Women's Conference

Once again, it is that time of year. The time when thousands of women converge on one spot to celebrate their lives, and refill their spiritual buckets. Chick's conference, as Doug calls it. This year, we didn't stay in the dorms. Erin's parents are on a mission, so they agreed to let us use their house for a few days. We had more fun than should be allowed, even with all of the walking and hiking of the Marriott Center steps.



There are always so many lines to stand in. I don't think I've ever attended anything where you stand and wait so much. Want to attend a class? Stand in this line. You would like a mint brownie? Stand in that line over there. Need to find the ladie's room? Stand in the longest line EVER!




When we get home, the silliness begins. We are all tired, which doesn't help. It just means that we will laugh at anything, and everything. I really mean everything. We had such a fun time while we could keep our eyes open. I think Julie should go into modeling. Seriously, she has the model face down perfectly.

One of the most fun moments is when we get to let our hair down and act like Miamaids again. Julie and Erin are reliving those days with all the passion they can. I don't think you could do this at the concerts I used to attend, and still be taken seriously.

I am just happy to be somewhere without having to be a mom. I may only have one child, but it is tiring to be the only other one that she has to play with. Now I can act like a child because I choose to.



This concert was so fun. Alex Boye was wonderful. I just love to listen to him sing. We met him after the program, and he is the nicest person, extremely happy, and very thoughtful.



I loved to listen to this performer sing (unfortunately, I have forgotten his name), but I was struck by something else during his performance. Off to the right corner of the stage they had a couple of women that were signing for the def. I have always loved sign language, but I was completely fascinated by the woman doing this song. She obviously loved it, and was very familiar with signing it; she almost signed the words before they were sung. The emotion she put into it was so beautiful. It made me want to learn to sign again. Who knows? Maybe I will finally do it. I wish I had taken a picture of her.

Then we were blessed with a performance by Eclipse. They are always so fun. I would love to be able to do what they do. Unfortunately, I am just a wannabe. So many talents in the world, so little time to develop them.

We had a great opportunity to hear from Larry Gelwix, coach for Highland rugby. For those who don't know, he is the coach portrayed in the movie "Forever Strong". I thought it was so fun to have an opportunity to hear from someone that has made such a difference in so many lives. We had a chance to talk to him after, and I feel fortunate that there are people like him in the world. He and his wife were so wonderful to talk to.

Jenny Oaks Baker performed some really beautiful songs, most from her CD of movie songs. She played a beautiful rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". You can't tell, but the lights above her are in rainbow colors; much more beautiful in person. I wonder if I can fit "beautiful" in here just one more time?


She also played "Far And Away". I have always loved that song, and the movie. This is after she played the last note of the song. I love this picture because it shows how much emotion she puts into her performance.

Then there is the loveable Hilary Weeks. She is also very happy and fun to talk to. Apparently, she and Julie are now BFF's. Seriously, Julie has proof, just take a look at the autograph she received. If you ever want a new CD, look her up. You won't be disappointed.

One of the most fun things to do are the service projects that are offered. It always makes me think about how much of a difference we can make in the world. It is amazing to see what is accomplished by all of these women in such a short time, the numbers are staggering. We found room to help out in the card making room. We actually made papers for names of babies in hospitals. Who knew scrapbooking skills would come in handy. We had a chance to meet some really wonderful ladies from, well, everywhere. So fun to hear their stories.

At the closing session, we decided to sit at the top. We wanted to have a bit more leg room, and it was fun to look down and see the estimated eighteen thousand women gather together after having such spiritual experiences. I think I started crying on Thursday morning, and haven't stopped since. (For good reasons, obviously.) During the final hymn, we sang "The Lord Is My Light", and on the third verse, all of these women (and a handful of men) spontaneously stood up to testify that the Lord truly is their light. I cried then, and I am struggling with tears even as I think of it now. What a powerful moment to see so many people want to stand and show their love for the Lord. All of these women that have the ability to carry that feeling to so many places in the world.

I arrived at the conference with an empty bucket. Now it is full to overflowing. Please be patient while I splash it all over everyone. I just want to spread it everywhere. I love Women's Conference. It is an opportunity to refocus your life, and to realize what is truly important. You leave there with a stronger belief in women and the difference we all make in the world. I always relish the opportunity this time gives me to feel closer to my Savior, and to remember that He loves me, and I have things to do that make a difference. In small and simple ways are great things brought to pass. Take time to splash on people yourself.

