Mini Miss Pageant at the 4H Fair!

Hey, everyone!

Yay! Can you hear the cheering? That is me and I am sooooo glad that Mini Miss is over! I am not a fan of pageants of any kind because I feel like it is wrong to judge someone on their appearance, and in many cases these contests are more about who has the most money and who your parents are...things that just really do not matter! I prepared my daughter for what COULD happen and we talked about what she would do if she was NOT chosen for Mini Miss. She kept up a brave front and was strong but eventually emotion did overtake her as she realized she was not going to get a crown or sash! She knows I always call her my little princess and she gets to be queen for the day often! It's our Mommy and Me time and we BOTH love it! Her daddy calls her his little angel and she absolutely is!! We love her and I told her all week to remember that she is FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY MADE by GOD! The announcers for the contest did emphasize that all these girls are winners and I hope each girl took that to heart because they were all very sweet and I would not be able to pick just one to get a crown!

Okay so on to the pictures...
This is my sweet little girl, Kadesia Shae Owens, contestant #10! Isn't she beautiful?

This is not a very good photo at all...crazy camera! This is for the costume contest. I didn't like this part because I think she looks adorable in her friend Rylee's cowgirl attire. Her friend actually does things at the rodeo and is very good! She helped Kadesia learn how to rope!! I felt like Kadesia had a great and authentic costume but they weren't judged on that! Instead we had to decorate kleenex boxes (remember I showed you hers?) and we had to put money inside it and the contestant with the most money in her box won the contest. I told our family not to put a lot of money in because there were some girls' families there who would be stuffing their boxes full. I felt our money could be used for better things so we did participate but just didn't go overboard! There were some very sweet costumes worn by these girls...some were very creative!

This is another photo that didn't turn out so well! This is where Kadesia had her interview portion. Her question was, What is your favorite ice cream topping? Her answer was, My favorite ice cream topping is chocolate. He asked her what kind of ice cream do you like to put chocolate on? She said, I like to put chocolate on swirl chocolate and vanilla ice cream. His reply was, "Folks, this is one girl who knows what she wants!" How true that statement is!!!

Here she is when they announced who she is, what her hobbies include and where she attends school.

Again, the photo...not so great! My apologies!!! This is the very beginning of the pageant. They all had to dance to a Taylor Swift song. I forget the name but it is #1 on the country music charts now. It was a cute 30 seconds (maybe less) dance that they learned. She practiced so hard to get it just right and I think they all did a fabulous job! She loves this dance and will do it over and over! LOL

All in all, it was a pretty good experience. I like to take away the lessons we have learned and go from there. She met new people, learned a new dance, got new clothes (that's always great, right?), was treated to getting her fingernails and toenails painted professionally (from her extremely generous Mamaw Leann), she was supported and loved through the whole experience by friends and family and she got some fun parting gifts. I am glad she did this since it meant so much to her but I am glad we are not doing this in the future. I truly want to raise Kadesia to be a strong, independent, smart woman who can think for herself and know that true beauty lies within. My mom told her as long as you have Jesus in your heart then you already have it all! Go, MOM! That is so right on!!!! Stay tuned to more fun projects this week and I look forward to sharing my scripture page with you all on Wednesday! My Open House Catalog Reveal Party is coming up soon! I hope you can be there and I have a special treat for all my long-distance friends and customers! Don't miss it!! Last, but certainly NOT least, I want to wish my mother a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs,