Any anniversary ideas for 2011?

Scott needs your help! Now! And how!

In August 2007, we (Cheryl, Scott and Braden) went to New Jersey and New York - one reason was to visit Jenna and Tyrel; another was to pick up Austin from his internship in Manhattan. The four of us flew home on Aug. 18 — our 26th anniversary. Here's now the day went:

• Had a delicious breakfast in New Jersey with the Jensens.
• Drove to Philadelphia, saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, had pizza and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches on Philadelphia's South Street.
• Caught our Southwest flight from Philadelphia to Chicago.
• In Chicago, the flight was overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to bump. We offered - and got $50 in food vouchers for the Chicago airport, reimbursement for our $99 Philly-SLC flights that day, a free flight later from Chicago to Denver, a free overnight stay at an Embassy Suites near the Denver airport, free breakfast the next morning, a free flight from Denver to Salt Lake and — get this — more than $1,300 in Southwest flight vouchers good for flights over the next year.

I told Cheryl there was no way I could top that anniversary day/present — breakfast in New Jersey, lunch in Philadelphia, dinner in Chicago, spending the night in Denver ... and $1,300 in flight credits.

Well, I may have topped it this year. On Aug. 18 — our 29th anniversary — we arrived by overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany, then continued on to Dresden. We spent the day in Dresden, seeing the sights and kicking off our trip that included stops in Freiberg, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austra; Budapest, Hungary; Warsaw, Poland; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Moscow, Russia.

Sooooo, next year is Anniversary No. 30 — one of those noteworthy years. The traditional 30th anniversary gift is pearls; the modern 30th anniversary gift is diamond jewelry. The overload 30th anniversary gift probably is pearl and diamond jewelry. I've looked online and the suggestions for the 30th include:

• Pearl jewelry — necklace pendant, earrings, bracelet, ring or brooch. In addition to classic white pearls, consider black tahitian pearls or delicate pink pearls (or why not just all three?)
• An exotic travel location with pearling in its history, such as tropical Broome, Australia.
• Handmade fine English Bone China, commemorative ware designed specifically for "the Pearl Anniversary"
• A 30th anniversary wine box, filled with champagne or wine to make it a special occasion
• An oyster dinner
• An elegant wooden box containing 30 French chocolates
• A digital camera
• An iPod
• A cell phone
• A mother-of-pearl mosaic frame
• A second honeymoon — after 30 years of togetherness, you want to give a 30th anniversary gift that is out of this world. And what could be better than a second honeymoon. Travel to the same places you traveled on your first honeymoon, but really go first class (they have "first class" at Bear Lake, Utah, and Grand Island, Nebraska?). If your first honeymoon wasn't that great or you don't want to return to the same location, then pick a destination you've been dreaming of and head off there.
• A luxury car — has your wife always dreamed of a luxury car but never had one? What better time to buy her one than for her 30th anniversary gift. By this stage in a marriage, most of the children are out of the house and on their own and so there's a little more cash flow.

Hmmmm, and I was thinking more along the lines of an all-you-can-eat outing at Chuck-A-Rama or maybe 30 Happy Meals. Or maybe a football jersey with the number "30" on it — pearl-colored, of course.

Any ideas?

"Where in the world is Cheryl Taylor?" —— Blackberry snapshot edition

Here are the elements - Cheryl and I taking a 17-day, 7-country trip through central/eastern Europe, a relatively new Blackberry Tour cell phone with camera capabilities and a chance to have fun while photo-blogging our trip. So I created a variation of the "Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?" and "Where's Waldo" games and featured Cheryl at different cities and stops on our trip. About the only thing lacking is a Cheryl having to wear a red-and-white-striped shirt and stocking cap.

If you followed our regular postings on Facebook, most of the photos will look a little familiar. I tried to have some sort of visual clue in each photo that could help identify where we were.

Coming soon: We'll add many more striking photos - from the real cameras - from each of our stops on this blog. Keep on checking back

• CHICAGO - O'Hare International Airport (Tuesday, Aug. 17). Clue: O'Hare's signature terminal architecture - especially overhead. Ah, the American/United terminals that "Home Alone" and "Home Alone II" made famous. We flew out of Salt Lake and in Chicago caught our transatlantic United flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

• FRANKFURT - Frankfurt Airport (Wednesday, Aug. 18). Clue: No, it has nothing to do with Pooh - it's the Lufthansa signage in the windows behind. We had a brief morning layover in the Frankfurt Airport before catching a short Lufthansa flight to Dresden.

