Adventures of Miss Nebraska 2011 :)

Miss America: for the girls

2012-02-10T16:52:00.000-08:00

What you will read in this blog is special to me. This isn't the run down of the week or even all my thoughts on the pageant or my experience. This blog is about what truly means the most to me in this organization, and that is the women. I can gratefully say that I have the most incredible 52 sisters I could ask for. Ones that will go above and beyond everyone's expectations and succeed past their own goals. I was voted as this years Miss Congeniality by these women. For me this award isn't just the scholarship, or even the title, but recognition from each of these women that through my every day, I was something special to them and there is nothing that is more important to me than that. That maybe, one of these hectic days, I helped them laugh, or solve a problem, or even listened while they got something off their chest. Maybe I was there to zip their dress before they walked on stage, all I know is that each one of these women meant something to me that will never be replaced.

Below I have typed a little bit about each woman; an experience we shared, an inside joke, or something that I want to thank them for or something that I need to make sure they know and remember. They are listed in alphabetical order with only my state missing.

To each of you: you will always hold a special place in my heart and this award will never be taken for granted. I am blessed beyond words for receiving this and will cherish these feelings for life. I hope I can bring a smile and even a laugh to you as you read this. For the rest of you reading, I hope this gives you an insight on how my week went. With these amazing women, it was nothing but amazing, crazy, fun. I am proud to say that I had experiences with each woman and there will always be something in my every day that reminds me of them.

We were brought together for a reason.

This is the first of many Miss America blogs, but to me, the most important.

AL- I think our friendship took on a new level when our tooshie’s got a little squeeze at MAOT! From then on I couldn’t help but love the connection Courtney and I developed. She became our “me-mah” of the group yet I will always be one looking out for her.

AK- Katy and I started our friendship in Hoopeston, Illinois in September of 2010 and how wonderful to share this experience like this with her again. And we both love kitty cats like crazy…seriously. I hope the new Olive Garden is as wonderful as the DQ!

AZ- Thank you for your prayer of Saturday night! And because of our wonderful little intros used during the preliminary nights of competition, Jennifer was able to get a few extra credit points on her calculus 2 quiz for knowing the answer to the question, “Where was Kool-aid invented?” OHhhhh, yaaa!

AR- To one of the sweetest and most inspirational, caring and genuine person I’ve ever met, Kristen Glover. During the entire week at Miss America she was incredibly supportive, especially when each of us needed it. I don’t expect it was easy for her parent s to scold her as a child…if she even needed it!

CA-Thanks to your other half, my other half had a great time in Vegas! I’m so glad we were able to connect the boys because this means future plans for you and me, Cali in May? Thank you for sharing your table at the gala with me, I loved meeting your team! P.S. I need to get a hold of those knee high boots when you’re tired of them!

CO- Cheers to the awkward silent laughing we had to do in that hallway with those interesting men from the press Diana. What it takes to pretend laugh and smile when you’re actually making fun of the camera guys. At least we decided to put makeup on that day!

CT- Morgan, I’m still in need of a copy of your book! Yes, I said it, this amazing woman is a published author and someday my children will hear her words before bedtime, at naptime and maybe just for fun! I’ll be looking forward to more too!

DC- To Ashley, one who truly appreciated my “You see dat sign dat say B-A-B-Y” story and after hearing my talent song looked at me with inquiring eyes wondering if I didn’t have just a little bit of black in me. I guess I’m just a poser with my stories and my voice…we are sisters now though, does that count?

DE- Maria and I shared a fair amount of hugs, whispers of excitement, and squeals of joy before walking (dancing) on stage for the final night of competition. And following her on Twitter and Facebook makes me wish I was in her crazy family, it’s like I can feel the humor from this far away!

FL- Oh Kristina with the wonderful boyfriend who made her a book of photographs that represent their wonderful relationship. Yep, you definitely made our table jealous! Can’t wait to see your adorable half Asian, half tall, blonde and handsome children someday!

GA- Michaela and I come from years ago at MAOT 2008 and I have loved this little ballerina since. She is such a joyful person with a dedicated, loving boyfriend who made it to each 8am rehearsal. One day you will teach me how to do at least 5 up-dos…at LEAST 5!

HI- Lauren, I wish I was lucky enough to have a boyfriend with a lime green tux! I can’t wait to visit you in Hawaii and will always cherish our time together, from Sweetheart, to watching Miss America last year and competing together this year. Oh! And thank you so much for the eyelashes Saturday, and I look forward to the next early morning phone call conversations!

ID- When I go back to schoo,l I will be reminded of you each morning that I step into my PINK yoga pants, hoodie and sneakers. You defined that look Genevieve and you did it well! I am blessed to have had you as a friend before Miss America and can’t wait to take on that mud run with you!

IL- Hannah, in my book you will always be my famous red-head! And I will forever and always think of your amazing talent when someone asks me what the coolest dance I’ve ever seen is. Definitely yours, unless the kind I do in front of the mirror tops that!

IN- With my mad bep-boxing skills and Jackie’s killer rapping style, we made quite the team! Seriously, I’d lay down a beat and out of nowhere these rather humorous and mostly cheesy lines would flow from her mouth, creating an exquisite combination. We=bomb.com

IA- Jessica is my long lost sister. After my family and friends saw the program book they kept telling me Jessica and I looked like sisters and by all means, I’ll claim her! And I don’t think I saw another person consume so much cotton candy in a week!

KS- Excuse me, Jessica Simpson…oh it’s just Carissa! This quiet, timid woman has got some killer spunk to her and I’m so glad I was able to find it! Thank you for praying Wednesday night of prelims and for being an awesome friend! I can’t wait to meet you in KC!

KY- Our relationship began with the laughing game at MAOT ’08 and turned into a game of laughter behind the stage of Miss America. Ann-Blair, I have shared more pageant experiences with you than anyone else and what a journey it has been. I will always love hearing your stories and talking with your daddy! Pick me up for that road trip whenever you’re ready!

LA- Hopes’ got the moves I’m telling you! Day one of rehearsal and this girl was getting it and I couldn’t help but take a great liking to her at that moment. And I’m so glad I was able to squeeze your arm as you were called into the top 15, you’re amazing!

ME- Julia Gulia, my roomie, my nighttime laughter and my morning picker-uper, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better than you. From your daily clothing report to your granny jammies and your foot bath, we were perfect for one another and I’m blessed to have you as a friend and will always cherish our time together! We dominated 1974.

MD- Carlie, I’m sorry for yelling at your boyfriend one the way to the bathroom, I was just trying to protect you I promise! I’m so glad that we were able to go on a date together and induldge in some delicious steak even though we weren’t supposed to eat it…oops! Don’t forget, you’re planning my wedding someday!

MA- Molly and I share a common trait of very curly hair, we just don’t share it opening during competition. I had such a great time getting to know you and playing with your beaded sleeve on your evening gown, so entertaining!

MI- Elizabeth, you sure do “rev my engine”…just kidding that would be weird, but you do make me laugh a lot so that counts. You have an amazing story and I was so glad to hear it and be able to share some of mine with you as well. I will forever be jealous of those black pumps you wore all the time…where can I find them?

MN- When it comes to Natalie I always looked forward to hearing stories about her brother! He is such a wonderful person and so hilarious too I couldn’t help be wait in anticipation for you to tell more stories about growing up and what he thought of the women in Vegas!

MS- I think some of my fondest memories with Mary Margaret come from the conversations about our moms and how they’ve transformed through the pageant world. I will always cherish your accent as one of my favorites and think of our awesome dance moves whenever I hear “Ohh oh sometimes I get a good feelin!”

