General Conference

Darren ran an errand to the store and Bronson is still napping, so I have a few minutes and thought I would attempt to get a few things posted.  I was considering a nap, but since the little man is due to wake up any minute, it wouldn't be a very good one...  I am still trying to make it through all the photos and journal our sweet baby's birth, so it might take me awhile to get it all blogged, but here are a few things from the beginning of April.  

April 1 - I love General Conference weekend!  It is one of my very favorite weekends of the year!  I love hanging out in our jammies and spending time together as a family and listening to the uplifting words of our prophets.  It is the best!  I also love how much my kids LOVE it!  They get so excited to get their special packets and do lots of church related coloring and play conference bingo and all that fun stuff.  Sadly, our Saturday was super busy this year so we had to listen to conference in the car and kind of missed the 2nd session (luckily, we have DVR).  Sunday was great though.  We loved hearing the messages and enjoying our family.  I never thought I would hear much of Conference once I had kids, but I think sometimes I get to listen better now and I rarely fall asleep!  And that afternoon, our family came over for a yummy dinner and celebrated Rylee's birthday with us.  It was great! 

Look how cute they are coloring away!  Logan and Rylee have these little desks from one of our road trips when Avery was a baby, so she didn't have one.  Daddy was handy and made this little one for her out of a diaper box.  Daddy's are the best!

Logan

Rylee

Avery hard at work!

 

Avery's favorite part was the singing!  She loved it!  She stood up to lead the music just like the conductor.  It was pretty cute!  Also, one of the speakers quoted the lines to "I Am a Child of God" and her little face got so excited and she said, "That is MY song!  He said MY song!"  (That is her bedtime song every night.)  It was so precious!  I love this girl! 

Mom's Getaway

April 28-29 - In April, I did something I have never done before. I left the kids at home with Darren and went on a little girls' getaway with some of my dear friends from my ward. I was so excited! We went down to BYU Women's Conference and had a great time. It took me back to my EFY days - It was like EFY on steroids with grown women fighting to get into classes and saving seats like crazy people. It cracked me up that the speakers would ask repeatedly to please not leave early from the classes to get to the next one, and that half the audience would be dashing from their seats as soon as the closing song began. We had a great time - We ate some delicious food (including a BYU mint brownie!), were spiritually uplifted and had tons of fun and lots of laughing! I truly bonded with all these girls and love them all! They are great examples in my life and so much fun to be around! I came home feeling recharged and with a greater resolve to do more and be a better mom, which is what it is all about, right? It was something I truly needed. I felt the Spirit so strong down there and learned so much. Now that I teach Primary, I truly miss having great adult lessons and learning in Relief Society, so this was perfect for me! I am so grateful my husband worked things out so I could go and that I didn't have to worry about the kids at all. It was a great weekend!
The first night we ate at the Brick Oven. It was so yummy, but we all got sick afterwards! I think it was because we starved ourselves all day rushing to all the classes and then we stuffed ourselves at the Salad and Pasta Bar. After dinner, we went to the concert and all took turns dashing to the bathroom the whole time. The concert was great. Then we went to our hotel and did some girl talk and hit the sack. 8 girls in one room! It was a little crazy, but so fun!!!
Here we are at the closing session - Elder Bednar! He was FABULOUS! I love hearing him speak! He used the analogy of a drip irrigation system. He said we should be like that - focused and steady - rather than a sprinkler - sporadic. It was great. I also went to a class that day by Stephanie Nielson, who is the girl who was in the plane crash and burned so badly and has the Nie Nie blog that is so popular. It was her and her sisters and it was SO good! I think we were all in tears by the end.
All the ladies before we headed for home! Me, Barbi, Jill, Cheryl, Emily, Sylvia, Amelia and Marcie - We met a couple other friends there on Friday - Jenn and Stephanie, but they weren't with us when we took pictures.
And what would a girl trip be without a close-up picture that we took ourselves? My favorite kind of pic!

After we finished our classes that day, we headed to PF Chang's - my favorite! It was delish! We did a little shopping (but not nearly enough!) and headed for home. It was the perfect little break for me! Thanks girlies!!!