American Mothers National Conference

I got back from Disneyland in time to wash a few clothes, pack my bags, and head to Portland, OR for the National Conference of American Mothers. I went representing Utah as the Young Mother of the Year. I had so much fun!! Every mother should have the chance to go on a forced vacation for 4 days. We stayed at a really nice hotel and ate a lot of delicious food. I gave my speech "I am my Mother's
Garden" that I posted on this blog in February. It went well, I think. I liked listening to all the other speeches. Even though we all had the same topic, it was interesting that each talk was diverse and unique. I attended some amazing workshops that helped me learn better parenting skills. I ate some more. I went to training classes on the different parts of American Mothers. It really is an amazing organization. The more I learn about it, the more I want to be involved in it. I love that it is an interfaith, Christian organization. The motto is "Strengthening the moral and spiritual values of the family".
Thankfully, I am not the National Young Mother of the Year for this year. Her name is Kimberly Wright, from Nevada. She will do a great job. I don't know how she will travel around the country this year since she has 4 children. But she has a great husband and supportive family, so I am sure she will do great.
My favorite part was getting to know so many amazing women. I arrived there Wednesday night knowing two people there. I left on Saturday with 14 very close friends (the other Young Mothers from the other states) and many close acquaintances. Now I have friends all over the country. It's great.
I really didn't take pictures until Friday night and Saturday. I was too busy the other days. Lots of people took pictures throughout the week, so I am hoping to get copies. Here are some pictures of Portland. We went to the Rhodedundrum Gardens in Portland which were beautiful. We also got to go to the SAturday market and China town.