SPARK!

I attended BYU Women’s Conference again this year with my good friend Ellen Riley from  Boston.

2013 BYU Women’s Conference

We joined about 17,000 other women for two days of guest speakers, great entertainment, service projects, and great companionship.

Session in Marriott Center

Thousands of Women in the Marriott Center for Women’s Conference.

Women’s Conference is a happening and this car seemed to say it all:

Car in parking lot of Women’s Conference.

Women’s Conference is a yearly happening for many women.

Program from Women’s Conference:

It seemed this year I connected with lots of people; i.e. a general session speaker Kevin Worthen (friend of my brother growing up) from Price, Utah- we grabbed good seats for this session and went up after to say “hello”;

Best Seats in the house for this session.

Or a presenter in one class Carol Mikita, mother of my daughter Becca’s good friend Jen Bennion:

Class: “It Is for You . . . to Lead the World and toLead Especially the Women of the World”(President Joseph F. Smith)

President Joseph F. Smith encouraged sisters in Relief Society to lead the “women of the world, in everything thatis praise-worthy, everything that is God-like, everythingthat is uplifting and that is purifying to the children of men.” As women of God, we can lead by lifting in our spheres of infuence in our homes, the Church, ourcommunities, and work. What qualities and attributeshelp us to be effective leaders? How can we maintain ourdivinely given female natures, be distinct and different inhappy ways, and also be infuential and effective?

• Carole Mikita —Wife, mother; senior reporter for religionand the arts, KSL-TV; writes and produces documentariesthat air between general conference sessions

The weather was beautiful this year and the campus was beautiful as usual and of course the mountains-the glorious mountains.

Spring blooms.

Trees in bloom on BYU campus.

A later spring this year created beautiful color on the BYU campus.

The clean beautiful BYU campus.

Scenic view of BYU campus.

A view of my favorite mountain, Mount Timpanogos.

The mountains, the glorious mountains of Utah.

This year we stayed late to catch the evening entertainment:

Evening entertainment in the Marriott Center.

This year in addition to Women’s Conference we also visited

This is the Place Heritage Park

This is the Place Heritage Park

Step back in time and see the West as it was in the early settlement of Utah. Ride one of three trains, the Jupiter, Blackhawk or the 119, as they tour around the Park. Or enjoy a ride around the pond on the mini train. City kids will love riding ponies, meeting and petting farm animals and don’t forget to try your skill at milking Clara Bell the Cow.

Guests love panning for gold. There is no excitement quite like finding a shiny nugget hiding amongst the silt and sand. “Set sail” on the Ship Brooklyn, a one-sixth replica of the original that tells the story of the expedition of pioneers who sailed from New York Harbor over 24,000 miles in search of a new home in the West.

Visit the Native American Village, which celebrates Utah’s heritage before the arrival of the settlers. Authentic Navajo Hogan’s and Shoshone teepees stand in a quiet circle on the hillside. Grind corn and make arrowhead necklaces.

Interact with a blacksmith, tinsmith, and saddle maker and don’t forget to purchase some snake oil from Dr. Quackenbush! Try your hand at some old-fashioned pioneer chores, or at spinning and carding wool. And there’s endless old-fashioned fun from the bucket brigade to the Candy Cannon that shoots salt-water taffy during special events. The streets are alive with a variety of musical performers, and be on the lookout for a train robbery!

Brand new Summer 2013 is Irrigation Station splash pad! Cool off and learn why the Salt Lake Valley “blossomed as a rose!”

The Gift Shop at the Visitor Center is one of the premier destination shopping experiences in Salt Lake City. And theZCMI Mercantile is filled with sweets from yesteryear and loads of goodies. Huntsman Hotel is home to Hires Big H products, there’s an old fashioned ice cream shop with soft serve and flavor burst cones, and Brigham’s Donuts are cooked fresh everyday! A little bit of sugary heaven!

Visit the Mormon Battalion Museum, The Stoddard Gallery and see the iconic Monument that was erected under the supervision of a committee composed of Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish and Latter-day Saint representatives. Visit the Walk of Pioneer Faiths honoring early religious groups and leaders who contributed to the religious diversity of our great community.

I think we visited just about every building in the park: