Never Thought I Would Be Here

 

As I walked down The Strip this past week with my dad on our way to dinner I thought back to the first time I ever went to Las Vegas. It was with my dad when I was a senior in high school we flew down to St George and drove into Vegas to watch the Utes and BYU battle it out at the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. I think if you would have told me then that in a little over six quick years I’d be walking down the same street with my dad this time attending SHOT Show (and not as his guest but there for my own job) I’m not sure I would have believed you! I grew up hearing all about SHOT but it was kind of crazy experiencing it for the first time knowing I was building a career of my own in the same industry.

 

 

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip: flew in Tuesday afternoon, there all day Wednesday and flew back out Thursday morning but it was definitely worth it! Actually meeting my boss Major’s wife Natalie in person was worth the trip in itself. So crazy to think I’ve worked with them for almost two years but have never met Natalie in person. I feel like I know her from being on so many calls together but it was so good to be able to talk to her face to face and sit down at dinner and client meetings with the two of them and all talk face to face. 

 

The first day I got in mid-afternoon. I was originally scheduled to leave Pittsburgh at 10:00 a.m. and then my plane got bumped to 5:45 a.m. (gag, would’ve been a 3:00 a.m. drive to the airport). Much to my “Uber driver” Jaden’s relief we were able to bump it back to 8:40 a.m. departure so we didn’t have to get up nearly as early as we thought. I flew through Charlotte and met a new friend on the flight from NC to NV. I was literally at the absolute back of the bus and this good ol’ southern boy sits down next to me and we chatted nearly the whole flight. He had an awesome accent was originally from Indiana but had lived in Charlotte for over 20 years and calls it home. He has two kids a girl and boy and his son is married to a girl named McKenzie. We talked business, faith and family and he was the first person I gave my official business card to. He was great. In between stories I was able to sign on and get some work done while he watched a movie. Best part was he asked me what my dad did at Browning, I told him and come to find out he went and found dad at the show and told him he should be proud of his daughter and I was a great flight buddy. Just the sweetest!

After I parted ways with my friend I went to see if I could find my bag. I ended up having to gate check in Pittsburgh so I was extremely nervous that it wasn't going to be there and I'd have no outfits to change into. I texted Jaden and let him know that I might be having a shopping spree in Vegas if my bag didn't show up. Luckily it finally did and I walked outside and hailed a cab to the Venetian. 

Once my cab driver found out I was going to SHOT and I worked with Amazon he proceeded to tell me all of his incorrect packaging horror stories. Apparently his address is mixed up with a lady's a few blocks over and he told me he had no use for a nursing bra or baby food. We arrived at the Venetian and I walked in and checked in knowing Major and Natalie wouldn't be arriving for a few more hours. From there I passed through the chaos of the casino went up the elevators to my room, showered and signed on to work. As I got ready for dinner I couldn't help but turn on Frank Sinatra because how could you not? I absolutely love me some Ol' Blue Eyes. "Strangers in the Night" might be one of my favorite songs of all time. After Natalie and Major got in and got situated we met up downstairs and I finally got to meet Natalie in person. She is so cute and funny and her and Major really do make a great team. I just feel so blessed to work with them. We went to Tao for drinks and appetizers before our dinner reservation at 8:30 p.m. That translated to 11:30 p.m. Pittsburgh time so I was very grateful for a giant glass of water and some potstickers at the club before we went to dinner because I was starving.

 

 

We ordered a bunch of sushi and chatted as we ate dinner and then met up with some of our clients that happened to be eating at the same place. One of them was the CEO of SPG where I did my internship and I felt so grateful all over again for the opportunities in my life that got me to where I am. I truly never thought I would be here but I am so very grateful. After seeing them we headed back toward our rooms and ran into another client and chatted with them for a bit. Then we decided to call it a night. It was only like 11:30 by the time I made it back to my room but as soon as I fell into bed I seriously did not move until I woke up the next morning I was more exhausted than I realized.

Natalie was so generous and invited me to go to the spa with her the next morning so we met up at 8:30 a.m. and got massages. It was amazing, Major & Natalie really are so good to me! After that we went back to our rooms and got ready and headed down to to the showroom floor. We went to a few client's booths, had meetings with a prospective client as well as current clients but probably the best part of all was when I saw my dad. As I walked around the corner and saw him I just ran and gave him a big hug and couldn't help but start to cry. Which then made Natalie cry, ah I just love and miss my family! We got to chat with dad for a bit and Major and Natalie told me that because Amazon didn't make it to the show our clients we had scheduled for dinner that night had a different appointment come up. They told me I was free to go to dinner with dad if I wanted and so he rearranged a few things and I was able to join him and the Browning crew for dinner with one of their distributors. It was so interesting being in a business situation with him and actually understanding what was being discussed. He really is such a good leader and I look up to his work ethic and ability to connect and read people so much. I also got to attend a cocktail event with him which was full of the industry's leaders and I was able to meet some impressive people and potentially score some leads for Flywheel.

 

 

 

After dinner with dad I met back up with Major and Natalie and another client and got to know them. Then I quickly ran out to the front of the hotel where I was able to see my brother-in-law Casey who was down in Vegas for a construction trade show for his work. It's crazy who you run into in Vegas!

 

 

After chatting with Case I went back into the hotel, met back up with Major and Natalie and one of their business acquaintances that has his own Amazon consulting business similar to us. Funnily enough he is based in Farmington, UT. Talk about a small world! At that point Major and Natalie could tell I was almost completely wiped out so we said our goodbyes and I headed back up to my room so I could get a decent nights rest before leaving for the airport around 6:00. I packed up and slept like a rock once again and made it to the airport in plenty of time to make my flight. I was able to sign on and work as well as do some studying for school on my flights home.