MO- Sydney, first thank you for singing a killer version of “Dream On” and letting me imagine I was sitting in a concert hall. And thank you for being so open with your faith and holding my hand each night that we prayed before show. I can’t wait to see you in KC, and let’s make it soon!

MT- Veronika and I sat behind one another in the dressing room which meant that we bumped butts often!

And for some reason, I was always finding her… “belongings” laying around the room. I love our laughs (Verjonika) and the sweet romances of the hospital nurse. No wonder you got sick!

NV- Alana=bomb.com. My twin. My future bridesmaid. I don’t know how to explain our relationship in any other way except we are perfect for each other. I am so glad I had you there after each area of competition to talk about how we killed it! And to jump into each other’s arms and do an interview with GMA while discussing our weddings. You are truly the greatest honey boo-boo child! And I know you know it.

NH- Regan without your guidance I wouldn’t have known where to stand therefore would have been lost. Basically I couldn’t have done anything without you! I’m so glad our states are close and we were able to share so many moments together before opening number.

NJ- Katherine Nicole is seriously one of my favorite people ever. When we weren’t in the same room together I literally missed you. And I must apologize for booting you off the little stool we were trying to share in the losers lounge…I would have let you just sit in my lap dangit. So glad we were together for that.

NM- Sarina was always there to open the door for me when I made my late night calls to room 1972 and was usually the first person I saw at the end of the hallway for call time. Thank you for being patient with my craziness and always putting a smile on your face for me and laughing at my jokes!

NY- Kaitlin is truly an inspiration. I have followed your journey this year and am continually amazed by the incredible things you are doing in NY. Thank you for introducing and encouraging my addiction to Twenty Cluny and I will spend New Years with you. And I will be a grunge New Yorker, no tourist for me. And I want your wonderful seamstress mommy to make me a colorful dress!

NC- Hailey, I loved our time together at Buca’s. I’m so glad we were able to sit down and talk about our lives and our future endeavors. And I’m very grateful that some of those may be happening together soon! I’m grateful our boys bonded and I can’t wait to see what your future holds for you because I know it will be amazing.

ND- Of all the contestants this year Ariana was one of my first to meet when he mom and I shared seats next to each other on the way to Orlando. You are such a great person and so encouraging. I’m so glad we had all the time together in FL and will forever have the bond of MAOT and MA sisterhood!

OH- Ellen and I shared a moment during rehearsals on Friday when I started talking about how sad it was going to be to leave all the girls and go home. We both started tearing up and I had to stop. I am confident that you will always think of me when/if you remove your luggage tags and I’m so happy about that. Hopefully that will give you enough encouragement to remove them!

OK- Betty and I made a deal during rehearsal Saturday that if either of us were to make top 15 we would hug, and although I didn’t get to join you that evening, I felt blessed to be your embrace as you started your final night into the competition. We still need to talk about some things we didn’t get to discuss :)

OR- Caroline, you may not have known this but apparently we look very similar. You see, I was in an Artistry video and they labeled me as “Caroline McGowan, Miss Oregon.” It took me three times of watching it to catch it, but I’m not even mad because if I was mistaken for you on a daily basis it would only make me a better person!

PA- My sweet Juliann who considered stealing my phone from my clutch in Orlando because it looked just like hers! It’s so great knowing that in your first couple of pageant you were able to experience Miss America and with the attitude that gained so much respect. Thank you for always being joyful, no matter the situation!

PR- Laura Ramirez! I couldn’t look at you and try not to smile, it just wouldn’t work! You brought so much joy and sass to my every day. And I that you realized how much we all enjoyed your accent but I think the best moment was listening to you say my Kool-aid opening! I will never forget it and will continue practicing my Puerto Rican accent. It’s definitely still in the works.

RI- Robin and I have had problems with our last names, although yours is worse, I feel for you! I must say I thoroughly enjoyed watching you get ALL your makeup applied before show, so rebellious and I love it. I can’t wait to visit you in the future and I even own a Brown t-shirt now…will that help me fit in?

SC- Even though your Gamecocks wooped on my Huskers a couple weeks prior to MA, I’m glad I didn’t hold that against you for too long. I think what I most enjoyed was listening to you say your own name, Bree Boyce; it just had the perfect ring to it with that accent of yours. And I love reminding people that I know you when they tell me they saw you on TV or in a magazine!

SD- Anna was there each night before prelims while we were getting our hair and make-up done together. Thank you for always letting me go first and for picking up all the things I dropped. I can’t wait to see you this month and again in June! And don’t forget to flaunt that killer bod of yours!

TN- The first dinner in Vegas was supposed to be casual and when I saw Erin rocking her yoga pants like I was, it was love at first sight! I enjoyed our occasional winks in the dressing room and glances during rehearsal and mostly watching you get at those dance moves!

TX- Kendall it was a joy spending so much time together in Orlando and then getting to be table buddies in the dressing room. You are a great representative and I love that we were a part of the same group. You killed your talent piece by the way, and I’ve been telling my piano student about you. They all say, “You know her?”

UT- Danica was a tough one to break! I discovered that if you got her talking about something she really loved, cats, she’d talk forever! I loved our little tough acts that were always followed by laughter and I appreciate that your hug came first after the announcement of Miss Congeniality. Teach me how to dance and we’ll be the best of friends.

VT- I must first thank your state for being so awesome by bringing Ben and Jerry into this world! And thank you for being such an awesome person when I met you last year at MA. Katie was one of the first faces I saw in Orlando and I love that I was always greeted with the biggest smile! I will be visiting someday, promise.

VA- I will say I was hoping Elizabeth would catch onto the trend of wearing boring, comfy clothes to rehearsal but instead she showed up at 8am looking like she was ready to hit the town. I guess it did give me some encouragement knowing that if at any moment someone needed an example of what to dress like they could at least take a photo of one of the 53 contestants!

VI- Camila taught me how to correctly pronounce her name in Orlando this August and I rubbed it in everyone’s face in Vegas! I’m so glad we both share a passion for music. I think we should team up and hit ‘em with the double wammie of music importance. And I will never complain about a two hour time change again, knowing that for you it would be four!

WA- Brittney, “From the home of Twitter, you’re welcome!” Seriously, did you have to steal that line from me? You were totally the talk of the pageant with that line and your killer performance on that fiddle. I’m so glad we got to share this experience with each other and I know Jon was glad too because he was able to see more of me than he had before! Give the kids a kiss for me!

WV- It has been a joy to see Spenser grow into an even more amazing woman. After competing together at Sweetheart and spending time together last year at MA I was so proud of being your sister again. You’re such a stud (in a very feminine way of course) and someone I hold dear to my heart, just like I would my own little sister. Thanks for all the love!

WI- Laura, I hope I’m not alone in saying that I felt our connection right away and possibly in Orlando. It was like neither of us needed to say anything we just had these feelings and could see them in each other! And I loved it! Your patience and ease all week was so relaxing and definitely rubbed off on me and I thank you for that.

WY- Catherine, you are one of the sweetest, kind, caring people I’ve ever met and so funny too! I was so glad to have you backstage before talent and truly loved the sincerity of your every word. It meant so much to have someone who truly listened, cared and responded and I thank you for that! And for surprising me with your humor, it was the greatest!

Thank you each so much for making this one memorable experience. I hope you now know how important each of you are to me.

