Beauties of America Pageant

 I had an amazing time competing at Beauties of America. Here are the fabulous 40's at orientation. Ms. Che is the new director and she really went out of her way to make us all feel welcome and special. We even had a special crowning ceremony!

 That night was a Red Carpet event. we each were able to walk the red carpet and even were interviewed on camera! This was followed by a gourmet meal. What a special night.

 Tamera is the outgoing America's 40's queen. She announced her retirement from pageant competing. We'll see.

 Here I am, ready for interview. The interviews were fun. We were able to choose if we would stand or sit. There were two panels that were made up of five judges. I chose to stand to try something different. I really liked it. I left feeling confident that I had connected with the judges.

 Immediately after interviews, we were given t-shirts that have the BoA logo on them and were whisked away to a fabulous lunch at La Madeline. After that, we had limos take us to the Wounded Warrior home where we had a full tour. It was so neat to see Boy Scout Popcorn set out in basket for our Veterans to enjoy. From there we headed to Morgan's Playground, a special place for children of all abilities.

Here I am, ready for opening number. Each age group had a different color to choose your own style of dress. I borrowed this from my dear friend, Erin.

 My favorite part of any pageant is the evening gown portion. I bought this dress from Ashley Rene's and then I personally customized it. I love my Stefanie Somers earrings that were custom made for my gown!

 Waiting back stage for the judges to tabulate their votes. The beauty in white was my roommate, Margaret. She was so much fun and now I have a wonderful new friend.

 Congratulations to Carolyn, Beauties of America's 40's. I am so proud to be her first runner up! She is already doing an amazing job with her new title.

 We had a breakfast on Sunday morning to hand out awards that hadn't been awarded the night before and to debrief after the pageant. It was so wonderful to finally get a chance to catch up with my friend, Deborah, BoA 50's 2010.

 My wonderful, Facebook friend, Christine, drove down to San Antonio to cheer me on. After the pageant, she took me to see the River Walk. You may recognize the stage behind me as the one used in Miss Congeniality. What a special way to end a wonderful pageant weekend!