Conference Weekend

We have a tradition that we always spend Conference Weekend in Malad. This year was no exception. We had a fun weekend with a few adventures as well. I really enjoyed conference, especially the Sunday morning session. Lots of good talks. Conference is a really good time to re-evaluate how things are going and what I'd like to work on. I really loved Sis. Becks talk and the talk about recognizing the Lords hand everyday. Even Tyler paid attention to some of the talks. Specifically Elder Oaks talk on making sure we aren't "too busy". Tyler was very worried this talk meant he couldn't play football anymore. Even though Conference was as wonderful as always, it wasn't the same without my mother-in-law there. We kept up the Sunday morning traditions of Conference cake and Orange Rolls, but her presence was missed greatly. I especially felt her absence on Saturday evening. The boys usually all head out to the Priesthood session and then us girls would hang out, watching TV, getting supper ready for when the boys returned or just sitting at the table chatting away. I was all alone this time, with just my kids. Nothing special this year. Mom loved watching her boys join their father each Conference time all dressed up and heading to the Priesthood session. She just loved it. I missed her.

So we had some adventures as well. The weather decided to give us a little sneak peak at Winter and we woke up to snow on Saturday morning. It snowed for a couple of hours and melted off by lunchtime. The ranch however, got a little bit more. We had driven up to the ranch to look at the new sod in the tree orchard, but it was covered in snow. I thought we'd all stay up on the road and just look down, but next thing I know, down into the ranch went Grandpa, Uncle Kenny and the kids. Chris and I decided to stay up on the road and watch. We had Brooklynn with us and the kids had decided to go sledding, so I thought I should be a good mom and take her on down to join the fun. Maybe this would have been an ok idea if I had been dressed properly, but given that I was barefoot in Crocs with my nice "Cream" fuzzy coat on, not such a good idea. I had just started down the drive when, Kaboom! Down I went pitching Brooklynn on her backside in the snow on my way. I twisted my ankle and at first thought, oh dear, I just broke my ankle. My next thought was, dang! I just washed this coat and now its covered in mud. Good news though, I didn't break my ankle and my coat came clean. Well, Brooklynn was very mad and had to go up to the car and be stripped down (muddy and wet). So she took a snooze in the warm car while the kids went sledding until they felt frostbitten. While we all headed up to the car, Dad realized he was stuck and couldn't get out of the snow, up to the road. After quite a bit of finagling, Chris and Kenny managed to get him out by placing sheets of plywood under the wheels. He'd drive a couple of feet and then the boys would move the sheets and go at it again. When they finally reached a point where the incline was too steep and the plywood didn't work, they tied 3 tow ropes together and Chris pulled him out. It was a cold, muddy and fun adventure!

Overall, we had a great time. It was nice to spend time with Dad and Kenny and watch another great Conference. The kids enjoyed having Grandpa take them on long golf cart rides all over Malad and visiting with Uncle Kenny.

au revoir