Big event

Well, besides getting the house ready, I did have a big event last week. I've been planning a tour and workshop in Boise since last year and it finally all came together. We had a group of ag journalists, photographers, writers, marketers, etc. join us for a tour of the local area, then a full day of workshop speakers. It was a great success and a lot of fun. Now, this isn't as fun as my cute kiddos, but I am kind of proud of the event so I thought I'd share. Here is our group photo taken at a local vineyard after we did a wine tasting. It was a beautiful setting. We had a catered dinner there also. Josh came over and joined us so I was glad he came to meet and greet. The host group was the Livestock Publications Council, a professional group I belong to. I have been involved with this group since I was in college. I became inspired when I went to their annual meeting my sophomore year and realized I wanted to be an ag journalist and to educate and communicate about agriculture. We toured a mint farm (second photo) and mint still. Mint is cut with a swather, similar to hay, then steam is used to make the leaves release the oil. After that, we made a stop to a mint handler who is the company who buys the mint oil and sells it to places like Wrigley's and Colgate for gum and toothpaste. After that we toured a sugar beet factory and learned more about how they process sugar beets into sugar. It was very cool (quite stinky) though. We came away with a whole box of different sugars though. MJ was excited about the possibilities of cookie making when I showed her. :) We made another stop for wine tasting and tour of a distillery that makes Idaho potato vodka and fruit brandy, along with wines. Then, our last stop was another vineyard and dinner. The next day, we had western and lifestyle photographer David Stoecklein as our keynote. For those of us in the industry, this was a huge highlight. He is very well know for capturing the American West and also works for huge companies like Jeep, Wrangler and Jansport. He's very down-to-earth and gave a great presentation. Our other speakers were well-received as well. We had a nice turn out and received so many compliments. It looks like this may turn into an annual event. The last photo is of Diane and I. She's been a mentor since my college days and is the executive director of LPC. After the workshop day, a group of us enjoyed a family-style dinner at a local Basque restaurant. It was great to have all my hard work turn out even better than expected. I should also mention MJ and Emma stayed at Mark and Carla's. MJ was so excited to have a sleepover. They had lots of fun with Mich and Matt during the day. Mackenzie got to make a pinåta, which she thought was really cool.