Conference Traditions

I love General Conference weekend.  I look forward to it every six months.  It refuels me, gives me encouragement and hope, and helps me to see where I need to make improvements in my life.  It also always helps me to feel so much love for my family...every time we finish with the weekend, I just find myself looking around the living room at my children and husband and feel so much love for them.  I'm so thankful for them.

 

Andy and I started some fun little conference traditions while we lived in Cleveland...we don't really do much with the general conference packets that can be printed out online...our kids seem happier and more attentive just snuggling up and watching or building legos or working on puzzles while they listen...and hey let's face it...when the kids are happy and quiet...then the adults can listen too.

 

One of our favorite traditions is Saturday night dessert after the Priesthood session.  This year, I wasn't feeling up to baking the pies as usual...so we took the kids out to ice cream instead.  Funny enough, I didn't hear any complaints!  Win/Win.

 

I think most of our traditions center around food.  I'm not sure what that says about us.  hmm...Another tradition is a big Sunday morning brunch.  We're talking the whole spread, breakfast burritos with all the toppings, fresh fruit, different kinds of cereals, yogurt, waffles...you name it.  All of our favorite breakfast foods are usually prepared and then spread out for a big Sunday brunch feast.  The kids love it. 

 

And then...inbetween sessions, we put together a big fruit pizza to snack on during the last session.  Yum.  Here are my little busy helpers this year.  Matthew, Lainah, and Brooklynn could hardly wait for me to get the fruit prepared so they could start designing. 

 

 They did an awesome job and were so proud of their beautiful design!

 

 

Another tradition that some of us have is to fall asleep...ha ha!  Rachel zonked out just as the first session was ending and had a good nap inbetween...but Addy was wide awake all day until about the last 30 minutes of the second session.  We had Rachel's under-the-bed bin out, which had all of her art supplies in it.  Addy emptied it out, and snuggled in it with pillows and blankets.  It was the cutest thing to see her all snuggled up in this plastic bin.  Such a funny girl!

 

I noticed that this year, Taylor was really soaking in everything he heard.  He made so many comments about the "awesome talks."  He came home from the priesthood session so excited to tell me all about it...I have really seen him mature this year.  He is awesome.  And I think my favorite part of conference this year was watching the Women's session with Rachel and Brooklynn.  Looks like we'll have to figure out another tradition to go with the women's broadcast for next time!  Maybe something like the BOYS bake desserts for us, ha ha!  Weird to think that by the time the next General Conference rolls around...we will have seven kiddos gathered around the living room with us!