Iowa Cubs Game

What a beautiful baseball park! The kids & I were honored guests at an Iowa Cubs baseball game yesterday (6/29), where I got to throw out the first pitch and sit in and chat with the radio announcer through-out the 2nd inning. What an amazing announcer Dean is! He never missed a beat calling out the play-by-plays and directing questions towards me! It was an unforgettable experience!! The weather was beautiful and the Cubs won, 7-5!! My kids really enjoyed the experience as well; so much so, that Zach is already asking when we can go back again! I wouldn't have too much of a problem making this a summer family event. Thanks to Andrea for arranging this and making it a memorable day!

Mrs. Georgia America Pageant

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Mrs. Georgia Pageant in Roswell, GA (near Atlanta) along with Mrs. MN, Wendi Russo and Mrs. WI, Jennifer Schluga. It was a great weekend to really get to know "Team Schway". What is "Team Schway" you ask? It is what we call the four Queens that represent the four states in which Carl & Faith Schway head up the pageants. This past weekend we were looking for Wendi's roommate for Nationals! We helped out in many ways, including chatting with the Georgia contestants before they headed in for their interviews. I know it always helps me to relax to just carry on a casual conversation with someone, instead of completely focusing on the upcoming interview. I hope that I helped to calm any nerves and maybe relieve a little stress for these wonderful ladies.
The weekend started with a cocktail party where we got to meet the contestants in an informal setting. I can tell you that I had the winner picked from the moment I met her! The restaurant that we gathered at was an interesting mix of upscale urban and commercial warehouse. You would never guess what it was from the outside. It looked exactly like a warehouse in the warehouse district, with no special parking spaces or signs to really draw attention to it. Being that I am an Interior Designer I really enjoyed the contrast. I also gained a few "fans" who will be cheering me on during Nationals! After, wearily, crawling into bed around 2am, I promptly fell asleep! As usual, I awoke around 7am and decided that it was definitely too early for me!! I did finally roll out of bed around 9am and proceeded down to breakfast and then onto the gym for a quick workout ( I was hoping it would also help me wake up!). Of course, I have no make-up on, my hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing shorts and a tank top. It turns out the Georgia contestants are all gathered in the lobby area waiting to start their interviews, and not wanting to seem rude or unapproachable, I walk over and reintroduce myself to everybody and, of course, end up spending the next hour chatting with everybody! Keep in mind that all the Georgia ladies are dressed in their interview suits with their hair and make-up done. I was quite the "stand out" in that group!
After interviews, the Georgia contestants had rehearsal, so that gave us, "visiting royalty", some free time. And what do beauty queens like to do?!? You guessed it! We went shopping! Growing up in MN I thought we had the best shoppng around with the Mall of America.......but I have to say, in the south, they seem to have a much better selection! I had to rein myself in a couple times to keep from spending way too much! I did walk away with a new dress, a pair of awesome red pants, and a few accessories. I wanted to get more, but money is always tight right now, so I showed some restraint. I think Louis (my husband) will be relieved to hear that! *haha* After shopping we met up with some more people and went to a local restuarant for supper. Again, it was 2am before we got back to the hotel! This was not a pattern I was getting used to! I do have to say that I really enjoyed the company, though. I had the privilege of sitting next to the directors of the Mrs. North Carolina Pageant (& a former Mrs. North Carolina). They are such a great couple and really had some great advice for attending Nationals. I also found out that I will be rooming with the current Mrs. NC at Nationals! I am very excited to meet her!
Finally it is finals night! After sleeping in, again, Wendi and I had a quick work-out before getting ready for the evening. At the theatre we are assigned our "positions" to help out with taking tickets and selling t-shirts. There was quite the crowd! And they were loud! Towards the end of the evening, the three "visiting royalty" were called up on stage for a short interview. When Faith (the MC for the evening) asked us what we were looking forward to the most at Nationals, Jennifer mentioned that she was anticipating some "quiet time" away from her 6 children! Wendi mentioned how she was excited to meet all the ladies from around the United States...which was what I was going to say! So I had to come up with something new. I knew God was with me, because He put a thought in my head and I went with it. I mentioned how Mrs. Iowa 2007, Taryn, had saved Mrs. Tennesse's life after she had been bit by a rattlesnake. I said that would be difficult to top, but I was hoping I would have the opportunity to shine as brightly in my own way. My confidence level has definately gone up since I started this journey and I am so excited to get to Nationals!
Anyway, it comes down to the top 5, and I have my two favorites picked......and, low and behold, I had them right! Melanie Caceres, Mrs. Lawrenceville, is named 1st Runner-up and Shauna Rowland, Mrs. Norcross, is crowned the new Mrs. Georgia America! She did an absolutely stunning job on stage! She will be hard to beat in physical fitness......but I am sure going to try! I absolutely love Shauna and wish her all the best at Nationals! And thank you, Wendi, for being such a great roommate! Shauna is lucky to be getting you as a roommate and I am sure a friend of us both!
And, so here ends my story.........

(More to come......)

Introduction

I figured I should start out by introducing myself. I am Laura Diers; and to some, Laura Johnson. I will answer to either name. To keep the confusion down I will explain why either name works. My maiden (& legal) name is Diers, but I married my husband, Louis Johnson on April 14, 2006, so most of his family refer to me as Laura Johnson. We have 4 children together. His daughter, Nala, who will be 13 years old on July 20th; My daughter, Caisha, who is 12 years old; My son, Zach, who is 10 years old; And our son, Wyatt, who is 14 months old. It makes for a pretty full house during the summer when Nala comes to stay with us! It's a good thing we have a large house!
Anyway, the reason I have started this blog is that on June 7, 2008 I was honored to be crowned Mrs. Iowa America 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Now you are probably asking yourself why was the Mrs. Iowa Pageant held in Minnesota and not Iowa? It is simple, really. Four years ago, the Mrs. Iowa America Pageant lost their director, as did Wisconsin. The Minnesota directors, Faith and Carl Schway were kind enough to add both Iowa and Wisconsin to their family, as they already had Minnesota and Georgia. I am so glad they did!! In fact, I had known Faith and Carl since 1999 when I competed in the Mrs. Minnesota America Pageant. (I was a resident of MN at that time) I was impressed with how they ran the pageant and I have been hooked ever since! So when I found out they were doing the Mrs. Iowa America Pageant, I was thrilled to compete! And so here I am, 9 years later, finally one of their Queens! Through-out this year I will be trying to keep you up-to-date on all my appearances and travels (and possibly life lessons)! I hope to also begin organizing a group that would go into our area Jr. High Schools to educate the young women (& men) about the early warning signs of an abusive relationship, in the hopes that it will prevent domestic abuse cases in the future. In reading about my adventures, I hope that it will inspire you to go after a dream or goal you have and to achieve it! If I have learned one thing from pageants, it is that perseverance pays off!! As well as a lot of hard work as you will learn in later blogs.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the ride along with me!