Saturday, July 27, 2013

Conv Day 2 - Thurs

Hi there!
So these pic's are from the true actual 1st day of our convention activities with Stampin' Up!  It's the day to check in, take a tour to the corporate head quarters, and then head over to the 1st ever evening opening session!  We've always started convention with a morning session but this year is the 25th Anniversary and the theme is " BE the DIFFERENCE ".  I already shared some of the pics from how it was decorated so I'd like to share a few pics of friends I look forward to seeing at every SU! event we attend! 


Kim S --- we've become such good friends, just love her!
Meeting up with Becky too, we have loved getting to know her better each year!
Of course with my traveling trio of Marlene, Diana and I

Snagging a picture with Kevin in the recognition room, the 1st Male Demo'r!  What a nice guy!
Myself and long time friend Melissa, met so long ago just because of Stampin' Up!
and of course I have plenty more pictures to share with you too!  There are so many friends that I did not get pictures with this year (insert really sad face) ...  The time goes by so quickly and there were more people there this year, so longer lines and more crowded so it made it a bit harder to find each other.

Given our family vacation to California and getting home with only a couple of days to prepare, I didn't have a lot of time to stamp but I did get gifts made for my INKin' All Night! girls and I had two organized swaps that I was participating in ... which meant I needed a few cards ready to swap too.

Downline Gifts = New Candy Dots & Brad bases

Halloween Happiness, my swap card with Diana's team

Halloween Bash, my swap card with my INKin' All Night! and Adopted INKers

Thanks for coming back and see you again tomorrow!
Rhonda

Friday, July 26, 2013

Conv Day 1 - Weds

Hello!
We headed to SLC on Weds and had an easy trip over and checking into our hotel.  It's always fun to have a girl day with no activities so that you can catch up with friends before the hustle and bustle begins.

This year I had 28 from my INKin' All Night! team of Stampin' Up! demonstrators attending convention along with an additional 14 demonstrators from my Adopted INKers group which are sidelines and fellow local demonstrators in the Phoenix AZ area.  My upline dropped a long time ago and I kind of became "mom" to the group in order to keep us in touch and together ... so they are my adoptees and I love them!  I wish they were all truly mine, I'd be so lucky!

So on the 1st night there we coordinated a team dinner at Benihana, a tradition I started several years back.  It's a BYO night out with the girls for yummy food and lots of fun and friendship.  This year we had a reservation for close to 40 including a few husbands that were traveling this year too and a few gals weren't able to join us.  Here's a few pic's from that night!  And I think in total we had 6 of us celebrating birthdays!

Beth, Rhonda, Virginia and Carmen celebrating birthdays, just missing Barb and Shannon who were at different tables

INKin' All Night! & Adopted INKer gals - table 1

INKin' All Night! & Adopted INKer gals - table2

Di's Country INKers & INKin' All Night! - table 1

Di's Country INKers & INKin' All Night! - table 1 plus Kathy & Camille

Di's Country INKers & INKin' All Night! - table2

Di's Country INKers & INKin' All Night! - table2 plus Melissa & Michelle

 Check back tomorrow for a few more pic's and I'll also have some stamping to share with you!
Rhonda

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Where did the time go?

 Oh my goodness . . . .  where did the time go

Last thing I knew it was May and we were competing in dance competitions and waiting for school to end and gearing up for the girls' birthdays.. moving Nicole home for the summer, and more dance!

June - father's day, the start of Summer School (Physics) at ASU & volunteering at Phoenix Children's Hospital for Nicole (& mom, the driver and personal assistant) and more dance and the annual studio recital for Rachel and then more rehearsals for Nationals!  I think I had a team meeting and my club night in June and don't remember much beyond that!  Oh snap, the new catalog debuted!

July - more class and volunteering for Nicole and more dance for Rachel, and then a family trip to California for dance Nationals and a couple of days at Disneyland, then to head home for me to head off to SLC for SU!'s 25th Anniversary Convention Celebration!  Just got home and it's time to regroup and get restarted!

Here's a glimpse into the fun part of my week, attending my 16th consecutive convention !

Cool banners welcomed us all over downtown Salt Lake City!
The theme of our convention "Be the Difference"
Stampin' Up! Headquarters in Riverton, Utah
too bad the line was way too long to make it out there this trip

What does almost 6,000 excited demonstrators look like?
we took over the Salt Palace Convention Center
A quiet picture of one side of one of the walls of display samples!
not so quiet when all of us are trying to take pictures at the same time
We set a new world record for sending the most greeting cards from a single location at one time
My card went to my friend and neighbor, Maureen, as a thank you card for a birthday present!

There's plenty more but this describes the calm before the storm! 

Stop by tomorrow to hear the rest of the story!
Rhonda