August 23, 2017 – The twins started sophomore year. B and I were in CA meeting with some developers and also with doctors at Stanford (more on that in another post) and so missed the twins first day of school. Ari had to be there early and in her cheer outfit and TT an hour later – so for the first time ever there is no photo of them together on the first day of school or with B in his gym clothes on the porch. I’m just grateful that Master D snapped these photos for me.
Lelu started her Junior year at Utah State on her 20th birthday. 
We drove up to Logan and went to sushi dinner and delivered cake, balloons, flowers and gifts – One of which was a trip to NY with Master D.
Guest Blogger Lelu:
my first week of junior year was nothing short of amazing!! #1- I FINALLY lucked out in the roommate department. i love them. they’re all so cute, fun, AND nice! also turned 20 years old, yay x2!!! no longer a teenager! I’m only 20, but this is the first time in my LIFE I’ve felt old. Junior in college and TWENTY boo yaaaaaa👏 to top all this off, I got to go to NYC w/ Master D for my birthday!! (Best gift ever p.s.) we biked Central Park, went & saw Aladdin, ate some good food, and did some good shopping and it was the best lil weekend getaway!!! I’m happy and so excited to be back at Utah State this year. I have a feeling it will be the best yet!
On Tues August 29th, Master D headed out to NYC to check out his two favorite choices for Grad school. It used to be USC, but I think he’s a true big city New Yorker at heart.
Guest Blogger Master D:
Two score and three days ago I spent a week in NYC. The objective, visit the administration for the graduate film schools in film at NYU and Columbia. I spent the first three days by myself in an AirBnB – a studio the size of my bedroom back home. But, despite its tiny encapsulated feeling the world truly did feel open. I toured each respective school several times, visited with faculty and students and got a general feeling of what life would be like in Manhattan. I made a friend named Murdo, whom graduated from Cambridge. While we connected because of that school, we connected through our mutual love of BBQ. Normally the grotesque cold I got would have hampered every feeling of joy, but my trip to NY ended up being sublime. Lelu joined me for the latter half and we spent time seeing shows, being grand tourists and accidentaly running into Trump tower. It turns out that central park is far bigger than I ever imagined. It took 45 minutes to bike the circumference. I am very grateful for the opportunities that life has given me that I can visit perspective schools before I even applied. Hopefully, I made a good impression on the people I scheduled to visit.
God’s greatest gift to mankind is the cheeseburger, that succulent blend of meat bread cheese tomato lettuce and varied sauces complement each other to the utmost degree – with this in mind, I visited the fabled shake shack. IT was OK. The hunt for perfection continues.
The AirBnB was above an Irish pub, which turned out to be the last standing “men only” bar in NYC. It was changed in 1970 at which time Women were finally allowed to booze up. However, I only saw mostly men walking in. I really like NYC and attending NYU or Columbia would be a dream. Maybe eventually, I could find the perfect burger. Also, I will never understand the obsession with banana pudding and magnolia bakery. While it’s tasty, it is obnoxious to get.
Alladin was fun with many unnecessary character additions. The casting of Alladin was bothersome and the new songs didn’t really fit and were forgettable. The message was fun, able to skirt special effectswith a lot of ingenuity which was fun. It also rained a lot on me. The missionaries told me “no thanks” when I tried to buy them hot chocolate in the rain. I don’t know why.
Master D and Lelu returned home on Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. Aub had flown down for the weekend and we scheduled some family pics. There were only a few issues, like being yelled at by the Park Ranger that we’d be cited if we stepped off of paths and that no dogs were allowed and the other million people going up the Albion basin. We opted for Snowbird in a little shaded area. 
