An Incentive Trip Recap

As promised, here is an incentive trip recap.  It is absolutely impossible to tell you everything about what happened.  I can only try to share some photos and thoughts. Even though its Wednesday, I don't have a video for you.  Hopefully these photos will suffice.

Thought #1
Stampin' Up! was very thoughtful and generous and intentional about every aspect of this special vacation.  I could tell that they really wanted to let us know that we were a valued part of the company and they wanted to recognize us for our hard work. 
To give you an idea of how special it is to earn an incentive trip, I believe out of the 50,000 demonstrators worldwide, only 400 earn the incentive trip.

Here's some photos that speak to the thoughtful touches:

beautiful pillow gifts

Exclusive  Stampin' Up! welcome and farewell events where we could mingle and eat

A welcome treat for the kids which consisted of an activity book, pencil crayons and binoculars. 

Corporate team members like the CEO Sara Douglass being completely accessible for conversation.

And did I mention the pillow gifts??? (yes, I think I did but they deserve to be mentioned again!) I know it's hard to see in this photo but it was a perfect cozy and stylish jacket with the Stampin' Up! logo as well as a new embossing folder from the holiday catalogue.

Thought #2

This gift of an all expense paid vacation for two is special because it affords me experiences I wouldn't otherwise have. 

For exaple, The service on the Royal Caribbean cruise was exceptional and every achiever was given a balcony room.  I know that even if I were to buy a cruise for myself, I probably would not splurge for the luxury of a balcony room.  The balcony was a must have on this cruise because of all the remarkable scenery . 

We really enjoyed some fantastic excursions that included seeing glaciers, whales, sled dogs and more! 

Thought #3

This trip was the chance to connect and learn from some amazing people.  (including my family and team S.T.I.C members!) 

Since this was the first time I bought in my two children along with my husband, I wasn't sure if I would have the opportunity to visit and connect with Stampin' friends and wondered if it would be more of a low key family vacation. 

My children loved visiting with other children on the ship and they were very independent exploring the ship so it wasn't necessary for me to be next to them every minute.  This gave me lots of opportunity to meet and catch up with friends new and old!  It's not a secret as I know I've shared it before...the friendships and relationships are what make the Stampin' Up! journey so special! 

Canadian Achievers

Silvia Werner from Germany. We became friends from serving on the communication council together

Team S.T.I.C does Alaska!  Zahra and Selina both assure me that they had a great time too! 

Myself with Shelli Gardner co-founder and friend Jennifer Cotton

There were a lot of fun times with Jennifer who normally is very shy and quiet but for some reason doesn't mind getting up and singing Karaoke 

My son with his buddies

Dear friend Cindy from Hawaii

Hattie, Zahra and myself share a stampin' and O.T. bond! 

It's easy to chat with anyone on the trip: even stampin' rock stars like Allison Okamitsu and Brian King

I know Kevin had an amazing time.  He's already hard at work making a digital scrapbook! 

Myself and Sandy Carlson.  We met when it was our first incentive trip and we've been friends ever since!

Thought #4

So much creative inspiration!  Trust me...it's worth the wait for the new holiday catalogue! 

I'm sure that's enough for now!  Oh who knew that buying a Stampin' Up! starter kit would take me to such places? 

Thank you so much for being  a part of my journey!