INTERNATIONALS!!!

It has been quite some time since I posted an update, and I figure this blog would not be complete without a recap of our International experience... so here goes... as best I can remember it. =)

We arrived LATE Thursday night. Sydnee and Donna were already asleep and my first thought when we FINALLY made it into our hotel room was WOW! This is SMALL for 2 queens and their moms! LOL It just makes it more fun that way though right? I don't remember a whole lot about what we did on that friday LOL - but I believe we took it kinda easy - unpacking and getting things ready for the week. Of course there were all kinds of outfit issues to work on - who can arrive at a pageant with all the outfits complete? What fun would that be? The girls went to the mall to get their nails done and then made it back JUST IN TIME for the baby souvenir party. =) They wore their pretty long multi-blue colored dresses that they had in Cabo and had a chance to do the Cindy disco with the babies. =)

SATURDAY - AAMTC Model competitions. I know that Kennedy helped out with some of the awards - but gosh - I do not remember what else we did on this day LOL.. I'm going to have to look through some pictures and figure out what we did LOL.

SUNDAY - AAMTC Talent, Cameo, Baby finals. Kennedy performed My New Philosophy at the baby pageant. Each time this performance gets better and I think this was the first time we all really liked it. =) Good thing she had so many opportunities to practice it before getting to Internationals! Later that night was Cameo girl - SO MANY beautiful girls! It was a bit of a test for Kennedy and Sydnee though - sitting through the WHOLE thing. =) They did pretty good with it though.

MONDAY - Registration - I was so excited for this because the girls were wearing their super cute white western dresses with their boots. =) After orientation it was time to get ready for Interview. This was a really special time because Kennedy had a chance to meet all of the contestants one on one and wish them good luck going into interview. =) Then we finished off the day with the Welcome Banquet. Kennedy was SO excited for this!!!! She had been waiting for quite some time to be able to stand on that stage and have Hello Dolly sung to her and her royalty sisters. =) They even got the swaying down and everything. They all just GLOWED!!! Then it was time for eating and a little entertainment from the Emcees. Poor Taylor... Janelle sang "The Climb" and Taylor shed a few tears. It was starting to hit them all that the week was finally here and that their reign was coming to an end....

TUESDAY - TALENT! I think this was my favorite outfit of the week! The girls had silk pants suits to wear and I must say they looked great! We were on day 5 or so and the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with us though. We enjoyed the talent presentations, but sitting in the theater for 8 hours was a lot harder than one might think. =) Plus it was FREEZING! brrrrr..... It was definately a great excuse to actually sit there all day though! Kennedy has never been up for that in the past and I am not sure she will want to do that again any time soon.... LOL... After talent we went back to the hotel for the Souvenir party. The girls had royal blue bubble dresses and they played the part of game show hostesses for the show. That was really cute. They had bags with prizes in them that they gave out to the winners of the trivia questions. Kennedy gave Ms Denise from Arizona a Dallas Cowgirl Cheerleader doll. =) The girls also did a few dances - the Hoedown Throw Down, Cha Cha Slide and the electric slide... lots of fun!

WEDNESDAY - Partywear Day. This was Kennedy's first opportunity performing her new song - My Strongest Suit. She was a little nervous since it was the first time with new choreography and everything - but I thought she did a great job. =) She enjoyed it and liked the song so much that she opted to perform that one on the big stage instead of My New Philosophy - so she was excited about it. =) After Mini Miss Party Wear we changed her into her traveling outfit and were headed out to the bus when we saw all the Mini Miss Contestants heading outside for their group picture! OH MY GOODNESS!!! I TOTALLY FORGOT!!!! I RUSHED Kennedy back into the bathroom - ripped her clothes off - put her party wear back on with robe and ran her out onto the front steps - just in time for her to sit down and get a picture snapped! We were REALLY that close! 2 minutes later and they would have taken the picture WITHOUT HER! That would have been a real bummer! Then it was back to the hotel for the Cindy Fair.... Another bubble dress - but this one in bright yellow - it was pretty cute on her. After we got changed we all pilled into the elevator... and... GOT STUCK!!!!! We were literally stuck in the elevator with aboout 9 other people for nearly 45 minutes! It was NOT fun! My mom tried to pry the doors open - and she ended up getting her arm stuck resulting in a BIG bruise! FINALLY they were able to get us off the elevator and we rushed down to the Cindy Fair - which of course we had basically missed. =( Bummer! We decided to stay for the second party though since we missed the first. Kennedy and Taylor had a chance to go INSIDE the big pumpkin - that was cool!

OK - Gotta run... will update with the rest a little later...

OUR CABO TRIP!!!

WOW! I can't believe I waited so long to post a note about our trip to Cabo! Things have been a little crazy around here.

Well - the last week of June we spent in Cabo with the 2009 International Royalty. What an AMAZING time we had. The hotel was all inclusive and the little ones loved being able to get something to eat or drink whenever. =) The big girls LOVED the beach. Not only for the sun and sand but for the traveling mall that wandered past every few minutes. =) Shopping and sunbathing at the same time - does it get any better?

