So Qualtrics hosted its first annual family BBQ on Saturday, and it had a great turnout. The recipe for success included:

1. Catering by J-Dawgs
2. Massive kickball tournament
3. Karaoke contest with four pairs of U2 tickets to winners
4. A bicycle obstacle course with prize money
5. The opportunity to finally debut Lilah’s Qualtrics onesie

Our kickball team came in close 2nd out of four, and I got beat for first in the obstacle course by 2-tenths of a second. Still mad about that. Otherwise, it was a great party.

My co-workers are possibly the coolest people in the world. The first little package I opened had onesie in it–but this was no ordinary baby gear–Jill sewed a Qualtrics Q on it!! I really cannot wait for her to show up at the company BBQ in August sporting this…it’s so awesome.

The bigger box had a huge package of Huggies diapers–which is perfect, since we have lots of newborn ones, but none for the 1-2 size.

I showed it off the Q onesie at the company meeting today and everyone loved it. I think they’re gonna want it incorporated into our company clothing line.

Now that we don’t work together any more, us LJ alum met up to grab some good curry and catch up. After dinner, Andrew and Rebecca invited us all over for an extremely tasty dessert and rockin’ round of Blokus. The work place certainly won’t be the same without bizdevbear and the ppc wizard. #goodtimes

p.s. Andrew – notice anything missing from that picture? Automagic.

Friday was the last day of work at my previous job. It had been a terrific 3 years, and I’m really proud of the things I learned and accomplished. My decision to move on came about when I received a job offer from another company–but then within days of that first offer, I was given a second, even better one that I couldn’t pass up. As a result, I’ve accepted the position as Director of Marketing at Qualtrics Labs,  a really awesome survey software company based in Provo. The people I’m working with are terrific, and I can’t say enough about the unique company culture.

As a result of this shift, I had a week of unemployment that I spent most judiciously. Skiing became priority #1, since I received a few complimentary lift passes as a gift from my new employer. If any of you have skied Deer Valley, you’ll know why it’s been rated the best ski resort in the nation 3 years running. I was lucky enough to have the company of Jer and Nathan for two of the trips. The picture below is of some of the amazing terrain we got to ski.

I can’t wait to get rockin’ and rollin’ at Qualtrics this next week…

This week I got to/had to attend a conference in Las Vegas for work. While I was really looking forward to the opportunity to connect with some brilliant individuals, Kristie and I were not looking forward to being away from each other. Four nights marked the longest stretch we’d been apart in two years.

I left Monday night, so Kristie decided to head home Tuesday night to spend time with her family. We each had good times on our respective trips. I spent the majority of my time attending conference sessions by day, and sponsored after-parties by night. At the Rok Nightclub in the New York, New York hotel, they catered to the tech-oriented partygoers by displaying a Twitter hashtag on the scrolling jumbo screen. Geek awesomeness:

Fun fun…but we couldn’t be happier to be back.

Kristie and I went to the inaugural Utah Valley Social Media Club (SMCUV) meeting tonight to start planning and organizing the chapter. Next meeting is Thursday, June 11, 7:00pm, at CoWork Utah in Orem. Everyone is welcome!

I’m happy to report that with the removal of the branch I am no longer at risk of having a psychotic breakdown at work. Thanks to Handsome Rob for snapping a pic:

This was Kristie’s first BYU Cheer banquet as a coach, rather than a member of the team. She loves her White Squad and they love her back…it was pretty awesome to see how that group solidified over the year. Some really talented, cool kids…and a pretty awesome coach, if I do say so myself.

Kristie presenting awards: