The weather this morning wasn’t great—we were wet and chilled by the end of the first game, even though we brought an umbrella. Sid played two games in a row, but we didn’t stay for both games . . . we did find out her team won both games, though, and even more importantly, she enjoyed it!

I spent most of the rest of the day preparing for our South Pacific Convention--we leave tomorrow. Not sure if I'll blog before I get back. . . I won't make any promises, so if I do it will be a pleasant surprise! Either way, I'll definitely be sharing how our first 25th Anniversary Convention of the year goes when I come back!

The play was called “Once Upon a Lily Pad,” and was the story of Freddy the Frog, who didn’t think he was important or had value. He went around visiting all the creatures in the pond, who helped him recognize how important and valuable he was. Just adorable!

In addition to Freddy, there were fireflies and fish and alligators and all sorts of fun insects and animals, each with a simple but darling costume. Kona was an otter, and Makai wanted ears just like his big brother! (I snagged a few close-up photos but didn’t get any of the show itself because I don’t get great long-distance photos with my phone.)

We were glad that Sage invited us to come, and we were very proud of Kona! Great way to start the day!

“Best Mother’s Day ever,” was my first thought.

“And I didn’t take one picture—gosh darn it!” was my second thought.

Then I thought, “Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. This post will just have to be a thousand words, because I want to remember this weekend!”

Just kidding about the thousand words—I won’t write nearly that many! But I do want to remember this weekend, and even without pictures, I can do that with a few shared thoughts.

I think the weekend was so good because all the girls and their families were together, and that hasn’t happened for a long time. Mom Pat even joined us. Earlier last week, Sterling and I had taken a drive up the canyon and seen families gathered together around campfires, and we texted the girls and said, “Let’s Dutch Oven this weekend!” We try to do that every year, but it usually ends up being later in the year. This year we decided there’s no time like the present, which just happened to be Mother’s Day weekend.

We headed up to the cabin on Thursday, and a few of the kids joined us then, but on Friday, everyone was together for at least a few hours. The weather was gorgeous, so warm that we actually went swimming in the outdoor community pool, organized target practice, played games, and enjoyed papercrafting. We had Dutch Over dinner, with each of the girls bringing a side dish. And then I got to open my Mother’s Day gifts (again, no photo!)—a cute maxi skirt and some antique horse ribbons and riding trophies. The girls know I want to decorate our bedroom at the cabin in neutral colors and with a horse theme, so they’re helping me get started. . .such a thoughtful, personal gift. I felt loved!

On Saturday we got home in time to take in a yoga class, go riding in the afternoon, and settle in Saturday night. As we were trying to decide what groceries we needed to get for Sunday dinner, Megan invited us for dinner! Sweet! They ended up having a fabulous BBQ and a yummy dessert. (Can you tell great food makes great memories for me? Smile)

Anyway—like I said, best Mother’s Day weekend ever! And not a photo taken. But I’ll definitely remember it anyway! Hope you all had a great weekend too!

I hear that question a lot when I talk about Stampin’ Up!’s history, and my first response is, “We didn’t!”

Vonna and I did our best in the moment, and I certainly believe in the adage that you can do whatever you set your mind to, but that doesn’t mean we did it all right. Back then we were growing so fast and there were so few of us. . . it was both exciting and overwhelming! Sure, we did it all, but we didn’t necessarily do it right. I didn’t sleep well, didn’t eat well, didn’t take time out for myself or my family. There are many lessons I learned and things I would do differently.

Mostly, I would put first things first. You pay a dear price when you don’t have your priorities straight, and the one thing I always tell people is that I would spend more time with my girls and my sweetheart! There were so many times when I put the business first, thinking that I’d do “whatever” (vacation, date night, Mommy-daughter time) once certain deadlines were met or projects completed.

What I learned is that there is always a deadline or project, and if you wait to do the important things until “after” certain things are done, those important things never get done. I heard someone once talk about trying to get rocks, pebbles and sand to fit in a container. If you put the rocks (the most important priorities) in the container first, the pebbles and sand will fit around them. So I’ve learned to take care of the rocks!

I lead a much more balanced life today than I did back then, and I encourage others to lead a balanced life as well! That doesn’t mean I’m always doing it right, but I’m definitely doing it more right than I was two decades ago!

I have also learned to delegate, let go, and say “no.” I am one of those people who need to have order in order to think and function, so I hired help with the house early on. That was actually a hard thing for me to do—I like things done a certain way, so I had to let go of certain ideas and expectations, and learn to live with the way other people did things. That’s been an important lesson that has served me well through the years as well.

