Our Family Study Schedule for "Come, Follow Me"

"It's so open-ended! What do we do?"
Exasperated and bewildered, my husband and I were attempting to reach an agreement for how we would approach Sundays, Family Home Evening, and scripture study in 2019.
As we flipped through a copy of the New Testament manual for home, it felt like trying to draw a map through a cloud. We could do anything, anyway we wanted. What could be easier than knowing what we want? What could be harder?
It didn't help that the nebulous ideas forming in my head were at odds with those my wonderful husband came up with. With so few guidelines to default to, we had to have an actual discussion with listening, persuasion, and decision making.
As we looked through the manual, we realized there just weren't enough chapters and discussion points to play the one-a-day game like we've done through years of Book of Mormon study. What were we supposed to do? We didn't want to plow through it all on Sunday or Monday. How were they supposed to contribute to their Sunday school lessons six or seven days later?
We finally settled on a structured, yet flexible plan that covered Sundays, a Monday Family Home Evening, the assigned reading and discussions, and what to do on weeks where we finished the week's assignments before the week was done.

Our Family's "Come, Follow Me" Home Study Schedule

SUNDAY

• Share church discussions at home.
• Recognize and praise those who did personal study in the past week
• (Invite sharing from personal studies)
• Select what 4-year old Q will be taught this week, selecting junior resources as needed
• Select a scripture or song to practice daily this week
• Read aloud a story from The Friend
• Family Council
• (Some weeks we may play a game as a family)

MONDAY: FAMILY HOME EVENING

• Song
• Prayer
• Begin the week's reading and discussion
• Object Lesson or Special Activity
• Treat

TUESDAY AND ONWARD

• Read and discuss one section from the manual each day until the week's reading is complete
• Repeat the week's verse or sing the week's song

REMAINING DAYS

• Read aloud from any of the following:
• The Ensign
• General Conference talks
• Or study from
• Bible Dictionary or Topical Guide

What is your family's plan for the new year?

Philadelphia Open House

Cory and I have been wanting to take the children to a temple open house for ages, but there aren’t that many opportunities to do so on the East coast. When we heard about the open house in Philly, we were eager to try.

We drove up to Pennsylvania (well, New Jersey) on a Friday afternoon. The drive was surprisingly pleasant. We stayed at a hotel in New Jersey. Saturday morning we checked-out and drove the half hour to the temple in Philadelphia.

We parked in the garage under the temple, came up through the visitor’s center, and walked across the street to the beautiful red brick chapel. The chapel has its own courtyard, from which one can see the temple spires.

After a ten-minute video about temples, our group walked across the street. The shoe covers (which look like shower caps) were one-size-fits all, so we pocketed a set in case little Q wanted to be set down. Mothers with younger babies had them in baby carriers. Ah, those were the days.

In the entrance to the temple, behind the recommend desk, is a beautiful painting of Christ. The picture is “framed” with columns and a roof-like peak. In the ornamentation above the peak I saw two crossed quills. 

K commented to an usher on the "nice chandeliers" in the entry. The usher pointed to a painting, off to the side, of the Founding Fathers in (I think) Independence Hall. The chandelier in that painting was a near match to the ones in the temple entry.
The single painting and the carved quills, while subtle, were touching to me. They seemed a fitting tribute to the men who laid a foundation for religious freedom, displayed in a building that only exists thanks to religious freedom.
Most of the art in the temple was either of Christ or his creations (landscapes). In one stairwell is a large print of Christ with two native American girls.

As we walked through the temple, I noticed a lot of colonial inspiration: colonial-style dressers in one hall, sconces on walls that looked like old candle-holders, American cherry wood stair steps with a colonial-style (carpet) runner  running up them, and so forth.

