SEND-OFF PARTY FOR WENDI RUSSO - MRS. MN AMERICA 2008 (NORTH OAKS, MN)

Sarah Moses (owner of The Pageant Shop) and I had the honor and privilege of hosting the Send-Off Party for our client (and my Mrs. MN America pageant "sister") Wendi Russo - Mrs. Minnesota America 2008.  Sarah was unable to attend but was certainly there in spirit and helped us put on a great night.  The party was held poolside on a beautiful August evening and the weather could not have been more perfect!  Wendi looked gorgeous and I have to give special thanks to Donnell Rank - Mrs. MN International 2007 for all of her help (she was a godsend!).  It was so neat to see some former Mrs. Minnesotas, some of whom I had never met! Wendi received some wonderful gifts and hopefully she felt like the true queen that she is!

Me proudly showing off our new addition to the family, our 8-week-old basset hound Toots Louise Lollipop Ernst (guess who named her--yes, our 3 1/2 year-old daughter Ava!).  We had just gotten Toots a week earlier...is she cute or what!?! (not that I'm biased or anything, but there are not many things cuter than a basset hound pup!)

My husband Matt was actually not fishing for once and was a great help at the party!  In addition to Matt's "regular" job, he is also a professional walleye fisherman and fishes in many tournaments in the spring, summer, and fall.  When I said I wanted to marry someone who was passionate about "something," little did I know how true that statement would be!  I am very proud of him and incidentally, he has invented and patented a special strike sensor rod holder, so check it out! www.carterday.com/bulldogstrikesensor/ 

Former Mrs. Minnesota America queens gather to wish Wendi good luck!

Wendi's cake.  How the heck do they DO that?!?

Partygoers wishing Wendi the best of luck!

L to R:  My friend and client Tamara Jett, me, and helper extraordinaire Donnell Rank (Mrs. Minnesota International 2007)

Wendi's gift opening...I got her a personalized picture frame with her name and title, and a Juicy Couture "good luck" necklace.

Wendi holding her cake!

Melissa Hall-Young - Mrs. MN United States 2008 (and former Mrs. MN America 2004), Wendi, and I celebrate.  I did Melissa's paperwork for the Mrs. United States pageant and am happy to announce she placed as 3rd RU!  Way to go Melissa!

L to R:  Jason Young (YoungQuest Fitness), Melissa Hall-Young, Wendi, my hubby Matt, and me holding our very squirmy daughter Ava

I had to include this photo of Ava "helping" bring the balloon decorations inside after everyone left.  She was SO excited and my house smelled like latex for a week, ha ha!

MRS. INTERNATIONAL 2008 - SKOKIE, IL

It is hard to believe how quickly time flies! It seems like yesterday that I was here in Skokie for last year's Mrs. International pageant. However this year was different, as this time I wasn't just here to support Mrs. Minnesota International as a "former," but I was also here as her coach! It was so wonderful to see Leisha Gust - Mrs. MN International 2008 finally realizing her dream of competing on the national stage. Leisha did an AWESOME job and performed flawlessly. I love seeing so many pageant friends at these events...it is so fun to catch up with everyone and cheer on not only the Minnesota gals, but other competitors as well.






Here we are with our "Leishas on a Stick!" L to R: Donnell Rank (Mrs. MN Int'l 2007), me, Becky Ringen (Miss MN Int'l 2006), and Tamara Jett (Mrs. Hame Lake Int'l 2009)














Chatting before the preliminary pageant with my clients Mary Swenson (Miss Woodbury International 2009) and Tamara Jett (Mrs. Ham Lake International 2009) who came to support Leisha. It was Mary's 20th birthday weekend--Happy Birthday Mary!











A quick photo with clients Michelle Allen-Parker (Mrs. Davidson County International Tennessee 2009) and Tamara Jett (Mrs. Ham Lake International 2009). Two terrific and FUN women!













Very proud of my clients Leisha Gust - Mrs. Minnesota International 2009 and Jeannie Siegenthaler - Mrs. Wisconsin International 2009.










Catching up after prelims with (L to R): client Jeannie Siegenthaler (Mrs. WI Int'l), Barbara Frye (GA director), me, and Susan Jackson.











It was so fun to cheer on two of my "Mrs. America Class of 2006" pageant sisters, Shannen Woodside and Jessica Plante. Here I am pictured with Shannen...we had a great group that year and it is neat to see the sisterhood continue.











A group shot before the start of finals (L to R): Randa (Mrs. IL Int'l 2007), Donnell Rank (Mrs. MN Int'l 2007), Tamara Jett (Mrs. Ham Lake Int'l 2009), Tamara's sister Tara (she had the CUTEST dress and shoes!), make-up artist extraordinaire Brenda Torre, and me.











With the incomparable Gaspar Cruz. This man is the magic maker when it comes to hair and makeup! I HIGHLY recommend his services (and he is hilarious, too!).








With the darling Megan Herickhoff (Miss Teen MN Int'l 2008) and Tina Rosenthal (Miss MN Int'l 2008) who were there to support their sister queen Leisha. While I did not coach these two ladies, I think they are FABULOUS!!!











Laine Berry is crowned as the new Mrs. International 2008! Way to go Laine!











Congratulating my dear friend and client Leisha Gust on a wonderful showing at the Mrs. International pageant. Leisha is one of the most kind, loyal, and dedicated people I know--she has truly worked her platform for nearly 20 years and is an inspiration to all! I was honored to work with her and am sooooo proud of her!















