Middle School Pageant Pictures
(Please be forewarned: This is a LONG photo post!!! So if you don't want to hear me gush about my pretty girl and see pictures of lipstick and hair rollers and big smiles, come back tomorrow! lol)

Delaney's middle school pageant was last night and she was SO beautiful. It was unbelievable to see her all "grown up" and confident and poised. She did GREAT!!! But...before you ask...she did not make one of the finalists' positions. (Gary seems to think that the judges were on drugs or something, but there were so many pretty girls. I don't know how they managed to pick the winner!)

So, this is how she looked during the pageant...

But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. And since it's 1:34 AM and I'm waiting for a load of clothes for McKenna to have tomorrow for the big Football Playoff Day at school to wash and dry, I don't really have anything better to do than load up a TON of pictures for you all to look at! (And besides, tomorrow is going to be SO busy that I need to get these out here now while I can!)

Okay, so...before Delaney could get pretty like she was in that first photo...I had to have an emergency rescue by Super Seamstress Adrienne, my awesome next-door neighbor! Delaney had about had a nervous breakdown the night before the pageant when she snagged the back of the dress and tore it a bit. Well, I DO NOT do any sort of sewing but I knew who could rescue me! I traveled to Walmart in a blinding rainstorm to buy purple thread Wednesday night, and then yesterday morning Adrienne came to my rescue. She stitched it up like new (and, yes, Adrienne laughed because she knew I had to take a picture for the blog)...

With the dress all repaired, the next thing was to pick Delaney up from school and head to the local beauty salon. THIS had to be the best part of the day for Delaney and all the other girls. She got to be treated like a princess and really pampered (we NEVER do stuff like this---my children are deprived! lol--so this was a real treat and Delaney loved it!). First, the hair went up in rollers to bring out the body...

And then the makeup was applied. There was foundation and eye shadow and blush and eye liner and then mascara. When her eyes were done, boy did they pop! So pretty...

Then, of course, there had to be lipstick. Wendy did such a great job at making Delaney look glamorous but also age-appropriate...

Sydney waited not so patiently to watch Delaney get her makeover (she repeated several times, "I do not want to go to a pageant" and played incessantly with the combs and the hair dryers. She also rolled around on the ground and covered herself in hair. What she REALLY needed was a nap, which she got on the way to the pageant later on!) ...

After Delaney was all gussied-up (which just happens to be one of my favorite Southern phrases!), she looked gorgeous....

At one point, when she looked at herself in the mirror, she said to me, "I really am pretty." It was just so sweetly said, as if she really couldn't believe that was herself looking back at her. (Don't you think that all of girls deserve to feel that way every once in a while? Oh yeah... I SO need a spa day!) ...

She had to call and talk to her friend, Kayla. I overheard her side of the conversation; they were both exclaiming over how pretty they both were and how they couldn't wait to see each other's hair....

One more pretty picture before we head out the pageant...

When they get there, the girls had to get signed in and taken care of by backstage attendants. Then, at some point, they get to go up to the balcony and wave out to all of their friends and family members. We sat there and waved at different girls we knew and just kinda astoundingly said things like, "I wouldn't have known that was her unless you told me" or "It's amazing to see them all dressed up instead of on a softball field." They all just looked so pretty, and it was fun to see them getting excited! Here were Delaney and her friend Annie smiling down at us...

And then the "official" fun began (as if we hadn't had enough already!!). The sixth graders were first, so we got to see Delaney quickly. Here she is being walked out by her escorts (another thing that my boy-likin' daughter seemed to enjoy! lol)...

They only have a minute or two to really strut their stuff! Walk to the end, do a couple of turns, walk back, stop so everyone can admire your hair and dress, walk back to your line. And, of course, smile at the judges all the time. It's just a short time, but Delaney took advantage of it all. She even worked the turn...

And then smiled prettily for the judges all the while...

We were just so proud of her and really felt like she might be one of the finalists. But, her name wasn't called out. It's all in fun, and there are so many pretty girls, but part of me was disappointed for a teensy weensy second. I guess I just wanted to see her face when her name was called. But the second passed, and I was fine (although I told you already that Gary was bad-mouthing those judges as soon as Delaney didn't make it. HA!!)

So, Sydney decided to hand Delaney her flowers after the pageant was over with....


And then we had to take a TON of photos of Delaney with her friends. (These are just a few of them!) With her friend Jenna...

And her friend Shelby, who came in third place. (Shelby is also a teammate on her softball team. And let me tell you, it was really cool to see the athletes all dressed up! It didn't even look like them!)

And with her friend Savanna, who was the winner for the sixth grade group...

We had to get a picture of the girls with their favorite escort, John Wesley. JW is a friend from church and just the sweetest guy. (The escorts are all eighth grade boys and are just the cutest! The best part of the pageant is when they introduce the guys and let them walk out for the audience.) ...

After the pageant was over with, all of the girls were EXHAUSTED!! They hadn't had anything to eat beforehand and were pretty much famished. So where do you go in your formal pageant wear when you're starving? Well, Burger King of course (especially when it's th eonly thing opened at 11 pm). Here are Delaney and her friend Kayla eating french fries in formal gowns...

and perhaps my most FAVORITE picture of the night! Yes, I made the give me Burger King crowns so they could both be crowned queens for a little while. And look how sweet that they actually complied and let me take the picture (actually, they ended up wearing them the rest of the night! lol)...

And then Delaney got to the point where she finally snapped. By the end of the night, she was tired and a tad bit cranky. And it was time to head home. (But she's still so cute even when she's cranky)...

It was a FUN, FUN night, but now I need like three days to recover. But...wait! There's no rest for the weary! I have a ton of errands tomorrow (paying bills, taking the dress back to the shop, etc.) We have our BIG football playoff game tomorrow night against Hoover HS and then Saturday we are up-and-at-em early for a math tournament. Thank goodness for the Thanksgiving week coming up. We're gonna need to rest from all the fun...

Thanks SO much for indulging my photo overload this morning!!!!

Have a fantabulous weekend and I will see you all again soon!!!