Elijah, my mom, and I accompanied Max and Clayton on their first trip to General Conference.
We got in Thursday night, and right off the bat, I remembered I had forgotten to pack the most valuable possession anyone in the presence of 3 preteens can have: earplugs (I also forgot the conference tickets, but the importance of those paled in comparison). The energy level was amazing.The earplugs would have filtered not only noise, but content, and competition. Most conversations began with comparison followed by a rapid degeneration into farts, butts (you get the picture), sound effects, and violence. I felt like I was living in a 3 stooges movie.
The 3 nights ended in pool time while I read an epic novel, Doing Good to thy Children, authored by an epic man: John N Udall, Jr, MD, PhD, father of me.
The 3 Stooges
We pilfered Hunt and Sarah's winter closet for ski clothes.
Waiting for the ski lessons to begin.
They had a rolling-down-the-hill competition.
As I watched conference the next day, I waxed metaphorical as I reflected on Elijah's skiing experience. How do I attack life? I want to be more like Elijah. He attacks everything he does with raw intensity.
We got the skis about 45 minutes before their ski classes started. The instructors told them they could hang-out until the class started, but Elijah has never hung-out in his life. So, to the slopes we went. It was the first time for both E and Clayton. At first, the 2 boys couldn't even stand up: Elijah was having a particularly hard time (see below). The instructor came out and told him to wait until he got instruction or else he would injure himself. Elijah doesn't wait, especially when he saw how easily Max glided down the hill and although Clayton was struggling too, he managed to fumble down the hill. Elijah couldn't even stand up and when the instructor came out a few more times, not masking her concern/annoyance, I forced him off the slope. When the class started, they walked on skis inside the loft. They still stumbled some when they came outside, but were able to go down easily soon, do jumps, and ski downhill backwards.
After the class, Elijah scarfed his ice cream, put his skis back on, and couldn't wait for anyone else as he sped down the hill on the way to his new challenge. When we got to a hill much bigger than the one where he practiced, Elijah struggled again. He couldn't figure out how to get up the hill on the rope pull. An older couple who was there with their grandchildren helped Elijah, learning his name, positioning his skis, teaching him how to grab the hold and then slip the support between his legs. But he still fell down several times. Once he got to the middle of the hill, and by hanging on for dear life, was dragged the rest of the way. Finally he got the hang of going up the hill but had a difficult time coming down. Once he wiped out at the bottom and his cousin gave him advice. This, of course, drove Elijah bonkers, to the point of furious tears. I told him to get up and show us what he was made of. And he did. Elijah and I were the very last people on the slope. We stayed until the rope pull closed and the snow plows had already begun their work.
I wasn't originally planning on skiing. I only went once or twice in college, mainly bc I didn't want to spend the money. And I almost got caught behind that same trap this time. But it was only $20 for half-day ski rental and I kept to the bunny hills with the boys so I didn't have to pay admission. I was kind of amused at how scared I was to ski. In the end, I had a lot of fun and didn't fall once, unlike my boy who, like with most sports, was on the ground more than up. But he always has more fun and beat me in every race.
I was in charge of sunscreen application.
When my clients asked for healing in heartfelt prayers that night, it was safe to say that I failed.
Saturday morning: watching conference in the hotel.
I've never seen E take notes so voraciously: he had turned it into a competition
On the way to conference
We stopped by Deseret Book where the boys scooted up to a front row seat for an Alex Boye concert. Then we enjoyed Very Berry Lion House Rolls in Temple Square.
Notice the extremists behind us. I'm not sure I've ever seen a rainbow mohawk on Temple Square before.
Can you tell they were starting to get on each other's nerves?
All was resolved with a little April Fools trick. I told the boys we were going to have a contest to see who could aim a coin into the center of the fountain. They had to put the coin at the top of their forehead and roll it down their nose, positioning their nose in just the right way. What they didn't know was that I had rubbed the rims of the coins with a pencil. Clayton won for the darkest line down his face. It stayed there all day.
The other competition that saved the day was resuming the note-taking contest. At the end of the session, when tallies were being taken and feelings were being hurt, Elijah changed the focus of the competition. He said, "We have 36 pages together, and Satan has 0."
Elijah wanted to start a new competition to see which country had the most missionaries serving in the Utah area. When he started striking up in Spanish, his cousins lost interest.
The awesome part was that we ran into the first Cuban missionary.
Museum of Church History
We ran into wonderful friends from the past: the Guevaras, Amy Porazzo (can't remember her married name), and of course Anna Nagel who came and hung out with us at the pool one night.
The 3 mornings we were there, my mom and I prepped for the day with exercise. The first morning, as I was on the treadmill, I saw a suit-wearing, suitcase-wielding unicyclist on his way to work. For some reason, he seemed to fit right in on the street of downtown SLC.
On Sunday morning, my mom and I snuck out and returned before the boys woke up. The city was beautiful, especially in the serenity before the storm of conference.
I never got a beautiful wedding picture in front of this historic temple.
So I got something better.
As you can see, all that yoga I did a few years ago really paid off.
The Capitol
At breakfast Sunday morning:
Me: Men unbutton their bottom coat button when they sit down.
E: But we aren't men. We are little boys and we make trouble like Chuckie and Donald Trump.
We watched the morning session in the Visitors Center.
Racking up the pages against Satan:
After seeing pictures of Elijah at conference on Saturday, David reprimanded me for not forcing Elijah to wear a tie.
On Sunday, I forced him.
Notice Clayton's hair. He reminded us several times of how good he looks: "Guys, who has the best hair?"
On the way to the airport, I recalled overhearing a call bt Jon and Clayton. He asked, "When did you feel the spirit?" We talked to the boys about this and they had some great answers.
