Adrianne's Birthday (2010)

Hey everyone!! Adrianne's family is having another get together on Adrianne's birthday this weekend, and Kathy wanted me to mention it here and on the Remembering Adrianne blog ...please pass the word on to any more of Adrianne's friends that you think would like to come and may not see it! :)

We are meeting at the McBride's house at 3:00 THIS Sat, Sept. 4th. We will be doing another balloon send off with notes to Adrianne at the cemetery, and then a BBQ afterward (back at the Mcbride's again).

Please contact me, any of her family members ...or etc if you have any questions or need the address to the McBride's house!

**Oh yeah... and if we could get head count that would be super helpful! (for food and etc) *wink*

By, Niki Samakar

Today I went to visit Adrianne's grave for the first time since we laid her to rest in February. I live in Provo so I don't have much opportunity to go up to Murray, but today was the funeral of another friend (Kim Hilton Bradbury's father--Kim went to Parkside with Adrianne and me and was in our class at Murray). I couldn't find the chapel, and the mortuary was empty, so I decided to go wait for the internment at the Murray City cemetery. On the way, I stopped to get some flowers and the prettiest ones there happened to be Calla Lilies. It briefly crossed my mind, "Hey, these are Adrianne's favorite," before I reminded myself that I always give Adrianne red flowers and then headed over to checkout.

When I got to the cemetery it was freezing cold and I didn't see an area set up for Kim's dad anywhere, so I thought it would be the perfect time to go visit Adrianne. I think about her all the time, almost every day, and I've had a really hard time dealing with her passing, so it was good to be able to go visit her for the first time. I always wondered what I would want to say to her if I could just sit there and talk to her and get it all out, but in the end all I felt like saying was that I love her and miss her. I think she knows the rest :)

Her new tombstone is beautiful! I love the red shoes and the lilies engraved on it. I can't imagine how hard it must be for her parents to have their names on either side and hers in the middle. But you know what? It was so peaceful and happy there. I was so worried about how I'd feel once I finally went to visit but Annie didn't let me feel sad at all. There was this intense happiness radiating from the area of her tombstone that went up several feet into the air, a peace and joy that told me she was sooo happy. It was almost like when you're around her and she's smiling and full of energy, and it was like that energy was just filling the space around her. She may as well have been standing right in front of me telling a joke at a party. There were some drying red roses sitting in a pot on the stone, and I half thought that they must be planted into the ground and that's Adrianne's spirit growing through them because of how much happiness seemed to be radiating through them. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them for a minute. I think she's really happy and very okay. And in the end, I couldn't wait in the cold any longer for the Hiltons to arrive, so I gave the Calla Lillies to Adrianne instead. Funny how that worked out :)

I'm really glad I went because until now I always wanted to visit the McBrides but was afraid I'd just lose it and bring them down instead of making them feel better. Even at her viewing, I lost it pretty bad and Mike McBride had to hold me until I could breathe again. I felt so stupid, because here's this 17-year-old kid who just lost his sister and HE'S comforting ME, so I tried to pull away but he just wouldn't let go. I appreciate that so much. And I couldn't believe that her family could stand in front of her open casket for 5 hours shaking people's hands. I told my mom and she couldn't believe it either. How did they handle that?

But now that I've gone and realized how happy and peaceful Annie is, I think I'll be okay to visit the McBrides more. And I'm really, really glad she's so happy.

Adrianne's real Headstone

Kathy Mcbride text(ed?) me this morning to tell me that Adrianne's real (big) headstone has finally arrived and that she would be emailing me pics asap! :)
The smaller one (seen in the post about her birthday) was just the temporary one while they waited these few months for the real one to be finished. The only thing missing is the photo of Adrianne hasn't been added to it so there is a blank spot left for it for now. The Mcbride's have already picked out the photo of her that they want there, and when that is added I will post more pictures. (click them to enlarge them)


Adrianne was buried in one of the 2 spots Kathy and Dave own (hence why their names are on it too) and when the time comes, one of them will be buried on top of Adrianne's casket.

*Notice the red soles on the heels, making them Christian Louboutin's for her (one of her favorites)!
A photo similar to this one below will eventually be the photo of Adrianne that will be in the black oval's space on the stone. ( minus the stuff in the background) I love this photo of her!

Adrianne's Birthday!

