Oregon

So...a couple weeks ago my family went to Oregon for Grandma's funeral. It was actually a pretty good trip! Mom, Hannah, and I went up together and then on the way back it was all five of us. A little crowded, but we made it. It was a very long drive. Thirteen hours there, fifteen back (we took the boys to Pocatello, then a friend of Jord met us there to pick them up...if he hadn't done that, it'd have been a good 17 hours). I hadn't been to Medford in years, so it was fun to go again. On the way there, we got to drive down the cliffs of insanity. Seriously, the road is crazy. It's not particularly wide, pretty much a straight drop down off the mountain, and no guardrails. And there was construction. Fun times. We also had a little adventure with a deer on the way back. Fortunately, dad had slowed significantly when he saw it on the side of the road. Anyway, we traveled safely and the scenery in Oregon is absolutely gorgeous. So green and luscious!

As for our time not spent on the road, it was really nice. I haven't seen some of my cousins in many years, so it was fun. Almost everybody was there. Even my cousin who currently lives in Austria! We were missing one on a mission in Brazil, one in China for a family reunion, and one in Canada, but pretty much, this picture is everyone. All the women wore scarves that belonged to Grandma. I wear several of her scarves frequently anyway, so that was fun for me! I love scarves. :)
The funeral was really nice. It was very pleasant and our musical numbers came together pretty well. Hannah and I sang a duet called "Beyond the Sunset," which is a beautiful song, but when I first listened to it, I got pretty emotional, so I was worried about being able to sing it. But it worked out and we sounded great. So all was well.
We spent a few hours telling stories about Grandma and then a few more hours having Grandpa tell stories. He's the best storyteller I know. I absolutely love his stories. Especially his cowboy ones...or the ones that start "When I was a little girl..." So it was a nice trip! I'm grateful I was able to go and participate and see everyone!

My Grandma

My Beautiful Grandmother 

All week I've had my grandmother on my mind, so today I'm going to blog about her and say a little of what I've been thinking about. I feel really scattered, though, so hopefully I can make some sense of it. For those of you who aren't family and don't know, Grandma is dying. She has Alzheimer's and is in the final stages, where her body is just shutting down. You can read a little more about it if you'd like, here. Since Wednesday or Thursday, every time my phone vibrates, I expect it to be my mom telling me she's passed away. I've had a lot of phantom vibrations too. It's kind of ridiculous actually. It's interesting to me how I've reacted these last few days. This is my first grandparent to die, but I honestly expected her to die several years ago. I've said goodbye several times. When I left on my mission, I didn't expect to see her again in this mortal life. She told me, "Always remember we love you." Right before I left, she fell and broke her hip. She was put on hospice, expected to die within six months. She didn't. It's been over three years since then.

I think of what I've learned from Grandma. We had a girl cousin sleepover at Grandma's once. She talked to us about the importance of modesty and preparing to go to the temple. She's always been a wonderful example of temple worship and family history work. The first time I went to do baptisms for the dead, I was a little nervous, but she was there with me. I got to do family names she had prepared. That was a special experience. Today I thought about who will be waiting to greet Grandma, and I first thought about her sister and parents, then thought of all the people who will want to thank her for her work in their behalf. She'll receive a warm reception, I think.

Grandma is from Sweden, and she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there, one of two members in her town. She came to America and married my grandfather in the temple, and has always shown great dedication to the Lord and His Church. It was so engrained in her, that things of a spiritual nature were some of the last things to go. (My mom wrote about one experience about that here.) She even acted as a visiting teacher of sorts when she first got to the Homestead.

I never expected Grandma to live this long in her condition. It's been so hard to see her deteriorate. I'm not even there often. My mom has been a wonderful example to me, visiting her faithfully, and even more, my Grandpa. Grandpa goes to sit with Grandma every day, all day. He fed her, he helps move her, tries to keep her comfortable, he does everything he can. He has been an incredible example of love and service. I honestly think their love story is the greatest story ever told. He has shown what it means to truly love.

