Allie in New York City!

Allie spent last weekend visiting Kimber in New York City. They had a wonderful time sightseeing, shopping, eating and catching up with each other. Allie said that Kimber was a fabulous tour guide and it was the perfect break from school!

The girls explored the city and visited High Line Park.

Kimber, Brett and Allie went to West Side Story and loved it!

Napa Wine Train

Dad and I spent a couple of days in Napa this past weekend and enjoyed dinner on the famous Napa Wine Train. Mark's staff gave us a gift certificate for the Wine Train a couple of years ago and we finally found a free weekend to get down to Napa and use it. The train is a great way to see the beautiful wine country. The vineyards that cover the valleys and rolling hills are incredibly gorgeous, especially at dusk. Dad and I boarding the train.

Even though we were on the Wine Train...notice the beverages at our table? I assure you, (much to the shagrin of our waiter) it was strickly Diet Coke and water for the two of us:)!

BYU Football Practice

Only 13 more days until the BYU/OU game! Tyler has been busy at practice the past 2 weeks. Allie and Sonya got to go to practice one day. Although it was raining, they got some cute pictures of Tyler! We can't wait for Texas! Go Cougars!

Tyler signing a BYU poster for a little Cougar fan.

Tyler punting at practice.

Allie and Tyler after the practice.

Allie and Sonya are dedicated fans, sitting through a rainstorm to watch Tyler.

Sweet Sixteen!

It was a collab day on my b-day, so Mom, Ashley, and I went out to breakfast at Denny's!

Spencer surprised me and was there at Denny's when I arrived! It was tons of fun!

Photos taken at breakfast! Spencer!

Besties!

Mom and me!

Later that night after I successfully passed my driving test...Yeah!

Mom decorated the house...and Ashley decorated me and wrapped the boa around my head and added the "Princess" tiara. It was a nice touch.

My new BYU jacket to wear to the games!

Mom was so nice and made me a rainbow cake! It turned out soooo cool!

Sister Hansen was soooo sweet and brought me flowers!

I got my license this morning! No, this isn't my car. Dad let me borrow it to run my first errand (I went to Fleet Feet and bought myself running clothes, of course!) Mom had to take a picture cause she loved how my outfit matched dad's car. Sweet!

Thanks to everyone! It was a great birthday! ~Brooke

Birthday Bash at Fat's!

To celebrate Brooke's 16th Birthday, she invited her friends to Fat's restaurant for dinner. Yum! Afterwards they came to the house and roasted marshmellows in the firepit and made s'mores. Then they all went to a Mormon Center dance. Since most...actually all of the girls aren't members, this was a new and different experience for them. Brooke was a little nervous and wasn't sure what they would think of the dance but they all had a blast and loved it!

Brooke, looking way too old and cute!

Brooke and her friends outside Fat's restaurant!

Devin, Maddie and Brooke at dinner.

The girls eating their lettuce wraps at FAT's!

Brooke blowing out her candles. Ashley and Kenzie went a little crazy with the candles! It looked like a small fire. And then mom had trouble with her camera! There was wax all over the cake! Fortunately, the cake still tasted delicious!

Senior Sunrise & First Day of School Pic

The 1st Day of School went really well for Brooke and Ashley even though their school started 2 weeks early this year! Ugh! It feels like the middle of summer! Some of the highlights of the day include:

*Ashley waking up at 4 am so that she could be at the high school to set up for Senior Sunrise! So glad she signed up for student government this semester!

*Mom coming to the high school at 5:45 am to "help" at Senior Sunrise! (The text that Ashley got late Sunday night stated that they were "desperate!" and needed more parent volunteers!)

*Ashley watching the gorgeous sunrise with all of her friends at Senior Sunrise!

*Mom wearing "the perfect outfit" for Senior Sunrise! (How does she do it?! And NO! she didn't go out and buy the sweatshirt. She just happened to have it in her closet!)

*Brooke running before school because she doesn't have 1st period! Yeah! Now she can run before and after school. What a lucky little girl!

*Mom and Catherine McNaughton and baby Lucy trying to "sneak" into the 1st day of school pep rally!

*Mom and Catherine and baby Lucy getting "caught" and being asked to leave campus! Are you kidding me?! I know...kind of embarrassing and kind of cool at the same time! I think the baby was a dead give away and the huge camera bag!

*Mom, Catherine and baby Lucy missing the "most awesome" 1st day of school pep rally where Ashley was the MC and the Seniors won the class dance!

*After the rally, Brooke and Ashley make sure they take the all important and traditional "1st Day of School" picture for Mom! Thanks girls!

*Ashley joining Mom, Catherine and baby Lucy for lunch after the pep rally (since Ashley has 4th period off) where Ashley shares all the juicy details about the rally which cheers her mom up and makes her laugh!

*And Brooke...still running...for the second time that day!

All in all, it was a memorable 1st Day of School!

Craig and Ashley share a moment before the sun rises!

Ashley and Mom displaying the "perfect" Senior Sunrise sweatshirt!

Mom and Ashley with the gorgeous sunrise in the background!

Spence and Ashley

Ashley and her friends at Senior Sunrise.

Ashley and Matt before the Senior dance!