• DRESDEN, GERMANY (Wednesday, Aug. 18). Outside the Zwinger, Cheryl with the baroque Hofkirche as a backdrop. This day - Aug. 18 - marked our 29th anniversary.

• DRESDEN, GERMANY (Wednedsay, Aug. 18). Cheryl on Prager Strasse, Dresden's premier shopping street, with the Kreuzkirche steeple in the background.

• DRESDEN, GERMANY — Frauenkirche (Wednesday, Aug. 18): Clue: If Dresden has a signature landmark, this is it. The Church of Our Lady was left in ruins after World War II, but rebuilt in 2005. We climbed up the cupola and had a great view of Dresden along the banks of the Elbe River.

• FREIBERG, GERMANY - train station (Thursday, Aug. 19). Clue: "Freiberger" on the train. We took the train from Dresden to Freiberg for a quick visit to the Freiberg temple and interviews there.

• FREIBERG, GERMANY — train station (Thursday, Aug. 19). OK, nothing here says "Freiberg," but I was able to get a photo of Cheryl with the arriving Dresden-bound train, the Freiberg station in the background and the station clock up above.

• SOMEWHERE BETWEEN DRESDEN, GERMANY AND PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC — on the train (Thursday, Aug. 19). This was our third train ride of the day - first to Freiberg in the early afternoon, then back to Dresden, then after picking up our luggage that we had stored at the Dresden station it was on to Prague. We had a second-class, six-person berth to ourselves for the trip. OK, to ourselves and our two huge pieces of luggage.

• PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC — on a exterior balcony in the Prague Castle district (Friday, Aug. 20). Clue: If you look really close, you can see the famous Charles Bridge in the background, crossing the Vitava River. This photo doesn't do Prague justice - what a beautiful city.

• VIENNA, AUSTRIA - Cafe Einstein (Sunday, Aug. 22). Cheryl with the Breanna-recommended Kaiserschmarr'n, a rich, fluffy, sweet, thick (need more adjectives?) pancake broken into pieces and served with a fruit sauce. We usually don't eat much dessert, but this was a must. This was Breanna's favorite place to eat during her three months studying (playing?) in Vienna this summer.

• VIENNA, AUSTRIA — Schoenbrunn Palace (Monday, Aug. 23). Clue: If you know your Vienna, this is the signature site. It's palace, parks, gardens, fountains and more all in one. And both our daughters take great pleasure in having run on the grounds (the many paths, not the laws and flower beds). Maybe we ought to rename it Schoen-runn Palace.

• BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — Hungarian Parliament Building (Tuesday, Aug. 24). Clue: . This is Hungary's largest building, and it's the largest parliament building in all of Europe. Our late-night arrival experience and redirecting to our hotel left us somewhat underwhelmed with Budapest. But this was the first sight that greeted us as soon as we stepped out of the underground metro exit. "Wow" - and there were a lot more of those "wows" the rest of our stay.

• BUDAPEST, HUNGARY — Danube River (Tuesday, Aug. 24). Clue: For those of you keeping score at home, we're on the "Pest" side of the "Duna" (Danube), with the "Buda" side across the river. What an impressive skyline on either side.

• WARSAW, POLAND — Stare Miasto or "Old Town" (Wednesday, Aug. 25). Clue: Cheryl would want to call attention to the narrow cobblestone streets, the old-style architecture and her favorite green building . This is the main plaza leading to Poland's oldest district, completely destroyed during World War II and completely rebuilt afterward. Very enjoyable and pleasant to walk on cobblestone streets and among period buildings and fortress structures.

• WARSAW, POLAND — Stare Miasto (Wednesday, Aug. 25). Admit it, you recognized Warsaw's "Old Town" because of — that's right — cobblestone streets and Cheryl's favorite green building.

