Time Out for Women

This was my fifth time to go to Deseret Book's Time Out for Women. What a special treat it is to attend these events. They give me such a spiritual boost. They also help me to reprioritize my life and set new goals. This year it was held in Sacramento on September 10-11 and the theme was "Infinite Hope." I was only able to attend the Friday session because of my race on Saturday. I was able to hear two of my favorite speakers, Ardeth Kapp and John Bytheway. Sister Kapp spoke about hope and how we should never lose it. She also quoted one of my very favorite scriptures, "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20) She explained that the verb "ask" appears in the scriptures more than anything else. We need to always be asking Heavenly Father to give us the faith, hope, and charity we need to get through life. John Bytheway said we should pray daily for the Holy Ghost to be with us. We should Appreciate all our spouse does and not Expect or Demand our spouse to do things. When we hear speakers speak we should remember not only what the speaker says, but the spirit we feel and the commitments we make. I was grateful I was able to be spiritually fed by another Time Out for Women. I was also thrilled that twenty sisters from our ward were able to attend this year's Time Out for Women. I hope each one of them had a wonderful experience. After the Friday night session, Regina and I were able to go out to the Spaghetti Factory with our husbands. I was excited to go to one of my favorite restaurants to carb up for my big day. It was so fun to go on a double date with the Reavills.

Kylie's Luau Party

Aloha! Kylie decided to have a luau party for her ninth birthday. Our friends, Jeff and Sherry Vail, made this amazing cake for her. They have become real experts in cake decorating and offered to share their talent. Kylie was so impressed with the cake and wrote them the most sincere thank you letter. The detail work is what is so amazing about the cake. Each flower is decorated with tiny detailing and the chocolate sea creatures were so adorable. The cake was both white and chocolate and tasted absolutely delicious!

All the girls looked adorable in their leis. What cute girls they are!

They had tons of fun playing in the pool.

Eating pizza was fun too!

We did a little hula dancing.

The party would not be complete without a pinata!

"Happy Ninth Birthday, Kylie!"

It's hard to believe my little girl is nine years old. She is growing up way too fast! Kylie is such a sweet and responsible girl. She does great in school and is such a gifted writer. I let her walk home from school every day and she loves being independent. She also loves to push herself to do her best and has already memorized all the Articles of Faith. She loves to help around the house and is so eager to please. Thank goodness she is still a little girl in some ways. She loves making clubhouses, playing with her Littlest Pet shop stuff, and imagining with stuffed animals. Kylie always says "I don't want to grow up. I want to stay your little girl forever." I wish she could stay my little girl forever!