SEPTEMBER 5, 2006
REHEARSAL, REHEARSAL, & MORE REHEARSAL!

The first notable thing of the day is that our little girl turned 22 months old today! Just two more months to go until the big "2"! I am missing her like crazy...being away from her is BY FAR the hardest thing about these last two weeks. Thankfully they've kept us very busy but it hasn't stopped me from thinking about her all the time. I am counting the hours until I see her again!

Today we rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed some more. This was the first time we actually practiced on the outdoor stage, and fortunately everything went quite smoothly which meant we didn't have to rehearse until the wee hours of the night. We briefly met the reigning Mrs. World and she said a few words of welcome via her translator (she is Russian). She and Andrea (who are both professionally trained dancers) will be performing a dance number during the show. We've seen Andrea practicing and she is a great dancer. She was in the touring production of Cats and was a ballerina for many years. I didn't get to see Mrs. World dance but I have heard she is an amazing dancer as well. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Some of my closest girlfriends arrived in the afternoon, so I was waiting in the lobby for them when they arrived. Kim Falk (maid of honor in our wedding), Sarah Moses (owner of The Pageant Shop by Michael's), Allison Stavrakis (my former pageant director), and Paula Preston (my photographer) made the trip out to cheer me on and I cannot put into words how much that has meant to me! You ladies are the best! Paula had made up fun little lanyard necklaces w/ my photo on them, so they were all wearing them around the hotel. They've got signs and fun light-up sticks to hold in the audience so I'll know where they're sitting. I feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends & family--I could not do it without your love & support! :)

We learned our opening number (we'll each be carrying our state flag) and practiced our modeling for Top Twelve and the rest of the show. I enjoyed chatting with John & Lisa O'Hurley for a bit...they are an adorable couple and so friendly & down to earth. They graciously posed for photos with many of us and will do a great job hosting the show. One highlight was seeing an actual tarantula (not that I am a big fan of spiders, but it was neat to see one out here in the Sonoran Desert!). I am glad we don't have those back home in Minnesota, that's for sure!

This may be my last post until I return home on Thursday, since my husband mentioned he needs the laptop to try and get some work done while he's here (and I'll be too tied up w/ rehearsal and getting ready for anyway). I'll post photos of the final show and give a full report as soon as possible. So until then, it's been a BLAST and I hope you've enjoyed reading about my experience as much as I've enjoyed blogging it! This has been the experience of a lifetime and no matter what the outcome, I gave it my best shot and more than anything I'm walking away with 50 new friends and memories that I will never forget. Which is all a girl can ask for! Signing off for now...

PHOTOS:
1) Mrs. RI, NC, and I waiting for rehearsals to begin.
2) Posing with our flags that we'll use for the opening number.
3) My girlfriends/support team arrive! Yea!!!
4) My roommie & "sister queen" Mrs. GA catch up with our state directors Faith & Carl Schway between rehearsals.
5) With my husband Matt during the break between rehearsals.
6) Team Minnesota (my support team!)
7) With our gracious pageant hosts, John & Lisa O'Hurley.
8) Practicing on stage.
9) Mrs. NV and I pose with Peter (who is in charge of the TV production). Hopefully we weren't TOO difficult to work with! HA!
10) The stage starts to come together.