Colorado and Wyoming Galaxy Pageant

I had a wonderful time at the CO/WY Galaxy pageant. I was able to attend with my dear friends Tiffany and Shannon. Shannon brought her step-daughter, Taylor. She is a beautiful young lady. I wonder when we will get her into pageants?

L-R Jessica and Erin are both 2009 Colorado Galaxy queens. As Mrs. Colorado International, I had the honor and fun of making several appearances with both of these fabulous ladies. They are both dear friends now. Jessica was also Mrs. Colorado International 2007.

I met several visiting queens. Yolanda Makel is the reigning Ms. Galaxy. She is so transparent and genuine!

The reigning Miss Wyoming International is Alyssa. I am so excited for her to attend International!

Brandi is Ms Essence. She was the co-host for the evening. What a gracious lady!

Congratulations to my friend E-Dee for winning Ms. Colorado Galaxy!

Congratulations to my dear friend Brenda for taking first runner up to Mrs. Colorado Galaxy. She also is a Mrs. Colorado International queen.

RaeJean is the director of this quality pageant. She has done an amazing job of putting together a fun and fair pageant.

I was there to support two of my clients, Tanya (L) and Sybrina (R). Good job ladies!

A huge congratulations to client and friend, Tanya, the new Mrs. Colorado Galaxy!!! All your hard work and following hours of advice paid off!! Now to get you ready for the Mrs. Galaxy Pageant!!

We all met at Old Chicago's Pizza for an after party. After a long night, it was wonderful to kick off my shoes with outgoing Miss Colorado Galaxy, Amanda. She has done an amazing job as a title holder!

All Things Diva

I am so excited to announce that I have been selected to be the pageant writer for the new website, All Things Diva . I have already written three articles! I invite you to check out this website if you haven't already. Also, if you are on Facebook, come on over and "like" our page! The easiest way to find my articles is to go to the ADT colums and click on Crown Connection.

Mrs. Colorado Pageant

I recently attended the Mrs. Colorado Pageant with a fabulous group of ladies. We are all friends through pageantry. I would have to say that some of the most amazing women I have met, I met through pageants. These ladies are no exception.

Of course, this lady is no exception. This is Heidi, Miss Teen World Colorado. Her successor will have big shoes to fill.

My friend, Brenda, came all the way from Montrose for the weekend. The Mrs. Colorado Pageant, a preliminary to the Mrs. America pageant, is probably one of the most amazing shows in the world. I was not disappointed at all this year. Another quality and entertaining show was put on by the director, Emily and her crew.

It was wonderful to catch up with my friend and client Jennifer who also happens to be Mrs. Colorado US Beauties. 

These ladies are some of my dearest friends. Jessica, far right, performed with her dance troop and put on an amazing performance!

I was there to support my dear friend and client, Erin! Way to go, Erin. She placed top 15 in a field of 47 women! She is definitely one of my heroes!

This was also a reunion for three years of Mrs. Colorado International queens: Brenda 2008, Jessica 2007 and myself 2009. What a fabulous night of friends and pageantry!!

Holiday Pageant Double Header

My two beautiful friends, Shannon and Tiffany, were judges for the Miss Holiday Pageant and the Colorado Coed Preliminary. They had the difficult task of choosing the winners from a beautiful group of girls.

 Miss United America, Teresa, was the gracious emcee for the pageant. She really did a good job. She even experienced the daunting task of not having a contestants paperwork, so she created her own narrative for this young woman's evening wear. She actually did a really good job!

Some of the lovely Colorado Coed Queens were on hand to help out. They did a wonderful job of organizing the contestants and helping them on and off the stage.

Deonn is the energetic Director for the Colorado Coed Pageant. I love this lady. She has such a big heart and a real passion for the Coed program. I am honored to call her my friend.

A special shout out goes to my client, Ashley. She won her age division for the Coed Preliminary and tied for the Supreme title as well as winning best in Fashion Wear. Congratulations, Ashley!!!

Eagle Banquet

The final event in my son, Stephen's, climb to Eagle Scout culminated in the Denver Area Council's Eagle Banquet. That night there were over 200 Scouts who had reached the rank of Eagle in the Denver area representing more than 400 Scouts who received the award in 2010. What a special year to receive the rank of Eagle Scout. This was also the 100 year of Boy Scouts in America.

These are some of the boys from our troop who were honored that night. My wonderful husband is on the far right. He is an Eagle Scout and the Scout Master of the troop. You are always an Eagle Scout.

We are so proud of Stephen for attaining this prestigious award. He worked hard and that hard work paid off. Way to go, Stephen!!!

New Dress

I was recently selected by Jackie of Jackie's Boutique to win this fabulous new dress. Just putting it on made me feel like a new woman. I was so honored to be selected from all the women who entered.

