Time Out for Women

I just got back last night from my first Time Out For Women by Deseret Book. It was awesome! There were so many inspiring talks and perforformances. I drove our van down with Mom, Lil, Nina, Marianne and Debbie Blake. The rest of the girls in this picture rode down in another van (Cindy McWhorter, Cindy Bissell, Cathy Priest, Caron Beeckel and Rachel).

We were able to hear the following speakers/musicians:

• Jenny Oaks Baker (violinist)
• Virginia Hinckley Pearce
• Hilary Weeks (singer, pianist)
• S. Michael Wilcox
• Emily Watts
• Merilee Boyack
• MaryEllen Edmunds
• Mariama Kallon

It was such an amazing weekend! My favorite presenter was Mariama Kallon. Her story is just incredible. Even after traumatic experiences in Africa, she is able to have joy and a strong testimony. I liked hearing both of the musicians, although I probably enjoyed the violin more than most people there since I play. I'll definitely be going to the next one they offer here in the northeast!

Pics from the weekend

Megan and Nathan with Uncle Matt

Bonnie and Joe

Dan with his cousins Mark and Jen

Nathan, Dan and Megan at the reception

Busy Weekend

We had such a busy and fun weekend. On Thursday night, Dan picked up Megan. She came to school with Nathan and I the next day. It was fun introducing her to everyone. On Saturday morning we headed down to Vermont for Dan's cousin Bonnie's wedding. It was so nice to just spend time as a family. We had plenty of time to just talk on the way down because it was about a 3 1/2 hour drive. We laughed and talked, played a game, listened to music, etc. The game we played involved counting cows (and we added horses, too) on our side of the road. If we passed a cemetary, though, it wiped out all of our cows and we were back to zero. Nathan and Dan got up to sixty something, and got wiped out. Megan and I got up to fifty something before we saw a cemetary. Dan and Nathan ended up winning with only 4 cows. Anyway, it was a fun way to spend the time.

Dan was able to see some family members on his mom's side of the family that he hadn't seen in years. That was really neat for him. He saw a cousin that he hadn't seen in about 30 years. It was nice to celebrate with Bonnie and Joe. They were so happy.

After the wedding and reception we went back to the motel and used the hot tub and pool. Well, I used the hot tub, and the kids used both. It was actually quite cool out and the pool was not very warm. The hot tub was perfect because it wasn't really that hot. It was the perfect temperature. Lovely! The kids had a blast going back and forth between the pool and hot tub, acting like the change in temperature didn't bother them a bit. It was fun to see them having so much fun.

On Sunday morning we went to sacrament meeting in the Montpelier ward. Then we changed into our regular clothes and headed to the Cabot Factory. We had been there years earlier, but Nathan was too little to remember it. We took a tour, which was really interesting, and sampled lots of cheeses. Then we headed back to Maine. When we got home, we ran inside just quick enough for Megan to grab her stuff and we went right over to Steve and Lil's for a Cooper get together. Dan's brother Matt was here from Utah and we all wanted to see him before he left. It was fun to visit with him and everyone else, too.

LONG, HOT week!

This was the hottest, longest week I've ever had. The heat in the upstairs classrooms at OES were absolutely stifling. I'm so glad it's over. I'm ready for some September weather. Bring it on!