Queen Kelly!!

Kelly's Pageant Day

Friday night, the candidates had a dinner with the judges, so they could get to know each other.

Saturday morning was interviews, both one-on-one and in a panel.

After interviews, it was time to start getting ready!

All the candidates received complimentary services from a local spa.

Here is Kelly before.

While Kelly was out getting made up, I finally finished the ornaments!

I wanted to use twine or a thick, gorgeous yarn to make holders, but they wouldn't thread into the layers of fabric.  

So, I went with metal wires.

Not perfect, but a reminder of their fun time being candidates.

 Kelly's hair, make up, and nails are done and she's ready to get ready!

They styled each candidate's hair for a crown.  :)

 After the pageant.

Kelly was not awarded a title or extra scholarship, although she will have a $1,000 scholarship for being a Top Ten Candidate.

She's still a queen to us though!

Queen Kelly and her sisters.

Kelly has high standards for her clothing.

When she has prepared for prom or homecoming in the past, she has not been able to find a modest dress at ANY local store.

Modest being it has sleeves and is at least to her knees.

Knowing we only had a few weeks to procure a dress, and knowing we couldn't go to Seattle or Spokane to look at larger stores (Anthony's lung), we enlisted the help of Ruth, my niece.  

Ruth finished her degree last year in clothing design and manufacture.

Kelly had seen a dress she liked online, had Ruth look at it, and told her how she'd like it made.

The dress was based on Emma Watson's (Hermione) black gown she wore to a function.

Ruth made the dress within a week or so, and she was able to meet Andy and Kelly halfway between our home and Spokane.

Kelly was ecstatic!

The gown is such a representation of her unique personality.

She is classy, elegant, yet still stands out.

The back of the gown originally was a zig zag type design and had a large velvet sash in the back.

The stage does different things though, so she was encouraged to take the sash off, and tack the wrap-around so it wouldn't flap around while she walked.

If you are interested in #sewruthpowell and her work, comment and I can get her information to you.

 Josh was at a Valentine's dance and Anthony had to be at home with a babysitter.

Maggie, Lilly, Kelly, Daniel

 Tanner, Kelly, Brian

 Kelly and Andy

 me (Sarah), Kelly, Andy

 Kelly and me

 When we arrived home, Anthony was ECSTATIC to see his Princess Kelly.  :)

I coudln't get a picture that wasn't blurry!

 During the pageant, I was SO hungry!  

I hadn't been able to eat dinner beforehand, and my nerves made me not feel hungry.

But, halfway through, I was craving fried and fry sauce badly.

So, after picking Anthony up (Josh didn't want to go), we went to Shari's to celebrate.

Kelly and Anthony were making the Strong Against Cancer pose.  

:)

 So many people love and support Kelly.

She was sad to not have an official title, but was loving the encouragement and love people gave her afterwards.

We were told by countless people in our community how they would love for her to be part of the royalty representing this valley.

The local queen is truly an icon who represents who we are, and is someone that the vast majority of local little girls look up to.

Kelly is worthy of that kind of admiration.

She represented her community, school, family, and her STANDARDS so well.

We are so proud of our Queen Kelly!!

One thing I have to add is that everything we needed to purchase, although it all added up to a LOT of money, was on clearance.  Except for her dress, but that was affordable too.  Big blessing for a big family!