The Most Wonderful Friends in the World :)

On the day before I left for Orlando all of my close friends took me out to eat for a going away dinner. We had been at cheer camp that day and the day before, as we are all on the JV cheer squad. It was so encouraging to see the support they had for me and how thrilled they were as I was leaving for my trip to Miss America's Outstanding Teen. Fun friend time and some good ole Larry's Pizza. Celebrating the true Arkansan way:) Thanks guys for making this time in my life so special!

Miss White River and Miss White River OT Pageant

Congratulations to the new Miss White River, Makenzie Moore and the new Miss White River's Outstanding Teen, Rachel Harless! I was so excited to make my very first preliminary pageant appearance as MAOT and perform my talent for the last time before nationals! So excited for you girls! :)

Its a Lamanpalooza!

North Little Rock Laman Library threw a huge event to celebrate the end of their summer reading program and the beginning to a new school year! It was very well put together and you could tell, even in the 115 degree sunny afternoon, that every kid was having a blast! Some of the fun activities included Scoop the Yarnells icecream man (passing out free ICECREAM sandwiches!), the NLR pink fire truck, bounce houses, face painting, crafts, the Star Wars characters, and a clown making balloon animals and hats! Thanks to Craig O'Neill for interviewing me, loved getting to talk to his hysterical self! I got the opportunity to volunteer and make an appearance as Mis Arkansas' Outstanding Teen thanks to the leader of the NLR Mayors Youth Council I am a member of. Mrs. Jan Scholl does a spectacular job with keeping all the kids on the council in tune with all of the opportunities to get involved in North Little Rock. I had a booth set up with Mrs. Jan and was informing people and kids about Special Olympics and the ways to get involved as well as signing autographs. I had Special Olympics coloring pages and the little ones just ate that up! They would sit in circles on the ground and just color, there's not much that kids love more than to pick up some crayons! Glad I got to go support my community and their efforts to encourage kids to read and be thrilled about the new school year!

MAOTeen Send-Off Party. Orlando Bound!

After a month of being Miss Arkansas' Outstanding Teen and running from place to place, full of preparations , appearances and interviews I wouldn't want to have began my journey to Miss America's Outstanding Teen any other way. My MKDS (Ms. Karen's Dance Studio) family threw me a party to wish me luck as I will be headed to Miss America's Outstanding Teen this week. It was so exciting to receive support, love, and encouragement from the people that surround me. The little kids just oooed and ahhhed over my crown asking me questions like "how did you become a princess?" or "Is it hard to wear that crown?" while wrapping their arms around my leg. Little girls have so far been one of my favorite part of being MAOT. They have so much exuberance to be on this Earth and it just makes me smile to see these little children of God enjoy every second of life. I have the best friends in the whole world and they all (even the little ones) wrote notes to me that I will get to read the week of the pageant. I know I will love little messages of encouragement as My mind is racing while running from place to place! BIG THANKS to my dance company's owner Karen Harrod for being an ad sponsor of mine and hosting the party at her studio...the FIERCE way as we here at MKDS call it. :) This week I will be living out what you have always told me, that is of course GO BIG OR GO HOME!

The New Miss Arkansas High School Is....

The new Miss Arkansas High School is Kate Johnson! I could not be happier for her. I love that spunky teenager more than anything else and she is a character for sure! If you meet Kate you will see the loving heart, precious personality, and funky pizazz that she exudes! She will go on to represent Arkansas in Orlando next summer at Miss High School America! I'm certain she will be a wonderful ambassador for the state. Although I know she is capable of doing it, she does have some large shoes to fill. Raygan Sylvester was giving up her crown and she is one kind hearted, giving, and passionate teenager! Growing up with her, dancing with her and going to school with her, I have truly loved watching her grow as an individual through the Miss America Organization! I had two other friends go home with state titles as well. Former Miss Arkansas' Outstanding Teen, Savvy Shields won Miss Arkansas Collegiate! Oh the sisterhood, I love to see formers and how successful they are becoming with their lives. And lastly, precious precious Aubrey Reed won Miss Arkansas Junior High! To me she is still the little five year old running around Ms. Karen's Dance Studio and hanging on my leg! So wonderful to see the poised young lady she has grown to become and how she strives to be a role model and make a difference. I think it's obvious how these young ladies are impacting others lives and how beautiful they are from the inside out.

Throwing the 1st Pitch at the AR Travelers Game

Last night I got to throw the first pitch at the Arkansas Travelers baseball game!! My sister was worried about me throwing the first pitch because she didn't think that I could make it to home plate...little did she know I had the arm of a MLB star! Haha but in all seriousness, I did make it to home plate with my professional pitch and couldn't have done it without my princess Jessica by my side:) I walked around the Travelers game signing autographs for little ones and talking to kids while they ate popcorn, chowed down on corn dogs, and drank some old fashion lemonade. Nothing better than a baseball game! My favorite part of this appearance was a little girl named Whitney. She came up to me multiple times asking for a picture, and then a picture of her cousin with me, and just talked and talked to me about the pretty crown on my head. After I had moved on and was talking to some other kids she came up to me with a sharpie and asked if I would sign her and her cousins t shirt on her back. I felt like such a superstar signing their backs! (after asking their momma of course) ;) But it was a fun game and I met lots of new friends! Thanks to the Arkansas Travelers for letting me come! :) I really appreciate the opportunity!

Miss Arkansas has begun!

Today is the third day for me to be back in the good ole Spa City! Sunday was arrival and let me tell you it was quite an event. This year the ceremony was held in Horner Hall instead of on the staircase of the convention center. They spiced things up by making a runway with a red carpet and an atmosphere with a Hollywood feel! There were two photo spots set up to take pictures with a Miss Arkansas background! I was VERY impressed with how they choose to put the event together this year and how they really stepped it up. These past few days have been full of anticipation. They are days of rehearsals, stress, not eating, and emotions. Everyone is just ready for competition to get here and lots of girls think that cramming hard work into these couple of days is going to make all the difference in the world. To tell you the truth I don't think it does. Kristen said and I agree, "when you get to Miss AR you are as prepared as you are going to get." So really all you have to do is be the young woman God put you on the earth to be. I believe that God truly has amazing things in store for every single one of the talented girls. It's such an honor to even get to be on that stage and it's hard to think that only one lucky girl out of 47 very qualified woman will get the dream job of Miss Arkansas. I'm praying for my sister this week and that she shows them how capable she is of the job. Hopefully they will see the potential in her that I do:) I believe God has a wonderful Miss Arkansas picked out for this year...I cannot wait for his plans to be revealed! I'm more than thrilled that tomorrow start competition! Ahhhh. I'm looking forward to performing out MAOT opening number and reunite with all my girls at rehearsal in the morning!