Mrs. Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin America 2008 pageant!

Saturday, June 7th was the big event at the beautiful Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. Who will become the next Mrs. MN, IA, & WI America winners? During part of the day we rehearsed the opening number, the contestants went over the routines of the costume, swimsuit, and evening gown segments of the show and before you knew it, it was showtime!





Here I am with good friend and my roommate at Mrs. America, Suzette Bryan, Mrs. Georgia-America 2007. Suzette was a visiting queen at the pageant and assisted in handing out the awards. It was great to see her and she will be passing on her title in 2 weeks.
















Here I am with Gaire Ebben, owner of the Hair District in Edina in the lobby of the Fitzgerald Theater just before the show was about to begin. Thank you to Jaime and Emily from the Hair District for everything they have done for me. The team at the Hair District is the best in the business!

Backstage in my dressing room a few hours before the pageant, (middle, Sarah Sprayberry, Miss MN Teen USA 2008 and Lauren Demming who wanted to wear my Mrs. Minnesota crown!

Just before the curtains were about to open for our opening number, I got the chance to take a picture with some of the contestants from Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota!

Here are the Mrs. Iowa contestants in the evening gown competition.

Here on stage from left to right are the Mrs. Minnesota contestants and the Mrs. Wisconsin contestants waiting to hear the results of the special awards.

Special awards went to the following:

Penny Godbout from WI won the Marlowe McCrady/Bernice Johnson community service award

Ann Marie Moore from MN won the Jerry and Susan Teener Costume award

Mrs. Photogenic went to Wendy Russo from MN. The swimsuit and evening gown award went to Wendy Russo from MN, and Jennifer Schluga from WI.

After the special awards were announced the top 3 girls from each state were called and each had to answer the same question. Each girl was in a secluded room with headphones on so they would not hear the question. Here are the top 3 from Iowa. The new Mrs. Iowa-America 2008 is Laura Diers (middle with the teal gown)

Here is the new Mrs. Wisconsin-America 2008 winner, Jennifer Schluga



Here are the top three in Minnesota. From L-R, Denise Woods, Wendy Russo, and Ann Marie Moore. Who will capture the crown?

Denise Woods was called as 2nd runner-up and Ann Marie Moore on right was 1st runner-up. The new Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008 is Wendy Russo of Eden Prairie.

Here I am crowning Wendy Russo as the new Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008. Congratulations Wendy and best of luck to you at Mrs. America!

Wendy Russo about to take her walk as Mrs. MN-America 2008.

Here we are on stage after the pageant taking some fun pictures. L-R, Ann Marie Moore, 1st runner-up, me, Suzette Bryan, Mrs. Georgia-America 2007, and Jayne Black, Mrs. Wisconsin-America 2007 all looking beautiful in our gowns.

Good job Ann Marie, I"m so proud of you

Here I am with my wonderful and supportive husband, Sam (Mr. Minnesota 2007) :))

The newly crowned winners with the judges

Here are some more fun pictures on stage after the pageant.















Me and good friend Susie Trebesh



















Me and good friend Penny Godbout who was 2nd runner-up to Mrs. Wisconsin. Great job Penny! I"m proud of you!















Emily my awesome hairstylist, newly crowned Wendy Russo, Jaime my great makeup artist and myself.
















Congratulations Wendy on your new title!

















Me and Wendy Russo, the new Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008 at the after party.

Prelim's for Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008, Friday, June 6th!

On Friday, June 6th I attended the prelim's to Mrs. Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin America pageant. All three states were competing in interview, swimsuit, and costume and what a fun day it was! Here I am with good friend and contestant, Ann Marie Moore, Mrs. St. Paul just waiting to compete in swimsuit. It was great meeting all the girls in all three states. Everyone was so excited for the pageant to begin and it was a tough competition all around.

Here I am with Holly Ernst, Mrs MN 2006 as we wait to enter the prelim room where we got the chance to sit with the judges and watch each state compete in swimsuit and costume.

