Founder's Trip, Day 4

OK, I will try to keep this short!! I have other things to blog about and a stamp club meeting to get ready for, but I wanted to wrap up my FC Retreat "journal." Saturday morning I didn't set an alarm but was up by 7:30, which is sleeping in for me. I was a little concerned about my eye...it had gotten really red by Friday evening. What I thought was an issue with my contacts turned into what I worried was pinkeye. The lid was swollen a bit, and my eye was very red, but it wasn't really crusty. After some phone calls and talking with my med tech friend Sarah, I finally decided it was simply a scratch and didn't worry about trying to get into an urgent care place. At any rate, I kept my glasses on all day--so that's why you see them in the pictures!

So I was glad Saturday was a relaxing day with nothing scheduled until our closing dinner that night! I had fun making our 3 make-and-take projects with the new stamp set we got in our fancy bag. CUTE, cute, cute projects! I don't have a picture of the projects by themselves, but this is a pretty good shot of those who were working at our table. Most of the gals I had seen and briefly talked with, but it was nice to spend some more time chatting as we worked.

After lunch I took my scrapbooking supplies down to the make-and-take area and worked with another group of ladies. I didn't get as much done this time--I think only 3 pages--but it was very fun to show off Kenna's cute pictures and the layouts I HAD finished! I fully intended to get a nap before our dinner, but that never happened. I was way too busy talking...AND eating chocolates! I don't think I mentioned this in my previous posts, but the Gathering Place also had various candy stations set up like this one, with cute little pails with pink ribbon tied to the handle. We could take a pail (or two or three...) and fill with any kind of candy we wanted! It was a good thing I didn't find the chocolate-covered peanuts until it was almost time to leave for dinner...I probably would have made myself sick on those! I NEVER buy candy (OK, rarely) for myself, so I really did feel like a kid in a candy shop!

For our dinner, we were taken to a beautiful area just outside of Snow Canyon. Sarah and some other gals had gone hiking in the Canyon that morning--I had thought about joining them, but with my eye issue, plus just being plain exhausted from a full day on Friday, I decided not to go. Thankfully by evening time my eye had actually improved, thank the Lord. We took a huge group photo, and then we went to an area that was set up like an outdoor theater. We had some time to enjoy dinner and conversation (yummy fancy pizza and salad and just about any kind of drink we wanted), and then we settled into our comfy chairs for a movie under the stars! We watched No Reservations, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as a chef who takes in her niece when her sister is killed in an accident. I hadn't seen the movie before--it was quite good and would be a great date movie. Therefore, it made me miss Ted tremendously! I was glad I'd be getting home the next day!

Since the nights cool off considerably, we enjoyed our final gift from Stampin' Up!--a pink fuzzy blanket like the ones that had been draped over the couches in the Gathering Place! I knew I had better hide that from Charis when I got home or else I'd never see it again, LOL. Let me tell you, I've learned that if/when I get to go on another Founder's Circle Retreat, I had better pack an extra bag for stashing away all the goodies!! Oh--and during the movie we could go get popcorn served in paper cones made from the Designer Series Papers and brads--way too cute--and choose from any number of candy boxes. Oh, my, I think I must have gained some weight during those few days...I regret now that I never got a picture of the cute popcorn holders, so just try to imagine how cute they were!

That officially ended our trip. The next morning I left St. George at 8 a.m. on a shuttle for Vegas and had a great time talking with new demonstrator friends the whole way. Ted and the kids picked me up in time for us all to attend church, and after a quick lunch I was in bed for a nice two-hour nap. Ahhh! My suitcase still is not unpacked, LOL, but we've settled back into a fairly normal routine, even though this past week has really not been "normal." Perhaps I can blog more about our adventures later, but for now, this wraps up the report on my first Founder's Circle Retreat!