There is a captivating mural in an instruction room. It was like playing I-spy with the children: do you see the bald eagle? The woodpeckers? The butterfly? I wished we could have stayed there longer.
The Celestial room is full of light, which is remarkable in such a big building with art glass--really the whole interior was full of light. Maybe all the lights were on, but there didn't seem to be a dark corner anywhere. Being with my husband and all my children in the Celestial room has been a dream of mine, although I'm not sure it counts during an open house. I hope they felt God's love for them. I looked down and realized S had a handful of Legos out on the area rug--he must have brought them in himself. I suspect that may be the only time that happens there. Little Q began testing the acoustics in the Celestial room, and Cory hurried him out.

My daughter had been waiting to see the bride’s room, where women can get ready for their special day with the help of her mother, sisters, or friends. I don’t think she was disappointed. The bride’s room was large and beautiful, with formal furnishings and a sparkling chandelier. The guide in that room said she would be married in five weeks in that temple, and she would get to come to this room on her special day to be “pampered.” 
The tour finished in a large sealing room, where couples get married and families sealed for all eternity. My children kept trying to see their reflection go on forever in the mirrors that face each other. It doesn't work that way. You can see your family go on forever, but you block your own view of yourself. There's probably a lesson there.

From the rooftop garden on the Visitor’s Center, there is a lovely view of the temple. I imagine this would be an ideal place to take family photos.

While we were in the city anyway, we headed over to see the Liberty Bell. Sadly, the all the tickets for Independence Hall were gone by the time we checked (shortly after noon on a Saturday), but we had a good time anyway, and the kids earned some history flashcards from a park ranger.

This fun picture (above) was actually taken in the Visitor's Center. It's way too crowded around the real bell to get a great shot without strangers in it. Well, maybe if you're there at opening you can. We weren't.

Coloring Journal for March 2016 LDS Women's Conference

Update: Click here for the September 2016 post. It has the new Primary Presidency, updated quotes, and a fun fall cover.

Ever since she turned 8, my daughter has struggled to enjoy the sessions of Women's Conference she gets to attend with me. Last fall, after using the General Conference Doodle Book made by the fabulous Jocelyn Christensen for the main sessions of conference, she said she wished there was such a thing for the Women's session.

      *Lightbulb!*

Below is the Coloring Journal I made especially for my daughter. She came home and saw it all spread across the kitchen table as I was struggling to finally finish it. She was really excited about it. Since I was really making this for her, that meant a lot to me.
That said, since I did go to hours and hours of work on this, since I have a blog anyway, I thought I would post it here for anyone who wants it.
Other Resources for the Women's Session
This journal is heavy on the coloring and light on the places to take notes.
This year Sugardoodle is including a couple pages for taking written notes specifically for the women's session in their April 2016 Conference Packet. So if you just want to write and aren't big on pictures, you may want to check out their packet.
If you want printable flashcards to get to know our women leaders, you can find those in the October 2015 Friend.

Sweetening Jacob 5

My children are gathered around the kitchen table, taking turns spinning plastic Easter eggs.
We just finished reading Jacob chapter 5 in one sitting, and had a surprisingly lovely time. So here I am sharing what we did, in the hopes that our experiences will be of use to someone else.
Before I begin, I would like to point out that my (reading) children range in age from 8 to (nearly) 13, and we came to this chapter on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. If you have younger children, children who can't really read yet, or approach this an hour after bedtime on a school night . . . you may need a miracle.

So, what did we do that worked?

• I pep-talked the kids into getting this done in one sitting
• We made it a special occasion with treats
• We discussed symbolism

Do it in one sitting
Now, the kids did groan a bit when they heard we were doing all 77 verses of Jacob 5 today.
"Do we have to do it all in one day?"
Now, there's a lot to be said for slow-and-steady. But there's also a lot to be said for weekend warriors and doing big projects in a concentrated burst of determination.
There's a lot to be said to breaking the scriptures into a certain number of pages per day, so each day the family spends an equal amount of time reading. I, however, hate to have my storyline interrupted mid-chapter. Nope. For me, it's a chapter a day. Even when that chapter is Jacob 5.
(In case you're wondering, it took us 40 minutes, including discussion time).

