Conference Weekend - Saturday

 I love General Conference.  I love living in a time when I can get online and listen to those wonderful talks over and over again until they start to sink deep into my soul.  It's amazing.  I remember listening to Conference as a teenager and hearing a certain story or quote and not being able to write it all down and having to wait about a few weeks to a month before I could read the talk in the Ensign.  I love the fact that I can listen to conference while I am doing mundane chores like washing the dishes, mopping the floor and folding laundry.  It always makes me so happy to think that I am getting my housework done AND feeding my soul.  Pretty cool. 

 Conference weekend, however is a little crazy and marathon-ish. (Or in other words, exhausting to the core.)  We've made a lot of strides through the years though, and that is pretty great.  But I still end up every Saturday and Sunday night feeling as though I will burst.  As though I can't stand being cooped up in the house for one minute longer. I'm not a very fun person to be around at that point.

So this year, I had an idea.  We usually have the kids watch the first session of Saturday conference with us, and then let them choose to either play or watch again during the second session.  Guess which they usually choose?  Yup, playing all the way!  

Since we have a membership to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point, I thought it might be lovely to bring a picnic lunch, and bring our little ipod with speaker and listen to the 2nd session of Conference while we enjoyed the beauty of the gardens.

It was heaven.  

Usually, I don't even have space in my brain to take in much of the second session of each day, but something about being outdoors in what is a completely rejuvenating atmosphere was absolute heaven.  I soaked it in.  Once our picnic was finished, Brad and I laid on our backs, listening while the kids ran and explored nearby.  Andre crawled around us.  It was my best conference experience ever.

Yes, it was actually as good as these pictures make it look.  (rare, I know.) I'm learning that I need to get outside more in order to fully nourish and rejuvenate myself . Grateful for that revelation.  
I felt so calm and happy.  And then we came home and planted tulip bulbs.  It was the Conference experience I've been wanting to have for years.  :)