Be Grateful

Happy Thanksgiving!  Since I have started helping out at Brad's office, I find myself without much time on my hands.  I mostly just need to get more organized and things would work out better.  Anyway, that is why I am so behind on my blogging.

Right now, I am especially thankful for my missionary son.  Taylor left the Dominican Republic MTC on Monday - and is officially out there as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We haven't heard from his since he left the MTC so I have no idea what he is doing for Thanksgiving - or if he is celebrating it at all.  Even with an almost 22 year old that has been away from home for 3 1/2 years now, we still have never had a child missing for a major holiday (Thanksgiving & Christmas) until now.  I miss him terribly, but am soooo proud of him!  He is learning and growing so much and is really loving his life right now.  He will be a wonderful missionary.  We love you Taylor!

I am grateful for a wonderful, loving husband who works hard to make a wonderful life for his family.  He is still my best friend and I love being with him every minute I get to.  I am grateful for each and everyone of my wonderful children.  I am so thankful that they are part of my eternal family.  I am thankful for my home, our country, my mom, for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We are blessed with so much and I always like this time of year when we get extra introspective and really think about what we have.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jack-o-lantern Grin

On the night before last, Ryan lost yet another tooth. This is the 4th tooth in 4 weeks! He was a little slow losing teeth but he is sure making up for in now. He's keeping the tooth fairy in business right now! He is such a cutie, and I love this stage - but my heart gets sad too, knowing that this is my last child to go through this stage. And, it seems like after they lose their baby teeth and get baptized, they are not so little anymore.

Labor Day Break

On Labor Day weekend, we were lucky enough to borrow a friend's cabin for a few days. We wanted to get out of the heat and we were selfish and wanted Taylor to ourselves for a few days before he left on his mission. We went to Pinetop, not very far from Don's cabin. We ate Mexican food and watched the BYU game, relaxed, played games, went to church, and spent a little time in the mountains up by Green's Peak. We took hot dog fixins' and found a little place to build a fire. As soon as it was time to cook the hotdogs, it started raining. We got them cooked anyway - and after it stopped raining we spent some nice time in the woods. It was so relaxing! We always miss Emily though!

It was hard to start a fire because everything was so damp. The boys had to show me how manly they were! In the picture you see Alex playing with his hair. He had his head so close blowing on the fire that he actually burned some of his hair!

Camping face (a joke in our family!)

All my boys :)

Old Friends

I can't believe it has already been 3 weeks since I was in Utah dropping off Taylor at the MTC and playing around with Emily at BYU. While I was there, I was lucky enough to get to spend a whole day with old friends from home! Jodi and I were good friends in High School. We worked at Apache Title together and after school, we lived together in Mesa. We also worked at Lewis and Roca together. Kathy and I are cousins and have a lot of family ties. We spent many Heap Reunions together and lived together for awhile in Provo. She helped me have a great time up there even though I was so homesick. Kelli and I worked together at Apache Title and I had a great time with her and getting to know her. Kelli and Jodi both live up in Utah and Kathy lives in Las Vegas, so I don't get many opportunities to see them.

We had lunch in Provo (thanks Kelli) and then drove to Lindon, and sat on Jodi's porch all afternoon. We laughed and cried and had such a great time together. I am sooo thankful for old friends who will be friends for life. The kind of friend that you can pick up with after so many years and things are just as great as ever. I love all 3 of those girls and will cherish their friendship always!

What!?!

So. . . the other day Ryan was playing around in the family room and he all of a sudden says, "bloody h***" in a funny voice! I asked him what he said and he said he was just practicing. I asked him where he heard that and he said that Ron Weasley in Harry Potter says it. I asked him if he knew that it was a swear word and he didn't know what a swear word was! I explained to him that it was a bad word and we shouldn't say it. He said, "wow, good thing you told me! I was thinking of being Ron Weasley for Halloween and I was gonna go around saying that when I was trick-or-treating - so I was practicing!"

I LOVE MY SWEET INNOCENT BOY!!!

