Jaxon and his Christmas Tree

December 10, 2011 ~ My adorable nephew, Jaxon loves his Christmas Tree so much. You couldn't give him a toy to make him any happier than sitting on the side of the couch being able to pull off one of the decorations. At 10 months old he is growing so fast and Aunt Shell is so excited to watch him get excited over the simplest things. I love that little guy to the moon and back!

Las Vegas 2011

November 16, 2011 ~ It's always exciting when you get to leave for vacation. As a business owner we try really hard to get away from our business at least once a year and this year we took a Las Vegas trip! We took my mom (who had never been to Vegas) and my Aunt Judy (who has been before). We got really cheap tickets to stay at Aria at the new City Center and wanted to see a few shows. The main reason we were going was to see the Eagles perform their last concert of this year at MGM which was awesome! Everyone had a great time and we would get up each morning around 7 am and go to bed around 2 am... needless to say it was a blast but we were ready to get back home! On Thursday we were walking through Treasure Island and who was in front of us..... Willie Nelson! Of course if it's country we would find it! He was so nice and gladly took a few pictures with us and then took off before the crowd started figuring out who he was. It was a great trip and there is still more to see (yep we've been 4 times and still haven't seen everything yet).

2011 20 under 40

November 2, 2011 ~ Today was a wonderful day! I was selected as one of the Columbia Business Times 20 under 40 class! This award/recognition is given every other year to recognize outstanding young business people who are working hard to give back to the community while building their own business. What an amazing honor and experience to be a part of. Congratulations to all of the "2011 20 Under 40" class!

Women In Business Awards

October 25, 2011 ~ What an amazing day! My friend, Shelly DeVore and I were nominees for 2 awards the Columbia Daily Tribune would be giving away at lunch. No biggie... It was an honor just being an nominee. Little did I know they announced me as the 2011 Business Woman of the Year! I was so not expecting that at all and wasn't even prepared! Truly what an honor but in all honesty I wanted to break the award and give a piece to the other 14 women that were nominees. I feel that not one person can impact this community but rather the many great women that were standing with me on the stage. I am so happy with my life and it's because of great people / women that I have to support me, encourage me and believe in me that makes it all possible. Thank you Columbia Daily Tribune, Commerce Bank, Moresource, Stoney Creek Inn, KFRU 1400, University Catering & Event Services, Nancy Allison Agent, Shelter Insurance, Lynn Maloney Acupuncture and The Sensible Group! Congratulations to all the women nominated for these awards.... you all deserve to be recognized for the great things you are doing for our community!

Pictured above:
Anne Churchill - 2011 Emerging Business Woman of the Year
Cindy Mustard - Professional Excellence Award
Michele Spry - 2011 Business Woman of the Year

2,000 Ambassador Points!

October 20, 2011 ~ Today was a special day.... Dan Scotten is one of the founding members of the Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors and today marked his 2,000 points. When an Ambassador reaches 1,000 points he/she is honored with a tree anywhere in Columbia that bears their name on it. Same goes for a 2,000 point tree. In the Spring of 2012 Dan will have a second tree dedicated in his honor. What is so cool about this is in early 2012 I will have my 1,000 points and will get my first tree. Dan and I have made a pack that he will dedicate my tree and I will dedicate his tree (since this is during my term as the Ambassador Chair) and it means a lot to me. Dan is a great guy who has done amazing things for our community and I am proud to call him a great friend. Congratulations Dan!

(This is his orginial Ambassador gold jacket and he always laughs at my "bling" (pins) on my jacket and for his 2,000 points he wanted his jacket to have the most "bling" ..... I love that guy! :)

Pumpkin Patch

October 15, 2011 ~ Today I met Jill, Kinly, Mom, Ashley and Jaxon at the Pumpkin Patch near Wooldridge, MO. It was a perfect day to get outside with the kids and to get some good pictures. Jaxon loved all the orange pumpkins!

Kinly and her momma, Jill, where feeding the goats. It took Kinly a little while to warm up to the goats but then she was a pro! 

Jaxon just wanted to touch the goat. He is such a boy and has to see what everything is all about. That kid isn't scared of much!

As you can see Miss Kinly was pretty sweet on Jaxon. She would "unplug" him, reach in and grab a big ol' smooch then "replug" him. She did this like 3 or 4 times before we told her we needed to move on! She's so funny and just keep Jaxon in her sights!

Grandma Crews took Jaxon to see the sunflowers and all the animals they had at the Pumpkin Patch. Pretty much anything Jaxon wants his Granny will make sure he gets and he didn't want to ride in the stroller!

After a great day at the Pumpkin Farm, Aunt Shell took me for a ride on the hayride around the Pumpkin Patch! I had a lot of fun playing with the straw and looking all around at the other kids on the ride.

Midway Heights Fall Festival

Saturday October 8, 2011 ~ Tonight was the Midway Heights Elementary School's Fall Festival and Chili Supper! This is the biggest fundraiser our school does to earn money to offset expenses for the students/school. It was perfect weather and as a Partner in Education along with our other amazing Partner in Education (Tanya Alberty with D&H Drugstore) we agreed to let students throw whip cream pies at us to raise money for the 5th grade class to go on a field trip to St. Louis in December. I love working with Tanya and supporting our school! The 5th grade class earned almost $300 towards the $1500 needed to go on this field trip. We are proud of the 5th graders for coming up with this idea and can't wait to attend the field trip with them!

Artful Bra Event!

Wednesday October 5, 2011 ~ Tonight was the Artful Bra Event put on by Ellis Fischel Cancer Hospital. Shelly DeVore and I submitted 5 bras to this amazing event. This was held at the Tiger Hotel in downtown Columbia, MO was a lot of fun!