KYIV, UKRAINE - Kyiv Temple (Friday, Aug. 27). Clue: Angel Moroni statue. A beautiful, sacred building with a Ukraine-specific "wheat" theme running throughout both inside and out (the agriculturally rich Ukraine was known as the former Soviet Union's "breadbasket." Just below the large sphere that the angel statue stands on is a series of flashing red lights, used as a warning of the spire since a small airport is located near the temple. Click on the photo to get an enlarged view, and you can kind of see the red lights.
KYIV, UKRAINE — Kyiv Temple (Friday, Aug. 27). One good beauty deserves another.
KYIV, UKRAINE -St. Sophia's Cathedral and Bell Tower (Saturday, Aug. 28). One of Kyiv's signature cathedrals (the nearby St. Michael's and St. Andrew's make for a nice threesome to visit - all within walking distance). It's foundation dates back to the 1000s.

• KYIV, UKRAINE — Borispol International Airport (Monday, Aug. 30). Clue: Long lines, confusion, cluelessness. Here we wait outside an unmarked gate for several hours for our flight from Kyiv to Moscow. This is after standing in line nearly two hours to check in — the check-in counters features long lines, confusion and cluelessness. And in between check-in and boarding is airport security, where a worker wanted to take away the wooden toy maces (spiky balls on a handle) from Cheryl's carry-on luggage. Cheryl stood firm, the security worker relented.

• MOSCOW, RUSSIA - St. Basil's Cathedral (Tuesday, Aug. 31). Clue: The trademark, colorful onion-shaped domes. This landmark sits on one end of Moscow's Red Square. It was a rather drab, dark afternoon the day we visited.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Red Square (Tuesday, Aug. 31). Clue: The Kremlin tower to the left side and the massive State Historical Museum in the center, anchoring the square's north side. We tried twice in as many days to visit the museum - a big disappointment for Cheryl.

• MOSCOW, RUSSIA — outside Red Square (Tuesday, Aug. 31). Cheryl in front of the State Historical Museum, with the smaller Voskresensky ("Resurrection") Gate entrance to Red Square on the left.

• MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Izmailovsky Park (Wednesday, Sept. 1). Clue: souvenir stands galore. Izmailovsky is Moscow's massive flea market for souvenirs - dolls, hats, amber, Soviet memorabilia, etc. Our first purchase — and most important of our visit — was buying a pair of umbrellas, much needed for a soggy, sloppy day of shopping. Even the vendors were bailing early.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dulles International Airport (Thursday, Sept. 2). Clue: Long lines, confusion, clueless airport workers impatiently shouting at foreign visitors. Luckily, nothing like that happened to us while we were in Europe - we wouldn't have been able to understand anything! We flew from Moscow to D.C. to Chicago to Utah - a long trip home.

Keep on trekkin'

After months and months of planning as trek masters for our ward's youth trek to Martin's Cove, we finally realized the event Aug. 12-14. Cheryl and I had the pleasure of being the only adults on the bus riding with 50-plus kids ages 11 (think of them as "turning 12 this year) to 19.

Our three-day event went off so smoothly - the biggest problems were running a couple of hours behind on a very busy Friday (not a big problem ... we got everything done) and a few sprinkles and a bit of windy weather (but nothing like the gale-force winds that pummeled our ward five years previous). Actually, the biggest problem was my herniated disk, which didn't take too kindly to the long bus ride. But the walking was better than sitting, sleeping was far from the ground on Austin and Laura's five-story-high air mattress (OK, it just seemed that way), and a constant supply of pain meds and muscle relaxants kept the back woes manageable.

We don't have a whole lot of photos - yet. Since we had a couple assigned to be the event photographer and videographer, Scott didn't take his camera and Cheryl only got a shot or two. We're having our trek finale fireside in a couple of Sundays, and all the trek participants will be receiving a DVD of video highlights and a CD of all the photos. We may find one or two more of us and/or Braden.

Scott says: This was our support group (excluding the eight couples who served as "ma's and pa's" to our eight groupings of youth.) Our support "family" included, from left to right, the Bichsels, Trev Harmon, the Barneses, the Holmeses, the Russells, the Taylors and the Reeses.

Cheryl says: We loved the relationships we developed with these people. It truly took all of these adults to pull off what we wanted to do. We surrounded ourselves with dependable and talented people!