After prelim's were done, I got the chance to take a picture with judge Denise Loo who is the president and founder of Happy Buddha Tourbillon Watches. She gave a gorgeous watch worth $2,750 to the new winner!

Here I am with Jayne Black, Mrs. Wisconsin-America 2007 and all the judges.

During the interviews, Mrs WI and I had to go record our farewell speech at the recording studio, SPNN in St. Paul.

Here is Mrs. Wisconsin-America 2007, Jayne Black getting ready to record her farewell speech.

Good job Jayne!

Twins Game, Monday, May 12th

On Monday night I had the great honor and opportunity to throw out the first pitch at the Twins game. They were playing against my home team, the Boston Red Sox but I have to say I am a huge fan of both teams. The Twins ended up winning and it was a great game. I threw the ball pretty close to home plate since it was only 60 feet from the mound to home plate. Here I am before throwing out the ball. After I threw the ball I got it signed by Justin Morneau so that was a great surprise!

Here are a few fans of the Twins! They were so cute!

Me and TC the mascot before going out on the field.

Me on the mound getting ready to throw out the ball!

TC giving me the ball back after throwing it out to him.

Me, Emily, my hair stylist and Farrah, another great hair stylist from the Hair District having a great time at the game. Thanks girls for coming to the game!

Cocktail Party, Saturday May 10th!

On Saturday, May 10th my husband and I held a cocktail party at our home for all the new contestants competing for the Mrs. Minnesota-America title. We were also glad that we had a Wisconsin contestant attend too. Even though it was raining all day, the turnout was great and everyone had a wonderful time with food, drinks, and a little bit of shopping at my boutique. From L-R, Carl Schway, Director of the pageant, Wendy Russo, Angeline Gard, Penny Godbout, Ann Marie Moore, me, Denise Woods, Tami, Tibby, and Faith Schway, Director of the pageant.





Faith Schway, Director and Owner of the Mrs. MN, WI, and IA America pageants. Thank you Faith for the delicious dessert platter that you made for the party. You make the BEST brownies! Thank you for an unbelievable year!














Wendy Russo, Mrs. Eden Prairie, Faith Schway, and me at the party.












Dennis and Cheryl Trainor and my husband Sam, being great bartenders!
















Kim Dorn, Mrs. MN 2005, Faith Schway, Me, Mary Johnson, Mrs. MN 1982, Robin Duffney, Mrs. MN 1995, Holly Ernst, Mrs. MN 2006, all having a great time at the party!















Me and good friend Susie Trebesh. Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and thank you for all your support!























Wendy Russo, Mrs. Eden Prairie, Denise Woods, Mrs. North Oaks, Holly Ernst, Mrs. MN 2006, and Penny Godbout, Mrs. Hudson.
















From L-R, Wendy Russo, Mrs. Eden Prairie, Denise Woods, Mrs. North Oaks, me, Holly Ernst, Mrs. MN 2006, Penny Godbout, Mrs. Hudson, Ann Marie Moore, Mrs. St. Paul, and Kim Dorn, Mrs. MN 2005 all having a great time and posing for many pictures.

Pre-Pageant Party at the Hair District of Edina!

On Wednesday, May 7th the Hair District in Edina hosted a party for all the new contestants for the Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008 title. It was a great time getting to know all the women and enjoying some delicious food. From L-R, Emily my phenomenal hairstylist, me, and Jaime, my incredible makeup artist posing before everyone arrives. I thank them both for all the wonderful looks and laughs we've had over the past year during my reign. They are the best in the business!

Here we are crowning Jaime as Mrs. Minnesota-America 2008! O.k we were all goofing around and having fun with the crown.

After the crowning, we all started fighting over who gets the crown!

Here I am with the owner of The Hair District, Gary. Gary is so sweet and another great stylist.

Me and the one that gives me those unbelievable curls, Emily!

Me and my favorite makeup artist who always makes me feel beautiful, Jaime!

From L-R, Ann Marie Moore, Mrs. St. Paul, me and Charity McClung a former Mrs. Minnesota-America enjoying the party.