Conference Weekend!!

Well another great General Conference has come and gone, and we thouroughly enjoyed being spiritually fed and uplifted by President Monson and the Apostles. Our entire family looks forward to this time of year with great anticipation and excitement. Even Parker and Abrianna are excited for the opportunity to see President Monson and listen to his words. Randall and I have really tried to make this an extra special time for the kids and it has made all of the difference.

This year we started out with the family night before conference discussing the story of King Benjamin. We talked about how all of the people came and pitched their tents toward the tower so that they could hear the Prophet speak to them. We then discussed how it is just as important for us to gather and listen to our prophet today. Then we played the memory game with our apostle cards and learned the new apostle song (you can find this on youtube-it is awesome. Our kids already know most of the names of the apostles and some fun facts about each of them.) This is sort of one of our new family traditions to better prepare us for conference. It really works!! When the children watched conference they couldnt wait to see who the next speaker was and if it was a familiar face we would quiz them on the facts that they learned during Family Night. We found that a little extra preparation goes a long way.

Listening to conference with the family.

The Conference Wall

This is one of our favorite traditions!! It really helps Randall and I and the kids stay focused during the talks. Each time one of the Apostles or a member of the First Presidency speaks we find our card with a picture of them printed on it then listen for what the topic of their talk is. Once we have determined what their focus will be we tape their picture to a piece of paper and write that topic on it. This helps keep the kids engaged in conference and also reminds us what we learned during the following week.

Parker unloading the loot in his special "Conference Basket."

Each conference I have special baskets that I fill with food and fun for Parker and Abrianna (okay so mom and dad get one too.) They usually consist of some type of "healthy treat" like apples and peanut butter, and trail mix and some not so healthy treats like their favorite candy. I also put in special coloring pages from the Friend and a new box of crayons. We each get our own set of apostle cards and for mom and dad a special pen and notebook. We all look forward to the fun new things in our basket each conference.

Yum, Yum!! Conference Cinnamon Rolls. Okay so I know this isn't the greatest picture I could have taken of them but all I could get was a quick snap before they were quickly devoured.
On Saturday and Sunday morning I plan a huge "Conference Breakfast." This really all stared when I was in college and we needed a good excuse to invite boys over to hang out and watch conference and what better way than with food. I have carried on the tradition with my family and we look forward to a yummy breakfast each conference. This year on saturday morning we had a delicious egg bake with hashbrowns and sausage and pumpkin bread. Sunday was the ever popular cinnamon rolls and sausage.








And of course the weekend wouldnt be complete without our semi-annual preparedness marathon. Each Conference we take inventory of our food and water storage and our 72 hour packs, and of course we check our smoke detectors. Having conference every 6 months really helps keep us on track with our families preparedness goals. Between the sessions on Saturday we empty and refill all of our water jugs and barrels-that way we always know that our water is fresh. Then I make sure that our 72 hour packs are updated with the right size of clothing and that the food is still fresh. If any of it is getting close to the experation date, we eat it for sncaks during the weekend and replenish with new food. The kids actually love helping and we end up having a really great time together.


Randall refilling some of the water jugs. What a great guy!! He is always willing to go along with my crazy plans even though it may mean missing a much needed afternoon nap.

P.S If you think all of this sounds a little crazy and really time consuming- it is, but it works for us. And to be honest I think I actually enjoy a little crazy. Maybe it comes with all of the white hair I am getting after having baby # 3!!!!!!!!!!!