Everyone is in Salt Lake

Ok, maybe that isn’t entirely true (or true at all), but we did have a mini Sapporo Mission reunion last week! Oh, and I now live in Salt Lake City, by the way. I’m having a great time working for KSL news writing for their website (thanks Cait!). But more on that later.

I had perfect timing for my move, because last week my last companion Kise Shimai (now known by her first name, Airi) came out to Utah from Japan for Cooper Shimai’s wedding reception. It provided the perfect excuse for everyone to get together. We had lots of fun catching up while wandering Temple Square.

Most of our conversation may have been about deciding what to call each other – it is so weird to know each other so well, and yet not really know each other’s first names! During the mission we always just use Elder and Sister “last name,” so calling someone by their first name seemed super unnatural after a couple of years of that. The funniest was when Elder Hansen and Sister Cooper (see? Still can’t use first names) were going in for a light goodbye hug – while it was happening Elder Hatch called out “Hey Parker, let’s go” and Cooper Shimai was all “Who’s Parker?” and Elder Hansen said “that’s me” as they closed the hug. You probably had to be there, but I just about died laughing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was so great to see everyone again!

By the way, I find the fact that I haven’t blogged at all this month to be entirely shameful when I still have so much that I need to cover. I definitely started drafting a post on the back of a receipt… but then I lost it amid the moving mess that has settled on my desk. I think there’s some room for improvement.

*song = Savior, Redeemer of My Soul from my last mission concert. It’s a mission post, so a mission song is required, right? Plus, Budge Shimai’s voice is like warm butter that melts the soul. (Just don’t watch me. Much thanks)

General Conference!

Yesterday Amber and I had the fabulous opportunity to go to general conference at the actual conference center in Salt Lake City for the Saturday afternoon session, which was awesome because we got to be in the building where all of the apostles and such were speaking.

It was fun to get all dressed up and go there! Today I’m just watching on the couch in my pajamas (I have no intention of changing today). It’s great because conference really is beautiful no matter where you are. To tune into it you can go here.

Here are some pictures from yesterday’s fun:

 

 

We also ran into some friends there. A lot of BYU students sneak up there to try and get in since it’s so close.

We put the camera on timer to take pictures of the two of us together. At which point my hair really went out of its way to attack Amber.

Then it attacked me.

And then when the wind behaved Amber didn’t.

But don’t worry, we still got some good ones.

If you want to see more pictures of Amber and pretty things, click on the linkity below. (This is for you, mom)

General Conference April 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Song = Dare You to Move by Switchfoot. We may have listened to the A Walk to Remember soundtrack on the way back from Salt Lake. You can’t judge us because you know you loved that CD in middle school too.

Christmastime in Utah

I have no idea where I’ll be next year at this time, but I’m going to go ahead and assume I won’t be here. So I made a list of some things I’ll miss about the Christmas season in Utah.

#1 The lights at Temple Square. They’re just so beautiful! Annie and I went last weekend because it’s a requirement for this time of year. (We went on a big excursion that also included a basketball game, shopping and dinner. Such as that we almost missed the lights, even though that was the whole point of our trip haha)

#2 Christmas parties at The Daily Universe. (Plus every other obscure holiday we celebrate)

#3 Celebrations with fabulous friends. (Although I secretly hope they’ll all just come with me wherever I go)

General Conference and Life

When I was little, I loved General Conference purely because it meant sleeping in and staying home for one special Sunday every six months. There were good snacks and I got to stay in pajamas all day. What could be better?

With this week being General Conference weekend I couldn't help but reflect on how much my feelings toward it have evolved over the past few years.

(For those of my lovely friends who aren't members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, General Conference is a weekend every six months where the Prophet and other leaders of the church broadcast four sessions of meetings across the world with new guidance and advice for members. They show it on TV (thus the watching it in pajamas), in church buildings and online. I'm pretty sure I did a horrible job explaining that, so if you're lost or want to satisfy your curiousity you can probably find more information here)

I think the next stage involved me liking conference because it was something entertaining to listen to. General Conference seems to have a abundant wealth of awesome story tellers. They are even known to tell the occasional fantastic joke.

It's more recently that I think I've understood more of the real reason for conference -- to have questions answered and prepare yourself for the future. I really started to appreciate the information that was being presented, knowledge and advice that could help me in my life. A lot of times it can serve as a reality check for current trends, or a major source of strength and comfort. As I've finally come to realize this I've learned to love Conference so much more. It's such a beautiful thing, to know what Heavenly Father wants you to know directly from His leaders. I still love staying in my PJs, but that's more of a happy side benefit.

One thing I've always associated with General Conference, even though it's not necessarily directly related, is family. Even though I haven't been home for conference for the past few years, whenever it comes around I remember all the times we sat together on the couch and snacked while watching it, and I know that even though we're almost a thousand miles apart we're both experiencing the same thing at the same time and learning together. And, during conference you can always just feel the huge amount of love the apostles and other leaders have for us.

Basically, the moral of the story is that I love conference and can't wait for the next one to come around again in April.

This post is probably way deeper and more personal than I will ever go again, but after listening to Conference for the past two days I couldn't help but write about it. It's just too important to me. So thanks for bearing with me.

On top of the Conference Center with the Salt Lake Temple in the background. I totally lucked out and got to go to the Saturday session of conference in the Conference Center, where it is broadcast from. Annie got a knock on her door late Friday night asking if she wanted four extra tickets for the next morning and she offered one to me! I LOVE her.