Youth Conference!!!

So, this past weekend was the 2011 Youth Conference. It was in Norman, Oklahoma and we lived in the United States Postal Training Center. It was a REALLY nice place! The "food place" was (for those f you who have been) pretty much like the COB. It was AWESOME!! ) Youth Conference was fun, but also extremely stressful. So it started this past Thursday. On Thursday we went to 2 workshops and then we had rehearsal for a while. (Rehearsal because each stake has been working for the past like 3 months to learn dances and songs to perform in the Lloyd Nobel Center in front of the public.) And then we had dinner, then a DANCE! (it was a lame-o dance :(  )  And then a "devotional"/fireside and then went to bed. Then Friday, we got up and had to have breakfast and be ready with all of our stuff ready and then we left on busses (3 busses for about 1300 kids........)for the LNC for like HARDCORE rehearsal. We constantly went through the show until it started pretty much (at about 7:00 pm) then we finally got back to the "hotel" and about 10:00 and THEN there was a dance/after party for the cast (so everyone.) that ended at 1:00 a.m. and then there was A "DEVOTIONAL"/FIRESIDE!!!  so we ended up ( in my room at least) getting to bed at about 3:00- 3:30. And then we had to be up and have had breakfast and be ready for the day and be packed and sitting ready for a meeting by 10:00a.m Saturday morning....... I AM SO TIRED! I am running on about 5-6 hours of sleep right now! But here are links to the 2 dances I had to learn:

50's Swing Dance

Country Line Dance (watch the lady on the right. The girl on the left wasn't really doing it right.)

So, they were really fun and I got the line dance down pat, but the 50's i messed up on once. So, we had to sing a song at the VERY beginning and then we had to change into our 50's costume and then we went out and did it a while later and then we had to SPRINT to the changing rooms and change into our country costume and then we SPRINTED back out, and the only thing between our 2 dances was a guy singing "God Bless the USA" and a girl singing "Jesus take the wheel". IT WAS REALLY FUN but really kind of scary that I wouldn't change fast enough. But anyway, I will try and post a picture that Mom took of me in my 50's costume soon.

On Saturday, the last thing we did was have a stake testimony meeting. And it was REALLY good, but when it was over (we had had the closing song and prayer) the Stake President got up and said that as we were singing, he looked at EVERY single face in that room, and he could just tell by looking at our faces that "we are good." And then he said "I wish that the Spirit didn't tell me this, but during the prayer, the Holy Ghost hit me VERY strongly and told me that today, going home one of the cars is going to been in danger. It also told me that it is VITAL that the driver is NOT the only one awake. Because if everyone falls asleep then the driver will fall asleep as well." It was quite scary. You could really tell by his voice and by looking at his face, that he was truly concerned. And on the way home, we ALMOST got in a wreck. But, we didn't so, it is really weird to think "What if our car was the car that President Johnson was warned about??" Thank you to Heavenly Father for warning President Johnson and thank you to President Johnson for heeding that warning and warning us. I love Youth Conference!


So, today at church I had to talk about Youth Conference in Sacrament Meeting. It was really nerve racking!!  I talked about 2 things that I learned. 1) was the power of the Holy Ghost(from the above story) and 2) to always persevere with a good attitude. Because ever since we first practiced the dances and first sung the songs, up until the day of the pageant, I was thinking "We are all doomed and this is going to end in a train wreck and that is the end of it." But during the dress rehearsal I started REALLY getting excited. (Probably because of the poodle skirt! :) ) And it all turned out pretty much AWESOME!!! I loved it! Anyway, that is pretty much it! See ya!

Sorry, Alison, I stole this... but it is just so darn perfect!

This was one of the posts from Alison's blog that I was reading (sorry i read it so late Al. I was behind and I skipped to the Mexico ones and now I am going back to read before that. ) This is so true and it is said so perfectly.

Regina Spektor - Folding Chair (Album Version)

"I have a perfect body, though sometimes I forget.  I've got a perfect body because my eyelashes catch my sweat."

Every time I hear that line, I think about how profound it is.  I, too, have a perfect body, though sometimes I forget.  Sometimes people (including me) get caught up in thinking that having a perfect body means having the skinniest or the healthiest or the most in-shape or the prettiest body.  But how often am I thankful for the functions it performs perfectly every single day? 

I have a perfect body because I have two arms, two legs, ten fingers, and ten toes that all work.  So what if my toes are a different shape than most people's?  

I have a perfect body because my brain works.  What does it matter if I'm not the smartest person in the world?

I have a perfect body because I can do just about anything I want to do without having problems.  I may not be able to run from Kelli's house to the Smith Fieldhouse without walking, but I could if I trained myself to.

I can eat food, take nutrients from it, and get rid of the non-beneficial stuff.  So what if I weigh more than I sometimes wish?  

I have hair, and I like it.  Who cares if it's not always styled perfectly?    

I have a perfect body because I can paint my fingernails.  I can read.  I can drive.  I have ears to hold my glasses up and let me hear.  I can think.  I can sew.  I can walk.  I can run.  I can ride my bike.  I can talk.  I can breathe.  I can smell.  I can care.  I can do a lot of things because my body lets me.




I have a perfect body because my eyelashes catch my sweat.
      



Alison. I love you!