National American Miss

Several months ago we got a letter in the mail inviting Samm to come to an open call for a pageant called National American Miss. I had never heard of it before, and we certainly have never done pageants before, but it sounded like something that Samm would love to do so I loaded up all the kids and drove her to the meeting where they herded all the parents into one room and then took all the girls aside and interviewed them. We were told that only half of all the girls interviewed would be invited to participate. Samm squealed with excitement when she got the phone call letting her know that she had been chosen, so even though there was a substantial entrance fee, I told her that if she could raise all of the money with sponsors than she could do it. And, thanks to the generosity of family, friends, and Josh's co-workers, she was able to raise all the money she needed.

It wasn't until after we had already sent in half of the entrance fee that I started thinking about a dress for the formal wear part of the competition. I got online one day to search for pageant dresses and about had a heart attack. $500!!! Are you kidding me!!! I love my daughter and would do just about anything for her, but pay that kind of money for a dress is not one of them. At first, I planned on making her one myself, but when it ended up that we were going to be in Oregon I decided to beg my mom to help me. She agreed of course, but we waited until the last 3 days I was there to start on it so I came home with about 90% of it done. It didn't take me too long to finish the rest of the dress, but in order to be a true pageant dress it needed some sparkle, and I waited until the last minute to start sewing on beads and didn't finish until the night before she needed to wear it. It wasn't even close to being perfect, but Samm felt like a princess in it. And, what is really fun about the dress is that it is made from fabric that was left over from our wedding.  

Even though it was a super stressful week leading up to the pageant, and a crazy stressful weekend trying to manage the other kids and getting Samm where she needed to be, she had a great time and it was such a good experience for her.

 

The girl right behind her right shoulder with the dark hair is the one who ended up wining.

With new friends!

Pretty girl!

They did this little dance number on stage at the beginning of the finale, and even though it was fun to watch, Samm's hair was completely flat and had no curl left by the time she walked back out on stage in her dress.

James found a friend pretty quickly and didn't mind all the waiting around one bit.

Josh got to escort Samm on stage for the formal wear competition.

This was her own idea for a pose. Totally Samm!

Macy was so tired this night she was falling asleep in the stroller while Josh held Laila.

This was the personal introduction part where all the girls had 30 seconds to say a little blurb about themselves. She looked so cute in her suit!

All the girls were rewarded with a trophy for being chosen as a state finalist.

The third part of the competition was the personal interview. She had to fill out a resume and then sit down with judges one on one for a little less than a minute and answer questions about herself. Parents weren't allowed so I wasn't able to get any pictures.

All in all it was fun to do, but oh man am I glad it's over with. Summer is almost over and I'm looking forward to spending the rest of it with the kids at our little lake.