Final Prelim Picks!!!

Here we go! It's time for the final night picks for the Preliminary Competition... remember, the preliminaries are the first chance the judges have to score the contestants and based on their preliminary scores, that's how we get the Top 15 who compete on Saturday night. However, I'm going to make you wait a bit for my picks... it's much more important to tell you what's happened since we arrived! :)

We've had an amazing time already - after getting our room, we headed out to grab a quick bite to eat before picking up my press passes. We hadn't sat down for more than 2 minutes, when an old pageant friend who knew my Aunt Carolyn very well, recognized my mom, then my aunt and he said "When i saw 'mama' i knew it had to be you guys!" Then of course, more folks from the Kansas system recognized us and we all were able to catch up for a bit. Crazy how the first place you go, you get spotted by people you haven't seen in 15 years!!! We were just glad they 'saw us' before they 'heard us' - if you know what i mean :)

So - after saying our 'goodbyes' we went upstairs to the Miss America trade show - where all kinds of gorgeous gowns and accessories are available for sale... Also picked up some free goodies from Artistry Beauty, got our tickets for tonight's show and were able to see some of the contestants walking by for rehearsals. We were able to chat a bit with Miss Connecticut (who i think is really sweet) and saw Miss Nebraska walking at the front of the pack - leading the group of girls to their destination (SHE'S 17, BUT SHE'S INCREDIBLE!!!). After lots of photos and giggles, we headed back to our room to rest our feet until the show tonight. Considering we were up at 4am this morning, we could use the nap time!

Alright! Time for tonight's picks!

Swimsuit = Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Tennessee.
Two blonds and 2 brunettes in this group... I think Tennessee is the most photogenic contestant in this year's pageant... we shall see...

Talent = Kentucky, Nebraska, Connecticut and Maryland.
I've chosen 3 vocalists and a piano player... If the Irish step dancer from Virginia wins, I'm going to laugh out loud!

The best news is - I GET TO SEE IT ALL LIVE and then tell you tonight if i agree or disagree with the judges choices! :)

Oh - and the videos you see posted are 'Behind the Scenes' creations from Artistry (Day 1 is at the top of the page)... looks like they just finalized Day 2 --- it's not up on YouTube yet, but you can find it here!

http://www.facebook.com/artistry#!/video/video.php?v=184829948202493

They're fast paced and do give you a good synopsis of everything going on here!

Enjoy!!!!

crl