The McLaws Clan

Update :)

2010-05-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Lots to update on!

Sorry were so behind! :)

~Curtis getting the candy store ready in South Dakota!

~Daddy McLaws runs his first Marathon!

Time: 5 hours 51 minutes 27 seconds

~Cousin Nathan leaves on his mission to Capetown, South Africa

~Marianne is now 8 months pregnant! About 40 days to go!!!

~Baby Briella is growing fast :) Cutie Bug!!

~Mommy McLaws is running between College Classes, helping with the Candy store, being a Bishops Wife and getting ready to help Marianne in AZ with the baby :)

~Orrin is home from his Mini Mission and were are trying to send him off on a 2 year one now :) feel free to email him at: bestatitudegratitude@gmail.com

~Benjamin is still running in track (and lettering!) ... he is also a straight A student!! :)

LOVE- The McLaws Clan

Marianne is Pregnant!

2010-02-26T06:56:00.001-08:00

YEP! Its true. We are currently 6 month pregnant. Due end of May! And we are having a girl. We are thrilled. We'll post pics of her when she arrives.

Orrin Makes His Eagle Scout Project!!

2009-06-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

CONGRATS ORRIN!!!! We are so proud of you =)

Video of Orrin's Friend Kenton and Orrin below, Enjoy!

(Please pause music below to view the slideshow properly)

Curtis is Married =)

2009-05-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Christina is PREGNANT!!!!

2009-04-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Well... Still a little behind on the news.. =) Sorry ...
But just so you know... our little Christina is pregnant. Ben and Christina are expecting their little bundle on Oct. 7th, 2009. We don't know what shes having yet... but.. as soon as we find out .. I'll let you know! CONGRATS RICHARDS!!!!

Curtis is Getting...... MARRIED!

2009-03-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Tis true =) Her name is Auli'i Sanchez. They met at BUY-ID. Wedding is set for May 16th.... will update you on the pictures after the Wedding. Ahhh...love. =)

Lv, Mar =)

WE BELIEVE IN FREEDOM!

2008-10-04T23:27:00.000-07:00

Make sure to turn off the music below before playing this film.
Created by: Marianne =) Enjoy...

UPDATE ON THE CLAN =)

2008-09-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

Well... a lot has been going on with us lately! Heres an update:
Picture above is supposivley a King from Denmark. We might be related... dont know for sure though.... Marianne is getting into Genealogy more and loving it.

We went to Mt Rushmore South Dakota this summer and has a blast. Our Grandparents have an amazing Ranch there so we try and go every summer. This Summer we were able to watch the 4th of July fireworks! So fun and defiantly worth the 8 hour wait.

Group Shot of us wating the the evening to ome to watch fireworks.
From left to right: Christina & Ben (her husband) Cousin Wyatt and Aunt Marianne, Mamma, Me and Billy, Cousin Derek, Dad

Papa, Bill and Derek getting ready to do some fishing. Derek caught us tons of fish and we had a huge fish fry!

Wyatt and I by a stream trying to nurse a baby bat we found back to health. His Mom abandoned him.

I took these two picture of Christina (and tons more) to experiment a little with my awesome camera. I loved how they turned out and decided to offer Brides a thing called Trash the Dress... where after their weddings they can take some fun shots without worrying about their dresses getting ruined! Isnt Christina beautiful!

A fellow photographer friend of ours wanted to practice a little on working with his new camera... so Orrin and I had some shots taken of us.

Orrins turned out cool!

Thats all... I'll be better about keeping this updated. Love you all-- McLaws Clan

Update on the McLaws Clan....

2008-06-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I figured it was about bloody time for an update.... so, here we go!
Recent extended family news: our cousin Derek Smith returned home from his Mexico City Mission. Its really fun to have him home and to have all the Smith boys together again.

Immediate Family News:

Dad is still working hard between Sheridan and Billings. Being a Bishop just makes him a little busier too.. meaning he's always busy! =) He's very happy though and even though he can never make it past 15 minutes into a movie, he always has time for a joke and a song =)
WE LOVE YOU DAD!
Mom just retired from Seminary from being a teacher for 3 years!! Being a Bishops wife is a calling all in itself! She loved Seminary, but I think she'll be very happy not to have to get up at 4am anymore! GOOD JOB MAMMA!
Mom visiting Derek at his homecoming!

Billy & Mar are just working like ants!! We don't stop! We are packing up our current house and moving up to Billings for the Summer (gotta escape this dang 115 degree heat!!) .. after the Summer is over we will be moving into our cute little Condo in Chandler that has had renters in it forever. We excited to live in something smaller! 4,700 sq feet was becoming a major pain! So were excited to up North this Summer. Billy's Real Estate continues to be good and Mariannes Videography business couldn't be better!!
(Jared & Mar dancing at Christinas Wedding - Feb 08)

Curtis... is back in Billings too!! He is working at Best Buy and is still taking college classes. He's liking being back at home with the family and out of dorm life.
He promises to teach his older sister dance moves this Summer, and promised Bill to play Raquet ball with him a lot this Summer, so were excited for Curt to get us into shape!!

Christina was married in Feb 08 and is truly loving every minute of it. In her words "I was made for marriage!" Ben has Celiac's which means he can't eat Gluten. Therefore, Christina has to make all their bread special for him, so its been fun but a lot of work. They are also in Billings, MT this Summer at Mom & Dads working and preparing to go back to school this Winter. If Mom and Dad were having empty nest syndrome..... well, there not gonna have it this Summer!!
Orrin is doing great! He has really learned to control his ticks. It takes amazing brain control and Orrin is just doing 110%! Im so proud of him. He's off all his meds and is such a wonderful boy! Always smiling and loving. Were rooming next to his room this Summer, we'll be excited to hear all his loud teenage music! ;) Good thing its all Christian rock!! Another exciting factoid: ORRIN JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL! He graduated early!! What a smartie!
CONGRATS ORRIN!!!!!!

Ben has been running track this past school year and has done amazing! He went from Junior to Varsity!! His coach upgraded him because he is so good. So here Ben was, a Freshman running with Seniors! WAY TO GO! We have this running gene from our Grandpa Dale and Ben is using it to his advantage! He ran to 2 mile in 11 min 13 secs!!!! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! Good job Ben!

We hope everyone is doing well.. We love you ALL!!!!!

Gypsy Greek Orthodox Wedding...

2008-05-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. You can combine these two!
I filmed a Wedding last night...

