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! :)