The hotel also had a kids club with activities for the little ones along with their own private waterpark and waterslides. Kennedy and Sydnee spent most of their first full day in the kids club... until... Kennedy had a little accident. She fell on the slide and broke her 2 front teeth! I am NOT even kidding. And it wasn't a little chip either. She broke off HALF of her front left tooth. I would post a picture but I don't think Kennedy would like that. She only broke off about 1/3 of her right tooth... but either way - she is missing a lot of her PERMANENT TEETH! There was a lot of blood and a lot of tears.. but the big girls came with Kennedy to the Hotel Dr office and that made her feel a lot better. The Dr didn't think there was nerve damage - but just to be safe I called a dentist... he felt the same way. We got Kennedy some wax so she could go to dinner that night and not be so worried about it.... The next day we went into town to a local dentist and had a temporary filling placed on the tooth. If you look close you can tell there is something wrong with her teeth... but from a few feet away you can't really tell. This does mean several visits to the dentist though. We had 2 on the monday after our return and we have another apt tomorrow to check. Kennedy was having some pain so they thought there might be nerve damage after all - so the dr's are monitoring that...

Back to the trip...The morning before the dentist we went with the royalty on a boat ride. We saw "Lovers Beach", the Arch and a bunch of sea lions. The girls really enjoyed that. Then Kennedy and I went to the dentist while the rest had some lunch and enjoyed some shopping. The rest of our time was spent on the beach or in the pool - enjoying the warmth of the sun and each others company.

Finally on the last day, Sydnee, Donna, Kennedy and I all had a later afternoon trip, so we had time to squeeze in one extra activity - Swimming with the dolphins!!! Kennedy and Sydnee got right in the water with the dolphins. They got to pet, dance with, kiss and RIDE on the dolphin! That was definately the highlight of the trip!

Now we are back home and busy busy busy preparing for the International pageant. I can't believe it is less than two weeks away! We are SO excited to attend the international pageant and see all of our cindy friends, but so sad this amazing year is coming to an end.

Take care and safe travels everyone!!!
Nicole and Kennedy

Our Tour Comes to an End

Well - we did make it on that 9pm flight! That was so wonderful! Finally something seemed to go our way - Kennedy was really worried we would be stuck again. =) We arrived in Las Vegas around 11:30pm and Cynthie picked us up at the airport. We arrived at Sams Town and finally made it into bed around 1 am. We were pooped!!!



I don't think things got started until around 8:00 the next morning. I let Kennedy sleep in a little then she went down to help with or hang out during Interviews. After interview they had orientation with age group parties. Kaitlyn was sweet enough to include Kennedy in the Mini Miss routine she created. They did a little dance to Surfin USA and Kaitlyn made littls surfboards for the contestants and Kennedy had a beach ball that she got to throw out into the audience. She thought that was pretty cool. Orientation was super funny with a special "Pageant Superhero" Orientation video - completely hysterical!



After orientation we were treated to an afternoon of Tot Personality and Talent presentations. I really enjoyed the NV Tot personality segment where the tot's came out on horses and were interviewed by Cinderella - so cute! After talent we had the welcome banquet and finally the Prince Gilbert party! Whew! What another long day! Nevada State Day 1 Complete...



Day 2 began at 8:30 in the morning with Formal and Party Wear followed by Casual Wear. Kennedy performed My New Philosophy again... it is getting better - but something just isn't working for me... My mom thinks it's the costume... I don't think that's it. Maybe it is the arrangement - or the choreography... I haven't quite figured out what is wrong with it yet LOL... it's cute - I don't know... Anyway - she also performed Goodmorning Baltimore and that one always seems to work well. =)



After Partywear and Casualwear it was time for the Disney Party! Kennedy and Tiare had cute little pink shirts with minnie in rhinestones on the front. They put in two buns, one on each side of their head like little ears with pink and white polka dotted ribbon. So cute! The state royalty dressed up as different Disney stars like the Cheetah girls, Hannah Montana, Demi Lovato and Vanessa Hudgins... Then they did a little American Idol skit and Prince Gilbert participated in that one... but OOPS! Prince Gilbert had a little accident and kinda lost his head for a moment - that was too funny!



We had a break after that so Tiare, Cynthie and I decided to head to the mall. Kennedy and my mom opted to stay at the hotel and nap. =) Kennedy wasn't really getting as much sleep as she needed - so it was nice for her to catch up a little. When we got back we got ready for the welcome banquet. Kennedy was doing well - nicely rested and ready to go downstairs. After we got there she walked around for a bit then came up to me and said she wasn't feeling well - needed to go to the bathroom. So I got up and started following her to the bathroom - she only made it half way to the back of the ballroom before she got sick. Oh - poor thing. =( That was VERY unusual for her. She said she felt fine - then she had a drink of punch and didn't feel so good - but then felt fine after she got sick. It was just the strangest thing! She ended up getting A LOT of little red spots on her face from that - pitikia. It was pretty bad and she ended up leaving the reception just after the queens farewells not because she was sick - but because her face was covered in spots! It was pretty bad.... The last 2 days she has required quite a bit of makeup to cover it all up. =(



The finall day began with a pajama party. The girls played musical chairs and the NV Cinderella girls exchanged gifts with their cinderella sisters. Kennedy had a lot of fun at that party too! Then it was back to the room to get ready for grand finals. Grand Finals was in Sams Town Live - a really nice theater. The only problem was the lights were so hot - the stage was hot! That caused a bit of concern for some of the dancers. The show was really nice and it was exciting to see 5 new queens crowned! Congratulations to you all and we can't wait to see you in Dallas!



I went back to the room and packed up all our stuff while Kennedy and my mom went to the awards dinner. We ended up having to leave half way through which was really sad - but Kennedy and I had to get back to our "normal" lives. =) Leaving Las Vegas was kind of a sad moment - knowing that would be her last time in Vegas as the International Miniature Miss. It is so strange to think she won't be giving up her title in the same place she won it. We are excited for Dallas - but it was still a sad moment leaving Vegas for the last time.



