Friday, February 5th, 2010

It was a busy day with so much to get done. Jeanette and I woke up early. We had coordinated our outfits the night before and both were wearing sweater dresses. Our first stop was to meet with the mayor- the Honorable Tim Howe. Mayor Howe has been so supportive of my journey as Miss Minnesota’s Outstanding Teen, and this is also the fourth Miss America’s Outstanding Teen that he has met. He knows a lot about the organization and what it represents.



Next, we ate lunch and signed autographs for a few senior citizens of Coon Rapids. This was not only an effort to bridge the generation gap, but I love hearing the life stories many elder citizens have. Some make me realize how much more society offers today, and how many more people take life in month by month without truly appreciating what we have been given.

After this, we had some downtime. So, the four of us returned home, packed for the busy day tomorrow, chatted about Miss America, which was only a week ago, and looked through a ton of photos. We finished the day off at Miss Coon Rapids rehearsal, where we met up with Alyssa Mayfield, and her mom, and Brooke, Miss Minnesota.



Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Jeanette Morelan, Miss America’s Outstanding Teen flew in on Thursday. I went to school, and Lisa picked me up at the end of the day. We went down to McCormick & Schmicks, where we would meet my mom, Ms. Dianne, and Jeanette. I was so excited to see her! We had been texting each other all week! Dinner was wonderful. Jeanette and I share the love of pot stickers and putting ketchup on most foods. Thank you to John, my dad, who bought us dinner and put Jeanette’s name at the top of the menu, Chef George for making a fabulous dinner, and Jake, our waiter, for being his funny self.



We were now off to the Miss Coon Rapids rehearsal. It was my first preview of the contestants. Boy, were there talented girls! Each would have represented my hometown of Coon Rapids well. We finished the night off with bowling. Yes, being on a bowling league, I creamed Jeanette. Sorry Jeanette! It was a very friendly competition. To put her in the bowling mood, she even wore my official bowling shirt.



The night was not over yet. At the restaurant, we were so full that we did not have room for dessert. My dad had brought us one of every dessert home to eat. To end the night, we took a bunch of forks and had a taste of everything. Plus, Jeanette had brought us a kringle from her hometown. We went to bed with smiling faces and happy tummies.