Topaz, anyone?

For Spring Break, we went to Topaz Mountain with Doug's parents, and his sister, Michaun, and her family. Michaun's family has a tradition of spending spring break at Topaz, because during the summer it's just too hot to spend time there. It's such a fun place to find cool rocks, obsidian, mahogany, garnets, and of course, topaz. Kids just love that they can hammer on rocks all they want. We also seem to have fun with lizards. Just remember to check your bed at night......

We camped in a spot that had the only trees for miles around. They are rare out there. The scenery is beautiful, all of the mountains look purple in the distance, and you can see for miles.


We found some mines that we had never visited, and they ended up being the highlight of the whole trip. I am so amazed that people used to crawl through this maze of tunnels that they left behind.

This one is fun, Doug threw a rock down so you can hear how deep they are. Just ignore how loud my voice is at the end. My camera really picks up the voice of the photographer exceptionally well, (and I am loud to begin with). I didn't realize this until I watched the films at the end of the day.

This is the same mine, but you can't really see it until you get closer. I thought that Doug was going to have a panic attack as I was creeping forward to get a better picture. The ground is really loose rock, and you feel like even if you were super careful, you would head straight down one of the mines. Grant told me (as I was creeping toward the mine with my camera) that he had already slipped there. That is why I was laughing at the end of the clip.

This next picture was so amazing to take. We had walked into a mine, and went as far as we could see. When the flash went off from my camera, we were amazed at what we saw. That hole goes down pretty deep, as far as we could tell.

After we realized that there was so much more in the mine, I tried to take more pictures. It's hard to aim at something you can't see even a little bit. The piece of metal on the 2x4 is the same one in the next picture.

That was taken above where we stood. It looked like it went really far back. How on earth did they get through there?

We were thinking that in this economy we could live fairly inexpensively here. We could build a house on a foundation that already exists.

We wouldn't have to look far for a bed. Maybe I should get some nice memory foam for it. Hmmm, where's Doug going to sleep? I don't see a dog house....

We found some furniture, too. This looks like it was once a couch. Maybe we would need even more foam.....

This next picture is the part that had me questioning the move. Hmmmm. Let's think about this for a second. Ok, I don't think this facility would work for me. This looks like it was a busy place, and they must have been doing well to afford the two-seater model. Still not gonna happen.

At first glance, this one offered more privacy. Then comes the reality check. Apparently, this was for those who wanted to enjoy the view. I can see this is not really my kind of place to live.

I did find one thing that was appealing, however. It was nice to see that Doug knows his proper place, and now I have permanent proof.

This was one of my favorite pictures. I was taking a panorama and my in-laws were in the first picture. By the time I had the second picture lined up, they were in that, too. Of course, when I took the third, I had to make sure they were in that one, as well. You can see Doug way down the road, but now we have 3 sets of parents. Wait, I need to re-think that concept.

Hoppin' down the bunny trail....

We had a great Easter this year, just like every Easter. We always get together with Doug's family and have a great big easter egg hunt. I don't think there is as much hunting as there is just picking up, but now the kids are bigger, and we can make them hunt in the trees. That is much more fun.

There is always too much food, and with all of the candy, I don't think any of us will have to fix a meal for several days. Candy is a food group, right?

This is a picture of all of the nieces and nephews from 2006:

For some reason, I keep forgetting to gather them for another picture every year, so all I ever have are random pictures. They are more fun, though.

Don't let all of the laughter and goofyness fool you, we take our easter egg hunting very seriously in this family. Miriam most of all:

Try as I might, I could not get her to smile for a picture. That is some serious candy, I guess. Of course, all the men always end up doing their own thing after awhile.

They all seem to get bored after the excitement of hiding eggs and harassing children, so they gather where they can be left alone to rebuild their testosterone supply and feel manly again. That is the reason for the gathering across the street to oogle over Ron's new UTV. Within a minute or so of taking this picture, all of the guys were over there, leaving us women to defend ourselves against the hordes of children that were all hopped up on sugar. Looks like the kids enjoyed it, though.

After all is said and done, there is lots of family love to go around. Some feel it more that others...

As we all know, it isn't a party until someone loses an eye, or until there is a bloody nose, in this case. Wow, I didn't know that excessive amounts of sugar could do that to you. I'm going to be more careful in the future.