SPARKLE AWARDS!!!

We had the most amazing 14 days touring the country and meeting some wonderful Cinderella Girls, Parents and Directors! I thought I would give each state program a special award for the areas I thought they really excelled!



UTAH STATE - BEST THEME PARTY

Utah had a super fun 80's party! Kennedy LOVED the outfit that she got to wear and I loved seeing all the other outfits and listening to some classic 80's songs! That was so fun!



ARIZONA STATE - BEST FOOD

Arizona on the whole was as amazing as Internationals - but I have to say they had the BEST FOOD we have ever had at any pageant event! I especially looked forward to the fresh fruit at every meal. The Prime Rib and Ice Cream Sundae's and Cheesecake selections were AMAZING too!



TENNESEE STATE - FUNNIEST EMCEES

Mr Stacy and Mr Jimmy were so funny. We all couldn't wait to see what they would say next. What a riot!



NEVADA STATE - CUTEST TOT PERSONALITY

Well - besides the funniest tot answer I have ever heard during tot personality, I loved the way the tots came out on horses and were interviewed by Cinderella! I am sure that if you are a tot - that is a very special treat!



So there it is! Those are just a couple of the highlights from each state. In addition, each state pageant was wonderfully produced and full of amazing Cinderella girls! Thank you to all the state directors, royalty and contestants for allowing us to be part of your magical weekend! We had the time of our lives and can't wait to see you all at Internationals!

Tennessee State Pageant!!!

We FINALLY made it to TN after a VERY long day in the airport and a delay in ATL. I believe we arrived at Mrs Joys house around 2am. No time for sleeping though! I only brought about 10 days worth of clothes - so I had to do a little laundry before I could get to bed... finally hit the pillow around 3am! Boy was that an amazing feeling!

Fortunately for us - the next days events didn't start until 10am. So we got up around 8, got dressed and headed for the hotel. Party wear and Casual Wear were planned for the morning. Kennedy sang My New Philosophy. There are still a couple of spots where her timing is a little off - but it was nice to get another chance to perform it. Kennedy was very excited to see Infiniti and Leah again. She got to know them last year at Internationals and was very excited to see them again.

After the competition we went to the Flying Horse for lunch with Mrs Joy and Mrs Ethel before the girls had to be at the theater for rehearsal. It was nice to have a few hours to just kinda chill out. =) After rehearsal and another little break, we got ready for the Western Party and Baby Playtime. The western party was a lot of fun and Mr Stacy outdid himself with the decorations! AMAZING! The girls danced and danced and we had a nice BBQ dinner. Then I had to make a run to walmart because Kennedy has been going through nylons like crazy! I think she has put a run in every pair... Then back home for some chatting with Jennifer, Donna and Mrs Joy while the girls enjoyed some time in the hot tub.

The next morning was the baby pageant. I think the lack of sleep, humidity and airconditioning did a number on Kennedy's voice. She was a little hoarse so we tried to switch to a song she could sing a little easier. It didn't really work out because again we didn't have any way to practice ahead of time and she kinda forgot the words half way through. =( Poor baby... she waited until she could pick it up and she finished the song - but she was so sad. =( I felt bad for switching songs on her at the last minute... but Infiniti and MacKenzie were so sweet and encouraging.

After crowning the babies we only had about 1 hour before the big girl grand finals started. So we grabbed a quick bite and headed over to the theater. Kennedy sang Tomorrow - and her voice seemed to be pretty good by then. =) She was so excited when Leah made top 5. Kennedy got really attached to Leah and Madison at Internationals last year because their room was right across the hall from our room - so she saw them ALL the time. You can imagine how excited she was when both Leah and Madison won their state titles! Yeah! The TN queens also included Savannah F, Savannah R, Sunni and Summer - what a beautiful set of TN queens! We can't wait to see you all at Internationals! Thank you to the 2008 TN queens for being so sweet to all the International Queens we had an amazing time with you!

After Grand Finals we went to the awards banquet and then off to the Country Tonite show to watch Janelle (2008 Intl teen) in her show. It was a wonderful show! Thank you Janelle for having us!

We finally went to bed around 1am and didn't wake up until 11am! It sure was nice to get 10 hours of sleep! WOW! then off to the airport to try and catch another flight... boy! this standby thing is a challenge! All the flights out of TYS were full so our only hope was to drive to ATL and try and catch a flight out of there... so that is what we did. We got to ATL just minutes late for the 7pm flight! BUMMER! Now we are waiting for the 9pm flight.... I hope we make it! Otherwise it is another night in the airport... maybe this time I will splurge and get a hotel room. =)

Next stop... NV state!

Our Adventure Continues

Well - unfortunately I find myself with a bit of time to add to my blog. I say unfortunately not because I don't want to write, but for the reasons that I have several hours with nothing to do... but I will get to that later... where did I leave off... oh yes - our trip to AZ!


So Cynthie had a mini van to take us from the UT state pageant to the AZ state pageant - sounds good right? Well... the only problem was that the mini van had a rather small trunk space and there were 6 of us riding in the van with all our luggage. That really only left 1 seat area and a small trunk... we were able to fit both of Taylors bags in the trunk, one of my smaller bags and one of Cynthies smaller bags. Yeah! Progress... but looking at the 2 carts still full of luggage was not a good feeling. We found someone else on their way to vegas that we thought would be able to take some of the bags then meet up with the Cowens and transfer... great idea but they weren't leaving until much later than us. So - with about an hour of work and some help from Tommy Douglas, we finally loaded ALL of the luggage into the van. You should have seen it! We had to put luggage in every space we could find. We created little walls between each person and each seat such that no one could see anyone else in the car! It was floor to ceiling. Messages had to be relayed from one person to the next and of course Kennedy was about as far away from me as possible. But we were all in with our luggage! Now for the 5 hour car ride! WHOA! Have you tried circulating air under those conditions... lets just say I was frozen and Kennedy was roasting.... 4 hours later we arrived in Vegas and met up with Donna and Tori. Taylor, Tiare and Kennedy all piled in there car and we were able to spread the luggage out. Then we made the hour and a half trip to the AZ state pageant... YEAH!


But again - we arrived with very little time to get ready... 1 hour to park, check in and be ready to be introduced and then perform talents... Well - we ran like crazy - had to take all our own bags up to the room because the bell desk was requiring half an hour... no time for that! Quick change and back downstairs to the Charm pageant. The Charm pageant was wonderful! Lots and lots of beautiful girls and Kennedy ran into some old friends - Erica Heistand and Madison Curtis! She was so excited to see them both again and it looked like they were excited to see her too... lots of hugs, smiles and talking. Kennedy performed My New Philosophy at the pageant... it's getting better. =)


Arizona Day 2 - Interview day for the contestants... pool day for us! Mrs Denise opened up her house to us for the day and she has THE MOST amazing pool and house you have ever seen! Mr Bob showed us around and it was AWEsome! The girls enjoyed a few hours playing in their 3 tiered pool and even managed a couple of quick jumps into the Colorado river... Brrrrrr! Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the Welcome Banquet and Prince Gilbert Party. The food at the banquet was AMAZING! Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables with chicken and prime rib! WHOA! The prince gilbert party was international quality! Miss Natalie puts on an amazing prince gilbert show - just the cutest show ever! The state and international royalty sat on the stage and signed autographs before the show - it was quite an event! Different contestants brought different items to autograph including pillow cases, bags, posters - all kinds of creative ideas. Another late night for the queens though... day 2... complete


Arizona day 3 - We started off with Tot personality - those tots always say the cutest things. =) Then we had another AMAZING lunch - western style. The Emcees taught the kids sorts of different line dances and things. Parents got involved - emcees performed... another really fun party with great food. Then it was time for Talent! I think Mrs Denise said she had about 140 contestants.... I think 100 or so did talent and BOY OH BOY does Arizona have talent. Wow! Lots of really great dancers of course... wonderful singers, musicians and other talented girls. It was just wonderful to watch all that competition. And of course the big beautiful stage... just wonderful! Since Taylor and Tori were planning on leaving bright and early the next day, we went to a mexican restaurant in the hotel after talent. We were joined by several of the AZ state royalty - so that was fun to have a chance to just hang out with them. Kennedy met Alyssa and Maryssa Mezzatesta - and FINALLY put it together at dinner that they were sisters. Even though it took quite a bit of convincing since she doesn't think they look anything alike. LOL. I thought that was pretty funny. Ahhh... full belly's and day 3 is complete!




Arizona day 4 - Day 4 started with Casual Wear in the morning... followed by the GROOVY 70's party... and finally party wear. During Casual Wear Kennedy was invited to perform. That was really nice - since their stage was so nice and big - Kennedy always loves a big stage and a big audience. She sang "Tomorrow" and did a smashing job! =) The 70's party was really fun too - again - pretty sure this party is more for the adults - they were totally into it. The Emcees lead the kids in several more dances and the contestants were even treated to a YMCA performance by the male judges - that was definately a hit! Party wear was next and is always a wonderful event to watch. During party wear they had the royalty do a little dance with their dads... then between later groups they did a tribute to their mothers. Both were just beautiful and so sweet.... even the judges got a little teary eyed. After partywear we ran upstairs to get our bags so Mr Coddington could take us to the airport... next stop TN!




Which brings me to where I am now..... stuck in the airport!!!! We got here at 11pm to catch a flight - my bright idea was to get full fair tickets in and out of Vegas then fly standby to TN - who flies in the middle of the night on a wednesday night right? I figured my chances were pretty good - and I could save a little cash... BAD IDEA! I sorta forgot that for MOST people - school recently got out and everyone is flying... at least that is what I figure the problem is. There was one empty seat on the flight last night - Kennedy was so bummed! But - lots of flights out today so we thought our chances were good. The next flight was at 5:50 in the morning. Considering it was already 12:30am - we figured we would hang out in the airport. Kennedy didn't really like that idea - but I didn't like the thought of trying to find a hotel at that hour only to have to turn around and come back. So we found a corner and took a little nap. Well.. the 5:50 flight was totally full. They still had about 10 people on the list above us.. then the 7:00am flight - no standbys got on that one... the 9:55am flight just left and only 2 standbys got on that one... we are now around number 35 on the list and there aren't 35 seats left on flights to Atlanta all day! Just our luck! So - I had to buy a full fair ticket - just one way - hopefully we can fly standby home... ugh! Hopefully that isn't another disaster... one step at a time though. I am sad we will be missing Talent and the PJ party in TN... the girls have the CUTEST PJ's! But... we will get there tonight and have 2 days at the TN pageant...



