TJ Formal Moving - Joplin

November 21-28, 2009

I was so excited to go home to Joplin to help move TJ Formal to it's new location! My mom purchased a huge, building at 508 N. Range Line, (formerly Hank's furniture) just north of the mall. We figured 36,000 some square feet should do it, haha!

It was sectioned off into three stores, ours being the largest main one, Lacy Jeweler's leased a smaller portion to the south, and another part for lease to the north. Thankfully it also has a large warehouse in back, that let us move some things in stages, to be stored there while remodeling construction went on in the main part of the building. But, most of the move happened in just a few days, while we closed our 20th street location. It was fast and furious, but that's nothing new around TJ! :)

Here are some photos before the merchandise was moved in:

Soon to be the office

The warehouse

A make-shift office

Starting to move in some dresses

(Bethany being terribly helpful)

Making progress on the front sales floor

Beth in her new shipping room

Kira actually doing some work in this chaos

The office shaping up

Rachelle and Adrienne prepping the mannequins on the fuchsia wall

More and more dresses

Some final additions

Margarita time!!!

A small mess, er, jewelry display arranging

Our sweet new shoe room

The bridal room coming together

More to come of the grand opening!

Andy's Cyclocross Races - Leavenworth & Topeka

October 11, 2009

Andy's next race took us to Saint Mary College in Leavenworth, Kansas. It's a pretty little campus and had some great, old, brick roads to add to the challenge.

Andy holding his lead

Here's one of Tom (Andy's cousin Lexi's boyfriend :))

Andy finishing second, so close!

The pit

The podium

Next up was Topeka. Steve, Janice and Eric came to watch his race this time, so we all watched from a good spot on top of a huge hill in the middle.

Andy battling it out with Eric (his future teammate)

He dropped his chain and fell slightly behind... trying to catch Eric...

Coming in for another second place

Andy's Cyclocross Races - Lenexa & Parkville

October 2009

Andy started Cyclocross season in fall '09 and immediately became obsessed. :) And, quite good at it! Cyclocross is a type of racing done on a looped track, generally through parks or campuses. Races last 30-60 minutes with multiple laps around the track. The winner is the first to cross the finish line on the final lap. The thing that sets cyclocross apart is that the courses aren't your basic flat road style, they are on grass, mud, gravel, sand, up and down hills, over barriers, around trees and other obstacles, etc. Riders have to have a good variety of skills to handle the bike through all of this, as well as be able to dismount and mount the bike while in motion... it's something else!

Here are some pictures from his first couple races in Lenexa, KS and Parkville, MO.

Here's a couple of Andy's friend Dan, who races in the category above.

And a couple shots I especially liked from the 1/2 category.

Alzheimer's Memory Walk - KC

October 3, 2009

I was so excited and honored to be a part of this year's Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Kansas City! I walked, and raised money, in honor of my grandpa, Elliott Morse. Several Sigma Kappa's were there supporting their philanthropy of Alzheimer's research.