This has been a long journey - and a great one with my sweet Ava. First, the back story:
April -
The Miss Idaho Pageant (in June) has a program call "Little Sisters". Normally I would never have anything to do with pageants, but this sounded like it could be fun and educational for Ava. 25 little girls between the ages of 8-10 are paired up with a Miss Idaho Contestant. Then for the next 2 months, these "littles" can look up to their "big sisters" as role models and mentors. PLUS - there are a few other incentives for the girls. There will be 2 savings bonds (scholarships) awarded to 2 girls. One for academic achievement and one for community service. Then they can also sell raffle tickets to raise money for another scholarship to be awarded to one of the Miss Idaho Big Sisters. Whew... I think we have our work cut out for us - and some fun ahead of us too!
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| Meet-n-Greet. Ava and her Big Sister - Laura Hampikian |
When Ava and I started this journey, I had 2 goals in mind:
1. To teach Ava about service and helping others. I wanted her to gain real experience in the community and reach a little further than a love note for her brother or cookies for the neighbor.
2. To win the Community Service Savings Bond (scholarship worth $275) and obtain some seed money for Ava's future.
Our first of many projects was to make soft toys for an orphanage in Sierra Leone, Africa. Together we made 22! This project got the ball rolling for several other projects...
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| Bears and dinosaurs - Julie Helms, coordinator |
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| Recess time spent helping in the school library |
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| Eating at Pizza Pie Cafe to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network |
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| Donating her own baby clothes to the Women & Children's Alliance (victims of abuse) |
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| Paint the Town |
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| Fill the Boot - and we met Gov. Otter! |
After 2 busy months full of service projects and dance practice - the night finally came! Jessica came over and did Ava's hair. Then she got all dressed up for the Miss Idaho Prelims. The night was so much fun with the different events. My favorite was when Ava walked the stage with Miss Laura in her formal gown. She was so poised and beautiful! At the very end of the night, it was finally time for the Little Sister awards. First was the award for the most tickets sold and Ava received honorable mention for being in the top 3. Then it was the award for academics. Last but not least was the award for community service and Ava won! She won 1st place and a $275 savings bond!
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| My gorgeous Ava and her best friends! |
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| Finals night - Ava and the other 'littles' performed a dance on stage. |
Unfortunately, Miss Laura did not win. She placed 3rd runner up which is still wonderful, but Ava took it pretty hard. She was devastated! I never imagined that Ava would get so attached to Miss Laura and the idea of winning the whole thing, but she did and her sweet little heart was crushed!
This whole experience has been so busy but also so rewarding. We put in a lot of hard work for the community service savings bond and won it! Ava worked hard on her dance routine. Laura worked incredibly hard for the whole competition... and we all had a ton of fun doing it! This experience was about work and service, but also about having fun along the way. I think it brought Ava and I closer together and I know Ava will never forget her big sister, Laura. I am so grateful that we got her for this experience! She was a wonderful role model for my Ava. I think we achieved all of our goals and I could not be happier with the final outcome!
Q: Will we do this again next year? I guess we will have to wait and see!
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