2009 Summer Regional - Lake Geneva

Last weekend marked our FIFTH summer regional with Jones. I can't believe it has been almost 5 years that we have been with them. Sometimes it seems like the longest 5 years ever and then it seems to have flown by. I would never start over again, but I'm so happy we've taken part in this journey. We have grown in many ways since our first regional.



This year, due to the economy Jones cut the regional back to only Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. Several families opted to extend the weekend and pay for an additional night on Thursday. Dave set a goal for himself in May - if he reached a certain commision goal he was going to extend our weekend. And after the step up in intensity that he has had since receiving that mortgage letter, he definitely could use a mini vacation. He reached his goal, so we were able to go up on Thursday afternoon (yea!).



The Grand Geneva Resort and Spa was our location this year and it was beautiful. The resort was approximately 5 minutes from the lake and sat on an amazingly beautiful golf course. Our room looked out on the golf course lake and a couple of fairways.



As soon as we arrived I had to turn on the tv because I had caught a brief snippet of news on the radio while Dave was checking in and it sounded like Michael Jackson may have died - nothing had been confirmed at that point. Dave went into the bathroom and figured out that the mirror turned into a tv:) After confirmation of his death, we changed and went out to the pool where the other extenders were going to have a pizza party. We swam for a bit before seeing anyone familiar and then had a pizza buffet with the other few families that extended (Berg's, Rolo's, Williams', Wright's). We hung out and chatted for a while and went back to the room to change (and catch up on the MJ saga). We were intending to go back out for some social time, but decided we were too tired and just went to bed instead!



Friday morning we slept in and then went into town for breakfast and shopping. They have one of those quaint little shopping districts with all of the boutiques and cute stores within two blocks. We had breakfast in the worst place (because we went to the first restaurant we saw)and then did some shopping. We weren't looking for anything specific, but I ended up buying a new purse, a new wallet (like a cigarette holder - super cool), and Dave found me the perfect necklace for my new dress. He had wanted me to get a cross necklace, but we couldn't find one that I liked. He finally found one in the same store that I bought my purse. It is perfect - plain, silver, engraved with Tiffany & Co. on the back:) Beautiful. And as an aside - this was a cute, trendy women's clothing store and the owner was a big, bald guy and he had Metallica music playing in the store - totally didn't fit and made me laugh.



We had the usual introduction meeting in the afternoon and then the spouse's meeting after that. Our region has recently gone through a leadership change. Mike and Missie Wright are the new regional leaders and they were awesome! Missie had little juiceboxes of wine for the spouses meeting:) After the meeting, Pam Sharp and I grabbed a couple of extra juiceboxes and sat on the adderondike chairs until the men got out of their meeting. Dave had gone on to the gym, so I sat in the room and read until he came back. We then went to a bbq buffet at the Ski Chalet up the hill. Afterwards, Dave went to hang out at the Wright's room with some other FA's and I hung out in the room (I wasn't feeling well).



Saturday morning was, I think, the highlight of my weekend. I went into town and ran along the lake on the Lake Geneva walking path. The path is public and goes through the back yards of the houses and mansions on the lake. It winds through flower gardens and woods and yards and is gorgeous. I ran for 101 minutes, so I assume I ran at least 8 miles, but probably closer to 9 1/2 or 10. As I was running I saw a HUGE crane or heron fly away from me over and over again. A little further down the path I flushed out approximately 20-25 Condors. I had no idea what they were at the time, but thought they looked a little bit like vultures. I was a tad bit intimidated and a little nervous to run underneath the tree that they all flew into. They were enormous - wingspans of 9-10 feet. And I had to run past them twice (up and back). Regardless, the run was amazing. It was perfect weather for running (it was 5:45am) after a week of hot and humid at 5:30am (Dave and I went running together on Thursday morning and it was probably 75 degrees at 5:30... I was dripping before we even began). The scenery was stellar - hot air balloons over the lake, fishers, mansions, perennials, trees, birds. All in all, it is safe to say that running at home will now be a huge disappointment.



I went back to the room, showered and went to breakfast by myself. I sat with Loren and Austin for a little while and when they left I brought my food, my coffee & my book and grabbed a table out on the terrace and read for a while before heading back to the room for a nap! Dave got back around 1 and we went back into town for lunch with one of the wholesalers. We had lunch at Popeye's on the Lake with the Dunn's, the Powell's, the Regel's and Jim VanHowe. Afterward, Dave and I were planning to walk some of the path that I had run and we invited Mark and Pam Regel to join us (she is a new-ish FA - 2nd regional). We walked to the Condor tree, which ended up being a 2 1/2 hour walk - our best guess is between 4-6 miles. We actually finished just in time to shower and change before the awards dinner. We had a great afternoon with them!



The awards dinner was the same as usual and afterward we all went to the bar for drinks. I ended up talking to Debbie Berg and Hilary Walsh for most of the evening and really enjoyed myself.



Sunday morning we slept until we woke up, packed and went to breakfast. After Dave stuffed himself with belgian waffles and was too full to do anything, we layed on the hammock for an hour before leaving.

Every year the regional is better and better for us. We have created some wonderful relationships with people within the region and are very fond of many of them. We no longer have the issue of "Where do we sit?" at the awards dinner - we could sit with anyone and be totally comfortable. I no longer feel totally out of place at the spouse's meeting. I don't feel intimidated by anyone. We belong. We have earned it by sticking it out and persevering. There are so many people that have come and gone since we began - I am proud to have stayed through all of this. I am proud of Dave and the work that he does. I am so happy to be a part of this company and feel completely blessed that God brought us down this path.