This first picture is of the freakish hail we got today. The second picture is just some pretty spring flowers in my garden.

BYU Women's Conference

I had a fabulous few days at BYU Women's conference. This is a two day conference that has workshops by members and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dealing with women's issues. I stayed in the dorms with three friends (Hi! Lisa, Amy and Annette!) and we had a great time. Some of my favorite speakers were Sister Beck, the General Relief Society President (always a favorite); Sister Olsen, BYU Dean of Ancient Scripture (who gave a very thought provoking talk on the Parable of the Unprofitable Servant and our total reliance on Christ's Atonement); Sister Mary Ellen Edmonds (a LDS humorist), and Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (he told us that we needed to strengthen the image of the church by talking openly about our faith and how we are Christians. He encouraged us to add the LDS widget to our blogs so I did.) In addition to the great speakers we were able to take part in several service projects. My friend Amy and I colored a large mat for matchbox cars, I also knitted a hat and made a pocket doll. Of course the funnest part was being with dear friends. We went out to eat a couple of times and found ourselves laughing our heads off at 11pm at the BYU Creamery while we enjoyed very large scoops of icecream. I post some pictures when I get them.


The Music Man

Rehearsals have begun. What I failed to mention last week is that Ruth is also in the Music Man with me. She's in the chorus numbers. I asked Ruth if she wanted to try out for one of the speaking rolls (Amaryllis) and she said that being in the chorus took her "maximum bravery."


The Power of a Lone Man

Chuck held down the fort for me while I was away at Women's Conference. He did a swell job of taking care of the kids. He also replaced the axle on the back of my van, drilled a hole in the picnic table (so that it now supports an umbrella) and refinished it, planted a nectarine tree, & cleaned out the entire refrigerator. What a guy!


Fanfiction Nomination

Two of my stories have been nominated in the Chuck Fanfiction awards at fanfiction.net! My story, "Revelations," has been both nominated as Best Overall Story and best "Charah" (that's Chuck/Sarah Relationship) story. My story "How Sarah Bartowski was Banned from the Family Fun Center" was nominated for Best Short Story. I'm pretty excited just to be nominated and don't expect to win anything. It was just a total surprise. If you like the TV show Chuck and would like to read these stories let me know and I'll send you the link.