Make it a special occasion with treats
Now, to help this work, we make it a special occasion. I don't frequently mix scriptures and treats, but that's what really sells this chapter to my kids.
The first year we read Jacob 5, we had an unexpected box of cookies in the cupboard. I usually avoid pre-packaged cookies, so there was some novelty there. At each page turn, I walked around the table and set one small cookie next to each child.
Today, it was Easter candy.
Now, I feel a little guilty admitting that. Somehow, cookies seem less sugary than candy. Healthier. But it's that time of year, and I was surprised to receive several extra bags of candy after I had already purchased our family's Easter candy. And the kids were excited about it, which was more to the point.
Each child read a column. After they finished their column, M rolled an Easter egg with a few sweets in it to them. We went around the table counterclockwise several times. The last time around, I skipped my turn so each of the kids got an equal amount of sweets (at their request).

Discuss symbolism
After the first time around the table, when it was my turn, I paused and asked if anyone thought they knew what the vineyard represented.
"The Earth?" guessed S.
"Yes, the Earth, or the world."
Then I asked, "Who do you think is the Lord of the Vineyard?" We decided it was probably Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ. Then we went back to reading.
A few columns later, I asked who could guess what the olive tree represented. When I said it was the House of Israel, there was a loud, "Oh!" from one end of the table.
The kids started breaking in with their thoughts: could the servant of the vineyard be missionaries? Does this represent the Dark Ages? and so forth.

If you want help understanding the symbolism, the Book of Mormon Student Study Guide has a chart of suggestions. If you scroll to the bottom, there's a visual timeline of Jacob 5, that could be really useful, especially for visual learners.

Lego Temple Ideas and Photographs

It had been a while since the last time our family did some Sabbath bonding over Legos, and last week I kept thinking: this Sunday we will build Lego temples together.

I attempted Boston (its beautiful picture is in the nursery manual). My biggest regret was that I couldn't find enough translucent blue bricks for taller stained glass windows. I do, however, love the impressionistic cubist Angel Moroni up top, don't you?

 K began with an ambitious project that included a door that opened and a check-in desk, but never got finished.

 S started with a baptismal font on the base and built out from there. It has a post-apocalyptic look to it that is definitely not cannon, however.

 Ah, Seattle. A single spire and an evergreen. There's no way to imply the skinny stained glass arches down at this scale. Well, without pulling out the fine-point Sharpies, anyway. M and I did this one together.

 Somehow, smaller was easier.

And then, throwing attempts at replication to the wind, I pieced together a one-of-a-kind building that looks like it could be a temple. Someday.

Pinewood Derby 2016: Photography

Four photos to take at a Pinewood Derby

1. The row of cars parked and waiting their turn (I suggest doing an angle, not straight on)
2. Your child's car at the starting point 
3. Your child with his car
4. The cars zipping down the track

3 Auto Settings to use on a DSLR at a Pinewood Derby

In the past, one of the things that has bothered me most about the Pinewood Derby (and pack meetings in general) is the inability to take satisfactory photographs with either my phone or my point and click camera.

For Christmas, my husband gave me a Nikon D5500 digital SLR, which I took to try out at the Pinewood Derby.

Now, being able to manually adjust settings for amazing photographs is a wonderful feat, and something I enjoy playing around with when I have time. Zooming cars and rambunctious 8 year olds don't stay still long enough for me to do so. That's okay. Auto settings exist for a reason.

There are three camera auto settings I would recommend for this situation.

1. The first is the basic "AUTO," which is good for getting pictures of stationary cars (I think I might actually have taken those two photos in the child setting, described later, but AUTO would be slightly better). I liked getting them in a row (at an angle) and zooming in. In the photo above, I love how the cars in the foreground are nice and crisp, while those in the background are more blurred.