Friday, September 4th would have been Adrianne's 24th birthday. Her family wanted to have a party and invited many of those who knew and loved Adrianne over to their home. The turn out was great! Cars literally lined the street, and crowds of people both stood and sat chatting and reminiscing all around the Mcbride backyard. We are guessing about 50-ish people came! :)

It was a lot of fun to see everyone there and to enjoy being around so many people who love Adrianne so much! There were pieces of paper for everyone to write on, the larger to write things the family would keep in a book*, and some smaller strips which everyone wrote little notes to Adrianne on. These notes to Adrianne were then folded, and everyone had a balloon (really cute ones I might add!) to stick them inside, fill with helium, and tie off. When everyone was ready we went over to the cemetery (just a few blocks away) and waited for everyone to arrive at Adrianne's grave site. When everyone was there and ready, we moved a little ways away (so as to avoid our balloons getting stuck in the large tree next to her grave), counted to three, and then let go of our balloons. Her (immediate) family waited a little bit, and then let theirs all go together in a second group. We all stood, crying, laughing, and chatting as we watched all the balloons slowly disappear into the sky.

I took some photos on my cell phone (left my camera at Mcbride's!) but they didnt turn out very well so I wont post them. These pictures are from Scott (2 from his cell), and the rest are from Kathy's and Mallory's cameras.

waiting to send off balloons...
me (Jes), Dan (my husband) and Scott (Dan's best friend growing up and who had also recently become very close to Adrianne)


Nate & Mallory


A 'few' of the group of people there...



The beginning/ 'main' group's balloons being let go:


It was such a cute, neat idea! The giant cloud of balloons looked awesome floating away together!


Then Adrianne's family let theirs off together last.


Left to right: Christina (her sister -who is half covered by Greg), Greg (her brother in law), Melissa (her sister and Greg's wife), then the back of Emily (her youngest sister) holding Addie(my daughter), Michael (her brother -in green shirt), Kathy (her mom), and Dave (her dad). ...baby Brooklynn (Adrianne's niece) was also there, but isn't pictured here.

If I remember right, I think it was Emily's balloon that was (the blue one with stars) lagging behind everyone else's the whole way up! :)


watching them float away...




Adrianne's 'real' headstone still isn't finished yet, so this is the cool (temporary) small one that the company put on until the other arrives.
(The granite(stone?) Dave had wanted for it was ordered and shipped from China, so I know that was part of the wait ...and I also know that they just decided the 'final touches' for it; which picture of Adrianne to put on it, as well as a cute saying/quote was chosen. I don't remember what day the final headstone was to be finished, but it was soon, and I will add photos of that too once its here!)




After the balloon send off, many people went back to the Mcbride's house where they had all sorts of yummy food and drinks set out for everyone, and Dave cooked everyone dinner. The rest of the evening was spent just visiting and reminiscing about our lovely fashionista! :)
It was a great night, and thank you to everyone who could/did participate!

Happy Birthday Adriannie! We Love you!!

*If anyone wasn't able to make it and would like to write something to be included in the book for Adrianne's family, please let me know and I will try to get one of the papers to you!

PS... also for the record, I forced down 2 diet coke with limes (aka 'bitch cokes'... I cant believe you repeated that and told people that's what I called them! lol) for you Adrianne! That's love! *wink*

Happy Birthday Adrianne! (By, Shauna Merrill)

Happy Birthday Adrianne! I am wearing red today…..and heels.

I think about you often... I see your smile and your bright blue eyes every day at work as your picture is hanging above my desk. Today though, I am thinking of your parents… how 24 years ago you came to them as the best gift ever, yourself! I am thinking how I don’t even know how they have the strength to get out of bed every day, and how much I respect the fact that they do. Ironic… I had to pause my email because I just got a call from your mom, (her ears must have been burning J). Anyway, you were both a great blessing and greatly blessed. You had a short time on this earth, but it was probably because you are so smart that you accomplished what you were here to do in a shorter amount of time… I guess you skipped a grade again.

Happy Birthday to the whole McBride family, from my family

-Shauna

By, The BIO-WEST staff

We still miss Adrianne at BIO-WEST. She definitely left her mark here. She created files and directories that are still on the servers, wrote labels on boxes of software and supplies that will be around for years, and implemented procedures we still follow. Then, of course, the inside jokes and catchphrases she left behind surface periodically and unexpectedly. This happens less often as time goes by, but it's always so funny and a little sad when they do.

