Thread Vote for Kids Rally

I recently participated in Thread's Vote for Kids rally. This consisted of three simultaneous rallies in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks. My youngest daughter Ella and I were able to be a part of Anchorage's rally at the Success by 6 building in Mountain View. This event was part of the National Step Up for Kids initiative which encourages voters to vote for candidates who place children's issues as a high priority.

This is the third year of Step Up for Kids, and this October child advocates, politicians, parents, and kids are joining together across the country to rally for children. Events across the states will raise awareness among voters and political candidates regarding the issues American children face; among them are early childcare, after-school programs, poverty, child abuse and neglect, and health care. Spearheaded by Every Child Matters in Washington, D.C., this is the third annual Step Up event with events taking place in more than 25 states.

Step Up events range from rallies and family-friendly festivals, to candidate forums and press conferences. All include speakers who address the needs of children both nationwide and in their own state, and most of them are professionals who work with children on a regular basis – politicians, teachers, nurses, pediatricians, social workers, etc. The idea is to educate those in attendance (voters) about just how poorly American children fair when compared to other rich democracies, and how it is up to the government, both federal and state, to step up and invest in kids.

Despite the rainy weather, a good crowd gathered to waves signs to raise awareness among voters and speak with the media about our message. Children's issues (and their funding) should be an essential component of our State and National agenda and are often times dismissed because of their price tag. The fact is, research continually shows that the return on the investment in children and their families has some of f the greatest returns of any social program. Longitudinal data shows that investing in quality early care and education of children decreases grade retention, juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, and welfare dependence, all thing that come with a huge cost to our Government.



Alaska ranks 35th in the Nation for its provision for the needs of children and their families. This election season I encourage you to talk with candidates and ask what they plan to do to help Alaska move up in the ranks. Help us keep children a priority by encouraging candidates to support programs and policies that meet the needs of our children and their families. And above all else, make your voice be heard; VOTE!
For more information on Step of for Kids visit: http://www.everychildmatters.org/national-campaigns/step-up-2010

Cinderella (West High Production)

West High School put on a spectacular musical production of Cinderella and my husband, and oldest daughter, Sycely joined me for the performance. They had a princess party prior to the show where they invited all the little girls to wear their princess dresses, make crowns and have princessy snacks.
Cinderella, is by far, our favorite princess around here (Sycely was Cinderella for Halloween 3 years ago, I currently compete with a Cinderella skating program and guess who I'm going to be for Halloween?!) so we were excited to get all princessed up and we enjoyed every moment of the show.

The musical numbers were great and the acting of the Stepsisters was a riot! I especially liked the creative costumes and props they came up with for the production- The Fairy Godmother wearing light up wheeled shoes was an interesting touch. All in all, we had a great time and it was such fun to be there among all those little princesses, and I got so many great ideas for our Halloween costumes this year!

Dimond Center Anniversary Skating Show

I put on my first pair of skates 24 years ago at Dimond Ice Chalet when I was 5 years old. I can't even begin to fathom the number of hours I spent skating there as a child-early morning Freestyles and late night public sessions make up the bulk of my childhood memories. I even had two, yes TWO birthday parties there (one of them was kind of a bust because the ice started melting and by the end of the party only half the rink was left!) My closest friends shared the ice with me for years and are still in my life today, through our graduations, weddings, and the births of our children, the bond and strength of our friendships built on the ice remain our foundation. I skated in my first competition at that rink when I was 6 years old and went on to do so many exhibitions on that ice surface that I can hardly even remember them all. Even when I was in high school, at the height of my competitive skating career, I always felt Dimond was my "home" rink even though I rarely skated there anymore. The early morning smell of chlorine mixed with cinnamon rolls, the sight of the "walkers" getting their daily exercise, the sound of blade scraping ice always bring me back to all the memories of this place that have such a special place in my heart.

Needless to say, when my skating club, the Alaska Association of Figure Skaters asked me to be a part of the Dimond Anniversary Show I enthusiastically agreed. This show, honoring the opening of the Dimond Center Mall over 20 years ago, featured some of our club's rising stars. It was such fun to see everyone perform their programs as full run-throughs, in full dress. Usually I only get to see these routines as partial run-throughs during practice.


I also enjoyed seeing how much our young skaters are maturing and advancing in their skating and performing. One of the girls who performed, Hannah O'Brien was in my Pre-School class 8 years ago! Skating was such a huge part of my life and such an impacting experience for me that I look forward to all the success and growth these skaters are going to achiever throughout their years of skating. Another great thing about exhibitions is the ability to perform for an audience without the pressure of competition. It's a great way to try out a new program and see how it works before using it in competition, or to get to show a side of yourself you usually don't by choreographing a number that is strictly for fun and pleasing the audience. All the skaters did an awesome job and the audience sure did get a treat in their performance. I was happy to be there to participate in the finale and thank the audience for attending.


For more information about our skating club, group, or private skating lessons, visit our website at www.akafs.com

Dimond High School Homecoming

Apparently, playing the judging role suits me well as I was asked to be a float judge at the Dimond Homecoming game. It turned out to be a beautiful, warm fall (yes FALL!) day with gorgeous sun and not a cloud (or raindrop) in sight. I was able to have my girls there with me, and of course, my hubby was there as the Student Government Advisor so it was for sure, a family affair. Doing events with my family is my favorite! I love when they're able to come along and share in my fun.

