Monday, May 11, 2009

Spring Break

Well Sam wanted to go somewhere "warmer" for Spring Break. It doesn't take much to be warmer than Rexburg, Idaho! I told him while we couldn't afford a trip to the Bahamas or anything, we definitely could go to Burley for the weekend.

On Friday night we hired a sitter for Conner, Logan and Natalie. We took Sam and went with my parents out to Oakley to see "Oliver." It was very well done.

Saturday morning the kids dyed Easter Eggs. Later that day we went to Storybook Park. It is one of the kids favorite places to visit while we were in Burley.

My parents have been called to serve in a Single's Branch in Burley. So Bryon and I took Conner, Logan & Natalie to church in the good old Burley 3rd Ward (the ward I grew up in). Sam stayed behind to go to church with Grandpa & Grandma. It worked out well. Their church starts one hour later than Third Wards. So once we were gone, Sam got to play the Easter Bunny and hid the Easter eggs and put out the Easter baskets. He had a great time. When we all got home from church, we did the Easter Egg Hunt, had dinner and then went for a drive over to Shoshone Falls. The falls are beautiful this time of year. I personally hadn't been there for quite some time. It brought back a lot of memories for me. Growing up, we would go over every Saturday before Easter. We would have a picnic and roll eggs down this gigantic hill. They have walking paths around there too. I was still having problems with my leg but Bryon took the older boys on some short hikes. Because it was Sam's birthday the following day, once we got back to Burley, we had cake and ice cream and Sam got to open his presents from his Grandpa & Grandma Roskelley.

With it being Spring Break and Bryon and the kids didn't have school on Monday, we spent Sunday night in Burley. Then Monday morning, we got up and left for Burley shortly after my parents left for work. What a great time we had in Burley on Spring Break!

Monday, May 4, 2009

General Young Women's Broadcast

I was determined not to let my bum leg slow me down! Two days after my fall, I went with the Young Women and other Young Women leaders from our ward to Salt Lake City to see the Young Women's Broadcast. What an awesome day!

A man in our ward owns a bus company and donated a bus and driver for us to take to Salt Lake so we could all ride together. On the ride down, we about froze to death until we reached Pocatello. I guess on a bus there are valves that need to be open in order to generate the heat. Well, it took us to Idaho Falls to realize that the valve wasn't open. So we stopped once for him to open the valve. By Shelly, it was still not getting any warmer inside the bus so another stop and another phone call was made to figure out there was more than one valve that needed to be opened. It took to about Pocatello for the bus to heat up.

Our bus driver dropped us off at Temple Square. We then proceeded to walk to The Beehive House. That walk was up a gradual incline. I had a hard time trying to keep up! I was beginning to wonder just what I was getting myself into and maybe staying home would have been a good idea!! Too late for second thoughts. We had too many young women to take in one group and so we broke up into two groups. It had been several years since I have taken the time to tour The Beehive House. I think the house is beautiful.

After The Beehive House, we walked to The Joseph Smith Memorial Building. There we ate our sack lunches in a large cafeteria in the basement. After lunch, we went upstairs and watched the Joseph Smith Movie. It was awesome. I have seen the movie before but could watch it again and again. It really brings a great appreciation for Joseph Smith. It also makes me love Emma for the sacrifices that she made.

After the movie, we walked back to Temple Square. We didn't have time for a tour but we went up and saw the big statue of Christ that is in one of the Visitor Centers.

We then caught the bus and went to Hire's for dinner. It was a fun place. They are famous for their root beer but also serve homemade french fries. It was delicious!

After dinner, we went to The Conference Center for the broadcast. The doors opened quite a while before the broadcast. We got there shortly after the doors opened. We spent the time before the broadcast taking pictures and just visiting.

It was so amazing that when President Monson walked into the room, you could have heard a pin drop. What an amazing experience! All the talks were fabulous!

On the bus ride home, we spent the first part, talking about what parts for the fireside touched us. It was awesome to hear the young women talk about what touched them. Fast Sunday the following day was one of the most powerful testimony meetings I have attended in a while. Testimony was full of young women talking about how this trip had changed them. What a sweet Spirit filled our Sacrament Meeting that day.

Later Sunday night while attending a Bishop's Youth Discussion, the bishop thanked me for the sacrifice I made to go. It was not a sacrifice for me at all to go with these Young Women and Leaders that I love. To me it was a wonderful experience and one that helped strengthen my testimony.