Katie's Baptism

These two girls have been friends...best friends

for most of their young lives.

Katie and her family live just up the street

 and she and Haley have attended

  Hawthorne, Poston, and Mt. View together,

often in many of the same classes.

So, it was a huge honor, and not really a surprise,

when a couple of week's after her 18th birthday,

Katie asked if she could have the
 missionary discussions in our home.

 These girls were at every discussion and it was

extra special to have President Robinson join us!

Elder Shafer (from SLC) and Elder Gomez (from Argentina)

did a great job teaching Katie the discussions in record time.

(There wasn't much that she didn't already know!)

Curt was honored to be invited to baptize and confirm Katie.

We were all so happy that Katie's dad and sister
 were able to attend her baptism!

And just a few of the 150 friends who supported Katie on her special day!

The First Day of School

My Senior Girl!

No worries about what to wear...

Cassidy had to wear her "Toro Link" shirt on the first day,

as she helped pass out schedules and direct

the lost and confused new freshman and sophomores.

When my girls started at Mountain View,

 by the time the first day of school rolled around,

 they had walked their schedule multiple times.

Not this bad boy!  He would figure it out the day of!

Being late to class and/or lost was not a concern.

Clark-sophomore 

With the 9th graders beginning at Mountain View for the first time,

Bennett is the big man on campus this year at Poston.

8th grade

Hard to believe that summer is over

and it is back to the grind!

The Dog Whisperer

Bennett LOVES animals, especially dogs!

(I do not!)

He knows all the dogs in the neighborhood

 by name and where they live.

A while back he made up flyers to distribute to friends

informing them of his availability to walk and care for

their dogs when they are out of town.

He has loved taking care of Oreo, Red Dog, Sundance, and Zeus.

Several weeks ago, our neighbors, Bill and Rhonda,

requested Bennett's services.

They were both undergoing knee replacement surgeries

 within a month of each other

 and needed someone to walk Winston several miles a day.

Bennett was the guy!

He dutifully walked Winston each morning and evening.

Some days he would run with him,

 other days he would lace up his rollerblades,

and occasionally Winston would cop an attitude

 and refuse exercise of any kind!

Not only did Bennett make some extra money,

but he also talked to Rhonda about the church

 and invited her to take the discussions

from the missionaries at our home.

Although, she respectfully declined,

 it was a great experience for Bennett.

He is now saving his hard earned money to buy some stocks!

Bennett and Winston

The La Jolla Bachelor Pad

Towards the end of July, we made a quick trip to La Jolla

to move some of my brother's belongings

 into this great little apartment across the street from the beach.

(He is working temporarily in Cali and commutes home to Mesa on the weekends).

Not ideal for him and his family,

 but it made for a great escape for us!

We had the u-haul unloaded and things situated

 within a couple of hours.

We spent the next day and a half on the beach!

It is hard for us Arizonians to deal with below 80 degree weather,

especially when it is overcast and breezy!



We did a lot of reading.

Haley LOVES her Kindle and read "The Help".

I read "Jane Eyre" which is one of my all time favorites.

The boys loved boogie boarding!

Thanks, David for letting us use your Bachelor Pad!

Summer So Far

Bennett officially kicked off the start of summer

at the annual neighborhood party

on the last day of school.

It wouldn't be summer without participating

in swim team at Kino Junior High.

Matthew and Bennett after the Freestyle Meet

Haley began working full-time at

Garn and Mason Orthdontics.

It has been fun to watch her learn her new job

and then put into practice her skills on her favorite patients!

Haley working on Clark

June 28th was Grandpa Brown's birthday.

Several family members gathered at the cemetary to sing

"Happy Birthday" and remember

our wonderful father and grandpa.

Clark and Bennett, along with 150 other boys,

(many who are friends) participated in

Mountain View's Basketball Camp in Prescott.

The boys loved spending the week with their friends,

sleeping in the dorms, practicing drills

 and playing tons of basketball.

Clark and Bennett were each given

 "The Hustler" award for their age groups!

Great Grandpa Leroy Breinholt turned 92 years old!

His children held a party for him

 to celebrate this wonderful occasion.

He might not look it here, but he really did have a great time

seeing so many of his posterity.

We love having him live so close to us!

Cassidy & Katie drove up to Utah with Grandma and Grandpa.

They loved spending time with the Snow and Estes cousins.

We had a great 4th of July celebration...

and yes--there were plenty of fireworks!

We've Come Along Way, Baby!

25 YEARS!

Engagement Picture



Wedding Picture

June 7, 1986

It's been a great ride with this guy!

I love you, Curtis Leroy Brown...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

We Survived!

The Mesa Central Stake Pioneer Trek

June 2-4, 2011

Forest Lakes, Arizona

"Faith in Every Footstep"

To say that I did not want to go would be a mild understatement!

I was terrifed!

I don't camp...ever!

Camp LoMia and Cheyenne Ranch are roughing it for me,

so the thought of freezing cold nights and port-o- potties

brought me no comfort.

I begged, pleaded and harrassed Curt to get me out of it,

(due to my fragile mental state),

but he was absolutely no help.

So, I got in the zone, bucked up and did it.

The anticipation was far worse than the reality.

I slept warm, and even though the bathroom situation was nasty,

I survived!

I CAN DO HARD THINGS!

(I have reminded President Robinson that this is a

once in a lifetime experience!)

Curt and I were Pa and Ma to some great kids!

 We walked 25 miles in three days (14 miles the first day).

The first night was tough, rolling into a pitch black camp at 9:30pm,

exhausted and hungry.

The kids threw down their tarps, sleeping bags and slept,

some without dinner.

Dinner was broth and bread

 and the temperature that night was 29 degrees.

The good news...the broth was hot and the bread was delicious,

and I slept soooo warm!

Clark said he woke up in the night to hear

 girls crying and shivering,

men snoring and

women moaning!

The girls in our family were tough!

We learned so much from the Women's Pull and Rocky Ridge.

I loved getting a glimpse of my awesome children

hard at work and filthy dirty.

Cassidy gave a wonderful talk at our

Stake Trek Family Reunion Fireside

and shared her testimony and experiences of the Trek.

The experiences we shared on the trek changed us...changed me,

and we are grateful to have had this time

 to really reflect on the sacrifices

made by the early saints.

We Survived!

Thanks Brett & Tia for taking such good care of Bennett
and to the Snows for outfitting us in our Pioneer dresses!