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At the end of September I flew back out to BYU to attend a conference for LDS lawyers. The conference, while inspiring and worthwhile in its own right, really served as a plausible excuse to visit Utah, attend General Conference, and see lots of family. Coming on the heels of a Goodwin-side reunion over the summer, you'd think that another trip out west would produce diminishing returns.

And you'd be very wrong. The trip was an almost endless string of uncommon pleasures, not least of which was the fellowship of good people, both new and familiar.

I have found my people in the J. Reuben Clark Law Society, surely one of the brightest and most faithful groups of saints to be had anywhere in the church. I came away from the two-day conference actually inspired about being a lawyer--no mean feat--and proud to be associated with such kind and dedicated men and women. The highlight of the conference was an early morning hike to sing hymns and watch the sunrise up at Stewart Falls.

Provo Canyon in the fall was more beautiful than I'd remembered. I've been away too long.

The other great feature of the trip was the opportunity to see so many uncles, aunts and cousins, some of whom I hadn't seen in the better part of a decade. My trip had the good fortune to coincide with a visit from my Mom, giving occasion for a Jan family mini-reunion with all the Broughs and Hsus.

[Pictured below: Jennifer, Brittany, Brian, Me, Jessica, Mish, and Jacob]

Cementing the trip as a Very Good Thing, I managed to snag tickets to two sessions of General Conference. A year ago Mish and I tried to get into conference on stand-by, but ended up in a wing of the conference center reserved for trouble-makers. This year we cleaned up our act and watched conference from the balcony. As usual, Mish was good, stoic company.

Saturday evening I managed to get a hold of my Uncle Bob between business trips, giving us the chance to catch up against the backdrop of Priesthood Session. I hadn't seen my uncle in almost twelve years, so it was very good to hear how he, my Aunt Liz, and all my Goodwin cousins were doing. Uncle Bob is my Dad's only sibling, so it was very good to see him.

I was only in town for about three days, but what a wonderful trip. A guy could get used to this.