Well, I realize many of you may not know about this whole thing, so, lemme tell ya how it got started! We received a letter in the mail about 6 months ago saying they were doing an open call for girls to compete for the National American Miss Indiana Teen Pageant. It peaked Caitlin's interest. I told her I was in a pageant like this in the 10th grade too. I placed 3rd. It was the only pageant I ever did. I had a blast though. Anyway, we decided to give it a shot. I took pics in of her and an interview form since she couldn't attend (cheer competition in Ohio) adn shortly thereafter, we got a letter stating she was a state finalist! So we prepared for pageant weekend which was this 4th of July weekend. =] Whew............
So, we registered on Friday for the pageant and attended orientation. Se met some new girls and seemed to have a blast! We drove home Friday night, but opted to spend the night in Indy on Saturday. The pageant consists of 4 judged categories to be considered for Miss Indiana Teen:
1-Community Service. All girls participate in an outreach program- this year they donated stuffed animals and books to a charity. We also had to list any other activities Caitlin does in her community.
2-Personal Introduction. They must present themselves on stage and give a brief intro including name, hometown, school and other interests and future aspirations. =]
3-Personal Interview. They filled out a personal resume and submitted it to a round of one on one interviews with panel judges. They were asked questions and gave answers hopefully giving judges a glimpse at their personalities and potential. Like a job interview! =] I love her suit! We got a great deal on it. It's Calvin Klien in case you were wondering-we got it at Macy's. Too cute!
4-Formal Gown. On stage presented by thier dad's or escorts, they walked the stage in thier formals. =] Gavin escorted Caitlin.
There are also other optional competitions you can enter. We entered Casual Wear and Photogenic..jpg)
These are the 2 pics we entered! We took them ourselves.
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These are the 2 pics we entered! We took them ourselves.
This is the outfit she wore in the Casual Wear competition. It is an outfit she chose to reflect her personality. She had to write an outfit description for the MC to read and she modeled it as the description was read. I thought she did a great job!
All this weekend was a build up to the Awards ceremony on Sunday night. The new National American Miss Indiana will be crowned and the awards will be given out for the Talent, Casual Wear, Photogenic, Actress, and Spokesmodel Sections. The girls performed a stage number and then changed into their formals for another introduction on stage and the narrowing down of the girls from 81 registered in her age division to the Top 15 and then The top 5.
Here is Caitlin with a couple pageant friends. The one in the middle is Micheala Wischmeier, who is also from Columbus!
The awards started and we were elated to hear Caitlin's name for 4th runner up in the Photogenic competition! WOOHOO Top 5 is AWESOME!! Here she is receiving her trophy from the reigning 2009 Queen Jackie Gussert.
SO, the field was narrowed and CAITLINS NAME WAS CALLED FOR TOP 15!! I was in hysterics! This is our first shot at this and to be in the top 15 was a HUGE SUCCESS for us! =]
SO, the field was narrowed and CAITLINS NAME WAS CALLED FOR TOP 15!! I was in hysterics! This is our first shot at this and to be in the top 15 was a HUGE SUCCESS for us! =]
Now this gets even cooler if you can stand it!..... Each year they recognize a Ms. Congeniality and a runner up and then they give out another special award called the Spirit Award. The Spirit award is given to ONE GIRL who exemplifies excellence in sportsmanship and encouragement of others. (In Mary Kay we call this the Go-Give award.) Well, I couldn't have been more proud... they called Caitlin's name!!! Tears overwhelmed me. It is incredible, I am sure to go home with the Queen, but for me, this was even better. My daughter was recommended by her peers and the entire staff. I am so blessed to be her mom! =]
So here she is with her State Finalist Trophy, Her 4th Runner Up Photogenic Trohpy, and Her Spirit Award! My heart is so full!
This was so fun to watch and be a part of. Madee and Gavin decided to come for the overnight and the other kiddos just came up on Sunday with the mamaws! What a great weekend!
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It's winter formal time! What a night! Preston & Caitlin exchanged corsages and boutineers!.JPG)
Don't the look soooooo cute? Aunt Karen helped with Caiti's hair! =] (Thanks babe!) I think it looks like a modern day Cinderella do! How bout you?.JPG)
Papaw Dan hooked Caiti up with the new dress & shoes while daddy and I were out of town! They did a great job picking it out! =] After pictures, Caiti & Preston headed out to Johnny Carino's for Dinner and then off to the Dance!.JPG)
This is Caiti & her boyfriend Preston and his twin brother Parker..JPG)
This is the Shelton fam- Parker, Buffy, Phil & Preston... we are missing Mr. Peyton who was with Grandma while all this was going on! lol.JPG)
I have been ont his ship before, but Gavin has never cruised before now. We were so excited to be on our own, woth our friends, and seeing sunsets like this!
Once on board we had our photos taken before dinner each night! All of them turned out so good. I love this pic of Gavin and I..JPG)
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Who doesn't love Christmas Morning?!?! It has always been one of my very very favorite times!
The kids loved finding what Santa brought for them..... 
Madeline got the North Face Fleece that she had been wanting....
Caitlin got a digital photo frame... it will be great for all the random pics of her and her friends!
Santa left Mia new baby doll. It is so cute...and looks quite a bit like her!
Seth made gifts for Gavin and myself. They were so cute!
The boys are opening the Guitar Hero game we bought. It was a big hit! =]
Every year I get a pic of the kids in front of Gma Nancy's tree.. Here it is. We were laughing because they are lined up like bowling pins! lol
After we opened gifts at home, we went to Gavin's mom's house for dinner and presents. His parents, his Grandma Mary, Grandpa Howard, Aunt Lavena, and Aunt Vicki & Uncle Rick were there too.
The kids are excited to see what the presents are and being so patient! =] Yay! We loooove Christmas!!!!!!!.JPG)
We always head to my moms to celebrate Christmas Eve. It is getting to be quite a large event as my mom has a total of 11 grandchildren! Then when you factor in the 8 adults...it gets kinda tight! I love it though! We started opening gifts at 5 and were still going at 9:30 =]
Gavin gets the honors of passing out all of the presents. Look at all of them! =]
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We had to make sure there was a picture of me! 
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