Steele County Fair

Got to love the fair food! It was such a great day at the fair. I got to spend some quality time with my Little Sister Queen, Alyssa Crum. It's a good thing she is from Owatonna and knew the fair well because I was lost the whole time! We got to watch some pig races, feed Puzzles the Giraffe, and tour a beautiful house! We also got free samples of the amazing Nitro Ice Cream! Of course we couldn't get out of there without stirring up some trouble. We made Stella a little jealous when we asked Steely to take a picture with us!

After touring the fair I spent some time watching the Demo Derby! I loved seeing the cars getting smashed. I probably got a little too into it but it was so much fun! The life of a queen is always exciting and has its perks :)
Love Always,
   Lauren

Le Seuer County Fair

 

This girl was so excited to be sitting next to a queen!

 

Going to the Le Seuer County Fair was so fun. It was nice to be at my home county fair to see a few familiar faces. My friend Julie and I were so excited to find out that the Tractor Pull was going on. It was very loud but well worth it. I got to pet some cute farm animals as well as enjoy a corn dog and some kettle corn with my "little sister."

 

Plug your ears!



Special Olympics

On Saturday I was able to spend a part of my day at the Special Olympics in Woodbury. This was an amazing experience and was absolutely life changing. It was so great to see how excited the athletes got when they saw me walking their way. They really made me feel like a celebrity. I have never been asked to have a picture taken with as many times as I did that day. I still can't believe that everyone wanted my autograph! I was thinking to myself, "I'm not Carrie Underwood, but who knows maybe I will be Miss Minnesota someday!" One boy even asked me to sign his new Timberwolves poster!

 

All of the players really made me feel special. It seemed like every athlete found something to compliment me on. I was even asked to get up on stage and show off some dance moves! The guys were for sure my biggest fans. My favorite moment was when one guy came up and introduced himself and said he liked my crown. He started walking away and turned around to say, "By the way, you look very nice today," in a smooth, pick-up line kind of way. He found me a little bit later and said, "Someone who looks like you, shouldn't be single!" I almost died! It felt so good to get so many compliments in just a few hours. Then there are the few that do not want there picture taken with me. The Special Olympics photographer got turned down twice when he asked to have a picture taken of me and some of the players...I guess I can't be popular with everyone :(

 

I also had the honor of meeting the President of the Minnesota Special Olympics!

 

 I was also able to meet Elizabeth Scipioni, a former Miss South Central. It was so fun to get to know her a little bit and see her passion and excitement for this program. Everyone kept telling me that I made their day...but the truth is, they made mine!

Lonsdale Parade

Today, I was in my first parade as Miss South Central. It was exciting to be in the Lonsdale parade because my high school was Montgomery-Lonsdale HS so I was able to see a lot of familiar faces! I was able to see the mayor of my town for the first time since being crowned. Out of everyone,  I think she was the most excited about me going to the Miss Minnesota pageant in June, besides myself of course. One little girl I walked by screamed, "A crown! Oh my gosh, a crown!" so I bent down so she could touch my crown. I also got a lot of kisses blown to me from a bunch of cute little boys. I blew them a kiss back and it was so cute to see them blush! It was so great to see people I haven't seen in a while as well as have my platform announced throughout the parade. I was also blessed to see one of my inspirations for my platform, Ashley. Some of her family members have shared with me how hard it was for her to lose her hair after cancer treatments and it was so great to see her doing so well. Stay Strong Ashley!

 I also met with my wonderful directors tonight and discussed what I want to do throughout my year. I plan to be very busy and keep them very busy. We also talked about what my judges had to say and what I need to work on for the Miss Minnesota pageant. As a result of our meeting I am feeling very excited for the Miss MN pageant in June. You all better be there!

Love Always,

   Lauren Ann :)

Why pageants are a blessing :)

Besties!

Pageants are more than just putting on fancy dresses and walking around in swimsuits. People don't realize that you make life long friends during the process. Pageants can get very stressful and it is a lot easier when you are surrounded by amazing people. Lucky for me, I met this girl through the process of becoming Miss SC. I have no doubt that she will be the next Miss Waseca County Sleigh and Cutter! She has an amazing heart and there is never a dull moment with her! We were both meant to run for the Waseca pageants because that is how we became friends! Love you Jaz!