This dress is just one of her collections. All her dresses and separates are fashion forward. Each piece is a limited edition design and created by Jax Couture. I can't wait for my next special occasion so I can wear it again!! Jackie says, "Don't be afraid to try different things. We want you to experiment with color and have fun with your fashion. Every Season we include in the collection a mix of classic and fun trendy pieces that you can mix for different looks." Please visit her website and her facebook page. 

Go Red For Women

Friday, February 4th, was Go Red for Women sponsored by the American Heart Association. I volunteered to help out at a very special event set up by the local chapter and Park Meadows Mall. I served as the greeter for the event.

We had all sorts of things for the ladies to do that day. You could have your picture taken with the Go Red Dress, have your blood pressure taken or get a free makeover by Lancome. If you wore red that day, you could even get 20% off your purchases at Macy's.

My personal story about both heart and stroke awareness is my grandmother, Maddie. By the age of 84 she was having a difficult time getting around. She could barely take a few steps before getting winded. Further investigation revealed that she has a bad valve and an enlarged aorta. The first time she went in for surgery, they couldn't complete it because of a white film in the area around her heart. So, six months later she went in again. This time the surgery was a total success. Her color came back and her blood pressure returned to normal. That night she died of a stroke. I miss my grandmother so I wear red!

Way FM Winter Wonderslam

It all started on a Saturday afternoon in January at the Way-FM Volunteer appreciation. I was put on a Scavenger hunt team with some other wonderful Way-FM volunteers. We had specific pictures we had to take then get back and be the first team to finish.

Our first picture had to be with a pet, so off we went to Petsmart. This couple and thier bulldogs were happy to have their picture taken with some of our team. We had to take turns being the photographer for some pictures and for others we had to all be in the picture. I was the photographer for this one.

Creativity counted. One of our pictures had to be of us making snow angels. Most of the snow was melted that day, so we found a small snowbank and used our hands. How's that for creativity?

Here is a whole team shot of us reenacting a scene from a Disney movie in a Target store. Can you guess which one? It sure was a "whole new world" to us! These were only some of the pictures we had to take.

Brenna is the Volunteer Coordinator for Way-FM. She did a fabulous job creating a fun event. I had a blast. Because our team was the first to complete all the pictures for the scavenger hunt, we won free tickets to the Winter Wonderslam Concert staring Toby Mac!!!!

Because of the heavy snow that night, we missed the opening act of House of Heroes. I was disappointed since I love so much of their music. Next up was Brandon Heath. He is such an amazing, Godly man. Love his music!

We had a brief intermission to set up for Toby Mac. This was a perfect opportunity to catch up with Brenna and thank her for the tickets.

Paul is one of the morning show producers. It was great getting to meet him.

Mike is the afternoon DJ. We had to get at least one picture with the Way-FM sign!

Not a great picture of Toby Mac and his band, but it was an amazing experience! I have never been to a hard rock/rap worship service. I am sure God was tapping his toes that night. What a great way to celebrate with other believers. Toby even had an alter call. Angels were dancing in heaven that night. Thank you again Brenna and Way-FM for a night I hope to never forget!

Stephen's Eagle Court of Honor

If you have followed my blog at all for any length of time, you will know that I support Boy Scouts of America. This past Sunday, I had the honor to attend one of the most important ceremonies in Scouting, an Eagle Court of Honor. This wasn't just any court of honor, but my own son's Eagle Court. It was a long road full of bumps and setbacks, but he completed the necessary work and was honored for his accomplishments.

The Eagle Oath is not one taken lightly. It calls the young man to live the life of an Eagle Scout. Stephen was joined by all the attending Eagle Scouts to renew their vow to live a life that exemplifies excellence.

Because my husband is the Scout Master, he had the honor of presenting Stephen with his Eagle medal. You can see Stephen's mentor in the back ground. Each boy chooses a mentor, someone who has either been awarded the Eagle rank or had a son achieve the rank of Eagle. These mentors help keep the boy on track toward his goal.

Stephen then thanked his dad for all his help in getting to Eagle.

Stephen added the Mom's eagle pin to my ribbon. I wear three red ribbons on my uniform, one for each boy. The rank pins are attached to signify each rank the boy has achieved. Stephen's is now complete. I noticed that my ribbons are getting heavy. A reminder of how much they each have accomplished.

This picture says it all. I am so proud of Stephen for reaching this level in Scouting. Very few boys ever make this rank. It is something he will be proud of the rest of his life.

After the awards were handed out, Stephen received a much deserved standing ovation from those present. This was a proud moment for him. I hope he remembers it always.

This is a family portrait done just following the ceremony. I am so proud of each of my children and  my husband also. They have each accomplished so much and been true lights in this world.

The journey to Eagle starts as early as Cub Scouts. It was an honor to have Rob, Stephen's former Cub Master attend. 

I had to share one last picture. This is Stephen's Great Grandmother. What a special treat to have her get to see one of her Great Grandson's Eagle court. Thank you for taking the time to share this special occasion with me and my family.