It Was a Great Conference

I wish I could tell you that I loved being soaked clear through. I wish I could tell you that I smiled the entire time. I wish I could tell you that I was thrilled with the behavior of the kids and all of their leaders. I wish I could tell you that I wasn't too cold. I wish I could tell you that I love mosquitos.

What I can tell you is that the Goliath of wet and cold kicked my butt. But I stayed, so that was a small victory.

I can also tell you that all of those things that made this youth conference difficult were the same things that made it worthwhile.

It was a good experience. It was a good conference.

This was our ride for two days. Notice the pews on the "hay wagon." They came from an old church. Since there was no hay, the kids were calling it a "Pew Wagon." Spencer installed the shade umbrellas--turns out they were a godsend! Spencer and Kevin Bateman (the tractor and wagon owner) took turns as tractor drivers while I sat with the wards. (My bum hurts! :) )

This acreage at Mosida, on the southwest side of Utah Lake, is owned by the Church. It is mostly desert (part of it is farmed). They host "treks" there, so they had these handcarts on-site. We used them to haul our gear from the lodge to our campsites. This is Ashtyn and Michelle Winn.

This is our ward (Heritage 3rd ward). We wish we could have spent more time with them, but we were part of the stake committee, so we stayed on the hayride the entire time.

Here we are, ready to begin our conference. It's Thursday. See that patch of blue sky? Look carefully. It won't be there for long.

This is our 2nd ride of the day, Friday, with 2nd ward. We were caught in a DOWNPOUR! The tarps are covering everyone else in the ward, with just a few of us standing beneath umbrellas.

The hayride took the youth to the Valley of Elah, where Spencer taught the youth to throw tennis balls with a real sling at a life-size Goliath. This Goliath was painted on a 12-foot skid (from Boeing), which we planted three feet into the ground. It was painted by one of our stake youth, Michael Call, who is 17 years old.

This Goliath, painted by 16-year-old stake youth Jill Duncan, was posted near the lodge. We took pictures with each ward by this one after their hayride was finished. This picture was taken after our 2nd day, which was, thankfully, sunnier than Thursday. You can tell, because I'm seriously sunburned. :)

Here are some of our youth doing a Polynesian dance for our Saturday celebration activity (Ashtyn and Briana are at the far end. It turned out so good!

This is one of the short skits about facing our own Goliaths (Megan is trying to find the escape button as computer messages about "bad stuff" pop up in front of her). You can see the choir in the background.

We had hoped to be more in the open for this activity, but with rain threatening, we moved everyone under tarps. It turned out fine. We had a choir, the dancers, these skits (which were performed while the choir sang), and an activity where everyone got to do chimes together. Then the stake president spoke. We opened and closed with prayer. After the closing prayer we sang Becky's song (I taught the chorus to everyone on the hayride). It sounded so beautiful! The stake YW presidency wants to add this song to our conference DVD. Hooray for Becky for writing this wonderful song for us!

Good News and Bad News

The good news is that this week is finally youth conference.
The bad news is that we still have a TON of things to finish up.
The good news is that we have tonight and tomorrow night after work to finish.
The bad news is that we have a lacrosse banquet tonight and a youth conference activity (attending the the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication) tomorrow night.
The good news is that we have a lacrosse banquet tonight and a youth conference activity (attending the the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication) tomorrow night.
The bad news is that we still have a TON of things to finish up.

--Are you seeing a cycle here?--

The good news is that in 5 days youth conference will be a happy memory and we will be home, ready to sleep in our own bed!
The bad news is that we won't be sleeping much over the next 5 days.
The good news is that it will all be worth it.

Happy Youth Conference!

Youth Conference and the rest of a Saturday

This is our kitchen table:

Here is what we did today, in random order: Washed 3 loads of laundry (Aundrea). Folded 6 loads of laundry (Aundrea). Unloaded and loaded the dishwasher twice (Spencer, Landon, Aundrea). Mowed the lawn (Taylor, Ashtyn). Went to Batemans to check on Goliath, stones, and a foal (Aundrea, Briana). Went to two different art stores for paint for Goliath (Aundrea, Taylor, Ashtyn). Mounted three umbrellas on Batemans' trailer (Spencer, Taylor). Delivered over 10 graduation candy necklaces (Briana, Aundrea). Held practice for our actors (Aundrea, Briana, Taylor, Ashtyn). Strung about 200 chimes (see above) (Spencer, Aundrea, Briana, Taylor, Ashtyn, Landon). Made "sheet music" rolls for chimes activity (Aundrea). Made lunch (Ashtyn, Taylor). Made dinner (Aundrea). Made a birthday present (Ashtyn). Went to a birthday party (Ashtyn). Went to a family fun fair (Landon). Drove people around (Spencer, Briana, Aundrea). Had an interview at the temple (Spencer). Ran (Spencer). Helped Bert (Spencer, Landon). Gave a lesson on how to drive a stick shift (Aundrea). Drove to Magna in said stick shift-ed vehicle (Briana). Went to a drive-in movie (Briana). Shopped (Spencer, Aundrea, Taylor, Briana, Ashtyn). Prepared Sharing Time (Aundrea). Called chimes choir participants (Aundrea). Attended a baptism (Aundrea). Changed bed sheets (Aundrea). Burned fingers and/or hand (Spencer, Aundrea, Briana, Landon). Typed words to "As Zion's Youth in Latter Days" (Aundrea). Miscellaneous: shower, do hair and makeup, brush teeth, read, nap, laugh, cry (this was NOT Aundrea), blog, sudoku, pray, feed and play with the dog.

Here is what we did NOT do today: Homework! :)

Things I'm Looking Forward To...

Another checklist: (This is in no particular order and will change daily.)

1. Briana's report on Prom tonight. She is leaving before I get home from work. She dressed up for me last night so I could oooh and ahhh; and her dad has explicit instructions to get pictures before she leaves!

2. Reflections of Christ. This is a wonderful photography exhibit that our stake is hosting. I get to sing there tonight.

3. A rainy weekend. While I love a good spring rain, I really think we've had spring storms ENOUGH. (This particular part of my list might contain some sarcasm.)

4. Wicked. This one's for real. Spencer's and my turn to celebrate Christmas is in just 4 days!

5. There are 49 days till youth conference begins. I get to have a 5:00 p.m. meeting on Sunday. And make some more phone calls. And do more shopping. And scheduling. And planning.

6. The end of the work day is in exactly 4 hours, 2 minutes.

7. Landon's first lacrosse game is on Saturday. This will be fun.

8. Spencer and I are joining some of my work friends for dinner and playing around on Saturday night. Go Jazz!

9. The Sterling Singers are performing on Sunday.

And that will bring us back to Monday again. :)