Glad to be back home

Well, I am back home and happy to be cuddled up on the bed with my husband and our dogs. Congratulations to Andrea Robertson, the new Mrs. America, and the Top 11 finalists. A special shout out to my roomie Mrs. Virginia, who was second runner-up.

I enjoyed every minute of my time in Arizona, from planting trees for Habitat for Humanity to shopping at La Encantada, and am now ready to get back to business as Mrs. Washington. I will be posting photos of my trip tomorrow so stay tuned. I want to thank my sister, Lori, for keeping my blog up to date while I was gone.

Elizabeth is looking GREAT!!!

So super proud of this amazing woman. Elizabeth had her interview yesterday, and looked just as confident as she walked out of the interview as she did when she walked in. There were 5 judges: A former Mrs. America, the owner of the Diamondbacks, and (sorry I can't remember the rest) three others. Today is "the day" with the competition kicking off at 7 PM with swim suit and evening gown followed up with costume. The competition if fierce - and there are 50 (yes, 50) other competitors who have brought their A game for this event.

Also, some friends and family arrived yesterday so the Mrs. Washington cheer squad consists of a pretty large team: Director Pam and her husband David (who drove down here from WA so they could bring the costume!) Elizabeth's dad and sister and their spouses, Elizabeth's husband and son, Jessica Riggs (Mrs. Snohomish County) and Laura Hunter (Mrs. Whatcom County). THANK YOU for all your support!!!

So - without further delay - here are some pictures from Elizabeth's camera:

Elizabeth and Mrs. Virginia during an outing to the mall.

Practice, practice, practice!!!

OK -- I snuck in a picture of Elizabeth and I. :)

Mrs. America TV

http://www.mrsamerica.tv/

Stay updated on the Mrs. America events through Mrs. America TV! The pageant is working on keeping this website updated on exclusive behind the scene photos, stories and clips from the pageant. It's not quite there yet, but stay tuned. As for Beth's site: We leave for AZ tomorrow, and will start bringing you pictures starting Sunday! Go Mrs. Washington!

Day 1 - Habitat for Humanity

The 51 State representatives attending the 2009 Mrs. America pageant at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort will join Habitat for Humanity Tucson for a tree planting excursion at the Habitat Tucson Corazon Del Pueblo home development.
The Mrs. America pageant was drawn to a project with Habitat for Humanity Tucson because of its green initiative and Women Build projects.
The delegates will be planting native trees and shrubs at a newly installed park for the neighborhood. See slide show.
Corazon Del Pueblo is home to more than 15 Habitat homeowners and will soon be the home to many more. At least six more Habitat houses are planned to be built there this year, including the second Women Build home for that neighborhood, and Habitat Tucson has land available to build 20 to 30 more homes over the next several years.

Elizabeth has arrived at Mrs. America!

Dear friends~
I'm excited to help my sister out as a guest writer on her blog site until she returns from Mrs. America. STAY TUNED! We'll keep you updated on the events and sightings of our favorite gal during the Mrs. America pageant.

Beth (and her luggage, whew!) arrived safely in Tucson yesterday. She has already met several of the exceptional women competing, and was pleased to learn about the events planned for the days to come. Today's agenda: The ladies will be volunteering their time planting for the Habitat for Humanity group. How perfect is this for our environmental scientist?!!! Beth's ready to "dig in!"

Mrs. America

I will be flying from Washington to Arizona early tomorrow morning. For those of you who are eager for news about Mrs. America, my sister Lori has agreed to be my guest blogger for the week. She will be arriving on Saturday September 5th. When you check in please leave a comment for her to let her know you appreciate her work.

Signing out until September 10th.

THANK YOU!

I wanted to post a big THANK YOU to the following people:

Pam Curnel
Lisa Quast
Jessica Riggs
Marikay Coyer
Patricia Richards
Carol Milliron
Darleen Deeben
Laura Hunter and Beyond Photography
Lori Larsen
Lanny Larsen
Mary Hurley
and Hayley at Desert Sun in Juanita

Thank you so much for your help and support.