Part 3: California Here We Come, Right Back Where We Started From

Thursday morning, we got off to a "late" start and drove all the way back to Orange County (yes, right where we were in the beginning of our west coast tour).  My brother, Michael, was getting married in the Newport Beach temple.  Josh and I drove one car with Annie, Charlotte, Gracee and the twins, while my parents, Tahnee, Eleanor and Gregory were in the other car.  Our car was perfect. The kids were angles.  For lunch, we stopped in St. George for In-N-Out (we tried to go as much as possible).  We arrived earlier than the other car, so we fed all the kids and went to the park to play and get all the wiggles out.  After we dropped all the littles off, we made a Golden Spoon run.  

Passed the LuLaRoe headquarters at the corner of the 15 and the 91 freeways

 

The next day, we headed out to the Irvine Spectrum and ate at Pieology.  When we lived in Rancho Santa Margarita the first year after Charlotte was born, we went to the spectrum at least once a week. Josh worked across the street, so he would walk over and meet us for lunch, we would right the carousel, play in the splash pad.  It was a fun place to hang out.  This time was no different.  And the weather...HEAVEN!!!  

Friday night was the Open House for Michael and Courtney.  We held it at the Murray center in Mission Viejo and had In-N-Out cater (duh!).  Sadly enough we didn't get any pictures of the couple. They were busy chatting with everyone.  It was fun to see so many family and friends we have known for so long.  Thank you to all who came!!

 

Saturday was the day of the wedding.  I went to grab donuts for everyone in the morning.  Lines out the door.  Don't mess with Californians and their donuts.  Tyler flew in.  My parents came over for a bit so Tahnee could do the little girls hair.  We just relaxed and took advantage of a 2:00 ceremony.  

Once we arrived at the temple, we got the kids situated and then had the sealing performed.  It was a beautiful ceremony and lots of loved ones for Courtney and Michael.  Once they came out, a tunnel was formed and they ran through everyone's arms.  I cannot wait to get all the pictures back...I mean, have them get the pictures and show us....  But while we waited for them to come out of the temple, we had our own photo shoot.

 

In between the temple and the family dinner that night, my family went to Islands and got a bunch of appetizers to hold us over and did a Sprinkles run.  Even though we live by a Sprinkles, other people with us wanted to go.  We had two of Michael's friends from Hawaii hang with us all day.  Dave and Tanner were so fun to be with and we were so glad to have met them.  Dave, I hope your wife loved the cupcakes!!  

Later that night, Courtney's family put on a family dinner for all of us.  It was fun to hang out with my grandparents and aunt Robyn some more.  It was at a beautiful park in Irvine and pretty dark, so I wasn't able to take any pictures.  

We left early the next morning out of John Wayne and arrived home around 5:00 pm.  The flight was smooth and Charlotte was seriously a dream.   Really the last three days of the trip she was such a champ, with all the photos and running around.  I was so impressed.  We are so glad to be home though and look forward to not traveling again until Christmas!!  

Part 2: Utah Tour

Early Sunday morning, after Leadership was over, we hopped on a plane to SLC for my sister's, Annie, mission farewell. Boy, were we tired!! Luckily our flight was on time and everything happened really smoothly. Charlotte was already in Utah. She flew with Tahnee from Georgia. 

Annie gave a wonderful talk, cracked some jokes, in true Annie form, and then brought some tears to all our eyes. I seriously can't wait to read her emails each week. Texas is lucky to have her. 

After her talk, a ton of friends and family came over to say goodbye. Once her Provo friends left, we had a dinner with our family and her roommates. 

At midnight, maybe a little before, we did an In-N-Out run. I couldn't believe how tired I was. But of course I was thrilled to go. 

The next day, we started the day at Kneaders. Best. Breakfast. Ever! And continued on to Gardner Village. It was freezing, but fun, as it was decorated for Halloween! Utah has a lot of cute things to go to, which I do love. 

Later for lunch, we grabbed Cafe Rio, because, why not?! And Swig! Why does Utah have amazing food chains?? 

