If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you've no doubt noticed I have a thing for family sagas.  Give me a thick, juicy multi-generational tale and you won't see me for hours.  Stories like that just have it all—adventure, romance, mystery, suspense, etc.  Have you ever considered that these same elements exist in everyone's family?  That your own history may be just as exciting—perhaps even more so—than those you read about in books?  It's true.  With a little bit of digging, you can uncover remarkable stories about your own ancestors.  Better yet?  You can do it while sitting at home in your PJs.  Check out familysearch.org, a free, user-friendly site where you can build your family tree, search thousands of historical records, and collaborate with others to piece together the stories of your ancestors.

Don't be surprised if after running a few searches you find yourself completely addicted to researching your family history.  It's fun, fascinating stuff.  It can also be frustrating and, at some point, you will probably need some professional advice to help you flush out hard-to-find ancestors.  This is where conferences come in.  I attended RootsTech a couple years ago; it was helpful, but I actually learned more from the 2016 Conference on Family History & Genealogy at Brigham Young University, which I attended last week.  The annual event's smaller, more intimate setting kept me from feeling too overwhelmed, but I still came away from it with some great information and helpful hints and tools to use in my own research.

The conference stretched over four days and offered classes for genealogists at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.  A large variety of topics were discussed, including how to track immigrant ancestors across the pond, how to search un-indexed probate records, ways to do family history work on your phone/tablet, and different approaches to publishing your own story.  There was also a track for teens as well as one for those trying to complete ICAPGen requirements.  Classes were taught by genealogy professionals with years of experience.  I especially enjoyed classes taught by Michael Strauss, Lisa Louise Cooke, and Paul Milner.  The keynote addresses this year were also excellent.  Paul Cardall, a concert pianist with congenital heart disease, gave an inspiring talk about how researching his wife's roots in Slovenia changed his life.  Steve Rockwood, president/CEO of FamilySearch, also gave a touching presentation about making family history more accessible to people all over the globe.  "We are here to save families," he said, "and to save the family."

Conference attendees were reminded many times of the vital role that historical records play in family history research.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been engaged for many years in preserving and digitizing these valuable resources.  Despite long-term efforts to index millions of records (making them keyword searchable for FREE to anyone with an Internet connection), only about 30% of the records published on FamilySearch have been indexed.  That means there is much, much more to be done!  If you're not already in on the Church's online indexing effort, consider volunteering.  It's a fun, easy way to make sure records are preserved and can be easily found.  You don't have to be LDS to join in.  For more information, visit https://familysearch.org/indexing/

Thanks to BYU, my husband and I ("official conference bloggers") were able to lunch in the Morrison Center cafeteria every day.  When we were poor college students, we used to pool our pennies and buy ice cream sundaes there to share, so it was a blast from the past.  It also gave us the opportunity to get to know other attendees, like Diana and Nicole from the Family Locket (they have a fun book club feature you might want to check out).  We enjoyed swapping stories and family history tips with all our tablemates.

As you can tell, my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the conference this year.  We also had fun just being back on BYU campus, where we met each other as freshmen in 1994.  If you've never been to Provo, you're missing out.  It's a beautiful, family-friendly city surrounded by towering mountains.  Although my favorite time to be in Utah Valley is during the splendorous Fall season, summer is an excellent time to visit as well.  The nights cool off nicely, making the evenings perfect for enjoying a drive up the canyon, taking in a play at Sundance, or exploring the restaurants and shops downtown.  BYU is also a fun place to roam around.  It has a large family history center, free museums, a bowling alley, and, most important of all, the BYU Creamery.  I worked at the original Deseret Towers location for two years, so I can say with authority that it has the best ice cream in town (I recommend Pralines and Caramel and Bishop's Bash).

One word of warning: if you're planning to attend the conference next year (and you totally should), bring a seat cushion.  Your buns will thank you.  Also, if you're cruising up from Arizona, consider driving a convertible.  We traveled in my husband's Mini Cooper and had a blast zipping through the desert.  As we rounded both Mormon Lake and Jacob Lake, we got to inhale the most intoxicating elixir ever—pine mixed with rain—while blasts of cool wind ripped through our hair and our faces got misted with rain.  Pure heaven.

Many thanks to BYU and to Mormon Life Hacker for this fabulous opportunity.  We loved this year's informative, enjoyable conference.  We're looking forward to doing it again next year!

