never such devoted sisters....

Hi Sisters....

According to the schedule there is to be another Sisters' Trip next year and I get to plan it (this is Emily). I have to be honest with you; I don't just want to use Jen's beautiful vacation home as our default trip every time. Jen (and everyone), I love going up there and I know it saves us a lot of money, but I also think it would be fun to do another "trip" like our Tahoe one. It has been seven years (eight by the time of our next get together) since Tahoe and since then we have basically just gotten together for a glorified mate at Jen's house or Michelle's house (the West Jordan one). Although they were great times, I am ready for another trip. Do you follow? Agree?

So I have been putting a brainstorming list together. Let me run my ideas by you  and then maybe get some feedback. Oh but before I run my ideas by you I wanted to also share my expectations for this and basically all Sisters' Trips. I expect that we spend time together first of all. I like to relax a little but I also like to use my body a little (more), so it would be great to have places to get out and walk, hike, bike, swim, canoe, kayak, or really anything. I would like to be somewhere pretty. If I am going to spend the money to go on vacation without my family then it needs to be a vacation worth going on. I think you all agree with me on that. Okay so here is my list of suggestions:

1. Camping in Tahoe: That was such a blast and I think it would be super fun to do it as sisters. We could have some awesome food. Plus it is really easy to find cheap airfare to Tahoe, so we could totally fly. I think it would be a lot of fun!

2. Sonoma/Napa: I have always wanted to visit this area. It seems like it would be a beautiful place and judging from the information I found online there would be plenty to do. Maybe we could use someone's timeshare, if available (and offered, of course), so that might help offset some costs in getting there.

3. Carmel: Look on this website  http://www.carmelcalifornia.com/index.cfm/travel_itineraries.htm.This place looks like it would be wonderful (if not a bit expensive). I would love to vacation there. There are two downsides though; first it would be very expensive and second it is about a two hour drive from San Francisco. But if this looks like a place that we want to go then I might be able to find some deals that would help with the cost...I can't change the distance from San Fran though...

4. BYU Women's Conference: As you all know, this is one of my favorite events of the year. I think this would be fun, cheap, and uplifting. The biggest downside to this is that I know that it causes stress in some of you, and we may not be together the whole time because of different interests. (P.S. I am going regardless, so anyone that wants to come with me is welcome)

5. Time Out For Women in Toronto, Canada: This is a long shot, I know, but doesn't it sound like it would be fun to go somewhere we haven't all been before. And unlike Women's Conference we would all be together and there is no stress in not getting the class that you want. But there would be a major expense in getting there.

So those are my suggestions. I think any of them would be a blast. I think if I start planning now then I can get an idea of what this will cost and we can start saving now. Let me know what you all think.

P.S. I was going to try and put Michelle or Jen or Lisa's face over Angie's in that picture, but it was just going to be too much effort...