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.