Wrapping up the month of May

Hello!

It's hard to believe that today is June 1st! This year is just flying by...but I'm staying busy as the 2009 Miss Florida Pageant approaches!

On May 22nd I went to my favorite Chick-fil-A in Fort Myers for their first "Princess Night". The restaurant was packed with little girls dressed up like their favorite Princess. There were tiaras everywhere! I took pictures with the girls and signed autographs as I admired their adorable outfits.


The Owners, who are also friends of mine, had crafts and other fun activities set up for the girls and everyone had a great time. They sent me home with a fresh chicken sandwich and some coupons for the road!

Miss Florida loves Chick-fil-A!!


The next day I drove up to Winter Garden with Dana for Allison Krieger's (Miss FL '06) wedding! I had so much fun riding up with Dana - quality time and Starbucks... :). The wedding was absolutely beautiful! Allison looked gorgeous and it was so neat to watch her and Brian interact during the ceremony. They were precious!

With the radiant Bride!

At the reception that followed we enjoyed a delicious lunch and danced 'til we could dance no more!

The reigning "Miss"es and our fabulous Board! We have way too much fun...



On Sunday I visited Catalyst Ministries in Bonita Springs, just south of Fort Myers, and was featured as the main speaker for the service. My family and I were so blessed by the church and the genuine fellowship we found there. We had a wonderful time getting to join another ministry in worshiping our great God. He is so faithful in providing times of refreshing during this very busy year! Afterward we were treated to lunch at T.G.I.Friday's, one of my favorite restaurants!


I spent Memorial Day in Fort Myers with my family and we celebrated with dinner, by yours truly ;), and a movie. I made our favorite "Florentine" turkey meatballs (courtesy of Rachael Ray) with angel hair pasta and a new tomato-basil sauce (courtesy of Wolfgang Puck) that turned out to be delicious!! That one is going in my recipe book!

On Tuesday I did a "Right Decisions, Right Now" presentation at Gulf Middle School in Cape Coral and on Thursday I presented at two more schools in Pinellas County - Osceola Middle and Azalea Middle.


Osceola was a smaller group of around 100 students and Azalea was a lot of fun because it was just girls. We had some great "girl talk"!


On Friday night I gave the "Commencement Address" at Sonrise Christian School's graduation in Lakeland. It brought back memories of my own graduation and it was truly an honor to be a part of the ceremony. I got to spend some time with Miss Florida Citrus, Kristen Smith, and her mentor Cathy Asbridge who hosted me for the night!

On Saturday night I went to "Taste of Pinellas" at the Vinoy Park in downtown St. Pete with Miss St. Petersburg, Katie Crews. We were introduced on-stage with Mayor Baker and had the chance to promote the 2009 pageant. It was a gorgeous night and we had fun mingling with the crowd!

Afterward I went off to the Telethon at All Children's Hospital (our local CMN hospital) to present them with a check for $5,264 from the Miss Florida Pageant. It was exciting to be a part of such a dynamic group of contributors and to be able to make the service-oriented heart of our organization known!


When I first arrived I met two very cute little boys who had told their stories on-camera earlier in the day. They were both benefiting from the services at All Children's Hospital and were excited to take a picture with Miss Florida!

Aiden (R) and his little brother

Today I completed my RDRN tour at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in St. Pete. I appeared on their school news and then spoke to two sixth grade classes. I had a great time visiting with the students and felt proud as I left, reflecting back over the twenty middle schools I visited all over the state this past year.

Just like my platform...Believe and Achieve!

Whew! That was a long one! Thank you for following my journey and allowing me to share this with you...one more month! This "adventure" is not over yet!

Take care,
Sierra