Taylor is a Man. . .Boy!

Yesterday, September 18 was Taylor Bradley McBride's 18th birthday!  In this picture, we were still in the hospital and Emily was holding him for the first time.  I ADORE this picture!  It brings back so many memories.  Soon after this was taken, Taylor started to cry.  Emily was very concerned and said in her high little 2 year old voice - "What's the matter baby"!  It was so cute!

I can't believe that I am now the mother of a grown man and that I have 2 grown children.  Am I really that old?  Taylor, I want you to know that you are awesome.  I am so proud of the man that you have become.  You are funny, sweet, a friend to everyone, and always quick to obey.  Dad and I appreciate that so much.  I hope you had a great day.  I can't believe you had 7 girls come to the house and bring you stuff!

Nana made this beautiful blanket that

Taylor was blessed in.

We took Emily and Taylor fishing once at Fred's Lake in Pinetop.  I don't think it's even there anymore. Taylor was about 1 & 1/2 or 2 and this is one of my favorite pictures ever.

Taylor was around 4 when this was taken also.  We were at the playground at Coronado 

School in St. Johns.  Isn't he so cute!

This is Emily and Taylor at Disneyland - posing with Alvin the Chipmunk.  Taylor likes to point out that he always had cool hats when he was little like this POWER RANGERS one!

4 years old

7 years old

7th Grade - Isn't he handsome . . . check out the braces 

and the necklace!  He is ADORABLE!

Freshman in High School

Junior in High School

Emily Would Be Proud!

Emily has been after me forever because I haven't had a wedding picture of Brad and me up in the house (except for my room). Well, I took her advice and gave Brad a framed picture of us for his birthday. Now it is in its rightful place next to the ones of our parents!

A Day in the Life of a Fisherman

Danny had to get up at 4:30 on Saturday morning to go on a fishing trip with the 11 year old scouts.  Did I say 4:30 - crazy huh!  Anyway, he had a great time at Saguaro Lake and caught around 8 fish.  They were all sweet boys though and threw the fish back!  Now on to explain this picture.  Later in the day I sent him in to clean his room.  After realizing that he was in there a long time I went to check on him.  I found him asleep on the floor and when I took this picture I woke up him up.  Poor guy - he was totally exhausted!

Happy Birthday Brad!

Yesterday, September 13th was Brad's 47th BIRTHDAY!  I know that he is feeling pretty old right now, but he doesn't seem old to me!  Besides, I'm trailing right behind him :(  It won't be so easy for me to joke about it in February (ha ha).  I am so thankful for my wonderful hubby. I have been with him for 22 birthdays now and I can't imagine living without him.  He is my rock and my favorite person in the whole world.  I love you Brad.

Lake Roosevelt

On Saturday - Brad, Taylor and Danny were invited to go to Lake Roosevelt with Andy & Suzette's family.  Alex, Ryan and I were not able to go because of strep throat:(  Anyway, the guys had a great time!  Brad said the water was beautiful and there was hardly anyone there.  Here are some fun pictures.

Happy Birthday Mom!

September 1st was mom (LaVelta, Nana's) birthday.  She turned 78!  We had her over for dinner, presents and cake.  We always enjoy having her for Sunday dinner.  On Monday, Jeanne, Amanda and I took her to Joe's BBQ for lunch.  Happy Birthday Mom . . . we love you!!  This first picture was taken of her in 1944.  She was 13 or 14 years old.  Wasn't she adorable!

Emily Leaves for BYU :(

We only got to have Emily home for 2 days before she had to pack up and drive back to BYU.  I was worried about her driving up alone, with her Shingles and her jet lag.  I thought about going with her but she insisted she would be fine.  I felt better that she was caravanning up with a friend from London.  His name is David Lake and his aunt, Jenny Jolley is in our ward and Brad knew his dad in high school.  Small world.  Anyway, they made it up fine thank heavens and we are already missing her again!  I can't believe she is starting her Junior year.

The Second Half

After spending a day in Lucerne, we got on a train again and made our way to Paris.  We took our stuff to a cute hotel that had a view of the tip of the Eiffel Tower.   Then we had the late afternoon and evening ahead of us, so we decided to go strait to Notre Dame.  We decided to travel the city like real Parisiennes and went underground to the Metro.  It was the biggest underground I had ever seen.  Each station seemed like an underground city and we walked and walked a ton.  Anyway, we got to Notre Dame which is beautiful.  Do I overuse that word?  I guess I could say "stunning"!  Brad and I had been there 10 years earlier and our older bodies weren't up to the task of climbing up to the tower this time - so we sent Emily to experience it alone while we wandered in the cathedral.  Afterward we walked around the Eiffel Tower and then had dinner.

Notre Dame

The view from our window

A street named after Emily!

The next morning we got up early, got ready for church and headed over to the Louvre.  We walked and it was gorgeous but kind of chilly.  I had always heard that Paris and hot and humid in August, but most of the time it was beautiful weather.  Well, all except this day, cuz it just got colder and rained and drizzled all day.  I didn't mind, but I was wishing I had brought my jacket.  