He's Gone

Well, here it is Wednesday, September 23, 2009 and Taylor is gone - he is officially a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the next 2 years! Emily and I (along with Brad on speakerphone) dropped him off at 1:15. It was crazy. We drove in and they directed us to the curb where there were TONS of others being dropped off too. We had a good spot right in front and there were 4 cute little missionaries there to help us. They got out Taylor's bags and talked to us for a few minutes. We hugged him and told him we loved him, took a couple of pictures and then he was gone. I couldn't help crying - and cried more than I had wanted too. The missionaries were really sweet and told us that all of the moms do and that they would take good care of him. It was soooo much harder than I expected. I know that what he is doing is right and I am so incredibly proud of him, but it is very hard to know that I won't see him for 2 whole years. He will be such a fabulous missionary. He is so well-prepared and is so easy-going and likable. I hope he has a wonderful time and I hope that he feels that it is the best 2 years of his life. I have a strong testimony of this gospel and know that he will be taken care of and watched over. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH TAYLOR!

p.s. I am in the motel on Emily's work computer which is a Dell. When I get home, I will edit this post and put all the pictures on. We really got some great ones. I just wanted to jot this all down while it is so fresh in my memory.

These two pictures were taken Monday night after Taylor was set apart to be a missionary.

Saying good bye at the airport

We had fun taking pictures in the morning before we dropped him off!

Saying good bye for 2 whole years :(

Is He Really 19?

Today is Taylor's 19th birthday. (Well, September 18th was . I'm about a half hour late). I can hardly believe it has been 19 whole years since he was born! Taylor, you are a wonderful son and have made us so proud through the years. You have always made the decision to choose the right and set a good example for others. You are handsome and strong, but better yet, you are talented, funny, interesting and have so much to offer. We love you and are so proud of you. Only 5 more days 'til you report to the MTC! I am going to try to soak up every minute of having you here for the next few days!

Getting Older!

If I could have cut out the part with me in it I would have - because this day is all about Brad! 48 years ago today he was born! Brad is and always has been the better 3/4's of us. I adore him and thank my Heavenly Father every day for the gift he is and has been to me. He is funny, smart (and a smart alec), gentle, kind, and the most loving husband in the universe. He is a wonderful father and provider. Brad, you are loved more than you will ever know. Thank you for putting up with me and I hope you have a wonderful day! I love the quote that Debi Crandall wrote on your Facebook: "the older the fidder, the sweeter the tune". So, so true. The last 23 years have been the best and I know it will just keep getter better. Love you babe.

Nana's Birthday

On September 1st Nana turned 79! Wow! Jeanne had a little family party and it was nice to spend time together. She made Texas sheet cake and I made carrot cake. I am so grateful for my mom. She loves her family so much and is such a dedicated family history worker. She knows so many stories about our ancestors and tries to share her love of them with all of us. She is a wonderful mother and we love her very much. Ryan made a cute card for Nana and at the end he wrote, "You are the best grandma a boy could ever have!" What a sweetheart! I was also able to spend time with her by taking he to the temple and then we went to Red Lobster afterward. I sure enjoy our lunches together Mom . . . love you!

School Daze

Well, school started on August 10 and here it is September 2nd and I am just now writing about it. Pretty pathetic huh! I was really not ready for school to start again already. It wasn't just the kids, but us too. Summer is so short now - it doesn't seem like I have the kids home and to myself for long enough. But, here we are, almost a month in to the new school year so we better make the best of it.

Ryan is already starting 2nd grade. He is growing up so quickly. He isn't a "little boy" anymore. He is getting so tall and acting more grown up all the time. I love him to death, but I miss having my little guy around. He got Mrs. Bellman this year and we were really happy because that is who we wanted! Kyle Kempton and Jake Arnold from the ward are both in his class and we are pleased about that. Mrs. Bellman is already really impressed by Ryan's abilities and we are having him tested for ALP next week. He is a reading machine right now and just finished the first Harry Potter. He just read Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and liked that too. I hope you have a great year Ryan!

Danny is our 7th grader this year! Junior High already - where has the time gone? When we moved in this house, Danny was my little buddy and was just getting ready to start Kindergarten. He is excited about Junior High and really likes having different teachers and moving around. He is glad to have Mr. Van Briesen for Social Studies. Taylor told him what a great teacher he is and he is Danny's favorite teacher so far. It is nice that the schools are so close. Danny rides his bike with his friends and he has a lot of great friends. He is in all of the Honor's classes and I''m glad that he is challenged. I am a little sad that from now on, Danny and Ryan will never be in the same school and the same time again. I think Ryan is a little lonely. I hope you have a great year Danny and don't grow up too fast!

