Kinly is sitting up on her own!

I went and had lunch with Greg and Jill this afternoon and their daughter (one of my nieces), Kinly Ann, is sitting up on her own! She is really close to crawling too. She is 6 months old and as cute as could be! She has 2 teeth on the bottom that is almost in. She is such a little stinker but I love her! Aunt Shell loves spending time with her :)

Eagles Concert 2010

Last night was a blast! The Eagles held a concert in Busch Stadium in St. Louis and they ROCKED! We took my mom and Kim & Cindy Wischmeyer. It was the first concert Kim had been to and the first time he had been in the new Busch Stadium. What a great time we all had. There was tons of people (I love people watching) and lots of happy people! The Eagles formed 40 years ago this year and although they have partied hard those boys can still put on one heck of a show! Joe Walsh has to be my favorite guitar player.... he can make a guitar scream! I am so tired today, as we didn't get back home until 1:30 am, but it was so worth it! Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh & Timothy B Schmidt you guys ROCKED the stadium!

Changing The Odds

Today was my last Changing The Odds committee meeting as a co-chair. My 2-year term ends on July 1, 2010 and what an amazing committee to be a part of! My amazing co-chair, Barb King, had these beautiful flowers delivered to the Chamber during our meeting. What a nice surprise from a sweet and thoughtful woman! The card attached said " To Michele, Thanks for everything you have done and you're a hard act to follow" Barb. I love this committee and the committee members are so thoughtful, loving, kind and just simply amazing! What a wonderful day!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Jim Crews, and my father-in-law, Lonnie Spry! We spent a few hours with Lonnie earlier today and then went to my mom and dad's for dinner..... momma's home cookin' was so good! It's always good to spend time with family and my sister and brother-in-law came to celebrate too. I know neither one of us was easy to raise but these dad's hung in there on the wild roller coaster ride we gave them. We love you both!

Olivia, Mikel & Jya

These are some of my nieces and one of my nephews. These are my best friend, Misty McKee, and her sister Maxina's children. Olivia is 11, Mikel is 2 and baby Jya is a few months. I don't get a chance to see these kiddos very often but I made a point today to spend a little time with them! Olivia was getting ready to head out to a softball game, Mikel was being completely silly and baby Jya was so happy! These are just a few of the kids that rule my world! :)

Boys and their toys

Brandon went to an auction and purchased this truck.... only it did not look like this truck. It was an ugly yellow truck with bins on the back of it. A little "horse tradin'" and lots of welding and here's his new toy! I swear his smile is as big as the sun! He loves this little truck!

Chamber Ambassador Executive Committee

I have had the pleasure to serve as the 2009-2010 on the Chamber Ambassador Executive Committee as the Secretary. My secretary duties will end on June 30th and my new position will become the chair-elect for the 2010-2011 year. I will be a few points shy of 500 Ambassador points which is my half way mark for my tree. I became a Chamber Ambassador on July 1, 2008 and once you have 1,000 ribbon cutting points you will get a tree planted anywhere in Columbia (with permission of course) and dedicated in your honor. This is a really big deal and only 12 other Ambassadors have had this honor and just a few have 2 trees planted in their honor. My goal has been set to have my tree in 4 years or less so if things keep going like they are I will have my tree during my chair as an Ambassador. What a great year this has been and thank you to our chair, Nancy Fay; past chair, Rollie Hausman; chair-elect, Keri Tipton; Treasurer, Cheryl Jarvis; and good ol' Chuckles!

St. Louis Cardinals

Today I received a letter from the Department of Revenue that my new plates were ready to pick up! I decided that since I paid off my car early that I would reward myself and get personalized plates and here they are! I have lots of cool St. Louis Cardinals stuff and thought this would be a great addition! My other choice ..... Waldo.... which was a nickname given to me by by good friend Heather Stewart! You never know where you'll see Michele Spry! Go Cards!

2010 Leadership Columbia..... I graduated!

This year I had the opportunity to be apart of the Chamber of Commerce's 2010 Leadership Columbia with 29 other amazing people. This was  a 6 month intense program about Columbia. I have lived in Columbia (Midway) my whole life and I am still amazed at the things I never knew exsited. I have a much deeper appreciation for Social Services, Healthcare, Education, State & County Government, Arts & Rec, Ag & Life Sciences, Growth & Economy, and Media. Shawn Barnes and Shelly DeVore were the co-chairs this year and did a great job. Lexi Klaus filled in for Victoria Brees until she returned from having a baby and they both did a wonderful job. I know we are very lucky to have a Chamber of Commerce so strong in Columbia that supports it's members. Thank you to Piet Van Waarde from Woodcrest Church for being our guest speaker and giving each one of us a signed book titled "How the mighty fall and why some companies never give up" by Jim Collins. I am a little sad that this is all over but looking forward to staying connected with our class. Congrats 2010 Leadership Columbia! 

Grandma Ruby's Holly Hocks

We stopped by Grandma Ruby's house to drop off a few things that didn't sell in the estate sale on Saturday June 5, 2010 and noticed her holly hocks had bloomed. She loved these flowers and so did this little bee seen in the picture! It's something as simple as a flower that can bring back so many memories of our loved ones. It makes me smile to see these in bloom. Miss you lots Grandma Ruby and think of you often....

Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet

I am an active member in our Chamber of Commerce and every year we have an awards banquet to give thanks to the men and women that co-chaired committees, honor our current chair (Byron Hill) before they become our past chair and give away 3 awards.... Outstanding Businesswoman of the Year (Karen Miller), Ambassador of the Year (Tom Trabue) and Outstanding Citizen of the Year (Karen Taylor). What a great honor these awards are! This year's theme was "Engaging the Engine" and we are lucky enough to have Carl Edwards right here in Columbia, MO! Thanks to his momma the Chamber was able to borrow his race suits, awards/trophies, helmets and cardboard cut outs of Carl.  What a great event and I am so proud to be a part of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce!

MO Women's Business Conference

I had the pleasure of being on a planning committee with some amazing women to help organize the MO Women's Business Conference held on June 2, 2010 at the Courtyard by Marriott. What a great event! I was one of 6 panel members who was able to speak to the attendees about women in business. Heather (pictured with me) was also on this committee and did a presentation as well. Senator Kit Bond stopped by and spoke just before our keynote speaker. It was a wonderful day!