BYU Women's Conference 2012

Autumn and Mary Springer and I had a wonderful 2 days in Provo attending this year's Women's Conference at BYU.  Mary and I drove down on Wednesday night, checked in, walked around campus, ate at the CougarEat and attended a screening of 2 BYU TV shows.  (I won 1 of the 6 raffle prizes...a micro-fleece dark blue byutv blanket in a bag!)  Autumn joined us the next morning for the opening session.  We joined up for the 4 plenary sessions, entertainment, tour of service projects and then mostly did our own things for the 6 other conference sessions.  It was exhilarating and exhausting with 1/2 hour breaks to race to your next class and no extra time for lunch, so you had to eat on the run.  I attended such things as "An Empty Nest, Not an Empty Life", "Grandparents:  Sow Good Seeds in Their Young Minds", "Be Proud of Who You Are and What You Believe", "The Gospel of Jesus Christ Is Not an Obligation; It is a Pathway."  We went out to Rubio's for Fish Tacos and Shrimp Burritos on Thursday night.  Yum...thanks, Mary!  This is the 4th (I think) time I've attended (it's been a long time since the last one) and Mary's first time.  We ran into people we knew...or who knew people we knew...it's a small world.  All in all, all 3 of us enjoyed the experience along with about 15,000 others and the weather cooperated...cooler on Friday, but no rain.  How lucky to fill our cups and be inspired to be and do better. 
https://picasaweb.google.com/103890614854568345609/BYUWomenSConference2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJComrX_q_vtIA&feat=directlink

April Days

We haven’t been out to movie or concert, etc., since Christmas (unless you count our ushering at Pioneer Theater), so we decided we were overdue for a date night at Symphony (Abravanel) Hall.  And even though we‘ve seen a Beatles tribute band before, it still draws us in.  There aren’t too many performances you can attend where you know every word and every note…and it’s fun for us.  This group, the Classical Mystery Tour, has performed 100s of times in the US and abroad.    The 4 Americans (with impressive resumes) pulled it off pretty well, doing about 2 dozen tunes transcribed note-for-note and performed exactly as originally recorded.  But the added bonus to the “Classical Mystery Tour” was the backup from the Utah Symphony!  Some songs like “A Day in the Life” were really great with the orchestra.  Of course, they did a section from Sgt. Pepper's in the bright satin getups.  They did “Hey Jude” near the end (not our favorite song) with all the la-la-la-la’s…asking for audience participation…guys, then girls, etc. competing.  It was really funny when they asked all those under 30 to sing!!!  Pretty much dead silence!  Nearly everyone there was in their 60s, I’d imagine.  Fun night full of memories from the 1960s and 1970s and our Magical Mystery Tour in Liverpool a few years ago.   
(click to enlarge page from the program to view the songs they played)

https://picasaweb.google.com/103890614854568345609/April2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN3BxfahtbCdhwE&feat=directlink

TILLY CAME! and, oh, Easter

Easter is always a little iffy as far as the weather goes, but spring had sprung this year and the faint greens around the yard and bluish skies and dribbles of colored blossoms brightened us as we were brightened by the joy of celebrating our Savior's Atonement for us.

We were happy to gather to share a great meal. It was really fun to see Tilly (and her parents) from Montana. As the blog title suggests, 95% of the photos at the following link include Matilda..."Puh-Puh" couldn't resist. The other 5% is mostly food...and a few fam shots.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103890614854568345609/TILLYAndEaster?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOfE9YPHrrXLrwE&feat=directlink

Folks Come to Farmington

Packin' up and movin' out.

Be sure to bring the kitty litter.

Say goodbye to the chickens next door.

Kaya takes one last look at the backyard.

Kaya in a box in the car.

Maki in a bag in the car.

Leaving the little house in American Fork.

Marnie and friend Matt.

Marnie, Matt and Mom.

Levi getting comfortable...almost.

Having fun playing Apples to Apples, after a couple of days of a great General Conference.