Girls Only, Please.

I am so proud of myself. I successfully, (I say successfully, because this was my first time being away from my hubby AND my girls for any extended amount of time) went on my first "girls only trip" to Women's Conference at BYU. It was amazing! We arrived Wednesday evening to Cheryl's lovely and gracious sister, Dolly and her husband Paul. We didn't stay with them, but opted to stay closer to campus in a hotel. Since we arrived late in the evening and knew we had an early morning, we hit the sheets and I think grabbed maybe 5 hours of sleep. Uh oh... not off to a good start. All night we could hear women giggling, talking and roaming the halls. If you've never stayed in a hotel which is pretty much stuffed to capacity with women, it's a real treat. ;) The morning started off early and we headed into campus and fought the car to car traffic of... yep, you know.... women. Thankfully Dolly had left earlier than us so we had good seats saved. The conference started off with Sheri Dew as the keynote speaker. Her message was clear, though-provoking and uplifting. She's a woman with great experience and wisdom. Then it was time to head off to our first class. Stacie and I stuck together and agreed upon a parenting for young mothers class. It was totally what I needed! It's funny how there can be a huge room filled with women (in this case mostly our same age) and you all take something different out of the same message. We then tried getting into another class, but since it was across campus, by time we got into line, we knew we weren't going to get in. So, we opted to take our lunch break and do a little campus shopping. Eating at the Cougar-Eat was like being back at BYU again. Except this time I knew I had a husband and two little munchkins at home. Weird. I can't explain. Upon browsing the bookstore, we landed on Chieko Okazaki signing books. I not only bought one, but I bought 4! They're going to make great mother's day gifts. We grabbed our last class of the day (which both Stacie and I conked out in... oops.) and then Elder and Sister Bateman closed off the day. That evening they had a concert which included Michael McLean, Kenneth Cope, Hilary Weeks, Jenny Jordan Frogley, Mercy Rive and Eclipse. It was AWESOME! Although, the site of 15,000+ women "jamming" out to LDS tunes is really something I'll never forget. ;) Since the night was late and the next morning early, we decided to skip the opening address and go straight to our first class at 11am. Sleeping in was much needed that day. We all attended a class on marriage followed by a class on how fear can hold us back given by John Bytheway and his mother. That was probably the most fave of this whole thing. The auditorium was PACKED because he's such a popular speaker. Afterwards he was out signing his books and CD's so we, of course, bought some more and had them signed. For any of you that want his talk, I'm getting it from him. I HIGHLY suggest it. To close the conference off, President Monson spoke to us. It was really exciting seeing him as our newest Prophet and hearing his counsel directly to us- the women of the church. The night ended with a trip to Dolly's day spa for some much needed massaging and dinner out. Saturday our day was pretty open except for the wedding of Jake's cousin, Nathan at the Salt Lake temple. Since we had the morning to "waste," and Cheryl "conveniently" forget her church clothes, we went to the Gateway mall in SLC. It's a great outdoor mall filled with really cool shops. THIS is where it gets exciting.... okay, here's my story... as Cheryl and I were inside a store looking around, Stacie and Dolly sat outside on a bench. As I was inside I could hear some whistling and just thought, "those crazy girls." THEN, in runs Stacie, I swear, half hyperventilating. She's like, "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah... guess who just walked by???" Ummm... let me guess... Okay... just tell me... DAVID BECKHAM!!! And NOT ONLY David Beckham, but the whole LA Galaxy Soccer team, which I hear are TOTALLY HOT. Now, this is where the story gets bad... I MISSED IT!!! Yep, this is something I'm having a hard time of letting go of. I don't consider myself a celebrity-loving person, but I do happen to love ONE celebrity, and yes, that IS David Beckham. HOTTIE!!! By the time I realized I couldn't go running out of the store like a 12-year old girl with an arm full of clothes, I had missed the opportunity. Ughhhh... and to make matters even worse, I didn't even buy a single thing. Lesson learned. Oh well. Off to the temple to forget about David and think about Jake. The sealing was beautiful, the couple in love and the picture opportunites amazing! Stacie and I were like little papparazos running around everywhere. Can you get arrested on temple grounds?!? We rounded out the evening with their wedding reception and a small family reunion of sorts with the extended Holland family. It was great. Sunday, I was starting to feel a bit anxious to return home and see my little ones. It was a wonderful, fulfilling trip and definitely filled my reserves for a while, which luckily, I find, need them. It seems my "little ones" reserved their fills for me to get home. Lucky me. Oh well, isn't that what a girls trip is all about?! Til next year...