The First Day of School

The first day of school was on September 4th. There was no seminary so the kids went to school together on the bus (much to Jared's disappointment!).

Here is a picture of Jared and Lauren together.

Jared heading off to the first day as a Junior in High School at BH-BL.

Lauren heading off to her first day of 7th grade at O'Rourke Middle Schoo.

Praying Mantis anyone?

I thought these pictures were great. We were at the Miller Raceway waiting to ride go karts when the kids found a praying mantis. Just look at Jared's and Hannah's expressions!

Home again, home again...

I had some time while I was staying with Erin and Justin early in my trip
so I went to see the Bensons. It was great to see them.

Erin, Andrea, and LouJean in Erin & Justin's new apartment.

We had to opportunity to go to the SLC temple with Lauren
who went to do baptisms for the first time.

Erin graduated with a BM degree in Secondary Instrumental Music Education and Justin graduated with a BS in Landscape Management.

We were able to have a Brooksby get together at Aunt Marian and Uncle Mikes' house.

Lauren was able to get a ride on Grandpa Worthen's Gold Wing motorcycle.

Lauren and Uncle David at Lagoon.

Jared (11), Matt (3), and Lauren (2) driving gokarts at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele.

Brooksbys in Utah

Jared, Lauren, and I have been in Utah for nine days now. Glen will join us this evening. And then the real "fun" will begin. We pack and move Erin to Logan on Wednesday (Justin will be getting his Masters at USU), Commencement on Thursday, and College Convocations are Friday. Saturday all Brooksbys who are in town (Ray and Robin; Evan and his daughter Stacy; our family; and Eric's and Dave's families, who live here already) are getting together at Glen's Aunt Marian and Uncle Mike's house in Pleasant Grove. Lauren and Jared spent a couple of days with the Benedicts while I helped Erin pack. Jared also went to EFY at BYU. He said that it was the best EFY ever. We got a letter from Brett and it sounds like things are going well for him. We enjoy seeing family and letting the kids get re-acquainted with their cousins on both sides.

Lauren's Twelve!

Lauren turned twelve on July 24th. She got kidnappped and taken to breakfast in her PJs by some friends, she played with her presents, got her ears pierced, got her hair cut, and went to SPAC to see the NYC Ballet. What a birthday. The next day she had a friends birthday party. They played twister on a giant twister board, decorated little cakes, ate ice cream pie, opened presents, and played Apples to Apples.



Then on Sunday Grandma B., and her Aunt, Uncle, and cousins came over to celebrate with Lauren's favorite dinner - scrambled eggs, sausage, blueberry muffins, hash browns, and OJ. Her Aunt brought a cake that was decorated with half for Lauren and half for Rob, as it was his birthday that day. They each blew out half of the candles.

New Bedroom Furniture!

Today we got new bedroom furniture. I can't tell you how thrilled I am. There were times when I didn't think it would ever happen. It totally changes the look of our room - in a good way.

Fireworks at the Empire State Plaza

The ward had a 4th of July pancake breakfast outside today. It was fun. There was also a hot air balloon there taking people up about 30 feet. That was fun. Lauren and Glen rode their bikes over. I had food to take and Jared can't ride his bike right now so I drove us over. After that we went and saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at the Scotia Cinema. It was just what you expected, which made it fun. After that we went home and grilled ribs and potatoes on the BBQ. It was yummy. Then we went to the Empire State Plaza to see the fireworks. We've never actually been to the plaza for fireworks before. Once long ago we watched them from across the river, but that's not the same. Brian Adams was the act before the fireworks. I really only recognized one song and it was really LOUD! The fireworks were the best we've seen in NY. Usually we go to Clifton Park or Scotia for fireworks. They do about half of what the Empire State Plaza does. It was a lot of fun, and we managed to be at the front of the crowd leaving so getting to the car and getting home weren't too bad. It was a fun, relaxing 4th of July.