Follow up on the trip/conference

Well, greetings all! I hope you all are doing well. I am ok. I am still a little tired from my trip to the conference and I just got over allergies, still got a cough, but otherwise I am peppy.
We (my mom & dad & I) decided, before I went to the big conference, that it would be best if I did not go to the second conference after it, so I am not all booked up as I was expecting…which is perfectly fine with me!
So I have been busy catching up with things around here and preparing to do some gardening and yard work…otherwise I feel useless…sort of…oh anyway.
I had a great time at the conference! I got to go to a Cabala’s store for the first time! That was tons of fun; though the kids in the family that I went with did not think as I did because they make the stop every year and they spend hours in it- which was great for me! I got a very good preview of the store, but still didn’t get all the way through it! They had lots of taxidermy animals in there that were totally awesome! Anything from elephants to bears and chipmunks to lions you name it! They even had an aquarium with the largest fish I have ever seen! One of the catfish were as big as me! Now granted, I aren’t real tall, but I aren’t short either (sorry for the lack of grammar there). It was totally awesome! They even had a shooting gallery that was huge! It was really fun! And their fudge! Oh their beautiful, wonderful, sugary, chocolatey, smooth fudge! Makes the world go round I tell ya! (not really, but ya get the point)
I got some awesome pictures of the animals. Some of them look like I was right up there with a real animal! I got one of a lion and it looks like he is charging me! They are awesome! I had to get in some pretty crazy positions to get pictures like that, but it was worth it! I shall have to post some on here sometime…just for you!
Well, we got to the conference area at 1:00 am…and we unloaded the trailer and everything and went to bed. I can’t remember what time we got up, but it was considered late. However, it was not a big deal because that day was a play/rest day for the travelers before the week long conference started, sooooo…we went scootering!!! Oh we went crazy! R.S. and I pulled off some pretty crazy stunts a couple of times on those scooters to the point of near death!!! Well, not that close, but we would have been in need of stitches if we had crashed a few of the times no doubt! It was great; though I don’t think I want to try flying off a bridge again for a while…that is a long story of which I would love to tell you, but time and space does not permit me too…nor dignity…
Well, the next day was busy as I had to go back and forth to classes and choir and what not and I found it a great priority on my mind to keep my eye out for cameras…mostly video cameras. I don’t want to be on video unless I am called to become a movie star… period. And this was what I spent almost all my time doing; walking to classes (I estimate that I was walking a minimum of 2 1/12 miles a day), helping the B. family whenever possible and watching for video cameras…
Choir was cool (as usual), but terrible! It seemed like there were thousands of giddy girls there at choir that a bullfrog could have out sang! A lot of them didn’t even try to sing! It was really starting to irritate me (and the choir master) and I could not guess why on earth they wanted to be in choir until I over heard some of them talking…they were hoping to be on TV! How stupid is that! You are supposed to sing for the LORD, not the camera man or the stupid TV! Ugg, it was disgusting. It also did not help matters when this one guy that was signed up as a camera man told me that he would be sure to pick me out in choir and close up on me with the camera…fortunately, he could not find me; lucky for him he didn’t…
Anyway, I learned a lot of wonderful stuff there and I am still in the process of regurgitating it all to my family and I lost five pounds in the process...whoohoo. Bleh. My mom lost five pounds just sitting around eating brownies…grrrr. Oh well! I also got to meet some old friends and get reacquainted with them again…one of them anyway.
The trip home from the conference was interesting as well (I rode home with a different family that time). It did not seem so long for some reason…hmm…anyway, the main thing that was super exciting on that trip was the- uhhh- slight little- ummm- well, little fender bender accident that we had…now don’t freak out like some people did when I told them…ok, I am still alive and well, and nobody got hurt. So don’t pass out in front of the computer, ok? Anyways, our vehicle went undamaged, but the other people had a big ding behind their back tire; that’s all. All the little kids in our vehicle kind a went crazy after it happened and some of them got pretty scared (talk about post panic! Whew!), but everyone was ok afterward.
Also on the trip home, we stopped at Cabalas again…which was fun, but we did not get to stay for very long, just long enough for me to take the kids around and show them most of the cool sights.
I had a wonderful time with the family. When it got dark and we were still driving we decided to sing songs, which was really fun.
My parents came and picked me up from that family’s house that night and I just rattled on and on the whole way home about the wonderful time that I had.
I was very glad to sleep in my own bed that night…I enjoyed sleeping in a tent and in the dorm, but there is just something about coming home and sleeping in your own bed.
Needless to say, I spent the most of the next day in bed with a sore, runny nose and stopped up throat from all the flowers that were blooming…
And you wanna know something weird? Well, I suppose that it is not real weird, but: I hardly missed my book at all…I was too busy to miss it. Ha- ha! That’s funny…well, you may not think that it is funny, but I think it is!
So anyway, I had a great time going down there and spending a lot of time with the family that took me, I had a great time while I was there, I had a great time coming back and spending time with the family that brought me back, and I have had a great time retelling my great times…and I am glad to be feeding the geese again and putting my book characters through more torture…mwhahahah!
I want to give a special thanks to the S. family for taking me down there and providing me food and a great time and like nearly adopting me into their family (even though I am an insane nut!) and I want to give a special thanks to the B. family for bringing me back home and providing food and a great adventure on the way back and treating me as one of their family too!
I also want to thank my mom and dad for allowing me to go on this wonderful trip and for trying to provide as many opportunities for me as possible! Love Ya!
Sweetpea/Shieldmaiden
P.S.
Here are some pictures! Enjoy!