SOOO as you may know, two and a half weeks ago I headed off to California with full intentions (and detailed plans) to go to United 2014 and then hang out in California for an extra week+ spending time with friends and shooting for fun.

I had blog posts scheduled for while I was away, but with terrible internet connection (400+ photographers all on wifi in one building) and changed plans, writing down my thoughts was a bit challenging.

So here I am. At a loss for words. With no possible way to explain the adventure, the incredible conversations, the and the community I never knew I needed. I could go on and on about the many things we learned, the things I want to implement, the amazing people who have touched my heart, or what it was like to be a part of a community of photographers focused on SERVING. I will touch more on that later this week, but for now, to help make sense of the WHAT… Here is united 2014 via my iphone (aka the behind the scenes fun post).

Ps. I am really learning to appreciate the amazingly imperfect iPhone photos. So many moments in life don’t wait for us to pull out our camera or for us to ask someone to take the shot so we are ACTUALLY IN THE PHOTO. Love these memories. These faces. These moments frozen in my mind forever. Such a gift.

…

Justine, Laura and I started our adventure early Saturday am. And it was an adventure from the very beginning. Let me tell you! ;)

We hopped off the plane at SBA and were quickly greeted by the warmest smile and best hugs around… Andrew. He is the best. Actually. We crammed our excessive amounts of luggage into Andrew’s BMW and cruised on the freeway with the windows rolled down and music blaring. PS. He’s a police officer too, so we were perfectly safe. :) After a personalized tour of the town and a stop for some Mexican food (of course!) we headed to the Showit HQ to help with secret projects for United. Also, Doza was our personal DJ while we worked. :)
Later we went for a walk on the beach, checked into the hotel, and met up with Jackie for late night INN-N-OUT run número uno for the trip (there were a few too many). The Fess Parker: A Doubletree by Hilton Resort was our home for the week.

Sunday we started the day out right with breakie beachside. We hit up State Street after for some shopping and then headed back for the cocktail party to kick off United.

Monday was a day full of classes. In the evening, we had a dinner reception filled with great conversations and 5 minute fuel (where you can talk for 5 minutes on WHATEVER you’d like).

Oh. And a late night INN-N-OUT run numero dos.

Tuesday was a day of celebrations because Tuesday was Justine’s birthday! It was so great to spend the day celebrating this friend by going for breakie at Jeanine’s (sooo yummy!), then Jackie, Justine and I took a break from classes in the afternoon to enjoy the sunshine and try something new… Paddleboarding! So fun.

For lunch, the United team brought in three different food trucks and we had lunch along the beach! Super neat.

Tuesday evening I headed off on a yacht shoot and then we had a live concert… with our very own photographers rocking out as the band. They did such a great job!

Wednesday was the last day of classes. Matt filled our brains with marketing goodness. I learned so much. He did such a great job!

This introvert then took a much needed break to rest and to catch up on emails.

Wednesday night I had a wonderful evening with my roomies- Laura and Hayley complete with dinner+girl talk before they flew out Thursday.
Thursday it was supposed to rain. Thankfully, Mr. Weatherman was wrong. :) Justine, Laura, and Melissa (bottom right) headed home Thursday so we hit up the pier to hang out, take photos and have a TONNE of laughs. These ladies are incredible. Oh. And what better way to end the trip than to race to the airport to catch your flight?? haha. They made it just in time… Thanks to Jackie’s driving. :)

Needless to say, United was incredible. I am looking forward to spending the afternoon journaling and brainstorming how to implement some of the many things learned. Here’s to United 2015!