Another Great Year of Women's Conference

I have now been going to BYU Women's Conference for 13 years. It really is my favorite time of the year.  I look so forward to it each year. I have been going so long that I don't know how not to go. This year I went with a great group of ladies: Maci Bamrick, Barbara Hubble, Christine McLaws & Elise Martinez.

We flew out on an early flight Wednesday morning the 25th of April. Maci was so kind to give us all buddy passes. When arrived in SLC and got our rental car. We headed towards Provo but of course had to stop for lunch at our favorite Zupas Cafe. We were all so excited to eat lunch there. We then made it the rest of the way down to Provo. We hit the BYU Bookstore first and did all our shopping. I get chills every time I walk on BYU campus. I sure hope that never changes. I just love that place.  

We then went and checked into our hotel at the Springhill Marriott.  We relaxed for a while and then made our way to dinner.  We went to Toucano's Brazilian Grill there in Provo. We had the most delicious dinner ever.  We had to practically roll ourselves out of there we were so full.

We then went and visited a friend of Maci & Barb's who's son that was in the MTC that was having a heart procedure. We had a nice visit with Suzanne.

Thursday was the first day of the conference. We were up bright and early. We got to the Marriott center and secured our seats. The theme of the conference this year was, “And They Were Armed with Righteousness and with the Power of God in Great Glory”. Women’s Conference begins and ends each day with general sessions in the Marriott Center. Between the two general sessions each day on Thursday and Friday the classes expand across campus where you are able to choose from 16 classes each hour during three hours of concurrent sessions, or just stay in the Marriott Center where there’s plenty of room. That is what I usually do. The best classes always seem to be in the Marriott Center.

The first day was awesome.  All the classes were just what I needed.  I loved them.  After the conference was over on Thursday we headed to Brick Oven for dinner.  My very favorite restaurant in Provo.  After dinner we went to the Women's Conference Concert called "We Are the Legacy Concert" It featured: Hilary Weeks, Jenny Oaks Baker, Dallyn Vail Bayles, Alex Boyé, Mercy River, and Michael McLean.  It was probably one of my favorite concerts of all time.  It was the ending to a perfect day.

On Friday we once again got up early and headed up to the Marriott Center.  We had to check out of our hotel because we flew home that evening after the conference was over.  It was another day of wonderful classes.  Every talk just seemed to have something I needed.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Elder Neal L. Andersen was the concluding General Authority speaker.  He was awesome.  

It is always sad to see the conference end but it just gets me that much more excited for the next year.  After the conference ended we headed to the car and made our way to SLC.  We did have time once again to stop at our favorite restaurant on our way up.  This time I called my dear friend Michelle Fonda who lives real close to Zupas Cafe and she came over and met us. Michelle was one of my favorite college roommates. We had a short but very sweet visit while we ate.

We then made our way to the airport and ended another wonderful BYU Women's Conference adventure.  We saw many friends at the airport. How I love women's conference.  I can't wait for next year!

Getting a Root Canal with Dr. Frost

Today I had to go get a root canal. This is about my 4th one so you would think I would be a pro at it by now. Nope not even close! I don't think you ever can get used to getting poked with needles, drills and having real chlorine bleach poured into your tooth. I was not looking forward to this but knew I had to have it done. Thank goodness I liked the doctor. Dr. Steven Frost who is the identical twin brother of our orthodontist Dr. Stuart Frost was the Endodontist that performed the procedure. These two doctors are freakishly identical. When you are with them you can barely tell them apart.

Dr. Frost was so kind and gentle through the whole procedure. He kept me very numb with at least 12 shots of Novocain and even supplied a warm blanket as I watched the morning news.

Here are the x-rays as he was performing the root canal of my tooth:

This is the root canal finished. I think it looked quite pretty if I don't say so myself. He even saved the crown that was on the tooth so I will not have to get a new one. I was very happy with my root canal. Although the numbness is wearing off quickly so I am off to take some ibphrophen. All part of a mom's day!