Nancy Fay, me, and Barb King.... I love these girls....

Heather Stewart, Sarah Dubbert and my momma.... I love these girls too.....

Barb King, Shelly DeVore, Heather Stewart and Sarah Dubbert..... Oh and I love these girls too! 

Shelly and I with 4 of our artful bras hanging on the wall behind us.....

We are such nuts! We had so much fun designing these bras and coming up with themes!

I was so glad that my momma went with me... She had a really good time and supported a great cause!

I really enjoy being with my girls! They keep things interesting and always have you laughing!

See.... lots of laughing in this picture!

A great time was had by all and there were some great bras that were on display. We were very excited to win "People's Choice" on our military theme "Support The Girls". The fabric from this bra was from our cousin, Chris Spry who was an active Marine in Afghanistan. The pins were from Shelly's husband, Gene DeVore, who is a Marine as well. We felt like this was a great way to "support" women (and really all military) that was serving our country. It was an exciting evening and I am so glad we did this... we are already planning for next year!

Pink Pumpkin Painting Party!

Saturday October 1, 2011 ~ Alisha Moreland created a Pink Pumpkin Painting Party to help spread the word about breast cancer awareness. She invited me to come help paint these pink pumpkins to give to businesses in our community to help remind women to get their yearly mammograms. It was so much fun and the top pink pumpkin is on display at the Chamber of Commerce in Columbia, MO.

This pink pumpkin was made by me for my friend Nancy Fay. Nancy is a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and Women's Network with me who is 19 years breast cancer free all because a mammogram found a small lump. If she hadn't had her mammogram she might not be here today. Nancy means a lot to me as a friend and mentor. She is an amazing woman!

This was the third pink pumpkin I painted/decorated and gave to Chuck Everitt to display in his business. I am so glad I took the time to help paint pumpkins and spread the word. What a fun afternoon for such a great cause!

Columbia Photo Walk

Saturday October 1, 2011 ~ Today was a fun day! I got to spend the day with my girl Shelly DeVore doing a photo walk in Columbia, MO! We were trying to be artistic and have a photographers eye however we are both full of it....

Shelly looks very artistic in this picture....

However in this picture you see.... well this is the "normal" Shelly DeVore. Fun and a wee bit silly... but that's why I love this girl! What a hoot!

This was a great spot to be... the columns on the University of Missouri campus.

So I decided to put the Michele Spry photo eye on it and have fun! Not too bad for just being silly! Overall it was a great day walking downtown Columbia taking pictures of nature, buildings, objects and people. Thanks Shelly DeVore for a very memorable photo walk! :)

TOONFEST!

September 17, 2011 ~ Misty and I loaded up my nieces and nephew and headed to Marceline, Missouri to TOONFEST! This was the 13th annual celebration at the boyhood home of Walt Disney. The weather was a little cool and there was a chance of rain but we wanted to take the kids to see it anyway! When you pull up to Main Street USA the whole town square was full of tents with vendors selling jellies, cookies, kettle corn and funnel cakes and they had game tents too! The kids had the most fun "milking the cows" that they took wood cut out cows and put udders on them with a 5 gallon bucket of water. It was so funny watching them milk cows! We were able to tour the Walt Disney museum while we were there too! Such neat history and to see that he hand wrote a lot of letters.... something you rarely see these days. It was a great day and I always enjoy time spent with my best friend! :)

Jya, Olivia & Mikel!

Our 14th Anniversary!

September 13, 2011 ~ Today we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary! Brandon and I met back in high school at age 16 and married at 21. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else and each year that passes I can't help but fall in love even more with him. He woke me up and whispered "Happy Anniversary honey" in my ear and then when I got to the office this was waiting on my desk. He had went to town to get my favorite drink (Venti whole milk hot chocolate with 7 pumps of vanilla) and a piece of pumpkin loaf with 2 cards. We don't ever really buy each other anything but we always get cards... yes more than one... for special occasions. I love that man and can't wait to grow old together! :)

A surprise birthday party!

Saturday September 10, 2011 ~ My Aunt Janie is turning 65 next Friday so my mom and her son worked really hard to plan a surprise party for her. Since 65 years old is a great milestone we thought we would do a tropical theme to make it a little more fun!

Of course when you are at the Hammered Hog (my dad's shop that we named) we almost always have a little karaoke with a lot of great memories! 

We set up a little Tiki Bar with some frozen drinks to complete the theme! 

Now we just need the birthday girl to arrive......

She was so surprised! She thought she was going to come over for some pizza and karaoke with mom and dad and instead there was about 25 people waiting for her!

She was in shock that someone (her family) could pull off something like this for her! 

Let's blow out the candles and get this party started! 

After opening her gifts she was so happy! She was still in shock! 

But it didn't take long for Loretta Lynn to start singin'! It was a great night and I am so glad that she was surprised and still had a great time! :)

His big green tractor!

Monday September 5, 2011 ~ My husband is spoiled rotten! He had a perfectly good tractor that he bought brand new 5 years ago but since then felt the need to have something that had a cab with heat and air and a "buddy seat" for me to ride with him. So they delivered his new tractor on Friday and we got to test it out on Monday....

So I drove up to our property in Midway to ride in the tractor with him. Here he comes.....

 

It's a huge tractor that is about as big as Brandon's smile! He's always wanted a big tractor to brush hog on and he finally has it! Happy Birthday, Anniversary, Merry Christmas and anything else for the next 10 years! 

 As long as Brandon's happy......

I'm happy! :)