They were Greek Orthodox which in itself means that the Wedding and Reception is going to be totally decorated to the max and the Wedding and Reception will be nothing but fun! Second, all of these people are Gypsy’s!

No, I am not calling them Gypsy’s… they told me that what they preferred I called them. With those two facts, Greek Orthodox and Gypsy’s, I knew I was really in for a treat & culture shock.

And I was right! It was quite a wild celebration! Let me tell you a little about how Gypsy Greek Orthodox families party.....

Well first, the Reception takes place before the Wedding. Now I understand that this is not true for normal Greek Orthodox people, however, this is true for Gypsy Greek Orthodox families.

During the Reception there is tons of dancing. And when I says tons of dancing, I mean, they don’t stop dancing for literally 4 hours straight. I saw this lady dancing the same way, with a type of Maypole in one hand and a huge diamond crown with a veil in the other hand and about 3 hours into her dancing I asked her “Why have you been dancing so long without a break and what are these things your holding?” She told me that she was holding the crowned veil and dancing with it because it is tradition for her, one of the Aunts, to dance around with the crowned veil in her hand because it is to bring them good luck and that at the end of the dancing she will crown the Bride and will pray over the crown and will put a blessing on her and her new husband marriage.

As for the maypole, she told me that it was because May 1st was the Greek Orthodox Easter and this was them celebrating this Easter season of their traditional heritage. I really enjoyed learning all of this culture information. How fun to have something a little different at a Reception.

So the Reception continues and everyone is dancing. All of the sudden, after 4 hours of dancing, the music stops suddenly. It was quite jolting to my system because I had been hear and the same song played over and over again for literally 4 hours. It was fun. But when the music stopped I was thinking to myself, “What’s going on?” Everyone rushed over to the tables and started munching away on what I really thought was a feast; gourmet steaks, potatoes, salad, cheesecake, casseroles, etc. The menu went on and on. I couldn’t believe it. Dinner seemed to be over quickly.

Once it was done a few men including the Grooms Father, Grandfather and a few of his Uncles went around to each table carrying a single bread basket asking for a donation for the Bride and Groom. Each person gave a t least $200! I couldn’t believe the generosity. Quickly the bread basket because a mobile savings account, and when it was all said and done, the Patriarchs had collected thousands from the guests. It was quite amazing.

So, I thought that was the end of the evening. The Reception was to go from 6-11 pm & it was 15 minutes to 11pm. So I start to wind down when all of the sudden the traditional Wedding March song started playing on the overhead and all the sudden down the stairs come the bride in a beautiful white dress, which was a surprise to me because the Bride was dressed in a pink gown all night. With no advanced notice the Bride and her Father start walking between all the guests and walk to the dance floor. Once they arrived at the dance floor the song changed from the Wedding March to Butterfly Kisses, which is a very popular Father-Daughter dance song right now. They dance for about one minute, and during the rest of the song the Bride gets passed to over 25 guys from her Groom, to Uncles, Cousins, Friends, you name it! She dances with so many people, it was like a whirlwind.
Once that was done, everyone at the Reception gets in a circle and dances one last time to the tradition Greek song and goes in circle singing “Op” and “Opa” every now and then.

Once the songs ends all the Aunts and girl Cousins run over to the Bride (literally...run!) and bobby pin the huge crown to the Brides head, once that’s done they run over to the cake, cut it, feed each other a slice, take a sip of wine, and all the sudden a Greek Priest appears, pushes his head to the Bride and Grooms, whispers something in their ear for about 30 seconds and then pronounced them married. Everyone screams, the Priest ties a red ribbons around the Bride and Grooms arms to show them joining together.
All of the suden family members push the newlyweds over to a leafy arch and tons of people take pictures with them within 3 minutes.
After pictures, the Bride and Groom suddenly run off and jump in a limo and then the party totally dies.

Literally from the end of the bread basket to the limo taking off, they did all of that in 15 minutes. I could not believe it!

At the end of those 15 minutes I remember thinking, “Geez, this is not romantic! They just rushed though all the important romantic stuff, but spent 4 hours dancing to the same song.” However, I remember looking at all the guests and seeing how happy they all were and I thought, “Humm… you know what? This is their life, it is their culture and is who they are.” After that I was so happy for them and learned to enjoy the whole night and just soak up all the different culture things I was being exposed to.

Every religion, family, etc. has different ways of doing things. Sometimes when we are in our little world doing all of our little things everyday we forget sometimes that we are apart of this big wonderfully multi-cultural world. So, live your life the way you want but enjoy all the positive differences amongst us!

LOVE, Mariannie ~

Zoo Walk...

2008-04-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well Mamma was in Gilbert, AZ this last week visiting Marianne and Billy! It was really fun. One morning Marianne and Mamma decided to visit the Phoenix Zoo, it was beautiful, so much fun and good exercise! The most exciting part was the Orangutan's. The Dads of babies ususally take a while to warm up to the baby. Well now, the 2 year old baby Orangutan's Daddy has now accepted the baby into the "clan" and was even playing with it when we were there. To cute!
So it was fun! We miss you Mamma!!!

Whats Billy & Mar Up To?

2008-04-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well, we havent posted anything for a while! Sorry!! :) Billy & Mar are just hard at work. Marianne recently flew to Billings, MT and filmed some commercials for the Foot Care Centers. It was a lot of fun. Those commercials will be posted as soon as I get them up. Other than that, Marianne is just working a lot on videos and trying to make her business grow. Its a tough job! Bill is having a tougher time though... Real Estate is really cruddy right now. So were just working hard everyday. Thats all! :) We're happy and that all that matters!
These are pictures from some fun we had last night with our friends.
Enjoy...

Group Shot :)

Leah loved that Doggy!

Bill & Mar playing Baseball on the Wii... Marianne sucks by the way! :)

Brittany, Amber, and I
I spy a little pregnant tummy with yellow and white stripes!! :)

Brittany- The Crazy, Amber- The Mom, Mar- The Wonderer

Amber & Doug in a boxing match on the Wii... it was funny to watch!

Brit & Amber punching it out!

MC Video Production NEW Website

2008-03-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to inform you that my new website is finally up.
See the side tab that says Phoenix AZ Wedding Videos under my favorites and click the link.

There you can watch videos of Families and Weddings that I have made.

We are still not finished with the website... now that I have the video pages up, I will be adding my Photography Pages & Photo Galleries as well.
The Pricing Page will also be put up soon, however if you want video or photos taken, and don't know the price, email us at mcvideopro@gmail.com and I will give you a quote.
So in a few days be on the lookout for those additions to the website.....

