Pageant and Cruise Night 2016 annndddd Moving

I was asked if I wanted to be involved in the pageant again this year.  This time it was going to be from a different perspective.  This time, I was going to be on the radio! They usually have some guy from the radio read the advertisements but they need someone to talk about the dresses and suits.  So of course I agreed.  I just can't say no.  I know the usual routine but this year they threw in something new. 

 I didn't find out until I arrived that I would also be doing the Little Miss Pageant.  Yikes! More dresses to describe.  But it was fantastic.  The little girls were adorable and easy to talk about.  The big girls were harder.  I mean really, how would you describe the black dress on the right? Black dress with silver beading in stripes... down the... front?? Seriously, one of the hardest but most fun thing I've tried.  If they ever ask me to do it again, I would try to be much more prepared. I hadn't seen any of the dresses before they walked on the stage.  Phew! That was rough.  When I was struggling, I said things like "that dress is so interesting" and "paired with sensible black pumps".  Yikes.  But other than that, the timing and information was covered so I think it went pretty well.

 Check out the winning gift bag for the Little Miss part.  That's Charlotte's doll! Or at least a copy.

 Here are the contestants.  I'm pretty sure the girl in red is flipping me off.  HA!

 After the contest, I stayed at my parents' new house.  I was planning to help them move that weekend so they weren't fully prepared for me.  But don't worry, I hooked them up with some fabulous new curtains.

 The next day we did a lot of moving but then were able to celebrate Cruise Night that night.  The kids loved riding around in the convertible.

Charlotte's hair was getting in her face so she let me put her hair in a ponytail.  Look at that face! 

 Now look at her face when she sees her high pony for the first time!

 The kids got some really good sleep that night. 

 The next day I got up early and brought home some donuts for our big time moving day.  The day before was rough (according my FitBit and the 28 flights up the stairs) so I thought some donuts would help. :)

I didn't do as much moving that day but I tried to help how I could by connecting the Bluetooth Sound system.

 The kids enjoyed "moving".  :-)

Tommy would wear jammies 24/7 if we would let him.  I just love his Thor cape.

Pass the Mic

If you've been reading for awhile you know that I was the master of ceremonies last year for the queen pageant.  I was asked to do it again this year and I agreed.  It was awesome!

I didn't get any pictures or videos this year because everyone was busy taking care of the little guy while I was on stage.  I did however get some pictures before the pageant.

I was excited about my MC outfit.  I suited up and added some sequins.  So pageanty! :)

It went much smoother this year.  I didn't have to stall as much.  I knew what I was doing.  I only stumbled a few times.  Plus I felt much more comfortable on the stage and didn't ask for so many rounds of applause.  There was applause however which really scared the crap out of Tommy each time because he was trying to fall asleep.  But he was a very good boy and didn't cry.  What a champ! Attended a pageant and didn't cry! He did better than his father! Ok, I'm kidding. Andrew didn't cry. :)

So it was a great success! Here are the winners.  From left to right, Miss Congeniality AND 2nd Runner Up, The Queen, and 1st Runner up.

The girls did great and I had so much fun.  Congrats to the winners!

Mowing Down MC's Like I'm Mowing a Lawn

(For those of you who are not lifetime white boy rap fans, that line was a reference from a Beastie Boy song. $5 to the first person who can figure out the song!)

This weekend, I got to be an MC! A master of ceremonies! WHAT? Yes, I was asked to be the MC for the county fair queen contest back home. How did I get involved in this? Well, 9 years ago, I was in this very same pageant and I won 1st runner up. The following year, they allowed me to speak, to give a farewell speech of sorts (what were they thinking?) and I KILLED! I almost got a standing ovation for making a joke about how cold it was in the building (That's not really a Morganism because I said "almost" so shush!).  So when the long-time pageant announcer retired, someone thought of me to host pageant. They asked. I said yes. The rest is history!

I had my mom take pictures and videos because I'm such a geek and I was incredibly excited about this opportunity. 

The Hostess with the Mostest

The girls posing after their dance routine. (There is no talent portion in this pageant so this kind of serves as everyone's talent portion all at once.  That way, the audience doesn't have to sit through 9 different versions of the song "Memories".)

This is Darcy, the entertainment.  She sang songs so I didn't have to stall toooooo much.  She won Miss Congeniality a few years ago I believe. 

This is the winner of the 2009 pageant.  During the pageant, the queen gets to sit on one side of the stage and do a lot of clapping. 

Because, my dear folks, when I MC-ed this event, I had to stall while the girls changed from dance gear to professional wear to formal wear.  I had to stall a LOT.  I had to stall so much so that at one point during the pageant, I decided to start naming off sponsors.  There were only 7 big time sponsors so to make it take longer, I made the audience clap for each one.
"The first sponsor this evening is Castongia's.  Let's give them a round of applause.  The second sponsor this evening is The Doghouse.  Thank you, Doghouse!"
It was awkward.  And AWESOME!! :) Took up enough time to get me through!

During the professional wear portion, the girls had to answer an impromptu question. The girl in the picture won first runner up.  Most of the girls did fine.  One girl went all Debbie Downer on us and started talking about her parents divorce.  Not fine.  She did not win.  Wahh wahhhhhhh. :(

Here are the girls in their evening gowns.  Really really pretty dresses this year.  The crowd actually gasped at the blue sequined dress 5 girls from the left (that is NOT a Morganism, they really did. The audience was REALLY in to this pageant. It was like a firework show with the oohs and aahs, too funny).  The dress was gorgeous and it looked great on her.  I think it helped her win 2nd runner up actually.

This is the former queen giving her farewell speech.  Hey queen, guess what? Some day nine years from now, you may be standing up on that stage again!! (If you're lucky! I may not want to give it up! Ha!)

And finally, here are your winners.  The tall girl (she is SOOOO tall) won Miss Congeniality.  Blue sequins was 2nd runner up.  The queen is the third.  The winner of first runner up is on the end on the right.  She comes from a long line of Fair Queen court sisters and cousins.  Seriously.  I can count at least 5.  Those girls were meant to be in pageants, I think. 

Now it's time to show you the video.  I edited it to show the important parts.  Listen closely to how I say my name at the beginning.  Yikes.  I was really nervous and out of breath at this point so my name came out in a really sing-songy voice.  Mor-GAN Kei-PER Thorn-BURG.  Yowza.   Enjoy. 






Now even with all the flubs and the ridiculous stalling practices, they still asked me if I would do it next year.  I think MC Thornbizzle might have to show up for 2011! Yes yes y'all and ya don't stop! :)

If you'd like to read the hometown paper's review of the pageant, it can be found HERE.   I'm mentioned TWICE! Whee!!