Spencer's Incredible Senior Prom

What a fun weekend this has been at our house. Spencer had his final Senior Prom on Saturday. It came with fun, lots of excitement and lastly a "BIG" surprise at the end.

I am always amazed at the extent these boys go to make these dates happen. Spencer begun this senior prom date two weeks ago with going to the lake all day for their day date. He was in a great group of 11 couples.

They took two boats and spent the entire day at the lake. They had every detail planned from food to entertainment. I was really impressed how well they organized it. They had so much fun. I sure hope these girls know how lucky they were to have such a thoughtful group of boys. Here are a few shots from the day:

The big day finally came which was this last saturday. Spencer picked up Brittany Spencer at 4:15pm. All the couples were meeting at a park in Gilbert for pictures. Spencer was as handsome as ever as he was about to go pick up his date. He got to drive Ike's new car and was feeling pretty cool as you can see:

I followed Spencer to her house so I could take pictures there. Spencer was so precious. I stood a ways back so he could go to the door first without me. He turned to me and told me to come and stand right next to him because he was proud of me and was glad I was there with him. It made me feel so good. He was so confident as he picked her up. Here are a few pictures of it:

From her house we headed to a beautiful park in South Gilbert. We had Krista Richards there and she took some wonderful pictures. I had my camera and followed her around taking my own. These are the ones I took:

From the park we headed to Abraham's house. His mom Kristine had a friend that was a French chef and she had an incredible 8 course French dinner prepared that she was going to serve these kids. Several of us parents went over too to help serve. The backyard was decorated like Paris. It was so classy and the kids absolutely loved it. The dinner was just incredible. Every dish was very well thought out and decorated on the plate so nicely. We had so much fun serving them the whole evening. 

The night was getting a bit late so we hurried the last few courses and got the kids on their way. Spencer had been nominated for Prom King so he needed to be there for the big announcement. After they left I contemplated whether I should go or not. All the parents there at the house told me I would regret it if I did not go.  So yes I went to the prom. I hung outside with security for a bit. Up until my buddy the vice-principal heard I was outside and told me I had to come in because I was going to want to be there for sure when they announced it. So of course at this point I knew Spencer had won. She snuck me in and I hid in the corner until the results were announced. They crowned Spencer HHS Prom King 2012. I was there to snap a few shots. He was so excited and so was I. Here he is after being crowned!

Spencer had a wonderful evening. And to think about 4 years prior to this Ike and I were worried about Spencer because he never wanted to go hang out with friend or do anything on the weekends. Boy were we wrong. This young man is one outgoing and popular kid. I am so excited for him and the incredible man he is becoming. Spencer will always be my Prom King!

Our 21st Anniversary-So Many Surprises

On Friday April 13th Ike and I celebrated our 21st anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been that long.  I started the day off by giving Ike my present. For 20 years Ike has had a liking of a life coach by the name of Tony Robbins. He has always loved listening and watching his DVD's and CD's. He has always dreamed of going to one of his seminars. I surprised Ike with a 4-day trip in July with me to go to "Unleash the Power Within" by Tony Robbins in San Jose, California. Ike was so excited he could hardly believe it. I also gave him a really neat book I made of our Adventure to Asia.

The day was awesome and only got better into the evening. Ike and I went and got massages early in the afternoon. Ike then told me that I needed to pack an overnight bag and that we would be leaving from Cameron's basketball game that evening. Ike surprised me and took me to the most beautiful resort I think we have ever been too. The Montelucia Spa & Resort in Paradise Valley behind Camelback Mountain. It was the most incredible resort ever.  

We first checked into our room. The rooms were very nice. We then headed down to their premiere restaurant called the Prado. It was a very elegant italian restaurant. Our waiter Joshua made the evening very special. We sat on the patio right by the fireplace. The ambiance was wonderful. We ate a delicious dinner and had a great dessert. Ike had another surpass up his sleeve. He gave me a beautiful pair of diamond earrings that matched my wedding ring. When we arrived back to our room there were rose pedals all over the room with a rose pedal heart on the covers of the bed. The night was perfect.  

