Conference Weekend!

Last summer I requested tickets to general conference for the October conference. I didn't get them until spring to attend the April conference so we really wanted to go. Little did we know Mark would be super busy at work, making it very difficult to get away. But we're so glad we went!

We arrived on Friday afternoon, just in time to meet Caitlin on campus after her class. We were so excited to see her, I almost ran over to hug her! After hitting the bookstore to buy cherry sours, and Jamba Juice for a smoothie, we headed over to see the Carl Bloch exhibit. His work was absolutely amazing! The details in his paintings makes it seem like he really worked to understand the Savior and the events in the New Testament he painted. This one was our favorite: The Savior at the pool of Bethesda -



Later that night we hung out at Caitlin and Billy's for a bit. This is Caitlin opening up a recipe book we made for her. It has all of our family recipes in it.


On Friday night, we took all the Barrow cousins out to dinner. It was way fun to catch up with everyone! We don't know why Katie and Steven always make faces in pictures...maybe because it was April 1st...nah, they just always do!


On our way up to Salt Lake on Saturday, we stopped in to see Kim and Adam's new baby, Olivia. She is so adorable...and tiny! She also was very jaundice and we hope she's feeling better now. Caitlin and I both wanted a turn to hold her!


Cute Andrew and Martha!


Proud Grandma Nancy (even though she forgets that she's the grandma :)) and Kim and Adam.


She's so tiny!!


Even though we had tickets to conference, we didn't arrive early enough and we weren't able to attend conference in the conference center. We made the best of it and watched it in the historic Salt Lake Tabernacle, which is beautiful.






But Mark and Billy were able to attend the Priesthood session in the conference center...


...while Caitlin and I hit the mall! Oh, it was so fun! She found a few cute things for summer!


After we picked them up, it was cold and rain stormy! We headed to The Chocolate - a yummy dessert place in Orem - for some sweets before calling it a night! My chocolate cake was oh so good!


The next morning (Sunday) we were treated with this beautiful scene out our window!!




I know all the Utahns are probably sick of snow, and I don't blame them, but it was a real treat for us! It was so nice to snuggle in for the day and enjoy watching conference.



John and Barbara are finishing up an extensive remodel to their home. It is breathtakingly beautiful! Even though it was still disorganized for them, they were wonderful to let us come and crash for the weekend. I loved the house so much I had to take a zillion pictures!




This is their new "mud room" I guess it's called. Isn't it awesome?! All this space for shoes, coats, and all the stuff you need to drop right as you walk in the house!


Mark, Billy and Caitlin patiently waiting for breakfast. John is a gourmet cook...we had his world famous french toast, ham steaks and fruit. Yum!


After both sessions of conference, we went over to Billy and Caitlin's to make dinner. We made Grandma Sutherland's stew, and had yummy rolls, and made a delish chocolate cake! These are the leftovers...


On our drive home we saw this hilarious thing! On a huge flatbed truck, the driver had strapped a toy tonka truck! It made our day and of course, I had to get a picture!


The boys stayed home with Paul and Sharyn and had a fun weekend, too. We're so glad we went. We always feel so inspired with a desire to do better in our lives after listening to the counsel from prophets and apostles. I'll blog later about my favorite talks and thoughts. We miss Cait and Bill and loved being able to spend time with them. They are working so hard in school and we're proud of how well they're doing. It was nice they could take a weekend break from the busy-ness of tests, homework and jobs.