I went downstairs to the kitchen to see that Colin's murphy bed was stowed away. How did he get that beautifully large bed? And I'm on the top single bunk? What happened to seniority?! Anyways, mom was making egg mcmuffins and offered to make me one. My dad, my mom and I all sat around the kitchen table while we ate our eggs, Colin came in shortly before we finished and mom whipped him up a breakfast sandwich too. Then it was time to get ready for conference.
I don't know why, but my hair has been extremely uncooperative lately... So this morning's preparation included many "How does my hair look?" Finally, after all six of us had showered and groomed ourselves well enough to see 20 thousand members, we were ready to leave. But classic family move, we didn't leave until the first session of conference had started. But since we were in Utah, that was not an issue. We had it playing on the TV as we got ready and listened to it on the radio on the way into the city. Honestly, I love General Conference. The talks we listened to were so fabulous today and I encourage you all to take the time to listen to them. I teared up a bit in the car while we listened to one about women. Such a powerful talk.
After that talk was finished, we pulled up to a farm with a dog and some donkeys. They were so adorable, Daniel and I got out to take pictures. One of the donkeys came over and was so friendly, I gave him a little rub on the front of his face. I have no idea what the proper term for that is...
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| Cutest dog EVER! |
After Daniel and I were done taking pictures we hopped back into the car and a new talk had just started. My mom, unable to contain her excitement, exclaimed "IT'S UCHTDORF!" Now, what most of you don't know, is who Uchtdorf is. Not only does he have a wicked last name, he's a general authority. He's one of the men who run the show at church and he too gives amazing talks. He is also known for being German and having an awesome accent. The man who was speaking on the radio did have an accent, however... It was Spanish in origin. We obviously had a good time making fun of mom for that one.
When we arrived in Salt Lake City, we drove around for a bit trying to find our parking and helped a family find the parking lot they were looking for (since we were, after all, going to the same one). We then walked the 2 blocks to Temple Square. I took my family the more scenic route, instead of just walking right up to the temple, I wanted them come around the corner and see it. So that they could get the "there she is" effect. I even made a little hand gesture as I was way ahead of them. Side note: I went to Utah with Dan last time I was there. He walks so fast, and he also towers over me. The combination of his long legs and fast pace leaves me at a light jog trying to keep up. Naturally, I have been walking at a quick pace for most of this trip out of habit. Returning to this trip, my family was pretty impressed with the numerous fountains and the view of the temple. (I'm an awesome tour guide.) This is when I took my opportunity to hang out at the back of the pack and take pictures of everyone having their first walk through temple square.
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| One of the great shots I got before conference! |
We toured around a bit, going through the North Visitor's Centre and through the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. But honestly, I felt like we were really killing time because it's so much better to be on temple square when there aren't 20 thousand people walking around. By the way, I'm not even over exaggerating when I say 20 thousand. That's how many people fit in the conference centre - that's excluding all the people who watch conference in the Tabernacle, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and the North Visitors Centre. We went to the afternoon session of conference shortly after getting some food in our stomachs. The session was amazing and we had PHENOMENAL seats. We were close enough that we could see all of the general authorities facial expressions, and not just the one at the podium either. Elder Holland was just hanging out, on the stand, no big deal.
When we were leaving, I ran into two people from our branch - Brooke and Janine, our stake president, his wife and two missionaries who served in my YSA branch - Manwaring and Hicken... now known as Cameron and Nick. It was so cool seeing them again. But I think the weirdest part was that when I saw them, I gave them a hug. Not that I don't like these guys, but you don't hug missionaries. Ever. So, it was just like oh my gosh, they're human again. I don't know - IT WAS WEIRD. But awesome. I definitely love those elders... or... guys. I got my mom to take a picture of all of us together, but she is blind and it came out blurry.
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| Blurry... :( |
Mother and I went shopping. It was a huge success for me. There were so many sales and the tax here is so much lower than in Ontario, I was like a kid in a candy store. Except I was really a teenage girl in a shopping centre. It was so exciting. I got a new skirt, 5 shirts and some shorts for the summer. I'm going to have to go again because although mom tried on about 10 pairs of pants, 3 skirts and a dress. She found nothing she liked. She is such a pain to shop with. Honestly, she hates shopping. Why? Because she doesn't know where to go to find things she likes. She doesn't know what kind of clothes look good on her body. She also has no idea what size she is in 98% of the stores because SHE NEVER GOES SHOPPING. Needless to say, I felt like a huge jerk because I was having a successful shopping day and mom bought nothing. On the plus side, I got my sister's souvenir or gift. Our family has a tradition that whenever we go on trips, we have to buy something for the people who stayed home. I'm really excited because a) I got her item on sale and b) it is super cute and I know for a fact that she will love them.
By the time we checked the time, it was 8:32pm. We still had to walk to the car and drive to the designated pick up spot. We got to the spot at almost 9pm and the boys were nowhere to be seen. So we waited for about 10 minutes and when they didn't show up, I decided I would call dad's cell phone. Immediately after dialling, I felt a vibrating sensation by my foot. Great... Dad wasn't here and he didn't have his cell phone. Then we heard the whistle. Every dad has one, every child and mother knows the distinct sound of their dad's whistle. When we heard it, mom and I were looking around frantically. Then mom saw him, right outside Deseret Book. "Oh, Dad in Deseret... That's dangerous." Her exact words. And I know for a fact, that that is no under exaggeration.
Soon after, they all came over to the car and they were all soaking wet. We decided to go to Cafe Rio. The food was delicious and the service was speedy and spanish, as always. The pork there is SO GOOD. If you ever go, do not waste your time on anything else, the pork is delicious.
After our meal, we headed home and I was done for the day. So I passed out in the back seat sleeping on my mom's lap. Then I was woken up, why? Because we had been pulled over and I needed to be awake. Dad had apparently gone into an off ramp without realizing, so naturally he veered off when he realized. The sheriff pulled my dad over to find out what the heck he was doing. He was super nice (obviously, he's from Utah) unlike all of the police officers who hate their lives in the Toronto area who pull over people who are on their way to work... me.
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| To be avoided... DAD! |
Well, Daniel is snoring in the bunk bed next to me... I should probably try to sleep now since I'm probably not going to get any real sleep tonight.
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