brooke's adventure begins

Yesterday morning Brooke left to spend the next 2 months in Jolly 'ol England. She is there for the Study Abroad program through BYU. I believe she only has two classes a week, and the rest of the time the students are taken on field trips all over England and Scotland (Wales too, I think). She will also spend a week in Ireland.

We lived in England for 3 years when Brooke was little. We were there from the time she was 3 until she was 6 1/2. She went to British school and developed the most perfect British accent you have ever heard! All the teachers and parents at her school would always be shocked to learn that she was American. They would hear me talk with my 'rough and lazy' American accent, then hear her talk and the look of confusion on their faces was always a great sight to see! Too bad she lost it about 2 days after we moved back to the States! She has been looking forward to this Study Abroad for months and was SO excited to go back to England. It's amazing the things she remembers from when we lived there.

When I woke up this morning I was anxious to get to my email to see if she had emailed me yet. Luckily she had, and the title of her email was, "I'M STAYING HERE FOREVER!" :o)   She had arrived safely, had just unpacked her bags, and was looking out the window of her "flat" in London.  She even took a picture out her window so that we could see the rather sad view she will be forced to look at every day. We are weeping for you, Brooke, really hard.   

Psssht *insert eye-roll*.

Here is the darling view out her window:

I thought I'd also post a few pictures of Brooke from when we lived in England.....

Brooke on her bike in front of our tiny house which was in Ramsay, England. We lived here for a year before moving to a bigger house (one that actually had a closet!) in the village of Brampton.

On "Brooke Avenue" in Chester, England.

In front of her school, Brampton Infant School . The grade schools are called Infant Schools rather than Elementary Schools. And instead of calling the grades 1st grade, 2nd grade, etc., they are called "Year 1", "Year 2" ..... Children start school when they are 4-years-old. They go to "Reception" which is Kindergarten. (Brooke really IS wearing shorts under this shirt although it appears that she isn't!)

Raegan and Brooke standing by the sign of our cute little village of Brampton.

....and eating a snack at the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey in Yorkshire.

Me, Brooke, and Raegan at Stonehenge.

Brooke has set up a blog to document her England adventures:

http://atisket--atasket.blogspot.com/

(Just a little FYI -if you read her first post you may need some explanation...a "fag" in England is a cigarette.   Just thought I should make that clear.)

daddy-daughter date

"Piece of cake," was Brooke's reply when I asked her how her 13.1 mile run went this morning.

Today she and John ran the Salt Lake City half-marathon together. One year ago this week Brooke ran her first marathon. Apparently, once you've run a marathon everything else is just.....cake.

Oh! I know exactly what she means! I once ran 3 miles (yes, all at once!), and the next time I only ran one mile and it was just SO. MUCH. EASIER!

Whatev.

(So John just read this post of mine...."You didn't say anything about me blowing Brooke away at the end of the race!" he proudly protested. He confindently reminded me that he is 45 and she is 20 and he left her in the dust. Yes, he beat her by a whopping 26 seconds! Woooo. However, I should mention that Brooke finished in the top 10% for her age group! Not bad. Not bad at all.)

It must be Easter!

john's new baby

John is very, VERY into emergency preparedness lately -- purchasing everything from water filters to rotating food storage shelves to portable toilet seats! Not that I'm complaining. I'm not! I actually love that he has taken this huge project upon himself, only involving me when he needs a second opinion.

He came home last week with a Solar Oven. I must admit that when I saw this rinky-dink looking contraption, I mocked it (silently, as to not make John feel ridiculed). I could tell John was proud, REAL proud of his little purchase so while biting my tongue, was able to muster out the words, "Oh honey, that's awesome. What a great thing you did in spending our money on this, this....thing!" (Ya, this thing that looks like it would be better off roaming around the planet Mars retrieving soil samples!)

So yesterday was the big day. In between Conference sessions we put this baby to the test. John placed the Sun Oven in the back yard and we watched as the temperature in it quickly rose to 325 degrees! "Is it possible that this 'thing' might actually work?" I pessimistically thought to myself.

We cut up a Butternut Squash, placed it in a small dutch oven and then baked it for about one hour. I sheepishly admit that is was THE BEST SQUASH I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! So flavorful, so moist (the Sun Oven claims mega-moistness as one of its bonuses). No butter nor even salt and pepper needed!

IN. CRE. DI. BLE.

So on to the next test, which to our cookie-loving, cookie-baking family was the ultimate test. Can this thing bake cookies? AND, if so, can it bake them to our family's satisfaction? We are, you see, cookie snobs at our house.

Well, we shall see.....

Proud father John, admiring the latest addition
to his family.

Can it pass the cookie-snob test?

Baking at 335 degrees.

Eager mouths anxiously awaiting the results. (And this picture was NOT posed! Well, maybe just a teensy bit. The kids were actually all gathered around. Watching. Waiting. Drooling. Watching. Waiting....)

Low and behold, after about 12 minutes they were done.

The verdict is in - the cookies are delicious!
Crispy on the outside, warm and chewy on the inside.

You did good John. Real good.