Love always your crazy sister,
Kayla, your Miss Nebraska

AKA:

Nebra, Nebby, "Nebraska, Nebraska, I love ya", Batt

Miss America Bound!

2012-01-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Vegas, Vegas here I come! I can't believe that I am saying this yet again, but it's finally here! All of the work I've done in the last four years has paid off because tomorrow morning I will board the plane that takes me to Las Vegas where I will compete for the title of Miss America 2012! A goal I set three years ago, and it's finally here.

I have been blessed with prayers, cards, thoughts and support all over the country and couldn't be happier. I can feel the support on me and I know that I am being lifted up in prayers each day. Today, I was reminded that God has a plan for me. No matter what the outcome next weekend, God has a plan for me. I will wait anxiously (I wish I knew how to wait patiently) for whatever is to come for me but with each moment I will cherish the feelings, the surroundings and the people. God has given me people each step of life and I do not doubt that he will continue to do so. There are doors for me to open and I am ready to turn the knobs and see what is waiting for me.

I want to thank each of you who have been praying for me everyday and ask that you continue your prayers. For my travels tomorrow, my health all week, my strength, my faith and myself. I want to be myself every single moment of everyday while I am in Las Vegas. I walked into Miss Nebraska this year with the full intent to be 'me' the entire time and I was, and that is my goal this time around. God made me just the way I am and I want to share that woman, not one that someone wants me to be or someone thinks I am, I will be Kayla May Batt.

As I am sitting in bed tonight, I am at peace. There is a calming sense above me that I hope will stay with me each day in Las Vegas. I couldn't be more thankful. It may seem like a repetitive thing for me to say, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't ask for anything more than what I've been given.

I will try to keep updates as often as I can (or when I can stay awake). I know you will all be watching January 14th live on ABC!

I pray for peace to be on me everyday and that I trust God with each breathe I take. He is my guide and rock.

For those of you coming to Vegas, see you next week!

Love,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

December School Visits

2012-01-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

Kahoa Elementary was a great time! There were some former piano students of mine that were able to brag a little bit about knowing me! :)

Lakeview Elementary had quite a welcome set for me! The two girls below did their research and had an entire intro with some of my back ground information before announcing me as their guest!

My wonderful sign to the left was done by the entire McPhee Elementary School! I love walking into a school feeling so welcomed!

Beattie Elementary in Lincoln (right) brought some wonderful questions:
"Are you married?"
"Did you ride in a limo today?"
"Why do you always look so pretty?"
I guess they don't see me when I wake up in the morning, not looking so pretty! :)

Sitting with some wonderfully behaved preschoolers at West Lincoln Elementary before I spoke!

The Roadrunners at Norwood Park were such a great audience! After speaking with the entire school I was able to spend a little one-on-one time with the 4th and 5th graders.

Many of them were surprised to find out more about my background. I was raised in a broken home and received free lunch at school because my parents income was too low, like many of the students at Norwood Park. I love being able to be relatable and not just an unreachable character for these kids. I want them to see that I was like them!

Crazy faces! My favorite!

I spoke to the entire 6th grade class at Adams Middle School in North Platte and had a great time performing for them. It's been great practice for me to perform my talent piece for the schools and they usually like to hear it...except the few that plug their ears!

Hall Elementary School in North Platte was so excited to hear me speak and requested me to sing three times!

McDonalds Elementary Kids Club

With each school I speak at and with every question I get asked, I become more and more aware of the blessings I have by being Miss Nebraska. I thrive for this job and am so grateful to have all the opportunities that I have!

More blogs soon,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Brownell Elementary Visit

2011-12-04T08:12:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon I walked into Brownell Elementary and had such a warm welcome! I had the opportunity to speak with the entire school, K-5th grades and all their teachers. I spoke about who I was and why being a part of pageants is important to me. I really wanted to stress the importance of my platform to these kids and they responded so well!

And of course they were very curious about many things, like why I was wearing a "thing" on my head and a "ribbon" and if I was married or not. But it really struck me when they were asking a lot of questions that actually dug deeper into my platform and career. They asked things like what appealed to me about pageants and how did I deal with the people who made fun of me for being in music, it was a great time!

And before they went on their way in anticipation of the snow storm on Saturday we all agreed to sing "Jingle Bells!" I am so happy that this gets to be a part of my job!

Glad to see snow on the ground,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

All the kiddos!

Festival of Trees

2011-12-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

My beautiful little sister Brooke!

The day after Thanksgiving and after the Husker win (yay!), it was off to North Platte for the third annual Festival of Trees lighting ceremony. In its' third year we had 26 trees and 10 wreaths and it's an understatement to say they were only beautiful, they were so wonderfully decorated it was unbelievable. Menards provided most of the trees for the event and then businesses in North Platte donated their time and creativity decorating trees to different themes. There was a snowman tree, wine tree, cake tree, rhinestoned tree and trees with homemade decorations!

I really, really liked this tree :)

We spent that Friday evening walking around to each tree with a description and lighting them one at a time, it was really an unbelievable experience. Such beauty came from lighting them. Brooke and I had the opportunity to entertain as well which brings me to a funny story. Darrell had specifically requested that we sing Christmas songs and out of my stubbornness to wait until after Thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music, I didn't practice until the car ride from Alliance to North Platte. I had decided that I was going to sing "The First Noel" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I sneakily brought the words to "The First Noel" in with me and cheated a couple times while singing that one, never thought to bring words for "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" because everyone knows the words to that song. Well, because of my lack of practice and the first day to acceptably be listening to Christmas music day, I forgot the words. Oh, ya. I even looked around the room for help and felt relieved at the people there who didn't remember them either! I wasn't the only one in that boat...unless they just weren't listening to me sing, therefore not knowing where I was in the song which is a good possibility as well. Either way, we made it to the end of the song with some laughter (I'm good at that) and closed the evening with a few thank you's.

This one took home the most awards!

Miss Douglas Co Meghan Thalken, Brooke and I

The wonderful Darrell who's short tie is part of a costume :)

I was back Sunday afternoon for the auction of the trees (with a real live auctioneer!). It was amazing to see the community coming together again to purchase/donate the decorated trees. I guess I forgot to mention until now that this event is a fundraiser for the Miss Nebraska Scholarship Pageant as well as the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. So 100% of the funds went towards both of those organizations! We successfully made around $10,000 on the event which is a HUGE success!

Jay really captured this photo.

One of the Husker themed trees.

The incredible Wine Tree!

I even took one home with me! Not that I have a place for him but I now how a tree and a Keurig (which I've been wanting for months)! I am so thankful for all the donors and volunteers that made this event happen! It is always an incredible feeling watching a community come together for something so great.

This little guy came home with me along with a Keurig :)

Tis' the season,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Husker Tailgate with ME!

2011-11-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

This little angel came just to take a picture with me!

I woke up early Saturday morning a little sleepy, but mostly nervously ecstatic! I couldn't believe that the fundraiser was finally going to happen. For those of you playing a little catch up yourself I, along with one amazing group of women, have been planning this event for a couple months and finally...after hundreds of phone calls, emails, personal visits, requests and prayers, it was finally here.

The whole event was planned around the Nebraska vs. Penn State football game and everyone helping was eager to get the day started. When I arrived at the Gering Civic Center that morning I must say I was a little nervous. Don't get me wrong, everything looked wonderful but it also looked SO big! I didn't think the room would ever fill up. Little by little my family and friends started showing up, looking through the silent auction and grabbing some pastries before getting settled at their tables, which were wonderfully decorated might I add! (Misty & Heather)

About ten minutes before kickoff I stepped outside the room and was welcomed in with cheers and of course a little Nebraska tradition of the tunnel walk, I felt like such a champ with everyone on their feet yelling and cheering for me! I opened the event with a few words and a song and then on the screen was the amazing sight of both teams kneeling in prayer with Coach Ron Brown. What an awesome way to start the game and boy was I ready to watch!

