Happy Father's Day

We had a full house tonight to celebrate the fathers in our family! Everyone was together except for Sage and Jason and Kona (we missed them!), so there was a lot going on! The weather was beautiful, and the grandchildren were running in and out all evening; they had great fun playing together. The grown-ups got to sit inside and chat, and it was wonderful—and a little crazy!

I showed you the briefcase cards I made for Sterling and the boys and the fathers in my life several weeks ago, but I thought I’d show you one photo of the finished projects. It was fun to get six such different-looking cards from one packet of Designer Series paper!

The boys all loved the cards—and they especially loved the beef jerky! That is a Father’s Day tradition for us, so they all knew what they were getting (no need to wrap the gift!). And they were looking forward to it. Gary West Jerky is the most delicious jerky I’ve ever tasted, but it’s kind of pricey, so we only splurge once a year.

So even though it’s late, I do want to say Happy Father’s Day to any demonstrators who are fathers—or any other father who happens to read this post! You’re amazing people, and we couldn’t live without you!

Back from Monaco

Just got back today from our first-ever Europe incentive trip (to Monaco), and I am forcing myself to stay awake for a little while tonight, so I can adjust to the time change. I’m struggling because I’ve had about 5 hours of sleep in the last two days, but I’m pretty sure that blogging about the trip will be a wonderful way to pass the next hour or so!

First, can I just say that Monaco is absolutely gorgeous! We’ve never been there before, and Sterling—who doesn’t really like traveling much, although he’s been a great sport to go with me on many Stampin’ Up! trips—said as we left, “I think I could come back here.” Now that is worth noting!

It was incredible. I heard someone say that you can’t live in Monaco unless you have lots of money (the most common cars we saw as we walked the streets were BMWs and Mercedes—and I saw a lot of cars that I couldn’t pronounce the names of!), but it’s an amazing place to visit!

During our welcome dinner on Wednesday evening, we gathered around one table (because it’s our first incentive trip, our numbers were rather small—23 counting demonstrators and Stampin’ Up! staff) and actually played a little get-to-know-you-better game before eating. Thursday, we took a tour of a perfume factory, then we each got to make our own perfume! Although I doubt anybody’s formula will be on the market anytime soon, it was a fascinating experience.

Lunch that day was in a charming old village, in a restaurant overlooking the ocean.

The rest of Thursday afternoon was a free day, and Thursday night we did Make & Takes—in our jammies! (You can’t have a Stampin’ Up! event without stamping, of course!)

As a side note, the shipments we had sent over more than a month earlier hadn’t arrived as of Wednesday; they were detained in customs. So demonstrators missed out on the first night of pillow gifts. We crossed our fingers and prayed that the shipment would come on Thursday; thankfully it did, so the rest of the event we had everything we needed!

Friday the entire day was free. A small group actually took a train to Italy; the rest of us roamed around Monaco. You could walk the entire town, and it was fascinating to people watch and enjoy the very elegant surroundings, including the palace (the locals call it The Rock) and the surrounding area. We ran into several smaller demonstrator groups, and we enjoyed chatting and getting to know those we met a little better.

Friday night was our last dinner, and we went to the Winston Churchill Terrace at the Hotel de Paris, which was an incredible evening. The food was fantastic (I have to say that the food at every single meal was fabulous!), and the room was elegantly decorated, including fabric on the ceilings and walls.

I anticipated the entire trip being an unforgettable experience, and I had hoped to get to know all the demonstrators personally. I wasn’t disappointed. The language wasn’t a problem (I had worried about it a bit), but everyone knew enough English that we were able to communicate just fine. Although we had demonstrators from three different countries, everyone was so incredibly warm, welcoming, and inclusive—I loved seeing the demonstrators interact, chatting and sharing. As we said our good-byes at our final dinner on Friday, I couldn’t help but tear up a bit.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we traveled two days (to and from) for the three-day event, so it feels like a whirlwind few days, but it was wonderful. I am already looking forward to next year, when we’ll be meeting in Prague—hopefully with these same inspiring ladies and a bunch of other demonstrators as well!

Off to Monaco

Just finished packing for what may possibly be my last long trip for several weeks—I’m so excited! This summer I intend to stick pretty close to home. . . a few family reunions, convention (of course!), and maybe a ride or two with Sterling.

For now, however, Sterling and I are heading to Monaca for our first-ever (woohoo!) Europe incentive trip. I’m not packing my computer; I’ve lugged it with me the past several trips and, except for taking it out of the case to go through security at the airport, never touched it, so I got smart. Besides, we’ll be traveling two days (to and from) and have three busy days there, so I don’t think I’ll have time to blog anyway.

I look forward to sharing the experience when I’m back though. I’m so excited to see our wonderful demonstrators and to enjoy this opportunity to reward and recognize their outstanding efforts. Talk to you then!

Wedding Photos

After Shanna’s wedding in April, I promised I’d post a link to the photographer’s site so you could see at least some of the wedding photos. And then life happened, and that promise slipped my mind.

 

Last week while we were at Lake Powell, I looked through the wedding photos for the first time. There were hundreds, and they brought back wonderful memories of a beautiful day. They also reminded me of my promise to you.

So here are the photos. I was going to just post a link to Scott Foust’s (the photographer) site [Click here], but there were several photos we really liked that he didn’t include on his site, so I figured I’d post some as well as include the link.

I tried to keep the focus on Shanna and Jared—after all, it was their special day. But Shanna insisted I include one photo of just me, the one wearing bright white booties. The story behind the photo is short and sweet—it was a crisp morning and when we walked around the temple grounds to take pictures, I wanted to keep my feet warm, so I put on my white booties, and then my high heels. Everyone thought it was hilarious, and the moment was captured in a photo so my family (and now you!) could tease me about it forever! (smile)

Thanks for sharing in this wonderful day with me all over again!

Home from Powell

We’re home! I mentioned I was off enjoying some R&R with my family, and we just got back from our annual trip to Lake Powell! It was particularly gorgeous and perfect this year—maybe because I was particularly exhausted and just needed some veg time. Seriously, I think I did less work than I’ve ever done; I really needed to just sit and stare into space for a few days and give myself some mental and physical catch-up time.

Of course, I didn’t really stare into space for too long. There are always meals to prepare and grandchildren to play with and family to enjoy and a few small work-related tasks to complete.

I’m not a real games person, but I did spend several hours playing cards with the grandkids (Speed with the older kids, and Go Fish with the younger ones). I also LOVED watching the older grandkids start venturing into some of the more adventurous water sports—without needing their dads or uncles to help them or spur them on. I can see how much fun this is going to be as our grandchildren get older!

One of the reasons I love our Powell trip so much is that it’s so routine and predictable and low stress. We don’t wear make-up (the girls wanted to make sure that everyone knew that when they looked at the pictures), we don’t do our hair—I hardly even get dressed! Seriously, I packed two pairs of pajamas and two swimming suits this year. When I wasn’t in my jammies, I was in my swimming suit. Does it get better than that!?

There’s nowhere to go (unless I have to boat out to find cell coverage to make a few phone calls), no decisions to make (we have the same menu every year), and no planning necessary. We have pretty much the same activities every year—water and jet skiing, bum busting, and playing in the sand, along with a movie at night—nothing to do but sit back and relax!

So now I’ve had a week off and I’m back at it! I feel refreshed and rejuvenated and excited for the coming weeks and months, the new catalog, our Europe incentive trip, convention. . . . so many fun things in store. And I feel ready for it all—Lake Powell does that for me every time!