The kids always have to sort the spoils to see who got what, and which one of them ended up with the most money that Grandma hides. How come my family didn't hide money for me as a kid? I feel cheated. Maybe I will be a kid next year, I miss the Easter Bunny.

My Space.

Last weekend, Doug went to California to dive with some friends, so that left me home to entertain myself. (That's always trouble.) Here are the pictures of my sleepless weekend, but be forewarned. We are about to enter an area overflowing with estrogen. Just giving you a heads up.

This was my craft room when we bought the house. I won't even go into detail about how awful that wallpaper was, or how it only came off in little tiny pieces in the diameter of a quarter, or about all of the black soot and dirt that ran down the walls as we were removing the wallpaper. Now do you understand why it took me seven months to go back in there to finish it?

After we stripped the walls, it became a storage room for many (not all) of the boxes that contained my crafty stuff. It was also a great place for a spare bed that was used for a guest bed a couple of times. Doug's parents stayed overnight once or twice, but now there is no room at the inn. Sorry, Grand's. I have to admit, I am sad about that. It was fun to have them over.

Doug helped me finish painting and installed a new light fixture. Then he went to bed. We were totally exhausted on Wednesday night, and woke the next day to touch up all of our mistakes. That was when we remembered that we said we would never paint at night again. Oooops. Somebody remind us next time, OK?

Doug left on Thursday morning after the touch-up session, and said, "Have fun putting your shelves together!" You know that it isn't a good idea to do things by yourself when you pull out the instructions and on the very first page is this:

Right about then, my thought was, "Great. This is gonna be fun." What occurred after reading the instructions can only be described as comical. Good thing I didn't take pictures of me pushing the shelves against the wall, and then bracing myself against the opposite wall and using my feet to push the shelves together, or all of the other ridiculous positions I had to get into in order to finish this.

I could hardly move the boxes with the parts to the shelves in them, never mind moving the finished product. I eventually got it finished, and was able to lift the top off of the floor and onto my knees where I then shifted my hands to lift it the rest of the way. This is what happened then:

One small dent in order to put up my shelves all by myself was definitely worth it. I actually expected much worse, like being trapped underneath them until someone found me days later, or at least until Miriam eventually walked home from school. Then it was time for the easy part: the desk. That was a total breeze. 2 screws, 2 legs, a brace, and 2 clamps to the shelving. Piece of cake, I could do that with one hand tied behind my back, and I did, just because I could. Ok, maybe not, but boy, was I relieved when I got to that part.

Then comes the yucky part: finding all of my stuff that now has to be put away somewhere in this space. It took me a couple of days to hunt down all of the boxes, sort through it all to eliminate excess "crap", and then organize it on the shelves. Take a good look, it will never be this neat again. This leopard knows her spots, and they don't change easily. I have to admit, I still haven't located my paints or some of my knitting stuff, but I guess that gives me something to do, right? What you can't see, is that all of my hair stuff is in the closet, where nobody can see it, and I can access it when I decide that I need to change my color on a whim. (That happens a couple of times a year, it will be nice to have it all in one place.)

My sewing machine cabinet is just inside the door, and I am seriously contemplating a new paint job on it. I think it will have to wait, though. I just got it in here, I am not ready to carry it back outside yet. Having my crafty stuff so accessible has been wonderful, and I have been busy enjoying my new space. I have realized that I need some more projects, because this is the first thing I did when everything was in it's place:

That's right, I named my space. My first thought was "The Chick's Coop", then there was "The Girl's Grotto", but then I hit the jackpot! If you think that "The Lady's Lair" is a joke, think again. Let's just see what happens the first time a man invades my space. Should be interesting, and good for a picture or two. Think 'black widow'.

Because I didn't want my family to feel neglected, I named their spaces, too:

Notice that Miriam is also a huge fan of Rock Band. We are a family of wannabe's. Birds of a feather, and all that. Not to be left out, I labeled Doug's space, as well.

His room in the basement, (not to imply that we have sent him to the dungeons) is always busy with something. He named it "The Man Cave", and we are to keep our hands off. There is usually a set of scuba regs being rebuilt, or some other project going on down there, and I try not to get involved. Too much testosterone for me. I nearly suffocate from it. At least I have my own space to recuperate now.