Junior Miss Strawberry Festival

Being cinched up - makes me glad we don't live in the 1800s

It's somewhat ironic and completely NOT by design or predetermination that my post tonight is about a pageant and comes just one day after a post that made mention of pageants.

I'll try not to go all braggy-brag on you, for I do know how annoying those people can be. But at the same time, I am very proud of my little girl.

Girls that left happy

Ren was in the Strawberry Festival pageant tonight in Portland. This was only the second one she's ever done. I thought her walk was second to none. And, of course, she was absolutely the most beautiful girl there. Which is kind of funny, because there were 23 other women in attendance tonight that had someone else picked as the most beautiful girl. Go figure.

With Aunt Sissy and Ma-Ma

Anyway, this time was an improvement on her last effort. Here's a quick comparison between the two. I would do a fancy-shmancy table but blogger is being difficult tonight so the following is as fancy as it gets.

Jr. Miss Fairest of the Fair

1. August 2008

2. Age 12

3. 3rd Runner-Up

4. Red dress- borrowed from Megan, one that she wore

to her 8th grade formal about a

hundred years ago.

5. About 40 girls participated

6. Wore flats (the dress was a little short on her)

7. Used DUCK TAPE to bond the shoes to her feet,

as they were a little loose.

8. Hair worn down

9. John-Heath was not there

10. Coaching by Meg
11. Beautiful

Jr. Miss Strawberry Festival Princess

1. April 2010

2. Age 14

3. 2nd Runner-up

4. Red dress - her very own, the one we

bought for the 8th grade basketball

homecoming court.

5. 24 girls participated

6. Wore heels - this dress had a train

7. NO DUCK TAPE!!!

8. Hair worn in a low updo

9. John-Heath was there
10. Coaching by Meg

11. Ditto!!!

John-Heath liked watching the pageant. I don't know whether to be thankful he was somewhat still or worried - that my 4-year-old son liked watching a pageant. He was overheard making comments to Megan and Kafrin (Katherine) like "Oooh. That dress is pretty. It has sprinkles (sequins) all over it", "Ren is pretty. She looks like a big, red crab", "Smile, Ren", and "That's my sister."

Back home - posting the news on her MySpace account

Ren was overheard in her mind saying these things. Smile. 3 seconds. Walk. Remember, heel to toe. Pause 5 seconds. Pivet and turn. 5 more seconds. More walking. Keep smiling. Almost done. Eyes on the judges as you exi...Crap! Look out - trophy table!

P.S. Do you want to know a secret? Really? Okay then. But you can't tell anyone. Lean in a bit. Closer. A little closer. Ren's dress - the one she wore tonight - is actually a wedding dress. Evidently, red is the going color in Europe for wedding dresses now so the White Room purchased it to sell in their bridal shop. When it didn't sell (we southern girls still prefer white it seems) they moved it to the formal wear side of their store. Anyway, that's why the train on it was so long when she wore it for the homecoming court. For the pageant we had the train length decreased from chapel length to brush length. Shhhh. Remember. You're the only one I've told.

P.S.S Have a great weekend. Hopefully, it won't be as stormy and bad as they are saying. Stay safe, friends.