If you are interested in having a video done of your life, whether it be: births, baby moments (the growing years), children moments, family moments, family parties, kids parties, office parties, baby showers, baptisms, confirmations, weddings, religious ceremonies, BBQs, awards/ceremonies, graduations, prom events, music videos, commercial/business, funerals, etc... we do it all!

We take the shots/video record the event and give you the original footage or we can spice it up and make it into a cinematic movie or both!
Either way, it will be something that your family can enjoy for years to come!

Another option; we can take your home videos on VHS or Mini DVs, and transfer them to a DVD for you. We can either take the original VHS footage and
transfer it onto a DVD for preservation purposes or edit it and spice it up into a Cinematic Movie... or both!

Also, if you know anyone that would be interested in our services, please pass our name along.
We really appreciate referrals and offer discounts on our packages if a referral books with us.

Sincerely,

Marianne McLaws-Cotter
Owner/Videographer/Editor

Wedding Teaser....

2008-02-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

Hey All! :) I thought I'd show a few shots of Christina & Bens Wedding day and tease you a bit!!
PS--> MAKE SURE YOU TURN OFF THE MUSIC BELOW BEFORE YOU PRESS PLAY ON THE VIDEO!!
Enjoy..... Lv, Marianne :)

Huh!?

2008-02-23T09:08:00.001-08:00

Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!

fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

New LDS Presidency

2008-02-06T19:44:00.001-08:00

Our New Presidency!
Dont they look refreshing!?!
I want to look as good as President Monson when Im 80!
What an amazing group of men. We are so happy to have this new presidency put together.

Updates....

2008-02-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well its almost time for the Richards/McLaws wedding!
We're very excited. Marianne will be filming the event so be on the look out for
the Wedding Video soon!
In the mean time... enjoy this video of our families summer of 2007.
Finally finished it! :) Enjoy....
Lv, Marianne :)

A Mix ... :)

2007-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Thought you all would enjoy it.... espically our little Christina :)
Its from our favorite Muppet Christmas Carol movie mixed with Harry Potter, which we love as well! :) Cute!!!!!!

Turn off the music below to watch this fun movie!

2007-12-15T11:22:00.001-08:00

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Thanksgiving in Montana!!!

2007-11-30T08:29:00.001-08:00

Well, this years Thanksgiving was wonderful! We missed Christina however... :( but we'll see her soon so we are all so very excited about that!
This year Bill and I went up to Billings, and Curtis met us all as well.. driving from Idaho!
Nani and Papa were even there.
It was sooooooo much fun! The town of Billings was beautifully flocked with sparkling snow. It was a picturesque event.
We love our McLaws side soooo much! We cant wait to see you all in January!! Enjoy the Thanksgiving weekend pictures.
Lv, Mar
PS... Moms big eyes/glasses pics.... we were making beaded necklaces... :) Its easier to see the beads that way! What a cutie!!

Billings Update....

2007-11-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

Dad and I had a party at our house this weekend. We hold an annual party for freshman who aren't old enough to go to T.W.I.R.P. (Prom backwards where the girls ask the boys) We call our party "The F.A.D. Party" Stands for Freshman Avoiding Dating. A progressive dinner, we go from house to house. We went to the Lewis' for appetizers and games, McLaws' house for dinner... Lots of "FAD" food like chicken on a stick and Tater Tot Casserole. We did it in FAD style. No plates or utensils. That was interesting! Then off to the Wells' for dessert and awards for The FADiest costume. Then swimming and toenail painting at the Wing's indoor pool! Great night and great fun!

SuNbEaMs!!

2007-11-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

Well, Bill and I are Sunbeam teachers and this week our Sunbeam class (3-4 year olds) are in charge of a 15 minute Sharing Time with the other Primary kids. Well... do you really think its fun to try and make 3 year olds read scriptures to other kids for 15 minutes? No, not happening. So.. I put my skillz ;) to the test and made a "I AM THANKFUL" Sunbeam video. Were showing the video this Sunday in Primary for our sharing time. And all the parents are coming to watch! I'm a little nervous, but the kids really turned out SO cute on the video... Enjoy!

Lv, Mar

Update From Billings Montana!!

2007-11-14T20:16:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful night getting to know the members of the new Bishop.
Dad is a little nervous because he wants to do a good job.
I think he will be a great Bishop....

as long as he doesn't break down and do his Chris Farley
Motivational speaker bit for the youth!!!

I have been picking weeds, yes weeds, for Christina's reception. A friend of mine, Nancy Watkins and I went deep into the Bear-tooth Mountains and thinned a few dogwood bushes and found some weeds that actually look like wild flowers for drying. I had some extra dogwood and weeds so I put them in baskets and put them on the front porch. Happy Harvest! Hugs to all of you, from Arizona.....to Idaho....to Austria.

-Mom

Christina in Prague!

2007-11-12T09:21:00.001-08:00

CHRISTINA PICTURES FROM PRAGUE!!
Enjoy....

Touching the face of the St. who was made a Saint because he was killed by the King.....it's suppose to be good luck to give his face a rub :)
St. Vitus Cathedral

Subway station

Pretty View

Grave stones in the Jewish quarter

Fall Time

Awesome Tree!!

Ancient clock in the heart of Prague. On the hour the little figures move and the 12 apostles pass by the windows. Death rings his bell reminding you that this could be your last hour, so be ready for judgment.

Prague

View in the back is the castle hill in Prague

National Museum

Cute!

These two towers represent Adam and Eve. The one on the left is Eve- notice she is more slender and a little shorter- Adam is thicker and taller so he can protect her.