Craig and Ashley, the MCs at the rally!

Ashley and Brooke posing after the rally for their 1st Day of School picture! Ashley is wearing one of the many costume changes that she made during the rally, which was a huge hit! I think the headband really put it over the top!

The Sports Court Report

So...this post is for Tyler, who pretty much spent most of his free time during his high school days playing basketball with his football buddies on the sports court. Tyler's "band of brothers" would gather on the weekends and play ball for hours and hours. Large crowds of boys would descend upon the court once they saw the sports court lights go on. The lights could be seen from Eureka Road and was the signal that it was time to play "dunkball." We have often referred to it as "Tyler's sport court" but since Tyler left home, it has been rather quiet out on the court. Until now...

Unfortunately, Tyler, I have to report that this is what took place on your sports court on Saturday night. I know...it's kind of embarrassing! But what did you expect from your musically talented sister, Ashley, who is taking student government this semester and put in charge of choreographing the Senior dance for the First Day of School rally? Really. The worst part was there were 3 GBHS basketball players out there on the court dancing that night instead of practicing their jump shot and playing "dunkball!"

If it's any consulation, the Seniors beat the Juniors at the rally yesterday! It was the first time that Ashley's class has shown any school spirit and won a class competition. I think it all had something to do with the sports court:)!

Ashley and her friend Matt, practicing their dance moves.

If you look closely, you will notice that the net has strangely disappeared. Hmmmm?!

Dr. Holt's Skate Party

Last night we attended Dr. Holt's Annual Skate party at SkateTown. Each year dad throws a party at the end of the summer for all of his patients, their families and friends at SkateTown. He has been doing this for about 15 years and it has become a very popular event with over 500 people in attendance last night. It's pretty funny to see that many patients all at once! All of the kids are so cute and excited to see Dr. Holt skate around the rink. As Allie described it, "I've never seen so many kids with braces all at one time, skating and waving and yelling, "Hi! Dr. Holt!" like he is some sort of celebrity!" Ha! Ha! My own kids get such a kick out of it:)!

Dad, Dr. Annelo and the staff greeting the patients at SkateTown.

Dad, mom and Brooke at the Skate party!

My darling friend and one of my YW, Michelle, came with her sisters.

Dad and Brooke making a couple turns around the skating rink together!

Dad is just a little happy that he hasn't fallen...yet!

The gals at the front desk, ready to hand out free pencils to the patients.

Besties!! So cute!

Grizzly Retreat

Ashley and I did Grizzly Retreat together! It was soooo much fun!

Our group of freshmen! Their costumes were "Lions and Tigers and Bears! OH MY!!"

from the Wizard of Oz, so Ashley and I dressed up as Dorothy and Glinda!

~posted by Brooke

The Last Days of Summer

Since school is starting 2 weeks early this year, the girls are trying to spend as much time as possible out on the lake before summer ends! Here are some pictures from our day at the lake with Ashley, Brooke and their friends!

Enjoying the bright sunshine!

Brooke shows her BYU spirit and fashion sense by coordinating her BYU sweatshirt with her bathingsuit!

Looking for smooth water!
Jumping the wake!

Getting ready to teach the girls a thing or two about wakeboarding!

Dad shows us his serious wakeboarding skills!

Not bad for a guy who will be turning 50 this year!

Brooke smiling! Does she not realize that she has funny tan lines from her workout clothes and her back looks even more ridiculous than the front! Ahhhh! The sacrifices that you make to be a great runner!

Dad gets such a kick out of making these kids scream! And I get such a kick out of taking pictures of them! I mean, just look at Ash and Brooke's faces! And the funny thing is that they enjoy it so much that after each time that they get thrown off the tube, they climb right back on and ask for more!

Ashley, falling off the tube! But then she makes an incredible recovery...
and makes her way back on the tube!
If you look very closely, you can see that Brooke's toe nail polish
matches her life vest! That Brooke always looking stylish!
Brooke looks like she is about to cry! Ha! Ha!
Ashley and her friends want to take another spin on the tube!

It sounded like such a good idea...
Then Dad turns up the speed and Bree is holding on for dear life!

There goes Brie!

Brittany and Ashley are confused, "Where did Brie go?!"

Enjoy the next series of pictures as Brooke gets thrown off the tube!
She's hanging on with one hand!
There goes Brooke!
She actually did a flip midair and lands in the water.

Then Brie falls off the other side of the tube and...

Brittany is triumphant, the last one on board the tube!

With school starting next week and the lake getting low, I guess summer is coming to a close and it will soon be time to put the boat away for another season! The MasterCraft is getting old and has served us faithfully for 17 years! Dad has been talking about selling it in a couple of years, once Brooke leaves for college. It's like part of the family now, and I can't bear thinking about ever getting rid of it. So many good memories with that boat!

One of my favorite memories is, at the end of every great ski day, Dad would always holler, "Everyone hold on tightly and I'll show you what the MasterCraft is famous for!" and the kids would cuddle up and hold onto anything and everything in sight. Dad would floor it, spinning our MasterCraft in circles around the lake and the kids would squeel with delight all the way back to the dock!

Ahhhh! I love summer. I love living by a lake. And I love our MasterCraft, even if it is old!