Sister conference

President and Sister Stoker decided it would be a good idea to have a conference just for the Sisters of the mission:) We had some fantastic speakers and then a fabulous lunch made by a french chef! Afterward the young Sisters divided up and had classes on jewelry making, hair and makeup. It was a great time had by all. My old Homemaking skills came in handy when Sister Mooney and I were asked to create table decorations. I even got the sewing machine out!

Gator rides:)

Sometimes, now that it is getting warm, we will spend late Sunday afternoon exploring the beautiful woods on the propery. It is so amazing to see the giant trees and hear all the birds. You can get a real sense of what it was like when the Prophet Joseph went to the woods and prayed.

MAPLE SYRUP

 We went to the Goodrich's maple farm. He is a member of the Mission Presidency. They have thousands of acres of woods and they tap all the maple trees. It comes in through miles of plastic lines to holding tanks. They cook it in this giant stainless machine. They have to cook it within 24 or so hours after taking it from the trees so they are cooking for about 3 weeks straight. It takes 40 gallons of maple juice to make one gallon of maple syrup. Thats why they charge between 40-50 dollars a gallon!
 They keep a record of their season by putting a little sample of syrup from each day in a little bottle. They had them lined up in the window. The colors were so pretty. It gets darker as the season ends and when it gets too hot it goes bitter and the season is over.
 This is a tree with a buckets attached. That's how the little farmers do it.
A maple farmer will let you know right up front that what you get in the store, that is labeled maple syrup doesn't have one ounce of maple in it, only flavoring!

SWINGING IN THE TREES

We have spent a lot of our time in the last few months taking down the Christmas lights. We have been "certified" to run, operate and "swing" from the 80 foot lift they rent for the job. We get to wear these stylish harnesses, but I'm not going to lie even with them on, it can get a little scary when the wind blows:) I defiantly prefer the tractor lift! The last lights came down on the 6th of May and they were all put away for the season on May 12th.

Did I mention Elder Harman broke EVERY rule in the "what not to do" part of the Saftey training??:)