So back to AZ... we just had the best time! Carlie (2008 AZ Mini Miss) was so sweet to Kennedy! She invited her to practice their orientation dance and kept her up to date on things going on and what was coming next. She was just the sweetest! All the queens were - just so nice. Kennedy and Erica met up again after seeing each other last at Internationals and hit it off right away. I have so many cute pictures of them. Then there was Madison Curtis - Kennedy still thinks of Madison as her queen. I think Dana is right and they will always have a special connection. HUGE thank you to Mrs Denise for inviting us to her pageant!!! What an awesome show you run - your staff was amazing - your contestants and royalty all so sweet - a real tribute to you! We had the most amazing time and can't wait to hear the results! Someone text me! =)

Cinderella State Tour

WOW! What a busy few days we have had... I only have a couple of minutes before we have to be at our next event... so I thought I would try to write a little bit of our adventure.....

We started our journey on Wednesday night of last week. After spending 5 hours on the gymnastics video for the awards banquet, I started packing for our trip.... That was about 9pm! At about 2am the following morning I was finished.... I took a 1 hour nap and got up at 3am to head for the airport. Our flight left at 7am and we didn't arrive in Las Vegas until 1pm thanks to a 3 hour stop in San Francisco. We were so excited to see Taylor at the airport to greet us! We hadn't seen her since Tennessee! We went and picked up our luggage.... Taylor just looked at us like there was no way we were fitting it all in the car... when I saw the car - I understood what she meant. Cynthie picked us up in her Honda. We had Taylors 2 large bags, her violin, our 2 big bags, 2 little bags and a big box! Do not ask me how but we fit it all in that car! WOW. Then it was time for our 4 hour drive to the UT state pageant.... We arrived at about 7:30pm which was when the welcome banquet started. After a speedy change we buzzed over to the banquet and sat down for dinner... whew! Day 1 complete!

The next day we were up early in the morning for the UT state interview and talent competitions. UT state has a wonderful theater and we enjoyed watching all the talents. Kennedy performed Goodmorning Baltimore and it was so fun to see her on that BIG stage! After talent we went back to the hotel to get ready for the 80's party. The girls had these cute tutu skirts that Cynthie made the girls with leg warmers, leggings, sparkly tops from Joy and side pony tails. The girls even put on blue eyeshadow - even though Taylors mom always tells her to NEVER wear colored eye shadow! It was a stretch for her - but she was a good sport and wore the blue anyway. =) After the 80s party we went back to the hotel for the PJ party and the royalty farewells. Another busy day at UT state! day 2 complete!

Saturday was party wear and casual wear. Kennedy performed My New Philosophy for the second time... which was better than the first time she did it at Washington... but I think we still needed a little more practice on it. =) We went back to the hotel and tried the power nap thing.. we got in a little over an hour, but turns out Kennedy isn't a great powernapper. I think she would have preferred to sleep. Then it was back to the theater for grand finals. It was exciting to be there for Utahs first year having a top 5 - normally they only announce a top 3 so there was a lot of excitement in the air! Kennedy sang Tomorrow during grand finals and was so excited to be able to help out on stage during crowning. It was a really LONG day - but so fun and we were so excited for the 2009 UT State Royalty!!! We can't wait to see them again at Internationals! Courtlyn, Danielle, Kyara, Jenika, Ashley - Congratulations!!!! And to Courtlyn, Danielle and Jenika's sisters - we are excited to see you all at internationals too! You were amazing!!!

That wrapped up UT! We left Sunday morning for the AZ state pageant... That is quite a story in itself! We are on our way to an event so I can't get into it now... but I will be sure to write more later... stay tuned!!!

Washington State Cinderella!

WOW! What an AMAZING weekend we just had! Full of lots of smiles and of course a few tears.

The highlights:

Kicking off the pageant with our Jump In Jump Out Introduction game.... It turned out to be a big hit with the kids.... then the dance party - the kids had fun and I think it was a great ice breaker for them all.

4 hours at the family fun center - gosh that was the best! We had pizza and then had a few hours in the park. The kids played put put golf, bumper boats, laser tag and a bunch of arcade games - the frog hopper was a particular hit! LOL

70's party - yeah - pretty sure this was created for the adults LOL - the seemed to have more fun than anyone! The girls had a great time doing the Cindy Disco and something about thumbs up, elbows back, chest out, buns back... a tee tah a tee tah a tee tah tah - that was HYSTERICAL!

But the ultimate highlight was the final show! It felt like we were at Internationals! I was backstage for the production number - but the oohs and aahs from the audience told the story - that was fabulous! The staging was amazing - the lights - the sound... wow! And the show as SO smooth! Just ran like clockwork! My most cherished moment though was the girls performing to "For Good" from Wicked. Kennedy and the WA royalty members worked many hours on this royalty production number and it was so sweet! Kennedy and Gianina sang the parts and Brooklynn, Starley and Delaney danced. Jade was our little princess and she got to interact with the singers and the dancers - it was just precious!!!! SUPER DUPER HUGE thank you to Jen Jen and all of the royalty members for making that little dream of mine come true - you brought tears to everyones eyes - it was SO precious!!!!! I will never forget those moments - you were all so amazing.

The hardest part of the weekend was having to say goodbye to the 2008 royalty. I hope it isn't really a goodbye - I know it won't be in the typical sense - but that portion of the experience has come to an end and it was so sad to see it go. I am so greatful for the part each of them played in the best year of our lives! We have been truely blessed!

Congratulations to the 2009 Royalty - Lillian, Abigail, Haley, Chantel and Kirstie - your going to have a wonderful year and I am excited for you all to come to Internationals - it is going to be so fun!

More Cinderella Fun!

Gosh! A lot has happened in the last 2 weeks!

OREGON STATE
May 10-11 was the Oregon state pageant. Kennedy and I were invited down to visit and we had the best time! The Oregon Cinderella girls are so friendly. Kennedy met a lot of new people and made friends so quickly. They had a 70's party and a cindy fair lunch - which were a lot of fun. They invited Kennedy to sing 3 times and she really enjoyed that. We also got to meet Rori from Arizona and that was really special. I hope to be able to post a few pictures here soon - I just don't have them on this computer.

