(199) RETREAT!!!!!

So, every 2 years, the stake Relief Society here holds a retreat at a beautiful place called Jackson's Mill. The women gather together for a little over 24 hours and participate in 3 separate programs, each with speakers and presentations, as well as a day of workshops. On Friday night, they have a pajama party and a service project. They feed us really good food and we get to sleep on rather uncomfortable little beds in a cozy little cabin. We get to meet new people and strengthen friendships. We get to get away from the daily grind for a few hours and be refreshed. And, most importantly, we are reminded of who we are: Daughters of God with the strength and courage to live strong and righteous in the last days. I love it.

This is my second time going to the retreat. Last time, Owyn was only 5 months old, so I brought her with me. This time, I was going to bring Lily, but at the last minute, Mike told me that I should go ahead and leave her with him too! So, I got to go alone...well, with Jeigh, but no kids!

I loved eating 3 meals without having to serve anybody else first!

The pajama party was a blast! We played lots of games and ate lots of unhealthy food. But, the best part, for Jeigh and I anyway, was the karaoke machine set up in the back corner of the room.

We kind of hogged it.

We played a game called "Face Dice" which was super fun! If you lose a round, the person next to you draws on your face.

Oh yeah! Good times. That is Jaime, by the way. She had more drawings on her face, but she wiped it off before I took the picture. And, um, I don't know why I'm making that weird face.

And, really, the very best part about the whole retreat was the workshops, all of which were very well presented and very empowering and uplifting. I attended one called "In Control of You" which talked about changing the way you react in relationships, especially marriage, to create a better environment and change destructive habits into uplifting habits. I also attended a Food Storage class. And, Jeigh gave a workshop called "Joyful in the Journey." She did an awesome job and I was truly, truly inspired.

Look how good she looks here!

That's my sister!

Anyway, it was a really, really, really nice weekend and I really needed it. I wish I could convey my thoughts and feelings about it better, but I don't think that is possible.

So, here are some more karaoke pictures:

Oh! I was called as a Stake Relief Society Specialist to help prepare for this retreat and my specific job was to create a craft that could be done there or passed out as a gift/reminder.

This is what I came up with:

These are necklace pendants made from flattened bottle caps.

Here's a close up.

The backs were a few different designs, so if the ladies didn't like cute sparklie polka dots, they could pick out something else. I was pretty proud of them. =)

K, I had a video to upload, but it didn't work and I need to go to bed. I'll try to upload it tomorrow. Oooh! Something to look forward to!