First Night of Prelims

Good Morning from Las Vegas!
Last night was the first night of prelims and it was good to see all of the contestants. Winners for the night were Iowa for talent--and she was amazing! She did an unbelievable baton routine--now I know you're rolling your eyes about a baton twirler but she did things I didn't think a human being could do! At one point she had three batons going and was literally all across the stage. At the end of her performance she got a standing ovation! (I felt a little guilty standing for someone other than Jenn but . . . .) So congrats to Miss Iowa!
Swimsuit winner was Rhode Island. She looked terrific and really took command of the stage. The swimsuits are a little weird--the sponsor of the suits this year is Win Wear--so the contestants had just a few suits to choose from. All of the contestants looked good!
Jenn did her on stage question--she was asked about the impact of autism education and she had a great answer: focus on the unique talents and gifts that everyone has and she wants to try to dispel some of the misconceptions about autism.
Overall, it was an interesting night--lots of different talent selections and lots of heavily beaded gowns. Tonight--Jenn does swimsuit and evening gown--so it will be a big night for her!
We couln't bring cameras into the theater last night (which made me really crabby!) but at visitation they announced we could have cameras each night except for Saturday. Woo hoo!
So hopefully tomorrow we'll have some photo's from the competition tonight!
Pictures attached of Jenn with her Mom and brother Caleb; her proud grandparents from Alabama and those of us from the State Board that here already.
Hope you're staying warm! Gotta go--the slots are calling my name . . . .