Like I said, I've said goodbye to my grandma several times already, and because of the Alzheimer's, she's been mostly gone for a long time. So this week, I was a little surprised just how teary I have been. But it makes sense. There is still a sense of loss, there is still the pain of seeing her suffer for so long. I think that might be the hardest part, seeing her go from forgetting things, to breaking her hip and being unable to walk, to being bedridden, and now unable to eat or drink. I want her to be released from the pain. It's still hard and sad, but it'll be a happy thing too. I'm so grateful for our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. Today during the sacrament at church, I read several Easter hymns. I was struck by these lyrics from O Savior, Thou Who Wearest A Crown: "No more can Satan harm us, Tho long the fight may be, Nor fear of death alarm us; We live, O Lord, thru thee." My grandma has had a long fight, she's fought it well. She can't be harmed by Satan, and there is no need to fear death. We will all live again. And I look forward to getting to know her again, getting to know the real Grandma who has been gone so long.

Dear Grandma, I love you. Thank you for what you've taught me and for your love. Thank you for your testimony and dedication. You are a great woman. I'm proud to share your middle name. I love you! Love, Brooke

Summer Adventures

Soooo...long time, no see...I've been enjoying not being in school(ish) and just haven't written about it. But I've had some fun! 

A couple weeks ago, I went home and surprised my parents. They celebrated their 25th anniversary on that day, but that's not why I was there. My mom was having surgery the next day and so I went for moral support and to help out that week. But my mom was an easy patient, so I had an amazing break. Lots of reading and watching movies. It was so relaxing and just what I needed. So great!

Then I went back to P-town and had a week of mostly just work, with generally free afternoons. So I did some shopping, met up with some friends, did more reading, went to the temple with my roommate. Lots of good stuff. 

Then I went to Vegas! My roommate Badger and old friend Kyle got married and I went down for that. Below is a picture taken at the reception...brothers of the groom, my delightful friends—the one on the right is my age and we've been friends since elementary school.

So after my fun time in Vegas, I started an internship, teaching a small class of ESL students. By teaching I really mean they use computer programs and I make sure they're working. Haha. It's interesting. Rather difficult to communicate because my students are "level zero" English-speakers, so they really don't know much English at all. I have three Spanish speakers, two Japanese, and one Portuguese. It's a little crazy sometimes, but I like the students.

And now I'm home again for Mother's Day! This is a picture of me with my mommy when she graduated from BYU. Aren't I cute with a cap on? And isn't she beautiful? Love you, Mom!

So these are my fun adventures since winter semester ended. Happy Summer!

Happy (Rather Belated) Birthday

Remember back when I had a birthday? It was a while ago...but I delayed blogging about it because I wanted pictures...and it took me a while to get them! However, I had a birthday and it was a lot of fun! My roommie Kenyon made me a delicious cake and she cleaned the apartment, which was a nice surprise. And my dear friend Stephers saw me on campus and after announcing to everyone in the JFSB quad that it was my birthday, she decided we needed to celebrate, so we sent out a text to the ward and a group of us went to Pizza Pie Cafe that night. It was so fun! This is a picture of the group and one of me with my birthday crown if you look carefully. Stephers gave it to me. :) She's the best...and she's going to serve a mission! She'll be the best missionary ever. :D Love her to death.

Everyday Heroes

Today was the Unforum on BYU campus. It wraps up the year. I was a few minutes late, but I fortunately arrived in time to see Vocal Point perform a couple of songs. I think they were the best part of the forum, easily. McKay talked about everyday heroes a little bit and how on The Sing-Off they tried to a light to the world by being themselves, since they couldn't exactly sing hymns to share who they were. As he talked about that, I started thinking about the small acts of heroism I see every day. The everyday heroes that probably don't even know they're being heroes.

