Week 1

Excerpts from Kimberly's e-mail sent December 6 from the MTC.
"So it has been good here.  I am constantly busy.  I always have class or some workshop I am going to. . . I think some have noticed that I may be a little uptight.  I think maybe I just need to relax, but I am finding it hard to comprehend that because we have such a short time here to learn before we are effecting real lives... My first companion is Sister Livingstone.  She is from Canada!  She is super sweet and loving.  She has a lot of great insights that I had not thought of.  She is also going to Ogden.  Back to our investigator.  We have a guy named Terry and we met and taught him for the first time today and it was a little nerve wracking.  It went a lot different then I expected.  We are going to meet with him again tomorrow so we will see how that goes.  I am hoping I will get better at this teaching thing. 
One thing I really liked that I learned here is what I am calling the 'Shampoo Theory' which is basically Endure To The End.  So this is how it goes.  As we go about our lives we get dirty as any human does.  Then we have to realize that we are dirty and then go take a shower and shampoo our hair.  The bottle tells to rinse and repeat.  So as we go about our lives we sin and we need to realize we are dirty and repent and be baptized, which is taking a shower and shampooing our hair.  But it doesn't stop there.  We go about our day and we get dirty again, so instead of saying that we have taken a shower once, we need to take a shower every day and cleanse our souls.  So that is what the 'Shampoo Theory' is about.
It feels great to have my official mission name tag!  I already feel a little strange when I take it off to go take a shower... It is strange not being able to call and talk, but at the same time I have no time TO talk.  I feel like we run from one thing to another... The gospel is awesome. "

"I forgot to tell you about the calling I got for my branch.  Sister Livingstone and I are the branch musical coordinators.  Yeah, I laughed so hard.  I am not sure the church knows that I am tone deaf.  So maybe they will catch on or maybe the Lord will just bless me with some musical ability or something.  "
Love Sister Brooksby

Sister Kimberly Dawn Brooksby

Set apart as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, December 1.  Drove to Salt Lake City, Utah on Tuesday, December 3 in stormy weather. Delivered to  the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on Wednesday, December 4 by her "companions" Lori and Christina.  Now it is time to go to work.

With the  Manteca Sister missionaries.

Leaving home and her 1st companion, Mom.

Lori and Christina delivering the missionary to the MTC.

Kimberly's mission president is President Maurice and Sister Charlene Hiers.  She will leave the MTC and report to the Ogden mission on December 17.  For those who want to write to her, here are the addresses.
MTC (for a few more days)
Sister Kimberly Dawn Brooksby
DEC 17 UT-OGD
2009 N 900 E Unit 166
Provo, UT 84602

Mission
Sister Kimberly Dawn Brooksby
Utah Ogden Mission
4380 S. Orchard Ave
S. Ogden, UT  84403

Her e-mail address is Kimberly.brooksby@myldsmail.net. 
While she is in the MTC her p-day is Friday. We will let you know when her day to e-mail is after she gets into the field.

Please send her all your love, support and best wishes in letters, e-mail, cards or packages but not in person.  Seek for and share your own missionary experiences with her, your joys and successes.  She will love to hear from everyone.  Keep her in your prayers always. 
Some of her favorites things if you want to put together a package for her are:
Natural Ice lip balm
Sour Patch Kids
Linder Truffles (not white)
Dark Chocolate
Twinings Orange & Cinnamon Spice Tea
Udderly Smooth Cream
No Show Socklets
Buffalo Wing Pretzel Thins

We would love to have you share your stories and messages from Kimberly with us.  You can e-mail me at brooksbb@comcast.net.  We are sure that Kimberly will be an amazing missionary.  We are grateful for everyone's support and love for her while she is away doing the Lord's work. 
Thank you, the Brooksbys

Called To Serve

I have been super busy the last few months, so writing on this blog was far down on the priority list. I was finishing up working at Jackson Lake Lodge (I never thought I would make it to the end, but I DID!), visiting family and friends, and preparing for my mission! Yep, I am serving a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Here is my mission call...

Utah, Ogden Mission!

I am so excited to serve a mission!

 I report to the Provo Utah Missionary Training Center on December 4th 2013, and will serve for 18 months.

What I will be doing while on this mission is teaching all those who will listen to me, about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am not my religion, but what my religion teaches me makes me who I am today. I am excited to teach the people in the Utah, Ogden Mission. 

While I am on my mission my mother will be in charge of this blog. She will be posting pictures and stories about my mission as I e-mail her them. 