I just came back from Prague about a week ago. It was a fantastic trip and I had lots of good and ......interesting experiences. First I'll tell you about where I stayed. We normally stay in a regular hotel, but this time we stayed in what is called a Hostel. They are common in Europe. They are very cheap and the set up is a little different from a normal hotel. There are four or five single beds per room. The always fill up the rooms, so if you are traveling with say, 2 people, you will be put in a room with 2 or 3 more people, man or woman. We were lucky that we went in a big group so no one had to stay with strangers. There are no personal bathrooms in the rooms. There are floor bathrooms and floor showers. Those were divided into men and women, but they were MTC style. I am a little shy of the community shower thing, so I woke up in the middle of the night to shower :). The carpet everywhere is filthy!!!! There is gum smashed into it, grime in the corners and suspicious stains all over the place. I took pictures of the carpet for you all to see! (They are on facebook Mar) Out of all the rooms, we had the most interesting. There was a strong smell of pee in our room which we thought at first was probably just because overall plumbing in the building wasn't that great. We later found the strong source of that smell to be the closet. We think someone peed in there . It was really gross. It was hard to sleep in the smell and we were all a little scared of getting sick from the filth, but we survived! The good thing about having such a nasty place to stay was that it basically forced us to take advantage of Prague. We didn't want to spend much time there so we were out in the city from break of dawn till we were to tired to walk any more. If nothing else, the hostel was an experience :)!
Ok onto Prague. It was a beautiful city filled with amazing architecture. We saw a lot of different styles of architecture from Baroque, to Renaissance, to Romanesque, to Gothic. They had it all in Prague!
We went to a famous Gothic cathedral called St. Vitas Cathedral. It was huge and intimidating. It was one of those that has gargoyles and daemons all over the place. We learned that they put the daemons on the church because they believed that a real daemon would perish if he saw the likeness of himself. This way, if any daemons tried to go into the church, they would see themselves in the statues of the daemons on the church and thus perish. They sound pretty superstitious to me. I kept thinking of how that compares the the simple beauty in the temple. What a difference!
We also went to see a Jewish Synagogue. It was interesting. It was also very dark inside, but beautifully decorated in gold and intricate designs. It is so interesting to go into the Jewish worship buildings. In the Catholic cathedrals it is so ornate and focused on show, but there is at least focus on Christ. The Jewish places are just filled with designs. There is so much missing. I can't imagine worshiping with an absence of Christ. The Jews we have met seem to be good people though. They are respectable people who hold tight to tradition. I have liked all that I've met.
One of the fun things we did there was wander through the street market. They had a lot of really fun things there. There are so many different crafts that people do. It is neat to see the unique style in different countries when it comes to crafts and street vendors. There were a lot of artists who did pieces featuring the well known sights in Prague. I wanted to buy some art so bad, but I needed enough money to keep myself fed.
As for the food, it was good and relatively cheap. That was nice! I think my favorite food place so far is Hungary. Italy probably follows that. Europe is filled with yummy food! It's quite a danger........think wedding Christina..... must limit yourself on all the wonderful food!!!! It's a strugle I don't mind having :).
One more thing, and then I'm done I swear! I got to see a lot of art while I was there. I saw a lot of Mucha. I don't know if any of you are familiar with his work or not. It is beautiful. He mostly did women in whimsical settings. Most of them are dressed which is a nice change! Also, they all have really long flowing hair. I really liked his stuff. Another artist I saw a lot of was Dali. Most of you have probably seen the picture of the melting clocks? That's Dali. He did some cool things with distortion of normal objects (like the clocks), but I didn't like him as much. He was a weirdo and he did a lot of creepy, distrubing, disgusting art. His style is really different. I think that's why it's famous, but I didn't personally love his stuff.
Shoot, I have one more huge thing to tell you, then I am REALLY done! I went to an exibit that travels all over the world. We were lucky that it was in Prague while we were there. It was called the body exibit. This was probably the coolest thing I did while I was there. At this exibit, they have tons and tons of human cadavers.....real ones. They have found a way to perserve the tissue so they can display all the parts of the body. None of the cadavers had their skin on, so it was a totall run down of the different muscles, the nerves, the blood system, the organs, everything! It was so so cool. I learned so much. Each cadaver was disected to feature a different set of muscles or team of muscles. I saw all the layers of muscle, tendons, veins, bones, ect. They also had every single organ in the body on display and a description of each. They even had a display that showed you the whole blood system. It was amazing! How they did it (I hope this doesn't freak anyone out) was they pumped a chmical through the bloodstream so it would get to all parts of the cadaver. This chemical made the veins perservable against another chemical that they would use to disolve the rest of the body. So you go into this room and you see all the veins, some so small they look like fuzz, of the body. It was all in the form of the body still. So it was like someone made a body out of strings and fuzz and let it float in liquid. That sounds creepy when I describe it, but it was SO interesting. I also learned all about the brain and the messages sent to nerves all down the spine. I wish I could describe it better. It just broke EVERYTHING down, every system, every function that your body performs and put it on display. I kept thinking, how could scientists have the gall to be athiest! How can you look at this intricate thing, where everything is so detailed and complex, yet perfect, and say that it crawled out of the ocean. How can you say that a supreme, all-knowing being didn't creat that? It just boggels my mind. Everything testifies that God lives. He is our creator, and what an amazing job He did. I worry that my world of people will be very simple. I don't know if I could design something like that! Anyways, that was an incredible, educational, and even edifying experience!
Ok, I'll stop! I love you all. Dad, I am so happy about your calling to be the Bishop of the Shilo Ward. You will be a wonderful Bishop. I wish I could have been there to see you sustained. I love you so much!
I love you all and pray every day that you are well. I will update you again in a little while about the things I'm doing here in Vienna. I will be staying here for the rest of the trip except for a trip to Frankfurt to visit the temple. So I have time to start being a tourist in Vienna! Have a wonderful day everyone and I will hopefully talk to you soon.
Life is beautiful!!!

Love always,
Christina

BISHOP MCLAWS!?

2007-11-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

YES!!! Its true... our amazing father has been called to be the Bishop in (one of our hometowns) Billings, MT - Shiloh Ward. We are so proud of him! Not necessarily for becoming Bishop, but for being worthy TO BE a Bishop. We are so grateful for such an amazing father. We are all truly blessed to have him in our lives! Not to mention, our wonderful supportive Mother! Good luck Mamma!! :) Dads lucky to have you by his side!!
Pictures coming soon of him and his new councilors. Keep and eye out for it...
Good luck Daddy!! We're all behind you!

Halloween Party 2007

2007-11-04T11:08:00.001-08:00

Bill and Mar had their 1st party as a married couple... Halloween! It was fun! :) Enjoy the pics!!

Christina Update... Budapest!!

2007-10-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody!!

First of all, plans for me and Ben's wedding are going very well. We are all settled on getting married the 16^th of February. Mom and I spend a few hours a week on the phone discussing and planning. She has an assignment every week and so do I. When our weekly talk comes around we pool our notes and what we’ve accomplished for the week and make decisions. Mom has been wonderful! She is so cute about getting clippings of flowers, cakes, bouquets, center-pieces, act and scanning them over to me. She’s putting a lot of work into our wedding. I have her running all over Billings doing things for me, and she has just been so fun about it. We are enjoying the process a lot, and I can’t wait to be back and help out with wedding plans in the flesh!

