Lake Powell + UAFCS Conference

This sink area was in our bedroom

Erin Holmes, Ashley Gibby, and Ashley Fraser

Ashely Fraser and Sarah Coyne on their evening ride

A wild ride

Lauren Barnes and Ashley LeBaron-Black

Ashley Fraser and Ashley Larsen Gibby

Dawna Baugh and I on the geriatric ride

Back of the boat. I went off the slide on the right

Lake Powell 2022. It was fantastic. The female faculty from the School of Family Life gathered on Natalie Hancock's parent's yacht at Lake Powell again and we had a great time. Last year, I was visiting faculty and had applied for my job and I was a bit awkward. I wanted the job and knew I had a pretty good chance, but it was still weird. This time I have the job and it made it way less awkward. Yay. 

Natalie and I drove down on Thursday after work. We finished class, then went grocery shopping for the trip. We got there around 10 pm. We really had a great talk going down there. We thoroughly enjoyed a quiet morning on Friday. The rest of the faculty didn't arrive until after lunch, so Natalie and I got some quiet lake time. I also got to go down the slide without anyone watching. It was fun. I went twice, but that was enough for me. 

Friday afternoon, many went out on wave runners. I had no desire to do that, so I hung out in the water. I actually got a place to sleep this year. Dawna and I shared a room. Dawna got the bed and I had the cuddy. It was very comfortable and I slept like a baby. Some women wanted to sleep outside. They liked it. I like a cozy bed. 

Your SFL Professors on the boat: Andrea Busby, me, Angela Bradford, Natalie (front row)
Dawna Baugh, Ashley Fraser, Ashley Gibby, Lauren Barnes (middle row)
Jocelyn Wikle, Ashley LeBaron-Black, Erin Holmes, Sarah Coyne (back row)

Saturday we watched the BYU football game. We lost. We went out on the boat. The first women on the tube had a really rough ride. Nobody else wanted to go until Dawna said she'd go if she got the geriatric ride. I agreed to join her. We had a blast. It was a mellow ride and fantastic. After that, many others went on the tube. I also went out on a paddle board with Jocelyn Wikle. She was so sweet. She asked a lot of questions about my path to BYU, my divorce, the kids, etc. I appreciate her asking. She said she really admired my hard work and resilience through the divorce. This trip allowed me some great conversations with some awesome women. Lauren Barnes made us a Biscoff cake. 

Many left Saturday night, others left Sunday morning. Natalie, Erin Holmes, and I were the lone 3 to close the boat. It was wonderful. Erin is the director of the School of Family Life. She is kind and smart. She is open to ideas and is committed to BYU and her testimony of Jesus Christ. I learned that she really likes to be in the water. It's so therapeutic for her. She and I spent some time in the water Sunday morning before cleaning and heading home. The drive home was great, too. She and Natalie and I had some great talks about work, students, life, etc. I really enjoyed my time. I really appreciate the Hancock's generosity in letting us use their space. 

Dawna received an award for years of service to the organization at our award's banquet

me, Dawna, and Natalie

The week after Lake Powell, BYU hosted the annual UAFCS conference. Dawna Baugh was in charge of the conference and I'm the president of the organization, so there was a lot to do. It is a lot of work to pull off a conference for over 100 participants. It went GREAT. Ben Bryner's brother, Jon, catered and the food was amazing. We had great classes. I taught a class on how to use an air fryer. Our keynote speaker was J Teresa Davis from BYU Multicultural Student Services. She shared some great thoughts on inclusion and standing up for others. Other classes included tours of Crumbl headquarters, tour of MF9 (company that helps entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition, including warehousing and shipping), and a walking tour of historic Provo homes. We had a class on textiles, a service project, a class on communication, and a class on interior design software. We got great feedback and I was really pleased with how it went. 

It was a TON OF WORK! I won't lie. I can't believe we did it. I will be working with my new colleague, Mary Lynn, to plan next year's conference. I'm excited to see what she comes up with. As long as it's not at BYU, it won't be a ton of work (I hope). I gave opening remarks and kept them brief. The theme was "We're Better Together." 

It's important that I'm involved in my professional organizations and it's a lot of work. Thank goodness for Dawna Baugh, Chad Gibbs, Natalie Hancock, Mary Lynn, and Troy Chilcott. They went above and beyond. I got to host a couple of teachers from St. George. I was happy to have them stay at my place, They were so kind to bring me gifts - not needed at all. 

It's over and that's all that matters now.