One thing that happens a lot is that new movies, TV shows, or music is released that would interest Adrianne, either because she would love it (like the new John Krasinski movie) or hate it (like Transformers 2) or because we wonder if she would love or hate it (like the really new John Krasinski movie).

Now that it's been six months since Adrianne passed away, a few of us went to Firehouse Pizza for a little remembrance. Firehouse was chosen because (like so many other things) Adrianne loved and hated the place. See, there are two Firehouse Pizza places here in Cache Valley -- one in Providence (just south of Logan) and one in Smithfield (just north of Logan). You might think that two locations of the same restaurant would be pretty much identical, and you'd be right, for the most part. As you can probably imagine, however, Adrianne had more complicated views on the matter.

Everyone knows that Adrianne held strong opinions about restaurants, even the fast food joints. For instance, she asserted that Del Taco is ten times better than Taco Bell; Carl's Junior is ten times better than Burger King; and Costa Vida is ten times better than Cafe Rio. I might have that last one backwards, but that's because a lot of us don't differentiate restaurants the way Adrianne did. She loved to make such fine distinctions, and in this case she went still further to detect unacceptable differences between two locations of the very same restaurant chain. She swore the Firehouse in Smithfield was superb while the one in Providence was a disgrace. From the salad to the soda to the service, everything about the Smithfield Firehouse was "way better" to Adrianne. She even claimed the Smithfield restaurant was a slightly quicker trip from our BIO-WEST office because, even though Providence is closer, you don't have to drive through Logan traffic to get to Smithfield.

Interestingly, there is a photo on this blog of Adrianne having lunch at Firehouse (the one of her smooshing her cheeks together), but it was taken at the Providence location, the one she thought was inferior. It must have been taken before she discovered the superior Smithfield location.

No one here at BIO-WEST really shared her opinion about the two Firehouses -- we took it as one of those Adrianne-isms that made her fun and interesting, but it seemed fitting to go to the "right" Firehouse to celebrate our friendship with her.

Here are some things we thought we should do at lunch to honor Adrianne:

1. Wear stylish trenchcoats (but it was too hot that day to do so).
2. Wear stylish, high-heel shoes (Jennifer took care of this one).
3. Talk about movies and music (aside from work that's all we talk about anyway, which is one reason Adrianne liked it here and why we liked her).
4. Order stuff that Adrianne ordered.
5. When the food arrived, trash talk the service and food of the Providence Firehouse.

From left to right, Whitney, Sandra, and Chadd enjoy the way-better food of the Smithfield Firehouse. In the right-foreground you see Jennifer's glass of Diet Coke with lime. Jennifer never drinks that, but it was Adrianne's drink of choice. Next to the drink is a plate of breadsticks that were so stale we considered sending them back (c'mon, Adrianne, is this place really THAT good?).


From left to right: Jennifer (left) is ready to tuck into their baked pasta, which is what Adrianne usually ordered, and Whitney is wearing her "South Harmon Institute of Technology" shirt, which Adrianne thought was really funny.


Jennifer wore the highest heels she had -- we can only hope Adrianne approved of their style and how they complimented the rest of the outfit.


After lunch, our server took this shot (maybe the service really is better here...).

By, Megan McLachlan

Adrianne, it's been 3 months since you left us. I still miss you like crazy. Time has healed the initial sting of losing such a great friend, but I still break down from time to time. I'm so grateful now that you were so opinionated because almost everything I see reminds me of you. I just close my ears and I can still hear you telling me how you feel about the world. I used to resent that. But now, it brings a smile to my face and warm memories of you. I am a better person for having known you, I hope you know that. I watched Bride Wars the other day with my mom. Although you and I were never joined at the hip, I bawled for a very long time after because you were a fantastic friend and I miss you so much! I want to tell you why I cry. I cry because I would give anything to have you back. I cry because there are times I could really use your friendship. I cry because I feel jipped that I didn't get to spend more time with you. I cry because so many more people in this world could have had their lives as blessed as mine by having known you too. I cry because I love you. But I also want to tell you why I smile. I smile because I know you're happy. I smile because I know you're spreading your wit and charm all over the spirit world right now. I smile because you'll still be with your family forever. I smile because you left a huge mark in all our lives and your example will never be forgotten. I miss you, but I know I'll see you again. I love you Adrianne. I just wanted to remind you of that fact.

