Tradition!!!

Much, much later I'm finally getting to our fun General Conference weekend. SO fun! Remember my major award? The cookbook that I got for entering a recipe? The one I submitted my families chinese dumpling recipe to? Well, in case you don't, we always have these yummy dumplings on General Conference weekend so I thought I should document it. Here some of them are before they were boiled. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. Strange, since I know in their uncooked state they would be completely disgusting and possibly dangerous. Anyone up for a mouthful of raw pork? Mmmmm, delish.

I really should make these every day of the week. I cannot think of another food that my whole family will eat happily and willingly. We always have at least one whiner in the bunch. Not so during this meal. They love it. Who knew that pork, ginger, and nappa cabbage could produce such happy little eaters? They clearly take after the Cantwell side of the family. I made them for the Greenway's once and they were not fans. Oh well, more for me.

So check out the kiddos. Proof that this is one meal I don't have to force feed to my children.

Nate - stuffing his face

Eli - Passionate as usual, what a nut.

Cecily - post meal, minus what she's saving on her cheeks for later.

Then, as tradition in our home dictates, I made cinnamon rolls when the kids went to bed and Adam was at Priesthood session. We eat them in Palmyra outside the sacred grove on Sunday morning. They weren't my favorite this year. Too rich for me. I hold all cinnamon rolls to a very high standard. My friend Kathleen served us cinnamon rolls many years ago and nothing I have ever produced has satisfied me since. I just keep trying.


Sometimes my kids worry me. We have done the same thing every General Conference weekend since we moved here and my kids are clueless every time. We bundle them up, put the cinnamon rolls and milk in the back of the car, and get on the thruway. We almost never go on the thruway unless we're going to Palmyra. We get the same questions every time. "Where are we going?" "Are we going to church?" (even though you can't even get to church that way AND we're wearing jeans and tennis shoes.) Poor things. Think they'll ever catch on? Me either.

So here we are in Palmyra. The first time we did this I almost lost my testimony, but not quite. You know how all the first vision pictures have tons of leaves in them? Well unless spring was in July, there warnt no leaves. Nevertheless, we had a lovely time as usual but didn't eat the cinnamon rolls there this time. We usually wander, eat, go home, watch conference. This time Eli had to go numero dos after the wander part. There were no open bathrooms, so our trip was shortened a tad. Oh well, no biggie. The sacred grove is really one of my favorite places to be no matter the time of year.

Here we are:


Doesn't Cecily look thrilled to pieces? She really did have fun. Promise. I bet she just feels it in her bones that she's not getting a cinnamon roll 'til we get home. I feel your pain, Cecily. Or, maybe she's just trying to be cool. I can't tell.

So, while these were not the most important parts of the weekend, they were fun and I'm glad we have these traditions. They give our kids something to look forward to...other than the eight hours of being reminded to be quiet. Baby steps to reverence.