Conference Weekend

General Conference was amazing. That big announcement at the beginning of the Saturday morning session really made us all pay attention and listen more intently. This mission age change doesn’t really change our plans much. Cole is eligible to go NOW, but since it will take us about 2 months to get his papers ready and submitted, and you submit those 16 weeks before his availability date, that would be about April anyway, so we’ll just continue on our course, and plan for him to go in April, when winter semester is over. But it is a big change for all those boys who are currently seniors. They now can leave right after high school, instead of going to college or working for the first year. And young women can go at 19!? Wow. I foresee GREAT influx of sister missionaries! That’s wonderful!!

There were SO many amazing talks that touched my heart. I really do look forward to reading these talks and reviewing all that I learned.

Our family was busy, as well. We have had a desperate need to clean the garage, but in the summer it was much too hot. September has been busy with Ryan traveling and other things that keep us busy on Saturdays. So, even though Ryan just got back from Korea on Friday night, I was determined that Saturday was the day to clean the garage.

I did not take any pictures of the before (we don’t need proof of what slobs we are), but there was straw and grass everywhere, some mice had been in there, and it was just packed with STUFF. Insane amounts of stuff.

Cole was home for the day, and we put him to work as well. We filled up the truck with bikes, a scooter, and other stuff, and took that load to the dump. Then we filled up the truck with trash to go to the dump. A whole load gone, and we still have stuff to pare down. With the use of a borrowed pressure washer, we were able to clean the floor and then put everything back in.

Look at all the space there is on the side of the suburban! With such a huge car, it does cramp the garage, but once the bikes are corralled and the extra junk is gone, it seems so spacious!

There’s even space to get to the outside freezer without tripping on a hose or other such junk.

(not the best picture, but I didn’t want to go out into the garage without shoes on)

Oh the joy. I know some of you are going to look at those pictures and think, “What is she talking about? There’s stuff everywhere!” But the improvement is immense, and I am pleased. Since we are almost done with lawn mowing season, we won’t be getting a ton of grass and stuff in there, and maybe we can keep it clean through the winter. I said MAYBE.

On Sunday, the kids were engaged in all kinds of projects.

Megan is working on a painting for her art class (that she’s been working on for 2 weeks and I seriously hope she gets that done).

John is working on some perler bead creations.

Jenna was working on friendship bracelets and Natalie was making a playdough bust of Magellan for her history assignment.

Cole is exhausted from college life and had a little rest during the Sunday morning session.

Larissa(not pictured here because she didn’t start until after I was done taking pictures) was working on a collage for an assignment.

I made whole wheat bread, and collected all the ripe and semi ripe tomatoes from the garden. We also ate one of our three cantaloupes that we grew in the garden.

It’s so nice to be able to relax and listen to conference from home. I actually had tickets for Sunday afternoon’s session, but I gave them away so that we could avoid the traffic and crowds and stay together here at home.