Congratulating the new Mrs. International 2008 Laine Berry. What a well deserved win! Beautiful!















Skokie, IL was the place to be if you wanted to run into royalty past and present! It was great to see the lovely Dana Opsincs, who was Mrs. United States 2001. Dana is a really neat lady and it was great to catch up with her!













Saying hello to Tim Kretchmann of PageantCast










It was great to see Shannon Devine - Mrs. NC International 2008. We met when we were both judging the MN Vikings cheerleader auditions a few years ago and hit it off...this is one cool chick! :) Shannon is a triple crown state titleholder AND also a former Mrs. United States 2006! Dang, is she good or WHAT!?! :)











A group shot of Mrs. Internationals past and present...













Last but not least I got to catch up with Michelle Fryatt whom I competed with at Mrs. International 2003 (she won!) and also to meet Deanna Linz - Mrs. District of Columbia International (and 3rd RU to Laine Berry). Congrats Deanna! (I LOVED her gown!)

MN INTERNATIONAL SEND-OFF PARTY (WAYZATA, MN)

Today was the Send-Off Party for the 2008 Minnesota International queens hosted at the Ugarte home in Wayzata, MN. It was great to see many familiar faces and good friends, and of course send off the 2008 queens in style.



Partygoers! L to R: me, my client Leisha Gust (Mrs. MN Int'l '08), my client Molly Nicholson (Mrs. Mpls 08), Angeline Gard (Mrs. Stillwater '08), and Donnell Rank (Mrs. Minnesota Int'l '07)










Former Mrs. MN Int'ls gather to send Leisha off to Nationals (L to R): Kelly Jahner-Byrne ('01), Trixie Overcashier ('98), Angela Haseman ('06), Leisha Gust ('08), Donnell Rank ('07), Allison Stavrakis ('88), and me ('03)











SO PROUD of my client and dear friend Leisha Gust! GOOD LUCK AT NATIONALS! FYI, this is on of my FAVORITE evening gowns ever...it has such a red-carpet feel and looks like it could be by Gucci (it is actually by Stephen Yearick). Gorgeous!














Watching the girls open their gifts...













Three happy queens!

2008 MRS. MN/IA/WI AMERICA PAGEANT - ST. PAUL, MN

With Iowa client Laura Diers before her interview

















With MN clients Wendi Russo (far L) and Denise Wood (far R) before their interviews













With WI client Penny Godbout before her interview














With the darling Delanie Neal just before the pageant. Delanie is one of my teen clients and is just a terrific young lady!









Former Mrs. MN Americas gather for a quick photo before the pageant (L to R): Melissa Young ('04), Jane O'Hearn ('84), me ('06), and Charity McClung ('02)















Artist Tom Nguyen presenting me with my portrait...THANK YOU TOM!!!
















With WI client Penny Godbout before the pageant.







Some of my clients came to show their support for Wendi (L to R): Natalie Hagemo (Mrs. Excelsior Int'l '08), Wendi Russo (Mrs. Eden Prairie America '08), Tamara Jett (Mrs. Ham Lake Int'l '08), and me. I love the seeing the sisterhood that forms between "my girls"...those friendships are more important than any crown!










The opening number with the contestants in white cocktail dresses.
















My client Laura Diers in her state costume for Iowa (she represented the RAGBRAI bike race).















My MN client Denise Wood in her state costume (MN Vikings)


















My WI client Penny Godbout in her Winter Queen state costume

















My WI client Coral Hildebrandt in her cute cow state costume














A group shot of the contestants














Group shot of the contestants in Swimsuit










With Sarah Sprayberry (Miss MN Teen USA 2008) and Kaylee Unverzagt (Miss MN USA 2008) backstage











Being introduced as a "former" Mrs. Minnesota America
















My IA client Laura Diers competes in Evening Gown

















My MN client Denise Wood competes in Evening Gown

















My WI client Penny Godbout competes in Evening Gown

















My WI client Coral Hildebrandt competes in Evening Gown
















All of the contestants in the evening gowns












My client Laura Diers is crowned Mrs. Iowa America 2008! She worked SOOOO hard for this, driving to Minnesota for mock interviews, wardrobe fittings, our coaching sessions, etc! Her hard work and determination paid off and I am extremely proud to call her my client and friend! YAY LAURA, YOU DID IT!









My client Wendi Russo is crowned Mrs. Minnesota America 2008! In addition to the title, Wendi also won the awards for Best in Interview, Best in Swimsuit, Best in Evening Gown, AND the Photogenic Award! If that wasn't enough, she won by UNANIMOUS vote, securing all six of the judges' 1st place votes! The last time that happened was 20 years ago in 1988 (when Jennifer Kline won Mrs. MN and also won Mrs. America!) WOW WOW WOW! I am SOOOOO proud of Wendi and the heart and soul that she has poured into her platform!













The Top 3 for Mrs. WI America (L to R): my client Coral Hildebrandt (1st RU), winner Jennifer Schluga, and my client Penny Godbout (2nd RU). I was very proud to have coached two of the top 3 contestants in the WI pageant!















With my client Denise Wood and her daughter after the pageant. Denise placed as 2nd RU and this was her very first pageant!

















My client Laura Diers - Mrs. Iowa America with her runners-up










I am so proud of my two new winners! Wendi Russo (Mrs. MN America 2008) and Laura Diers (Mrs. IA America 2008). Two hardworking & deserving winners!










Many former Mrs. MN America titleholders were on hand to celebrate at the Coronation Party.












My favorite photo of the night...Wendi and I celebrate at the Coronation Party!