Eagle Project and Women's Conference 2010

On every Monday we start off our week after school with dance classes for Taylor and Ashley. I thought to bring my camera to Taylor's class. Don't let his face fool you...



he likes his class. His teacher just tells them to not smile while they're dancing.



The next day Taylor was in charge of mutual's joint activity. He was getting help with his Eagle project. He was very glad to get all the books out of his bedroom so he could get to his bed again.



There was a lot of books to load up!!



We had stations set up to process the books. This was the inputing station so we could have a list of the books that were donated. This was the only part that we couldn't finish by the time the activity was over. They were able to input 750 books however.



Here we are pulling them out and if they needed it they were cleaned by the book cleaners at the table behind.



There was a lot of sorting...



transporting...



and putting on labels.



I didn't come over to the label table until the they were almost done. They were flying through the books but the only problem was some of the books that I checked had upside down and sideways labels...but I guess thats what we get for trying to get them all done in a little over an hour.



At the end we fed everyone cake and ice-cream. We were worried about keeping everyone busy through the night but all in all it was a great success with plenty of books to keep everyone busy.



The next morning Tahna and I flew out for Women's conference.



We had the wierdest weather while we were there. You could tell it was spring because of all the blossoms but then Tahna and I would get pelted with snow at the oddest times.



We stayed at my aunt's house. They are always the best hosts! They welcome whoever I bring and love to have them. They remind me of Grandma Hovey who was the best at that. She treated everyone like family no matter who you were! Thanks for always making us feel welcome!



I slept in my uncle Leonard's study. I always love all the books he has in there. He's even written a few of his own. When we were there last he had written one book now he has 4!



He even has the picture up from the first time all of us crazy women came out to visit.



Our car we rented was a crack up. It was micro mini without even an arm rest but I was so set on not getting upsold I stuck to this little model and refused to give into the bait and switch and pay for a bigger car.

I love how they quote you a super good price and then tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't get the car you reserved but upgrade to a better car.

My car rental representative had a stack of laminated pictures showing me what I could upgrade to. "Your car is too light, you need a heavier safer car...it's supposed to snow..." She tried I said no, probably more on principle than anything.

Then it was on to upselling the insurance package (they never tell you that your own insurance already covers you). "No thanks" I said. Well then she said they HIGHLY RECCOMMEND at least having the more economical daily insurance. "No thanks"...

Then it was on to upselling the gas options. I think she was getting desperate because she was really trying with this one. You could either pre-pay for a whole tank of gas at a normal price, pay 6.00 a gallon for them to fill it up or fill it up yourself. Why I wouldn't just want to fill it up myself was beyond me but she was pretty insistent that I needed to buy the prepaid full tank of gas. Of course they don't reimburse you for any of the gas that’s still in the tank. I declined.

"Your tank is only 11 gallons. You will definitely use over a tank of gas!!! First of all she doesn't even know where I'm driving to, how would she know how much gas I'll use. Besides the only way prepaying for a full tank of gas would be worth it is if I'm rolling in on fumes. Who thinks this is a good idea?

I signed my papers escaping the carnival barker but I could tell she was annoyed because as I was walking away she had to call out to me "OK you'll just have to pay $6.00 a gallon then!!!"

At the end of the trip we had used 3.5 gallons for a whopping $10.00...which I filled up myself. What a concept :)



I always love coming back on campus to BYU. This time as I was sitting the Mariot center in the beginning of the conference I realized that the last time I was here I was in a cap and gown graduating. It brought back good memories! It also made me happy to think that it's worthwhile to finish goals that are important to you even if it takes you years to do it!



As I was walking to one of the classes I walked by my old dorm E. Richards in Heritage Halls. Brought back memories too...as well as a realization that my face looks fat when I try and take pictures of myself...or maybe it just looks fat all the time...Yikes!



In one of the classes I took they had a service project you could work on while you were listening to the talks. These are memory boxes for parents that have still born children. My aunt Lorraine recieved one when she lost Hyrum so she said it was a good thing to make. I listened to a great talk on stress while I made 3 of these feeling grateful that I never needed one of these in my life. I was grateful that we were helping make something that would bring comfort to someone else during a hard time in their life.



This was Tahna's first time at Women's conference. It was fun to get to know her better, hang out and show her around the campus.



We were both caught off guard with the weather.



It started to snow at odd times sometimes without clouds over us.



