Things have become really busy as we get prepared for Youth Conference.  we are hoping that we and the kids in our YC family are prepared.  The BoM YC will be very different this year.  they have tried to simplify it and take out many of the activities that made the youth uncomfortable in the past.  We have another week to get ready.  Tiffany and I put together a basic plan for our activities.  I hope they come together well.  in the past we tried to provide a benefit, create opportunities for the Spirit and then just the the Spirit work on the youth.  I struggle to sleep in a tent which is unfortunate becasue I love the outdoors.  I love the mountains but I think the cabin has made me soft.  I think the main reason I dread a Scoutmaster calling to because I would be required to camp so often.

Father's day was great.  these and kids and Tiffany do a great job in making me feel special.  They got me some wonderful gifts.  They gave me a puzzle of the BYU Football stadium, a few crafts, Hyrum gave me a mug that he wrote on, and Tiffany made up the wall in the masement with the pictures of the teams I have coached.  It was a good day.  We did not do much.

These kids are growing up too fast.  With emma going into the 9th grade and Mari starting school I wonder if I'm ready to transition into the next phase of parenting.  I really love having young kids in the home.  Mari loves to cuddle which helps me squeeze out every last bit of this stage that I can.  I'm glad these kids are part of our family.  I cut Hyrum's hair today.  Tiffany lets be buzz his head in the Summer.  He asked that we put an Airbender arrow in his arrow.  I did my best.  We will buzz his had completely before Sunday but for a week he is an Airbender.

We took Mom and Dad and Grandmother out to dinner tonight at Johnnie Carino's.  We were a month late in celebrating Dad's birthday.  It is great to be able to spend some time with them.  The waiter tried to make a connection with Hyrum and let him order some interesting combination of italian sodas.  I think hyrum will be sick.  He has already stated that he is not feeling good.  He drank about 6 glasses and most of them were combinations that should have gone together.

We had to go buy a new cellphone today.  Emma dropped the home phone in a cup of soup.  Luckily Tiffany was able to find a used cellphone for cheap.  It was going to cost around $400 for a new phone but Tiffany found one for $30.  She can always find a bargain.

Gave Tiffany a blessing tonight.  She has been concerned about a few things.  What employment she should consider, how to help her Mom with her troubles, and a few other things.  It is always a wonderful experience to be able to provide that benefit for her.  We did the blessing after the kids ahd gone to bed.  Mari was having a hrd time sleeping.  She took a nap during our family movie tonight.  I introduced the kids to Rudy.  Mari was struggling to get to sleep so we watcj Phineas and Ferb on Netflix using the laptop.  She is now in bed doing well.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Int he Celestial room at the temple Adam mentioned a letter I sent to him when I was serving a mission.  He said it was 5 pages long.  I hope it was something good.  He seemed to think it was good and worthwhile.  I'm confident he will be a great missionary.

We have had a really fun weekend so far.  A bit of a rough week at work.  Not a lot going on that can be measured.  that doesn't matter now because the week has been great.  Adam took his Endowment out yesterday at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.  He seemed really excited to be starting the process to go on a mission.  He will have his farewell talk at the end of the month.  It has been fun to see the his progress as he begins to focus on leaving for the MTC.  We had Mom and Dad, Grandmother Mildred, Mark and Kim and than Tiffany and I.  There is always a special spirit at a live Endowment of someone I know.  Wondering hpw they are taking it all in. Afterwards we took pictures.  Mom and Dad took Grandmother, Tiffany and I to Dickey's BBQ.  It was really nice.  i have felt like I have not been getting equal time with them when compared to my siblings.  it was fun to have one on one time with them. 

This morning was cabin work day.  We did the normal shoveling rocks for the roads.  Dad likes to go to the cabin work days in June and august even though we are only required to go to one of them.  i think this comes from his being the President of the Association years ago.  I was planning on going with Dad but the rest of the family decided they wanted to come.  We had not yet opened the cabin for they er so there was a lot of cleaning that needed to be done.  Keith came too.  He is consistent in coming to at least of the work days.  The girls cleaned the cabin while the guys shoveled rocks.  We did not stay after the work was done because we needed to get of the mountain for one of hyrum's Rugby matches.  They have these really neat blue and orange jerseys.  Hyrum fills out the jersey very well.  he looks like a rugby player.  The kids did very well.  We need to share the ball more but I'm sure they will figure it out.  hyrum came very close to a try.  He has had a growth spurt lately and has found it hard to run at full speed.  He did very well.  It was a fun experience.  We played AJ's Alpine team.  They are a lot smaller than our boys.  We have more 8 year olds and they are playing with 7 year olds.  We played them twice and beat them both times.  It was fun and very hot.  There are not many teams at this age group so we play the same teams every week.  Tonight we went to the Bailey's and had a BBQ they called a Meat Fest.  We had these when we were in the Bishopric.  We would have the Bishopric over and everyone would bring their best BBQ.  it is always good food.  We brought pulled pork which I did not think was very good.  It was leftover from emma's end of year party.  we normally try to do something fancy but we did not have time due to the days activities.  Everyone seems to enjoy it.  we had chicken, pork ribs, brisket, steak, and lot of other non meat products.  this time around we had the current Bishopric come too.  We are starting a new tradition in having these meals at least 3 times a year.  It is always fun to get together with the guys.  Russ Young reminded me of one of their families favorite moments from the Mindi Meadows Ward.  hyrum has liked to give his testimony during Fast Sundays and one of his earlier testimonies focused on trying to be a good boy.  the exact words he spoke, that the Youngs love, is "Don't hit, don't hit, don't throw.  in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."  We had been trying to help him remember to not hit his sisters and not to throw balls in the house and it came out during his testimony.  there are many experiences like that with hyrum and testimonies.  He used to give testimonies that were hilarious.  it was a challenge to keep a straight face on the stand while he was giving his testimony.  he has been a bit more focused on his testimony delivery.  Tomorrow should be a normal Sunday.  Meeting, a good meal, and a family movie.