conference weekend

We always look forward to General Conference for many reasons!  It's always spiritually uplifting, and we love our tradition of camping out in Grandma and Papa's backyard.  We started the tradition when Brooke was a baby, and have kept it alive ever since. Well, due to the threat of bad weather, Grandma and Papa cancelled the conference campout, but Kevin was determined to make it happen, but at our house instead.  

But first, Brookie had a soccer game to play!  She was so excited about her game, and about possibly scoring a goal. She had a great game, but wasn't assertive enough to score that elusive goal, haha.  She was always right by the ball, or where she needed to be, but she wasn't quite aggressive enough to take it to the goal. I have loved watching her improve each week as she gets a better understanding of the game. 

Since the league is run by a Baptist church, they always have a devotional between the practice and the game, and both teams hold hands at the end and say a prayer. It's pretty cool to see the community unite like this in a common Christian belief.

And because Kevin adores his little girl, he bought her a ring pop from the snack bar on his way back from the bathroom. She was in heaven.

We made it home just in time to listen to the first Saturday session, then it was time to set up the tent. The kids were so excited, and wanted in on all the action.

Once the tent was up, Kevin and I started making a mental list of everything else we needed from the house and garage, but Brooke took matters into her own hands and started making an actual list.  Just so that we didn't forget anything, haha. I love this girl.

We watched the afternoon session, then ate a delicious smoked brisket for dinner.  Since the brisket took way longer than anticipated (and we didn't eat dinner until almost 8 PM), Colby was super grumpy and ready for bed.  I wasn't feeling confident that we could all sleep in the tent anyways, so I put Colby to bed, and we roasted marshmallows with Brooke over the stove since we didn't want to build a fire at 9 o'clock at night.  It was the lazy way, but delicious nonetheless! Kevin even added peanut butter to the s'mores, which really took them up a few notches.

Sometimes the simplest things can have the biggest impact.  Brooke loved the one-on-one time with us, especially since we were doing something out of the ordinary.

I opted to sleep in the house with Colby, and these two campers slept great in the tent. When the rain started at 6 am, I wondered if they would come into the house, but Brooke didn't wake up until almost 9.  I was pretty impressed because it was raining HARD, but it was pretty dark from the storm, so maybe that helped?

Colby was excited to join in on the fun the next morning :)  I love seeing the enjoyment Kevin gets from doing fun things with our kids.  He really is the best, and Brooke and Colby love spending time with their Daddy. And I got to sleep comfortably in my bed, so it was a win for everybody!!

Sunday was more conference, and I actually was able to listen to the afternoon session since Colby took a long nap!  I really do love conference weekend, but it's not always easy to listen attentively when the kids are playing and need my attention as well.  Luckily, we can listen again and again, so I know I'll get more from the talks in the coming months.