Alex is a JUNIOR this year! I can remember my Junior year very well. I know I say this all the time - but where has the time gone? It slips away so quickly. It is weird to have him go off to school without Taylor this year. We are all very excited that he doesn't have "A" hour this year! We don't have to get up for scriptures this year until 6:50! WOO HOO! Alex has a great bunch of friends also. He is involved in Choir and Volleyball again this year. He just started his Molten Club practices last night. He really enjoys it. I can't believe you only have 2 more years left Alex - have a great year!

Early Morning Wisdom

Brad here.

So, Friday night, at precisely 2:30am, my sweet wife sits up in bed and shakes my shoulder until I am awake.

"What's the matter, honey? I ask.

With a very authoritative voice she tells me:

"All chopsticks are tapered."

She then curls up on her side and immediately falls asleep, leaving me to wonder...

Saturday night. I don't even know what time, Chrissie shakes my shoulder again until I am awake.

"What is it, sweetheart?" I ask.

"Nevermind," she replies, then goes back to sleep.

I believe it is subconscious payback for my snoring. If so, I deserve it.

(By the way - all of our chopsticks ARE tapered - I checked.)

The Eagle

The Missionaries

On Monday, August 3 - we went to Matt's setting apart to be a missionary! He reported to the MTC on August 5th and is going to Santiago, Chile. We are so proud of Matt. He has always been a great nephew and he and Taylor have been so close throughout the years. Since Taylor is only 6 weeks behind him I took a picture of them together. Hopefully they can get a picture with their name tags on at the MTC before Matt leaves. It was such a nice night and the Spirit was so strong. I know Matt will be a wonderful missionary and I am grateful for the good example he has set for my boys. We love you Matt!

Look at all of these future missionaries!

23 Down and Eternity to Go!

July 18, 1986 was the best day of my life! I was blessed and lucky enough to be sealed to my best friend on that day! Brad has been the best husband I could ever imagine. It's funny how much I loved him on that day and I couldn't imagine loving him more than I did then. But the years only make it better. The dimensions of love become so much bigger and deeper. It's hard to imagine until you actually live it. I am so glad I get to spend eternity with him. Thanks Brad - for being my best friend and for loving me!

4th of July

We have been lucky enough to go to Imperial Beach, CA for the 4th of July for 6 or 7 years now. We went for a couple of years with Andy and Suzette, then we turned it into a McBride Family Reunion and we have all gone for several years. We all love it and can't imagine not doing it. We go to Coronado Island on the 4th and play and eat until they shoot fireworks over the bay.

These are the condos where we stay in Imperial Beach. It is the last little city below San Diego - right before you get to Mexico. It is the perfect place. Right on the beach - and it has a swimming pool and hot tub!

The cousins posing on the golf course before the fireworks

We drove up to Newport and took the kids to Crab Cooker. Brad's family used to go there when he was little and he introduced it to me when we got married. It has always been one of our favorites. This is Ryan enjoying a little clam chowder with bread.

We went over to the Newport Temple when we were done. We got to go through it before it was dedicated. It is so beautiful.

The tradition of getting buried in the sand!

Suzette was nice enough to watch Ryan one morning while we took the older kids to the San Diego to do baptisms. Since Danny just turned 12 in March it was his first time. It was neat to do it as a family.

Every year Brad and Sue build elaborate sand castles or animals. This year it was this cute octopus!

I love this picture of Brad and Ryan!

Danny

Ryan really got into boogie boarding this year. He loved it!

Waiting to get into the Spaghetti Factory in San Diego

The whole week at the beach there was a lot of rip tide. On our last day there, the life guards had to rescue a big group of about 30 people - and our oldest 3 and Diana were among them. They weren't about to drown or anything, but the rip tide pulled them out past the waves and it was really hard to get in. The whole thing was pretty dramatic! It was really nice to have a family vacation before Taylor leaves in September. It's such a great tradition!