This past week I spent 4 days in Budapest Hungary. It was so wonderful! I love Budapest! It is a very beautiful city and there is so much to do! I also learned a lot about the history which was really interesting and sad. I have never heard much about Hungary, but it really went through a lot and I’m surprised that it’s not talked of more. After World War II, they were taken over by the Communists. It was a very scary time and didn’t end completely until about 15 years ago. The government literally bugged the whole country. The phones were tapped, homes were bugged, there were spies in church, and everywhere the people went they were afraid of being randomly arrested. Civilians were taken to a certain prison for no apparent reason and tortured for years. It’s a terrifying story. I went to the old jail they were taken to. It was very scary. I couldn’t believe what happened to these people who had done nothing. They usually had no idea why they were there. There was no rhyme or reason to it. They just took people off the streets. I won’t describe to you the means of torture that I saw, but it was terrifying. The basement, where all the torture cells were, still stunk from disease and human decay. It was a hard, but good experience to see and understand what they went through.

The more time I spend in Europe and the more I learn about the history of individual countries, the more I love America. I can’t tell you how patriotic I have become. I have always loved our country and appreciated the freedom we enjoy, but I don’t think I ever understood what the rest of the world is like. I talked to people on the streets of Hungary who remember that time of fear and sadness very well. It was not that long ago that it was still going on. I can not imagine living in the kind of fear they described living in. I cannot express how grateful I am and how blessed I feel to call the United States of America my home land. I love our country. Some of my friends talked to a woman on the street who asked where they were from. When they replied “The US.” She said, “Oh you come from the blessed land! There is no sadness there. You are so lucky. It is so horrible here”. It is interesting because we walk around looking at all the beautiful buildings, the opera houses, the parliament buildings, the gardens, the landscape, and we think “how wonderful Europe is”. As soon as you dig past the tourist appeal, you start to understand that those things mean nothing to the people. The things they think of are the freedom they’ve lived without, the darkness in their lives during times of war, and their fear of the government. These are the things that matter most. It is beautiful here, and the culture is rich, but there is no place like my beloved homeland. I will never wish that I lived anywhere else. I can’t imagine calling another place my home. People ridicule America because they think we are a pompous nation, that we lack culture and historical substance, and that we seek to control the world. The truth is, America is the best nation in the world, and to say so is not pompous. It is just true. As for history and culture, we happen to have the history and culture of all nations of the world brought together into one flourishing nation. And I don’t recall any time in our history when the cruelty I’ve learned about was dispensed amongst countrymen. We have the horrors of slavery to look to, and I don’t discredit what an awful thing it was, but what I have seen and learned about over here is FAR worse.

I have one more patriotic push to make. I am republican through and through. My convictions in my political standing have become stronger than ever. I have listened to a lot of criticism on the War in Iraq, even from LDS people, and I have some words to say about that. In almost every concentration camp, jail house, work camp, torture chamber I have seen, the end of its existence came when an American flag was sighted in the distance. Many of these places have huge memorials built for the American soldiers who liberated the innocent captives. “Their sacrifice to liberate will never be forgotten”. I hear a lot of people saying that we are in Iraq to get oil, that we are seeking to push our ideals onto a people who don’t want it, that we are putting our noses in the business of a country we have no authority to put our noses into. I see these same people going to museums at concentration camps and I see them saying “This is so awful, how could such a thing happen?” It’s true, it is awful! At the end of touring facilities such as these, the tour ALWAYS ends with something to this affect, “We need to remember the past and use it to prevent this sort of thing in the present and future from happening”. People shake their heads in agreement and seem deeply moved. Then I see these same people go out and fighting the war that we are involved in. HELLO!!!!!! Are we missing something here? Are these horrible things not happening all over the world still? Are we not fighting to liberate the innocent people in these countries where unexplained persecution, torture, and death are taking place? Have we not put a stop to things exactly like this by bringing Sadam Hussein (sp?) down? We have, we are fighting the very same horrors. So why do these people,e so horrified and disturbed by what they see in these museums, fight the war? I could go on for hours. All I have to say is that in a few decades there will probably be museums in Iraq about torture chambers, about jails, about oppression from the government, and memorials for the people who are dying there right now without a cause. I hope every person, American or not, who fight the war right now will walk through them and feel like idiots because they fought the liberation of these people they are looking at pictures of. The only way evil can prevail is enough good people stand by and do nothing. That is why I stand by our president. That is why I think America is the greatest nation in the world. I love my home land! I am so proud to be an American! A lot of the kids here talk to the Europeans and insult our country because they feel like Europeans are so much better than Americans and they want the Europeans to know that they think America is crap. I hold my head high. I am an American through and through and I am proud of my country.

Ok, I hope you are all doing well. I love you very much and I can’t wait to be back in the States by Christmas time. I will kiss the ground I walk on! Thank you for your prayers and support. I love you all, and I will write again soon!

Love Always,
Christina

Yummy.....This is eggplant slices with a tomato and fresh grilled mozzarella cheese on top, jasmine rich in the middle and a wonderful tomato sauce and cheese sauce on either side. It was SO yummy! -Christina
These are bullets left in the buildings after WWII
Looks like Disneylands Castle
In front of the train station. It was designed by Eifel.....same guy who designed the Eifel Tower
View of Budapest..... beautiful!
Opera House
Underground...In the Labrynth

All in a days work....

2007-10-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well, last week I videoed a house that Bill is hoping to seel to a client from Mississippi. We decided to make her a DVD of the home so she could remember it better (that was Bills good idea). So here is the video that I made. What a beautiful home, and all yours for only ..... $2.5 million. Yeah, in our dreams! Love you all! :)

Thanks for the butt shot Billy :) Marianne videoing the view...

Packing up and going home... :)

CLICK HERE
to see the beautimus video :)

The Happenings in Billings~

2007-10-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

Picture 1

I took a trip in September to reconnect with a dear friend from the college years, Debby Moore. It also gave me an opportunity to see Curtis. Curt and I had a wonderful time. We went out to dinner with Curt and the Moore girls. We then went to Walmart and found a movie and went back to his apartment and baked brownies and watched "Click" We had some good laughs! Curt and I went to Church the next morn and took a walk in the park. On Monday morning before I left town, Debby and I went shopping for our college kids. I bought Curt a few items to add some color (gee....that is surprising for mom!) to his apartment. His roommates kept me company while I gave it a color attack. I love you Curt!

Picture 2

Well Ben has become the running machine! He got an award for "Most Improved Time" in his running. He is moving up the pack. Keep it up Ben!

Picture 3

Ben's birthday! Number 15! Yoohoo! We went to dinner at "The Olive Garden" and he got an I-Pod to entertain him during his runs from Dad and Mom. Lets see, from Marianne he got a gift certificate to Cold Stone! Yummy!! From Curtis he got________, From Christina he got ___________ Hmmmmm where are they! Just a little reminder guys :-) Doesn't have to be expensive, a key chain a bookmark, a scripture marker even a candy bar. Anything to let him know you are thinking of him.

October 1. 2007

Well I had a funny experience I had to share with all of you. No picture, sorry! I had a little emotional minute last week that made me a little teary. But I quickly dried my eyes and went about my day. Orrin was in the kitchen doing his school work. I sat down to go over some school stuff with him and he asked me if I had been crying. I didn't want to worry him because it really was no big deal so I said no, no son, I'm fine...(I said enthusiastically!) Later, he asked again, and again I told him no and that I was fine. The third time he asked I got a little Anoyed and said, "Son, I should know if I have been crying or not!" Just then I walked into the kitchen and caught my reflection in the mirror...! I had gotten a free sample of mascara during a promotion. I switched from my waterproof regular that I have been using for years to try this sample...not waterproof! I looked like a football player with his black smeared under his eyes only mine was so bad you could even see the tear streak down the cheek! I hadn't really cried that hard, it was just very poor makeup. I started laughing and then Orrin started laughing and we both laughed so hard I almost started crying again! Moral to the story, don't lie to your kids even to avoid looking hormonal!

Marianne loves her nieces!!

2007-10-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Well, being the eldest of the McLaws kids, I haven't had the chance to be an aunt like all my other friends, until I got married! I have LOVED being an aunt. The twins, Annabelle and Adeline, are just the cutest girls ever. I am working on their 1 year b-day movie. I've been filming them off and on throughout the year. So I've got to hang out with them a lot, and I LOVE IT. Anyways, they came over yesterday to film a little and also to hang out with their best friends, my doggy, Arthur. They absolutly LOVE him. They giggle every time he gets near them. Its adorable! It'll be on the video that I make. Anyways, just wanted to show some pics of them! Love, Mar

Christina Meets The Sound of Music & Italy!

2007-10-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

HEY FAMILY!!
The week before last, we took a 4 day trip to a little town called Halstate, and then onto Salzburg where 'The Sound of Music' was filmed. On our way to Halstate, we stopped at a place called Mathause. It was a Nazi concentration camp in World War II. This was the most sobering experience of my life. It was incredibly difficult to walk through the barracks where the prisoners slept, the streets where they were beaten and forced to work, the electric gates they were thrown into, the gas chambers where they were exterminated, the crematorium, the rooms they stored the corpses. I can't tell you what a hard experience that was. My mind is boggled trying to wrap my head around the reality that these things really happened. I don't know how it is possible to be so cruel to another human being. We saw pictures of things and heard stories that I can't even write down. We looked at pictures of some of the men that died there. The pictures were taken before the war. Looking at those faces, I just felt the strong realization that these were all real people, with real lives. It was a men's camp, so as I looked at the pictures I imagined each one with a life of his own. They had wives, children, siblings, parents, jobs, hobbies. The younger boys probably had girlfriends, maybe fiance's, best friends, school mates. They had lives that were so cruelly ripped away from them. How did this happen? We have been doing a lot of discussing in our group about the society back then and exactly how this awful thing took place. We are reading a book called 'Yearning For the Living God'. It's written by a man who lived in Germany as a boy during World War II and there is a lot of insight on how things gradually shaped themselves. It was done very slowly, and carefully, exactly like Satan does it. They didn't really know what they were headed into. Anyways, it was a very somber experience, but one that I am glad that I had.
After our visit to Mathause, we drove into a BEAUTIFUL little city at the base of majestic mountains that surround a gorgeous lake that is still as glass. The city was literally built on the shores of the lake and right up the mountain. One of the things I love about Europe in general is all the little tiny alleyways covered in vines and moss you find everywhere. There is no such thing as a grid system for the streets here. They just run an weave in and out in obscure and unmanageable shapes. You'd think for someone like me, who get's lost in the most organized of cities, would be frustrated with such surroundings. I really love it though. It is so fun to wander and loose myself (with a group - don't worry mom and dad) in these charming little towns. We always end up discovering some quaint little restaurant or a beautiful grave yard covered in wild flowers. It's just like a dream. That little city would be perfect for a romantic get away. All the buildings are covered in red roof tops and there are pear trees, wild flowers, vines, grapes, berries, and all sorts of beautiful plants growing all over everything. The streets are all covered in cobblestone. We found a park at the edge of the lake and just basked in the beauty of our surroundings. It was amazing.
While we were there, we visited the salt mines that the town is supported on. It's the oldest salt mine in the world and it's actually called 'Christina Tunnel', named after the mother of Maria Teresa. It was fun to go inside and learn about the white gold (salt). It was a cool educational experience.
After leaving Halstate, we headed to Salzburg. There we vistited all sorts of 'Sound of Music' sites. We danced through the gardens where 'Do Re Me' takes place and saw the back of the house where they filmed all the porch scenes. The back and the front of the house in that movie were actually two different houses. It was fun to see that.
Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart. I saw the house he was born in and ate in the house where he lived and composed for much of his life. It was really cool to walk the streets where a master like Mozart walked. I loved that. I was thinking about Papa the whole time!
While in Salzburg we also visited a castle that looked out over the whole city. It was BEAUTIFUL! I love castles. I think I would have been creeped out to live in one, but they are a lot of fun to visit!
Ok this is so long so let me move on to this past week. We went to Italy! First we stayed in Florence. It was a very cultured city. The city itself was cool becuase of how European it was (red roof tops, no organization to the street system, ect.), but it was a super dirty city. There was trash and grafiti everywhere!!! I didn't like that. You know, I love the beautiful country. I'm not a city girl. But I must say I loved all the old Italian men sitting on park benches. We had the pleasure of asking some of them directions. I don't know any Italian and they didn't know any English, so most of the experience was watching them with all their hand gestures, the waving of the arms, and the curling of the fingers to show emphasis. I love the language to, so it was fun to listen to them. We were still lost by the end of that, but what the heck! I just thought it was so cute that so many old guys gather to sit on park benches and play chess and argue with eachother. Quite adorable and fun to see.
Florence had amazing shopping! I hope everyone's excited for Christmas, I did all that in Italy! There were markets everywhere where you could find beautiful Italian muchendise for super low prices. I had a blast choosing things for everyone!
On the cultural sid of things, we saw SO much! I went to a museum of art that had selections from Leanardo da Vinci, Boticelli, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and so many others. I recognised a lot of the art from text books and what not, so it was really cool to see the real thing! I discovered two new artists that I LOVED. I had never heard of them before. Their names were Salvatore Rosa and Luca Giordano. Salvatore was INCREDIBLE at capturing light. It was so fun to walk through the art of the masters and find new things that I loved. I wish I knew more art history, but I learned a lot while I was there. I also got to see 'The David' by Michelangelo. For those who aren't familiar with it. It's a HUGE nude depiction of David from David and Goliath. It was supose to represent him in his innosence, or before he killed Goliath. The thing that makes this sculpture so amazing is the detail involved! You see the veins in his arms and hands, the tiny muscles in his forearms and back and shoulders, the wrikles on his forehead, the curls in his locks of hair, EVERYTHING! It is a magnificent sculpture, and so cool to be near knowing that Michelangelo spent 10 months laboring over it. It was really cool.
I've seen a lot of sculptures and art in the past weeks and I have a statement to make. A lot of it is nude art, and I have to say I think there is a fine line that comes between nude art and pornography. We're taking art history and we have been learning about how nudity was not meant to be suggetive in that time, but I still think it's wise to be careful. There are a lot of kids here who will lable me 'closed minded' for thinking that lines should be drawn and you need to be careful when looking at all this art, but I think it's important to be respectul of the human body. I know they saw it as worshiping the body at that time, but such a sacred thing shouldn't be shown so readily in my opinion. It's like the temple. What a sacred place, and no one goes around publishing what happens inside or depicting it with art BECAUSE it is so sacred. I think the same applies to the human body. My personal feelings on the subject!
Ok I'm almost done I promise! Next we went to Venice, which was not as cuturally rich, but I liked the city so much more than Florence! It was clean and well kept and so charming and romantic! Ben we must return some day! I kept thinking how I would love to have him with me there. This is the city you see in lot's of movies that has the water canals for streets. There are gondolas with couples in them going up and down the canals, quaint Italian music playing in the streets (or on the sidewalks), masquerade masks everywhere, and Italian food to die for! I discovered a pasta called gnochi. It is amazing. All I have to say is I'm glad I'm not in Italy the whole time. Three months of gnochi would take me home 50 pounds heavier! This stuff was heaven, and it was incredibly fresh. I loved trying a lot of new Italian food. It was delicious!
While we were there, we visited the near by Islands where they each specialize in some trade. One of them was devoted to hand blown Veician glass. We were able to visit a factory and see them blow glass and make glass horses, flowers, all sorts of beautiful things. The glass work there is EVERYWHERE! They are really proud of their glass, and for a good reason. It is beautiful! Another island we went to was all about hand made lace. I'm not a huge lace fan, but this stuff was gorgeous. Another island was just a pretty island known for being the most colorful island in Italy. Every building was another bright color. It was like being in a theme park that they tried to cutsie up. I can't believe people actually live in cute little places like that. It was like a children's story book. I loved it.
Oh one last thing I left out of Florence! I went to 'The Leaning Tower of Pisa'!!!! Pisa is a little town about an hour train ride out of Florence. We took a part of one of our days to go see it. The tower is in fact leaing! It's not the structure that's unsound though. Half of the building is sinking into the ground, so it's actually the ground, not the structure that is unsound! I took some cool pictures of that.
Alright, I apologize that that was so long! I love you all and I'm having a wonderful time, but missing you with all my heart. I can't wait to see you all again! Family is the most important thing in the world. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful family. Love you all! I'll update you again soon.
Love always,
Fofo

Nana Update!

2007-10-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Well our dear sweet Nana (great-grandma) is now living in Prescott next to her son Val and his wife Linda.
Val regularly updates us on Nanas condition. She such a precious soul!
So heres the scoop on Nana....

Dear Family -

As we begin November, I just wanted to give you an update on Mother and how she is doing. Mother's condition has not changed since last month's report. She has adjusted very well to her new surroundings

and have won the hearts of her caregivers! I have to tell mother who I am on each visit and her reply is always "Oh of course", but until I do that she seems very confused. Mother has some good days (meaning she remembers things in her early past as well as who we children are and our names) and some bad days (meaning she is very confused and is living in another part of her life). One bad day in particular she "was cooking a big dinner" and wanted me and my family to stay for dinner. All her other children "were in another part of the house and she was just going to finish it up". Once I got her out of her apartment and started walking down the hall towards the activity center she quickly forgot about that conversation and was focused on the art along the hallway.

Mother is still a real charmer and caregiver herself. On two occasions when we exited her room to take her for a walk or a ride there was another patient wandering the hallway. Mother always takes their hand and to-

gether we all walk down to the activity room, all the while mother talking to that person to make them feel

comfortable. One such occasion was with Edna, which is a "conversation" that I could not write down as

I didn't understand it myself. Edna is a woman probably in her mid to late 80's, She suffers with a very severe case of dementia and recalls nothing. She is most anxious to talk to anyone and always wants to go with them wherever they are going. Edna will wonder in any room and think it is hers. She has been known to clime into another patient's bed and go to sleep, consequently all patient's rooms are locked when they are not in them. So, one day I came to visit mother, knocked on the door and announced my presence and I hear mother excusing herself so I came in and there was Mother in her chair and Edna on the couch having

"a visit". Mother tells me that she has a houseguest and so I excuse myself and leave her room. I find a

caregiver a couple of rooms down and explain the situation and she immediately gets on the radio and tells the staff that Edna has been found. They come in Mother's room and gently take Edna to her own room. Mother was really relieved. She didn't want to "visit" any longer and "didn't want to hear all of Edna's problems". A couple of minutes later Mother did not remember anything of the "visit" or that she had a "guest".

I did attend one of Mother's morning activities where one of the caregivers brings in her dog and lets the dog go around to each of the patients who are there and let them pet her. That gave me an occasion to tell them the story of Daisy Mae. Those who could comprehend the story really loved it. Mother couldn't.....but she was so proud to introduce me as her son...........not by name, but it really made me feel good.

