Miss South Carolina Week

If I’m completely honest, I put this off for years. Several of Emary Kate’s friends had been a part of the Miss SC Princess organization and this was a dream of hers. All I saw was a week long  stay in Columbia, too much hair spray, and at too many dollar signs. 

But after a only couple of days, it won me over. 

We had a little down time, much more than the girls competing. Ellie stayed with us for a couple of days so we enjoyed our girl time. 

Emary Kate’s gorgeous queen, Anna Katelynn competed as Miss Black and Gold Teen. We absolutely loved supporting this beautiful and talented young lady all week.


Breakfast downtown was something we looked forward to every morning. We stopped by Panera for a bagel and spent a little time soaking up the fresh hair before the heat became unbearable. Columbia is truly the equator of the earth.







We created a monster this week, clearly.




The boys joined us for a special appearance at Riverbanks Zoo.





We made it back in time to wish our girl best of luck in her interview.



Each night the Princesses performed on stage for the preliminaries and of course, the final competitions.





We had a few late night snacks at 12am after the competitions.

Miss Gamecock!







Emary Kate has the privilege of performing her talent before the Miss Teen competition.



We had the best time all week just us girls... with all the hair, makeup, outfits, dinner dates, late night snacks and chats, but this is where it hit me. This is when I realized it was far more than just a pageant. My girl gained confidence and independence. She walked into a room with over 100 girls she didn’t known and immediately made several friends. She performed on stage each night, even made a television appearance! 

AK made it into Top 16, amazing for her first time. And the girls shared a special moment at the end of this chapter... there’s definitely more in store in this journey!

EK’s Birthday Trip to New York

We took the first flight out of GSP to New York for Emary Kate’s 10th birthday celebration. NYC is one of my favorite cities I’ve visited and I knew she would absolutely love city life. 

As soon as we the wheels touched the ground, the girls were ready to head to the city and grab lunch. We went to Serendipity for lunch and frozen hot chocolate. 







Next stop was the Dylan’s Candy Shop. A dream come true for our sweet tooth girl.







Our full day continued with a shopping trip to American Girl. Both girls got a new doll and a few accessories.

When we got back to our room, the hotel staff brought our birthday girl a sweet package! We enjoyed our stay at the AC Hotel in Midtown. 
We went to the rooftop to enjoy the view and drinks before dinner.







Becco is always a must when we visit. It is the best Italian food I’ve ever had. The chef’s special has 3 unlimited pastas. The selection is always different and never disappoints.

After dinner, we took a bike ride through Times Square. It was the best way to take it all in. The girls were so amazed with the lights and the amount of people!

The next morning, we woke up early to grab pasties and bagels before heading to Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. 

After visiting The Statue of Liberty, we walked to lunch... and snapped some pictures along the way. 

Black Tap was another place on our  list. We knew the girls would love their milkshakes. Of course they were a hit... until ours hit the table and I thought I’d be smart and try to catch it. Fail. 

We took an Uber back to the hotel. The girls couldn’t walk another inch. Every time we got in an Uber, they fell asleep.

After a quick rest and refresh, we headed back out to explore more of the city. We took a carriage ride through Central Park and ate dinner uptown. 


















Some go to NYC for the cheesecake, some go for the banana pudding. And a little side note,  The New York Times building was right beside our hotel, which was neat!

We planned to leave Sunday afternoon, but it was raining terribly so we caught an earlier flight back home.

We had an amazing time in NYC and definitely plan to visit as a family again soon! Until next time...