Conference Weekend

I love conference weekend! I love being able to hear from the Lord's servants and his mouthpiece, President Monson. I have really been looking forward to conference for awhile and I just tried to soak in every talk. And this is the first time since I have lived up here that I haven't been to at least 1 session up at the conference center and even though I love the experience of being up in Salt Lake, I have to admit it was nice to stay home too. Sometimes you are in such a hurry to get there and leave and it was nice to relax and not be in such a rush. I loved all the talks and there was a definite theme of missionary work and unity and building Zion. I especially liked Elder Wirthlin's talk. I loved out he outlined 3 different ways to deal with trials: laugher, keeping an eternal vision, and the law of compensation. It was fantastic! And President Uchtdorf's on hope, and Elder Bednar's on prayer. Made me re-think and reflect on my own prayers. But I could go on and on as I am sure all of you can but it was great!

And I was able to go up to my Grandma's and spend time with her and watch some conference with her. And I got new running shoes while I was up there. I know, I know! I am pretty spoiled and I will be the first to admit that. But anyhow, it was like running on clouds Saturday morning. Amazing! I wondered where these shoes have been all my life.

So while I was up at my Grandma's, we went and ate at Arctic Circle because she really likes the dipped cones. That woman can sure eat dipped ice cream cones. She even finished mine for me. And then we went to bed early, woke up early, listened to conference, ate lunch, watched conference, took a nap and then made Grandma's famous Zucchini bread. And she is VERY specific on how she bakes and cooks. I try to help but end up stepping aside so I don't get in her way. But as I was saying...she is very specific and the picture above is a perfect example of that. She cooks the bread in waxed paper and then when it is right out of the oven, she peels it off with a knife VERY carefully and then lets it sit to cool off. But no wonder why my mom is such a good cook. She did learn from the best.

The brains behind it all...Isn't she just adorable! I love spending time with her and I know that her days are limited so I am trying to spend as much time with her as I can. But she is doing quite well for being 85! She is still walking every morning and gardens and knits and works in the temple. She is just a doll and I am so grateful for her. But here is the recipe because it is incredible. It's like candy.

Grandma Nelson's Famous Zucchini Bread:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups peeled, grated and chopped zuchhini
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup coconut
1 pkg butterscotch chips
a few drops of almond extract

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour for medium loaf and 1:15 for large loaf

Be sure to beat the 3 eggs thouroughly before adding the rest of the ingredients! Grandma prefers baking with waxed paper lined in the pans and then when still hot, gently peel the wax paper off the bread after done baking. Enjoy! Best served hot with vanilla ice cream.

And then Thursday night, we all went up to see Kelli's new aparment. So sticken cute! Makes me excited to hopefully move to Salt Lake when I graduate. And we had dinner at Melinda's and she made an awesome taco soup. Yum! And then we went and saw "Eagle Eye" It was intense and I highly recommend. Something you can see with a boyfriend or brothers and you can all enjoy it. So it was a pretty successful conference weekend I would say.