Miss Arizona Sweetheart 2006: Nationals

Tuesday morning dawned bright and early with a rehearsal for the Awards Program at 8:45. The only problem for Brittany was I goofed and didn't properly set the cell phone alarm! We woke up at 8:30, she literally had 15 minutes to get ready to go downstairs for the rehearsal and awards ceremony. I felt so guilty because she didn't have enough time to eat breakfast. I didn't make the same mistake with the alarm for the rest of the week! The awards programs is where every girl receives a trophy for attending the National pageant. Each girl is photographed on stage with National Royalty and their trophy. It is actually very nicely done and it progressed rather quickly considering how many girls were in the Sweetheart division.

After the awards programs was over Brittany was finally able to relax after the frantic morning, not to mention she was able to eat. There were two production number rehearsals scheduled for the day the first was at 11:45 and the second was as 4:15. Between the rehearsals was the Gift Exchange/Cookie Party. This is a chance for all the girls to get to know each other and pass out gifts that they have put together to represent their states. Brittany enjoyed visiting with the other girls, but it was stressful for me finding stuff to fill 100 goodie bags. Unfortunately, we were short by three bags, so my advice is take 10 more bags than the projected number in your letter.

The evening concluded with the acting competition. This was a totally new experience for Brittany. At the state level all of the optionals are performed on stage, including acting. At Nationals, acting is done like the girls are actually trying out for a commercial. It is just the girl in the room with a green screen and a video camera. It was very strange for me as a parent because I didn't get to watch her performance. She really enjoyed the experience and can't wait to do it again.