The Great Pumpkin

Kyle knows my love for cheesy fall activities. In the past, I've dragged him horseback riding in the apple orchards, apple picking, hay rides and forced him to make homemade applesauce and pies with me. It's not as bad as it sounds, he really loves this stuff as much as I do, I know it! This year, since we're down south, we settled for a trip to the pumpkin patch, which we actually haven't done in a few years. Kyle was sweet enough to suggest we make the trek and found us a place to go, about 30 min away in Missouri.

Here's Kyle inspecting the goods ...

Here's me with the winners! Only $4 each!

Somehow, Kyle always gets the brunt of the work when I drag us on holiday/seasonal activities. He does all the work when we go cut down a Christmas tree ... and here he is hauling our pumpkins to the car. Thanks, honey!

You'll have to stay tuned for the results of our pumpking carving contest!! I'm sure I'll end up making Kyle do all the work for that too. :)

Give Me a W!

So, as most of you know, we're down in Arkansas so that I can work on our General Mills team that supports Walmart, our biggest customer. However, you have yet to hear me blog about it because, quite frankly, it's not the most exciting part of our lives. Here's your first, and probably only, posting about the retail giant.

Many of you have heard about it before - the Walmart Saturday Morning Meeting. Back in the day, they were held every Saturday, attendance was required by all Home Office associates and they ruthlessly drilled into sales numbers and performance metrics. Hard core.

Gradually they have eased off of that approach and the Saturday Morning Meeting is now held once a month, Home Office associates are strongly encouraged to attend (and can bring family and friends) and they are basically a Walmart Pep Rally. Literally, they do the Walmart Cheer, bring in celebrities, and generally celebrate what they do for their customer around the globe.

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I felt I needed to "check the box" at some point during my time in this role, so I met a friend at 7am to experience the 2-hour love fest.

Here are the guests from this week - Captian Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (gave me chills to see him and hear his story ... he got a ginormous standing ovation) and Faith Hill (launching a fragrance line that seems a little too high class for the typical Walmart shopper.)

Suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised with the show, but it did feel slightly cult-ish. There were a lot of references made to "Mr. Sam" ... the founder ... and impressive attendance for a Saturday morning. I do have a new appreciation for their loyalty and true belief in everything the company stands for.

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If you're interested in hearing the cheer, here's a youtube clip. And, I've given you the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z48kJTYSl8s

Give me a W - A - L - squiggly - M - A - R - T!

What's that spell? Walmart!

Who's Walmart is it? MY Walmart!

Who's #1? The Customer!

Let's just say, I highly doubt I'll jump at the chance to get up at 6:30am on Saturday to attend again in the future. Walmart Saturday Morning Meeting - check!

O-H .... I-O!

Kyle and I finally coordinated our schedules to travel at the same time! Unfortunately, we were traveling to different cities - Kyle to Minneapolis for work, and me to Columbus for recruiting.

My friend, Julie, picked me up from the airport and we spent the evening with Alayna and her beautiful family.

Liam is part "mini=me" of his dad, Ty and part monkey - he literally climbs on everything and everyone!

And, I had to get a branded shot of Nora and her Cheerios!! Is that adorable or what?!?!

I used a couple vacation days to head to Cleveland to hang out with family and high school friends. My brother and sister-in-law were also in town so we had most of the family in the same city for once! But of course, no picture of all 5 of us, that would make too much sense. You aren't too excited about Ohio while you are growing up there, but boy is it nice to come back after living so far away for so long.

Hung out with my girls at Crocker Park.

I was also able to attend a benefit for a friend from high school that is battling Hodgkins Lymphoma. It was great to see Mike and the nearly 450 family and friends that came out to support him.

Looking forward to another recruiting trip to Columbus in a couple weeks (Go Buckeyes!) and then a week of relaxing in Cleveland with my hubby over Thanksgiving. I love me some Buckeye Country!