I have not forgotten about you!!! Lets play catch-up!!

Hello!

I promise I have not forgotten about my blog and my wonderful followers!  I have just been a very busy girl since the Kansas City trip. That means we have lots to talk about!!  First things first, I hope you all have had an amazing weekend and not too crazy of a Monday.  We all know those can be rough.  For some reason, I was dragging today and could not get it together.  However, I managed to make it through my work-outs, finish a bit of homework, replied and caught up on all of my e-mails and Thank You cards, and now playing catch-up on my blog.  So, I would say it has been a pretty successful Monday.

Some exciting things have happened since my last post...

The weekend before last, I took a trip to Kansas City for our first boot-camp with the Vanbros team.  It was a photoshoot with the amazing Will Patterson, the beautiful Kim Forsyth, the very talented Lisa Proctor, our awesome extension sponsor Brent Peterson, and the hair guru Bryan Wood.  I also got to meet all four of my Miss sisters and all five of my Teen sisters.  I can't wait to pick the photos that will be sent to Miss USA.  With our outstanding team, I know we will have some great shots.  Kansas City is a really neat place and I'm glad to call it my second home now. :) This coming weekend, all five of the Miss queens are headed back for our second boot-camp and I cannot wait to see what is in store.

This past weekend was an adventure!  I flew to Oklahoma City to meet with Sherri Hill and design my competition gown for Nationals.  Miss Oklahoma and I had such an amazing time trying on numerous gowns and styles too find the perfect choice.  It was a great experience and I can't wait to see my gown!

A special thanks to Serendipity Boutique for sponsoring the gown and Alisha Hill for the AMAZING shoes.

The Mirror Dress

Kaitlyn (Miss Oklahoma USA) and I also had the opportunity to MC a Prom Fashion Show put on by Strongarm Productions.  The fashion show was with two of OK's top dress designers, Johnathan Kayne and Sherri Hill.  The show featured over 200 gowns and also shoes by Alisha Hill.  We had such a great time hosting the show and getting to wear Sherri's 'mirror dresses' (A MUST HAVE) and her beautiful pageant gowns.








As you have probably noticed, I have been a busy lady for the past couple weeks!  I would not change a thing about it!  I am having the time of my life and meeting a lot of great people in the process.  Stay tuned and keep checking back because I will have more surprises for you SOON!

Please feel free to leave comments.  As I have mentioned before, I NEED FEEDBACK.  I want to answer any questions that you may have and hear what you have to say. Thank you so much for visiting and reading my blog.  Lets stay connected.  Be sure to 'Like' my Fan page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @RealMissARusa.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Valentines Day and the Veterans Sweetheart Luncheon

Hey Blog Fans!


I hope you all had an amazing Valentines Day!  All of that Valentines candy was very tempting and DANGEROUS.  I spent my Sweetheart Day with 14 of the cutest, little Valentines that you have ever seen.  Mrs. Libby's pre-K class let me attend their Valentines Day party and we had all kinds of fun creating Valentine card for mommy, daddy, brother, sissy, and pets. HA they were so much fun! 

The handsome little guy in the picture is Noah.  Isn't he a cutie?!




Today, Mary-Kate Hartley (Miss Arkansas Teen USA) and I were able to spend the day at North Little Rock Veterans Hospital for the Sweetheart Luncheon.  We had the privilege of meeting many of the brave men that have fought for our country.  I had the best time mingling with these guys.  They shared many great stories and we shared many laughs as well as tears.  I was so blessed to be able to attend this event.  The feeling I have after spending time with these great people is truly amazing.  I can't wait to attend many more future events with the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.  We really appreciate all of the wonderful people who made this possible and let us be a part of it.  
Also, tomorrow they are having a Meet-and-Greet event in the NLR Recreational Center from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ALL ARE WELCOME! If you are interested, stop by and show them your appreciation.  

Thank you so much for keeping up with my blog.  I hope you enjoy the pictures.  Comments/feedback are greatly appreciated and much needed here!! 

Oh, and I can't forget!!!!!

The date, time, and place has been set for the BIG event! Are you ready?.............. You better get ready and get excited!

The MISS USA® Pageant will celebrate it's 60th anniversary at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas with a LIVE broadcast on NBC Sunday, June 19 ( 9-11 p.m. ET )

Love you all!!!!!! 

Busy week ahead! YAY!

Hi Everyone!
I hope you all have had an amazing weekend. My weekend was a great one. Finally, all of the snow is gone and it is beginning to warm up! I am very excited about this. I am so over the snow and cold weather. I am ready for warm, sunny days! I keep singing that song, "Sunny with a high of 75", in my head right now! HAHA It was a beautiful day today so I know we are on our way. :)

So, I have a very busy week ahead of me and I am excited about some of the cool stuff that I have planned. -Tomorrow, is Valentines Day and I get to spend it with Mrs. Libby's pre-Kindergarten class at New Generation Preschool. We are going to make Valentines Day cards and candy necklaces. I have been looking very forward to this!! I am probably more excited than the kiddos. I will be posting pics soon so that you all can see our V-Day creations.
-Tuesday, I get to meet and interview with Carol Rolf a writer with River Valley and Ozark Edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This is my first interview and I can't wait to see how it goes. Wish me luck and keep an eye out for the article! 
-Wednesday, I get to meet my sister queen, Mary-Kate Hartley, for a Veterans lunch. 
-Thurday- I finally get to head back to Kansas City to be with my AWESOME Vanbros Team and meet the rest of my SISTER QUEENS!! It is going to be an amazing weekend with all that we have planned.


STAY TUNED for all of the details. I can't wait to share and tell you all how everything goes. I am very excited to fill you guys in ASAP. Once again, I am so blessed and could not be any happier with my life right now. This is going to be such an amazing journey. Thank you all so much for following along. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you all have been and continue to be so supportive. If you haven't already, be sure to follow me on twitter @MissARUSA11 and 'like' my fan page on facebook.


P.S. I hope you all have a great SWEETHEART DAY!! XOXO :) Love you all! 
-Lak

Appearances and Events

Hello Blog Fans!


I hope you all are having a fabulous day even though most of you are probably stuck inside due to the snow! I don't know how you guys feel but I am so over this cold weather. I do appreciate the fact I've gotten good use out of my cute boots but I'm ready to trade them for some flip flops. I really think that I am starting to hear the beach call my name!


I just wanted to fill everyone in on a couple of appearances I have gotten to make and remind you to stay tuned to hear about some exciting ones that are coming up.  I made my first elementary school appearance a couple of weeks ago when I visited my niece, Piper's, first grade class.  It was a very neat experience visiting with the kids and hearing all about the stories they wanted to share. I got to take a picture with each kiddo and a few of the little ladies even got wear my crown for the snapshot. I hope that they had as much fun as I did.  A special thanks to, Mrs. Saffold and Piper for letting me attend such a wonderful class at Gandy Elementary!


I also want to say thank you to Melda Brown, Sandra Shipe, and the beautiful Makayla Shipe for letting me be their special guest at the  Peppermint Twist Pageant. I had a great time getting to know all of the contestants and they made me feel like royalty. I was truly blessed to be able to participate in this adorable pageant and spend time with such an amazing family. I can't wait to work with them again in the near future!!


I hope that you all will stay tuned to hear about some more exciting things that I have planned! Also, if any of you have suggestions or interests for appearances, events, or charities please let me know. I'd love to help out in any way that I can. Feedback is very much appreciated so please leave any questions, thoughts, or comments you may have. 


As always, thanks so much for visiting! Have a safe weekend and try to stay warm! 
Love you all!!!


Happy Birthday to a very special lady, my beautiful mother and best friend!