I cannot even begin to describe how professional and organized the Miss Mississippi pageant is. Everything is top-notch . . the production numbers, the costumes, the choreography, the girls are treated like rock stars throughout the week and are very well cared for. T's hostess mom was awesome and extremely protective of her two girls.
Sunday was her official check-in and Monday evening was the parade through Vicksburg followed by an autograph party at the Outlet Mall. The weather in Vicksburg was perfect the entire week and the parade was so much fun! T's two little princesses, Lydia and Sterling, were super sassy and T absolutely adored them! One of the great things about the Miss Mississippi pageant being in Vicksburg is how the whole town gets behind the pageant. Everywhere we went people asked if we were in town for the pageant, asked what our daughter's title was and followed it up with a "good luck" or "I'll cheer for her!" Wednesday Cosmo, KJ and my parents all arrived and prelims started that night.
T had evening gown Wednesday night, swimsuit Thursday and ending prelims on Friday. T wore a red, strapless, mermaid style gown with a layers of ruffles on the bottom -- KJ said she looked like a flamenco dancer! It fit her like a glove and I love the color red on her! The gown was very elegant, timeless, classic and totally T. She also had on-stage question that night and did great! Interestingly, everyone else's questions were about their platforms so they were able to give thought out responses. For some reason they asked T about lacrosse so her response was a little more impulsive.
Thursday morning was another autograph party, this time in at the Coca-Cola Museum in Downtown Vicksburg. Contestants were situated at various stores on Washington Avenue and the public popped in and out to talk to the girls and get to know them. From there the girls had lunch with the Rotary Club at the Country Club. Thursday night she totally rocked swimsuit. Poor Coach! He had never seen her bouncing across the stage in a bikini and looked at me and said, "Holy Shit." It was pretty funny! Honestly, I thought she should have won swimsuit prelim. She really did look amazing. Some of the girls were very muscular with extremely broad shoulders, T is definitely fit and athletic but more feminine.
Friday afternoon the Dew and T's best friend Tana arrived in Vicksburg and we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant before heading to the Convention Center. T did an amazing job with her talent and the audience was clapping along. She tweaked her routine a bit since I had seen it last and added a split and a few other moves. She hit all of her turns and I really thought she had a shot at possibly winning a talent prelim but then the girl after her totally nailed her lyrical dance. She was the clear winner that night.
All week I kept thinking that T was holding her own against the veterans and more experienced contestants and I was right. Saturday they announced the top 10 and a little later in the evening they announced scholarship winners. She placed 14 out of 41 girls. Now, that may not seem great but this is Mississippi. EVERYONE has participated at a pageant at some point in their lives! The top 10 consisted of several returning contestants and even a couple of Miss Mississippi's Outstanding Teens. These girls have been competing for years and most have pageant coaches in addition to their pageant directors, most have had vocal lessons or choreographers assisting with their dances, trainers to get their bodies in shape and unlimited budgets when it comes to wardrobe. Some of the girls even had specially prepared meals brought in for them all week. T joked around and said Tana was her trainer! They worked out together almost every day. T's directors were awesome and helped her with mock interviews and wardrobe selection, T said she taught herself how to walk in evening gown and how to pose for swimsuit. She had a make-up lesson from the MAC counter at the mall in Tupelo before she left for the pageant and her hair and make-up looked amazing all week.
After each night of competition there was a visitation for the families to meet with their contestants and Friday and Saturday nights were cocktail parties at the casino. That was a lot of fun because the Dew and Tana came to those and we really got to spend a lot of time with Taylor. The Dew likes to dance so he and T hit up the dance floor each night.
T had an amazing week in Vicksburg. She met some wonderful new friends, learned a lot about herself and I think she'll be back next year! (if she wins a local pageant!).
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