2016 :: week 42

October 9

Sunday evening we hosted a BYD (Bishop's Youth Discussion). Anthony shared some of his dating experiences and some suggestions to help make dating in the teen years more enjoyable. 1. Take your time, there is no rush to serious dating. Mosiah 4: 27 (And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength). 2. When you start dating date in groups. There is significantly less pressure. One-on-one dates are critical when you're looking to get married, but you aren't "playing for keeps" in high school. 3. Realize most people look back at themselves when they were a teenager and think, "Man, I was an idiot!" Don't put pressure on yourself to please other people when it comes to dating because everyone is figuring things out and probably doesn't know as much as they want you to think they do. The Church has given you great guidelines (For the Strength of Youth), but they aren't commandments. Please keep coming to church and taking the sacrament even if you go on a date before you're 16. :) 4. It is a good idea to go on group dates before college or a mission. Going on dates enables you to learn about the opposite sex and feel comfortable around them. 5. No Secrets! That doesn't mean you have to tell your parents about every crush, but problems and guilt fester in secrecy and loneliness. 6. It won't work out. Don't be discouraged by failure. Every dating relationship you have will end in some sort of failure until the one that doesn't. Bonus tip: Don't be coy with people that you like. Don't pretend you don't like people you do like. It's confusing and not worth the trouble. Anthony listed these ideas on the whiteboard. After the discussion while the youth and leaders were eating dessert Will took to the board and shared his thoughts. Apparently he thinks "Bishup is crazzy."

October 10

We painted the pumpkins we got at the KC Pumpkin Patch for FHE Monday night. Lauren had been begging to do this for days beforehand, but things just kept coming up. It was fun to see everybody's creative sides come out. Lauren painted a multi-colored witch, Will did a scary monster-bat, Anthony did a green and white Celtics basketball and I painted a face on the pumpkin that Lauren initially painted pink, then decided she wanted something different. Elliott supervised and played with paintbrushes and cups of water.

October 11

Elliott loves our vacuum. Our vacuum was out a lot Tuesday because I did a ton of cleaning in preparation to leave town Wednesday to go to Jill's wedding. I got so wrapped up in cleaning I put of packing until evening, which stressed me out a bit.

October 12

We spent most of Wednesday on the road. We left around 8am and drove 640 miles, arriving in Cheyenne, WY, at approximately 5pm. It was a relatively uneventful day. We listened to many podcasts, drew many pictures, watched many movies, requested many snacks and didn't make many stops.

October 13

We drove another 450 miles Wednesday and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley by midafternoon. We stopped and visited the Wilson fam in West Jordan and got to meet baby Mikey. All three kids were very excited to be out of the car. Will and Lauren ran around the Wilson's backyard and tried to play kickball.

October 14

Friday was a super busy day. I hit a personal record on my fitbit. We visited BYU campus, hiked the Y, ran some wedding errands then went to the BYU football game. One of the highlights of visiting campus was meeting Uncle Matt for lunch at the Cougareat. We saw quite a few people we knew (it was homecoming weekend), including a woman who had served as a missionary in our ward almost two years ago.

October 15

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding day for Jake and Jill. The weather was gorgeous, the kids were well-behaved and everything came together nicely. I love seeing my sister so happy and spending time with people I love.