Ali's Engaged!

Hi Everybody!

There is definitely some exciting news that Ali has lacked to share! I'm sure you all know by now, but ALI IS ENGAGED!! I apologize on her behalf that she hasn't yet published the story/posted pictures... apparently going to school and planning a wedding is enough to handle!

So Ali's fiancee, Mike, proposed at the end of August - August 31st, I believe. He's a teacher and they were going to decorate his classroom... they spent the morning there and then decided to go leave and get some lunch. They drove to the park - Heart Lake Park, it was called, and Mike brought out the picnic he had prepared. After they ate he brought out his guitar... he had written her a song... followed by a little speech, and then he popped the question! Following the picnic they hung around the park, then went into Toronto for a dinner at a beautiful place in the Distillery District.. the broiler house. They finally came home at the end of a great day to the family for champagne/cake. It was great!

So that's the smooth story - what's funny though, is all the things that happened throughout the day. Ali had so many opportunities to figure out what was going on!

For instance, when decorating the classroom, she went out to the car to get more supplies. There, she found a bag that I had prepared for her with a bunch of fancy clothes (mostly mine!), some jewelery, a little make-up, etc. (For the dinner afterwards.) Mike had to make up a story as to why Mike had a bag full of my clothes in his car! ...I still don't know how he did it:)

Also, when inside the classroom, she was seconds away from opening up the pocket in Mike's backpack that had the ring - he had to somewhat tackle her to stop her from doing that!

There were also some funny parts in the day - As Mike played her the song, she wanted to sing along with it. So they had an impromptu jam session with Ali's engagement song. Then there were some construction workers that were starting some work right around the corner from them. Mike had to go and talk to them, explain that he was about to propose, and asked them to come back in a little while! They walked by and gave them a thumbs up :)

All in all they had a great day and came back SO happy. It was such a fun and exciting night. Here are some pictures when they came back to the house.

All the parents! Such close friends, which is so nice!

Telling the story and loving it!

Haha so excited! (The ring is beautiful, by the way! I don't have a close-up picture though!)

The happy couple!

Our family is getting bigger! My boyfriend, Luke, is on the left - some of you have met him, and I think you know the rest!

So there you have it! Congrats to Ali and Mike! We are so happy for you guys. Love you both!

- Emily (on behalf of Ali!)

Hi Penner Family!!

Hope you all enjoyed your summer. For us, I can't believe that it has left us already, I am still waiting for my surprise summer cruise from my husband! (Way to go Brian!)

Our lives are so busy and I don't know if you saw one of my personal posts, but Jon and I have an RV, which we affectionately call, "Cream Puff". We LOVE this 6mi to the gallon house on wheels. Just recently we had two days where we didn't have an event or concert so we took off to Pismo for some sand and clam chowder. You can see a few more pics on by blog if you wish. Below, however is a little video of Christopher hunting for crabs everywhere - it is adorable and a must see!

Love to all of you - Want to see pics Brian and Trish and A BIG CONGRATULATIONS ALISON - so excited for you - what a beautiful time of life it is!!!

Enjoy!

Love,

J, A and C!!

Living Vicariously Through Brian & Trish

Hi guys. I don't think Brian & Trish read this but for the few of us who still do, I thought I'd put a little update in on their behalf. It all started about a month ago when Brian called me to ask if I could get Trish out of the house one morning so that he could plan a "suprise" for her. I figured he was going to make lunch for her or something. Little did I know that he and his brother in law had been planning a 2 week vacation and cruise in Alaska for Trish and her twin sister for months already. Long story short, after Trish left my house that morning, Brian tricked her into coming to the airport (by pretending he had to pick up Uncle Harold!) and getting on a plane. They were at the park and fly in Toronto before she even had an inkling that anything was going on. Her first reaction was tears and horror at all the things she had to cancel for the next two weeks, but after she got over that it was nothing but happiness and fun. Trish didn't know until 2 days after she got to Vancouver that her sister was coming on the cruise - Brian and Tom arranged to meet at a restaurant where they saw each other for the first time and finally realized what was really going on. I don't have all the details on how great the cruise was but I know that Trish had a great time on her surprise trip. Kudos to Brian for actually keeping it a secret and pulling it off. Can you imagine your husband packing for a two week trip for you? I shudder at the thought. Anyway, it's a great story. Ask them about it sometime if you have a chance. Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you all. Sheri