The next day we worked out in the Joya Spa. Our view of the camelback mountains was what we enjoyed at as we rode the exercise bikes. Then we went and ate a delicious buffet breakfast at the Prado. We hung out by the pool for the remainder of our stay. What an amazing get-a-way we had. Ike outdid himself on this one. He definitely made this anniversary a special one!

A Trip to the Elite 8 Game

Many of you know my son Cameron is a huge basketball fan. He eats, drinks and sleeps basketball. Well we heard that one of the NCAA Elite 8 games was going to be right here at our very own US Airways Center. The two teams were Louisville -vs- Florida. Ike and I surprised Cameron and got 4 tickets to the game and told him he could invite a friend.

The game was on Saturday March 24th. They were not the greatest seats but after the first quarter we moved to some better ones and had a great time watching the game. Florida was ahead the whole game.  Sometimes by 10 points. It was not looking good for Louisville. I turned to the boys and I said the under dog of the game seems to always come back at the very end and win the game.  

Sure enough that was the case. In the last 50 seconds of the game Louisville pulled ahead and kept their lead the remaining seconds of the game. The score was 72-68.  It was so exciting. Did I mention we were hoping Louisville would win?  Well they did and it was such a fun and exciting game. I am so glad we took Cameron and Nick. They had a blast! We all had a great time!

A Trip to General Conference

We had the wonderful opportunity to attend General Conference this year. We had never gone as a family so we thought we better do it this year. With Spencer graduating and leaving for college we wanted to make sure we did this with him still home.

We flew up on Friday afternoon and took a shuttle to our hotel, which was the City Creek Marriott, right across the street from Temple Square. It was so convenient to be that close. We were able to walk everywhere we needed to go. We arrived and checked into our hotel. We then set out to see the new much hyped City Creek Shopping Mall the church had just finished building to enhance the whole Temple Square experience. It is a beautiful mall with many shops and restaurants. We walked over to the Joseph Smith Building and went and ate at the The Garden restaurant up on the very top floor. It has the most beautiful view of the temple. At night with the temple all lite up it is just a breath taking view.

The next day was Saturday. We did not have tickets to the morning session but Spencer & Ike decided they were going to try and get in at the standby line. They both left very early. The kids and I went and watched it in the tabernacle. Ike & Spencer unfortunately did not make it in to the conference center so they watched it in the tabernacle too. We did have tickets to the afternoon session so we headed over and had a wonderful experience. It was so neat to be able to sustain President Monson and all the General Authorities in person. The MTC choir sang during this session. It was so awesome to see all of them sing together. Including in the group was David Archuletta who was in the MTC on his way to a mission in Chile.

That night Ike & the boys had tickets to the Priesthood session so Taylor and I went and had a fun evening. We went to Ladies night at Deseret Book Store. There were a lot of activities going on there. We then went up to The Garden restaurant again and had a wonderful dinner.  It was so nice to spend time with just Taylor. She just seems to get more beautiful everyday. How I got so lucky to have her for my daughter I will never know. Love this girl!

On Sunday we again did not have tickets to the morning session but that did not stop Spencer and I from trying once again to get in through the standby line. Sunday morning was freezing. There was even snow forecasted for the day which it did end up snowing later that day. We had to stand outside for 2 hours before they brought us into the tabernacle to wait out the rest of the time. Unfortunately we did not make it into the conference center this time either. No one did. So once again we all watched the morning session in the tabernacle. After the morning session was over we all headed back to the hotel quickly because we had to checkout and store our luggage at the front desk. We did have tickets to the final session of conference. It was a wonderful way to end our weekend in Salt Lake City. After the final session ended we hurried back to our hotel to eat dinner and then we were off to the airport for our flight home to Phoenix. What a wonderful weekend we had at conference. The gospel affords us so many opportunities and conference is definitely one of those experiences you must do if you ever get the chance. I am so grateful we could go as a family to see General Conference live. By the way as Spencer always says, "The Church is True!"