Liebster to Me

I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Hand Me Downs (I couldn't find her first name so that will have to do!)  Other bloggers nominate you for this award and you have to answer the 11 questions they pose to you.  In addition you provide more info on yourself and then nominate other bloggers and ask them a new list of questions. So here we go.

Eleven questions from Chronicles of Mommy

1. What is your favorite thing about being a blogger? I like writing. Period. But I also like it when I write or share something that someone else likes.  Whether they find it funny or it helps them in some way.   I started blogging to keep my family up-to-date on my life but they never read but old friends and strangers started to read and that’s been nice.

2. Name 3 bloggers that inspire you – and their websites.

* Hand Me Downs - She writes about parenting and raising a child with Down Syndrome.  It's a touching blog and I really enjoy reading it.

* Ashley - Ashley has an incredible life, after serving an 18-month mission for church, she turned her blog into a daily miracle blog.  She has a big heart and she's gone to Haiti twice and is going back soon (if not already) to buy Christmas gifts for orphans there.  I love reading her blog and reading the positive experiences in her lives and in the lives of others.

*Uh - so apparently I don't read many inspiring blogs...I mostly keep up with people.  If you know of an inspiring blog I can add here - let me know!

3. If you could open up any business, what would it be and why? I used to want to own a bakery, I love to bake. I even talked about running one out of our college apartment.  I guess if I didn’t have to go by baker’s hours I would still want to.  I guess other than that I would want a photography studio.  I love taking pictures, I'm just not good enough to do it professionally.

4. What makes you smile?  Everything.  I can’t tell you the number of times people have asked me why I’m smiling.  I see the world through a very humorous lens.  I’m not saying I don’t have my bad days, but there isn’t much that doesn’t get me smiling.  I guess mostly it would be my husband – when he dances or when he interacts with the cat.

5. What's under your bed?  Um, DVDs I think. I packed up all my DVDs into these two containers that can slide under the bed.

6. If you could be committed to a cause/charity, which one would it be and why?  I don’t know of a specific one right now, but if there is one devoted to the family I would join that one.  I get really upset when I learn what some schools permit for children (like playing Nicki Minaj for 6-7 year olds – even if you bleep out the swear words it’s not a good message) and I also don’t like when society tries to put its values on children (and all members of society really).  I know I sound crazy when I get going so I try to tone it down for people, but it is something I feel passionately about.

7. If you had a chance to say one thing that would be broadcast to everyone in the world, what would it be?  Oh…I don’t know.  I guess - enjoy life, even the small moments and make it something you’re proud of.

8. Grab the nearest book. Turn to page 12. Write down the 1st line. "Marie-Laure LeBlanc stands along in her bedroom smelling a leaflet she cannot read."

9. What kind of person is your alter ego? I'm confused by this question - are we talking a for reals alter ego or an imaginary one.  My imaginary one is famous, confident, and invited to all the late night talk shows because she’s so fun.  Sadly, I’m not kidding.

10. What’s your drink? Water! Seriously, the first trimester of pregnancy was really hard because water didn’t taste right and it’s all I wanted but I couldn’t drink it.

11. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?  I had really high aspirations including but not limited to: elementary school teacher, receptionist at the eye doctor (dealing with all those color coded folders), and an actress dating Elijah Wood (seriously, he was adorable and I had a huge crush on him.  My sisters would fake interview me as a movie star and Elijah and I met on a moive set and had been inseparable since).  I'm not ashamed. 

11 Random Facts About Me

1. I can’t let children win games…they’ve got to earn it.  I’m too competitive to hold back, even for kids while playing Candyland.

2. I’m an introvert and a homebody.  Chewy was surprised by this on our first date.  For years he had assumed I was a huge extrovert because I was always throwing parties and traveling with friends.  What he didn’t know was that when I threw parties I was around for 10-20 minutes and then I would grab a few close friends, some snacks, and hide in my room (or on a few occasions, left with a friend).  And when I traveled – it was mostly with other introverts.  We’d see some sites, be done and go read or nap in the hotel room until dinner.

3. I LOVE playing sports and I married a man who could care less…wonk wonk.  I did get him to throw a Frisbee with me once.

4. I don’t want people to think I’m a crazy cat lady, so I act like I could care less about my cat.  But I could die he’s so cute and I love to pet him and I talk to him more than would be deemed normal.

5. I take pride in being creepy.  I try to scare my husband any opportunity I get and when I talk to people I sometimes try to make my comments as dark as possible (i.e. I know this isn’t a person, but when talking to my cat this morning I told him goodbye forever,  he’s lived a good life and I would miss him).

6. I’m HORRIBLE at geography! I hope my life is never on the line because I just recently learned that Ireland, Scotland and England were the same island…yup.  I am embarrassed to admit it, but it had to be done.

7. I get addicted to video games…which is probably why I judge people so harshly for playing them.  I lucked out – Chewy doesn’t play them at all.

8. I love to make CDs for people.  The number of people willing to accept those CDs is dwindling, but I like to do it anyway and have playlists ready to go for friends if they should change their minds.

9.  I like to give people nicknames but I can’t operate once someone asks for one.  It just has to come naturally.

10. I’m a narcissist.  I could care less about my looks but when I create/write something I want to hear all about it and if you like it (which is why I love getting blog comments).

11. In the spirit of Christmas – I love being able to get the perfect gift for someone.  I love giving gifts in general (except the part where it cost money), but when I find just the right gift for someone I will buy it without much thought, no matter if there’s a reason to get them a gift.  (I’ve already bought Chewy’s birthday present…his birthday is in February).

11 Questions for Nominees (my apologies I’m not good at coming up with questions)

1.      What’s most important to you?

2.      What’s your favorite movie?

3.      When and why did you start blogging?

4.      It’s Friday night – what are you likely doing?

5.      What are three things on your bucket list?

6.      If you didn’t have to worry about money and current skill level – what would you do for a living?

7.      What is the last picture you took?

8.      Who in your life do you admire most?

9.      What is your greatest accomplishment so far?

10.   What do you hope to accomplish in the next year?

11.   What is the scariest thing that has happened to you?

Nominees

    Ashley

    Marianne

Danielle

Lacee

Mistakes Eating and Other Adventures

Saturday morning, Chewy and I woke up at 6 am.  He’d had a pretty stressful week so while depressing, it wasn’t a surprise that we were both sound asleep around 8:30 Friday night.  As we lay in bed trying to decide whether or not to wake up or go back to sleep, we decided to go and get breakfast.  We wanted to go to Golden Corral and Chewy seems to think they are packed by 8 a.m. so we hurried to get there as quickly as possible.  We arrived 10 minutes before opening (btw we tried to look up the hours online, their website shouldn’t even bother with the ‘store locator’ option, it doesn’t work).  

We eyed all the other cars that arrived after us and for a moment I think I got a glimpse of what Black Friday shopping feels like.  Chewy had me put down the visor on my side and use the mirror to watch the front door and the old couple in the minivan nearest to us.  Ten minutes later the minivan had turned off its engine and the front doors were being unlocked.  We got out of the car, half excited to be the first and three quarters embarrassed.  We paid, found a secluded table and went up for round one.  I had thought since I was preggers that this would have been more fun, but the quality of Golden Corral food really hindered me.  I ate a bit of everything on my first plate but finished none of it.  I was less successful with the second plate.  We spent the rest of our day regretting our early hour decision.  We’re pretty sure the same thing happened last time we went but we forgot.  We’ve now recorded videos of ourselves telling our future selves NEVER to return to the G.C.

 We’ll see if it works.

As for the rest of our Saturday.  Chewy was asked to play the part of a Wiseman in the Stake Crèche activity and I was asked to be a “tour guide” .  I took groups from room to room and read from a script while the people looked at the live nativity scenes , then I dropped them off at the cultural hall where they ate, looked at little nativity and crèche scenes and listen to musical performances.  It was neat, exhausting, but a really neat experience.  AND I got to see Chewy dressed up in a costume.  

Of course, the fame has gone to his head.

From there we went to visit my sister and brother-in-law and I saw a box of Captain Crunch and suddenly wanted some.  So we went to the store and bought a box.  I got home, ate a bowl and a little while later – threw up.  Same thing happened Sunday morning.  So I’m thinking the Captain is out for a few months.  Thanks a lot fetus.

Every Couple Has Secrets

I have a confession...

I hide food from my husband.  Lemme esplain. 

I have a great love for the Little Debbie Christmas trees.

I mean, look at them.  I’m salivating at the thought.

I bought a box at the store on Monday and when I got home I hid them.  Part of it was shame, I didn’t want Chewy knowing I’d given in to my sweet tooth but I have to admit a bigger part of me worried he would eat them…

This morning he went into the cupboard where they were hidden - looking for the backup peanut butter.  I watched in horror as he bent down to look at the lower shelf where I keep the backup food.  If I had realized the other pb was low I would have picked a different shelf for my hidden treasure. 

Then he saw the box.  “What’s this!” he said as he pulled them out of the cupboard.  At this moment he realizes it’s open and most of the trees are gone. “And it’s mostly empty!”

I don’t know what I said at this point, I don’t do well when caught so I might have said, “uh, um, hmmmm.” But eventually, “I love them!” or something similar came out of my mouth.

Chewy explained how it hurts his feelings when I hide food from him (yes, this isn’t the first time; I’ve also hidden Archway Iced Oatmeal cookies from him…more than once.  I've even had to hid rice krispies from him, not the treat, just the cereal).  So I picked that moment to confess that there was a can of Pringles hidden by my side of the bed.  You may find this shocking…but he wasn’t happy about that either.

So I tried to explain myself.  I don’t know what order the excuses came out but they included:

It’s an old habit from childhood where I had to hide the good stuff or it’d be gone (there are some roommates who can attest to the fact that this is a long standing habit of mine).

I explained how I offer other things in their stead (said while picking up a container of cookies I openly shared with Chewy to prove my point).  He’ll come home from work and I’ll open the “snack” cupboard and show him all the things I bought for HIM to eat (and then I don’t mention my personal snacks hidden safely around the house).

He told me I don’t have to hide the food, he wouldn’t eat it.  That brought up the list of things that were mine that he’s eaten…and only since I got pregnant.

1) It started with the Ginger Ale.  He’s a big ginger ale fan, I personally feel sick when I drink it because my parents gave it to me AFTER I’d thrown up.  So I was fine with him drinking it.

2) Then it was the sprite he bought me as a backup for the ginger ale. Again, I wasn’t really drinking them so I didn’t care.

3) Then he dug in to my peppermint ice cream.  This I DID care about, but I also bought multiple containers when I went to the store.  So after instinctively being upset I told him I would share with him.

4) And lastly, the Gatorade.  I’d been drinking Gatorade since October 29^th (yes, I remember the date) when I had to stay home from work and did nothing but throw up all. Day. Long.  I even bought him red Gatorade so he’d leave my blue stuff alone…but it didn’t stop him.

I think he got the point…but I’ll try to stop hiding my food – as soon as Christmas is over.

Be Grateful

So pregnancy hasn't been my most favorite experience thus far.  As I sat in church on Sunday I realized I have lost the gift of gratitude.  I've done nothing but gripe about how much society has kept hidden from me about pregnancy.  I'm tired of being tired, sick of being sick, and I'm getting fatter (people say it's because I'm growing a baby but all I see is fat at this point).

Thanksgiving Day, people posted pictures and status updates all over social media about what they were grateful for.  I didn't see any of it until Friday, but it didn't even occur to me to try and do something similar.  I figured since Monday would be the first of a new month, I would try harder to be grateful, because honestly, I have a lot to be grateful for.

And then I went to the dentist Monday morning because of persistent tooth pain that started about half a week ago.  He informed me I needed a root canal.  Ooookay.  Rough start to my new beginning.