2. Next, go to SCENE and select CHILD

This variation on the auto setting is excellent with getting skin tones just right (something that's always so wrong in my previous gym photos). Under the assumption that kids move around a lot, the CHILD setting does bump up the ISO a little bit. Expect a little graininess.

3. The last picture I wanted was elusive: the cars racing down the track. It was so hard to hit the trigger at just the right moment. This one took several tries. I happened to use the SPORTS setting, under SCENES, had the button half-pressed before the cars started, and clicked the millisecond the front of the first car entered my view. This is what I got.

Sunday Journal

Today is my third (and possibly last, for now) Sunday journal post.
This morning started a little rough, with both Mommy and baby battling colds. We were late for Sacrament Meeting again. Arrgh. In a "What Lack I Yet?" moment, I realized that completely, 100% preparing my Sunday School and Relief Society lessons during the week, would make it easier for us to arrive when I plan to.
After church, Cory stayed for Choir practice. I had thought he might drop choir, since it looks like he won't be around for performances this year, but he says it helps him be spiritually ready to start the week.
On the drive home, the kids watched part of The Other Side of Heaven.
When we got home, M carried Baby Q inside (he was awake, having napped during church) and set a pot of water on the stove for lunch. We had Colby Jack Mac 'n Cheese, farmer's market salsa with leftover chips, and sliced apples for lunch. And water. Cory must have put water on the table, because I sure didn't.
After lunch, someone turned on the Wizard of Oz. Not exactly my idea of a Sunday movie, but I didn't stop it either. No one really sat down and watched it from beginning to end, but I think everyone enjoyed the nostalgia of it. S sat at the table folding tiny figures that represented various Harry Potter characters. I think M was reading in her room.

During part of the movie, Q cuddled with his dad, then he toddled around the living area, I suppose enjoying having everyone around.
T mixed up a batch of brownies. Cory gave the okay for a double batch, so we could take a few over to a family he home teaches this afternoon.
I curled up on the couch next to Cory and tried to sleep off my cold for a little bit. Not too long.

Remembering our discussion from last Sunday about purchasing gospel art to hang on our walls, Cory showed my a couple paintings of Jesus he found online that he liked.
After the brownies were out of the oven and the movie done, we told the kids we were going for a Sunday walk to "earn" our brownies and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. We saw a demolition site, a sick tree that had been chopped down, and some nice houses we live near (but not in). Baby Q did not fall asleep.

After eating brownies, T taught his dad how to play marbles (something they recently learned in Boy Scouts). Baby Q watched and was really excited about it.

Around 5:30, we got in the car to deliver brownies to a family in our ward. The Other Side of Heaven was still playing in the van, and the kids had a lot of questions (I guess it's been a long while since we've watched it before): what is lockjaw? Did he die? Is this real? Why did the 3 girls get on the big boat? M found the movie highly concerning and wanted it turned off. I guess the drama was too realistic for her. She doesn't mind fantasy drama, though. She just finished book 6 of Harry Potter. I don't think she even cried over Dumbledore. It probably helped that she heard that would happen.
When we got home, it was time for dinner. We made rice and sweet and sour meatballs, but let the kids all have a bowl of porridge (with their rice) after they had tasted a bite of the sweet and sour.
S practiced Primary songs on the piano: "Book of Mormon Stories" and "Follow the Prophet."
Then it was time for scriptures and 5 minute chores:

• K got living room
• T rinsed all the dishes I had put in the sink
• M did a bathroom check
• S did more of the living room

Snow Church (Sunday Journal)

I got the e-mail around nine o clock Saturday night: no church due to snow and freezing rain. Instead of staying up late to finish my Relief Society lesson on "What Lack I Yet?" I stayed up late mixing the dry ingredients for gingerbread pancakes.
Sunday morning, we let ourselves sleep in past seven. The kids were still awake, so I got ready for "church" right away, from my dangle earrings to my bow-toe ballet flats.
I put on my floral apron and made gingerbread pancakes with lemon-buttermilk syrup, while T took his dad for a walk to investigate the snow.

