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

Taylor Family Reunion- August 2010

The Taylor family gathered in Utah for a long awaited family reunion and week full of fun together. We sported very cool tee shirts made by the Mitch/Jennifer Taylor family that had a large 't' on the front with on overlay saying "rock on" since we were going to City of Rocks in Almo as part of the reunion.Here are a collection of photos from our reunion...there are MANY MORE where these came from, but I tried to find at least one of every person in our immediate family...Who is this handsome Mexican you ask? It is the brave Bradino Bandito, champion stick horse rider in the Almo rodeodito!!

And this little buckaroo is none other than Carter, waiting with Grandma, while Mom Jenna goes horseback riding with Braden (below) and cousin Bronson.

We did some hiking up in City of Rocks one evening while we were there...and we really missed Austin and Breanna, who had to stay in Provo to work.
We also hiked over in Castle Rocks State Park on a really hot afternoon.
We stayed at the Almo Inn and loved it! The cabins were comfortable and decorated so cute.
We had to get a picture of Laura in the peekhole window in the shed out back at Grandpa Wally's place...much like the ones we have of Austin when he was younger.
We loved being with the entire family...which has grown by two over the past year...baby Carter and now baby Olive, daughter of Megan and Rusty...and first grandbaby of Mitch and Jen!
We especially loved just being together with FAMILY!!! There are so many more wonderful memories of this week together. We love our family so much and thank Carole for her generosity in making this happen and all the family that worked so hard to make it come off so beautifully!

One of my favorite activities was an "ancestor hunt" in the Grouse Creek cemetery...Lori put a lot of time into putting together packets with pictures and information about people, then we had to find the gravestone. It was a very special time, and that is what it is all about isn't it? We thank our relatives that have gone before, for the heritage they have left us! We are so glad to be TAYLORS! Love you all!!

Happy Anniversary to Us...Dresden style

Scott has a way of making sure we are traveling for our anniversary... I think he tries to top the previous trips and this was no exception. August 18, 2010 found us in Dresden Germany.We spent our 29th wedding anniversary at the Hotel Kipping; very quaint and old fashioned. Almost all the streets in Dresden that we saw were cobblestone, so rustic and old.
When we saw these pastries at the market, we just could not resist...the perfect anniversary treat! European bakeries are wonderful!
We did not get any pictures of us together in this town, so here are a couple of us separately. I am standing by the back of the Hauptkirche which faces the Elbe River from the front.

Here are a couple of shots of Scott. The first if from the bridge over the Elbe...Remember the cupola you see in this picture because...

...the second shot is way up inside the cupola of the Frauenkirche. We could see all around the city from here. Most of these buildings have had to be meticulously reconstructed because of WWII. It really makes you appreciate what they went through, and feel grateful that these places are being preserved.

We had a wonderful anniversary exploring this beautiful city in Germany! Can't wait to see where #30 takes us:)

10K Observations

One of my goals this year was to run the traditional 10K on July 24...It has been a tradition for about 6-7 years now? I know I missed when we were in China once, and somewhere else once, but we have run it for a long time. I do not love it, but I guess I need the challenge to get off my little 3 mile runs to make myself go further...once a year.

This year my running buddy was Braden, and a fine running companion he was! He did not whine and say he was going to die like he did about 4 years ago. Instead, he had a goal to finish under an hour, and that pushed me to run faster than I usually do. I am a SLOW RUNNER...I only do a 11 minute mile when I run around the neighborhood. So, to finish in under an hour would mean less than a 10 minute mile...OK Jenna, stop laughing, we know you can do 6 MMs.

Braden hung with me although he could have run much faster...until the last about 5-6 blocks when he took off to make sure he could meet his goal. And we both made it in under an hour!

So here are a few observations from the race today:

We hate getting up at 4:30 a.m. to make the race start in SLC of 6:05/ We love that it is dark and cool when we start so we can finish before the sun is barely up.

We hate how many people run this race and that you are practically tripping over people at the start/We love that there are so many different ages and body builds all running together and you are always passing and being passed by people the whole race...you are never alone!

We hate the kids who yell "run faster" when we run the parade route at the end of the race when you are dead tired (We joked about Braden grabbing them and then I would body check them!)/ We love the people who encourage all the runners with posters and yell encouraging comments all along the parade route.

We hate the people who try too hard to get attention by running in costumes like chicken suits etc./ We love the people who run in costumes like pioneer clothes, or kilts, or the ones who serve sparkling cider on silver trays to runners along the route.

We hate the sore quads we will have from running downhill so much/ We love the speed we get from running downhill.

We hate that Breanna and Jenna and Austin were not here to run with us/ We love that we ran this race together! We love to hate things. We love the pioneers! HAPPY PIONEER DAY!!!

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS

You know, it has been a summer of BOYS around here with Breanna gone...lots of sports on TV with a token chick flick at my demand.

And it was even more so this past week when we got to have CODY and TANNER come stay for a few days while LeAnn and Mike took a well-deserved vacation from the kids!
We found a box of Braden's old army toys and hotwheels cars that pretty much were the hit of the week! A trip to the dollar store for treats and a cool football shaped water bottle, and voila, you have a very fun time! In the above photo, Cody and Tanner were showing Scott how tough they were...see how impressed he was???
But the thing that Cody and Tanner love about uncle Scott and aunt Cheryl most is....
THE POOL!!!! Oh yes, they were practically shriveled up raisins by the time we could get them out each day! THANKS CODY AND TANNER FOR A WONDERFUL TIME! It was fun to have that young energy around for a few days at least:)

A FUN VISIT

We had a fun surprise on July 5 this year. Jenna's former roommate and running teammate from BYU, Ali was in town for the July 4 parade etc. and stopped over to say hello.It was so fun to see Ali and her husband Lee and baby Zac (not sure if I spelled that right) and to see what fun things Zac was interested in...to prepare us for Carter coming in a few weeks.

It made our day that they would take the time to check in with us! We do love and miss our kids' friends as they grow up and move on! THANKS ALI FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME OVER!!!

Jennifer's Birthday

Would you believe yet another July 4 Birthday BBQ at the Taylors for sister Jennifer!!!We do not tire of this tradition!!! Although we did get a request for BURGERS this year and that was really a fun change from the kebobs. We had regular beef and Thai Turkey burgers and they were both YUMMY! And for dessert the traditional angelfood cake and red and blue fruit along with German Chocolate Cake!
The Hunter kids were all decked out in red, white, and blue...when they were not swimming in the backyard pool, which made it up this year!
And I just had to take a picture of the amazing red, white and blue candy I found mostly in Amish country this spring...pretty fun! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA AND JENNIFER!

Trek Temple Outing

I am really far behind in posting, but wanted to get this one out there. In June we had a really fun youth activity going up to the Provo Temple to do baptisms for the dead. My job was to take the youth who were not yet 12 yet, but who would be by our trek date in August. We went up to the temple with the older kids, and then when they went downstairs, we walked around the grounds. It was such a pretty day and we took a blanket and Scott's laptop with a powerpoint presentation that I used to talk to them about preparing to go to the temple. We had a wonderful discussion, with great questions by my three friends. It was a great activity. You can see Braden in the center back, and me on the far right with my arm around Emily. Of course, the great draw of the whole activity was that I had promised ice cream cones at Macey's when we were done!

Jekyl and Hyde Plant

This Spring, I had a beautiful, but unfamiliar plant start growing in the large pot by our front porch. I did not know what it was, but it had such pretty leaves, and then really cute pink flowers...So we just let it take over and enjoyed seeing how fast it grew.
But then we noticed something disturbing...see these cute green fuzzy, pointy things?
I think when they dried out, they would be pretty much DEATH! Yup! I nurtured that tricky weed all spring long!
As you can see...I gave the weed the whack! I had to empty the entire pot to get the HUGE root out...it had grown through the bottom and into the flower bed.

I replanted the pot with perennials...a cute yellow one and LUPIN, the savior of Mt. St. Helens...that is a joke for my family who listened to a lecture up at Mt. St. Helens on the saving qualities of the lupin :) Not so large and showy, but NOT A WEED! I think there is a lesson to be learned by this. Oh yes, talk material!

I'm a SURVIVOR

Feelin' pretty good right now. Just got a phone call that made a few people around here happy. To set the stage, I went for my annual mammogram a few weeks ago and within a week got a letter back saying they needed to re-screen me and do an ultrasound on an area on my right breast. Last year it was my left.

So, I made the appointment and went in on Monday, yesterday for the ultrasound and mammogram. It is interesting to see inside yourself, but not really wonderful to see a dark spot show up (actually white on the mammogram and dark on the ultrasound). What they found was not a cyst like last year. Cysts are fluid filled and uniform in shape, like an oval or circle, not bumpy edges. They are not a problem unless they get too large and painful.

The hard mass they found this time was a little less than a centimeter in size, (they measure the screen images.)

I was informed that this would require a biopsy and that it could possibly be cancer. I had to come back later in the day for my biopsy, but at least I did not have to wait days or weeks. I was glad to go right back...the sooner the better. I was not really excited about the prospects of a needle being inserted inside of me...first one to numb the breast, and then a large needle inside of a needle that they used to extract the tissue samples. The pain killer shot was well...a killer. Not my idea of a good time. I pretty much could not feel any of the rest of the big needle stuff, just a little pressure, very easy really. I just did not look at it, so I cannot tell you what it looked like. I remember passing out watching Jenna get shots in her head as a 5 year old, so I just don't look anymore!!

I was steri-stripped back together and given some little ice pads to pad my bra with for a day or so, and told that I would get a call by Thursday afternoon...that makes for a few days of uneasiness eh? We let the kids know what was up and set out to wait for results.

My take on it was that either it was not cancer, and that is good...or it is cancer and they caught it really early...before the little lump could even be felt manually. And that is good too.

Braden did not go to football today. When I came out around 7 am, I found him on the couch, looking rather sick. He said he was not sick though. I did not clue in that he was sick...with worry. It was not until later that morning that Scott suggested I check in with him. I had no idea he was so worried. I assured him that one way or another it was fine...like I said, an 80% chance everything would be just fine, or a very good chance of nipping cancer in the bud to find it so early if that was the outcome.

So, back to that phone call. It was unexpected so early, but very welcome.

Braden says he plans on going to football tomorrow!

YAY! I am a biopsy survivor! And for now, I am CANCER FREE!!

Breanna invades Europe Part II

A second installment of Breanna in Austria. Got these off the blogs of her fellow students - nice to see photos of her in her now-favorite element. The first two photos are from Breanna dressing up for a Viennese ball a couple of weekends ago. Had to post these soon because there may be more soon from her side trips to Italy and Switzerland.

Check out her blogs here (stories and photos) and here (photos only).

Breanna's Garden

Breanna asked me for pictures of her garden. I call it the Perennial Garden. Over the past several years, she has planted a variety of beautiful perennials that have come together nicely.One day her peonies were huge buds...
And the next they had bloomed...so pretty!
She has poppies and lilies and mini sunflowers, snapdragons, English daisies and
one of my favorites, columbines.
It is a glorious little floral display. We sure love our flowers around here.
So Jenna, do you want pictures of your garden now? It is looking pretty cute as well!