MRS. UNITED STATES 2009 (Day 3) - Las Vegas, NV

As I sit here typing this, it is RAINING cats and dogs in Las Vegas (yes, you read that right!). The other night (when we had our bus tour), there were severe thunderstorms as well...so crazy! I am going to keep it short because I don't have a ton of time, but in a nutshell, things are going well and I am having a great time! Today we had to be dressed and ready in swimsuits for the poolside swimsuit shoot early in the morning in order to beat the heat and get the best light. Everyone looked fantastic and it was fun to chat with the reigning Mrs. United States Gariane Gunter. She is from Columbia and my husband Matt went to his senior year of high school and his freshman year of college in Charleston, which is fairly close by. She is a lovely lady and it is easy to see why she won! It was also so nice to run into Sheila Strassburg who is one of the SWEETEST ladies ever! I could just listen to her soothing voice forever. Love her! I got to say a quick hello to Janice McQueen-Ward (former Mrs. United States AND the CA director) as well as Pam Bolter (former Mrs. FL US and FL state director). They are two fun and sassy ladies and it was so nice to catch up...



















































































After the poolside shoot, we had a bit of free time before rehearsals which was nice. I was so excited because my best friend Sarah Moses (owner of The Pageant Shop) arrived in the morning, and then my mom Bonnie and friend/client Sue Jackson arrived later in the evening. After lunch, we rehearsed until around 4ish and then were released to get ready for our interviews. Gaspar did an AWESOME job with my makeup and I felt like a million bucks in my new interview suit! What IS it about new clothes that makes us fee so good? My interview went well, although I was not asked even one question off of my Bio. After interview was over (it was 3 minutes), I headed back to the room, changed clothes, and then headed to Tao restaurant at the Venetian with Gaspar and Sarah (my mom and Sue had not yet arrived at that point). We had a great dinner and then headed home to the Orleans...and FINALLY to bed! More to come...