Scott says: Braden was in his own trek "family," but we crossed paths with him from time to time. Here we are with the Sweetwater River as a backdrop. It was an interesting trek experience this time over the 2005 time, since I had learned that I have a great-great-great-grandfather who at the age of seven was part of the Martin Handcart Company along with his widowed mother (my great-great-great-great grandmother). Ask me and I'll tell you the story some time.

Cheryl says: We had encouraged the ward to do another trek while Braden was in YM. And the bonus was for us to be able to participate with him. You have no idea how patient he had to be for the countless planning meetings and all the secrets we had to try to keep from him. He was awesome...and the best thing was to see the impact that trek had on him!

Scott says: The trekmaster callings were busy and time-consuming, and Cheryl shouldered much of the burden. It was an enjoyable opportunity to work together in the same calling - something we haven't gotten to do much over the past 25+ years. Oh, and I like this photo.

Cheryl says: Yup, we are pretty cute together! Someday maybe we can be missionaries out here...we have the clothes, and a love and respect for this place. We loved having this calling together...not often that a husband and wife have that chance. We have wonderful memories of this great experience...it was all worth it!

Bulldoggin' it

Cheryl and I missed Braden's first two games of the season. He's playing offensive and defensive line on the Provo High sophomore team. This is the third game - a 32-0 shutout win at West Lake High.

Scott says: In the above photo of the sidelines, Braden is No. 54. A couple of his friends from our stake are Grant Allen (50) and Fanga Sperry (66), who was out with a shoulder injury.

Cheryl says: I think that Braden should be the one making brilliant comments here.

Scott says: In this game, Braden played left tackle (think "The Blind Side" movie, where he is lined up in this image. His preference, however, is to play guard - especially when he can pull out for a running block.

Cheryl says: I pretty much have no idea what position Braden is ever playing...I just go yell a lot...and hope he does not get hurt too bad :)

Scott says: Braden is one of the taller/bigger kids on his team, which is small in size and in number compared to opposing teams.

Cheryl says: Yeah...and this is the boy we used to call "smurf" when he was pretty much the smallest kid on his team and having to crawl into huddles because no one knew he was there!

Scott says: Depending on the formation, Braden either plays defensive tackle (in a 4-3 set) or nose tackle (in a 3-4). Here he is at nose tackle against West Lake, which meant he drew double-teaming blockers and was supposed to clog up the middle of the line.

Scott says: The head coach for Braden's Provo team again this year is Joe Evans, a former BYU quarterback who was back-up to Ty Detmer. Helping this year in coaching the linemen is Ken Schmidt (above), former BYU linebackers coach and defensive coordinator who also coached at Weber State. Here are the connections - Joe Evans' son Jeremy is the QB on Braden's team, and Joe Evans' wife (Jeremy's mother) is Ken Schmidt's daughter.

Scott says: That would be Braden looking down the offensive line, with the tight end at his left side.

Cheryl says: I personally admire Braden so much for his dedication...he spent all summer going to training and faithfully carries out all the practices and workouts in addition to his schoolwork. He is really becoming a team player and good friend to his teammates, skills that will be valuable throughout life...you know...all I ever needed to know I learned on the football field...has that book been written yet?

Scott says: Here he is blocking (against No. 22) in a Provo pass play. He was pleased to not have given up a quarterback sack that game.

Scott says: And he was also happy to have blocked a West Lake punt, shown here. Braden is the guy jumping up in the middle, with the blocked ball going up over his head. The Bulldogs recovered the ball in West Lake territory and soon scored one of their five touchdowns.

Cheryl says: Booya Braden! He got some serious height. We were so excited!

Scott says: And Braden celebrated his block with a primal scream.

Cheryl says: What am I supposed to say here...that he practices those at home?

OK, I will just say that Braden is one handsome football player and most importantly, son.

Catching up

OK, there's been a lot going on for the past month and a half that we should have posted already on the blog - family reunion, Jenna and Carter's visit, ward trek to Martin's Cove, our 17-day trip to Europe (Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Moscow), Braden's football, Scott's herniated disk - OK not that one.

I'll start posting a bunch of photos with a comment or two and let Cheryl - and maybe Braden - expand with their own comments.

So, keep checking back in the next little while - and keep reviewing the older posts to see newer comments from the family. -- Scott