It was cool to fly through Chicago knowing we’ll be living there in a few short months. On one of my FaceTime calls with Jaden he told me that his cousin Jacquelyn found us an apartment downtown Chicago right across the street from them for our internship. It's a student just like us who is doing a sub-lease and it's really the perfect situation for what we are looking for! Once again NEVER thought I would be here doing what I am doing but I am so grateful it is happening. 

My Charlotte plane buddy said to me, "did you ever in your life think you'd be living away from home in Pittsburgh?!" I laughed and said "No sir I definitely never thought I'd be where I am." I remember on my mission and talking to one of my companions about whether or not we would take a look into our future even just five years down the road. It was a little bit tempting at the time but I am glad it wasn't a possibility. So much of my life I really didn't anticipate and I am completely ok with it. I have found so many blessings in all of the unexpected and feel so very grateful for the opportunities and experiences, peaches and pits and of course the lessons learned.

Peaches

• Making a friend on the plane from Charlotte to Vegas
• Major and Natalie are so good to me
• Meeting Natalie for the first time
• Staying at the Venetian
• Going to the spa with Natalie
• Yummy sushi dinners
• Seeing my old crew from SPG and catching up
• Meeting some of our clients in person
• Having a meeting with a potential client
• Having business cards and a website to send people to
• FaceTiming Jaden, especially when he was making dinner. I couldn't get over how concerned he looked as he was shredding a carrot
• Jaden’s cousin Jacquelyn helped us find an apartment in Chicago for the summer!!!
• Seeing dad and running to give him a hug
• Being able to go to dinner with dad
• Having missionary moments sharing about religion and asking questions about Major and Natalie’s Catholic faith
• Talking to dad about how even though people are different than me and make different choices than me we can still be kind and have fun with them. Seriously one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from my parents!
• Being in the same industry as my dad. Don’t know if I really ever thought it would happen but I truly am loving it!
• Major and Natalie being so kind and gracious as they introduced me to people. I really feel so blessed to have been extended the opportunity to work with them and feel extremely grateful and humbled that they feel confident in me and excited for my future at Flywheel
• Hearing that my Charlotte airplane friend tracked down dad and talked to him  
• Going to a cocktail event with dad and meeting some CEO’s and owners of some big companies
•  Seeing Jaden when he came and picked me up from the airport
• Going to a yummy Italian place for dinner called Girasole that our friend Amanda saw on the Bachelor. It is totally a hole in the wall place you go downstairs to get to it it's like a cellar space but it was SO good! We'll definitely be returning
• After dinner we went next door to a place I spotted when we walked in called Treat that specializes in Liege waffles which are DELICIOUS. They have little sugar pearls in them, I love getting them at Bruges waffles in Salt Lake. They did not disappoint. This place makes the waffles and then chops them up into bite size pieces and puts scoops of ice cream on top. Their top flavor of ice cream is Pittsburgh Pride which was cake batter base with brownies and oreos dyed to the infamous golden color that the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins all share. The second most popular flavor is cannoli so we did that one as well. Everything was so good but I think I could enjoy the waffle entirely on its own. We'll definitely be frequenting it as well
• Meeting the owners of Treat a husband and wife duo from Belgium and New York respectively. They met in NYC on her family's Christmas tree lot. He works for DHL and her family ships trees to military stationed overseas and he was there to pickup a shipment of trees and the rest is history. Pretty cute story if you ask me
• Playing dominos with friends
  
• Had an awesome sacrament meeting. Jaden gave a fantastic talk on the peace the gospel brings and it was such a good reminder for all of us in these crazy times
• Last week Jaden was asked to be an Elders Quorum instructor and this week he got a call from the stake executive secretary to see if he could meet with a member of the stake presidency this Sunday. He was asked to be the second counselor in Elders Quorum so looks like we're not going to be instructors together. He'll be so great though I'm excited for him!
• Brother Phetsomphou (pet-som-pooh) was the member of the Stake Presidency that extended Jaden the call to serve in the Elders Quorum presidency and he gave us some awesome counsel about supporting each other in our callings, the balance of work-family-church, and enjoying our time together as a couple before we start having kids. He asked us to think about what it means to see someone through God's eyes and promised us that we would have more joy in serving others than we would in any of our other life pursuits. It wasn't really that his counsel was new information necessarily but you could tell that he firmly believed what he was telling us and he carried a sweet spirit about him. He is originally from Laos and has a really beautiful story about hard work, opportunities and living the gospel. It was a really neat experience to sit and talk with him
  

 

 

 

 

 

 
Pits

• Wishing Mom & Jaden could have come as well (and Bridge too of course but that’s not an option right now, he’s needed in the hills and hollers of Kentucky for a few more months almost six to be exact)
• Red Dirt Road came on my shuffle as I was flying from Pittsburgh to North Carolina and I literally started crying because it's Jade's fav country song. I'm such a baby
  
• Vegas just isn’t really my jam, it was fun for the few days I was there but I had no problem leaving it and heading home
• Got some big time blisters from the shoes I wore as we walked the showroom floor
• Trying to adjust to the time change, especially with late dinner reservations. I truly don’t understand how dad does it  
• Worrying because I had a pain in the back of my leg and was concerned that I might be developing a blood clot from sitting on planes for so long. It's all good now though, thank goodness!
  

 

Lessons Learned

•  Life usually happens in ways we never expected, it's up to us to look for the beauty and the blessings in the unexpected: the peaches and pits
• Even when people are different than me and make different choices than me I can still be kind and have fun with them
• Girasole is amazing!
• We can have inner peace through the Savior and His gospel, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in