Friday 16 May 2014

So Im back!

Im back.. did you miss me?  lol

If you have been following some of my photos and updates over on my Facebook Business page you would already know that we had a fabulous time on our US trip and Caribbean Cruise!  The kids have gone back to school today and so finally I find myself with a little time to catch up… I will upload a few photos for you.  But also the house looks like a bomb went off… and I am finally almost caught up on all the washing. And of course its back to work.. i have two stamp clubs this weekend and another on Monday, so I need to do some preparing and creating… but thats the fun bit, so going to tackle the housework first so that the creating will be a well-deserved treat!

So I thought I would upload a few random photos of highlights of the trip….we had a few days in Orlando before the trip to take the kids to Disneyworld, and recover a little from the long flights.  The kids LOVED Disney of course. Highlights were the Finding Nemo aquarium adventure, the Star Wars ride and the "Tower of Terror".  I sat that last one out… after being on our feet all day in the rain, I was happy to sit for a few minutes whilst Paul took the kids on the Tower of Terror.  Of course they loved it!

On the 3rd May we drove our hire car down to Fort Lauderdale to the Hyatt Regency where Stampin'Up had generously paid for us to stay the night before the cruise.  It was a great place to stay and relax before being transferred to the ship the following morning. Here was our ship itinerary…

Day 1 Depart Fort Lauderdale. Group show at the Aquatheatre and meet and greet on the Boardwalk… great show!

Boarding the boat for our trip...


My Emma and Isobel Webb rode the carousel many times over… it was free!

Day 2 At Sea - getting to know the boat and trying not to get lost.  Attended our general session to hear about some great upcoming SU news. I even won a prize in the prize patrol!


Pillow gifts :-)


(Here I am trying to throw rings over bottles in the hospitality suite to win product prizes from our Upcoming catalogue!)

Day 3 Labadee, Haiti - lying in a deck chair on the beach while the kids went swimming and snorkelling


Great panorama that Paul took from our beach spot...

Day 4 Falmouth, Jamaica - Emma got her hair braided, we went via taxi to a little dodgy beach and had the "real Jamaica" experience… white sand, warm water, beach bar, drinking from Coconuts, friendly locals and very very LOUD Bob Marley


(Taken from our balcony on the 12th floor of the ship as we arrived in Jamaica)


(The real Jamaician experience!  Imagine Bob Marley really really LOUD, and then add coconuts, warm water and white sand… perfect!)

Paul enjoying his Coconut… and Ben was pretty impressed too!



Day 5 At Sea - Walk-a-thon for Mission of Hope, and Swap Day!

We walked to help SU donate over $20k to the Mission of Hope… enough to build 3 homes in Haiti!


Just some of my swaps!



Just one of many swap boards in the hospitality suite!


Day 6 Cozumel, Mexico - went to a CRAZY Mexican restaurant for lunch!  They even made us funny balloon hats!
(My photos of this aren't working…. so here's a happy shot of us being photobombed!!


Day 7 At Sea - saying goodbyes, and spending time on the Levitating bar with friends :-)

Vanessa and I all dressed up for dinner...


Day 8 Depart the "Allure of the Seas" :-( for various locations around the world… for us it was long flight's back to Sydney via Atlanta and LAX.   But so worth it! A trip of a lifetime… filled with fun and memories for all of us! Especially the kids who are still full of all their adventures…..

I know its brief, but I thought a quick whip through of the itinerary would be the best way to tackle such a big trip!  I will pop back soon with some more SU stuff such as swaps, prizes and friends :-)

Thanks to SU for an amazing trip! I think I realised one of the reasons why I love Stampin'Up so much… its because I do truly get to be appreciated for what i do.  I've realised that positive feedback and appreciation are very very important to me… and i am so grateful for the opportunity again to attend a fabulous Incentive trip as a reward for my hard effort. But I know I would be nowhere without you guys.. my awesome customers and fabulous team of demonstrators… I am so grateful for everything you guys do to support my business!  We none of us achieve anything without support! Thank you guys… I am so grateful!!!

And now… Im working hard already for the next Grand Vacation… to HAWAII in 2015!!!




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