Crazy Week Part 2

Two Wednesday's ago, I flew from Cali to meet Ryan in Phoenix, AZ, for "Summit", an award getaway for all of the best employees at AT&T. Honestly, I don't know how many times they were told that they are the "best of the best"!! Talk about fulfilling an ego! Ryan arrived shortly before me and I was shuttled to meet him at the Phoenician in Scottsdale. First of all, Scottsdale is gorgeous! It's definitely one of those places Ryan and I wouldn't mind living in for a while (maybe now that we've said it, we'll end up there... we said it about DC a few years ago and, well...). The resort was absolutely breathtaking! I don't think we've ever stayed anywhere that was as luxurious! So, the first day, we just settled in to our little cabana (our room wasn't even attached to the main hotel) while waiting for our luggage. In the evening, we met everyone from Ryan's former region for drinks at the West Fountain... open bar! Then, everyone walked down to this little historic building and event area for a huge southwestern barbecue buffet, western music, and Native American performers. Our first taste of Phoenician food was delicious and the event was fun, but the desert wind was freezing and all the girls were totally under-dressed, so the evening ended pretty early.

The next day, everyone was scheduled to participate in a previously chosen activity. Ryan and his protege, Kevin, went trap and skeet shooting and they loved it! Ryan always loved gong shooting with Dennis in Cali and Kevin had never been, and now they are both addicted! While the boys were shooting, Kevin's fiancee, Jessica, and I had massages at the spa!! Jessica had never had a massage before and now she is addicted. I love massages and it totally made me miss going to Glen Ivy with my girls!! The best thing about these activities was that they were free!! AT&T covered everything for the whole weekend! After our massages, Jessica and I spent a few hours hanging out by the pool, enjoying a couple of drinks, brainstorming for her wedding and browsing through property catalogs for Ryan and me. By the time the boys were able to join us, we had to get ready for our formal dinner that evening. Everyone looked so gorgeous! Our food that night was amazing! They even served us spaetzle! And, the dessert was delicious! The best thing about the whole night was our surprise entertainer, Kellie Pickler!! Jessica and I were so excited! Ryan didn't even know who she was! She is fabulous live and just as goofy as you'd imagine! The night got even better because Ryan was given an invitation to a meet and greet... we were able to meet Kellie Pickler after the show and take pictures with her! I took and picture with her first, and then we took a picture with her together. When she saw how tall Ryan was, she took off her red high heels to look even shorter next to him... and Ryan thinks she touched his butt during the photo... I know I didn't! After that we joined everyone else at one of the bars so Ryan could schmooze a little. The whole day was fantastic!

On Friday, we decided to ditch our planned activity, a jeep tour of the desert, and met Kevin and Jessica for lunch on the golf course. The boys were able to go shooting again and Jessica and I went to the pool again. It was so nice to be able to work on my tan! Being an east coaster has made me feel so pale! By this time last year, I'd already been tanning at the pool for two months! That evening's dinner was at the Venue of Scottsdale and it was so much fun! The venue had a few different rooms and each room was a different theme: the center was a live band karaoke (most of the singers who volunteered were surprisingly good!); the left side had a mardi gras room with hurricanes, southern food, a gambling with fake money; the right side had a biker bar with diner food, pool tables, airbrush tattoos, and a green screen Harley Davidson photo booth; and upstairs was the ultra bar, where gourmet food was served in martini glasses and a lounge setting. The whole evening was a blast!! After that dinner, we checked out a local, open air bar and then headed back to the resort for last call. Saturday morning, was check-out time, and sadly, Ryan had to return to work! His Experience Store in China Town had it's official grand opening and he didn't want to miss the whole thing. I fortunately, was able to go back to California for my sorority chapter's 20th anniversary! Look for that in the next blog: Crazy Week Part 3!