Conference Weekend

Other than my total exhaustion it has been a marvelous weekend. Russ worked so hard on Saturday (thanks to DVR we recorded Saturday's sessions and will be catching up later this week) getting our new tree planted in our front yard and moving our rocks so we could put down new ground cover (just so he can put the rocks back where they were -- that has got to be frustrating). Julia came in the morning and helped since yet again I wasn't allowed to move rocks or anything that required heavy lifting. I appreciate the concern and I understand that everyone is concerned about the baby but it is hard feeling so "useless" sometimes. Matt, Lisa, Michael, and Gabby were all at Peg's and decided to come over after the first conference session to lend a hand. It was so appreciated. Matt, Michael, and Russ were work horses out there moving rocks and they got so much accomplished. Gabby was my little helper and went with me to the store for more ground cover and watched Aly while Julia and I cooked up hamburgers for lunch. Aly wanted to go the park next door and swing after we ate and Gabby took her, what a sweetheart she pushed Alyse in that swing for at least an hour and even after all that swinging Aly did not want to come out! It was so fun watching Alyse with her cousins she calls Gabby "buck-ee" and Michael "buck-le" since she can't say either of their names-it was so cute and I am going to forever call Gabby Bucky from this point on, ha ha. Even though they are much older than she is they were both so patient with her and willing to keep and eye on her as she played and explored. Gabby even let Aly play her GameBoy (which Alyse was obsessed with because both of the big kids had them and so she REALLY wanted to have one too). Sunday we had a low key morning. Russ made pancakes and I got Aly dressed and ready for the day. We ate breakfast and watched conference. After the first session Aly and I took a nap and then at 2ish we headed over to Peg's for the afternoon session and dinner. It was so wonderful to listen to conference. I love the feeling of renewal that I get after conference, I am ready to tackle whatever challenges and trials I may face. It is such a blessing to hear these precious messages from the leaders of the church and to receive answers to personal questions and prayers through them. We had made plans to be with my family this weekend -- they were going to come down but are coming next weekend instead -- So we weren't going to make it to the first Sunday dinner at Peg's but when we changed our plans it was so sweet of everyone to let us still come and join in. I just wish we could have the whole group together. I miss seeing Josh and of course David and Amy and the kids! Dinner was great we had chicken salad sandwiches (one of my fav's) cheesy potatoes (one of Russ' fav's) spinach salad, and cobbler. Matt and Grandma Peg spent most of the evening working on the mammoth puzzle --I think it is 3000 pieces-- that has been slowly taking shape for a month or more now and thankfully finished it (all but the 3 pieces that are missing, thanks to my daughter no doubt). Gabby entertained Aly most of the evening and was so sweet with her. Michael was tackling Spiro on the playstation and the rest of us were just chatting and hanging out. It was fun to just sit and talk. What a great weekend!