Over breakfast, the scientists in the family got into a discussion about how many states of matter there are. Turns out: seven, if you're including the hypothetical lab-produced states of matter.

After breakfast, we encouraged the children to clear their dishes and get dressed for the day. Two boys put on full suits, another stubbornly stayed in his pajamas.
When they heard we were having church at home, the kids got quite animated trying to plan it out:
"Where will we have sacrament meeting?"
"Can I be the Primary President?"
For church, we:
watched a general conference talk by President Uchtdorf (child still wearing pajamas disappeared during this portion and had a couple books confiscated for the remainder of the day)

practiced the Primary song for January 2016, with the CD
had a lesson from our "Primary President" out of the Behold Your Little Ones Manual, including a coloring page

Had three or four prayers and sang "I Am a Child of God" lots of times
Church lasted a whole hour and ten minutes. Since the pictures don't show any complaining or quarreling, we'll just pretend that part didn't happen, okay?
Well, after church, Cory offered to take the kids and theirs sleds to a small hill nearby before the snow melted. I was feeling doubtful about the Sabbath-appropriateness of this, but after spending five winters in a sub-tropical climate, the kids are really excited about snow, and  I didn't have it in me to object.
I stayed home with Baby Q. We cooked pork and egg drop soup. Four of the five kids loved it, and another said it made her feel queasy.

Recipe for Egg Drop Soup
Bring to a Boil:
6 cups broth (add 2 Tablespoons Better than Buillion to 6 cups water)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
Slowly whisk in an already beaten:
egg
Remove from heat. Allow to sit for one minute, then serve.

After lunch, Q took a nap, and S practiced "Book of Mormon Stories" on the piano. I ran the dishwasher and started rolls in the bread machine while Cory took a nap. By that time, I wasn't feeling well. Since Q was still sleeping, I thought I might try a nap myself. I had barely laid down when we heard him crying. Cory offered to get up with him, and I surprised myself by sleeping for an hour and a half.
I came down just as the bread machine was finishing, so I formed dinner rolls, talked with my husband, and wrote in my online journal. Cory put vegetable burgers on the griddle, and made a triple berry banana smoothie. I reheated the leftover apple celariac mash, and gave Baby Q a pickle to sample. He was much more accepting than last time.
After dinner, I got three of the children to do a five minute chore, then we gathered for Family Home Evening, part 1.

Opening Song: "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus"
Opening Prayer
Announcement: School tomorrow is on a two-hour delay
Lesson: I began explaining the scripture "line upon line, precept upon precept," then we talked about building with Legos. It would be hard to get a big Lego project, and only have the finished picture to look at, with all those little Legos in bags. I had K get up and explain how he had to do one little step at a time to build the space rover he got for Christmas.
I showed the picture of Christ with the rich young ruler, and summarized his story.
Then we briefly discussed the General Conference talk, "What Lack I Yet?" We challenged the children to pray about that tonight. I'm not sure that any of them did, but we tried to encourage it.

The kids are all in bed now.
It's weird. I expected it to be easier to have more family quality time today, since we wouldn't be spending three or more hours at church, but looking back on the day, it doesn't feel like that.

Sunday Journal

This is my first (hopefully not also my last) "Sunday Journal" post. In my attempts to make Sundays sacred, I thought it might help to keep a record of our family's attempts for a few weeks.

My day began at 5:15. I showered and attempted to finish my Gospel Doctrine (Sunday School) lesson before the children awoke. I ate a bowl of cereal with my husband before he left for his early meetings. 

I delay-started dinner roll dough in my bread machine to finish around when we got home.

We went to church.

During church, it started to snow. After delivering a Gospel Doctrine lesson from 1 Nephi 1-7, I spent  the Relief Society hour wandering the halls with Baby Q, who couldn't quite fall asleep for his nap. About ten minutes before the end of church, I decided we might as well go warm up the van and text daddy to send the older children out at the end of their meetings.

