Coup de García: Conference with Claire: Part 2

Time to finish up the SLC post.

On Friday night, we went to The Roof. It's the tradition. That's where David took me on our first date after his mission. The Roof might have been where we had our first sparks of love. But maybe not bc we weren't a couple a few weeks later....but that's a whole other story. On that night, we both snuck a few of those amazing Lion House rolls home in our pockets.
The rolls were as divine as ever.

The Joseph Smith Building before we went up to dinner.

The lady who gave us a brief tour told us we needed to take the following picture because the statue is the same height that the giant Goliath was. I think Claire could have taken him.

We got the best table in the restaurant: right at the corner, closest to the temple, and a perfect view of the state capitol.

We also kept the tradition on forgetting our tickets, so I got to fit in an early morning run to the conference center on Saturday. We met up with the Millers again. While I was checking in my camera (it's a new rule that we can't enter with cameras), David snuck in to sit where the Millers had tickets. Their tickets were extremely close to the front because Bret is in the MoTab. I told David I thought the ruse was slightly sketchy, especially on church grounds, but David's scandal was pulled off because I was detained with the camera. He had taken my camera bag with my phone so when I got to where our tickets had us seated (in the nose-bleed section), I thought I might have to sit alone since I couldn't get into the bottom without a ticket and didn't know where to go anyway. It is no small miracle that this is the first time since cell phones that I have memorized a phone number. Thankfully, someone lent me their phone and I was able to dirty my innocence and sit with them. But I didn't regret it when the prophet walked into the room maybe 20 yards from us. We could actually see facial expressions. It amazes me every time that a crowd of a few ten thousands of people can fall silent so quickly. The reverence for his office was palpable.

As we watched conference, I sat next to these little legs that aren't long enough to bend much over the chair and with her shoes dangling below. It made me remember how little she still is; that growing is a precious process and there's so much more growing to do.

Elder Hales' talk was particularly poignant for me. At the time, I had been thinking a lot about what my greater life purpose is and will be after my kids are grown. And then there was Elder Hales. From the angle we were sitting, we could see that he wasn't standing to give his talk, but sitting on a high stool. A man, so advanced in life, is immersed in such a great work long after many people have given up. I felt like he was speaking directly to me, telling me not to worry about what my purpose will be, but right now, it is my children. He told me, "Be a teacher and a missionary to your kids. Share simple truths."

After conference, we went to the church history museum and found a girl for sale at a little store:

We listened to the afternoon session on the drive up to Park City. Being in the conference center was wonderful, but looking at the beautiful hills full of Fall leaves definitely rivaled it. We listened to the priesthood session on the way back, watching the setting sun and a double rainbow peek through the clouds.

Park City.

We met up with one of my good friends from the mission. Natalia was a teenager when I arrived to her area in Chile and was always very willing to go out and teach with us. Last time we saw her was when David and I traveled to Chile a year after we got married. This picture is on the ski lift that took us to the Alpine Slide. Claire went in front of me on the slide and I was surprised that she was cautious going down. I caught up to her about halfway through bc I didn't use the brake at all. I screamed to the point of voice exhaustion. In a good way.

Claire and I also Zip-lined

And Claire bungee jumped

We drove through the avenues and stopped at Hatch Family Chocolates which is owned by little people (Is that the PC term these days?). We sipped Mexican hot chocolate and ate chocolate gummies as we watched the Utah football game, small-talked with the little owner, and sat under a picture of him and his little wife holding a rainbow umbrella in a chocolate rainshower. That was our dinner. Claire then asked what was for dessert.

We drove some more until we happened to pass the entrance for the Ensign Peak trail. It was a beautiful view of the city.

That night Anna Nagel Habben hung out with us poolside, another great tradition. Anna said the last time she had seen David in a bathing suit was at a swim meet a few decades ago when he strutted to the diving board in his speedo, put his hands on his head, and rolled his hips for the pleasure of the crowd. That may or may not have been during his leg-shaving phase. He was willing to do anything for a speedy edge...and a sexy edge, apparently.

Sunday morning we watched the session in the Visitors' Center.