More photos!

April 5

The girls have been extremely busy! Last night they had their official welcome at Planet Hollywood, then went with Crystle Stewart, MISS USA 2008, to dinner at Buca di Beppo. Today, Laura had a pajama brunch and Alicia-Monique attended a charity luncheon. Tonight the girls will be at Fashion Show Mall for a short appearance, then dinner. Laura will be filming her intro and was told it will run until 1am! Goodness!

Photos courtesy of Wire Image and Georgina Vaughan, Miss NV USA.

April 4

Hi Everyone! Here are some photos from today; the contestants went to the Nevada Cancer Institute's Bottle of Hope program and created unique covered chemotherapy bottles to be auctioned off to raise funds to continue the program.

Laura April 2nd

Thanks to Laura's AMAZING mom, Angelina, here are some photos from Laura's unofficial day 1.

relaxing at the end of the day

Settled in!

Looking stunning in her Diane Von Furstenberg dress.

Planet Hollywood!


With Miss Florida USA

Welcome to MISS USA!!!!

Is she jumping on the bed? I believe she is!

Registration!

Ah, the joys of Day 1. Fittings, makeup, hair, photos, more photos, hurry-up-and-wait, more photos, interviews...IT'S MISS USA!!!! Laura and Alicia-Monique are having a BLAST, and, as you can imagine, are exhausted after a VERY full day. I hope to have photos soon, so sit tight!

A rarity for most 22 year olds, they're in bed before 10pm on a Friday night! Smart girls. I'm not sure what time they start tomorrow, but I can guarantee you they'll be up earlier than most of us. Me, especially. This old girl is taking her cue from her titleholders. Goodnight, and I'll post more tomorrow.

b

Unofficial Day 1!

Both our gorgeous girls are settled in their room, unpacked and ready to go. Today they filmed a couple of interviews, and tomorrow at 7am they start Registration! I got a text from Alicia-Monique: "I am having soooo much FUN!!!!!" As it should be :).

When I hear more details from the girls I'll post. Don't forget to leave comments for them after each post! All you have to do is click on the word "comments" at the end of the post, and leave some encouraging words!

Britt

MISS USA 2009

Hi Everyone! Laura and Alicia-Monique are headed to Vegas today for the 2009 MISS USA PAGEANT! I will be posting info and photos of their journey. Today they and their respective Mamas (Angelina and Normalicia) will get to Vegas, check in, roam around, have a little mother-daughter time and try to REST, because the fun starts TOMORROW! Yes, official registration is actually the 3rd, but since our girls will be there early, they will start a couple of things on the 2nd. They will be filming 2 video segments, one for NBC and one for the missusa.com website.

Then, on the 3rd at 7am, they begin Registration. This is quite possibly the most exciting and exhausting day other than competition. The girls will turn in their MUO paperwork, receive their sash, get fitted for swimsuit and swimsuit shoes, get their opening number outfit (no, I have no idea what these are yet!) and shoes, take photos in their swimsuits and evening gowns, and get their FADILS! This year will be very different and glamorous for the Fadil shoots. You will LOVE it!

As always, please leave comments for the girls on this blog. They will read it, and we want them all to know how much support they have from all over the world. They have both worked tremendously hard for this once in a lifetime opportunity, and every little bit of encouragement helps!

If you would like to send a CARD or LETTER to the girls, here is their address:

PLANET HOLLYWOOD RESORT & CASINO
Contestant’s Name & State

c/o Miss USA 2009 Production Office
3667 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 785-5004

PLEASE DO NOT SEND FLOWERS or bulky gifts. If you could see how much STUFF the girls try to fit in their hotel room, you would understand that space is at a premium, and they DO NOT have room for flowers. If you ignore this request and send them flowers, I promise you that they will still love them, but they will have to leave them outside their room. That will make them feel guilty and sad, and we don't want that. So please, send a gazillion cards and notes, and save the flowers for when they get home.

I will do my best to post photos, info and messages from our girls as often as possible. Thanks for being part of our blog!

God's blessings to all of you!

Britt

Preliminaries!

Oh, all that hard work, time in the gym, shopping, planning--all for one night! The prelims were held in the grand ballroom at the Atlantis, and there was quite a crowd! One big surprise for Kate was Jessica (our pregnant Utah assistant) and her husband Tyson made it to the bahamas! It was awesome to see Kate's face when she saw Jess sitting next to me!

Both girls looked AMAZING in SS and EG. I think Ashley has the BEST white gown (there were a gazillion of them) and Kate's gown is a definite standout. I saw them both after prelims and they are so happy with their performance. Interviews are happening as I post this, and then that's it! The Finals start at 8pm EST. I have a GREAT feeling about our girls! :)

Photos from last night, all courtesy of MISS UNIVERSE, LP.,LLLP.

Thursday, August 14

Hi Everyone! Today started with rehearsals, then the girls got to go to the Atlantis Aquaventure (which looks like something from a Lara Croft movie from the outside). Then more rehearsals this afternoon and evening. There is a brief visitation tonight which I won't be able to make because I overdid it on my foot (again, don't tell my doctor), so I'm elevating and icing. I did get to see the girls for 2 seconds as they were on their way to lunch, and I have to say THEY ARE BOTH SO GORGEOUS! The best part is that they're even better on the inside.

Ashley's family is already here and Kate's hopefully got in today. This is a beautiful resort, and I hope everyone is enjoying themselves! There are several people from both AZ and UT coming to cheer the girls on, which I think is so cool. There will even be a few surprise visitors for the girls!


I've posted the girls' evening gown photos on the left. Ashley's is an original A Renee Design from Crown Chic and Kate's is a custom Sherri Hill from Crown Chic. Both girls are wearing custom earrings from Stefanie Somers. And of course they're photographed by Benizo.com. Oh, we LOVE our sponsors!!!!


Please keep leaving comments! I always let the girls know what you have to say!


Love,


b

Welcome Dinner

Y'all have been sooo patient...

Arrival photos courtesy of MISS UNIVERSE, LP,LLLP

RECEPTION AND DINNER!

It was great to see the girls tonight. We were very fortunate to have a private reception with all the contestants, state directors and the wonderful MUO staff at the Aura nightclub at the Atlantis. The hotel provided non-alcoholic fruity drinks for everyone - I'm sure there's gonna be some negative chatter when people see photos of the girls with their "drinks" but let me kill any rumors before they start - NO ALCOHOL! :) They didn't even serve alcoholic drinks to the adults.

The contestants had some "fun" time today; photos ops where they were broken into several groups and taken all over the Atlantis Resort. Then they had rehearsals with Choreographer Kent Parham. where they learned the Opening Number! From what I understand, the music doesn't have words and the dance is FUN! Yea Kent!

Tonight was the private reception, then the Welcome Dinner. The dinner was fantastic in that the contestants could all sit with their families (or director!) and had plenty of time to eat, relax and take a gazillion photos. Kate and Ashley are having a GREAT time, and asked me to send their love to all of you!

Tomorrow is more rehearsal, then the girls get to enjoy the Atlantis Water Adventure. I'm taking my completely black and blue foot to Dolphin Cay and get to SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS! Don't tell my orthopedic surgeon. shhhhhh...

We'll have time to visit with the girls tomorrow evening. Patrick is taking official MUO photos (LOVE him!) so I'll post those when they're available. Thanks for the comments for the girls! They love hearing from everyone!

God Bless,

b