Royalty?

Michelle and I never thought of ourselves as the "Toddlers and Tiaras" type so were a little surprised when Grace said she wanted to be in our town's pageant.  But we bought her a couple of pretty dresses and tried to manage her expectations.  After all, she was on the younger end of the "Junior" group - several girls are in the 10th grade and they have several years of pageant experience (Grace is entering 7th) .  Of course, we thought she could do well - she's pretty easy going and has performed in a couple of park district plays.

Then the day of the pageant came.  And she absolutely blew everybody away (mostly me and Michelle).  She even spoke a few sentences in Spanish during her prepared speech - something she will never do for us at home.  Strangers came up to us afterward and said they knew she would win a few seconds into her speech.  And her poise and personality really showed in the pop question - she handled it like a pro.

And the result?  She won!  Her first event will be the 4th parade this weekend and starts a year that sounds like a lot of work and a lot of fun.  (Not sure what she's got us into!)

Here's Junior Miss Vernon Hills 2011: