General Conference

We took the YM/YW of our ward to General Conference in October and had an excellent trip. I wasn't super excited on the idea. It meant driving all day Friday, hanging around the conference center all day Saturday, and then more conference and driving on Sunday. It's about a 13 hour drive to my parents house and that is a long time to be stuffed in a car, just ask Jonathan shown below.

At least he had the snacks.

We hadn't even left the church before we had a flat tire. There was enough air to drive back home and fill it up but that didn't last long. About an hour into the drive the tire was done.

How many times do you think we had to tell Nathan to stop helping and get out of the highway?

Can you find Thomas?

We got the tire to a shop in Arlington, OR and this is what the girls did to keep themselves entertained.

The boys opted for the hacky sack. Timeless

We finally made it to my parent's house around 1:00 am. We had 15 youth staying over with 4 adult leaders. We didn't get too much sleep because we had to get up early and try to find tickets.

We waited in line for a little bit but then one of the other leaders came through with tickets for everyone. We had grabbed a lot of people's extra one or two tickets and he was able to get enough that way. I sat alone but at least we all got inside.

Here is some of the group after the 1st session. One of the girls, Laura, is not in this picture because we left her at my parent's house, home alone style. We gave her a bedroom on the main level since she graduated high school last summer and nobody remembered to grab her in the morning. She called us while we were on our way to see what was going on. Luckily the Rasmussen's were staying at my parents house as well and were able to bring her up for lunch.

Here are all the boys that went on the trip. About 15 minutes after this picture, Nathan took off and we couldn't find him for about an hour or so. I went in with the rest of the boys while two of the other leaders stayed out to try and find him. They ended up getting in about 15 minutes into the Priesthood session with 2nd row seats.

A little more hacky sack before we hit the road after the 1st session on Sunday. We opted to sleep in and watch it from my parent's basement. The boys found the soda machine my Dad had installed so I guess they were all up till 3:00 am drinking all of his Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this General Conference, in no particular order:

- "Perhaps the single greatest thing I learned from reading the Book of Mormon is that the voice of the Spirit comes as a feeling rather than a sound. You will learn, as I have learned, to "listen" for that voice that is felt rather than heard." - President Boyd K. Packer

- "Let us be as quick to kneel as we are to text." - Elder Ian S. Ardern

- "President Monson's encouragement to look up is a metaphor for remembering Christ. As we remember Him and trust in His power, we receive strength through His Atonement. It is that means where by we can be relieved of our anxieties, our burdens, and our suffering. It is the means whereby we can be forgiven and healed from the pain of our sins. It is the means whereby we can receive the faith and strength to endure all things." - Elder Carl B. Cook

There were a lot more talks that hit deep and that is why I love General Conference. It is essentially the same message over and over but every time I feel the truthfulness of what is being said. That makes it all worth it.

Hanging Around

More family pictures during Bobby's obsession phase

William is smiling, it took him a little longer than Bobby but it's much appreciated

Bobby can say "iPod" now

Jackie wanted a picture in his new clothes and shoes. He looks so old here.

The remote dropped behind the couch and I gave a little grumble. It was then I remembered I had a little worker bee so I told Bobby to go and get it. He was excited at the assignment and squeezed perfectly between the couch and wall.

Dinner Party

Charlie and Laura were kind enough to bring some dinner by for us and hang out for a bit. Jeri and Margie decided to join in on the fun.

Lorelai is a little hesitant around me.

Bobby likes showing off his toys and stuff but not a big fan of sharing yet.

Aurora enjoyed playing peek-a-boo upstairs

More Brotherly Love

Jackie accuses me of taking more pictures of Bobby than Will, and I have to plead guilty. Part of the reason is that Bobby broke our camera a few weeks ago so we haven't had one to take pictures. But even before that I didn't take as many as I did of Bobby. It's busy with more kids!

Bobby was Blobby, but I'm not sure if we have a name for William yet. One big dude.

So glad that Bobby likes him. There really haven't been any jealousy issues.

It's crazy how old Bobby has gotten.

Bobby's Rash

There aren't many things more difficult than not scratching your skin when you have rash. Try explaining that to 17 month old.

Bobby was pretty excited when I pointed out the Mickey Mouse on his leg. If you asked him where Mickey Mouse was for the next week he would point to his leg, even when it started to fade away.

Here he is showing Mommy after we got back from the hospital

After the rash started to go away, the last phase was this pink phase. If you touched his skin it would turn pink. He would always rub his eyes so it would get little pink rings.

Since my garden is very small and my harvest even smaller, I've thrown in this picture. My garden doesn't even get its own post because we didn't get much.

Birthday party

Every year you get a birthday celebration for family home evening so here are a few pictures from that event. I went with the chicken schnitzel for dinner and for my dessert, I had to go with the fruit pizza. It can't be beat.

The kids were more than willing to help me open my presents.

We found Bobby sneaking a few early raspberries.

My loot. I got a Dick's Sporting Goods gift certificate so I got a few things with that.

This was the debut of Bobby's music video. I made it the night before and couldn't sleep because I was so excited after I made it. It was a big hit and all of the kids loved dancing around to it.

Bobby grabbing some of the leftover raspberries.

Will's Visitors

About a week after he was born, my parents and Kristin made the trip out to Portland to see the little guy. Once you start adding more kids it's just a bonus. They had wanted to come out and see Bobby and now they had a great excuse to come and see him and Will.

This is what babies do all day, in case you don't know. It's only when you're trying to sleep that they wake up and make noise.

(Caption Contest: Enter a caption for this picture in the comments section)

It's hard looking at pool photos in November when you live in Portland

Bobby loves his grandmas

A little zealous with his hugs

Better

Oh Will, you're so funny.

Grandma bought these matching outfits.