that last post was by joyce

Chelsey! i absolutely want you to post about SA. i was there 10 years ago too. i was in Jo'burg though. in an orphanage. i was only there about three weeks. i was in zimbabwe for about 2 and a half months and we just went down to SA for the last bit. good times. i love that you broke your foot by running on it. there's some obsessive behaviour for you ;) brian, trish, pete and i are heading to peru in three days to hike up to machu picchu!! i'm pretty stoked. that's been on my list of destinations for quite some time now. so if you guys will humour me, i'm sure i'll have some photos to force on you all when i get back :) penner girls, you all look stunning as usual in those wedding photos. very cute.

Wedding

Hey Everyone,

So as promised, here are some pictures of the wedding that my mum did the flowers for. It was a really great day. This was a really close family friend of ours (the Fortin's)... they've gone to our church for as long as I can remember... my parents traveled with them to Italy last summer (with some other couples)... we have an annual summer weekend up at their cottage... it's been really great just to spend time with them. So in the name of friendship my mum planned for a solid ten months for this wedding's decorations! The bride and groom, Lindsay and Tim are absolutely wonderful people and it was so great to share in this day. The weather was disappointing... rain off and on all day, so instead of the planned outdoor ceremony, it was under a tent. Actually, the tent turned out fairly nicely. Not what was planned, but still great.

So here are some pictures.

This was really fun actually. Ali had another wedding that she was committed to on the same day, so she was missing out on this ceremony. It was a close friend from camp and school's wedding day as well! However, the girl made it to the first ceremony, then came rushing in about five minutes before this ceremony, stayed for a short while after, then went back to the other wedding for the reception! It was great.

The bride and groom!

It doesn't quite capture it... but this is the inside of the tent!

Some of the centre pieces... there were three arrangements per table... some gave height, some gave colour, and the other had a candle.. the overall effect was beautiful.

She did an amazing job! We all thought so.

Well that's all for now! Love you all,

Em

:)

Joycee!! and hello cherie :) its been what.. 12 hours since i have seen you?! (i love that p.s...)

ok. i broke my foot being stupid.. basically i had a stress fracture and was running on it ( i didnt know it was a stress fracture.. i just thought it was a little bit of pain that would go away.) anyways, i ran on it and it broke through. real fun. but i am having lots of fun in grocery stores and such with the electrical carts :)

you gotta find the lemonade in the lemons, ya? :)

anyways.. my hair is probably to my mid back.. this is a weird picture of jeremy and i.. but it gives you an idea of the length lol..

when i went to africa i spent most of it in South Africa.. we stayed in Mahvusa for most of it, and then went and worked in a refugee camp. basically if you fly into Johannesburg you drive about 7 hours north, and then hop into these little truck things and go into the jungle a few hours.. best time of my life :) i LOVED those kids.. if you want ill post a blog next about that experience and pictures. i left half my heart there.

yes i got your bumper sticker.. it was awesome!! thank you so much, it definately made me smile!! how are you!? whats new in your life?

LOVE.

chels

Hey Family!! so just a small update into life over here in cali,

1. i miss you ALL!!! so much!

2. I recently ran a half marathon, and it was awesome :)

3. i was playing in a dodgeball league at our church and it was su

per fun!!

4. i broke my foot and am now learning the art of crutches.. not so much fun..

5. Luke & Becca bought their first home. its really cute!

6. Jeremy moved home from canada and moved in w/ Jesse and Allie and is loving it!!

7. its about time you came and visited... just throwing that out there.. so work on it. k? thanks :)

here are some pictures from the recent happenings...