But here's what I can be grateful for even with that.

1. I called the Endodontist yesterday and they had a cancellation which opened up an appointment at 8 a.m. today.  Which was made even better by the fact that my tooth hurt worse after the dentist fiddled with it.  
2. I had a terrible night's sleep because every time I moved I would upset my tooth and wake up.  I know I got some sleep, but not much.  BUT today I was able to lay back in the chair and close my eyes and have a nice little nap.
3. I had the PTO to be able to take today off and come home and rest.
4. I didn't throw up (that's a big deal since there were strange smells, things being stuck into my mouth, and strange taste from medications, etc. 
5. My mouth hurts, but I don't feel nauseous today (which I have felt for at least two months now).

All of that just from my visit to the Endodontist.  There are so many other things to be grateful for as well.  I mean, I am pregnant, I honesty doubted at times in my life that I would have this opportunity.  I'm scared of having a baby, but I've always been scared of change and rarely has change been bad for me.  Everyone seems to think I'll be a good mom (I guess they forgot about the "trolls" I told Samantha about when she was 4, how I pick up a crying kid and say, "don't worry, it will get worse", how I can't let kids win, etc.  But maybe that's good....maybe my kids will be well-rounded? Or something like that.

Anyway - I'm going to go rest, maybe fold some laundry that's been in desperate need of it for a while (I'm not lazy, I'm pregnant...)

Smith Family Photo Shoot

Yesterday my sister asked me to take some family photos for them.  We went to Pump House Park in Richmond (creepy park - but I still love it).  Here are some of the photos.

A General Update

I’m mad at Blogger for several reasons that I will currently put on the shelf, but I decided to just start blogging here again.  I like word press, but it shows my posts to strangers, and while I crave world fame via my blog, I felt too much pressure to keep writing what people liked before (mostly I wrote about writing – so I’ll keep that up- on WordPress, but I’ll keep blogging here for my friends & family). 

On to updates so we can continue with our lives as normal:

The big one – I didn’t run the half marathon this year!  Okay, the reason is the big update, I’m pregnant.  Currently I’m 14 weeks along.  I’m starting to feel better but I’m still throwing up every so often and I still get nauseous and I’m still worthless after the sun goes down.  I think last night I fell asleep around 8-8:30 and woke up at 6:45 this morning.  Granted, I wake up several times a night – just to ensure that I don’t get too much sleep…

I’m working on developing patience because apparently when you get pregnant, people are allowed to give you unsolicited advice and ask you super personal questions that involve body parts that have always been off limits for discussion. 

Other than that – things are going well.  I’m feeling better about my calling at church (with the young women in case you forgot or I never mentioned it).  We are planning some fun activities for next year and I’m continuing to get to know the girls…and then they’ll turn 16 and I’ll barely see them anymore.

We recently had our Night of Excellence – which I had to be reminded is a night when the girls display their achievements in Personal Progress.  Or their planned achievements, works currently in progress or ones they've even just conceptualized.  We did an Instagram theme, "Focus on your Innergram".  We had a photo booth and cute refreshments.

One of the girls made a parody video for her project.  I unfortunately am not in the video since I was throwing up the day they shot it, but here it is:

NOTE ABOUT THE RICE:  Apparently this man did a study on rice.  He had three jars, they all started the same but one jar he said positive things to each day, the second he said mean things, and the third he completely ignored.  After 30 days the first jar was still white rice, the second jar was brownish, the third was moldy.  So of course our YW President tried it out, got the same results, and used it in a lesson with the girls long before I came on to the scene.  Just thought I'd explain that because I was confused about the rice when I first saw this.

Last week, my group did heart attacking.  Which was made more fun because it was freezing cold!  We shivered in the dark, taping hearts to the door of one of the other  girls who can’t make it on Wednesday nights.   It was a lot of fun.  We are going to try to focus more on service (along with EVERYTHING else we need to focus on).

Over the past few months I was signed up for a CPCU class through work.  I hated being in class and stressed about passing the exam but last Friday I took the final exam and I passed!  I was really excited about this and I feel like I have my life back now, I can start reading for pleasure again and getting back in to my writing.

