Crafts and Spaghetti and Kansas Oh My!

Last Sunday, Aly and I made our visit to KU Med Center to do crafts and deliver Christmas presents to the kids staying there. We made cute little Christmas ornaments, and let the kids write their names on them and decorate them however they liked. Nothing like getting in the holiday spirit! Violet the Wolf from the Great Wolf Lodge even came to help out. :)  It was amazing to see how strong the patients and their families are during such a scary time. Seeing the joy that the gifts and the crafts brought to the children is an experience I will never forget, and this definitely won't be my last visit!

After our hospital visit, Aly and I decided it was the perfect day for a little ice skating! I have only been ice skating a few times, so I was a little shaky at first, but once we got the hang of it we ventured away from the side walls and skated all around the rink. This was the first time I made it the duration of skating without falling at least once! We decided that we are going to go pro. ;)

Thursday night, I volunteered with the Holiday Express Train at Union Station in Kansas City. The train travels to different cities and collects donations for the Salvation Army to buy warm clothes for children in need. The inside of each train car is decorated in a different Christmas theme, and it was really cool to get to go through it and see all of the displays. It is such a great cause, and I had so much fun being one of Santa's helpers. :)

The next morning we were off to Wichita, Kansas to watch the Miss Kansas USA 2014 and Miss Kansas Teen USA 2014 pageant! We arrived in Wichita on Friday afternoon to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House before all of the pageant events began. Amy, the volunteer coordinator, gave us a tour of the house and told us more information about the Ronald McDonald House's history and mission. The Ronald McDonald House provides a place for the parents and siblings of pediatric patients to stay for the duration of the child's time at the hospital. The house was so nice, and the volunteers were all so welcoming. We prepared a home-cooked spaghetti dinner (salad, garlic bread and all!) for the families staying there to eat. I absolutely LOVE to cook, so I had a blast and it was great to know that I could help out somehow. I highly recommend volunteering your time with such an amazing organization and charity!

Saturday was my 18th birthday! I had a great day, all thanks to my friends and family. That afternoon, I had lunch at Panera Bread with Erica, and then my mom and I did a little Christmas shopping until it was time for the preliminary competition. The weather started to get a little bad, but luckily we made it to the show on time. :)

On Sunday, Miss Oklahoma Teen USA, Brooklynne, and I had dinner at McCalister's Deli together and then went to the final show. I had so much fun helping out with crowning the new Miss Kansas Teen USA 2014. Congratulations to both the new Miss Kansas Teen, Claire, and the new Miss Kansas, Audrey.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I am looking forward to spending lots of time with my family over the next few days. :) Next weekend I will be traveling to Omaha, Nebraska to watch the new Miss Nebraska USA and Miss Nebraska Teen USA be crowned. I am also hoping to speak at a school about healthy relationships, self respect, and the importance of self esteem sometime soon. This is something I am passionate about, and I am excited to start motivating kids to be the best that they can be. I can hardly wait! Happy Holidays everyone! :)

Meeting Hunter Hayes... A Dream Come True!

What an exciting day Saturday was! It was jam packed full of all of my favorite things... pictures, food, HUNTER HAYES, and oh yeah-- more food. :)

To start off my day, I headed to Lee's Summit for pictures in my crown and sash. It was a ton of fun, and I absolutely love these shots!

Afterwards, it was time to go eat at my favorite restaurant, Jose Peppers! I have an obsession with their Espanaca dip... So you can bet I ordered a big bowl to devour. :) But, what meal would be complete without dessert?! My sweet tooth always seems to get the best of me, and somehow I found myself at Yogurtini. I LOVE frozen yogurt. It tastes exactly like ice cream, but it is a lighter and healthier option that still satisfies that sugary craving. For those of you that have never been to Yogurtini, it is a self-serve frozen yogurt bar with every topping you could ever imagine! I highly recommend you give it a try. :)

Then... the moment I had been waiting for... the Hunter Hayes concert! I am a huge fan, and to be able to hear him perform live was such a cool experience. The concert was held at the Midland in Kansas City, which seats around 3,500 people. I really enjoyed the smaller concert atmosphere, because my seat was located in the middle of the theatre and I still felt super close. He is such a talented artist, very humble and grateful to his fans and put on a great show. I was thrilled to get to actually MEET him! I was so nervous and probably rambled on about how much I love his songs, but he was a really cool person and very down to earth. Thank you so much Q-104 for the Meet & Greet! This is definitely an experience I will never forget.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. It has been awhile since my last blog post, so I have quite a few things to fill you in on!

