Thanks for a great year!

TOP 10!!!!!

Emerald was one of the first girls to congratulate her friend, and new Miss Teen USA, Katie Blair of Montana

We are so proud of Emerald and were THRILLED to hear her called into the Top 15 and THEN the Top 10! She did a wonderful job, and had a GREAT time! Here are some photos!!!!

Called into the Top 15!!!

The Top 15 in Swimsuit!

Called 10th into the Top 10!

Top 10!

Top 10 in their Evening Gowns

I hope you've enjoyed this forum. Thanks for your comments and prayers for Emerald!!!!

God Bless you all!!!

Britt

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!

Can you believe it? I'm ready to go to the Convention Center for the final dress rehearsal. Emerald is so ready! They have been rehearsing non-stop on stage since Saturday, and the show is going to be fantastic. These rehearsals can be very tedious, as they pull several different groups to practice Top 15, Top 10, Top 5, special awards, etc, so every contestant has many opportunities to practice as a semifinalist. The hosts have been working very hard and are going to do a great job.

During today's dress rehearsal, they'll call a Top 15, and only those girls will continue. For some reason, some people place a lot of stock on who was called in the Mock 15, but let me tell you RIGHT NOW that it has nothing to do with anything. All that matters is who is called tonight during the telecast! With that said, you actually don't really want to be called in the Mock 15 so you can rest during most of the dress rehearsal except during the group things.

Don't forget that we're starting at 5pm tonight so the show is live at 8pm on the east coast. We'll be done by 7; a full hour before this airs at home! I'm sure there'll be a lot of texting when the top 15 are called!

My heartfelt thanks go to all of you who have supported Emerald. This is a very difficult thing to do, and having the love and support of family and friends is so important. I hope this blog has helped you feel connected with her! We all want her to win, but it's in God's hands. Whatever the outcome, our Emerald has an amazing future waiting for her!!!!

Love and blessings,

Britt

More photos!

Here are some more photos of the Preliminary Competition:

Opening number Tadashi outfit

All that hard work paid off!!!

Groups SS photo--Emerald really stands out!

Evening Gown - just beautiful!

Just put that crown on her now!!!

Interview is now over, and the scores are locked in! Now Emerald will have several days of nothing but rehearsals, mostly with the NBC production crew to make sure the telecast is perfect. These next few days will be very trying, so please keep her and all the contestants in your prayers!

Britt

BACK FROM PRELIMS!!

Okay, I KNOW you're all wanting to hear how she did at Prelims. Would anyone be surprised to know she was AWESOME?! Emerald looked amazing (girlfriend's got abs to die for!) and was really on for the judges! She really stood out in Swimsuit and looked FANTASTIC in her gorgeous evening gown! In a sea of pretty blondes, our girl really stands out. Her beauty, face, hair and stage presence were impossible to ignore! She was VERY upbeat afterwards, and ready for Interview tomorrow.

WATCH EMERALD IN ACTION!!!! Go to this link, http://www.missteenusa.com/delegates/2006/files/AZ.html click on VIDEO, then you can see the Presentation show ss and eg!!!! Her fan base was LARGE and came armed with SIGNS, so the camera had to be a little creative shooting over the signs during SS! But you can still see her beautiful face and commanding stage presence. Way to go, Emerald!

A big shout out to the Zellers family and friends. Diana set up a wonderful pre-show reception in their hotel room, and she and Brad welcomed everyone with open arms. And what a crowd it was! After filling up on yummy food, we all made our way over to the Convention Center next door. The AZ contingent was nearly 40 strong, and WOW could you hear them!!!! Way to go AZ!
They have also released the judges for Tuesday night, and I'm tickled to see my old Miss USA roomie and former Miss Universe Chelsi Smith as a judge! I won't be able to speak with her until after the competition, but Chelsi knows beauty and will be a great judge. Tuesday will be a GREAT night!

For the few of you NOT here in Palm Springs, don't forget to watch NBC on Tuesday the 15th at 8pm. It will be tape-delayed (we're starting at 5pm here) so if you want to know the results before you watch the telecast, may I suggest www.voy.com/191501/. Don't spoil it for everyone else, though! And if you're in the Mesa area and want to watch the pageant with a group, one of our Chaperones, Tari, has set up a room with a big screen at RT O'Sullivan's at 1010 W Southern Ave. Just ask for Tari's group, and THANK YOU, Tari, for letting us know!

Thanks to each and every one of you who is following Emerald's adventure. I'm so happy to be able to share what I can with you, as this is a life-changing experience for Emerald, and I know that she loves that her friends and family can share it with her. You are all blessings!!!

Britt

Report from Palm Springs!

Emerald and friend West Virginia at the pool party at the home of the Farouk Systems President

Hi Everyone! I had the chance to spend a couple of hours with Emerald yesterday after rehearsals. She is having a GREAT time, looks amazing (no surprise) and is ready for Prelims tonight! She has been very smart and focused--going to bed early, eating well, working very hard in rehearsals and remembering what's important. I am very pleased to say that you will see her FRONT AND CENTER for the opening number! Again, no surprise, but there are some other good dancers in this group! Emerald's maturity is really showing through and will carry her far during the remainder of the competition. She has made some very close friends, taken a ton of photos, and if I can wrestle her camera away from her for a couple of hours, I'll post a lot of them here!

Arizona will have a MONSTER contingent here tonight for Prelims--around 40 people! We're all so proud of Emerald and know she will rock the stage tonight. This morning they had the Preview, which is where the judges see the contestants for the first time in the evening gowns and swimsuits. It's a very low-key event, in a hotel ballroom and the girls can't speak with the judges, but it's a very crucial time as this is where the judges get their first impressions of the ladies. She was ready, a little nervous now that the competition is really here, but our girl knows how to turn nerves to her advantage. In about an hour is the prelim dress rehearsal, then the Preliminary Competition. I'll let you all know how well she does!

