Day 4 in LA!

Hi Everyone! Yesterday (Sunday) the contestants were in rehearsal from 10a-5p. They learned their swimsuit pattern as well as their evening gown pattern. Courtney says the EG pattern is the same that she did for the Arizona USA pageant!

They went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant on Olvera street and got to shop for about an hour after dinner. Enjoy the photos! Apologies for the blurry ones; I don't know who takes those! :)

Love,

Britt

Tadashi event, swimsuit, evening gown and more registration photos

Photos (c) MISS UNIVERSE, LP, LLLP

Hi Everyone! Boy, it's been a whirlwind, hasn't it? I just love putting these posts together and being able to help Courtney share her time at MISS USA with everyone. I also love that Courtney has been able to send me a ton of photos! Last night was the evening at the home of Tadashi, and here are some photos!

Let's just get that sash now...:)

The following photos are from Registration and the Welcome Reception. Please note: these photos are all copyrighted by MISS UNIVERSE, LP, LLLP and are posted here by special permission. Please do not copy these photos.

Signing a guitar that will be auctioned by Hard Rock Cafe

Courtney is having a GREAT time! She is representing Arizona sooooo well, and we're all just extremely proud of her!

Love,

Britt

Candid photos are up!

Photo by Fadil Berisha, (c) MISS UNIVERSE, LP, LLLP

Roommates! Courtney and Rebecca

What a day! Courtney called me during rehearsal to let me know she's having fun and to look for her Fadil shots later tonight. MISS USA is doing something new this year by posting the candid shots online to purchase. As of this post, there are 3 photos of her from the welcome reception. You can see them by clicking here. And while I was working on this post, Courtney emailed me these photos!

Registration

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Orientation

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Rehearsal

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Welcome Reception

In case you're wondering, TN is almost 6' tall!

Tonight is the event at the home of the designer Tadashi. I hope to have more photos!

Courtney is having a GREAT time and appreciates your prayers, love and support!!!

Blessings,

Britt

Videos are up!!!

The web interviews are up at www.missusa.com! To view Courtney's click here. You might experience some delays; I orginally just had a white screen. If you give it about a minute then click "video" again, it should show up. As a reminder, she filmed this video right after she had her Fadil photo shoot, so her hair and make up are a bit dramatic. She's wearing her evening gown (unfortunately you can't see it!) and her custom Stefanie Somers earrings! Let us know what you think!

I especially love how she was able to plug Red White and Brew in Mesa! She's been working there for 3 years, and they even sponsored and hosted her send off party. If you live in the east valley, be sure to check them out for lunch and dinner. Their web site is www.rwbaz.com and they're located at the corner of Power Road and McDowell. Wonderful people, wonderful food!

Please post your comments about the videos here!

Britt

Day 2!

I got an email from Courtney tonight! She had breakfast at 7, then at the Orientation they learned some rules about their time in LA. They are broken up into small groups, and each group is assigned a chaperone. Contestants can't go ANYWHERE without a chaperone! They can't even go up/down the elevator by themselves. It's quite a switch for these independent ladies!

After Orientation, Courtney filmed her promo shot for the state of Arizona. Yes, we have our own Grand Canyon State promo for the pageant, and it's our own MISS ARIZONA USA! I'm really excited to see these promos! I'm not sure when they'll start, but they'll run on NBC.

After lunch the contestants met with Scott Grossman, the choreographer. They learned their intro walk, and the intros will be "Courtney Barnas, 19, Arizona USA!" I like that intro and am happy they're using it again! The contestants also learned the swimsuit number for those who do not make the Top 15. I have a sneaking suspicion that Courtney won't need to remember that number!

They had a welcome reception at 5:30, then dinner at the Japanese restaurant in the Wilshire Grand at 8. Breakfast tomorrow is at 8am, so Courtney's taking full advantage of that extra hour of sleep!

Still no photos :( but I'll keep trying. Some contestants are sending photos to family/friends and I'll shamlessly borrow them to post here if I find any with Courtney in them!

YAY for all the messages and posts pouring in! Please keep them coming, I know Courtney loves hearing from everyone! Trust me, any little note of encouragement or love means a lot to her right now. In less than two weeks she'll be on national television living out her dream!

Please keep Courtney and all the contestants and their families in your prayers!

Blessings,

Britt

Day 1 in LA

I just got off the phone with Courtney, and she's in great spirits! She completed all aspects of Registration today. She was fitted for her competition swimsuit (white bikini) and another fun swimsuit for photos (hers is pink). She had a photo shoot in the pink suit for the MISS USA website. The contestants received their custom Tadashi opening outfits (Courtney's is a dark purple very fitted cocktail dress) and their Nina shoes (silver for swimsuit competition and a black pair). She also received 2 pair of YMI jeans and a tank top! Gotta LOVE those sponsor gifts! **Note on the Tadashi outfits--each contestant has a custom design that she will be wearing for the opening number. The girls had no input on what they are wearing; they simply submitted their measurements and an outfit was created especially for them! There will be 51 unique looks on the stage. Courtney says she LOVES her dress.

