Our Conference Birthday Easter Weekend

We had a very busy weekend...I'm still not sure how I survived it! I had some moments of such sheer exhaustion when I did not think I could push myself any further, but somehow I made it through. Our weekend started bright and early Saturday morning...thanks to insomnia my morning started before 5:00 a.m.

My great aunt and uncle from Alabama are serving an LDS mission in downtown Salt Lake City (doing real estate and genealogy research). They were able to get seven tickets to the Saturday morning session of General Conference downtown and invited Ryan and I to go. They also invited my mom and my sister's two daughters. We had to leave the house at 7:30 in order to pick up the three of them and be at my aunt and uncle's apartment by 8:30, where Aunt Mellanie had quite the spread of breakfast snacks laid out! She even introduced me to a new low carb (and low calorie) bread--I can eat toast for breakfast again!

They live less than a block away from the entrance of the conference center so they made arrangements for us to park at their building and the seven of us walked over to the conference center together. We had pretty good seats right in the middle on the balcony. I must admit that this was probably the first full session of conference I have ever watched all the way through in my adult life. It was interesting though and such a cool experience to be there in person. I stayed awake, despite my lack of sleep the night before, and only had to take two potty breaks from the time we sat down until the time we left--I call that a success!

I especially enjoyed a talk on marriage and men as husbands and fathers by the General Relief Society President Linda K. Burton. She talked about the struggles men face in our world today with the messages of what it means to be a real man and how a real man is not solitary but part of a partnership with his wife in raising a family and how important it is for him to fulfill his roles of husband, father, brother, uncle, etc.

Our walk over and the view from our seats

After conference, we walked back over to Aunt Mellanie and Uncle Kenneth's apartment where Mellanie pulled out a bunch of different options that she had prepared ahead of time for lunch (teriyaki chicken, tuna salad, chicken salad, deviled eggs, fruit, veggies, chips, chocolates...). Ryan and all of us girls packed ourselves lunches and walked downstairs to a little park out behind their building while Kenneth stayed behind to take a nap.

Lunch and some Frisbee playing

We had a little picnic next to a small fenced off cemetery where former LDS prophet Heber C. Kimball along with several of his family members are buried. It is a beautiful little area with lots of flowers, a few trees that are in full blossom and a memorial to the Kimball family. After our picnic Ryan took the girls to walk round the memorial and then we all played Frisbee on the hill above where we ate lunch.

Some pictures around the memorial and driving home (Brinlee fake sleeping)

Just before 2:00 p.m. we walked back up to Kenneth and Mellanie's apartment and talked for a little bit and then headed home. I was so tired I could not wait to get home! Once we got home after dropping off my mom and then our nieces at their homes (and a quick trip to Walmart) we spent the rest of the night relaxing on the couch and preparing for Sunday. As tired as I was after all the walking, stairs and Frisbee, I am so glad we were able to go to conference, see where my aunt and uncle are living and spend some time with them (they only have a few more months here)! Thank you so much to Aunt Mellanie and Uncle Kenneth for taking us to conference and spoiling us with all that yummy food!

Somehow we didn't think to get a picture with these two on Saturday. We love them so much!

My dad's birthday is April 6, so my family came over on Easter Sunday to celebrate. It has been a while since we all got together so it fun to have us all in one place! Our nieces and nephews got spoiled for Easter. The Easter bunny paid a visit to their houses that morning then grandpa made sure the Easter Bunny also left them some surprises at our house (and bags of candy for the adults). My dad came over early with baskets, stuffed animals and candy, then we filled plastic eggs with candy and hid them around the backyard for the kids to find when they arrived. Grandma did not come empty handed either...she brought eggs filled with candy and money for the kids and extra candy for all the adults. I think my parents miss our childhood days!

My sisters' kids having some fun on Easter!

I baked a ham, Ryan's favorite potato casserole (which I am proud to say he said was as good as his mom's) and corn to serve for lunch along with the rolls Kenzie and Brinlee helped me bake earlier in the week. We all sat down together and ate as a family. Dylan even tested out our new high chair...our little nephew has now approved our swing and high chair. An hour after dinner it was time for cake and presents. Instead of cake we served my dad's favorite white chocolate cherry pie from Village Inn--it was delicious (I just wish I could've eaten more than a sliver).

Happy Birthday Grandpa/Dad/Dave!

After pie and presents we all talked, played and laughed for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Overall the day was a success. I can't wait for our little boy to be chasing all the other kids around the house at family gatherings! Little Dylan needs a buddy...poor boy can't quite keep up with the girls (that will be our little Dean soon) and just squeals and giggles every time the girls run by.

After Saturday I suspected our baby had dropped, but Sunday I was sure he had. My belly feels heavy and there's so much pressure down low from the time I get up in the morning instead of just feeling heavy later in the day and I swear I have to pee any time I move. Plus baby's movements have gotten a little more painful; any time he moves around a lot it feels like he's pounding to get out--ouch! My mom even commented on how it looks like I have more space up top before my belly starts poking out.

We had a great weekend, busy but so much fun! However I don't think I can handle another one like it until after the baby is born (although we have our share of plans popping up). It's so much harder on my back to move around so much with all this extra weight in front, and I get so tired so fast these days! I need to save my energy for cleaning and prepping for baby Dean's arrival sometime in the next three weeks. I can't believe we're finally so close!