This is the 3 of us MacAlpines at Luke's rehersal dinner the night before his wedding

My new sister Becca!! Love her. shes awesome!!Right after i finsished running my first half marathon!!!! (yes i ran the whole thing!!)J and I before dodgeball... way fun :) Getting pumped up.. Jesse and i actually played eachother that night. i hit him in the face.. and felt pretty good about it :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE these girls.. make my life so much better :)

Last Summer i got to go to Africa.. and i fell in LOVE with the kids there!!

if anyone actually reads these things then ill post more in the future :) here is just a quick update.. love you all!

Chelsey

More Moore News

Hi All. I have a little bit of good news to share. As you may or may not know, I'm a chartered accountant and have been working with my firm (Deloitte) as a tax specialist for about 10 years now. It was just announced this week that I've been admitted to the partnership as the lead tax partner for the Niagara office. That's a pretty big deal as far as accounting news goes (yes, I know we're boring). So I just thought I'd share my excitement with the rest of you. Thanks! -Sheri

Jesse's Dream.....Did I take the test??

So, this Sunday I was hanging out with my siblings on Neil's side and I get this random phone call from Jesse Penner. He called me to tell me about a vivid dream that he had, and in the dream Neil and I were pregnant and due in February 2011. I laughed it off, but then that night Neil and I went to our cousins graduation party and at the party everyone was asking us the normal married question, "So, when are you guys going to get pregnant already??" One of our cousins is recently pregnant and due in October and they got married 4 weeks before us, so this summer we are both celebrating our 4 year anniversary and so according to our family, it's time. They kept reminding me about how we shouldn't wait too long, because my eggs may dry up. It was so funny, because all night everyone kept asking and telling us that we should hurry up. So, then Monday night, I have a nightmare!!!!! In my dream (which are always very intense and specific), I had a miscarriage and I was in a ton of pain and while this was happening Aunt Margie, Uncle Harold, Cherie, Blake, Allie and Jesse were all there trying to keep me happy even though this was going on, it was a little crazy...Sorry if this is tmi, but we are family so whatever. Then on Tuesday I got really nautios, dizzy and didn't feel well and I thought taht was really weird. So, I called Neil and told him how I was feeling and he was like "Baby, maybe Jesse's dream was right and prophetic" and he said that maybe we should take a test just to clear our minds and see whats going on. So when we got home, after we ate dinner we prayed for God's guidance and that we would be happy either way, we would prefer to wait another year, but if we were, it would totally be ok. So, we took a test and it was negative!! We are thankful that for now we won't be starting a family, but if it happens we would totally we be ok with it. So, needless to say Jesse's dream was incorrect, but it sure got us thinking and wondering if it was going to happen!! But, it was definitely a fun way to begin our week. I sure love you family!! Sorry that I never write on this thing, but I promise that I will start. Neil and I now have a IMAC and an IPAD and they are super fun to play with, so you may start reading a ton of fun/interesting things that are going on in our lives....Have a wonderful day... Love, Charity

So, this is Christy. Cherie actually signed me on here and said, "Write!" So here goes. Charity our wonderful cousin stopped by to have lunch and hang out. We've been catching up up on life and of course I'm updating them on all the Canadian realtives. Mom, Dad, Aaron and I just returned from a quick trip to Canada. Got to hang out and eat lots of Indian food with Brian, Trish and Joyce and also were lucky enough to have the whole James/Heather Ann clan at dinner in Toronto. I'll try and upload a few pictures later. At the moment Aubrey is stuffing her face with edamame, chicken, rice and raisins. That girl can eat more edamame than anyone I know. She also has started hiding and wanting people to find her. Although the only thing she does to hide is squeeze her eyes shut and laugh. She's pretty tough to find that way! She also likes to scare people by saying "boo!" But since we don't want her to yell that in restaurants and stuff we have told her that the best way to scare people is to whisper it. So, all of a sudden she'll get these big eyes and whisper "boo" and everyone runs away scared. She's liking the power of it all. Everytime the girl is stubborn or independent, Aunt Christy gets blamed for it. Apparently the genetics of independence transfers from aunt from to niece in our family. Anyways, that's life over here. Charity is all dressed up in her professional suit for work and is lookin hot! Love you all!