If you would like to sent me a letter as I am gone the mailing address is 

Sister Kimberly Brooksby

Utah Ogden Mission

4380 Orchard Ave

South Ogden, UT 84403

Quarter Century Lessons: Hind Sight is Best

So the month of July I was doing 31 things in 31 days with some of my family. I had a big long list of things to do and not a lot of down time to do it in. One Friday I got off work so I could go on a breakfast cruise with my roommate. Since I had the whole day off I decided to mark off a few different things on my list while I had the time. One of them was going kayaking. Well, this is where it gets good. The morning was cold so I wore pants, but I knew I was going to go kayaking after the breakfast cruise so I wore my swim suit underneath that. Not thinking I only put sunscreen on my arms and neck. Well while we were kayaking we got caught in the wake of a fast boat that ended up dumping a ton of water on me and in the kayak. We ended up rowing to shore and flipping the kayak to rid it of the water. I also took off my pant and just wore my swim shorts. We continued on for a while but decided to stop and rest and get some 'happy rays'. We laid in the kayak for almost and hour just listening to music and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. After we got back I rested for. A while then went on a horseback riding dinner ride. At this time I could already feel I was fried like a lobster, but I didn't know how bad it was. ...

Day one

I don't know if you can tell, but my legs and ankles were swollen. It was painful to wear pants and to walk. But I roughed it out, but I did complain a little. 

Day two

It's starting to get worse and more painful to walk. Stairs... Was a challenge, but my co-worker got a kick of of watching me tackle those. 

Day three

I now have second degree burns. That yellow on my right leg are blisters not aloe. So I called and complained to my parents. I was told to keep it moist and elevated above my heart. Here is what the daughter of an engineer (me) came up with....

 Needless to say I called out the next day. This went on for about two days more, well at least the having to elevate my legs part (sleeping was uncomfortable.) instill could not walk without pain. I wore skirts to work and then changed into my work pants for my shift only to change right back into my skirt as soon as possible. It was like that for a week and a half, until I started peeling. 

My legs inched so bad and it would hurt to scratch because I was still sunburned. It took about 3 weeks for me to shave my legs again ( I was scared of my razor) and about 4 and a half weeks before I was fully back to normal. 

So the moral of the story/lesson is hind sight is always best. But also to wear sunscreen even when you don't think you need it and everywhere no matter what. 

One funny story from this experience was when I was walking down the hall with my co-worker and she was walking way faster then I was hobbling, and I called out to her that she didn't need to wait up that I was coming, slowing, but I was coming. Unbeknownst to me my boss was right behind me and asked if I needed a wheelchair. I said that would be great. But sadly I never saw that wheelchair. But funny all the same. :)

Quarter Century Lesson: Workaholic

This last month (that I am just getting around to documenting) I have zero time to myself. I have been working like a crazy person. Working 15 hour days and not even caring. I have noticed that I love working, especially when I'm baking, and don't mind the long hours. Here are a few pictures from my month. 

It has been a busy, frustrating, learned a lot about my work habits and I don't work well with stupid people. And last but not least, I love baking and learning new things and staying busy. 

Quarter Century Lessons: Navy Blue

Once I was told that if I was a color I would be the color navy blue, because I could be an accent color or the main color. This last month I have realized that this is probably true. 

I started working at Jackson Lake Lodge at the beginning of this last month and it had been quite the adventure. I would like to say I was not prepared for what I got, but I had been warned by multiple people. Given the fact that Jackson Lake Lodge is closed seven months out of the year I should have been prepared for the disorganization that I arrived to. With it being only open for a short time there is not a whole lot of people that choose to continue working there multiple years in a row, especially in management positions. In saying that, most people were just trying to figure out what's going on the first week or so I was here, so it was a little bit of a mess. At first I just tried to get a feel for what it was like and how things were run so I would know weather I was going to be a main color or an accent color. 

I was not impressed with the way things were panning out in the beginning so I tried to be an accent color and fade into the background so I wouldn't have to deal with a lot of what was going on. A little over a week of that and I realized that if I was to remain sane over the next four months I needed to start acting more of the main color. I then started organizing things and cleaning and trying to make the communication a little better with at least our department. After a few days things got a little better. 

My boss is a soft spoken man, quite literally, I have to ask him to repeat himself multiple times a day. In saying this he does not exert himself as the manager figure he should be, so sometimes I feel I need to play that role so things can run smoother. It aggravates me that I am forced to do that, but it has been teaching me what I am made of as a leader and as a baker. In the long run I guess I should be thanking him. All this opportunity to be the main color Navy Blue has been teaching me valuable lessons on how it will someday be at my own bakery. 

 

Quarter Century Lessons: Lone traveler with a small bladder.

For the month of April I have been a busy woman. I finished my job in Vail Colorado and started my month long road trip.

My last day of work I ended early, so I went home and started packing. I took a break from packing my life up to got out with some friends to eat and hang out. My friend Joe showed me some amazing lookout spots around the valley. It was so beautiful. The pictures don't give it justice. But it was an amazing last night in a beatiful place like Vail, Colorado.

The next morning I finished packing, but by the time I was finished loading my car, checked out and ready to get on the road Vail was in a full out blizzard. I only got to the next town before I gave up trying to drive 15 miles an hour in a blizzard. I called my friend and said I was coming over and he was to entertain me. Finally around 4:30pm I deemed the weather and the roads okay enough for me to get back on the road. That started my month of adventures. 

