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! :)