Last Wednesday, I met up with Miss Kansas Teen USA 2013, Alyssa Klinzing, to go to KU Med Center and visit with some of the pediatric patients staying there. But when we arrived, most of the kids had gone home to spend Thanksgiving with their families, which was so nice. So, Aly and I decided to go to Crown Center to further discuss her organization, Aly's Red Wagon, over dinner at Fritz's. I had never eaten there before, and to my surprise our food came out to our table by an overhead toy train! The food was really good, and it was definitely a cool atmosphere. We are planning on trying again to visit the kids at KU Med Center on December 15th. I can't wait! :)

The next day was one of my favorite days of the year... THANKSGIVING! I have so many things to be thankful for, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year. I enjoyed spending quality time with my family and I REALLY enjoyed eating such amazing food. I have a really big sweet tooth, and dessert is my favorite part of the meal. Even though I sampled a little bit of everything on the table, the Oreo cheesecake hit the top of my list. :)

Sunday morning, I headed up to the Bass Pro Shop in Independence to volunteer with Toys for Tots. Toys for Tots collects toys for kids of all ages during Christmas time and distributes them out to organizations to give to kids who possibly wouldn't get any presents otherwise. I had a great time handing out Toys for Tots key chains to kids after they told Santa what they wanted for Christmas. The Marines do such an amazing job with this charity, check out their website, www.toysfortots.org to get involved and bring a smile to a child's face this Christmas.

To round off my week, this afternoon I went and got my passport for Miss Teen USA! I am so excited, and I still can't believe this is real. I can't wait to meet all of the other state titleholders and represent the great state of Missouri. :)

I absolutely love this time of year! It's been a great past few weeks, and it's almost been a month since I was crowned. Wow, time sure does fly! I am really looking forward to a busy day tomorrow. In the morning I will be headed to Lee's Summit for a photoshoot, and then later tomorrow night my mom, best friend, and I are going to go out to eat for my birthday (December 21st... We're a little early... But oh well) and then to the Hunter Hayes concert! I am a big Hunter Hayes fan, and I am extra excited because we have backstage passes! I will be sure and write a new blog afterwards to share this experience with you all. Until then, try to stay warm and enjoy your weekend! :)

Week number two... Check!

What an exciting week I have had! My first appearance, fun-filled Christmas festivities, and traveling to the Miss Oklahoma USA and Miss Oklahoma Teen USA pageant in Norman, Oklahoma, were all such fun experiences that I can hardly wait to tell you all about.

To start off my week, Miss Kansas USA 2013, Staci Klinginsmith, and I got to sign autographs (my very first autograph as Miss Missouri Teen USA!) and speak about Image Skincare products at the Image Skincare Customer Appreciation event at the Westin Crown Center hotel in Kansas City. There were around 200 guests, and it was so much fun to get to meet all of the fabulous ladies of Image Skincare and learn more about this wonderful product. Image Skincare is the official skincare sponsor of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, and I cannot wait to receive my basket full of skincare goodies when I arrive at Miss Teen USA.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I had an absolute blast at the Mayor's Christmas tree lighting in Lee's Summit on Friday. It was so neat to see Downtown all done up with beautiful Christmas lights and festive decorations. I got to hand out glow sticks to all of the kids as they came to get their free Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. There was even a contest for the best light-up costume! It was so adorable to see all of the kids arrive dressed in Christmas-themed costumes and from head to toe in lights. There was a choir of elementary school kids that sang joyful Christmas tunes, and later in the night Santa came riding in on a big yellow fire truck! It was great to see everyone come out to get in the Christmas spirit despite the wind chill of below freezing (I was just thankful for no rain!). The holidays are definitely my favorite time of year :)

Saturday morning, we were off to Oklahoma! The six hour drive from Harrisonville to Norman was totally worth it, because when my mom and I arrived we got to sit in the VIP section to watch the Miss Oklahoma USA 2014 and Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2014 contestants compete in the preliminary competitions.  I loved getting to see all of the different swimsuits and gowns the contestants wore. They were all so stunning, and the theatre was just overflowing with personality and confidence. The show was amazing, and all of the girls looked so fabulous! It was also so nice to meet some of the 2013 titleholders and to be reunited with my sister titleholder, Erica. Congratulations to Brooklynne Young, Miss Oklahoma USA 2014 and Brooklynne Bond, Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 2014!

