A Belated Recap

Here is a belated recap of my visit to Muscatine!

 

While my college counterparts were laying on the sunny Florida beaches, I spent my weeklong break from school in Iowa. No, no, no… It was a good thing! I was able to spend some time with my family, make some appearances and work on Miss Iowa prep!

For the first couple days, I got to hang out with the kiddos and family that I used to nanny for throughout high school. I’m extremely blessed to have the Gast family’s love and support wherever I am and whatever I’m doing. When I took Gia to tumbling, I saw her do a round-off back handspring back tuck. I really don’t think I’ve ever been so proud. : )

On Thursday, I went to Wilton to have my photographs taken by Ben Shirk. Wow. His studio is absolutely amazing, and I would highly recommend him for any photos that need to be taken. I’m pretty sure he specializes in weddings because there were the most breathtaking photos of those hanging in the entryway.

When my session was over, I went over to the Pearl City Chophouse, a new restaurant to Muscatine, to sign autographs and greet guests. This was so much fun! It’s interesting to see how different people respond to the crown on my head. I love seeing the look on little kids’ faces; I’m pretty sure they think I’m a real princess or something. Hahaha!

Friday morning took me to Davenport for a visit with Ray at Workout with Ray, my fitness sponsor. It is always a pleasure to visit with him. He is so invested in each of his clients, and that’s pretty awesome. Thanks for the new workout ideas, Ray!

I had a unique opportunity that afternoon. I had a meeting with the president of Muscatine Community College, Bob Allbee. We talked quite a bit about common perceptions of community and junior college. I actually went to a junior college for three semesters, so I was able to relate pretty well. We discussed the advantages and acknowledged that everyone has different learning styles that can be catered to through a variety of post-secondary education arenas. What really impressed me was the relationship that MCC has built with the area high schools. More than 15% of MCC students are dual credit students. That’s really good! It’s so important to take advantage of the college classes offered during high school.

That night, I went back to the Pearl City Chophouse for more autographs and pictures. This time, I had a bag of Hershey’s chocolates.

Saturday was so much fun! After my workout in the morning, my mom and I went to Elly’s tea and coffee shop for lunch. I was able to meet Elly and visit for a little bit. What a nice lady! Muscatine is very lucky to have her and her shop.

Afterward, we went next door to the Hall Tree Boutique to shop for an appearance outfit for Miss Iowa week. They had absolutely beautiful clothing and jewelry! It was pretty hard to choose, but I ended up with a really great outfit! : ) Thank you SO much, Kathy! I really appreciate your sponsorship. I had a lot of fun browsing around your store and chatting with you. My mom and I met my brother for dinner in Iowa City before heading to Cedar Rapids to watch the Miss Cedar Valley pageant! Congrats Amanda Manning! It’s always nice and relaxing to watch a pageant from the audience. ;)

On Sunday, I packed up and headed back to Texas to get ready for my week internship in Orlando. More on that later!