August 8-10, 2007

St. George, UT

Last week marked our second annual trip to St. George for our office retreat. Let me just say, it was as much fun this year as it was last year. Last year I took it upon myself to plan the trip and I did the same this year with a lot of help from SL. I will not give you all of the details...just highlights. SL and I arrived Monday night in order to get things ready for everyone's arrival on Wednesday. We went food shopping, tested the AC in the house and the temperature of the pool. I made sure the walking/biking trails were suitable for exercise and SL made sure she knew the way to and from the house to the spa so we would not have any lost colleagues.

Wednesday, as guests arrived they were welcomed by a goody box that contained treats, a CD of summer time music, and what SL and I could determine might be an enjoyable magazine for everyone. We headed to The Painted Pony for dinner...I speak on behalf of everyone when I say it was one of the best meals we had ever eaten. Unfortunately we had to rush through the main course in order to make it to the Tuacahn Theater production of Cinderella. I stayed behind with KH to sign the check and get dessert...for everyone. The show was fantastic and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. For those who have never been to Tuacahn it is an amazing outdoor theater set up against the red rocks of southern Utah.

Thursday we all had breakfast together feasting on JG's famous egg dish. Delicious! There were nine of us gathered together and of the nine, six had spa treatments scheduled for the day. That left the other three, me included, to do what we wanted...more pool time and naps. What a great way to spend the day. Once the 6 spa goers returned we began preparations for a BBQ and Karaoke! The food was delicious...it seemed a good number of us provided some favorite dish. The Karaoke was a hoot! I consider myself a semi good singer but you would not have been able to tell if you had listened to me. But, when you look as lovely as I did (no make-up, hair slicked back and hidden under a straw hat...just wait the pictures will tell the story) you tend to feel less inhibited and do crazy things. It really was a lot of fun and we had BC and MB to balance out the off-key singers. They both have excellent voices.

Two of the groups left Thursday night leaving five of us to suffer along without them. Friday came with three of us going to the spa. I had two treatments: Reflexology and a pedicure. The reflexology was incredible. I would take that over a massage any day. The therapist focused on the pressure points of my feet...spending just a little time on my hands. I am generally VERY ticklish on my feet but this did not bother me...no I did not kick the therapist in the face. I wanted to crawl out of there so I wouldn't disturb the good that had been done. After returning home I spent more time at the pool. By Friday night it was just me and DS left in the house.

Saturday I woke up, went riding for an hour, and came back to start the deep cleaning. DS left before noon but I wanted just a bit more time at the pool. Once back inside I showered and then did the final cleaning and packing in order to begin my trek home. By the time I arrived back in Provo I was pooped having trained every morning and enjoying the festivities during the day and into the evening. It was a memorable few days. Below is a picture of the entire group at The Painted Pony.