlock, and Mackenzie Moore. She gets more time to play with her cousins too, because everyone can easily travel, and where they all live in different towns, that can be complicated in snowy weather. She also gets lots of play time with her friends, and let’s face it, playing is much more fun than school. Addi loves spending time with her grandparents, and since they live in a different town, summer is the best time for that. Addi loves the grandparents, because “they all spoil her tremendously.” Or so her mom tells me. As a grandparent myself, I can honestly say that grandparents would never spoil a grandchild…seriously, never!!!
Addi loves to read books…another thing that tells me that she really does love school, just not the end of Summer. She reads very well, and her new favorite kind of books are chapter books. For those who don’t know, chapter books for kids are books that have multiple chapters and are suitable for young readers. The stories are always very interesting. Adi has been riding her bike with amazing speed, something that really took off this summer. She’s also incredibly funny, very sweet, and mostly always helpful around the house…provided a bribe of some sort, ice cream or something is involved. See, I told you she was very smart. Today is Addi’s 7th birthday. Happy birthday Addi!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
The third year of my grand niece, Mackenzie Moore’s life has be a big one, and the summer has been packed full of fun adventures. The Moore family took a trip to Disney World and they had a blast. They have also been doing a lot of camping, which is a big tradition in the Moore and Hadlock families. The really cool park about camping with the family is that Mackenzie is having all that cousin time. Since Mackenzie and her parents don’t live in the same town as the rest of the family, the cousin time provided while camping is very important and very precious.
Mackenzie loves going to church. She loves God. She loves learning about her savior, Jesus and growing closer to the Holy Spirit every day. Mackenzie loves to sing, and her favorite songs are Christian songs…praise and worship songs are her absolute favorites. Mackenzie loves her church. She loves everything about her church…the songs, Sunday School, and the people…all the people. Mackenzie is much like her mommy, Lindsay Moore in that part of her 
personality. Mackenzie meets people and they are immediately her friends. Lindsay is that way too. They know everybody in their church. They not only know them, but the talk to them whenever they see them. Mackenzie and her cousins got to got to Vacation Bible School this summer, and they had an amazing time.
As Fall has arrived, Mackenzie’s life is taking on some new journeys. She started pre-school, and she has really enjoyed learning new things. She also got a new dog, Brinkley, which makes coming home from pre-school very special. Mackenzie is studying dance, ballet and tap, and when I say studies, I mean that she does go to class, but the dance is really built into her. She is very theatrical and imaginative, and loves to pretend and perform. She holds recitals for her parents in front of the fireplace, using it as her personal stage. She never misses an opportunity to sing someone a song! She is such a joy, so full of personality, and love!
There is one other aspect to Mackenzie’s life that is very special. Mackenzie is the coaches daughter. Her daddy, Shannon Moore is a coach for the Wyoming Cowboys. As I said, Mackenzie is a friend to everyone, and that includes the players, of course. The friendship between Mackenzie and the players is totally mutual. She loves to go see her daddy’s practices…or should I say she loves to “hold” practices with her daddy. Mackenzie puts the players through their paces, of course, using her whistle to make sure they can hear her, an they all love having their littlest coach. She is a blessing to them, and they ar to her too. Mackenzie’s third year was an amazing one, and I’m sure that her fourth year will be even better. Today is Mackenzie’s 4th birthday. Happy birthday Mackenzie!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand-niece, Aurora Hadlock is growing up so fast. The coming school year will find her in her last year of elementary school, and Aurora has decided that she wants to play volleyball this year. I loved watching my girls play volleyball. Aurora is going to have a great time, and so will her parents, Chelsea and Ryan Hadlock, when they get to watch her games. I loved going to those games. Aurora is very active in many things. She is in her third year of Lego Robotics, and has really enjoyed building the Lego robots. Aurora is a good student and a very smart girl. She is also very social.
She loves to go camping. The family has gone camping at Aurora’s grandparents Casper mountain land, where the family dog, Titan is buried. Aurora loved that dog, who was a part of the family before she was even born. Bringing flowers to put on Titan’s grave is their way of showing Titan that he is never going to be forgotten. 
This year too, the family went camping in the Black Hills. They drove through the Wildlife Loop in the Custer State Park, and for those who don’t know, toward the end of the Wildlife Loop, there is a herd of donkeys. They are friendly little beggars, and Aurora got to feed a donkey a carrot. She loved that it came right up to her. She thought it was very cool. There is so much to do in the Black Hills, and at least 50% of the wonder of the area is driving around looking at the beautiful scenery. Aurora gets that. She totally loves having her face in the sun and fresh air when the family was driving through US Route 16A. It is one of the most beautiful drives in the Black Hills, although there are lots of beautiful drives. It’s no wonder Aurora love to put her face out the window, watch the beautiful scenery, and feel the sunshine on her face.
As Summer came to a close, Aurora, her brother, Ethan, and her cousins, Adelaide Sawdon and Mackenzie 
Moore all gathered in Laramie, Wyoming, where Mackenzie lives with her parents. The cousins all attended Vacation Bible School together. They have been getting a lot of quality time together, and having a great time just hanging out. Aurora is the unofficial leader of the pack…always keeping the little ones busy and having fun. She has a very giving heart…just like her mom, and she wants to be just like her. She is even growing her hair out so she can be just like her mom. Very sweet. Today is Aurora’s 10th birthday. Happy birthday Aurora!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My grand-niece, Adelaide Sawdon has had a very adventurous summer this year. She got to go camping with her grandparents, Allyn and Chris Hadlock, her aunts and uncles for a week without her mom and dad, Jessi and Jason Sawdon. They went swimming in the creeks and exploring…totally having a blast. Then, Adelaide and her parents had to go to Michigan for her great grandma’s funeral. They had been planning to go there for a week of camping, so they actually got to spend a little more time there than they had anticipated, so Adelaide got a full week in Michigan with her grandparents, Richard and Barbara Sawdon and her cousins there. She swam nearly every day in their pond or at a nearby lake. Adelaide absolutely loves swimming. Then, the family went to Hocking Hills, Ohio for the week and explored there. Her mom told me that she has had a really busy summer. I guess so.
Back at home, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Adelaide is the proud owner of a trampoline, because the yard there is big enough, while the Casper house didn’t have enough room for one. Adelaide absolutely loves it and since there are no kids in her neighborhood, having the trampoline gives her something to do. It’s hard to make friends, as anyone who has ever moved can tell you, but Adelaide started kindergarten on August 23rd, a total shock to my mind. Her parents are excited for her to meet some new friends and hoping they will find out that more kids live nearby, since they have neighborhood schools and not school of choice in Cheyenne.
Adelaide and her mom were in Laramie in early August, with cousins Ethan and Aurora Hadlock, and Mackenzie Moore so they could attend vacation bible school together. The kids had such a great time, and it was great for 
Adelaide to get to spend more time with her cousins. Adelaide loves living closer to her cousin, Mackenzie now. Mackenzie lives in Laramie, and it’s only an hour away, so Adelaide and Mackenzie get to see a lot more of each other…especially since their mom’s both work from home. Adelaide is getting so tall now. I can’t believe How much she has grown. And her beautiful blonde hair is getting so long. Like her mom says, she not a little kid anymore, she is growing into a little person. Adelaide got to go to a concert of her favorite people, Cain. They sing her favorite song called, “I’m So Blessed.” Adelaide knows every word by heart. She has had a lot of firsts this year, and she is really loving life. Today is Adelaide’s 5th birthday. Happy birthday Adelaide!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