Keep those prayers and positive comments on this blog coming!!!!!

Blessings,

Britt

It's time to vote for Photogenic!!

Hi Everyone! We are ONE WEEK away from the Telecast! Prelims are this Thursday, Interviews Friday and the final show on Tuesday! You can show your support for Emerald by voting her Miss Photogenic! Just go to this link, http://www.nbc.com/Movies_Specials_More/Miss_Teen_USA_2006/, click on "Miss Photogenic Online Vote" and vote for Emerald! The winner will be announced during the live telecast!

I'll be in Palm Springs tomorrow, so I'll continue posting while I'm there. Please keep Emerald in your prayers and leave a ton of positive comments on this blog! Your support means everything to her!

Busy, busy!

At the top!

Hi Everyone! The ladies have been so busy I haven't heard from Emerald! I know they've had long hours of rehearsals with Scott, have "auditioned" for their places on stage and have had more pre-taping events! Yet even with their demanding schedule, our Emerald has managed to do a little shopping!

They have also had a little time for fun, with a movie outing and a PJ party! They have even had the chance to meet the current Miss Universe, Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, who is the same age as several of the TEEN contestants (18)! They also got to experience the great ride up the mountain in the tram. If you're going to Palm Springs, the tram is definitely worthwhile! Here are a couple of photos for you. Please keep the positive comments coming!

Pajama Party!

Before watching the movie Step Up

At the top after the tram ride (this would be a very pretty Top 5!!!!!)

Emerald having some fun with the camera. It looks like she could be in the beautiful White Mountains of Arizona!

Rehearsals

The ladies have been very busy with pre-tapings, and now they're rehearsing with Scott Grossman! Here are some great photos of rehearsals for the opening pre-tape at the waterpark. Our Emerald is front and center...is that any indication of where we'll see her on stage? We hope so!! Enjoy the photos!

More fun and photos

Hi Everyone! Yes, the pageant is in high gear now! The ladies are being shuttled off in different directions for pre-taping--these are segments that the TV audience sees during the live telecast showing the contestants "having fun" all over the Host City. They've had their Welcome Dinner, a whole host of photo sessions, wardrobe fittings, and now intro taping and segment pre-taping. Very soon they'll start rehearsals with Scott Grossman--who was our choreographer as well, so Emerald has already worked with him!

If you would like to send Emerald a card or flowers, please use the address below, as the hotel will charge for deliveries now.

Emerald Zellers, Miss Arizona Teen USA
2006 MISS TEEN USA Pageant
The Palm Springs Convention Center
277 N. Avenida Caballeros
Palm Springs, CA 92262
(760) 325-6611


IHere are a few more photos of our favorite Teen!

Dinner at Matchbox Pizza

Taping the opening

Pre-taping on the golf course!

Emerald was chosen to participate in the golf pretaping session at Cimarron Golf course. Now that's something her father Brad can appreciate! She looks gorgeous even swinging a golf club!

Our gorgeous Emerald!

Photo by Fadil Berisha, courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP.

Here's the latest photo, from Emerald's shoot with Fadil Berisha. Doesn't she look FANTASTIC?!

Here are a couple of photos from the ladies' welcome dinner.

Videos are up!!!!

Emerald poses for an official evening gown photo in a gorgeous Escada gown

I spoke with Emerald this morning; yesterday she did all her photos and registration. She LOVED shooting with Fadil Berisha, told me about selecting her Tadashi opening number outfit and her top for the video intros. She had some RARE downtime this morning, since she'd finished all her registration stuff! She's having a GREAT time and really appreciates everyone sending comments on the blog and keeping her in your prayers.

AND.............

The videos are up!!!!!! Go to this link to watch our awesome Miss Arizona Teen USA!!
http://www.missteenusa.com/delegates/2006/files/AZ-closeup.html

This afternoon she's filming her video introduction. The weather is just like here in Phoenix, although Emerald says they've been stuck inside the entire time! She has very limited access to a computer, but she's going to try to send some photos periodically. I'll find what I can and post them here.

Our girl is going to ROCK!! :)

Britt

Emerald is in Palm Springs!

Emerald arrived a day early to Palm Springs and had some time to get settled in her room yesterday before her roommate (Wisconsin) arrived late last night. Today is registration, so she'll be extremely busy trying on her swimsuit, shoes, possibly getting photos done, and also possibly her on-camera interview for the website! She'll need a ton of energy; today is an exhausting day. If I hear from her, I'll be sure to post her thoughts! Please keep Emerald in your prayers as she begins the most exciting 2 weeks of her life!

Cards, letters, flowers, gifts and faxes are a lifeline for any contestant at Nationals. Below is the address to send Emerald a note to encourage her:

Emerald Zellers
Miss Arizona Teen USA
2006 MISS TEEN USA Pageant
c/o Wyndham Palm Springs Hotel
888 East Tahquitz Canyon Way
Palm Springs, CA 92262

Here are some Palm Springs flower shops to consider if you'd like to send her flowers. Please keep in mind that her hotel room is not large, she is sharing with another teenager for 2 weeks, and they each have 2+ weeks of clothing and shoes in the room! Flowers are great, as are cards and small gifts. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated!

Sunshine Florists www.Sunshine-Florists.com

Palm Springs City Florist www.77Flowers.com

Abbott's Florist www.abbottsflorist.com

Britt

Send-off party!

Emerald's send-off party was such a wonderful event! Held at the Arizona Angels Dance Studio in Scottsdale, so many people came to give Emerald their best! Heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this event special. Emerald leaves for Palm Springs on July 30.

Thanks to Gina Hook for the photos!

To leave Emerald a comment, just click on the word "comments" after each post!