Speaking of writing – I had the opportunity to go to a Writers Conference mid-October.  I was really nervous because I don’t do well in situations where I’m surrounded by strangers, but I had two people from my writing group there so that helped and I made some new “friends” (I use the term friends loosely because I have already forgotten their names and MIGHT remember them if I saw them again).  The conference was both inspiring and yet, I kept thinking how far I have to go to be a good writer.  I was able to meet with one on one with an agent for a few minutes and pick her brain.  I should have been pitching my story but when I sat down I lost my nerve (didn’t help that I am in the process of rewriting the ending of my story – can’t pitch without the conclusion can you?).   I still asked her if I could submit it to her when I was ready and she said I could.  It’s no promise, but it’s hopeful because at least I can say, “we met” and get in the door a little bit.  That is, if I get to the point of submitting within twelve months.  

Okay – I think that’s it.  I don’t even know what I said the last time I wrote so I have no idea if I’m leaving things out.  But just know that things are going well and Chewy and I are preparing for a lot of changes soon.  Hopefully I’ll keep you more in the loop now.

MIGHT be moving

So I'm trying out WordPress...So far it seems okay, still getting used to it.  But I thought I might let you know (in case anyone still reads) that I'm considering permanently moving over there.  So if you don't see any posts here - check there.  I'll let you know if I ever actually make the commitment.

http://lildonbro.wordpress.com/

Close your little eyeballs*

January = 4

February = 1

March = 1

April = 7

May = 5

June =  5 

July = 2

Total = 25

I'm a little behind with the reading...Goodreads tells me I'm 4 books behind.  Eek.  Better get on it.  I think one problem is the starting and stopping of books.  There have been several I have started and stopped.  Some because of inappropriate material I don't feel like finishing.  Others because I could care less about the characters by page 60 and I think I should care by page 60.  Anyway - no excuses.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

At work we started a little book club (I have explained about White Oprah? If not - I'll need to get on that).  This was the first book we decided to read.  I had trouble getting in to it at first, way too many characters right off the bat.  In the end I had a list of characters, spouses and their occupations...just to try and keep them straight.  The book is about a book club (appropriate for our first book). The chapters alternate between the characters depending on if it's their month to host the book club.  I think I finally figured out that two characters are in first person, while the others are in third.  Sometimes we knew what was going on in someone else's mind but not consistently, so that drove me crazy.  One character is always writing letters to her dead mom...I could have done without those letters.  The whole book has that Forest Gump feel (cause that's a thing, The Forest Gump Feel).  It covers decades in the lives of these women and they keep the book club going the whole time (but we don't witness every single month thank goodness).  Overall I actually liked the book despite my misgivings at the beginning.  It did drive me a little crazy how we would jump years ahead of the last chapter and somehow I was expected to keep their children straight in my head and care about what happens to them when they are twenty (and their mom was just pregnant with them like five chapters ago).  But what can you do when you want to cover the 60's-90's?  It was a good read and a nice break from my end of the world YA I've been sucked into lately.

Quiet by Susan Cain

I first got interested in reading this book after seeing a Ted Talk with Susan Cain and how she talked about being an introvert in a society that promoted extroversion.  Being an introvert myself (I know - shocker) I was interested in reading more of her ideas.  There were mixed reviews about this book, some people saying she's not really an introvert and others saying she doesn't know what she is talking about.  But she provided interesting statistics and research about her topics within the book and being an introvert who is accused of being an extrovert at times - I can tell you there is a spectrum.  She states in the beginning of the book that not everything will apply to the reader.  I think it would be a good read for any introvert and for people who may be parents of an introvert.

Let go, you're wrecking my flight pattern!*

I had the opportunity to go to Youth Conference in Palmyra, New York about a week and a half ago.  The whole trip cost me a whopping $25 - $20 of which I got back during the bus rides for food.   How could I say ‘no’ to such an opportunity?  Of course, the idea of being on a bus with that many teenagers was a little daunting. 

