Conference Weekend

The first weekend in October is one of my favorite weekends of the year - it usually starts feeling a little more like fall, or at least the colors start to look like fall!  It's also an incredibly spiritual weekend where we hear from our prophets and leaders in the church.  We still are watching Conference on a little laptop - we try to remember to hook speakers up so we can hear better than we might be able to see, and we spend a lot of time snuggling up while listening, kiddos playing Conference Bingo & learning and growing in ways that will bless our lives.

This was Emilia's first time where she is very, very mobile and she was everywhere during both Saturday and Sunday morning sessions - however, she also must have felt something in her little spirit, as she stopped to listen to this speaker & gave him a big smile....
                                     

 ....and then tried to get in closer to watch and listen to him...

 ...and finally gave him a kiss to show her love.  We all love General Conference - Emilia just took it very literally!

Daddy and Emilia had a little cheer practice in between Conference sessions on Saturday and before Emilia's nap.  It was a beautiful, fall day --- hooray!

 {how fitting that her shirt say's Daddy's Little Butterfly'!}

Between the Saturday sessions and when the Afternoon Session was finished, we went outside to work - Dad and the boys took all the wood that had been taken down from around the door frames, and leftover from the new walls that had been put in, and took out the nails (smart thinking...our carpenter Dave already put a nail through his finger!).  There were nails left all over the driveway and we needed to get them cleaned up - Bryson Jr. went way beyond my suggestion of a broom and dustpan, and while he pushed Emilia on her bike around the driveway - he tied a rope around his waist and hung our large magnet from it.  He went up and down the driveway and had dozens and dozens of nails hanging from the magnet by the end of his "sweep!"  I love his creativity and ingenius mind to think of that idea!

On Sunday, the boys worked on their Conference Bingo....we had the alphabet cookies from Trader Joe's to help sweeten (ha ha) the game :)

Between Conference Sessions we decided to go up to walk around Silver Lake up at Brighton.  The day was gorgeous!  The aspen leaves were golden amber and sending out a beautiful glow!  We walked around the lake which is an easy walk for everyone & realized that we live too close to the mountains to not go up there more frequently.  I think a break/mountain retreat between sessions each Conference time is a perfect tradition to start :)

Emilia found the pockets in her jacket after watching Madeleine put her hands in her pockets.  Emilia is at the perfect stage of imitation and that she is still doing so many firsts & exploring what is around her.  It is so wonderfully fun & precious to have her young spirit and life in our family!

 

It was a great weekend and while there was a lot of time sitting and listening/watching the messages (therefore sometimes antsy little children) - we felt the spirit many times in our home from the truly inspired messages.  We feel uplifted and know that by using the messages in our own lives, home & family we'll be blessed.  There are times when I wonder if anyone in the family likes one another - we get frustrated and snippy & short of temper....however, during and after Conference we pull together and make necessary changes to improve our family & I realize there are times where it might be hard to like one another - but there is always the deeper family love that binds us together.  It's great to have a 6-month boost of spiritual messages delivered that we can apply and feel the difference with immediately.  Conference always impresses and works in it's divine ways to help our family improve.  We are the best family that we have - we need work like most families - and that is why we work to build together from the messages that have been given.  What a blessing Conference weekend is!