She had her Fadil Berisha photo shoot in her evening gown, which she said they shot right outside the hotel against the wall. She said people were walking by, stopping and staring the whole time. I told her to get used to all that attention! She loved how Fadil's stylists did her hair and makeup and is so excited to see the final photo, as are we. Then she had her interview for missusa.com. She said several contestants, herself included, had to do the interview in their evening gowns after their Fadil shoot, so she has pretty dramatic hair and makeup. I don't know when the interviews will be up on the website, but you can be sure that I'll post that info here as soon as it's available. I also don't know when the Fadil shots will be released but those photos will go in the MISS USA program book.

Courtney does not have her cable with her to upload photos from her camera to her computer, so we won't have photos from her for several days. There were no cameras allowed for Registration anyway. However, there are MANY other girls with cameras there, and I'll scour the internet for any and all photos with our beloved MISS ARIZONA USA in them to post here. BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS AFTER EACH POST ON THIS BLOG, so Courtney can read them! Also, I've already received some email notes to pass on to Courtney; please feel free to forward as many as you like to info@missarizonausa.net and I'll forward them directly to Courtney!

Tomorrow is breakfast at 7am, then Orientation at 9am. The official Welcome Reception is tomorrow evening. She has not received any changes to her schedule yet.

On another pageant note, congratulations to Arizona's own Mrs. America, Diane Tucker, who just captured the Mrs. World crown! Courtney, you're next!!!

With love,
Britt

Courtney's off to LA!!!

Courtney gets the finishing touches on her hair by hair guru Andy Biggs of Zolton's Salon in Scottsdale

Today was Courtney's final prep day. And she sure was busy! She started the day at 5:30am with an interview on CBS Channel 5. She's also had a pedicure and manicure, got the finishing touches on her hair, had a facial, her final gown fitting, and got to choose some jewelry pieces by Melayne Wootan to take with her (you can see some of her jewelry at http://www.melaynewootan.com). Her gown is NOTHING short of AMAZING and fits her like a glove. Her Stefanie Somers custom earrings are just gorgeous as well! Now, for those of you wanting a photo, you'll just have to wait until her Fadil Berisha shots come out--hopefully early next week.

We also had to deal with some major drama--her flight for tomorrow was CANCELLED! I spent 45 minutes on the phone with US Airways and got her rebooked, but I was hoping to avoid disasters of this caliber! Let's pray that's the worst that will happen.

She leaves Wed am at 11:21 from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport for her First Class flight aboard US Airways. She arrives in LAX at 11:53 and will be met by her town car driver to whisk her away to the Wilshire Grand. How many suitcases will she check? ONLY ONE! Her Grandpa DROVE all her things to the hotel in LA (a SIX hour drive!!!) earlier this week and dropped them off, so Courtney won't have to worry about shipping anything or the airline losing a single piece of luggage. MAJOR KUDOS TO GRANDPA!!!!

She has the whole afternoon to get settled in her room. Her roommate is Miss Alabama USA, Rebecca, who also arrives Wed midday. Wednesday night Courtney is going to dinner with her boyfriend Steven's sister, who lives in LA. Then she's the first girl to go through registration at 9am on Thursday. She'll be fitted for her competition swimsuit, shoes and opening number outfit. She'll turn in all her paperwork as well as her state gift for the auction. Her gift, by the way, is a Matt Leinart autographed Cardinal's game ball! Many thanks to Suzanne and Danielle Demski for getting this great item for Courtney!!

During Registration, she'll also film her web interview, which will be displayed on http://www.missusa.com/, have her Fadil photo session in her evening gown and get more information on her schedule. I know that they have already added some talk shows to the ladies' schedule as well as an LA Kings hockey game. They will be busy!

Since she's in the first group, she'll have everything taken care of Thursday and will probably have some time Friday to rest and send me an update with photos (HOPEFULLY!) so I can keep you all updated. This girl is READY to be MISS USA! She has worked tirelessly to achieve this goal; she's left nothing to chance!

Those of you who saw her Good Morning Arizona interview on Monday had a preview of her Interview outfit as well as her web interview outfit (hip couture St. John combo) and the Tadashi dress she's wearing for the Tadashi event. She was also on Channel 5 EARLY this morning and they had her do the weather - with absolutely no warning whatsoever! She's a natural, though, and did a fantastic job. Let me see...in the forecast for the next couple of weeks, I'm predicting the crowning of the first MISS USA FROM ARIZONA!! :)

If you'd like to send her an email, please send it to us at info@missarizonausa.net with the subject line MESSAGE FOR COURTNEY. I'll make sure she gets all good wishes! And if you'd like to send cards, the address for the hotel is at the top right of this blog. ANY AND ALL notes of encouragement will mean the world to her, so please don't hold back! The next 2 weeks leading up to the competition will be very tiring and all love and prayers WILL make a huge difference.

Keep watching this blog for updates!

GO GET 'EM, COURTNEY!!!

Courtney's send off party!

Red White and Brew in Mesa was the host to Courtney's send off party on Thursday, March 1st. So many people came out to wish our Miss Arizona USA all the best as she heads to LA next week!

Courtney and Tiffany, Miss Arizona Teen USA 2007

Courtney and Brenna (AZ USA 06) and two future MISS ARIZONA USAs!

Courtney, Britt (exec director) and Brenna