This past weekend our Management team went to Vegas for our yearly retreat. We always go before the summer because that is our busy season and they encourage us to not take any time off because we get so slammed. It's a great time for us to get on the same page and find things to improve and be prepared for the upcoming summer. We always read a book every year as management team and try to pull and grab things from it that will improve our department.
This is my 3rd year and we've read great books. The first year we read -How to become a 360 degree leader- 2nd year was -7 habits of highly effective people- and this year was the -Go Giver- of the 3 the Go giver has been my favorite. I related to it on so many levels not just professionally. (I'd definitely recommend it to anyone especially Jr. I'm trying to get him to read it.) We also had the privilege of bringing our spouses along for the trip. So it was a great Valentines weekend getaway. We got to stay in an awesome house about 8 miles away from the strip which I was so thankful for. Las Vegas is not usually my first choice to visit and also the smell of smoke for long periods of time makes me nauseous. I was so excited we were renting a house instead of staying in a hotel. We left on Friday the 13th and came back yesterday on Presidents day.
It was a fun and relaxing weekend for the most part. We have some crazies on our team that have to do crazy things or they just wouldn't feel like the trip was crazy enough. Which is usually the opposite of what I try to achieve on trips. For the 2nd time in my life I got talked into riding THE BIG SHOT on top of the Stratosphere. I really dont know how I get myself into these situations but I think it has something to do with peer pressure and not having a back bone to say "Nah, I'm good.....you crazy people go right on ahead and ride a ride that shoots you over 160 feet in the air on top of the already obnoxiously high enough
1000 story casino." The very top needle looking thing is where we blast off at but we did it at night.
It's the tallest building this side of the Mississippi or at least that's what the elevator operator said. I tried not to think about it as everyone talked about it all day on Saturday.
I even smiled for pictures and laughed at the jokes about "what if the ride broke down and we got stuck up there all night" or "what if we just shot up and the ride malfunctioned and we flew off like Charlie did in Charlie and the chocolate factory" but I was freaking out on the inside! When we got on the ride I tried to hold Jr.s hand for support but he said he wanted to try and hold his arms up the whole time. Needless to say he is one of the crazy people I've been talking about. I'm still alive and the ride was fun but I am soooooo getting older because all I could think of was -how I am doing something I'd never want my kids to do.
The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun too. We did a lot of shopping and eating. Here's a picture of our group at the Carnival buffet at the Rio hotel.
We played Rock band on the Wii and a game called signs. It's not easy getting 6 couples on the same page especially because other
then our one big meeting about the Go-Giver we didn't have an agenda. It was really about relaxing, bonding and enjoying each others company. Since becoming part of the Pinnacle team Jr. and I have literally become best friends with several of the people here. We hang out with them outside of work on a regular basis. It just happened that way, we all really get along so well it was not only a really awesome get away for work but also with our good friends. Our boys stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Maile. We're so thankful for all that they do for us. We never worry about them when Grandpa and Grandma Maile have them. Which made it so much easier to enjoy our weekend. They never stop giving. It was a fun filled weekend.
He slipped both legs into one side of his pull up. I guess it seemed like a skirt to him so he compared it to a Tongan or Samoan lava lava. Jr. and I laughed so hard.
So I haven't been on in a couple of days because life can get so crazy and hectic here at the Maile home. We've been busy potty training Leka. I'm tired of changing a 3 year olds diaper. He's been doing pretty good so far so hopefully by the end of the month he will be fully trained.
It's the tallest building this side of the Mississippi or at least that's what the elevator operator said. I tried not to think about it as everyone talked about it all day on Saturday.
I even smiled for pictures and laughed at the jokes about "what if the ride broke down and we got stuck up there all night" or "what if we just shot up and the ride malfunctioned and we flew off like Charlie did in Charlie and the chocolate factory" but I was freaking out on the inside! When we got on the ride I tried to hold Jr.s hand for support but he said he wanted to try and hold his arms up the whole time. Needless to say he is one of the crazy people I've been talking about. I'm still alive and the ride was fun but I am soooooo getting older because all I could think of was -how I am doing something I'd never want my kids to do.
The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun too. We did a lot of shopping and eating. Here's a picture of our group at the Carnival buffet at the Rio hotel.
On Friday night Jr. sang at Ozz in Provo. One of his friends that organizes concerts asked Jr. to come and sing. Jr. sings everywhere and anywhere so usually we're use to just the 2 of us going and I usually sit all by myself and then we run for the door right when he's done. Friday was a different story though. Jr. was going to do his set alone but then Pati and the Fiji twins got there and they decided to sing together. I followed them around like a lost puppy while they practiced and tried to stay out of the way but then to my surprise my brother J.R. and his wife Jane showed up. Thank goodness! Then Lori and Bing came and several of our other friends. I saw a ton of people that I grew up with there also like Isa Fui, Snow and his wife and Nimo and her husband. It was so awesome to see everyone and for once Jr. and I hung out after he sang and just got to have fun with our friends and family. Jr. and the boys did awesome. Our friend Maka took pictures of Jr. while he performed so I'm anxious to see those. All the pix that we have of Jr. performing are off my camera and their horrible. Maka took the picture above of Jr. at another show they had. He's very talented. When we got home there was an email for Jr. from a Deseret News reporter wanting to interview him for a profile their doing on him. I always get more excited about stuff like that then Jr. but I'll post that once it's done. I love watching and supporting my husband do what he loves. I complain about it a lot but it really is so awesome to see him doing what he's so passionate about. Here's a video of Jr. recording his new song.
