a movie, a retreat, a calling, a website...

For Meagan's birthday this year, she wanted to take one friend to the new American Girl movie instead of having a party. We had to wait for a few weeks for the movie to be released, so she was thrilled when we were finally able to go. I took Meagan and Carly to Park City last Thursday evening to see Kit Kittredge, An American Girl. I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed the movie - and so did the girls (and their dolls, lol).

Friday afternoon, I headed out with my friend, Shantelle to the Memory Box mini-retreat in Midway. I had the best time. Seriously...way better than I expected. Lori and Lindsey spoiled us with goodies - of the scrapbooking variety AND the edible variety. They taught some fun layout classes.

I got to meet lots of fun women...but I was especially excited to meet Heather White- someone I've admired for a long time.

For those of you who are familiar with her blog, I'm here to tell you she is EXACTLY what she seems to be. Super kind, fun, funny...just a great person to spend time with. :) Heather even brought everyone a gift - see the cute glass jars in the photo above? She made those for every single person -- so sweet, huh? And she also introduced me to my new favorite glue...Scotch quick-dry adhesive...she gave me a bottle as a "meeting you in real life" gift. See, super sweet - I told you!

I couldn't believe how productive I was over the weekend. I was able to complete all of these layouts on Friday alone!

(I didn't take a picture of the pages I completed on Saturday, but I will share them soon).

It was so refreshing to scrap whatever photos I wanted -- despite the quality -- with whatever product I wanted -- new OR old -- on my own schedule, in my own way. Seriously, it just felt so good. Don't get me wrong, I feel so blessed to work in the scrapbook industry and I love my work...but this weekend just reminded me again how much I love the HOBBY of scrapbooking.

And without going into detail, I will also add that in addition to having a ton of fun, it was also mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually uplifting. Some of the women who were with us were absolutely incredible and had such amazing stories they shared with us. One in particular. I hope I'll get an opportunity to spend time with these great ladies again! Thanks to Lori and Lindsey for organizing such a great weekend!

I was exhausted by the time we got home late Saturday...technically, I guess it was early Sunday...but it was SO worth it.

On Sunday, I was offically sustained as a member of the Young Women's presidency in our ward. I am looking forward to serving with the other women who were called...and I'm looking forward to teaching and learning from the Young Women in our ward.

Before I forget again, I wanted to mention this website: Scrapbooking from the Inside Out. Rachel e-mailed me a few weeks ago to tell me about her new site. It took me a while before I was able to check it out to see what it was all about. When I finally did, I was so impressed. I love her take on scrapbooking and the theory behind her concept (or would that be the concept behind her theory?). It's definitely worth checking out...I especially loved the inspiration page.