Conference Weekend

Conference weekend tends to be a marathon in our family. This one was no different. It started off with me being incredibly late picking Scott up from work due to a slow pharmacist, traffic, me forgetting the dog food and what Scott has termed "Utah Driver Syndrome". Nonetheless, I finally made it there around 6:30. We drove straight up to the Farmington/Kaysville area where we drove around for an hour or so to look at houses. When it was too dark to see anything, we ended up in Layton for a 'wonderful' meal at Cracker Barrel. (I think at that point we probably would've eaten anything...) After dinner we stayed the night at my parents house so we would be ready to go on Saturday morning.

{megon & me at dinner}

The first session of Conference was great! I stayed awake, I felt the Spirit, I had some inspirational thoughts. One down. After our break from lunch I knew I was going to have a tough go of it. We sat down for session #2 on full stomachs and with the lights down...I tried so hard to stay awake, I listened, the lights went down further (or was that just my eyelids closing?), I still listened, I slightly dozed, bam! I woke myself back up and finished session #2. Phew...only missed one talk during my dozing.

Then came girls night (poor boys who have another whole 2 hour meeting...). Mom, Megon and I all went out to the Quilted Bear where mom was nice enough to let us each pick a Halloween decoration for our houses. Megon and I must have very similar tastes because we chose the same thing. Needless to say, my "BOO" is now my new favorite thing for Halloween. Our Quilted Bear outing was followed by dinner at Chili's and I thoroughly enjoyed the enchilada soup and the company.

{girls night out!}

After mom and I dropped Megon off, we drove home to prepare for the next days events....

Sunday we have to wake up even earlier because of Music and the Spoken Word. We got there, got in our seats and started listening to the choir do their thing. At this point I was oh so proud of myself. Usually, I'm out cold. This time I stayed awake for the entire thing! But, that is more than I can say for the rest of the session. I tried so hard...I pinched myself, I changed position, I tapped my foot, nothing worked! I was asleep for at least a half hour. Aw, nuts. Session #4 wasn't quite what I was hoping for.

{the jar of warm fuzzies from Pres. Monson's talk}

Lunch again and then back to the Conference Center for session #5...the grand finale. Once again the food settled and the lights dimmed...this session I was out for probably 40 minutes. After missing most of the first half I realized that I had to 'get my head in the game' and stay awake. I busted out all the stops and cracked open the package of Sweetarts I had hidden in my purse. Every time I felt the urge to close my eyes I popped in another one. It worked great! The next thing I know, President Monson was giving his closing remarks and we were standing and waving goodbye for another 6 months. :)

{family pic}

Now, for those of you reading this, you may think that I dislike conference. That is, in fact, not true. Conference is one of my favorite weekends. I love to spend time with my family. I love to listen to the inspirational messages, I love 'girls night' during Priesthood, and I love the way my testimony is strengthened. While I am always disappointed in my ability to stay awake through it all, I am confident that the reason they print the messages in the Ensign is for the thousands just like me. :)

The last item on the weekend agenda was perhaps my favorite part. Patrick and Megon invited us to their adorable apartment for dinner and a family game of DVD Clue. We had such a fun time together as usual and Scott and I were happy to finally have the chance to see the place where they have been living for the last 4 months.

I know a lot of other families have traditions for General Conference...what are some of yours?