Women's Conference, an increasingly favorite tradition

April 29-30, 2010

Each year, tens of thousands of women converge upon the Marriott Center at BYU for the annual Women's Conference. It is a fantastic sight.I think this is the 4th time my mom, sisters, and I have attended. Yes, the breakout sessions are great. Yes, the opening and closing general sessions are great. But, the best part is just hanging out with the girls.

This year we attended the Thursday night Evening of Service. (Jill caught up with us later.) We tied fleece blankets. I don't know how many were tied, but there were LOTS!
Next, we moved on to help out in the humanitarian area. We stuffed school kits into boxes to be shipped out to needy countries. I have to say the church's humanitarian efforts ROCK!!
That night we had a sleepover at my house. This was by far the HIGHLIGHT of the weekend for me. We "skyped" with my other sister Alicia for over an hour. (That was my first experience with Skype - pretty cool stuff!)

We stayed up late talking and laughing our heads off. (Everything's funnier after midnight!) Have you ever played with PhotoBooth on a MAC computer? You can take super funny distorted photos of you. This is my sister Tanya. (Sorry T, I had to do it.) We were crying, we were laughing so hard! This is the stuff memories are made of.The next day we attended the actual conference. Great sessions. Good uplift for the soul. And of course, the day would not be complete without the traditional group photo.
After the conference, we went to dinner at Zupa's (my FAVORITE restaurant at the moment) and then shopping at Walmart. We checked out most of the aisles in the store at a leisurely pace. How often do you get to do that? (Especially if you're Jill, with 6 kids, or Tanya, with 4 kids)

I was sad to see everyone leave on Saturday. Let's do it again next year! Love you girls!

My mum & mothers everywhere...

Today I opened the mail and there was a card from my mum that brought me to tears. Gosh I love this lady!My mum is a saint. Really. I mean how did she raise 8 children who are all great, productive members of society, while working full-time?

Every stinkin' night at 6:00, dinner was on the table.

There were several years when she got up in the wee hours of the morning to do a paper route and then still take care of all of us, and was still nice about it.She taught me how to work.

She shared with us her love of music. She sang to us, played the piano for us, and inspired me to learn to play the piano.

She's a great cook. Her homemade bread can't be matched.
She's smart, well-read, and expected us kids to do well in school and college.

Her love for her children is unconditional and we all know it.

She has a tender heart and has passed on her loose tear ducts to me as well.

She has a strong testimony of the gospel which has been an anchor in her life, as well as mine.How blessed I am to have my mum as my mother.

And while I'm at it, I'm so grateful to John's mom Joy, for her generous, welcoming, loving heart. She raised an incredible son, for which I will always be grateful.I can't forget to mention my sisters and sisters-in-law. I love to see all of them with their children. They inspire me.Happy Mother's Day to mothers everywhere!

Yum, YUM, yummers, yummy, Yum.

Aren't these beautiful? I was at Costco yesterday and saw these HUGE strawberries. I had to have some.
And since I can't eat them fast enough...time for jam. For me there is really only one kind of jam: homemade strawberry jam. It's so easy to make and it tastes SOOO good. Why wouldn't it? It's 2 cups of mashed strawberries and 4 cups of sugar.
I finished these about midnight last night. Now I just need some of my mom's homemade bread...