It never failed to make us laugh! Crazy!



The first day we stayed until the classes were over and then planned to stay on campus for the concert at night. We had 3 hours until the concert and thought it would be a long wait. Well we checked out the art museum (something thats hard to do with families in tow) and then went shopping at the bookstore. Before we knew it we were almost out of time! We grabbed some quick food and then headed back over to the Marriot center.

We got to watch a fun concert including the Fabulous Five, the 5 clogging sisters from Utah that were on America's got talent. They were fabulous and very entertaining.



We also got to hear from Hillary Weeks (who was also the host and did a hillarious "laundry" theme even giving away a washer/dryer set at the end), Michael McLean, Dallyn Vail Bayles, Mercy River and Alex Boye (one of the only black members of the Tabernacle Chior who used to be a pop star in London).

After a very fun concert we headed back to a quiet house where everyone was already asleep.



The next day we attended a bunch more wonderful classes and had to finish up by buying some ice cream from the creamery before heading over to hear Elder Oaks and his wife speak.



I tried some graham cracker flavor that a few people recommended. I wasn't sure about it until I tried a sample. Yum! Can't get it anywhere else.



After all the classes were over we finally hooked up with Lorainne and Jeanette.



They were the invisible women for most of the trip because we kept missing each other but on our last night we got to hang out with them for dinner at my aunts.

They were both delightful to hang out with. I also go to meet my cousin's new wife Laurel. She seems very nice and most importantly David seems very happy and the boys seems to love her. I hear they bombard her every day when she gets home from work and can't wait to be with her. My hat's off to her to jump into an instant family! I'm happy for all of them.



When I got home I bestowed all my gifts to my children including marshmallow guns that I got at the Quilted Bear (another fun stop that Tahna and I got to enjoy because we didn't have families with us).

They loved the guns and immediately started playing with them.



We decided pretty quick that eye protection was needed while they were playing war. So they've been running around with glasses and goggles on.



Tahna and I flew home on Saturday which was also Jeff and I's anniversary. 17 years!!

We celebrated that night with a dinner at Sevilla's (reminded us of our Spain trip) and a play at RCC. They were showing the Pirates of Penzance. We had watched part of it at an outdoor theater but RCC's version was much better and easier to understand. Fun night.



Now being home from Women's conference I've tried to keep the spirit I felt up there and refocus, reprioritize and recommit to the things that really matter. Some of my note highlights.

- The most important skill we can learn in this life is to seek, recognize, and follow the promptings of the spirit.

- Reprioritize - when our priorities are out of whack we lose power. List what is essential, what is necessary, and what is just nice-to-do.

- Stress is caused when priorities aren't right, simplify and don't try and "be" someone you are not and you will always have the resources you need to accomplish what you were sent on this earth to do.

- Patience is actively persuing worthwhile goals without getting discouraged when results don't appear instantly or without effort.

- temples lesson the power of Satan on earth, in our lives and in our homes. Look to the temple and make it a priority. The temple allows us to look at "the map" of the highway of life.

- Two phone books books with the pages alternating together are so strong a car can't pull them apart. Sisters in the gospel despite their differences can be just as strong when we are united. Take all our individual strengths and come together willing to share and we are a perfect 10.

- Respect others choices everyone will come to Christ on their own path. We can support each other in our convictions even if we don't feel the same personally.

- Why do we do service? Is it for show or praise of men or out of Christlike love?

- Quench not the spirit. Throw out anything in your life that's keeping you from feeling the spirit.

- How do you receive revelation
- be humble, repent and be worthy.
- prepare to recieve it. Open your heart seek and ask. (The Lord will not force
you to learn, you must authorize the spirit.)
- we have to be willing to DO. Am I following the promptings and answering his call.

- lightmindedness is making fun of sacred things but light heartedness is making life joyful. Learn to laugh at life. Kids laugh 300 times a day adults laugh 15 times a day! When we laugh and play more we feel better, live longer and enjoy life more.

- We can sacrifice by choice, by call or by circumstance. Sacrifice is always inconvenient and is not always predictable. If we are humble and allow ourselves the Lord will lead us by the hand. Mortality is a lesson in edurance but only by removing the impurities can we be polished.

- Weak marriages happen when spouses seek to fufill their selfish needs. When a marraige is weak we work to fix it. If our body is sick we don't just give up we do what it takes to be healed. A marriage is the same.