Our great cheering section!

My wonderful directors Amy and Jay!

At halftime I was able to perform a couple different songs, one being the one I will be performing at Miss America in less than two months! It was such a blessing to be with the supporters of the communities that I grew up in. So many family members and close friends came to watch, even friends that aren't Husker fans put up with the game just for me! (How dare they not be fans!)

One wild bunch of women :)

The ultimate Husker fan, Bob Neville.

My go-getter, helper and calmer :)

I can truly say that I have been blessed beyond belief with amazing and unique people in my life. I wouldn't have been able to put this on, or even thought of the idea without the help of my team! You all know who you are (Heather, Misty, Cindy, Cinda, Mom, Leah, Aunt Becky, Mrs. Mitchell, Melinda, Shardel, Kyla) I will forever be thankful for all the hard work you put in this event. Some of you I barely knew before this started and I am so grateful that I can now call you friends. Please know your support means the world to me. For all the sponsors, donors and contributors, thank you. I loved watching you all have a great time and in turn in made the day so worth it to me.

The point of this fundraiser was to raise funds for my wardrobe and expenses for Miss America (and that we did) but I think it was much more than that. It was communities coming together and supporting me and for that I will not be able to thank you enough! God blessed this day with wonderful people, a successful event and a beautiful ending.

God is good!

Full of thanks and feeling beyond blessed,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

ps. We are waiting to hear the final dollar amount but I will keep you posted! Also, I'm headed to California tomorrow so look for oodles of pictures of my adorable nieces soon!

Fall Harvest Convention

2011-11-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

With Monday came rain and more rain but also a wonderful event! I was invited by Alan Perlinger of the Quality Inn and Suites, Sandhills Convention Center of North Platte to be a part of his booth at the Fall Harvest Convention in Lincoln. And as a red carpet movie theme I was thrilled to play dress up! I didn't know what I was in for but learned quickly about the convention and the process of it. There were hotels and motels from across Nebraska that set up booths advertising their services. Then party planners come around and see what each place has to offer for a possible event or convention. I guess you could say I was the advertisement for the North Platte booth! As customers walked by I offered to take a picture with them and send it through email.

It was such a great time meeting so many people from the hotel/motel industry. I had such a fabulous time with Alan and Darrell and enjoyed being dressed up like red carpet royalty.

Alan Beerman was one of my judges this year at Miss Nebraska!

Lt. Governor Rick Sheehy

The wonderful Darrell Drullinger!

All dolled up,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Miss Chadron/Northwest Pageant

2011-11-15T09:45:00.000-08:00

Jessica Littlejohn, Miss Chadron & Monica DelaCruz, Miss Northwest

After spending the day in Chadron helping here and there, and watching the Huskers get beat by Northwestern, I was ready for the pageant to begin! I had the honor of emceeing with the wonderful Mariah Cook and we had an exciting night! It started with some jokes, great stories, insight and then Mariah broke the piano. Okay, so she didn't really break it, but she definitely injured it temporarily. When she got through about ten seconds of her talent piece all the black keys on the bottom half of the keyboard were stuck. In all my years of playing piano, I had never seen anything like it! It became quite the talent show then, how many people does it take to fix a piano? Not to worry, we did get it fixed!

Miss Rodeo Nebraska, Becky Grimm

Some of my fans!

With all the adventures of the night and stories from my year as Miss Nebraska and Mariah's wild cheerleading experiences, we had finally made it to the end of the night and crowned the new Miss Chadron and Miss Northwest. I had such a great time with some of the most wonderful people! Thank you to the volunteers of the pageant and the directors Marleta and Renae for making it such a great day and night!

The wonderful Miss Nebraska State Fair, Mariah Cook

Thankful,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Petersburg's Punkin' Chunkin'

2011-11-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

The day before Halloween I made my way to Petersburg, Nebraska where I found one of the most interesting and exciting events I've been to yet. It's an annual event called Punkin' Chunkin' and what an event at that. I didn't really know what to expect when I pulled into the open bean field filled with giant air tanks with canons coming out of the end. I'm not even joking, there were at least ten of them some professional some amateurs all competing in the same events; distance shot, still target shot, and moving target shot. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch all the competitions because I was busy signing autographs, but I heard all the shots.

I learned that there is actually a national competition for pumpkin chunking where the same type of challenges are had. Because it was such a windy day there weren't any teams that set any records but their shots still went super far, like three cornfields far (for those of you who can estimate how much that is).

Despite the wind and cold, I had such an amazing time! Vans, pickups and cars pulled around my table to block the wind from getting to me and I was wrapped up in a blanket to stay warm, what more could I ask for? I had such a great time meeting the kids and visiting with all the volunteers and staff making the event happen. I think this is definitively going to be an event I come back to, maybe a tradition even. :)

A little wind blown,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Miss Omaha/Douglas County & Outstanding Teen Pageant

2011-11-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

Love you I do, Darrell

After my Chicago trip I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with some of my favorite people at the Miss Omaha pageant. I was Miss Omaha before being crowned Miss Nebraska in June so I have quite a soft spot for all the volunteers! Friday evening was the judges cocktail dinner at the wonderful Bob Kropp's house and it was such a blast! It was great getting to know the judges and spend time with the directors and families too! It was a late night and an early Saturday morning.

My sparkly Brooke :)

My favorite Jenn Curtis!

The day flew by with rehearsals, laughs and catching up and then it was showtime! I had such a wonderful time emceeing with Brooke and Bob, we had the crowd rolling with laughter quite a few times, maybe even with a few tears :)

The wonderful Nicki Haverland :)

By the end of the evening and with a few hiccups, we had crowned four wonderful ladies. Payton Merritt, Miss Omaha's Outstanding Teen and Raeann Bronder, Miss Douglas County's Outstanding Teen and Miss Omaha, Mindy Schreiber and Meghan Thalken, Miss Douglas County! What a great time you will all have at state!

The winners and Runner Up's

The wonderful Gary Umemoto from Washington!

The fabulous Dot Stewart from Washington too!

Mindy, Marianne and Meghan

My wonderful little sister from last year!

I will return to this pageant years to come because of the wonderful people and amazing volunteers!

Just a former Miss Omaha,
Kayla
Miss Nebraska

Chicago Trip

2011-11-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hello CHIIIICAGO!

As a last minute, lets-try-to-avoid-bad weather decision, I was headed to Chicago to try and finalize my Miss America wardrobe. Of course I didn't want to make the trip alone and because it was on my way I decided to stop in Davenport and pick of my big sister Chabree. We enjoy traveling together and she is great at giving me honest opinions so I thought she'd be a great addition to the trip. Plus, she's a little intimidating if I were to run into any trouble in the big city!

On Tuesday, October 18th I started my trip and drove the first five and a half hours to Davenport. That night my sister and I discussed our plan of action for the next couple days including rush hour times...so it could be avoided. We left Wednesday morning around 9am to avoid rush hour and arrived in Chicago, greeted by the lovely 40mph+ winds and 40 degree temperature mixed in with a little rain! It doesn't make for the best outdoor shopping but we had things to get accomplished!