By, JeriLynn Fisher

Ohmigosh! I am heartbroken! I found this blog by clicking on Jes' name from The Village blog. Oh my gosh! I cannot believe Adrianne is gone! I totally had a feeling to call her about two months ago. Oh, I wish I had!

Adrianne and I met in our English studies. I barely knew her when she volunteered to spend an entire evening helping me move. That's when we became friends. My husband went off to basic training that next summer, and Adrianne and I hung out so much. She was a lifeline that summer. I remember going to her apartment and watching the good parts of Moulin Rouge. We talked about boys. She loved Panda Express and had all of her fortune cookie fortunes pinned on her wall. She described to me the wedding dress she'd bought.

I remember one time she came to my house in a cute little sundress. We walked to King's (from 8th North) and bought flip-flops, then we continued on to Firehouse and had pastas. We walked the whole way and it was so fun, and she was so happy to have sun-kissed shoulders from that walk.

The last time I saw her, we went to a little sandwich shop on main street. I told her about Tess of D'urbervilles and how she'd hate it. We even went wedding-dress browsing, even though neither of us needed one.

I'm so sad my friend Adrianne is gone. She spoke so very fondly of her family. She was so fun to talk to. I miss hearing her voice. I miss her.

Love,

JeriLynn Fisher

Funeral Shoes (by, Wendi Bench)

Just a quick little intro: There's a Facebook group 'Remembering Adrianne' that was started, and on it a bunch of us girls decided to wear fun/cute high heels to the viewing and funeral for her. They were either picked by how cute/fun they were, or by special meaning (ie Adrianne helped pick out or something). A lot of girls participated, and I know that each of the girls in Adrianne's family wore a pair of Adrianne's shoes. We were talking about posting pictures of them, and about how and where to post them, and Wendi was a genius and decided the blog.
I think its a fun idea! So hopefully we will have a few more to post here soon too. Thanks girls! (-and thanks Wendi!) Im sure Adrianne loved it! :) -Jes

Wendi's Post:
I babysat Annie when she was little. Annie lived one house away from our family. We love the McBride's like they are our own family and would do anything for them. I was babysitting during the whole "flour fiasco"...refer to picture in video of her from the viewing. On the funeral idea page of FaceBook there was a great idea to wear your prettiest pair of shoes to the viewing and funeral in honor of Adrianne's high fashion reputation. So these black shoes are the shoes I wore to the viewing....(not to complain because I would have waited forever...but I have fat feet and the line was about 3 hours...haha) The red ones, of course, I wore to the funeral....and an honorary mention to the green suede fur-sters...I thought about wearing them but they screamed more of a street walker instead of classy dame....Love you all.
-Wendi Bench

Letter From Kathy McBride (Adrianne's mom)

Kathy McBride sent an e-mail, and wanted to thank everyone for their posts and etc... so instead of writing something, I thought Id just copy and paste the whole thing here. Her dad (Dave) and brother-in-law (Greg) have also been in contact with me and have said that they've enjoyed it as well! -lol...especially Doran's post... I think Dave worded it as he "busted a gut laughing over that post"... his wording cracked me up!...anyway, so here's Kathy's letter below.
-Jes

"Jes:
Thank you so much for doing this! I check it every day in anticipation that someone else has written more. I can't get enough! I want to express my love and thanks to you and all her friends! She loved you so much! My words were never beautiful like hers and I have been trying to find the right ones to say. But nothing profound is coming yet. So I guess a simple thank you and I love you will have to do for now. You can post this or add something for us thanking everyone. I hope everyone knows how much she loved you all. You were such an important part of her life and who she is!

Thanks Jes! Please, please keep in touch!

Proud to be her mom!
Kathy"

This is from a different letter, but thought Id include it to:
"Thanks again! This means so much to us! I know there are lots of people who are finding comfort through this blog."

So keep sending in your posts! Ive had a couple people tell me they didn't know what to say, or weren't doing so because they didn't know her as long, and I want to express again that it doesn't matter how big or little, elaborate or not, or how long you knew her! Adrianne was an amazing girl who touched all our lives, and immediately loved and made friends with everyone! I think both her and her family would want to hear from everyone no matter what!