ROYALTY WEEKEND
May 16-17 was the Washington Royalty weekend and they were so kind to allow Kennedy and I to tag along. Jan and Tami treated all the queens to 2 days at the Great Wolf Lodge! We arrived on Saturday afternoon to a little bit of a crown scare! I had Kennedy's crown box attached to my suitcase and when I got up to the room, Jonny noticed that the box was open and the crown was gone! I RAN down the hall (something we are never supposed to do right?) asking everyone if they had seen a crown... I got some VERY strange looks. I retraced my steps and finally found the crown! Fortunately it had fallen out in a flower bed and was in perfect condition - whew! Then we spent about 4 hours in the waterpark before heading in for some dinner. The girls at as fast as they could so they could make it back to the waterpark. After the park closed we went up to the arcade and had a great time with the girls there... we closed it down at 11pm and headed up to bed. Next morning the girls were up and eager to go. We got into the waterpark around 10:30 I think and didn't leave until 6:00. Then another quick dinner before another trip to the arcade. We didn't leave the lodge until 9pm! oh my goodness! Thank you to Jan and Tami for the super cute kid kabin suites, balloons to mark our arrival and dinner on saturday night. What a treat! Thank you Jonny for the cute GWL t-shirts for the girls - that was really special.

Just a few more days until the Washington state pageant! I have a lot of work to do getting her scrapbook done and getting everything ready. We are so excited for our own state pageant - but so sad to be saying goodbye to such a great royalty group! What an amazing year it has been!

Our Latest

WOW! April 20th since the last post? Time sure flies... let me see - what have we been up to?

Well - Kennedy had her state gymnastics competition on April 26th. She had a pretty solid day - no major mistakes so she was pretty excited about that! She finished 7th place in the Child C division (TOUGH GROUP) with a 35.4.

Then this last weekend we spent at the Miss Washington Spring Forum! Kennedy had so much fun at the Princess Tea, Storytime, Taco Dinner and Teen party. Spring Forum is part of the Miss Washington (Miss America) programs preparations for the State pageant in July. The princesses are paired with a teen and this was their official crowning weekend. On Sunday they had a Bowling fundraiser to benefit Childrens Miracle Network - so we supported that event with a group of our Cinderella friends. Thank you to James, Aaron, Abigail and Taylor for the fun day of bowling!

Up next - OREGON STATE! We are so excited to begin our Cinderella State tours with the Oregon state pageant! I can't believe it is here ALREADY! WOW! We are looking forward to meeting everyone in Oregon this weekend!

PAGEANT WEEKEND!!!!!

Whoa! What a weekend! It was non-stop pageant stuff!

We started with the WA last call prelim! I was looking forward to kinda sitting back and enjoying this last preliminary with Kennedy. Sounded like a great plan except for the fact that there was 40 contestants! WHOA! That required quite a bit of help from my mom, Katy and I just to keep things running. We ended up running a little late - which was unfortunate because most of the prelims this season were very on time LOL. But when you have so many kids interview and talent take quite a bit longer than normal. It sure was a fun day though! Meeting so many new Cinderella families! Hopefully they will all come to state! How fun would that be!

Sunday morning Kennedy and I headed out to the Puyallup Spring Fair. That was a lot of fun! I have never been to the spring fair before. It is a lot like the one they have at the end of summer - just not as many buildings and rides were open. We met a few Cinderella Families there and rode some rides. I think Kennedy's favorite part was petting the new baby animals. Goats and Bunnies... too cute! Dressed in white and in her banner and crown! LOL That was interesting!

After the fair we stopped off at another local pageant running this weekend to say hi to some of our friends then home to watch the Miss USA pageant! We missed most of the pageant - but I still managed to pick the winner! I am 3 for 3 the last 3 years for Miss USA! Of course - I did miss the first part of the show so I only picked her from the top 5 - so I guess you could say I kinda cheated - but Kennedy was VERY impressed! She picked California - I think she is developing a skill here! LOL. The funniest thing EVER was listening to her commentary on the dress.... "I really like that dress, but I think it would look better on ______ (forget who she said) because she has really long legs and I think it would look good on her." LOL.... Oh my gosh! It was just the funniest thing ever! I wish I would have recorded it.

So! The pageant marathon weekend is over! Focus for next week: GYMNASTICS! State is Sunday! Wish her luck!

Last Prelim of the Season!

Well - this weekend is the last prelim of the 2008-2009 Cinderella Season! I think it has been the most amazing preliminary season since we started with Cinderella. We have met so many new people - Kennedy has had a blast. It will be a little sad though that this will be her last preliminary as the 2009 International Miniature Miss! It's hard to believe the year has gone by so fast! Good luck to all the Cindy girls competing this weekend and I really hope we will see you all at state!

2009 North Sectional Competition

Well... after Tami's wedding Kennedy started to get sick. =( I tried everything I could think of to try and keep her healthy - but every day she seemed to get a little more sick. She had to go to practice every day last week since it was the week before sectionals and I am sure that didn't help. She eventually developed an eye infection. But she was determined to compete at sectionals so that she could qualify for state. Even feeling as bad as she did she scored season highs on bar (8.675) and floor (9.050). She had some issues with vault.... and beam was the last event and the medicine was starting to wear off. Beam is usually her high score but she managed to stay on the beam even with her limited vision and her balance all "off" from the medicine and she scored an 8.875 - not her best - but not too bad either. She scored 35.275 and will advance to silver state. Her goal was gold state and she needed a 35.375 to qualify to gold.... SO CLOSE!