We made it to most of the stores on my list in the first day while tackling that crazy weather and were very ready to crash that night! We stayed so busy shopping we forgot to take pictures! Seriously, with my sister and I this is a HUGE deal. We love, love, LOVE taking photos and never go anywhere without doing it so it was very unlike us. After some well needed rest in our little hotel we were ready to take on day two of Chicago.

Starbucks, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Macy's and of course the LEGO store! I found my Miss America interview outfit and many outfits for different appearances while in Vegas. It was such a relief to find all the things I needed.

We had decided that we'd leave no later than 5pm so as it was getting closer we made our final trip to the bathroom and loaded up the car and pulled out of the parking garage just to be sitting in traffic. It took me a little while to realize what was going on but around 5:14pm it hit me as I turned to Chabree, tapping on the clock in my car and said, rush hour. Ugh, we hadn't even thought about running into it on the way home!

I was trying to keep my sister from throwing up with car sickness while getting out of downtown, but we finally started moving fast than 20mph so we were getting somewhere. Although we weren't able to do any sort of tourist activities, we had a great time shopping, fun laughs on the drive home and even named my car. Her name is Judy. Normally referred to as Judy Attitudy! I love spending time with my sister and was so glad she came with me.

As if I could ever be shopped out :)

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Kids Discover

2011-11-09T17:55:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago, I had the pleasure of spending 6 hours at an event sponsored by Bob Spady (one of my favorite sponsors) at Kid's Discover! I had heard that it was a large event but boy was I surprised when I didn't get a break from signing autographs. Okay, that's not true! When Herbie Husker made his entrance I was able to sneak off and grab a bit of lunch while restocking my autograph cards.

It was so great being able to interact with the kids all day and see all the fun things they were doing. There were numerous games, bounce houses, and treats to enjoy. I'd hope they took great naps for their parents!

Hanging out with Herbie and the Kool-Aid Man!

Before the event was over all the fame in the state had to do a few photo ops! Herbie, the Kool-Aid Man and Miss Nebraska take the stage! Needless to say, I wasn't getting all the attention anymore. But its okay, I shared the stage. The best part of the day was when I was getting ready to leave and one of the volunteers stopped me and told me how impressed she was with me. She admired the patience I had with the children and how I handled the hiccups of the day. It's those compliments that really touch my heart. That's why I love this job, it just suits me!

Until next time,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Feeling a little like Superman

2011-11-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

You can't tell me that the picture above doesn't get you a little excited, inspired or maybe a little stronger.

Tonight, I'm feeling inspired. I am feeling ready. These two months are the push, the drive, and final days until I am welcomed by the warm Nevada air for the Miss America Pageant. The time I have spent preparing for this is in the back seat and its the future that I look towards. I have checked many things off my to-do list for wardrobe, preparations, appearances and physical fitness but that doesn't mean I'm done yet. I will continue to dedicate myself to this job everyday, with more power than the day before. Sure, I may sound like a wanna-be Superman right now but I'm going to take this opportunity of focus and ambition and hold myself accountable. Because my actions of one day affect the next and I'm ready to make sure I'm setting the proper example.

I will train like an athlete, sing like a super star, speak like a pro and love endlessly. I was told once in school not to consider myself as a student, but as a scholar. I will be the best me I could ever ask for.

I find that every night before bed I get caught up on Pinterest. Oh don't even tell me that you don't too! And in the midst of all my fantasy wedding ideas and dream house plans I stumble across some very wise words. Tonight I ran into this for the second time and rather than overlook it, I decided to jump on here and tell you about it. When it comes to my everyday I want this, for my workout, my attitude, and my life.

1.) I will promise to do my best. My best will vary from day to day. From hour to hour. From minute to minute. But in that minute, I will do the very best that I can.

2.) Lactic acid is my friend. The wind is my friend. Anything that opposes me is actually helping me to become stronger. If I had no opposition. I would be weak.

3.) If I can run, I run. If I have to walk. I walk. When I am forced to crawl. I crawl. And then I rest and live to fight another day.

4.) I fear no man but I fear my workout. If I don't fear my workout. It isn't hard enought.

5.) I may puke. I may cry. But I will not quit. Ever.

6.) I never cheat. There is no honor in cheating. What joy can there be in a victory I did not earn?

7.) The workout missed is the opportunity missed. I will not cheat myself of the opportunity to become a better athlete and person.

8.) I understand the value of the push-up, the pull-up, the sit-up, the squat, and the deadlift. Just as there are a million ways to make chicken, so too are there a million ways to squat, sit up, pull up, push up, and deadlift.

9.) I will give everything I have. And then I will find more within myself.

10.) I won't complain. Complaining is for crybabies. There are 11,232 babies born in the U.S. everyday. I will leave the crying to them and I will soldier on.

11.) I will bite off challenges. Spit out results. And beg for more. What are you going to do?

With every struggle I face and difficulties I cross, I know that I can turn to those closest to me and also my Heavenly Father. My verse this year and years to come, is James 1:2-4

"Consider it pure JOY, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

In my everyday, I think of this. I pray for this and I thank God for every breath he has given me and especially for every person he has put in my life. I can confidently say that no matter what happens in life, in the next two months and on January 14th; God has a plan for me. And that is quite honestly enough for me. It won't make me stop fighting for my dreams or goals but in the end He knows where He wants me and if I've learned anything in the last few years, He knows best!

Now that all that is out of my system, I think I will head to bed. I will leave you with a song that inspires my days and keeps me hoping for the future.

I dare you to listen.

Feeling blessed, inspired, driven and loved,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

UNL Homecoming Parade

2011-10-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

My new fan, John! He was so excited to ride with me.

Although I have been a student at the University for three years, I have never made it to the parade, and what an honor I had of being the Grand Marshall this year! My newest fan (I can already tell he's dedicated) was so happy to have me in the car with him. He even wanted to wave and though mom told him he couldn't I said I'd be happy to have him waving with me.

My lovely ride with the drumline in the back ground.

I got to ride in a brand new maroon Camero with a fantastic sound system and a great driver. It was a different experience waving to my peers in the parade but a good one at that. Needless to say I got the loudest cheers as we drove by the fraternities on campus! After the parade I was escorted to the Wic Center for the release of balloons and ran into one of my favorite people at the University, Herbie!

The wonderful Herbie Husker!

While waiting for the balloon release and the skits I was approached by the Big 10 Network to do an interview! I was SO excited and honored.

Interviewing on the Big 10 Network!

GO BIG RED!

It was go great to be a part of the University's events and recognized as both a student of UNL as well as the representative of our state. I am honored to attend such a fantastic university and love the dedicated fans in this state! And ending the weekend with the largest comeback in our schools football history, wasn't too bad either.

Happy I stayed the whole game,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

CMNHospital Fundraiser in Columbus

2011-10-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I made my way through the 53mph winds to Columbus, Nebraska to help raise money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospital in Omaha. I had the pleasure of working with some wonderful volunteers and see many goals achieved!

I even had the pleasure of meeting a family who had spent many weeks at the children's hospital when their son Andrew was diagnosed with cancer. They had nothing but praise to say about the hospital and the staff that had been there for them when they most needed it. Thankfully, Andrew is cancer free and has an 80% chance of staying cancer free! He is the little boy in his mom's arms below in the red...he was just a little shy.

I truly love my job,

Kayla
Miss Nebraska

A little photo shoot time!

2011-10-09T18:06:00.000-07:00

Last week, Michele Strom from Winning Crown Boutique had Brooke (Miss NE OT) and I come up to Omaha for a photoshoot! She dressed us with wonderful dresses from her store and did our makeup! Her wonderful sidekick, Fawnia did a great job on our hair and kept us looking good throughout out the whole shoot. Rich Deyo of Deyo Photography did a phenomenal job with our photos and I can't wait to get them back! But for now here are some action shots, hope you like them!

Love me some red,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Harvest of Harmony Pageant & Parade

2011-10-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

Police officers from the Grand Island Police Academy

Last weekend I made my way through the road construction to Grand Island for the Harvest of Harmony Pageant held by the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce, and then the parade the following morning.

I arrived that afternoon for the pageant rehearsal and met all the thirty some contestants vying for the title of Miss Harvest of Harmony 2011. Now I must explain that this pageant is not affiliated with the Miss America Organization but is still a great opportunity to meet new friends and have a great weekend. All of the contestants were nominated by the students and faculty members of their high schools. They were all seniors and did a great job representing their schools. I was very impressed by their maturity during rehearsal and even told some of the volunteers, "I don't ever remember being this quiet in high school!" Not to worry though, they really came alive once we got back to the hotel to get ready for the pageant. They most definitely were the chatty high school girls that I remembered being!

The pageant was a great turnout and I had a great time performing and emceeing. I received many compliments on my sense of humor, which I soaked in like a sponge!

Miss Emily won the Miss Congeniality award, my favorite!

Miss Harvest of Harmony 2011

One of my biggest fans!

After the pageant was over we all got into our jammies and had a pizza party at the hotel! It was great to relax and get to know that girls a little more, and do a little football talk too. It was an early morning Saturday as the bus was leaving the parking lot at 7am. I'm glad I had a blanket to keep me warm during the parade!

Staying warm before the parade!

After the parade I had just enough time to get to Lincoln for some lunch and relaxing time and then I was off to Omaha for another parade! I sure got my practice waving and smiling :) Not that it's too terribly difficult.

With the other queens at the UNO Homecoming Parade

Even though it was a packed day it was great! I got to meet some wonderful girls, make two appearances and watch the football game with some friends that night!

Loving life,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Nest Fest in Scottsbluff

2011-10-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

I made my way to good ole Scottsbluff a few weeks ago to sign some autographs and be a part of the Nest Fest celebration. There was entertainment by the local dance studio as well as a group from Utah, and they were fabulous! There was free food, free entertainment and the encouragement to save money for college. I can vouch for the importance of that as I am paying my way through college. It is so important to put back as much as you can to avoid the debt that college usually brings.

I had so much fun meeting all the wonderful children that came out that afternoon and enjoyed the entire day, even with the lovely Western Nebraska wind!

The amazing group from Utah, Dyer Highway!

I was blessed to have my mom with me that day to take all my photos for me and attend to me like I'm sure she loves :)

More to come,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Here is a video by the group that sang/played, they are fantastic, and siblings under 18! Dyer Highway

Knock out Hunger!

2011-09-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Rachel and I with Kelsey Joseph the coordinator of the event!

Although it was a chilly, wet morning and it took me forever to get to Omaha (closed interstate) I made it to the parking lot of Kids Against Hunger where we were trying to break the world record of the largest game of knockout and pack 20,000 meals for Kids Against Hunger! Although it was raining there was still a huge crowd that showed up and that rain didn't melt us! If anything it just stirred us up a bit. And that's when the dancing began. I had to take a break and grab a water before singing the National Anthem because I got myself all worked up dancing!

Warming up with a little dancing!

Some of the Creighton basketball boys before starting the knockout game!

With the lovely Rachel, Miss Lincoln :)

I jumped in line with the Creighton boys once the game began and stayed in for two rounds! I actually never got knocked out, I just got distracted and lost my place in line and didn't think that it would be appropriate if I had claimed that I actually won because I never got out...so I just took some pictures and enjoyed the afternoon!

The line for the knock out game! We tried beating the world record!

And what do you know, Major Jim Suttle stopped in to kick off the event and turns out he left his tiara at home, but I helped him out with the sash! I think the people of Omaha would love to see this in the paper!

Major Jim Suttle being Miss Nebraska for the day!

After watching the knockout game and finally getting a winner I went into the building to pack some meals! Our group packed 150 bags filled with soy, rice, veggies, and proteins. These quart sized bags can feed a family of five and all they have to do is add water and boil it. It look less than a half hour to pack that many bags and those will feed so many families. Such a great way to volunteer your time. That small package will make a huge difference.

Part of our crew as we made out way to pack meals for Kids Against Hunger.

I loved having two back to back days of casual appearances where the hair was in a pony and the comfy clothes were on. I heard more than once yesterday, "she's not the typical Miss Nebraska, is she?" And I am more than okay with that! I rocked my Nike dunks and tall sock and had a blast!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Cartwheel-A-Thon Fitness Challenge and handstand record breaking!

2011-09-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

The kids in these pictures had been raising money for CMNHospitals and were agreeing or pledging to do different activities for the money they raised. So some did bridges and held them for ten seconds a piece, some did handstands with pointed toes, others walked on the balance beam and did cartwheels! I jumped right in on the action and did my own share of cartwheels, round-offs, and summersaults. Now, two days later I am barely moving due to my sore muscles! There are some that I didn't even know existed, guess I need to do it more often!

After the kids had a chance to fulfill their pledges, we held a fitness challenge where we learned about flexibility and some stretches that would be really good to do at home. I had to laugh when one little boy, Riley was wincing in pain about as much as I was when we started stretching!

After the flexibility it was on to cardiovascular! I told the kids the importance of cardio and how it will make their hearts and lungs really strong. Many of them were great at guessing the activities they could do to increase their heart rate. We played a game that included jumping and running and it got all of our hearts pounding!

On to the muscles! Brooke taught the kids three different exercises they could do at home to built strong muscles: crunches, push-ups, and planks. I think the boys were most excited about this, you know they really like the way their muscles look when they flex!

And last but not least Meghan taught the kids about nutrition. Many of them really wanted to say that doughnuts were the healthier snack but knew that apples and bananas would give them more energy! And I was rather surprised by how many of them said they loved their veggies, how awesome.

At 11:30am we started practicing our handstands because at noon we were going to celebrate National Gymnastics Day by breaking the world record for how many handstands done across the world! And at noon we were all against the wall with our handstands!

Our group plus studios all over the world totaled 20,478 handstands done at the same time! How crazy! It was such a great event to be a part of :)

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Miss Nebraska State Fair/Heartland Pageant

2011-09-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

I started this rainy day at the North Platte booth where I signed autographs and took tons of pictures. This one, is one of my favorites because I can just feel the excitement and joy in these little girls smiles :) especially the one on the left! I love that I can make people smile like this!

And I had to get my picture with some Nebraska fans too! I couldn't go without sporting my Husker gear for the first game day of the season. And I may have been hiding my phone under the table checking updates on Twitter for the rest of the day too!

What an adorable little smile!

After the autograph session I hopped on a golf cart and was dropped off at the Heartland Event Center where I spent the afternoon with all of the contestants. Kayla, Brooke and I got a little adventurous that day and as we wandered the park indulged in a red velvet funnel cake with cream cheese frosting! (It was sooo good!) And then after that trip we made our way to a booth and all got feathers in our hair! Oh the rebels in all of us. Then it was off to another autograph session, Kayla forgot her cards but I told her she could just sign my name on my cards and it would only be half forgery because we have the same first name!

Signing autographs!