Along with letting go of some control, I let go of some expectations. I have a hard time telling people “no,” but I’ve learned that I have to do that sometimes too. Even when I’m saying “no” to a good thing. It’s that whole idea of good, better, and best. . . sometimes the hardest choices are when you have to choose between good things and good causes. We really can’t do it ALL, so we have to choose what we do. And really, I’m no different than anyone else. We’re all learning how to make those choices. . . how to take care of the rocks!

If there was ever an incentive trip where people talked about loving the opportunity to relax, Fiji was that trip! This past week has been a wonderful opportunity to enjoy beautiful weather, tropical scenery, visiting with some of the greatest people on earth, and a to-do list with nothing on it!

I won’t go into great detail—many demonstrators blogged about the Fiji incentive trip all week long, so there are plenty of stories out there. But I wanted to recap the highlights for Sterling and I, and just to remember a nice week in my life.

For us, the highlight was definitely the service project. We planned an optional half-day service project for any demonstrators who wanted to participate, and approximately 200 demonstrators and guests joined us at a Fiji hospital and orphanage, providing valuable work. We went to the hospital and sanded, painted, did yard work, and other general clean-up chores. A smaller group went to the orphanage and folded laundry, read to kids,  and papercrafting (a huge hit!). Loved the opportunity to turn our yearlong “Making a Difference for 25 Years” theme into action!

Another highlight was our final event—an evening to remember that began with a group of Fiji warriors escorting us to dinner and entertainment, which included a children’s chorus and fire dancers.

Our opening event was also great. . . we got to welcome everyone to Fiji (Bula!), plus hand out copies of the new catalog as well as free products!

Other than that, Sterling and I stuck pretty close to the food and pool . . . my favorite place for more reasons than the obvious! (smile) We know that on an incentive trip, we can always find demonstrators simply relaxing around the pool.

Of course, we don’t have many photos of the pool lounging. Even though that’s where we spent most of our time, we’re smart enough to know that most people don’t want to have photos of themselves wearing bathing suits plastered on blogs . . . so we just enjoyed the relaxing and visiting.

The beauty of an incentive trip is that you don’t have to go anywhere or do anything. Many of our demonstrators traveled halfway around the world and didn’t feel the need to travel any farther, simply loving every minute of doing nothing! Others traveled halfway around the world and wanted to see everything there was to see, so there were plenty of demonstrators coming and going on excursions as well. And many demonstrators and their guests did a little bit of both.

Thanks to all our demonstrators who achieved this fabulous trip—I enjoyed spending the week with you  and your guests!

When I posted last week about our home office regional, I couldn’t share my project because it was created from new products from the new catalog, which wasn’t yet available. Now that the catalog is available online for our demonstrators, I can show projects featuring new products.

So here is the project I demonstrated. . . .

Enjoy!

I love banners of all kinds. . .they’re a fun, quick way to add a little customized home décor to any room. You can use them for parties, seasonal decorations, special occasions. . .whatever. I thought I’d share one of my recent banner projects with you. I wanted this banner to have neutral colors, so it would coordinate with any colors. And, of course, it had to have layers and dimensions.

Hope you enjoy. . .

I’m heading to Fiji for our North America incentive trip, so I won’t be posting much over the next week and a half, but I’ll definitely tell you all about it when I come back!

Bula!

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We wrapped up a regional unlike any other regional this weekend—our first-ever home office regional. What a fun and different environment!

The Main Stage was set up in the Distribution Center, with pallet racking in the background and conveyor belts overhead. Make & Takes and tables were set up in the atrium, and displays were in our two Training Rooms. The store (yes, I said store—more on that later) was also in the Distribution Center.

The excitement at the regional was awesome! When Sara and I arrived at the home office at about 7:30 a.m., demonstrators were already lined up waiting to get inside, and the regional didn’t start until 9! And that enthusiasm only increased once everyone got inside and the morning session started!

Besides being in the home office, a couple of other things that set this regional apart was the chance to be the first to see—and BUY—new product. (Hence, the store.) The new catalog is unveiled to our demonstrators online on WEDNESDAY, so we felt like this weekend was the perfect opportunity to have a regional that focused almost exclusively on new products.

We had a full house—I think about 375 demonstrators. . . as many as our fire code would allow! Demonstrators came from all over North America (I think I heard we had demonstrators from more than 20 states and provinces)  to enjoy presentations that featured new product and inspiring project ideas, as well as receive a new catalog, and at the end of the day, actually buy some of the new products. No wonder the energy was so high, right?