It WAS a busy Weekend!

We stopped by the WA State Level 10 meet. Kennedy is an AMAZING cheerleader! She was screaming for all the level 10 gymnasts so much that the coaches came over and personally thanked her. It was very cute.

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to head to the daffodil parade. I thought I had it all timed perfectly - but as we were heading out the door I realized I had picked up TWO LEFT shoes for Kennedy! UGH! So we had to run to pick up a new pair before heading to the parade. When we got there it was RAINING. It was SO cold! It was a mixture of snow and rain and it felt like snow to us! We were joined by some VERY courageous Cinderella boys and girls who braved the weather to walk in the parade - all in all it was a good time... even though all our fingers were FROZEN!

We completed the weekend by attending Tami's wedding. It was very sweet. Several of the WA Cinderella royalty were in attendance. And completely by accident they all showed up in black! Well - wouldn't you know it? I had Kennedy in white! UGH! Fortunately we had just come from the Miss Washingto sweeper pageant and didn't have time to change before heading to the wedding so we had a black dress in the car - WHEW! Kennedy sang to open the wedding and then after the wedding she changed into her black dress and we got some SUPER cute pictures of Tami and her Cinderella girls. =) Congratulations to Tami and Jonny! We love you guys!

BUSY WEEKEND AHEAD!

Well - we have a full one planned this weekend! We are heading down to my moms for the weekend since all of our activities occur in that area of the state - but first we are stopping by the level 10 gymnastics meet to wish the LEGA girls good luck. Then up bright and early Saturday morning for the Junior Daffodil Parade - which Kennedy will be walking in for Cinderella. Then we are hoping to stop by the ANTSO State pageant in the evening to cheer on some friends. Sunday afternoon we are heading to the Miss Washington Sweeper pageant followed by Tami's wedding Sunday evening. Somewhere in there I have to finish making Tami's wedding cake! Should be interesting!

Bunny Hop Gymnastics

Kennedy had another meet this weekend. Kennedy had a bit of an off day - but still managed to place 4th overall in the 8 and under division. Just 2 weeks until the sectional meet! The next couple of weeks are going to be pretty intense with gymnastics practice and such - but the end is near! State is at the end of April and then we are gearing up for a Cinderella state pageant tour!

Emerald Team Challenge

Kennedy had a really good meet this weekend. She has really been struggling with bar this year - gymnastics is as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. She has herself convinced that there are things she can't do. Well - she has been working really hard to work though that and this weekend she got her shoot-through in competition! Yeah! She got her highest bar score ever with an 8.425! That was huge for her! She also scored her personal best on beam with a 9.4. She had solid performances on vault with an 8.9 and floor with an 8.8 and got her highest score ever with a 35.525! She was rewarded with 2 medals for her 8th place in the Junior division in both vault and floor and a trophy for her 3rd place finish on beam and another trophy for her 5th place finish overall! I am so proud of her.

Here is her video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQNAZ1jGYQw

International Royalty Trip to NYC

Kennedy finally had a few minutes to record a video about her trip to NYC. I had to edit it quite a bit because I think there was about 15 minutes worth! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXMBoVnfK9w

Gymnastics

Besides pageants I spend most of my time doing gymnastics. I practice 3 days a week and I am in the middle of competition season. Our sectional competition is April 4th and State is April 25th. I have a meet this weekend and next weekend! Wish me luck!

Now that the year is half over...... by Kennedy's Mom

So - it has been a constant effort this year to keep family and friends updated on our many adventures. I have used facebook, myspace and youtube to try and do that - but nothing seems to provide exactly the right features. It wasn't until I saw April send out a link to her blog that I realized... YES!!! We need a blog! So here we are. =) Hopefully this will fill in the gaps that are left by facebook, youtube and myspace. =)

So QUICK recap of how we got here....

December 2007
Kennedy won the title of 2007-2008 Pierce County Miniature Miss! It was her first time to compete in this new age group but she was very excited to finally compete in talent. And she won! Which was icing on the cake. =)









May 2008
Kennedy won the title of 2008-2009 Washington State Miniature Miss! WOW! That was very exciting! The competition in the Miniature Miss group was NATIONAL level and it could have gone to any one of several girls. Kennedy was VERY excited to have won the title. She was especially excited to go to internationals in Las Vegas.



July 2008
Off to Las Vegas for the International Pageant! Kennedy had a really fun time. The group from Washington was a little smaller than the previous 2 years - but it worked out great because we actually seemed to be able to spend more time with everyone. Kennedy was also excited because there were several International Royalty members staying on the same floor as us at the hotel. Madison and Leah (Intl Mini Miss and Tot) were right across the hall so we got to see them a lot and Kennedy thought that was the neatest thing ever. She had a great competition - even managed to work through having to sing at 8:30 in the morning! Not a good time for singers... but she did a great job and was happy to have made it through the whole song with only a minor squeek LOL. Then came final night - and oh - how she was hoping to place in the top ten. I told her that she had a great competition and that if she did not place in the top 10 that was OK. In 2006 she did not place in anything and the following year she placed second runner up! I told her not placing this year didn't mean anything and that she had 2 more years to compete in the age group. She understood but was still hoping. You can imagine how excited she was when she heard her name called top 10! She was so excited! Then... waiting to see who would be called top 5 - she looked SO nervous! Then... they called her top 5! I thought she would jump out of her skin! She was so excited to be able to sing at grand finals - a true honor in itself. She was excited that Brooklynn made top 5 in the Miss division and they had such a great time together back stage. Then came time for the big announcement! She was named the 2008-2009 International Miniature Miss! WOW! To be honest - I don't remember much after they announced the first runner up - I am so glad we have a video! I lost all feeling in my arms and legs - it was like they instantly fell asleep. That was very strange. I put a video on youtube.. check it out. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w9T6nRnUuQ