My first stop was to my friend Dani and Shawn's apartment in Provo, Utah. I didn't get to their place until about midnight and was super exhausted. I stayed up as much as I could talking with Dani, but I had gone to bed late and woke up early so I was exsausted. 

The next morning Dani and I went out to lunch with our old roommates from Disney World. It was a small reunion. 

After that I headed off to take pictures with all the temples in the area (for my 25th birth year list, pictures for that will come later). I stopped at my Grandma Beth's house and even got to see two temples with her. 

It was fun seeing my grandma again and chatting with her. We went out to dinner and just visited. After that I headed on up to Idaho Falls to my sister Lori's house. I stayed there for a few days and played with my two nieces and my two sisters. 

After that I was on the road again.

(Insert song: "On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again...)

As you can see it snowed again as I was leaving Idaho. This is the point in my journey that my lesson I learned this month really come in full force. Long road trips and small blatters don't mix. I think I stopped one and a half more times to use the restroom then I did for gas. 

That day I saw two new (to me) temples. Billings Montana and Bismarck North Dakota. I stopped in Bismarck, North Dakota and stayed in my very first hotel by myself. It was nice. The next morning I headed on up into Canada. 

Going through the boarder patrol was one big adventure in and of itself. I was stopped by four different boarder police. The first was as I was driving in, the next was at the booth, the third was in the building so I could get my car searched, and the last was the customs check lady. The third person I talked with multiple times. Telling my life as it is made me seam like a sketchy person. Passport from one state, car registered in another, not having a home as of right then, and only having Facebook to content with my friend Candace in Canada. Although when they found out that it was a girl rather then a boy they cooled off a bit. They probably thought I was going to marry someone to become Canadian. 

My few days in Canada were jam packed with fun and site seeing. It was a balst to be on Candace's turf. Here are a few photos that describe all that we did. 

The Manatobian museum 

Canadian poutine

Cake pops and lots of geocashing 

Games 

Dinner with the family at the local culinary arts school's new Resturant. 

Eating like hobbits (breakfast, second breakfast, elevenises, lunchon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper.)

Plus a few snakes we couldn't miss

Candace showed me the real Winnie the Pooh statue. 

On our travels we found a big chair...

And a 'before I die...' board.

All in all Canada was awesome! But at last I had to leave. :( 

Going back through the boarder was again another adventure, but as is everything I do in my life now a days. I made it all the was to Rapid City, South Dakoda that night. The next morning I set out to go see Mt. Rushmore. It was smaller then I would have thought. 

Later I stopped in Chyenne, Wyoming to visit an old college roommate. I also stopped in Denver to check some more 25th birth year list off. That night i stayed in Vail with my old roommate. We did like old times and watched a movie and painted our nails. 

The fallowing day was one of my shorter driving days of the trip. ( but yet I still had to stop to use the restroom more times then I would have liked to). I stopped in Ceder City, Utah at my Grandma Palmer's house. We got my car check and oil changed and then went out to eat at a Thia food place she had been wanting to go to. We then went home and played games. It was so good to hang out with her. 

The next day was the last day of the month but not the end of my road trip. I stopped at a few more temples and a friends house then headed to my sister Brittney's house to help with the newest addition to our family that arrived earlier that day. Crosby Scott Jones. 

I stayed at Brittney's house for the next ten days. (This is technically the end of the month, but seeing as my road trip is not over, I will continue.)

I mainly cleaned house, cooked, helped watch Porter and Annie and sometimes help Crosby. Here is a picture run down of my stay. 

Going on walks with Porter and Annie. They lived right by the railroad so this was a commen acurance. 

Going to the park

Holding Crosby. 

Jumping on the trampoline. 

Snuggling. 

Movie and popcorn nights. 

Swimming. 

Annie was a social eater. She always shared your food. This is our ice cream bar. 

Lots more snuggling. 

And adventures to the grocery store. 

I then had to leave to start the last leg of my journey to my new job in the Tetons. When I left Brittney's I took the fun adventure of finding the temples in the surrounding areas. When driving back up from San Diego I was so close to the beach my Californian heart called me to stop to dip my feet in the beautiful water. 

I stopped that night at my parents and stayed a day to spend time with them. My mom and I went to Oakland to see that temple. 

Then we went shopping on our way back home. For lunch I met up with Jasmine, my old high school friend. Then that night my parents and I went out to eat and to watch Iron Man 3. 

But at last the fallowing day I had to leave yet again. That day I saw my last three temples. I made it to my sister Lori's house late at night. The next morning was Mother's Day so I made Lori breakfast in bed. Then I went to sacrament meeting with my sister Christina and then headed off for the very last drive of my trip to my job in the Tetons at Jackson Lake Lodge working as a pastry chef. Thus ended my long road trip with a small blatter. 

Road trip stats:

3 siblings seen

Both grandmas seen

My parents seen

8 friends seen

24 temples 

10 states

2 countries

Roughly about 6,000 miles put on my car

And countless bathroom breaks. 

One big adventure!