Walk to End Alzheimer's

 The Walk to End Alzheimer's holds a special place in my heart. This February my Grandpa passed away, he had Alzheimer's for many years. It is a terrible disease and it was so touching to see so many people raising money to help find a cure. I was able to put a flower in the garden for him saying "In memory of my Grandpa, Love Lauren ('ole smiley). I know you are watching over me everyday and I still have the deck of cards that we will use when we meet again <3

 I got the honors of handing out programs, directing traffic during registration, and drawing the names of door prize winners.

                          Debbie Eddy was the lady that made my volunteer desires possible :)

                                                  My royal chaperon/ roommate Hannah :)

                               Some of my lovely Dance Society friends supporting the cause!

Waseca Marching Classic

The Waseca Marching Classic was a great time. It started of with a parade through Waseca with all of the girls and our princesses. After that we stuffed all of us in Molly's vehicle to get Sadie to the start of the parade so she could march with the band. Thank you to the cops who looked the other way when they saw how many crowns were piled into one vehicle. Sadie did an amazing job in the parade and there was a lot of screaming when she passed where we were sitting. A huge highlight of my day was seeing Miss Jaz Malepsy (my sister from another mister) after going to college for a month. In between the parade and the field show we watched the Miss Minnesota pageant and bonded over pizza. At the field show we were introduced in front of everyone and then handed out water to the band members when they got off of the field. Our goal was accomplished that band members would hit on us. This day was my first encounter of serious marching band and I was so impressed with the Waseca Marching Band. Even though Alyssa was a terrible "water cupper" it turned out to be a great day that ended with a fantastic firework show.

These two peanuts kept all of us girls very entertained and gave us a lot of laughs throughout the day...got to love them :)

Miss Winona Pageant

The Miss Winona Pageant was so much fun on so many levels. It was the first local pageant that I was able to sit and watch, I got to see my little sister queen Alyssa, and we got to talk to Rebecca about her experience at the Miss America Pageant. It's nice to have another local titleholder that is in the same area as we are both Winona State University Warriors!! Welcome to the Queen Club!

Watching the Miss America Pageant

I'm writing this post as I watch the pageant and how I feel as it moves along!
I think I may be more nervous than Rebecca is! I screamed so loud when Rebecca made top 15, I am pretty sure my whole floor heard it and I think our roommate thought I was dying. Better yet, Rebecca made top 10. They really need to stop calling her last because my heart just can't take it anymore. My Aunt told me I would be on that stage someday...I think we should just focus on Miss Minnesota first!...There she goes again, Rebecca made it in the top 5!! So excited to say that I met Miss Minnesota not because she has made it this far but also because she is an amazing person!! Keep it up!...Well Rebecca got 4th runner up but she should have walked away with a crown but we are all so proud of how far she went! Can't wait till we see her again so we can tell her how proud we are of her!
Stay Classy,
Lauren

Jesse James Days

Jesse James Days is always a celebration that I look forward to. Just going to their events you can feel the love that the citizens of Northfield have for their town and it's history. Last weekend Katie and I went to the Jesse James Days in support of their Tough Enough to Wear Pink rodeo. I used to go to rodeos as a little girl so it was exciting to get to watch a rodeo again while supporting a good cause. On Sunday, we attended the royalty reception and then got to watch the bank raid reenactment from right in front of the bank! Riding in the parade was so fun as we got to listen to the Winona High School Band play songs from Les Mis. I felt so powerful waving to the song, "Do you hear the people sing". It was a great weekend and got to see a lot of familiar faces and made some new friends as well. This is a festival that I will continue to go to for the rest of my life!
Love Always,
    Lauren

State Fair 2013

The great Minnesota get together! I had so much fun representing South Central Minnesota at the State Fair. I got to see Tiffany at work and got introduced to some of the Kare 11 crew. I had a blast seeing all of the little girls and getting a few laughs on the way. I don't think people realize that I can hear what they say but the best thing I heard all day was "Mom, it's Miss America....Miss South America?"

 

I even saw some familiar faces...Just when I get fruit pizza all over my face in my struggle to eat it, some of my old UPAC officers find me. It was so great to see them and hear how their day was going. Hopefully, they didn't get rained on too hard at the concert that night.



One of the many perks of being Miss South Central is getting treated like royalty. I got a few free things during the day but the Kangaroo stuffed animal from the Dish Network guy was the best. They weren't really giving these out so I felt really special. I am so glad I got to spend my day as a role model for young girls and if there is one thing I learned it is that when little girls ask me if I live in a castle...I need to say yes!

Love Always,
Lauren