The next day we spent with my dad, while mom watch Eleanor and Charlotte. Thank you, Mom!! We went to Top Golf, which are popping up all over. We have one in Atlanta but have never been to it. It was a lot of fun. My first time to ever swing a club! And for the record, I beat Tahnee! Then we headed down to BYU campus. Even though I didn't go to BYU, I was still there almost everyday visiting Josh or bringing him food. I also grew up going to EFY there every summer. It was so weird to see all the changes they have made and continue to make. We really enjoyed the years we spent in Provo. We are at the creamery and couldn't leave without getting some ice cream either. Yeah, we basically ate our way through Utah! 

Wednesday, Josh went riding with my dad all day, so Charlotte, Annie and I headed over to Evans Family Farm pumpkin patch. We wanted to try Cornbellys but only had time in the morning. We got a few photos and then left. 

Made a quick Swig stop on the way home and hung out at my parents house the majority of the day. Later that day, I colored my hair DARK. A little darker than I was hoping for, but it will fade. 

Thursday, we all drove back to Orange County for Michael's wedding. Post coming tomorrow!!  

LuLaRoe Leadership Training

I should have never made a commitment to start blogging again because I am slacking big time!! I wanted to document our trip out west so I am writing this on the airplane!! 

Josh and I flew into Orange County last week, October 12, for the third Leadership Training this year. It was so much fun and I was thrilled when Josh agreed to go. It took a LOT of convincing but in the end, he was really glad he got to go and experience it. 

We arrived Wednesday night and my friend, Carolyn, picked us up. We all stayed at the Hilton in Anaheim, across from Disneyland park. Because of the time difference, it was about 2:00 am east coast by the time we arrived and got to bed. We were exhausted! 

The next morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel with Carolyn and then went to register. In the past, the registration took forever at each event, so we got in the registration line early. We hardly waited at all (thanks to starting the process earlier than they had told us). I took my headshot and then Josh and I received our lanyards, swag bags, wristbands and purchased my 2017 planner. It was easy breezy!! 

His

Hers

Collette Miller Wings

We pretty much had all day to hang out until the opening party that night. We headed over to Downtown Disney and basked in the INCREDIBLE Southern California weather. For lunch we met up with my friend, Katie and her husband, Alex. Katie was the first consultant to join my team over a year ago. We know each other from working at the Missionary Training Center together before we were married! It's been so fun to reconnect with Katie. She is such a great LuLaRoe trainer and does a great job with her business. We headed over to the ESPN Zone for lunch. 

We eventually made our way back to the hotel and got ready for the opening party. It took place at The Grove in Anaheim. There was a ton of food, music acts that the owners asked to come, dancing, loud music, and food from the ever so popular leggings (French fries, donuts, pizza, cupcakes)! 

The next day started off with breakfast in Carolyn's room with our team. It was so nice to get to know one another, since most of us live all over the country. We had a special drop-in surprise from the first consultant of the company, Kim Roylance and her husband! They talked to us about the Mentor trip to Guatemala and chatted with all of us the whole time we were in there. I am not one to get caught up in the "celebrities" of LuLaRoe, but Kim and her husband have been really successful and have a lot to teach. They are down to earth, and it is really refreshing to talk with them. 

Training started early and we had great speakers. Always encouraging and motivating!! Josh and I slipped away for a couple hours to meet up with Josh's brother, who was in town. We headed to California Adventures. It was super crowded, so we only stayed for about 3 or 4 hours. We were able to go on the new "Soarin' Around the World." It was awesome!

Once our time was over, we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. Our team went down to Ruby's in Newport Beach. I didn't even know it was there! It was the cutest little shack overlooking the ocean. We had team building time and a chance to really connect with each other, bounce ideas around, and help each other better our business. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with everyone that was there. 

  

Saturday was the last day. Carolyn took us all out to breakfast, which was a blast! Once we arrived back to the hotel, the day was filled with a lot of speakers, including The Alison Show, who I follow on Instagram and has been working with LuLaRoe for a while. She was hysterical. If you don't follow her, start now. And if you live in Utah, go to one of her parties! 

Finally had In-N-Out!

That night, LuLaRoe threw a closing party at 90's Grad Night themed party at a local high school. Again, there was a ton of food, music and socializing going on. 

May 2015 is when I started selling LuLaRoe

I am so glad Josh ended up going to this event with me. It was really important to me that he sees the potential in the company, hears from the owners, and talks with other consultants and their husbands. He only sees the side of me selling clothes, but the LuLaRoe culture is so much more. It's about blessing lives and strengthening families. We have a lot of ideas we can't wait to implement and help those on our team!