Day Three at Mrs. America

Hey Ya'll! It is 11:30pm here and Taryn and I are just getting settled in. Yesterday and today were busy with rehearsals for the preliminaries and show. On Tuesday we received our opening number dresses and shoes. There were several colors to choose from, but I got pink, one of my favorite colors! The morning and afternoon were spent working with our choreographers Frit and Frat, two amazing guys! They are so professional, but fun. They have taken 51 ladies and turned us all into dancers somehow. I have a new appreciation for dancing and I can certainly see how important it is to know how to count and stay on beat with the music! After the morning today, we completed our first choreographed routine which will be the opening for the show. This afternoon we were fitted with our swimsuits. They are all one piece red and are beautiful! They came with a sarong wrap, but we still don't know if we'll be wearing those. We practiced our swimsuit modeling this afternoon and tomorrow morning we have a big group photo shot by the pool in our swimsuits. We all have to look AMAZING at 6:15 am! Our photographer is so cool and takes lots of photos each day. I've been taking lots of candid snapshots during our events.

Last night we had a dinner party hosted by the President of the Mrs. America Organization Mr. David Marmel. He and his staff have been so wonderful in helping each of us feel welcomed. He presented each of us a Vera Bradley bag AND sang a song to each of us that represented our state.

Tonight we had a formal dinner hosted at the resort to honor Mr. Brian Johnson, President of Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort. We each presented him a gift from our state. I was very fortunate that Carter and Holmes Orchids shipped a beautiful orchid to the resort for my presentation. We had a wonderful meal (all of our meals are great!), talked a while and then headed back to the hotel.

I will send another e-mail on Thursday to keep you all updated. Thanks for all the cards, phone calls and messages you have sent. You have no idea how special they all are and how they keep me feeling "up" and positive each day. I am so thankful to represent such an amazing state!

Until next time...