More Pics!!

Opening Number!!
The beautifully decorated stage.

Evening gown competition!!
Final pictures - Top 5 in the middle.


My best friend and pageant 'mom', Bailey!!!




This has been an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience (yes, this is my one and only time!)!! I met some amazing people and wore some incredible clothes!!! Thanks for all of your support!!

It's All Over!!

And the weekend is over!!! Here are some pictures from my fabulous pageant experience!!

This is Shannon, Mrs. Star City (and Mrs. Congeniality!) and me!


The whole silly crowd in our pageant tee's.

Interview Group #2 on Saturday morning.

Mr. Lincoln

Doesn't Jamie look suave in his tux??

It's Almost Here!!!

The pageant is in 43 hours!!! I can't believe it!!! Tonight my friend Bailey came over and we practiced putting on fake eyelashes (good thing, too, because they take some getting used to!) and I tried all all my outfits (except the evening gown) with the jewelry.

This is for the production number.
Interview suit. (My eyes are really wide open because of the fake eyelashes)

The eyelashes look real!!!
We each have to take a gift for the other 14 contestants and last year's Mrs. Nebraska. I made lots (LOTS) of huge chocolate chip cookies and decorated them with crowns!!!
Tomorrow we have lunch, then rehearsals all day, and dinner at Mrs. Nebraska's house. Saturday morning the interviews start (!!) then more rehearsals and finally . . . the big deal!!!

Pictures from the Workshop

Here are a couple of pictures from the pageant workshop on May 2!
Practicing our runway walks!

More Fabulous Sponsors!!!

Thanks so much to even more great sponsors who are helping me get to Mrs. Nebraska!!!
*My parents, Robin & Kathy Stoops
*Jamie's parents, Dan and Pearl Brown
*My grandparents, Don & Shirley Hendricks
*Our close friends, Ted & Andrea Larsen
* Mark & Vicki Davidson, Davidson Insurance

I couldn't be doing this without you guys!!! Thanks so much!!!

Pageant Workshop!

Today was a full day of pageant prep in Omaha! Here I am getting ready to go . . . .


It was incredibly helpful and informative. I was surprised and relieved to find that I managed to walk AND do choreography in heels! I got to meet thirteen of the fourteen other contestants also. I got home just in time to go to Emma's volleyball game (in my ruffly dress) and am exhausted, as usual . . . but still have miles to go before I sleep.
I did some more brainstorming about ways to use my monarch to benefit CFS sufferers. I'm no expert, but I think a specific diagnostic tool is necessary before a cure can be found. I'd also love to do something with day to day social and financial relief for sufferers. I'd love to help start a foundation to help those who can't work full time, who've lost family support, who can't successfully receive disability benefits. Just musing, but it's gotta start somewhere!!!!

More Sponsors!!

Thank you to Dr. Brandon Webb at South Lincoln Family Physicians, for sponsoring me! Dr. Webb has been my doctor since 2007 and he's fabulous!
Thank you to Russ's at W A and Coddington for donating gift cards to be auctioned off towards my expenses!!
I also want to thank Ashley Pratt of Just Jewelry and KD Designs for donating pageant jewelry!! Check out Just Jewelry at www.itsjustjewelry.com, and KD Designs at www.kd-designs-jewelry.com.

I'm excited for the meeting on May 2! I have my pageant shoes - finally - and my interview suit, just waiting on some swimsuits I ordered to show up so I can pick one!
May 2 is the final deadline for the program info, so if you're thinking about sponsoring me you've got a few days to still make it in the program! Email me or use the Paypal button at the top of the page.
More pictures soon!!!

Less Than a Month!!!

Thanks to Dr. Webb at South Lincoln Family Physicians for sponsoring me!!! The pageant is getting closer, and I'm getting really excited! We have a meeting next Sunday (May 2) which is also when all sponsor and ad information is due, so if you're still thinking about helping out, this is the week!!! :)

Head Shots!!!

Courtesy of Nic Fargo from nicfargophotography.com! Thanks, Nic!!!

The Dress

My dress came in the mail yesterday!! I've tried it on at least four times now.

More Pageant Shopping!!

Bailey and I did some more pageant shopping today! We went to Von Maur and found a few possibilities for the suits I need - both interview and swim.

We also found one on their website . . . .

Mrs. Lincoln Crowned!!!

I got my crown and sash in the mail today!!! It was very exciting. I actually wore the crown around the house for a while, and I threatened to wear it to Emma's volleyball practice (I didn't). Jamie took some pictures for me, but I'm having professional ones taken on Saturday by Nic Fargo!! Thanks, Nic, for donating the photo session!! You can see Nic's photos at nicfargophotography.com.

First Sponsor!!!

I want to thank Bret and Melanie Tibbets of Cici's Pizza for being my first sponsors!!! I was able to order the amazing dress in the picture below and put something towards my entry fee!! PLEASE go eat at Cici's (N 27th by Toys R Us)! We love it (the cinnamon rolls are to die for)!!
We're making progress, and getting more excited! As soon as the dress arrives, I'll post pictures - same for the Mrs. Lincoln crown and sash! I promised Micayla we'd take pictures in our sashes. :)

If you're interested in helping out but didn't get a sponsor letter, you can use the Paypal donate button at the top of the page, or you can donate your old junk for a garage sale April 22-24. Half the proceeds will go towards the pageant expenses, and the other half will go directly to the National CFS Foundation.

Thanks for your support!!!

THE Dress

My fabulous bff Bailey did some dress hunting on ebay tonight, and found this one. I think it's IT. It's on sale for the next three days, so if ever you were thinking of sponsoring Mrs. Lincoln, now's the time!!!! :)

Dress Shopping, Part 1

We're spending Easter weekend with my parents, and while we were at the mall, I decided to try on a couple of prom dresses to get some ideas for my evening gown. Lesson #1: Don't shop in the junior department.



Lesson #2: Don't let random little boys watch you model dresses.

I like the turquoise and black one, but I definitely have several more shopping days ahead of me.

A What?????

Okay, so here it is. Last weekend, my six year old daughter, Micayla, competed in a pageant. She watches Toddler and Tiaras with me, and decided all the fancy dresses and makeup looked like fun (and I think she thought she'd be on TV). So we found a pageant - NOT a glitz pageant - and she competed. Even though she didn't win (or even place) she had a ball, and made some new friends. She asked me if she could do more pageants.
So I was googling pageants in Nebraska - they're kind of hard to find - and up came Mrs. Nebraska.
When Jamie and I first got married, in 1996, I almost entered the Mrs. South Dakota pageant, thinking that my age - 20 - would put me ahead of the pack. Somehow it never happened.
So the Mrs. Nebraska pageant website popped up on my screen, and I started looking through it . . . and here we are.
All it took to be Mrs. Lincoln was to send in the application and a deposit towards my entry fee. I should be getting my Mrs. Lincoln crown and sash soon - seriously - and I'm free to start making appearances throughout the community. Honestly, the whole thing embarrassed me a little, as much as I wanted to do it, but the response from my friends and family has been overwhelmingly positive, and that's helped me feel more confident about the whole experience.
And seriously, any excuse to be on a stage, right?
So throughout this process, for the next eight weeks, I'll be chronicling the journey. If you've chosen to sponsor me or purchase an ad in the program, you can see what your donation is going toward (and I'll be thanking you publicly!).
The competition consists of interview, evening gown, onstage question, and swimsuit (yikes).
If you feel like coming along with me for the journey, welcome!! And no pointing and snickering.