Mother's caregivers seem to really keep mother busy with whatsoever they do in their activity room. Most of the time during the week I can find Mother there. She likes to take a nap after lunch but her caregivers will get her up around 3:00 for bingo or whatever until dinner at 5:00. Sometimes Mother will tell them that she is tired and they will leave her alone until dinner. On the weekends I have noticed that Mother spends a lot of time in bed. Saturday, for example, Linda and I visited Mother around noon and found her still in bed. We talked to the caregiver on duty and she said that Mother told them that she didn't feel so hot and wanted to

stay in bed. They check on her every hour. Mother just wanted to stay in bed! I told Linda that when I get

to be 95 I don't want anyone to tell me to get up if I just wanted to rest...............and at 95 I should be able to do and eat whatever I want. When Mother has two deserts sometimes at dinner she deserves it !!

Anyway, hopefully that gives you a flavor of what's going on in Mother's live during September.

Love you, Val

Update on Bill and Mar :)

2007-09-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wanted to show my new photography skills :)
I took this picture with Brittany learning how to use Bills camera and how to work the shutter speed :) Im practicing more and learning I really love photography just as much as videography!
Bill and I are doing good. Bills been getting more Real Estate clients, which is really a miracle right now in this horrible Phoenix market. I just videoed 2 weddings, that yes... I got paid on.... 2 weddings in 1 week. It was wonderful. I hope to start getting really busy! Nothing beats working for yourself! We love you all!!!
~Billy & Mar
Pic I took of Brit :) Will show more once I get them all edited :)!!

South Dakota Trip!

2007-09-19T14:53:00.001-07:00

Christina and new fiance Ben at Bear Country :) awwww....
Ben shooting the pigeons off for us to shoot!
Billy & Mar... Jewel Cave

Mar ready for pic, Curt..not ready for pic, Dad.. thinks everyone is listening to him :)
What a pair of cuties!
Hello Handsome!
Um, ewww....... Jewel Cave walls
Jewel Cave
Billy & Mar.. Cosmos
Come on Mar, push it!
Everybody fallin at Cosmos
Mar sideways!
Hey Curt! Get down from there!
Man, thats gonna leave a mark!
Bear Country.. McLaws Hotties!
Billy & Mar
Cute baby mtn. lion .. at 6 months the spots and blue eyes will be gone. Cute!
Good pic Billy!
Mar, Ben R., Curt, Fo, looking at baby lion!
Mar & Fo
Mar shooting!
Christina Shooting!
Orrin Shooting!
Benjamin Shooting!

Dad and Curtis.. waiting their turn :) They are Twins too!

Bike Ride In The Storybook Countryside!

2007-09-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Ok let me tell you about the other day that way amazing! We left Vienna
at 7:00 in the morning and traveled to a city called Melk about an hour
away. There we went to an ancient monastery palace and took a tour through
it. We got to see wooden sculptures that are over 800 years old, old books
that the Monks studied out of, crowns, royal chalices, bones of Saints
(disgusting but interesting), and an AMAZING royal Catholic cathedral. The
cathedral was COVERED in gold. Everything was gold. It was cool.
After the palace/monastery, we rented bikes and took a 7 hour bike ride
along the Danube river from Melk to Krems. It was the most beautiful thing I
have ever experienced. I wish I had words to do it justice. The pictures
don't even show you how amazing it was. I want everyone I love to experience
this. We rode through the most beautiful country side I have EVER seen. It
was covered in vineyards, mountains, rivers, hills, flowers, wild berries,
and little towns that I honestly didn't realize existed. I'm not kidding,
these little villages looked like they were pulled from a story book. You
know the song "We danced anyways" by Deana Carter when she sings "In a happy
little foreign town, where the stars are upside-down, a half a world away".
That was all I could think while I rode through these towns. Another image I
though of to illustrate what I saw was the movie "A Walk in the Clouds". Do
you remember when the first get there and Victoria and Paul look out over
the vineyard and she says " We call it (some spanish word), it means, the
clouds". Do you remember what it looked like? That was EXACTLY what I was
riding through for 7 hours!!!! It was INCREDIBLE!!!!!
Half way through the ride we found the ruins of a castle that Richard
the Lion Heart was held captive in however many hundreds of years ago! It
was placed on top of a hill covered in flowers and wild vines that we hiked
up. I wish you could have see the castle. I took pictures, but again, they
don't to it justice. It was so cool to walk through it and imagine the
history there. I loved examining everything and understanding why they built
it certain ways. For example, the windows were really large from the inside,
but they narrowed down so that they just looked like slits from the outside.
They probably did that so they would have no problem shooting arrows out the
windows, but it would be so hard to shoot from the outside in. Oh man, the
whole thing was just so cool. There was moss everywhere and the way it was
placed overlooking the Danube on one side and hills and hills covered in
vineyards on the other was just breathtaking. I kept thinking "Where is Ben
when I want to take the most amazing engagement pictures EVER!!!???"
The whole experience was one that I will never ever forget. I am pretty
sure that when I look back on this day, I will remember it as the best of
this whole trip. I don't know how to top a day like that. I have to admit
that my butt was less pleased with the experience.....I'm still not sitting
on anything very comfortably :), but it was so worth the pain in the
butt:)!!!!! So that was my amazing day! When I got home that night I was so
exhausted because of the miles and miles I had ridden that day. I slept so
well :)! I love you so much! Thanks for letting me splurge and tell you all
that. I wish you could experience it with me!

Love, Christina

Christina Safe In Vienna!

2007-09-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

From Christina:
I have a chance to write to you so I wanted you to know I
am safe and sound in Vienna. It's about 6:15 pm here and we are all super
tired! We arrived at about 8 our time, midnight your time We checked
into the hotel we are staying at tonight and headed out to tour the town.
It's unbelievable here! Holy cow! It's too cool for words and the pictures I take do
it no justice! You would love it here. It's beautiful. All the buildings are
so imaculate and ornate. It's amazing how much art there is in ALL the
archatecture! I love it!
In about an hour we get to go to dinner together with the group and
then we come back to the hotel and go to bed! I'm so excited to do that
I can't even tell you. I will sleep so well tonight.
Saying goodbye to Ben was awful. It was super hard and I don't want
to do that again. But now I'm here and I'm missing him and all you, but totally happy and excited to be here.
I hope you have a good August the 30th, mine was pretty good :)
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!
From Abroad,
Christina C. McLaws  :)

Welcome~

2007-09-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, this is yet another attempt to get the family to all see what each other is doing on ONE web page :) so many things are out there... Myspace, Facebook, email, etc... too many to keep track of! So this way we can all see each others pictures/videos, especially since Curts in ID, Christina is half way around the world, Mom/Dad/Orrin/Ben in MT and Billy & I in AZ, we're just everywhere..so.... I'll start! :) Heres the video of the girls this summer :) LOVE YOU ALL!!! This is going to be awesome!!