And at 7:30 the pageant began! I had a great time emceeing with Darrell Drullinger and enjoyed the whole show. There was some great entertainment and wonderful performances by each of the girls.

Singing some songs :)

Mariah Cook Miss Nebraska State Fair and Kimberly Brennan Miss Heartland

A huge congratulations to Mariah Cook, Miss Nebraska State Fair 2011 and Kimberly Brennan, Miss Heartland 2011! They will take the stage in June for the title of Miss Nebraska 2012!

All funneled out,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Miss Lincoln/Star City Pageant

2011-09-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Nebraska's Teens! '07,'08,'05,'11

Finally, pageant season! I missed the first local pageant this year due to another event so this was my first local and was I excited! It was such a joy spending the day with all the girls and some of my favorite people i/e Jenn Curtis, Heather Loske you know :)

And although we didn't have air conditioner that toasty day we all made it through and had a wonderful pageant! And thanks to the wonderful Foehlinger family we had a rockin' sound system. We were blessed to have them bring that down from Omaha because the one in the school wasn't quite up to par.

Brooke and I had a great time emceeing together and performing as well as watching the pageant from the side lines. I must say that it is more nerve racking to watch a pageant than to be a part of one, I think! My heart was racing as I awaited the results!

Tracy and Marianne

Love my miss Kelsey

Brooke Ludemann, Jessica States, Kati Poppert, Rachel Foehlinger

Congratulations to both Rachel Foehlinger and Kati Poppert who will return to the Miss Nebraska stage next June to compete for the title of Miss Nebraska!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

State Fair Opening Ceremonies

2011-09-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

Friday August 28th was the opening ceremonies of the Nebraska State Fair, held for the second year in Grand Island, Nebraska. I met with Kayla Decker, Miss Nebraska State Fair 2010 before the ceremony!

We were placed on the trailer with the dignitaries of the state, Miss America, Teresa Scanlan and Governor Dave Heineman. After the ceremonies we jumped into some fancy cars and made our way through the park in the parade. It was a beautiful, hot sweaty evening but there were so many excited visitors that I couldn't help but push that out of my thoughts.

After the parade we were able to sit down in the VIP area and visit and have some iced water to cool off! After a while we decided that it was time to continue the drive on to Lincoln! I said my goodbyes to Kayla and my directors, stopped for my redbull and was off to Lincoln to surprise my best friend Abby at her birthday dinner!

I love my job and I LOVE my friends!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Pie Social and day in Bridgeport

2011-09-19T07:49:00.000-07:00

My friend Logan.

With the help of my mom and Aunt Nancy and a handful of wonderful bakers, we were able to hold a fundraiser/benefit in Bridgeport. Pat Holland and her husband owned the Sweet Things Bakery in Bridgeport where I have indulged in my fair share of doughnuts for years. My mom called me one day to tell me that they had closed the bakery because Pat had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. My heart went out to the family and that's where we got the idea for the Pie Social.

My grandma and a few other family friends made pies, nearly 50 and we sold them for $10 a slice or $60 a pie. I was there to take pictures, entertain and sign autographs. By the end of the event we had sold nearly all of our pies!

Grandma Em and I.

The Holland family.

I went to lunch with my mom and aunt and then I went and visited a few local businesses and signed more autographs and sold a few t-shirts. Even got a chance to ride the gator at 21st Century Equipment...okay I really didn't get to ride it, just sit on it!

I wouldn't mind having this ride :)

I then had ice cream with Logan (shown in the first picture) and his sister at the Karette. Logan gave me a bracelet he had made for me that is made of a very hefty rope. He told me that it is used in the military and could be a life saving mechanism. I learned that it can hold up to 550lbs! So I am supposed to wear it everyday, because if I get in a situation that I need some rope all I'd have to do is cut my bracelet and bada-bing I'd have rope. But with my luck I wouldn't know what to do with it then anyway!

Thank you for the amazing meal!

That evening I met with two of my favorite people, Pat and Leroy Mattix and had supper at Burerwerx!

What an eventful day! That night mom and I sat down and counted the money we had raised, which we would be spliting, half for me and half for Pat Holland. We were able to give Pat a check for a little over $1,000! What a great feeling!

My thoughts and prayers with Pat and her family,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Miss America Orientation and Finals!

2011-09-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

Because of my busy schedule and my habit of procrastination this blog post is almost three weeks old! I am terribly sorry, but ready to make it up to you with many blogs today!

My last day in Florida was spent with all of my Miss America class of 2012 sisters at orientation. We were spoken to by Sam Haskel, Randy (security) and few others including Miss America, Teresa Scanlan. Each person gave there input on what we should be focusing on and what to expect in Las Vegas. It was a moving experience and one that I will never forget.

That afternoon I spent hours packing up my suitcases hoping they wouldn't be overweight and before I knew it, it was pageant time!

Unfortunately Brooke didn't make the top 15, but she did such a fantastic job representing our state! I am so proud of her and will continue to be!

Crazy faces with Indiana

Bree Boyce, Miss South Carolina

Amy and I after finals ready to take on the long walk to the hotel.

A little fan base that I got to walk with! So cute!

It was so amazing to be back on the stage I competed on four years ago, but to be with another group of fantastic women! I am so eager for Miss America this January! I can't wait to reunite with my girls and get to know them more.

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

A little jam for your day :)

Miss America Fundraiser

2011-09-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

NE, NV, NC, AL

After a long hard day of fun at Disney World it was off to the Miss America Fundraiser! We had only an hour to get ready to leave but that was enough for everyone to get beautiful and ready for a fun time. We were welcomed with a red carpet and the beautiful home of the Porter's. Dinner soon followed with two whole rooms full of wonderful dishes, an ice sculpture, dessert and delicious sushi. It was great talking with the girls, home owners as well as the Miss America board.

Red carpet!

Visiting after some delicious supper.

Squeezing as many of us onto an couch as possible.

I kept overhearing about some sort of "surprise" we were going to have and it was after they took us all to a room and then all the lights went off. It was the start of the show I thought, just kidding the electricity went out! After a few moments of darkness we continued on with the night by listening to the Atlantic City Boys!

Atlantic City Boys=heart throbs

Although it was a little muggy in the house with no electricity we had such a great time! Dancing and singing with my new friends was a high light to my week!

The fantastic security guard and Miss America's CHRIS

All danced out,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Friday at Disney World!

2011-09-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Kisses from Neb and Nev

Good morning ladies! The 6:15am departure time came much too soon but it would be an adventurous day to say the least. We left right away for Walt Disney World, the happiest place on Earth. There was no music, no lights, no people...happy? We started shooting right away and we were told, "Just walk slowly and look happy. If you see anything fun and exciting...just keep walking!" I laughed at this wondering what fun and exciting thing I would see, it wasn't long after that Minnie and Mickey Mouse jumped out from behind a building and Goofy, Donald and Pluto shortly after! Needless to say, we didn't keep walking! We were screaming and acting like small children again.

Group 4

He suits us!

After doing quite a bit of shooting for the promo videos it was off to the rides. I went to DisneyLand when I was 8 and the scariest ride I went on was Splash Mountain, I cried. But I wasn't going to let those fears keep me from the rides here. I let the girls talk me into Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and a few other roller coasters. I may have screamed like a little girl, but I made it and didn't even get sick!

We bused to Hollywood Resort where we had lunch and then it was off to the rides again, only this time I didn't make it too long. I volunteered to ride and gladly chose to get off the ride after one ride while the other girls rode again. Needless to say, my car sickness kicked in on that visual stimulant ride. Yuck!