August - October 2008
Special thank you's are due to the Washington State Royalty and Directors for allowing Kennedy to continue to be a part of the Washington State Royal family. We have had such a wonderful time with everyone. All of the royalty members are so sweet and we have made some wonderful memories!
In August we went on the Annual Cinderella outing to Wild Waves. The weather was amazing and of course I got fried like a tomato! Then in September we had a crowning ceremony where Kennedy crowned the new Miniature Miss - Starley. Starley and Kennedy usually compete against each other - so to have the opportunity to reign together is very special. The next day the girls appeared in the Mukilteo Parade and then the day after that we all went to the Puyallup fair! What a busy weekend! In October we had our first preliminary of the season followed by a Cinderella day at the pumpkin patch! So fun! We also attended the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant with Tori - Kennedy is Tori's "little sister" for the MAOT program - they call them princesses. =) We had such a wonderful time going to support Tori at her national pageant and Kennedy thought it was pretty cool that she got to see Tori more than her own mother did.


November 2008
November marked the date of our first International Royalty trip. Kennedy was SO excited to finally get to meet and spend some time with her Internatinoal Royalty Sisters. We stayed at Mrs Joys house in TN - WOW! It's beautiful! Even though it was about 50 degrees out - maybe 60 - Kennedy decided she MUST swim in the pool! brrrr.... We had the most amazing extended weekend - we went to Dollywood and the girls were invited to perform at The Black Bear Theater, Country Tonite Theater and The Smith Family Theater. They also receive many wonderful gifts from Mrs Joy and the other International Royalty members. It was such a special trip. You can see Kennedy talk about the trip in her own words - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwY1odTnS8M&feature=channel_page



January 2009
Time for our second International Royalty trip! This time we were headed off to NYC! It was another busy 3-4 days there. We saw The Little Mermaid on Broadway and the off Broadway show called The Fantastics. This is Kennedy and Sydnee with one of the stars of the show - turns out he was also the winner of The Amazing Race! Who knew! The girls just thought he was cute. =) We also had the opportunity to eat brunch at Tavern on the Green, go Ice Skating in Central Park, Take a carriage ride in Central Park and visit the amazing stores in Times Square! Kennedy especially enjoyed the M&M store LOL. We ate at a restaurant with singing waiters and another restaurant that served the biggest sandwiches you have every seen! We also went to the Tiffany store and China Town - talk about a contrast LOL. And finally - we were able to ride the subway.... not as scary as you might think. It was such a wonderful trip!

Still in January.... Well - back home for a little bit only to pack our bags again and head off to LAS VEGAS! We attended the Miss America pageant with Tori and Virgie. That was A LOT of fun! We were able to see the final Miss America pageant and Kennedy got to be on TV! She is the tallest one in the front row - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjTeanFeLOQ&feature=channel I think the highlight of the trip though was going to see KA - what an amazing Cirque Du Soliel show! Kennedy was a little scared in the beginning - but we had amazing seats and the show was amazing - she just loved it! It was also a lot of fun to room with Tori - Kennedy loves every moment she can spend with Tori.

February 2009
Yeah! I am finally catching up! Well - another trip for us! We went to Disneyland with the Washington State royalty and directors for 3 days of magic! I printed off a ride maximizing schedule and "invited" the royalty to tag along. I kept them on a strict schedule - but we rode almost every ride we wanted to on the FIRST day! By 9pm I was POOPED! Day 2 was simply AMAZING! Tami arranged for a special tour for us by a DISNEY CAST MEMBER! WOW! Miss Pat took us around to every ride in Fantasyland. Pat took us to the front of the line for EVERY ride! We rode the Storybook Boat Ride, Storybook train, Teacups, Alice in Wonderland, Matterhorn, Peter Pan, The Carousel, Mr Toads Wild Rid and Pinocchio! I think that is all of them. Along the way she told us about the history of each ride, where the hidden Mickeys were and sent the girls on a scavenger hunt in each ride to find other special items. It was SO much fun! In the end she gave us 7 bonus fast passes for our ENTIRE group to use on ANY ride in either park! We TRIED really hard to use all of them AND the 4 sets of fast passes Jan had already gathered for us... we really tried - but we weren't able to do it - we had a few left over - that we ended up using the next day. We also saw the Alladin show - WOW! What a great show... Day 3 - not quite as magical as the first 2 LOL. It RAINED for the first half of the day - and I mean it POURED!!!!! The good news was that it scared most of the people away and the lines were so short we didn't need fast passes.... but... the bad news was they decided to close the park early - POO! We had a wonderful day anyway and headed to Denny's after we left the park for a very interesting dinner with several of the royalty members... Kennedy, Amanda and Jade all fell asleep at the dinner table... that was interesting... Day 4 - most everyone had left - it was just Kennedy and I. We spent most of our day in California Adventure just kinda putzing around. We had lunch at Ariels Grotto and Kennedy rode California Screaming an few more times for good measure. =) Another SUPER fun trip!

AHHH.... so now you are all caught up. whew! Now if I can just get my scrapbook caught up through the end of the disneyland trip I will be set! LOL