General Conference

Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday to me,

Happy Birthday to meeee-eeeeee,

Happy Birthday to meeeeeeeeee!

For my birthday this year, my parents gave me a Kindle (which I LOVE and use every single day) and tickets to Utah to see the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference. Hooray!!! I have never been to Conference before. It was just a weekend (thanks for staying home and taking care of the kiddos, Ben) and I had a lot to do and see in a few short days.

Friday:
I flew into SLC with Grandma Belva. My sister-in-law, Sara, picked her up from the airport and I got a ride from Annie Selander and Kim Walker. Sara and Grandma went to Provo while I spent the night in Salt Lake with Annie and Kim. We went to PF Changs for dinner and didn't leave until almost 11:00! I felt so young! Usually I'm in my pajamas reading a book that late. We went back to Annie's house and talked the night away. Kim pooped out on us about 2:00 am. Something about needing to sleep in her own bed when she's pregnant, blah, blah, blah... just kidding Kim. You know I love you. :-) Annie and I stayed up until after 4:00 until she informed me that her son had a soccer game the next morning and she should probably get some sleep. Oops! Sorry, Annie! Off to bed. (I can't believe I didn't get a single picture of us together!!!)

Saturday:
I woke up, got ready and Annie made amazing oatmeal buttermilk pancakes. It was a delicious way to start out the day. She drove me down to Provo to meet up with my brother at WalMart. I missed her as soon as she drove away. I love that girl! So, David and I went into WalMart so he could get laundry soap. While in line, I saw a 5-Hour Energy. I snagged one. Not gonna lie, I needed caffeine in a bad way. We were in the self-check out line and when we scanned my beverage, there was some kind of error. The helper lady came over to us and asked for my ID. WHAT? Seriously? They are carding me for caffeine? I looked at the girl and said, "I'm 30. Are you really going to need my ID for this?" Apparently I looked mean or crazy or something because she quickly entered a code and scurried away.
The next few hours were spent hanging out with Mom, Grandma, David and Sara. The girls went to the mall and got pedicures and then a late lunch at Ruby River. Poor Sara, her soaking water at the pedicure place was freezing. I'm not even exaggerating. This water was straight from a glacier or something. She kept asking nicely if they would change it. She mostly just got ignored. I felt bad for her, but not enough to give her my nice, toasty soaking water. She got her revenge when the girl painted a "flower" on my toenails. Yikes.

 Back to David and Sara's house for a few minutes and then off to dinner with my mother-in-law while the boys were at the Priesthood Session of General Conference. No one except Debbi knew that I was coming. It was so much fun to surprise everyone!!! There aren't a lot of girls in the Davis clan, so the dinner group was usually just me and Debbi when I was around. This year, it was Debbi, her niece, Kim, Logan (Zach's girlfriend), Michelle (Jim's fiancee), Aeryn (Michelle's daughter), and me. It was so fun! We went to Mimi's and talked and ate and had a blast. I didn't get a single picture of us together. I hate that! You know what I did get a picture of? This:

I was THIS close to an In-and-Out and didn't eat there. Sigh. Very sad for me.

After Priesthood Session was over, the boys all went to The Bombay House in Provo for dinner. If you live within 100 miles of that place, it's worth the drive for the food. Seriously. It was really fun to walk in and see the looks on their faces. I'm pretty sure I was the very last person that they expected to walk in. Zach did a triple take before he cocked his head to the side and said, "Kristi?" Everyone else looked at me... then they looked behind me for my husband. Sorry, boys. Ben had to stay home. I know they were happy to see me, but I bet they would have been overjoyed to see him. I couldn't stay long but I had a good visit with them before it was time to head back to David and Sara's house.

Sara and I were working on a project and my back started to hurt. I took one of my muscle relaxants. Let's just say I got a little goofy after that. Sara, shhh... don't tell them what happened. :-) (It certainly didn't involve covering each other with Mod Podge, squirt guns, or funny You Tube videos.) But look what we made!

Sunday:
I got up, got ready, finished Sara's message board and we were off to the Conference Center in Salt Lake. Oh, did I mention that it was 70 degrees on Friday and Saturday? It was beautiful! Sunday we woke up to snow. Crap. Not good.

We were all freezing. We had to wait outside for a little while to get into Conference and we were all wishing that we had had tickets for Saturday's session instead. Quick! Huddle together for warmth!

Once we got inside, I was amazed at how many people there were! It was so cool to know that all of these people were there to hear the words of the Prophet of the Lord. It was thrilling to feel like I was part of something so big. We waited for everyone to get in their seats and visited for a few minutes.

I kept staring at the three empty seats that would soon be occupied by the First Presidency of the Church. I was so excited to be in the same room as the Prophet! When they walked in, all 21,000 people stood up and were silent. The Spirit was palpable. It was without a doubt, one of the most memorable moments of my life. We were really far away. I couldn't see his face. But I know his face. I know that this man holds all the keys of the priesthood. I know that he was chosen for this calling. I know that whatever he says to me during this conference, I am going to do my best to obey. My testimony was strengthened just by being there. Thomas S. Monson is an incredible man and I got to be in the same room with him.

 Conference was a wonderful, uplifting, enlightening, spiritual experience. It's something I'll always remember. After it was over, we went to Sara's work (she is a journalist for the Deseret News) and had some chicken salad for lunch. After lunch, it was back to the airport and back home to real life.

So, thanks, Mom and Dad for the great birthday present. Thanks Grandma for getting tickets to Conference. Thanks David and Sara for letting us crash at your place. Thanks Annie and Kim for making me laugh and cry and for always being my friends. Thanks Debbi for the great dinner with the girls and for not telling anyone that I was coming. Thanks boys for being happy to see me, even though Ben wasn't with me.

Can we do it all again next year?