"My" Girls

So...the madness of the summer rush began a few weeks ago. It was a sweltering hot June day, but we survived it! Each year the first annual event for the Queen Pageant is the Queen's Tea, a mother/daughter event, where the girls learn what will be happening the rest of the summer and get tips on how to do makeup and hair! This year we have 31 girls...yes, thirty-one, a staggering number for us! We are extremely excited about the contestants!!


I may have mentioned it before in a blog, but this is my last summer with the Queen Pageant. I have lived it, loved it, and possibly even disliked it at moments....but all in all, it's been a pretty awesome 5 years. I've seen girls go from quiet little seedlings to fully blossomed roses. I know that sounds corny, but it's true! Most moms would be surprised to find out that several of the girls have stayed in touch over the years. We (the committee & contestants) really do become a family throughout the summer. There are several girls that still come to me with life's problems and joys, and like any big sister would do, I try to help them the best I can. That's why I call them "my girls." haha The past few years I've gone to telling everyone at the Tea that this is like a sorority...the committee acts as the older sisters, watching out for the younger girls and helping them along the way...but we are also the ones who will hand out the harshest punishments should the girls break a rule. That's the way sororities work and I think it works well with the pageant too. Anyway, back to the story...


So the Queen's Tea went off without a hitch! After the event was over, all the girls are invited to a slumber party at one of the committee member's house. It is by far the most fun we have all summer! It would shock you to learn the things I've learned over the past few years...the girls are brutally honest about all aspects of their lives, something I love about them. I can say that we've truly gotten to know these girls, they trust us, and we would never do anything to break their trust. Many of the girls had to work the next morning, take SAT's, or prepare for their graduation parties...so we pigged out on pizza, breadsticks and ice cream cake, then played a bunch of icebreaker games, then stayed up all night talking and sharing our lives. It really is the ultimate slumber party! haha


Here are 30 of the 31 girls...Ash had to work late, so she didn't make the picture!

The 2008 State Fair Queen, Kristen Schmitt, also joined us for the Tea! She is such a sweetheart!

And last but not least...the girls who came to the slumber party working on an icebreaker!