The floats brought back lots of High School memories for me (though I remember most of my Homecomings involving snow or sleet and being REALLY chilly!) The Sophomores were probably my favorite, and not just because I'm partial to Harry Potter, but because I thought they did the best job with their costumes, characters and set. They portrayed lots of different elements on their float and did it well. The Senior's Avatar float was my second favorite. I mean, you have to give them credit for being willing to paint their whole bodies with blue tempura paint a few hours before the Homecoming dance!

The Homecoming game festivities also included a presentation of the Homecoming Court. It was a please to get to give some fashion advice to these young ladies (even if they didn't all exactly follow it!) and to get to know some of the teens who get to spend their days with my husband. I enjoyed helping them decorate for the dance that morning and loved working the front door at the dance because I got to see everyone's dresses as they came in. I wish they would have given me score sheets for THAT!

Alaska State Fair Carhartt Competition

I was honored to have the opportunity to be a part of this year's Carhartt Competition at the Alaska State Fair. There are several categories in the competition, including Crusty Carhartt (they actual have a smell criteria on the judging sheet for this event!) Carhartt Costumes for adults and kids and the Carhartt Relay. As an added bonus we got to enjoy entertaining music by the Carhartt Brothers throughout the competition.


It was so fun to see the creative ways folks have put their Carhartt to use. People really get into doctoring up those ol' Alaskan standard work wear. One contestant wasn't even human, that's right- one lady entered her dog (and won second place!)

The kids, as always, were adorable. Some were shy, some were total hams, including one little guy who was decked out head to toe in hard hat, safety goggles, tools and work boots.

One of my favorite entries was the Carhartt Bride. Showing her true, home grown, Alaska spirit, she modeling a Carhartt wedding gown-with matching white hard hat.

Carhartt has been such an amazingly generous sponsor to me, that I was quick to jump at the chance to be a part of this event. I had a great time visiting with folks at the fair and sharing some of the things I love so much about our great state. Special thanks to the State Fair Volunteer Department for making my experience so stress-free: I greatly appreciated their complimentary parking and admission as well as the meal voucher they provided me (let's hear it for salmon quesadillas!) Also, I'd like to send out a shout out to the ladies who so graciously gave me a free order of Cheese Curds! And, thank you, too God for keeping that giant rainstorm from hitting the fairground til I was walking to my car and heading home :)

Thread's Book Party in the Park

I had the honor of being invited to be a guest reader at Thread's Book Party in the Park. Thread, formerly known as Child Care Connection is an agency I have worked with for several years. They are one of the organizations I do Early Childhood and Child Development trainings for.

Thread is a statewide network of professionals who work individually with families and early educators to ensure that they are knowledgeable and supported in guiding children to lifelong success. Thread offers services to families, communities, and early educators in their attempt to ensure bright futures for Alaska's children. As a resource and referral agency, Thread aims to empower parents and early educators with information and resources that will support meaningful adult/child relationships and healthy child development. One of their important roles is to provide child care referrals to families and training for child care providers.

The quality of early care and education a child receives is directly related to the education and training of his/her early educator. Thread provides multiple training and educational opportunities to individual early educators and early care and education programs. They provide both on-site and classroom based trainings to enrich early care and education experiences for Alaskan children and families. Thread is committed to working with individuals, early care and education centers and homes to improve the overall quality of early care and education programs in Alaska.

Recognizing parents as a child’s first teacher, thread understands that families want the best for their children including ensuring they have great care and maximizing their development and learning potential. Thread staff are dedicated to helping families make informed choices about early care and education by providing customized child care referrals and providing individualized information, community resources and short term support to meet families needs. Thread supports all families to maximize their child’s experiences in quality care and learning.

One of the community activities Thread does is their Book Party in the Park, and annual event that features music, games, and lots of other development-based activities for kids, and most importantly...FREE books! I was very honored to be featured as one of their guest readers this year. I brought along a bunch of my favorite picture books (wore my Very Hungry Caterpillar shirt) and enjoyed my time reading aloud to the crowd of youngsters gathered around. Between being a parent and a teacher I've done my fair share of reading aloud, but I can't remember ever doing it with a microphone. That took a little getting used to!

Senator Mark Begich was also on hand to give his remarks about the important of early learning and literacy and to pledge his continued support or Thread and other programs like it that support children and families in their quest to securing school and life success.

I'm very grateful to be a part of such an active, selfless group of colleagues who work tirelessly for Alaska's children and their families. For more information about Thread you can visit their website at http://www.threadalaska.org/

Official Mrs. United States Photo by Joe Pier

Here are some of the official photos from Mrs. United States, taken by Joe Pier:

With Tammy Johns-Brown, Mrs. United States 2009 at Registration

With some of the other delegates at our welcome dinner

With my line leader buddy, Mrs. Alabama. We developed our own combination of hand signals, eye contact, head nods and cues to keep us perfectly synchronized as we took the stage and lead our groups in the opening number.

On our night out on the town to see Menopause, the Musical

6am swimsuit photo shoot

Portraits in my interview suit just before my panel interview

Lem, serving as my personal valet/bellman, carrying my gear backstage on prelim night

Opening Number: Simply Irresistible

Intros of the Delegates

On-Stage in Swimsuit Competition

On-Stage in Evening Gown Competition