See, she even has the pageant wave down!

 

Love,

    Lauren :)

Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen

 Yummy! What is better than Blizzards at Dairy Queen? Getting to convince a bunch of people to buy them for a good cause! I got to spend today at the New Prague Dairy Queen to encourage people to buy Blizzards! Today was Miracle Treat Day which means $1 from every Blizzard will go to the Children's Miracle Network! This is a great organization and it is the national platform for the Miss America organization! I got to see some friends and family come in to enjoy a cool treat. Thank you to my friend Allie for being my chaperone! I had so much fun and got to meet some new people...oh ya and I got to eat an amazing Blizzard afterwards :)
Stay Classy,
    Lauren

Corrina's Send-off

Corrina's send-off for the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant was a blast. We got to watch Corrina strut her stuff in her gorgeous dresses as well as answer some practice interview questions and perform her talent. She is such a talented young lady and I know she will wow those judges. We also got to introduce ourselves on-stage for the first time and meet some other royalty. I also got to see Tiffany again and thankfully got some advice on how to get this crown to stay on my head! Tiffany is such a wonderful person and I am glad she gave me a pep talk before my interview. I know I am going to have to bug her with a million questions this year!
Until next time,
    Lauren Fellows

Breakfast with Miss Minnesota

Finally some real food! After only a few hours of sleep the new Team Waseca titleholders met up with Miss MN to just relax and settle into our new roles as the "Queens of Waseca!" It was nice to hear what it is like to be Miss MN and just get to know our new coordinators a little bit. It was weird having people in the restaurant stare at us but I guess we will just have to get used to it. I can already tell it will be a great year (even though Jen likes to pick on me for eating cookies for breakfast)!
Love,
    Lauren

Pageant Night

I'm sorry for the delay but here is my first post as Miss South Central 2013! Saturday night was a very big and exciting night! I had been preparing for this pageant for so long and it was finally the night that I was able to give it all I had and hope that it was enough. Here is my interpretation of the day and how I was feeling through it all. The competition started with a ten minute interview with the judges. Usually, these ten minutes go by very fast but I felt like it would never end. One question that I thought I bombed for sure was when they asked me, "Who would make a good woman president?" For some reason Sandra Bullock came to mind even though I could have thought of a better answer. The next question was the one that made me think that I ruined every chance of becoming the next Miss South Central...They asked me, "Who is Rachel Knutson?" I had no idea. Turns out it was one of the judges but I was so nervous that I couldn't even pay attention to what their names were!! I thought for sure I had lost after that screw up. Then came opening number which isn't judged but the judges are paying attention. I screwed the dance up by doing a part of it with the Waseca contestants instead of the South Central girls..oops! Next was on-stage question. I felt okay about my answers but unfortunately my shoe slipped off of my heel as I walked off stage. During swimsuit, my shoe decided to slip off of my heel when I was walking off stage again! Then came the talent competition. Thank God, nothing went wrong during this. I was so happy that something went right for me, I even cried when I got back stage. Aahh then there is Evening Gown. It was going fine until I slipped on something as I went to walk off stage. By that time I was content that it just wasn't meant to be and that I would try again next year. To my surprise I was crowned the next Miss South Central!! I was so happy and honored that I was given this title that I even cried! I am so grateful for all of the love and support that I was given throughout this journey, it really helped! I owe a big thanks to my mom who has always been my pageant coach! I am so honored by this opportunity and I am willing to do what it takes to be a fantastic titleholder. I am so excited for all of the events that I will have this year and for being able to spread the word about my platform "Growing the Distance-The Importance of Hair Donation." I am so thankful for getting to meet such wonderful girls, especially Jaz Malepsy. She is such a wonderful young woman and I know we will be friends for life. Thank you to Drew, Tiffany, Rachel, the teen titleholders, and the committee members for all of their help. I can't wait for all of the fun that is yet to come with my new royal sisters; Katie, Sadie, and Alyssa. Get ready for a wonderful year! :)
Love Always,
       Lauren Fellows