We spent a couple of hours at the Louvre.  Emily wanted to be sure and see the Mona Lisa.  It is really an amazing place.  You could spend weeks there and still not see everything!  Afterwards, we walked to church and were kind of amazed that we actually found it!  When church was over we got on a train and went to Versailles.  When Brad and I were here 10 years ago, we didn't make it to Versailles, so I was really excited.  There were tons of people but it was fun to see how the royalty lived back in Marie Antoinette's time.  Everything was so over-the-top.  We saw a bedroom where her husband Louie received visitors and did work in his bed!  And not because he was sick!  The neatest part was probably seeing the "Hall of Mirrors".  We didn't go into the huge gardens that we wanted to see because it was raining so much and the cold was making Emily's shingles miserable.  But we were really glad we went.

Outside the Louvre

After we got back to Paris, we at Crepes in a little cafe and then went to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.  It takes about 2 hours to get to Versailles, but it is sure worth it!

Our last day in Paris - so hard to decide what to do.  We went to the Pantheon, where people such as Madam Curie and Victor Hugo are buried.  We walked around as much as we could and just enjoyed the atmosphere of Paris.  We all agreed that we love it there and wish we could spend more time.  Brad had to leave for the airport at 1pm, so we walked over to the Eiffel Tower again and then said goodbye.  It was hard to say goodbye to him.  You never know what might happen.  I was so thankful too, for my little "Sherpa"!  He volunteered to lug my cuckoo clock home for me and I know it was difficult with all he had to manage.  Thank you Brad!  

After he left, Emily and I hurried over to the river Siene and took a tourist boat ride.  It was lovely and a perfect way to end our time in Paris.  Then, we went to the train station and rode the Eurostar through the Chunnel to get to England.  Emily had left a big bag in London and she wanted to show me where she lived.  I got to see the outside of the BYU Center and I marveled at her charging through the city knowing exactly what she was doing.  She even got me an Oyster Card (frequent rider) for the Tube because she said it would be cheaper.  We wandered around and she was a little dismayed because there were a billion people and policeman everywhere.  We found out that "Carnivale" had just finished and it is the 2nd biggest in the world!  She introduced me to a waffle with Dulce de Leche on the top - sinfully yummy! 

The next morning we left early for the incredibly long flight home.  We stopped in Charlotte, NC forever and finally got home about 9pm that night.

I feel so lucky and blessed that I got to experience this wonderful trip with Emily and my sweetheart.  I feel very spoiled and I know that I will have beautiful memories forever.  Thank you Brad.  I love you!

Off to Venice and Switzerland!

Emily finished up her study abroad in England and was going to do a little bit of traveling with her friends.  Lucky me got to meet up with her in Venice, do a little traveling and sightseeing of our own - end up in London and fly back together!

It was so exciting heading off to Venice to meet with her.  I have to admit though, that I was very nervous and maybe even a little scared! I know that I was just there with Brad in April, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to communicate without my trusty language guide (Brad) by my side!  Everything went pretty smoothly though.  I got into the airport and then had to figure out what bus to take.  I finally met up with Emily at the Vaporetto station, which is a public water bus.  She had to wait for an hour or two in the heat so I felt bad about that.  Anyway, we got to our hotel and then started exploring.  It is soo beautiful there.  Like Emily says in her blog, it is weird that peeling paint and really old things can have so much appeal!  We had so much fun just walking around and taking lots of pictures.  We ate lunch by the famous old Rialto Bridge, we went to the square where San Marco (Mark the Apostle) is buried, walked around in the outdoor market, had a gondola ride (of course) and looked in lots of shops.

After spending the night in Venice we headed for the train station around lunch time.  Emily had the experience here, since she had just ridden a couple of trains with her friends.  It was a huge adventure for me!  We had to switch trains 3 different times to get to Lucerne, Switzerland.  I absolutely loved this part of the trip!  Our first stop was Milano.  Then we got on a different train and went through Lake Como.  It was a beautiful city up in the mountains right on a huge lake.  I have to admit I kept my eyes peeled for George Clooney!  

Then we started twisting and turning through the Alps.  I know I keep repeating myself - but, it was gorgeous!  I couldn't take my eyes of the country we were going through:  huge mountains, lakes that didn't even have a ripple on them, waterfalls, gushing out everywhere, and little cute Swiss houses with smoke curling out of the chimneys!  I wish this part could have lasted longer.  Every time I travel, I am always amazed at how beautiful this world really is.  

We switched trains again in Zurich, and arrived in Lucerne at about 10pm.  We were so tired we just went to bed!

We woke up to a beautiful site out our window in Lucerne.  It is situated on a lake and is in the middle of the Alps.  We soaked in the scenery, ate some breakfast, and walked around the town a little.  Around noon, Brad joined us (yay!) and we explored some more.  It rained most of the day and we didn't have a lot of time to explore the mountains or anything, so we just tried to cram in as much looking as possible.  We also had to get souvenirs - Swiss knives for all the boys and a cuckoo clock for me!  I wish we could have spent more time in Lucerne.  It was so interesting hearing the German all around me.  I have heard a lot of Spanish, Italian, and French in my life but not much German.  We ended the day by going to a cute little restaurant and eating authentic Swiss food.  I had Schnitzel and Noodles and it was yummy!