Baby Q fell asleep on the way home (hurray!) and Cory stayed for choir. The older children changed and were allowed to investigate the snow (a short-lived endeavor, as only a little was sticking), except for one child who was serving a time-out for the length of time he disappeared during Sacrament Meeting for.

While the children were occupied, I formed dinner rolls and started a meat loaf. 

Cory got home.

Lunch occurred around 1:30 (they were all starving!). We had French Green Beans with freshly grated Parmesan, meat loaf, macaroni and cheese (several children had asked for it) and mini-rolls with fig preserves.

While I was finishing some crepes (for later) and straightening the kitchen, Cory got the children playing a variation on the Animal Game in the living room (everyone had to choose an animal whose name started with an "R"). Then we all tried to play Chinese Checkers, which K had brought home from the free shelf at church. It was fun for a while, but the game took a lot longer to finish than any of us expected, and we had a number of deserters.

For afternoon snack, we had hot cocoa (which I had denied requests for right after church because I was afraid of spoiling appetites).

By then it was after 5, and Daddy-Cory pulled the Sunday nap card. Thankfully I didn't need one, because Baby Q obviously wasn't going to let both of us get one. The children were told they could either be quiet downstairs (where Curious George episodes would be allowed) or in their rooms. 

During nap time, I typed a lot of this post, played with Baby Q, listened to the first chapter in the new Howard W. Hunter manual (our family night lesson) while continuing to play with Baby Q, and played a game with S when he brought one in. Yes, it was a long nap.

Around 7 I preheated the oven and we began Family Home Evening, which consisted of a song, prayer, going over the calendar, and a very brief "lecture" about Howard W. Hunter and the basic gist of the chapter. A couple of the children were being grouchy, so I decided to change tactics.
"What can we do to make our home more Christ-centered?" I asked the two children who looked most cooperative. S suggested putting up word strips all over the house saying, "I Believe in Christ." K suggest putting up pictures of Jesus. That led to a discussion of whether people had favorite pictures of Jesus we might like to put up. K mentioned the "Second Coming" painting, which is also a favorite of mine, T went into the office and found a tiny "O Jerusalem" print that never got hung (well, at this house), S mentioned a print of Jesus with children that he had gotten from primary that we never hung, and I thumbed through our illustrated LDS hymnbook, hoping to find some other favorites (I love the one of Christ with the sparrows). Later in the evening, my husband and I had a brief discussion about budgeting for some large gospel art sometime soon.

We knelt for prayer, which closed that portion of Family Home Evening, doubled as dinner prayer, and tripled as bedtime prayer (it was a good prayer).

Dinner was mostly leftovers, followed by absolutely amazing banana chocolate crepes.

I dictated a 5-minute chore to each child (S picked up the baby toys, K and T each unloaded one rack of the dishwasher, and M cleared what was left on the table).

With the table clean, we sat down for our family scriptures (1 Nephi chapter 7).

As we were about to put the kids to bed (it was late for us--9), Cory's mom called, so I tried to send them upstairs and get them to brush their teeth (we had a couple ornery children last night).

Once he got off the phone, Cory turned on the audiobook in the hallway and took care of Baby Q while I did the dishes.

October 2015 General Conference Plan

I like a good plan. I love a great plan. Here is my plan for one of the most potentially fabulous (and often problematic) weekends of the year: October General Conference!
Fabulous because, wow, a modern-day prophet?!
Problematic because, convincing kids that it's inherently fabulous is neither inherent nor fabulous.
Did that make sense?

Preparation
Earlier in the week, print and assemble "General Conference Doodle Books 2015, Part 2." 
Arrange creative supplies in neat stacks in the closet or office, including: stacks of old church magazines, markers and colored pencils, pens, glue-sticks, scissors, Legos, Lego Idea Cards, etc.
Buy food.
Clean the house on Friday.
Put up fall decorations.

