It’s Only Just Begun

I am all moved in at the ORU dorms and ready for the week ahead! We began the morning with orientation and many, many hours of rehearsals. Wendy’s is so kind to donate a delicious lunch for the contestants and I always love seeing the owner’s daughter dressed up like Wendy! She’s a doll – really!

Though Kent has bronchitis, that certainly didn’t slow him down! We learned more dances than I can currently remember, but just be prepared for an amazing show. The atmosphere with the contestants has been very relaxed here and I see the Lord working through so many young women. It’s almost surreal to think that a week from tonight a new Miss Oklahoma will be crowned!

When we arrived to the dorms, I immediately checked out which red coat and contestants I would be driving with, and nearly squealed in excitement to be in ELIZABETH KINNEY’S mom’s car! Elizabeth is the first Miss Oklahoma I ever saw crowned and I fell in love with her on that stage. She is dynamite and I admire her more than words can express. Her mom, Melinda, is such a joy to be around – you’ve got to meet this woman!! I also found out she is from Shawnee and went to high school with my dad! what a small world. Lindsey Allen and I are in for a real treat with her!

After seeing our rooms (I cannot wait to post more pictures of my Come Rain or Come Shine themed room!), we ate and headed off to the Red Carpet premiere. I love this event because it is an opportunity to destress with family and friends before competition gets underway.

After walking the red carpet, we were corralled to a room and I was later told that when Rich came in, I needed to follow him. Thinking I needed to gather others and make room for the end of the alphabetical procession, I started herding… Someone told me to stop and I followed Rich, thinking we were just moving the miss contestants alphabetically.

As I was walking with Alex Eppler, Megan Johnson, Alicia Clifton, Brittany Bisel and Georgia Frazier I realized we were not in the right order. As I was about to pipe up, I realized the most exciting news possible – WE WERE COMMUNITY SERVICE FINALISTS!!!!!

I must have lit up like a Christmas tree and haven’t stopped glowing since! It is the highest honor to be considered for an award of this caliber and I feel blessed to be part of this group. Our interviews are in the morning and I cannot wait to share my passion with the Kiwanians.

Thank you to the Girl Scouts, school groups, and community leaders who have taken relational aggression seriously and have shared this journey with me! You are the reason I live to serve and I already feel so accomplished after the progress we have made together.

Have a wonderful evening and on to day two!!

Body Trends Tulsa

On Thursday, December 1st I visited Body Trends Tulsa for their Holiday Open House. Body Trends is an electrospa with two locations in Oklahoma City and one in Tulsa. They have very generously sponsored Miss Green Country along with Miss Oklahoma by offering their invaluable services. I was able to catch up with Miss Oklahoma 2010, Emoly West, and one of my favorite Miss Oklahoma volunteers, Jill Easley. While there, I met some very interesting people as well. It’s always really exciting to explain the Miss Oklahoma/America system to people who have never been involved – I love fielding questions! For more information on Body Trends, their website can be found here. Thanks to Body Trends for all your support!!!

Day 1

WHEW! My feet are aching – thanks Kent! 🙂 This morning we checked in for the week and had an orientation, then directly off to our full Kent-filled day. If you haven’t met Kent, you really should. He choreographs the opening numbers, creates our walking patterns, and even designs the set – and those are just the things I can remember right now! I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love him. Not only does he continually create exciting, cutting edge choreography and sets, but his personality is ideal for 43 stressed out girls to be around. I wish every state pageant could have the experience he provides for the Oklahoma contestants!

This morning we learned our first opening number dance, and later our second routine. Both are fast paced and full of energy…typical of the best state pageant in the nation! The dances are so fun, even when you accidentally do a move (or two) backwards. The dances were going so well (though running together in our minds!), and Veronica pulled me aside to let  me  know I was doing a step backwards. When I showed my choreography group what I had been doing they all burst out in laughter- we’ll just say it was definitely, maybe a bit too sexy! Ask me sometime and I’ll demonstrate…it’s pretty comical!!!

Wendy’s provided our lunch (something I could eat AND it was tasty! Thanks Wendy’s!!), and the owner’s daughter arrived in a Wendy’s outfit! She was adorable, and I later was able to speak with her at the Red Carpet event. After lunch, we had more rehearsals (probably about 6 hours overall) and also learned the swimsuit walking patterns. Today we had our swimsuits approved (this ensures that everyone is covered and the colors are correct), and I think we all passed! YAY!

We came back to the dorms and got to chat with our directors/families for a bit after checking out the decorations they put up. My room is wonderful and feels homey, British, and most importantly – calm! I’ll be sure to post pictures of my “Keep Calm and Carry On” room tomorrow. Tonight we threw on our cocktail dresses and headed to the Premiere, sponsored by BodyTrends. It took quite a while to introduce every Miss, Teen and Star,  but we made it and were able to enjoy a nice evening at the Hilton hotel.

Tonight they also announced the Kiwanis Community Service Finalists. Though I was disappointed not to be a part of it, I know I can take this opportunity to learn and grow, coming back prepared for the Community Service award next year! Congrats to Talia Berning, Alex Eppler, Alicia Clifton, Heather Harris, Bailey Robinson and Veronica Wisniewski for making the finals! Community service is one of my favorite aspects of the Miss America Organization and I love seeing the difference my pageant friends and competitors are making off-stage!

It’s time for Miss Sooner State to catch up on some sleep, but I have loved my first day of Miss Oklahoma 2011 and look forward to what else this week holds. Tomorrow we are off to church, brunch and another very Kent-filled day. Can’t wait to experience it all!!!