I had to get up at 5 a.m. to be at the church by 6:15.  Chewy was a doll and woke up with me and helped to make sure I had everything I needed. 

We were on the buses and on our way at 7 a.m.  Luckily the buses had televisions, so we put on a movie and most of the kids must have passed out because it was quiet!  Our fearless leader, Sizzle, passed out too.

Trying to get comfortable on the bus.

We were making excellent time and got to our lunch location an hour early (meaning we got there at 10:30).  It wasn’t hard to be hungry for lunch considering how long I’d been up.  I got to see agency in action as teens chose to spend their money on frozen yogurt rather than something a little more substantial.  It was also funny to see all the teens trying to sit near the walls as they charged their phones – I was right there with them…but I was a leader, I needed my phone.  My cousin, Sam, was at conference too.  We snuck over to Old Navy to do a little shopping.  Then we got back on the buses. 

With being ahead of schedule it was looking like we’d get to the college at 4:30 instead of 5:30.  But then one of the buses lost use of its breaks and we pulled over into a parking lot while they called a mechanic.  There was a mass exodus to the nearest grocery store for a bio break, then back on the buses.   This is when we realized that OUR bus had lost AC.  The kids were allowed to leave the bus and hang out by an abandoned building (where they proceeded to seek outlets for their phones…)

Our leaders discussing the options while the mechanic works on one bus.

I spent the next few hours learning how to yell at the kids.  Seriously.  Sizzle would yell for them to get out of the road and then I would start yelling too...mostly echoing what she was saying.  A few times I yelled on my own.  They didn't look when they crossed "the street".  "The street" may have been a parking lot, but there were cars on it and this one kid walked right out in front of one.  He didn't get hit and he didn't even notice.  I was yelling at him, "Hey, blue shirt! Get out of the road!" but he didn't hear me.  He just walked like nothing could possibly harm him.  That was annoying to me, that the kids didn't look both ways.  Sizzle at one point said, "Sometimes you want to let Darwinism take its course, but we have to keep them safe."  That was the best line of the day.

Eventually, the people on the bus without brakes were divided and split up into all open seats on the other three buses.  This left about 17 people or so without a bus, but a replacement bus was on its way.  We got on our bus and headed to a mechanic for the AC.  We got that fixed, had to reroute because of something about a bridge, and FINALLY got to the college at 8:45.  The dance that was schedule to start at 8 was pushed back to 9:15 and the we would have dinner in the gym.  The girls (and me) went to our rooms (I had my own with my own bathroom - but the room had a "The Shining" feel to it and the bathroom made me think of "Psycho".  Then I did my leader-y duties and made sure everyone headed to the gym for the dance.    I got pizza and then found a spot to keep out of sight for the next few hours.  I always skipped dances as a teen, and I couldn't bring myself to dance at one now.  It didn't help that I was exhausted.  

The dance ended about 11:15, we had a little devotional and then headed back to the dorms.  I finally got in bed close to 1 a.m.  ....I don't know how I made it that long, but it was truly a blessing from heaven showered down on me.  It was about 1 a.m. though that some of the girls decided to run between rooms which resulted the sound of elephants running down the hallway and slamming doors.  I vowed in my sleep deprived rage that I would sit outside their rooms the next night and just yell as the doors opened.  If I'm not going to sleep I might as well yell at someone while I don't sleep.

The next day was packed full of history sites.  Our first visit was to the Sacred Grove.  We got to go early morning when it was still cool.  It was a lot bigger than I remembered.  Everyone split up so that each person could find time to themselves.  I passed many teenagers with their scriptures opened, or praying.  It was kind of refreshing from the day before.  I found my own spot and wrote in my journal (which I haven't done in too long).  

When our time was up, we rounded up the kids for lunch.  We went to a park, where we met up with all the other buses and waited for lunch.  Subway sandwiches...Dear Subway, don't be so stingy with the meat.

