SEPTEMBER 4, 2006
REHEARSALS & MRS. AMERICA "QUIZ SHOW"

Today we mostly had rehearsals followed by our last "challenge" portion of the competition, the Mrs. America "Quiz Show." In the morning, we began the blocking for the final show. The outdoor set was in the process of being set up, and I can tell you that it is going to look fantastic. The stage floor is white and black checkerboard (which looks really cool), and the mountains in the background will provide a spectacular view! In between rehearsals, I was able to see my hubby & family for a bit, and then it was off to rehearsal again. Just before dinner we had the Mrs. America Quiz Show, which the reigning Mrs. America Andrea Preuss "hosted." Earlier in the week, we had taken a written quiz of roughly 20 questions pertaining to things such as the events we'd been participating in, Mrs. America trivia, hotel/resort trivia, etc. (i.e. who designed the golf course at the Loews resort, what is the name of the cactus so prevalently seen in Tucson, who is the President of Mrs. America Inc--you get the idea). The top ten quiz finalists were announced, and I was surprised to hear my name as one of the top two finishers (the other was Mrs. IL--we both tied for answering the least amount of wrong answers). We were given dry erase boards and then answered questions from our "host" Andrea. If you got one wrong answer, you were eliminated. After two rounds, I think there were 6 of us left, and the third question was "What contestant has an identical twin?" I had sat with Mrs. CA Sheryl Ellison (who is DELIGHTFUL by the way), and remembered her telling me she had an identical twin. Lo & behold, I was the only one who got it right, so I "won" the quiz show portion! Whoo hoo! We all had a good laugh and I was happy to get the extra points. I grabbed a quick bite with my family and we ran into pageant host John O'Hurley (of "Seinfeld" & "Dancing With the Stars" fame) and his beautiful wife Lisa, who is expecting in December. She looked RADIANT and is probably the cutest pregnant lady I've ever seen! I sure didn't look that cute when I was preggo! HA! After dinner, it was back to rehearsal and off to bed! Only two more days until the big show! WOW!

PHOTOS:
1) Morning rehearsal w/ the very deserving Super Smile winner, Pebblz Nakamoto - Mrs. Hawaii
2) With pageannt announcer John Harlan.
3) Waiting for the Quiz Show to start.
4) Holding my "winning" answer w/ Mrs. CA Sheryl Ellison (she's the only contestant who has an identical twin!)
5) With my parents Bonnie & Rick, husband Matt, & Robin Duffney (Mrs. MN '95) at dinner.
6) Matt and I enjoy a few minutes together at dinner.