Day 4

I can’t even believe it’s already day 4! Where did Miss Oklahoma week go?! This morning was an early morning for the Omega group – we were at the Mabee Center by 7:30 am for talent rehearsals! If you know me at all, you know I often dread talent. I love dancing. I love performing. I love my costume, choreography, and dance teacher. However, it is absolutely frightening to not know how slick the stage will be with an ankle which has gone through a surgery, a broken bone, and torn ligaments. Needless to say: it’s a bit nerve-racking! The rehearsal was fine though and after the other groups rehearsed for their categories, we had a great lunch with a guest – I chose mom! It’s awesome to have a lunch with someone outside of the pageant because we do not have our phones or any form of communication unless we are in our dorms, and it’s great to hear a little encouragement mid-week.

After lunch, we had more rehearsals. I realize that there are only so many times I can say we rehearsed, but I’m sure you’re not that interested in the fact that we ran around in heels for several hours anyways! We got cleaned up and headed off to Macaroni Grill for an awesome (and Miss O diet friendly) meal! After that – it was show time! The opening number was fantastic and then there was talent. My dance was ok! I realize I’m not the best dancer in the entire world, and have accepted that. I may not be the most talented, but no one can say I am not a hard worker and I am proud of my improved performance! Congratulations to tonight’s winners: Swimsuit – Alex Eppler, Talent – Alicia Clifton, Rookie Talent – Tawnie Goodwin!

Here are a few shots from the week that I wanted to share!Kiwanis luncheon with Heather, my teen from last year! She has been such a great MOOT and I am so proud to call her my friend.

Dinner at Macaroni Grill

Visitation tonight

Tomorrow we get to sleep in until 7:30!!! So excited to showcase my beautiful gown, thanks to Kayne, his staff, and our dear friend, E-6000. Tomorrow night is also our swimsuit production number…get ready….it will knock your socks off!

 

P.S. In the words of my sister, ” there’s no mention of your amazing sister that carried all of your stuff up stairs.” Now there is. 🙂

Day 2

Day 2 is complete! This morning was the Miss Oklahoma church service – a perfect way to begin our week! Corbi Winters delivered a wonderful and incredibly relevant message and we were fortunate to be led in worship by Lauren Nelson Faram. Emoly West, Heather Rasmussen and Lacey Russ also spoke. We closed with one of my favorite songs, which we also sing before each competition, “Surely the Presence.” The church service reminds us that the winner has already been chosen and a perfect plan made for her – now all we can do is our personal best and find out Saturday who He has provided the most amazing opportunity.

After church, we met our families and friends for brunch at the Hilton! I was able to sit with my mom, dad, sister, “Grand MaMa,” (a nice French accent makes it all the better) and Selby. “Graaaaaaaaaaand MaaaaMa” is Selby’s mom, Margie, and my adopted grandmother. Margie is a handful – loads of personality and a heart deeper than the South! Since two of my biggest supporters live in Lawton and Houston (Selbs and Margie), I love to soak up every minute I get with them. At the brunch, I was so thrilled for a very worthy winner, Sarah Klein, to receive the Esther Scholarship! Ad sales were also applauded, and after avoiding the seemingly delicious muffins (talk about self-control!), we headed off to rehearsal.

First, I would like to say that I thought last year was the year to “expect the unexpected!” Kent, while keeping everything fresh, likes to keep us on our toes…literally! Not only will we be performing two opening numbers, but we also learned the swimsuit production (yes that’s right – dancing IN bikinis on-stage!), along with introductions and the closing ceremonies. After several hours of rehearsal, we were given roughly 20-30 minutes to put on as much make up as possible and make our hair Victoria’s Secret sexy for our swimsuit video. After that, I think it’s safe to say any of the 43 contestants could get ready at Miss America on time for a live pageant! Remember how I don’t know how to curl hair? I was determined to get the luscious curls Kent had requested. Having a limited amount of time, I received a 60 second demo from Talia (thank goodness for her) about how to curl your hair with a straightening iron! Hopefully it wasn’t beginner’s luck, but her trick was fantastic! Larry would fall over if he could have seen my wavy hair!!!

The red coats then rushed us over to Schlotzsky’s for a great dinner, and headed to North Tulsa for the video taping. Kristen is my red coat chauffeur this year and I LOOOOOOVE her!!! Kent prepared an awesome swimsuit video and after it was complete, we went back for more rehearsals. During our practice, a few very important guests were introduced to us…THE JUDGES!

Did your heart just stop? Mine totally did. Expect the Unexpected – 2.0! We were all floored to see them walk in, introduce themselves, and provide a few words about what they were looking for in the next Miss Oklahoma. THEN Kent asked us to perform our second dance in front of our judges. After that dance, we were all so exhausted that all personality had left us! Guess we need to have another 6 hours of rehearsals tomorrow if we intend to do this dance that well (or better!) every night! 🙂

I’m sure Kent could tell we were beyond surprised and worn out, because he let us out of rehearsal an hour early AND gave us an extra hour to sleep in tomorrow. Good thing, since I can’t seem to close my eyes! Tomorrow is another full day of interviews, the Kiwanis lunch and more rehearsals. I can’t believe it’s already the Monday of Miss Oklahoma week…wasn’t I just crowned yesterday?!

Weeeeeeeeeeeee’re Heeeeeeeeeere!

It’s been a wild week of packing for Miss O, packing for Arizona, practicing talent, working out, and dress fittings! Time had flown by so quickly, and the older I get, the faster it flies!

This morning I picked up my gown (between running errands and having my fingerprints taken downtown at the Sherrif’s office – a great story I will add to my TFA blog since it was teacher related!) and u can’t begin to describe how happy am with the final product. God works in mysterious ways and I am blessed beyond measure. Thank you to Kayne for being not only a life saver, but a true cheerleader who has lifted my spirits so much in the past few weeks.

I had hoped to make it to Tulsa a bit earlier, but we have had plenty of time to unpack and relax before check in. (It’s 1 am and my mom just realized she left all her hair products in Shawnee. At least we didn’t forget competition wardrobe?) I was so excited to catch up with Selby and her friend Natalie tonight too! Selby brought me such a sweet gift – she’s the best!!!

Tomorrow we check in, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, move in and attend the red carpet premiere! This is going to be a fantastic week and I cannot wait to see what’s to come!