Luke and Becca Tied the Knot!!!!

It was such a great wedding!!! Everyone had such a great time and we missed everyone! Great weather and check out the pictures! If you want more explination check out the blog at Jesseandalliepenner.blogspot.com

Allie Penner

if anyone from cali has some photos to put up from luke and becca's wedding, we would love to see them. please post some if you get a chance. thanks!!! joyceeeee

Celebrations everywhere!

We have been rather busy in Fresno! People are having birthdays and others are getting married!! Here are almost all the Fresno cousins! This picture was from a couple weekends ago for Christopher's 2nd birthday! Andrea is holding the birthday boy. There were lots of food, bubbles and fun! If you have not heard Arris and David are pregnant with their 2nd! And they just found out they are having a GIRL!!! (David is holding Jadon in the picture.) So FUN!! We are so blessed with such a wonderful family.

Aubrey Rose and Christopher during bubble time!Below are Christopher, Aubrey Rose, and Jadon Here are some details from our family shower we threw for Becca. Luke and Becca's wedding is NEXT WEEKEND!!! Aubrey Rose is going to be a flower girl. We will definitely be sharing pictures on here. But just so you know there is still time to get your flight figured out to be here next weekend. I guarantee you would NOT regret it! Back to the shower for Becca...I thought I should include more pictures because this is the party all of you Canadian family members would have been at had there not been the distance we have between us. We had a dessert shower so we had toppings and goodies for a trifle bar. We had samples to share. Christy, Cherie, Allie and Chelsey Allie, Margie, Cherie and Christy It was a family shower, but also friends too. Some of Aunt Rose's friends came too! They love Chelsey and the kids just like their own. They are such dear, dear friends. Here is Allie (on the right) and her mom Darlene. The bride to be, Becca, and her mom Betty. Becca opening beautiful gifts. Becca would probably die knowing that I put this on here, but not all of you have gotten to know her. She is truly a gem. She has become a quick favorite around here. She is spunky, fun, sweet, encouraging and she LOVES Jesus! This picture just shows you some of how fun her personality is. I just love her! This picture was from Becca's bridal shower with her friends. And us four again...Allie, Chelsey, Becca and myself...We had a fun night out for Becca's bachelorette party. Such a fun night! Miss all you Canada family!!! Seriously there is still PLENTY of time to book your flight to come experience Luke and Becca's wedding next weekend (March 27). It is going to be soooo much fun and such a fun celebration! COME!!! Love you!

Love, Cherie

Hi! Now that I'm back on the blog, I thought I'd give you all the Moore update. We just got back from a 3 week vacation in Florida, which was both relaxing and exciting. We spent the first week in Orlando with Scott's brother, sister, parent's and the spouses and grandkids. 13 people in all. Since Scott's siblings all have little girls, the theme of the week was Disney Princesses. Maddie and her cousin Hailey (pictured above) we were lucky enough to get the full princess experience at Cinderella's Castle. The rest of us had breakfast with the princesses but we didn't get to wear a tiara. As you can see, Maddie was pretty tired out but wouldn't give up the princess hair and makeup for a few days.

Our second week was spent in and around Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Key West. Mom & Dad were kind enough to come down with us and took care of the kids while Scott and I went off galavanting and pretending we were young again. For anyone that hasn't been to Key West, it's worth a trip (even though Jimmy Buffet doesn't live there anymore...)

Finally we finished up the trip with our annual visit to Zephyrhills Florida! Scott's parent's have a place there so we usually take advantage of that for a long weekend each year. This year we stayed almost a week and it was great. I thought I'd be ready to come home after 3 weeks but I guess you just can't get sick of being on vacation! Anyway, that's the Moore update. I'm still enjoying mat leave but will be back to work soon. Keep updating this thing!

-Sheri