Happy Birthday to My Hot Mom!

My Mom was born and raised as a farm girl in Grace, Idaho! What a cute little baby she was!
My Mom as child. I love the missing teeth and hair style! Special:) My Mom was Miss 4-H! No wonder she can cook & sew!

My Mom the Homecoming Queen! She is a friend to all and is a ton of fun to be around!
My Mom's Senior Portrait back in 1974! After High School, my Mom attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah! Go Aggies!

My Mom competing in a local pageant in the Miss Idaho America system. What a beauty!Me, Jaime - age 4, my skinny pregnant Mom and my sister Karisa - 2 1/2 years. Gee, I never looked that good pregnant!
My Mom and I at the 1992 Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey! My Mom was always was there to support and encourage me in everything that I did. You've got to love our dresses (click on picture to see up close)!

My sister Abby, my sexy Mom and I in Maui, Hawaii, October 2007! My Mom and I have traveled to ton's of fun places together over the years!
My Hot Mom and friend Diane (Mrs. World 2007)! My Mom looks great for being 52 today! I hope I can look as good as her when I'm her age! And dress cute like her too:)
I just want to wish my wonderful Mom a Happy Birthday! She is one amazing wife, mother, grandma, daughter, sister and friend! My mother is a wonderful example to me of everything a mother should be. I could go on and on about my mother for days, but have decided to dedicate this Poem to her:

A Sonnet for My Incomparable Mother

I often contemplate my childhood, Mom.I am a mother now, and so I know Hard work is mixed together with the fun;You learned that when you raised me long ago.

I think of all the things you gave to me:Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears,Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul--All these you spent on me throughout the years.

You loved me with a never-failing love You gave me strength and sweet security,And then you did the hardest thing of all:You let me separate and set me free.

Every day, I try my best to be A mother like the mom you were to me.

By Joanna Fuchs

Happy Birthday Mommy! I love you!

Mrs. America 2008

Diane Tucker, Mrs. World 2007, Natalia Shmarenkova , the reigning Mrs. World 2008, and Me, Mrs. World 2007's BF!Lisa Fryer Allsop (my sister-in-law), Me, and Mrs. World 2008.
Lorraine and Vic Denigris (Diane's wonderful Parents), Diane and yours truly! Lorraine it was a blast sitting next to you and Lisa during the pageant and critiquing (not much to critique besides their clothes) all 51 ladies.


My sister- in -law, Lisa and I drove down to Tucson on August 31 to attend the 2008 Mrs. America preliminary pageant. We had a blast stopping in at Diane's house to watch her get ready (fake eye lashes, brush on tan and hair extension styling) for her big night of judging this years Mrs. America Pageant! Diane and I have been friends since our days at Town and Country Elementary school in Sierra Vista, AZ.! In 1996, when I was the reigning Miss Sierra Vista, I encouraged and prepped Diane to run for Miss Sierra Vista. I knew that she had what it took to win! Diane was crowned Miss Sierra Vista 1996 and the rest is history! Diane's Pageant days didn't stop once she was married, she went on to win Mrs. Arizona, Mrs. America and the ultimate title, Mrs. World 2007 in Russia! I have enjoyed watching her compete and cheering her on over the past few years!

For over 30 years the Mrs. America Pageant has been held in order to celebrate America's Married Women. What a fun time Lisa and I had watching all 51 ladies compete in swimsuit, evening gown, and their state costume competition. Let me tell you these ladies were not only beautiful and in awesome shape, but they were well spoken, dedicated to serving in their communities, and had great taste in clothing. A few of the ladies were even pregnant and many already had several kids. The reigning Mrs. World 2008 is a popular pop singer(Kamalia) in her native country of Ukraine (this was her first trip to America)! What a pleasure it was to hear her sing and perform during the pageant.

Thank you to Diane for the free tickets and sorry we didn't stay the night! Lisa, thanks for the good laughs over dinner at El Charro! We sure did drink a lot of Diet Coke, eat a ton of chips, salsa and Guacamole all for FREE! Last, but not least , thanks to my wonderful husband for doing such a great job operating Daddy Day Care!

To see more pictures from the 2008 Mrs. America Pageant go to:
http://www.mrsamerica.com/
or
http://dianetucker.wordpress.com/

God Bless America

My Mom and I at the Statue of Liberty in September 1992 (I was a Sophomore in High School). Good thing I had leggings underneath that dress! Note the Twin Towers behind us.
The World Trade Center standing tall and proud back in September of 1992. I took this picture from the boat taking us to the Statue of Liberty.
Fast forward to May 2007, Mark and I had the opportunity to visit New York City! This is where the twin towers once stood.
Ground Zero, May 2007. What a feeling it was to stand there and ponder what had taken place back on September, 11, 2001 (I can't even imagine)!
Construction at the trade center site is ongoing. I stuck my camera through the chain link fence surrounding Ground Zero and took this picture. To see FULL size pictures displaying better detail, click on the picture. "Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day our world was broken," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in New York City. "It lives forever in our hearts and our history, a tragedy that unites us in a common memory and a common story ... the day that began like any other and ended as none ever has."

Let us not forget those 40 brave people killed aboard United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. What a group of fighters! My heart goes out to the family and friends of the nearly 3,000 people that lost their lives. Your loved ones will never be forgotten. The events of 9/11 showed me how fragile life is and how quickly and unexpectedly life can end.

God bless you and all of America.

Look who came to see us!

Cousin Ezra and Carson meeting for the first time! Ezra just turned six months.
Cayden and cousin Ezra are just too handsome!

Keira fell in love with her baby cousin Ezra! I think Ezra weighs almost as much as Keira. Grandma Fryer trying to get a picture with crazy Carson.
Keira and Carson were being way too silly to get a normal shot with Grandma Fryer. Kids will be kids!

Last week Grandma Fryer from St. George, Utah and Lisa (Mark's sister) and her baby, Ezra from Henderson, Nevada came to visit us! We had a yummy Fryer BBQ & swim party at Jordan (Mark's brother) & Shannon Fryer's house in Queen Creek. Lisa and I were able to sneak off for a girls trip down to Tucson and attend the Mrs. America Pageant. The kids enjoyed meeting cousin Ezra for the first time, and getting lots of love from Grandma Fryer. Thank you Grandma Fryer for the fun gifts!

Kicking the Junk Food Habit!

Look what I bought on my recent trip to the grocery store! What? No junk food?
Many of you have asked me, "What can you eat on your diet"? Take a good look at the above picture, for it is what I have been eating! Lots and lots of protein, vegetables and fruit. Yummy!

The past few days, I have felt pretty good (just a little tired), and luckily have not craved my usual junk food (soda, fast food, and sweets). I know those craving will eventually begin to torment me, but for now I'm enjoying being junk free. Junk food has been very popular with me because it was easy to purchase, required little or no preparation, was convenient to consume and had lots of flavor. I'm realizing that eating healthy food is not that hard to do, and is ultimately the key to looking and feeling great. Stepping on my scale in the morning and seeing great results is making this challenge worth my while (maybe worth yours, too!).

What do you have in your kitchen?