Please note that where we live, Conference begins at noon and 2 pm. Your mileage may vary.
Saturday
Morning: attend the birthday party for a four year old in our neighborhood. Eat lunch there and pray that it finishes in a timely manner.
First Session: Introduce the children to the "Creative Conference Corner" (kitchen table) with Doodle Books from Jocelyn Christensen, our special occasion coloring books, and fresh markers and colored pencils I bought during back-to-school sales.
Oh, and their vacuum thermoses filled with water, so they aren't wandering into the kitchen. It's hard for me to focus on anything when I know someone is creating unnecessary crumbs and dishes nearby.

Between Sessions: Encourage outdoor play. Tidy the "Creative Conference Corner."
Put canned soup  (Italian Wedding) in the slow-cooker on high.
Second Session: Set-out old church magazines, scissors, and glue-sticks. Encourage General Conference Collages. Also have the Doodle books and coloring supplies available.

Afternoon/Evening: Eat slow-cooker soup with a side of grilled cheese sandwiches. Encourage the 12 year old to dress for the Priesthood session.
Start overnight maple cinnamon rolls (recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction).

Sunday
Morning: Finish making overnight maple cinnamon rolls. Enjoy as a special breakfast. Take the kids on a nature walk, looking for the prettiest fallen leaves.
First Session: Set-out Legos and Lego Idea papers. Also have Doodle Books and coloring supplies available.

Between Sessions: Libby's Pumpkin Bread. We made this last year during fall General Conference, and it was wonderful. Allow the children to swing, just to get out of the house.
Final Session: Either set out play dough or printed quotes from the conference summaries that have happened so far, for them to decorate.
If you check lds.org, you should see a link for "talk summaries." Copy and paste your favorite quotes into a word document. I brought the margins in by half an inch on each side, centered the words, and increased the font size for the image below.
Sneak a lasagna in the oven so it finishes baking shortly after conference finishes.

Afternoon/Evening: Take the lasagna out of the oven. Put in Pillsbury French bread. After eating dinner, offer to play Apples to Apples, Jr. with the kids before bed.

Baby Ideas
At almost 10 months, I feel Baby Q is too young to appreciate the toddler conference activities I've seen (we'll reevaluate in six months), so my objective is to keep him happy and quiet as much as possible.
Before and between sessions, I'll try to give Baby Q some one-on-one play time, especially outdoors and active.
Remember meals and naps.
I think I'll assign one baby-helper per session (older sibling). We'll see how that goes.
I could take him out of the room during choir songs to read board books.
He loves a bottle filled with water. We can offer him that and his Cheerios snack container during sessions.

Pinewood Derby 2013

 Last night was the Pinewood Derby. Our house has been focused on it for the last two weeks. Every year the Scouts come to our garage to design their cars and have assistance with all the major cuts.
This has become an annual family project, with even M. and S. designing and painting their own cars. Cory builds them out of 2x4s and buys official BSA wheels at Michaels. After the official racing is done, there is a free for all race, where M. usually beats all the Cub Scouts with her pink car.
 Cory takes the cutting and shaping of the cars very seriously, but the kids design them and paint them themselves. I'm hoping next year K. and T. will be more involved in cutting, shaping, and sanding their cars.

 Our 2013 Models:

K. had a modern Batmobile. Cory added the weights on either side of the top, which gave it a very sleek look. 
T. designed and painted a comet. He was the 2nd fastest Cub Scout, and quite confident in his skills. "Watch and learn," he told the Scout leaders.

M. has a low, sleek vehicle. She wanted her Littlest Pet Shop figurine to ride in it, so Cory drilled a while big enough for it. Every time her car got to the end of the track, the raccoon-kitty flew out, which everyone thought was awesome.
S. requested a remora. We had to look that one up. It's a sucker fish that attaches to the bottom of sharks and sea turtles. The googly eyes took it to 11.