Weekend

It felt like an extra long weekend because we were home Friday, which was nice.  We shopped with Mark and did a lot of the Saturday things.

Friday evening we had dinner with Shannon and Chris.  It is fun getting together with them.  We have some pretty fundamental differences of opinion about some things and I think it is good for all of us to get together and talk and say, "But I disagree," and then talk about why.

It is very easy to get in echo chambers and only converse with people who agree with you, so this is good for our brains.

Plus we really like Shannon and Chris.  

We don't just talk about things we disagree on.  We also give each other TV show and movie and book and travel recommendations and laugh a lot and Chris gets Adam's analysis on the latest Supreme Court happenings.

Dinner with friends:  one more great thing about being empty nesters.

Friday evening, Braeden called from Chicago.  I wanted to hear all about his presentations and he wanted to tell me all about the art museum which he had been to twice (he got free admission as part of the conference).  He told me he'd "get to" his presentations and proceeded with the art.  He shared his screen with me and I admired all the pieces he had seen.  I have set my sights on going to Chicago!  At the conclusion of my art tour via Braeden's phone, he said, "Thank you for teaching me about art."

I mostly wanted to teach my children about the Gospel, then reading, and art was third so that made me happy.  

I was also glad to hear about the political science/networking side of his trip.  That boy is hustling to make a career for himself and it is good to watch.  I've always been a card carrying member (the founder in fact) of his fan club, so if he needs a letter of recommendation, I am ready.

Saturday Mark came over (Emma was feeling under the weather so watched conference at home) and we enjoyed him.

I felt humbled and also inspired by watching general conference.  There are so many ways I could do better.  It is good to be reminded and also encouraged.

I always like a good project and on Saturday I worked on making crayon initials for my students.  I had brought home all the broken crayons in my classroom and Adam and Mark helped me some to peel off the wrappers and break them.  I bought a silicone mold from Amazon and experimented with different methods and temperatures.  None of them turned out exactly how I was planning, but I still like them.

(I guess that could be a metaphor for life....)

I had more crayon pieces than I needed so I made extra letters.  Maybe this will be my new thing:  Christmas ornaments for them in October conference and crayon initials in April conference.

Adam and I took a windy walk by the Lindon temple between the second and third sessions of conference.  It is coming right along!

Sunday was more enjoying conference.  Emma came and did a puzzle while she watched which feels like all is right with the world.

I really loved conference.  The message I want to remember is that God loves me and wants me back.  He has provided many ways for me to draw nearer to Him and make covenants.  It's up to me to decide how much I want to participate and enjoy those blessings.

As soon as it was over, I said, "Who wants to make an appointment to go to the temple?"

Mark said, "The website will crash."

He was not wrong.  This was for the Mt. Timpanogos Temple:

I will try again.

We had all the kids over for dinner.  There were ten of us and I didn't take a picture of the table, but I cut daffodils from the front yard so it was pretty.  We got to meet Clarissa's new fiancé, Matthew, and we were happy to meet him. 

I'm always happy to have those kids around.

Now it is back to school.  Monday after spring break is not for the faint of heart.  They either traveled and are exhausted and their sleep schedule is messed up or more likely they were home and played video games and watched YouTube endlessly and their sleep schedule is messed up.

In either instance, they are not ready to learn.

May the odds be forever in our favor.