Last summer when they announced the location of the national conference for the next year I knew I wanted to go, but was definitely not going to drive. After visiting my sister-in-law which was an hour away from Salt Lake City, 13 hours in the car is not my type of fun! I drug my feet for a long time deciding whether or not to go; it was definitely going to be a more expensive trip. A charter bus was rented that was planning on starting in Omaha and would have made it's way to pick us up. I thought I could handle that if we had the entire thing to ourselves and it would have been a huge party the entire way there. However, that fell through so I decided to fly. I came to the realization that I really didn't want to miss it. I got two other girls on board with me so I had someone to drive with to Denver. The night before we left I headed to Lexington to stay with my parents and drop the kids off.
They were the first to break in their new bathtub.
Wally had been living with my parents and he was pretty excited to see the kids.
While I was away my mom was so nice to send me pictures of all the action taking place at their house. Landon was so excited to go fishing for the first time with Grandpa. He caught three fish!
Before heading to the airport Friday morning we stopped at Chick-fil-a. We were there about 10 a.m. but it's never too early to eat chicken right? I had never been to one before and I loved it!
Boarding the plan. Sarah was scared to death and Konni and I were so excited.
The mines in Utah, so cool!
When we got there we went to register right away. We couldn't wait to get our first amenity and put our ribbons together. GUESS WHAT? I got another invitation to meet the CEO Cindy Monroe. Two years in a row!!!
The theme was What Matters Most. We each wrote on a wooden heart to place in the case. Mine said: Faith, Family, Friends!
Met up with some of our team for supper the first night.
PF Changs it was!
Salt Lake City had the most beautiful outdoor mall. We went there several times throughout out visit to shop and eat.
Lunch date at the mall.
Cheesecake Factory for supper
Utah is known as the bee state so I had to take a picture of these bee hives in Cheesecake Factory for my friend Beth who is a bee keeper.
Cheesecake to go; yes please!
Uber virgins!
There was so much walking involved and Sunday almost everything was closed considering we were in a Mormon community. We were short on time and I was starving so I decided to pay for the guy to give us a ride on his bike to the nearest place to eat.
A perk of being a Senior Consultant is to fill Women's Hope Kits for women in need. I was so excited for this opportunity. Any chance I can give back through thirty-one I take advantage of as thirty-one has blessed me and my family in so many ways.
Unfortunately the cosmetic bags didn't make it to SLC so we had to fill zip-lock bags. They said they would repack them once they got back to home office. I even was able to write an inspiring note to the ladies who would receive them.
The same night I filled World Vision Kits I also met CEO, Cindy Monroe! Once again this was an amazing opportunity to say thank you for all she does for us. Such a down to earth individual!
After my exciting night I found a quite spot at the convention center to FaceTime the kids. They were so excited to talk to me and of course Miss Avery stole the show. I showed them around SLC and the convention center. We even rode up and down the escalators a few times together.
Supper at a pizza restaurant
Roommate #2..small world as we've never met before and come to find out she is from Grant. Such a sweet gal that I hope our friendship continues to grow from conference.
Worshiping prior to general session?...ABSOLUTELY! I love that we are a Christian based company that thanks God for everything he's provided.
Woo hoo, celebrating my promotion of Senior Consultant!
Team Delong
Mormon Temple; so beautiful!
We were so sad it was time to go home.
Our flight left SLC at 5:40 a.m. which meant we had to be at the airport at 3:30 a.m. We decided to skip out on another night's room cost and head straight to the airport. Plus, we were worried about public transportation at 3 in the morning and the train didn't run that early so we wanted to make sure we made it.
Just in time, 4 minutes to spare!
The lady on the right also decided to stay in the airport. She was so thankful she found us so she wasn't alone. Sleeping in the airport pretty much did not exist. It was horrible! It was super cold, noisy with all the cleaning machines and the chairs were so uncomfortable. However, I can check that off of my list of things I've done.
Everyone was talking about Pokemon Go while we were there. We had never heard of it until arriving in SLC so we decided to give it a try to pass some time.
Saying goodbye to some great friends once arriving in Denver.
On the day we arrived back in Denver Chick-fil-a was doing a free meal if you dressed like a cow. So of course we found cow masks in SLC and took advantage of a free meal.
Such a fun trip and I already look forward to next year which will be in the home town of Columbus, Ohio. They typically have two conferences, but are merging it back to one. Can't wait!