When I woke up the next morning, a big snow storm had come in over night! There was ice everywhere, and snowflakes the size of quarters. Kind of strange for the weather to be colder in Oklahoma than in Missouri! Luckily, the storm cleared out around one o'clock and I was able to get to my appointment with Brian Attebery, the official fitness trainer for Vanbros. I had been looking forward to this, because nutrition and fitness is something I am very passionate about and have always found interesting. Brian gave Erica and I food and workout plans, and showed us how to do each exercise correctly to get the maximum results. He also explained to us the science behind what eating certain foods at certain times does to your body, as well as the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. I found it very interesting as well as motivating and inspiring! I am so excited to see the results of following Brian's program.

I could not have asked for a better second week! I am so blessed with such amazing opportunities and people in my life. I am looking forward to the weeks to come. Tomorrow I will be visiting the KU Medical Center with Miss Kansas Teen USA 2013, Alyssa Klinzing, to do some crafts with the kids there and learn more about becoming an ambassador for her organization, Aly's Red Wagon. Stay posted to read all about it! :)

Pinch Me... I Must Be Dreaming!

Wow, time sure does fly! I can hardly believe it has already been a week since I was crowned Miss Missouri Teen USA 2014. It seems like just yesterday I was waking up at the crack of dawn for a fun filled day of rehearsals and competition with my fellow contestants from all across the great state of Missouri. Pageant weekend was definitely one I will never forget, and little did I know that after all was said and done, my life would be changed forever.

The very next day after I was crowned, I signed the official Miss Missouri Teen USA contract with my wonderful director, John Vannatta! I also got to do a photo shoot with the amazing Rachel Imdieke, with hair and makeup by Aquilla "Q" Vang! They have both been previous titleholders themselves, and it was really neat to get to work with them. My sister queen, Erica Sturdefant, and I spent all day moving around to different locations to get the perfect shots. Despite the freezing cold weather and blisters on my feet, I had a blast and will never forget my first day as the new titleholder!

 

 

I am going to start off by telling a little bit about myself! I am a senior at Harrisonville High School, and there I serve as President of Students Against Destructive Decisions, Secretary of my senior class, a member of National Honor Society, and a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Throughout my years at HHS, I have played on the volleyball, soccer, and basketball teams. Sports have always been a very big part of my life, and I am so thankful to have had the experiences I have had with these teams. After graduating high school in May of 2014, I plan to attend a University and work towards obtaining a degree in Broadcast Journalism as well as Dietetics and Nutrition. It has always been my dream to have my own healthy cooking show on the Food Network... Move over Rachel Ray! ;) I have a love for nutrition and I look forward to inspiring others to be the best they can be by living a healthy lifestyle.

I entered my first pageant about two years ago, and instantly I had caught the "pageant bug". Right away, I knew that my ultimate dream was to walk across the Miss Teen USA stage. It feels amazing to know that all of my hard work and dedication has paid off and now I will be living the dream in just several short months! Pageants have taught me self discipline, a hard work ethic, interview skills, how to carry myself with grace and poise, given me more self-confidence, and taught me that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I know that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to, and I want to inspire others to feel the same way!

This year is going to be the year of a lifetime, I can already tell! I have LOTS of things listed that I want to accomplish this year. I plan to do a lot of volunteering all across the state of Missouri, and while doing so I hope to inspire others to get involved in their community. I have recently developed a passion for self esteem of teenagers, and I plan on traveling to schools to speak about the importance of healthy relationships, self respect, self esteem, and anti-bullying. My ultimate goal for this year is to inspire young people to dream big, feel confident with themselves and to never doubt their abilities.

I am BEYOND blessed to have this amazing opportunity given to me, and I am so excited to see what this year has in store! Stay posted to read all about my appearances, volunteer work, and upcoming events. Also, don't forget to "like" the Miss Missouri Teen USA Facebook page, follow me on Twitter at @RealMissMOTeen, and follow me on Instagram at @missmoteenusa. :) It's going to be one great year!