If you've been a blogger for any length of time, you've probably noticed the general decline in not just blog reading but also in blog commenting.  I still spend a sizable chunk of time doing both, but no one has ever accused me of keeping up with trends!  Megan over at Leafing Through Life is also sad that commenting has gone out of fashion.  In order to bring back the blog commenting love, she launched a little thing she calls Choose Your Own Comment Adventure.  To have an "adventure," you choose a book blog, read the most recent post, make a thoughtful comment, then click on the first commenter's link and head over to their blog.  Repeat the process until you've visited ten (or more) blogs.  I love this idea!  I've been meaning to go on an adventure of my own ever since Megan posted about her first one.  Now that she's provided a linky to join in the fun, I'm totally going for it!  Here's the journey I took around the book blogosphere today:

1.  Back to Books:  The first blog that showed up in my Bloglovin' list was this one, written by a Canadian book lover.  I've been visiting Nicola's blog off and on for years and have discovered lots of great books because of it.  Unfortunately, the book she most recently reviewed—Crazy Dead by Suzanne F. Kingsmill—doesn't sound like my cup of tea.  Nicola wasn't wild about it either.  She said the plot was a mess and the characters behaved in ways that just weren't believable.  Hate that!  I'll pass on this book, but I'll definitely return to Back to Books.

2.  Mystica/Musings from Sri Lanka:  Mystica was the first commenter on Nicola's post, so I headed over to her blog next.  She reviewed a book that sounds like the exact sort of read I would enjoy.  Still Mine by Amy Stuart is a mystery about a missing girl and an outsider who refuses to give up on finding her.  She says the book is descriptive, atmospheric, and twisty.  I added it to my Goodreads TBR list.  Can't wait to see what I think of it.

3.  Bermuda Onion:  This blogger has been around for a long time and is well known for her generous commenting.  It's no surprise that her blog came up.  I was intrigued by her Wondrous Wednesday post, highlighting words I'd never heard of.  I learned the definition of "ruminants" (gross!) and "coelacanth" (interesting!).

4.  The Book Sage:  The first comment on that post led me to a new-to-me blog.  Lloyd's most recent post was a recap of an author event he had attended.  Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing—which has been getting excellent reviews—is a local author.  Gyasi, who's originally from Ghana, sounds like a fascinating person.  Her book has been on my Goodreads TBR list for many weeks.

The first comment on this post was from Bermuda Onion, so I went back to my Bloglovin' list and started over, which led me to:

5.  Bart's Bookshelf:  This is another blog that I've been reading for years.  Darren reviews a lot of sci fi/fantasy and dystopian books and has provided me with some excellent reading recommendations in the past.  His newest review is lovely.  He talks about The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Milwood Hargrave, which, he says, is worth the buy just for its gorgeous writing.  However, he insists readers should get themselves a paper copy because the book itself is so beautiful.  Verdict?  Sold.

6.  The Written Word:  The first commenter on that post was Kailana, another Canadian book blogger.  Her most recent post was a "week in review" summary.  Her loved ones have been sick, so it's been a bit of a rough one for her.  On the bright side, she's reading two books that I enjoyed:  Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and The Cutting Season by Attica Locke.  She also posted some gorgeous scenic shots that she took.  Very impressive.

7.  I Wish I Lived in a Library:  Kailana's first commenter was Katherine P, whose blog I visit frequently.  Her most recent post is a review of An Address to Die For by Mary Feliz.  The book revolves around a professional organizer who is moving into a new house.  When she drives up, she's shocked to see that the home is in terrible disrepair.  Even more disconcerting is the dead body in the basement.  The plot sounds similar to The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves.  I enjoyed that one and am quite sure I'll dig this one as well.

8.  Quinn's Book Nook:  That post led me to Quinn's review of P.S. I Like You, a new YA romance by Kasie West.  Quinn said it took her a little while to warm up to the characters in the book, but that she enjoyed it overall.  Like West's other books, it's a light, cute romance.  I enjoy West as well, so I'll check this one out soon.

9.  Nick and Nereyda's Infinite Booklist:  Quinn's commenter led me to another new-to-me blog.  The most recent post by N&N is a fun guide to their "Favorite Friends to More Romances."  I've only read 1 1/2 of the books on the list, so I got a lot of great recommendations on what to try next.

10.  Lekeisha the Book Nerd:  The last stop on my adventure was another new discovery for me.  Lekeisha's Waiting on Wednesday post featured The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis.  Like me, she's a fan of McGinnis' writing.  Even when she doesn't like one of the characters or plot devices in one of the author's books, Lekeisha said McGinnis' prose is always "on point."  I agree wholeheartedly.

Phew!  So, there you have it.  I had a fun commenting adventure, which led me to new blogs and back to old favorites that I hadn't visited in awhile.  Thanks for the inspiration, Megan!  If you'd like to join in the commenting fun, head over to Leafing Through Life and sign up.  I'd love to hear about the blogs you discover on your own journey.  Until then, happy commenting!