Pregnancy Pictures

Here are my pregnancy pictures that I meant to post a week ago:). I was 28 weeks. I'm doing pretty well. Other than dealing with sleep issues, swollen feet, and indigestion, I can't complain. I'm just happy things are going so smoothly and our babe seems to be doing fine. I'm getting so excited for this little guy to join us in about 11 weeks!

28 weeks

The Sunshine State

Hello fellow bloggers and others. This is Brad. Shanna has asked that I blog about our trip to my mission in Louisiana and Florida. We'll start in Louisiana. I served in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission from 2003-2005. Shanna and I have been trying to see her Brother Brian and his family in Florida since they moved there 3 years ago. As we were searching for tickets we discovered that it was cheaper to fly into Baton Rouge, rent a car, and drive to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. So on Tuesday April 27th we arrived in Baton Rouge. Our first stop was the state capital. I have included a few pictures from the capital grounds and from the top of the 30 story high capital building over looking the Mississippi River.

We then went to dinner at Boutin's, a local Cajun restaurant. Shanna had cat fish and crawfish etouffee and I had crawfish etouffee and fried crawfish tails. I missed the crawfish taste and it was fun to introduce this unique food to Shanna.

The next day we started our drive to Florida. I spent about half of my mission in the city of New Orleans so we took a small detour through the city. I wont bore you with all of the details of the things we saw. Although we did go to the French Market which is a small out door market place with all sorts of different vendors located right outside the French Quarters. We walked through and saw dresses, purses, scarfs, pens, fresh food, t-shirts, and much much more. We also went to Jackson Square which is where the first Catholic church in America was built. It was a lot of fun to be back in the city and see how well the city has recovered from Katrina.

After visiting New Orleans we drove to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. We were really excited to be in the sunshine state and to see Brian and Natalie and their kids Kennedy and Nathan. Although we were very disappointed by the lack of sunshine. It was nice the first full day we were there so we did make it to the beach that day but the other 4 days were rainy and overcast. We would ask for a refund from the state of Florida but we had so much fun with Brian and Natalie that it made up the difference :) we love you guys! Thanks for the party!!!!

We went shopping at their local outlet mall, we went to the AF Base airplane museum, we went out to eat, to a movie, mini golfing, and we went on a nice walk and saw lots of local vegetation (as seen in the following photos). It was so fun to spend time with Brian and Natalie, we will miss them so much as they begin their own family journey to Japan for a few years.

Brad's Graduation

Brad graduated a couple weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to posting about it:) He graduated from BYU with his Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering. We are both really happy that he's done with school for a little while (he may return for a Masters Degree in a couple of years). I am so proud of him for hanging in there and pushing through some really tough courses. It wasn't easy but we know his hard work will pay off. I just have to give a shout out to my Bradley and say great job!! I'm so proud of you and can't wait to see where our future takes us!

We enjoyed spending time with family that had come to celebrate this special occasion with us. Here are some pics of the event:

Brad the Grad and his best cheerleader (aka his encouraging wife)

Brad, me, and my parents after Commencement on Thursday. It was so fun to have them here!

After the Convocation ceremony on Friday...it was raining outside, hence the indoor pictures.

with my parents

Brad's brother Colin, Grandma Roper, and Mom and Dad Roper with us

with Mom and Dad Roper


We appreciate everyone's generosity and support as we finish up this chapter of our lives. It will be exciting to see where Brad gets a job and where life takes us. The waiting game is not too fun, but we're hopeful that the right job will come along. And soon please:)

A few days after graduation, we took a nice little vacation to Louisianna (where Brad served his mission) and Florida (to visit my brother Brian and his family). We had a great time! We will post more about this fun trip shortly.