Usually I show the regional project that I demonstrated, but because the projects featured new product and we aren’t allowed to show any new products OR projects featuring new products until after the catalog is released, I’ll have to wait to share my project until later. All the demonstrators at the regional were sworn to secrecy as well, promising they’d follow the same guidelines, so you shouldn’t be seeing any project or products or the catalog itself. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait very long!

Several demonstrators asked if this home office regional was going to become an annual event. I don’t know the answer to that yet, but I know if it was, I’d definitely be there! It was fabulous, and I loved every minute of it!

Our Kanab group is smaller than the home office, so we could still cook for everyone and eat all together. By the time we arrived, the other CT members had already begun cooking and had the serving under control as well, so I got my favorite assignment—mingling and hugging.

The food was delicious. . . we had pretty much the same thing as yesterday: French toast, ham, eggs, and fruit. Everyone seemed to enjoy the chance to relax and visit and be appreciated!

One thing they didn’t enjoy, however, is me taking pictures! I love our Kanab employees; they are humble, down-to-earth people. . . and getting them to pose for a picture is like pulling teeth! They’re usually good sports and let me snap a few even though it makes them uncomfortable, but since today was about thanking and appreciating them, I decided to show my appreciation by not making them smile for the camera. I snapped a couple of our Heart of Stampin’ Up! recipients and one of our corporate team cooking, and then I called it good.

Because our Kanab office is smaller, our breakfast is a little more casual. . .we joke around and are more playful. I don’t use a mic when I’m talking to the group. We also typically only have one Heart of Stampin’ Up! receipient, but this year had more nominees in Kanab than we’ve had before (woo hoo!), and we honored two employees with the recognition: Arlene Lundberg and Brent Alvey.

Congratulations to these outstanding employees. And just like our home office, there are so many employees who could receive this award. . . so many hardworking people who devote themselves to Stampin’ Up! and our demonstrators.

Sterling and I headed back home afterwards (it was a quick trip down and back in one day—beautiful weather both ways!), and I felt deeply grateful again for the incredible people I work with!

Today we celebrated our annual employee appreciation breakfast, a day I look forward to every year. This tradition goes back years. . . I’m not sure when we started it. We did things a little differently this year. Typically, the corporate team members cook breakfast for all the employees, with different teams assigned to different shifts throughout the morning. This year, since we’d also scheduled our monthly Innovation Day for today, we needed to have everyone eat together in about an hour, so we could move on to our innovation projects.

That meant that we couldn’t spend all morning cooking, so we ended up catering the breakfast. So instead of cooking breakfast, the corporate team members mingled and chatted with everyone, trying to make sure we thanked everyone there for everything they do. It was nice to have everyone together in one room—and the food was fabulous! So I’m pretty sure no one minded the change.

Our theme for the event was “You make a difference,” and I loved the way our HR team used that theme in the decoration. There was a framed mirror at the first table, so employees would see themselves as they picked up plates, napkins, and silverware, and in the frame were the words, “You make a difference.” And that same theme played out throughout the atrium. . . . wonderful message!

I also present our Heart of Stampin’ Up! recipients at this activity, and I did that this morning as well. There were five all together (three at the home office and two at Kanab—I’ll present those awards tomorrow at our breakfast there), more than we’ve had before!

These employees are nominated by their colleagues and coworkers, who share why they think certain employees exemplify our Statement of the Heart. Of course, we have so many Stampin’ Up! employees who deserve this award . . . so many amazing people who give and serve and care. I always look forward to the opportunity, however, to officially recognize a few of our finest.

This year, our home office recipients of the Heart of Stampin’ Up! award were Mary Ramirez, Brian Pilling, and Claudia Dall. Congratulations! (Brian is out of town, so I didn't get a picture with him. . . )

After announcing these winners, I gave the mic to Rich, who had said he wanted to kick off Innovation Day with a few remarks. I was totally taken by surprise, when instead of talking about Innovation Day, he said that dozens of our employees had actually submitted my name as a Heart of Stampin’ Up! nominee, even though they knew I would never choose myself. He read some excerpts from some of the letters (which they had taken out of the pile of letters that were given to me) and had me come up, crying like a baby, while everyone stood and clapped. I was overwhelmed and so touched!

I work with wonderful people, and I was grateful that today I was able to express my appreciation for them—and it felt nice to be appreciated as well!