Yes, I have missed several days. Between getting ready to go and then being at the conference, I found myself not having enough energy to even take a few minutes to write the blog.
Monday and Tuesday were very busy. Monday was errand day and I was out doing a lot of running around, picking up what I needed and making sure everything was ready for me to go. Tuesday was laundry and packing.
Wednesday, we left around 7:15 to head to the airport. I got there in plenty of time and took off around 10:30. Bill drove on down to Florida. He spent the rest of the week with his sister Martha.
Vanett met me at the airport and we went to the hotel, got checked in and all. We met up with Joyce there. We walked across the street and got registered for the conference. Then we walked over to City Creek to get some lunch. We ate at Blue Lemon and it was really good. It was fun to see Joyce and to get a chance to get caught up in person. Eventually, we walked on over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where Joyce was to meet John. We enjoyed sitting in the lobby and talking for a little more. When Joyce and John had to leave, Vanett and I walked through Temple Square on our way back to the Marriott. It was remarkably warm - in the 60's all week. It was colder in Georgia and even Florida!
We then relaxed in the motel for a while, going over all the stuff for RootsTech and making final selections on the classes we planned to take. Then we went down to the hotel restaurant for a late snack - some appetizer type things that filled us up!
Thursday was the first day of the conference, starting with keynote speakers and then classes. It was a fun day. The day ended with a concert with Alex Boye and the One Voice Children's Choir. We had had a very nice catered type lunch as part of one of our classes, so we only wanted a light dinner. We ended up walking back to the Blue Lemon and having some avocado and spinach dip, which was so delicious! Then more planning in the hotel for the next day's classes, as well as reviewing everything we learned on Thursday.
Friday was pretty much a repeat of Thursday, with different speakers. Laura Bush was the main speaker and I really enjoyed her talk about how important the family is. The speaker before her was Josh Taylor, who is one of the hosts on the TV shows, "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Genealogy Roadshow." We had another lunch class, but we still went out for dinner with some friends of Vanett. We ate at the garden restaurant at the top of the JS Building. Very enjoyable evening.
Saturday was the last day. The keynote speakers were A J Jacobs, an author and promoter of the Worldwide Family Reunion in June. The main speaker was Donnie Osmond, and again, I enjoyed his stories about family history and some of his ancestors. He even sang a little. Then we went to classes the rest of the day. Saturday afternoon was Family Discovery Day, so the number of attendees went from around 8,000 to 20,000. We attended the closing address of Elder Quenton L. Cooke, which was fun. He had his family with him. Then the closing entertainment was the cast of Studio C and David Archuleta. With that the conference was finished. We walked over to City Creek again and had a big, expensive dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse. Oh, so good!
Sunday it was up early to head to the airport and fly back home. Bill picked me up. It is good to be back home. I had a wonderful time at the conference and I learned a lot. I am hoping that I can bring some of that excitement back to my calling and share it with others. The counselor in the bishopric called later and asked me to speak at church next Sunday. So, I guess I will have a chance to share more about family history, since that is my topic!
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