They let the female leaders get food first.  I grabbed a turkey sandwich and walked away.  I picked off the three fat slices of tomatoes and looked down at my "turkey" sandwich.  Are you  kidding me?  I was not happy about this. Plus - the bread was not so good.

We also got to visit the printing press and learn about all the time, money and work that went in to making the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon.  Then we went to the Hill Cumorah and hiked to the top.

This is the view from the top, looking down on where we would be in a few hours for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.   

The view from the bottom

Then we went back to the Sacred Grove to see the Smith Family home.  And to do what teenagers do best....take selfies.

Then a kind stranger offered to take a good one for us.

Then we drove back to the Hill Cumorah to wait for the pageant.  We got food vouchers here for chicken dinners, but we were able to use them for up to $10 worth of food.  I got a burger instead.  There is no English translation for how good it tasted, it was Delicious-e-o-so 

The girls sharing a Sprite...but my favorite part of this photo is the photobomb in the back.  They were pretty tickled when I told them I could see them.

I also got to see Amber!  She drove from Michigan with some friends to see the pageant and I don't think it was much of a coincidence that it was the same night I was there.

It was good to be able to spend some time with her.  Of course, she told me I had mom voice and when I got upset that a random teen I didn't know dropped something and didn't pick it up...I realized she was right.

After the pageant, we rounded up the kids once more and headed back to the dorms.  Sizzle and I walked around to all the rooms and told the girls that lights out was at midnight and there was absolutely no reason for them to come out of their rooms.  Well, Sizzle told them, I stood behind her and tried to give them "The Donbro" which is a look that scares Chewy when he's out of line.  There were no slamming doors that night.

The next day we packed up and headed to our last stop, the Peter Whitmer farm where we had a testimony meeting, tours of the original farmhouse and LUNCH! Which sadly, was more Subway.  The testimony was great, mostly because I had been wondering how much the kids got out of the trip.  It was reassuring.  At one point, Sizzle leaned over and said, "You know, you worry about them and then you have experiences like this and you think, 'maybe they'll be ok'."  To which I said, "yes, they'll still get hit by a car but spiritually they're doing ok."  I'm so witty.

Then it was time for lunch and I got to spend some time with Sammy.

I have absolutely no idea who that girl is behind me.

That's something we didn't really have when I went to youth conference as a teen - we didn't have intentional photo bombers....and selfies were as popular.  They existed.  Also - I didn't have a cell phone or a digital camera, or an iPod.  It was 35mm film, portable CD player and a bunch of AA batteries for me!

On the bus ride home we found that our bus no longer had AC.  At one point we stopped and put as many of the kids on to buses with bearable conditions.  That left about 13 or so kids and 6 leaders to ride out to at least dinner in the heat.  But I'll tell you what - I got my first nap.

We stopped for dinner, where I ate with Sam.  I went to the bathroom and came back to this on my phone.

She got the Stake President's wife to take selfies with her on my phone!  At the dinner break they were going to get volunteers from the other buses to take our places.  But all the kids on the bus didn't want to switch, some kids from other buses wanted to join us (!) and the leaders were pretty happy where we were.  Plenty of space, quiet, it was great.  As a Stake leader, they made Sizzle go on to a another bus and switched her out with some other leaders.  She put me in charge of the movies and as the only female leader on the bus I became the only one who yelled at the kids.  Luckily Sizzle trained me well in the short amount of time we had.  

As the one in charge of the movies, I picked The Incredibles.

Sam (who had joined our bus) liked it.

I yelled at the kids to sit down on multiple occasions, but my favorite was when one of my Mia Maids was standing and I yelled her name, nothing else and she sat down quicker than anything I've ever seen.

Overall, I really enjoyed Youth Conference.  I'm grateful I had the chance to spend more time with my girls and get to know them better.  I feel closer to them now (some of them have even randomly texted me just to say they love me).  And, this past Sunday I told them to be quiet and one of them complimented me on how well I did that.  I'm a little surprised how quickly I've gone from not feeling like I know what I am doing to being comfortable and speaking up more...and acting like a leader.  Anyway - it was fun.