The guy who realized I was coming, so went back to the door to open it for me.
The girl who smiles so big and bright every time I see her, which recently has been quite a few times!
The friend who greets me like seeing me is the best thing she's experienced all day.
The amiga who compliments my yellow shirt.
The many who compliment my yellow headband.
The ward member who sang "You are my sunshine" to me the other day.
The classmate who emailed to say what I missed in class.
The teacher who pushes back a due date.
The friend I haven't seen in years who wrote on my Facebook wall.
The person who sent me a quick friendly text.
The classmate who helped me figure out a project idea.
The roommate who gets up in the morning just to give me a ride to work.
The woman who held the elevator a few extra seconds so I could get on.
The mom who sends an Easter basket of goodies.
The dad who calls to say hello.
The Bishop's wife who spent hours preparing food for a ward activity.
The visiting teacher who brings by some cookies.
The friend who offers to teach in Relief Society.
The roommate who let me share her date to the ward dance.
The brothers who let me invade their house all the time.
The friends who give a great hugs.
The classmate who spent extra time on my group project.
The one who listens.
The one who cares.
The one who loves.

Everyday heroes. They're everywhere. Making the world a little brighter.

Ben Carson: THINK BIG

Okay, so a few weeks ago at Spiritual Sunday Cinema, we watched an awesome movie called Gifted Hands. It's about Ben Carson, a world-renowned neurosurgeon, who was at the bottom of his class as a kid. His mom made him turn off the TV and start reading books and writing reports on them every week, and he worked his way up to the top of the class. He also struggled with a temper, but turning to God helped him overcome that too. So he turned from an unmotivated inner-city black kid to this incredible pediatric neurosurgeon, and was the first to ever successfully separate Siamese twins joined at the head, among other things. Really inspiring incredible movie. Well, he came to speak at BYU forum this week. I was so excited. It wasn't broadcasted to other buildings, so I even sacrificed my foot to hike up to the Marriott Center in the snow to see him. Totally worth it. Not only is he incredibly smart, he's very funny, and had some very great points. Rather than go through all my notes, I'll just write briefly about his concluding remarks. He told us to THINK BIG.
T: talent-we all have talents, we all can do something to influence the world for good
H: honesty-we have to be honest
I: insight-we can and must learn from the insights of others
N: nice-He had us all take a pledge of niceness. For one week, we have to be nice to everybody. Put other people first, talk to people on the elevator, don't gossip. Be nice.
K: knowledge-keep learning, if ever there were an example of one who values learning, it's him
B: books-a great way to learn
I: in-depth learning: don't just "cram," really learn and internalize
G: God-we need Him
I absolutely loved this forum. It was the best one I've been to. It really inspired me, and I've been thinking about what I can do to THINK BIG.

Laissez les bon temps rouler

Gee whiz I have a LOT to catch up on. It's been super busy and awesome around here. I don't even know where to start! I guess I'll write about Mardi Gras! So February 21 was Fat Tuesday. I went out with mission friends to Boudreaux's Bistro and had some lovely red beans and rice and beignets that night. That was fun. But the big event of the week for me was on Friday. I threw a huge Mardi Gras party. It took quite a bit of work and I definitely couldn't have done it without my awesome helpers, but "Lucille's Ball" all came together in the end!
Let the good times roll!


Guests had a chance to decorate their own masks. I was pretty impressed with what people came up with. Also, feathers are akin to glitter in terms of messes that last...in case you wondered.


This is the only picture of food I currently have...I think Kenyon may have taken more, but I don't know what. But this is potato salad on top of gumbo on top of rice. The right way to do things. Oh and what food did we have, you may ask? I will tell you: gumbo and rice, jambalaya, potato salad, king cake, brownies, green/purple/gold Jello cookies, red velvet cookie bars, and the most popular item, BEIGNETS! (I didn't make them though...another time perhaps.)


The entertainment I had planned for the night was watching Princess and the Frog. But the unplanned entertainment was also delightful. A couple of guys in my ward brought their trumpets and jazzed things up! It was pretty amazing! I just thought, "Dang, my party just got legit. Live jazz. Yep. My ward is awesome."


And this is a sample of the guests: we had about 60 people come! It was amazing!


Basically, it was a huge success! I'm soooo glad people came and had a good time!