Sweethearts <3

Hanging out on the floor!

After a long day of filming and playing I was ready for a shower and the rest of the evening!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Thursday at MAOT!

2011-09-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning started with a photo shoot with the wonderful Jenn Cady! She had some great ideas and all of us "formers" had a great time. After that we did some video shooting for the pageant Saturday night and then it was off to prepare for the recording of our Viral Videos. Last year these videos were used to help choose two of the top 15 at the Miss America Pageant. Many people took their videos to the extreme and rapped, or acted out a skit, but I decided just to speak my mind about the job. Due to my awesome procrastination skills I didn't have anything written down until a few hours before the shoot. After some help from Amy, my 60 second speech was complete. I then practiced over and over in the mirror (such a weird thing to do) until I was confidant.

The last of the girls before recording our Viral Videos!

Before shooting my video I met with the Artistry by Amway Skincare Specialists and received an entire bag of goodies: cleanser, toner, moisturizer, mascara, eye shadow, brushes, blush and powder! It was such a great gift from a fabulous sponsor. Next on the agenda: supper at Maggiano's sponsored by David and Kerry of Regalia and Mary Sullivan, the ED of the Miss Florida pageant. It was such great food and great company! We had the opportunity to tell some interesting facts about ourselves with the group and I learned a lot! There are some great talents (licking of the elbow, impersonations) it made me so excited to spend another week with these ladies in Vegas!

MN, AL, NE, WA, KS, MD

Miss Hawaii, and my sweetheart, Lauren

I got a little photo happy this evening after the show! I recorded Brooke singing her talent (she did PHENOMENAL) but I can't get it to play on my computer...so that was just a little tease I suppose!

Mary Margaret

Miss NY and I!

Love this girl

So proud of my Brook!

With my Directors past and preset!

I couldn't believe that it was already Thursday and soon my trip to Florida would be over! I am anxious for what Saturday night would bring and ready to partake in more adventures as the week moved on.

Exhausted after prelims,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them." Mark 11:22-23

Wednesday at MAOT!

2011-08-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in Tuesday's blog, I was very tired and knowing I may not get the opportunity again, Amy and I chose not to set an alarm and I may have slept until 10:30 or so...oops. It felt sooo good! After finally dragging myself out of bed and getting ready we went down to the trade show and then headed for lunch! From lunch it was right to rehearsal where I read over my script and made sure I was pronouncing all the names correctly and then it was off to the hotel to start the beautifying process all over again.

Miss MN and Miss ND, Co-hosts for the evening!

I had such a great time co-hosing the pageant that evening and loved the fact that I got to see Brooke before she went on stage each night. Tonight though, Brooke came up to me (probably my best experience the whole trip) and said, "Kayla, will you pray with me?" I was so pleased and so happy to do this with Brooke. I love that she turned to me to guide her prayers. And in the past week I have heard Brooke speak of her faith and the new dedication to it several times. It makes me so proud to know that I've had a part in that and can be an example to her through my own life.

Miss HI, Miss WV, Miss VT and Miss NE

Blessed and proud of my little sister,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand,but it will not come near you." Psalms 91:1-7

Tuesday at MAOT!

2011-08-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

Rosen Centre Hotel that was my home for a week!

Well, what can I say. Florida was as it was four years ago when I stepped into the muggy, hot air of Orlando. Only this time, I was Miss Nebraska! Okay, well I still am, but you know what I'm saying. It was such a great welcome as it reminded me much of my experience four years ago when I went to compete for the title of Miss America's Outstanding Teen. As Amy and I walked into the hotel everything came back to me, the colors, the scent, and the memories. I couldn't wait to meet the other girls, my new sisters, and spend time getting to know them!

Some of you may know that because of my former title of Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen 2007, I was given the opportunity to co-host one night of preliminaries as well as be introduced on stage each night. So as I readied myself for the evening and made my way downstairs I found all my new sisters, who were former teen title holders! Two of which were my former MAOT sisters and two of my sweethearts! I was so at ease knowing a handful of the girls and then having this opportunity to visit with them before the show.

Brooke had evening gown and onstage question and despite her earring falling off did wonderfully, so wonderful at that, that she won the preliminary award that night! That is the first time Nebraska has won a preliminary award at MAOT! I was so proud! Onto visitation!

With the wonderful Chris

Shoe Picture!

As we were all mingling and taking photos one of the dads came up to me and asked me about my blue suede shoes. I was very excited about them, seeing as they made their debut that night but little did I know that they would have some sort of significance. This dad told me that August 16th was Elvis' death day in 1977, and thought that I had worn my blue suede shoes in honor of Elvis. I had to tell him the truth in that I didn't actually know about that, I just happen to choose this outfit for this day. BUT that didn't stop me from telling everyone else why I had those shoes on. And my where they impressed! I believe I will always remember that day and may just have to bust out the blue suede's every year in memory!

Yay for directors!

After visitation, a few of the Miss contestants decided to walk over to Denny's to help Lauren, Miss Hawaii, celebrate her 24th birthday! It was a hoot walking into the diner with our crowns and sashes but even more fun getting to talk with the girls one on one...and of course talking a few pictures!

This photo is indescribable.

I can say that the five hours of sleep, rough landing into Orlando, a day in heels and a night on the town, definitely tired me out! After supper I was more than ready to crash!

Loving my class of 2012,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Just a little love from the King.

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves." Galatians 6:1-3

Miss America Lottery

2011-08-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Although this wasn't an event I had to be dressed up for, or travel to, I still consider it an event. This Tuesday at 4pm Central Time, I sat with my computer sweating bullets and hyperventilating slighty, awaiting the first pick of the states to begin the lottery. Before it started, Joel asked me, "If you're first, where do you want to be?" I immediately answered, "Mu 6." He asked me why and I didn't know why, I just thought, if I were to be first, that's what I wanted. Turns out I wasn't first but thirty-first and out of the ten slots I had chosen originally, four of them were still open. My first choice was Mu 6 and when my name came up Mu 6 was still available and I filled it.

I am so happy with my choice! I will be doing my personal interview with the judges Monday, January 9th, on-stage questions Tuesday, January 10th, evening gown and swimsuit Wednesday, January 11th, and talent Thursday, January 12th. Then finals will take place that Saturday the 14th live on ABC! Another great thing about the Mu group is that I have three of my Sweethearts in there with me as well as my MAOT sister from Georgia! Great friends connect again :)

Some of this is still feeling surreal to me and that only excites me more! You can check out the entire order of competition by clicking on the link below.

Miss America Lottery Selection

Now after catching up with my last, I don't know, ten blogs, I need to continue packing for Miss America's Outstanding Teen Pageant! I leave tomorrow night from Lincoln and fly out Tuesday morning. It will be so long Lincoln, hello Florida!

Anxious to meet my Miss America Class of 2012!
Kayla
Miss Nebraska

"Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:12-14

Brooke's Sendoff Party

2011-08-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Brooke and I at her sendoff!

Sunday I made my way to North Platte to attend and perform at my little sister's send off party! I can't believe that Brooke is in Orlando and will begin her competition tomorrow with interview!!! She is such a wonderful girl and will have an amazing experience in Florida. It's such an awesome thing for me because I am the first Miss Nebraska that was also Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen. I was in Brooke's shoes and know what she's feeling and it makes me even more excited for her journey! I can't wait to see her Tuesday when I fly into Orlando to see her compete. I have no doubt that she could be Miss America's Outstanding Teen! I have seen her beauty on the inside and clearly her beauty on the out and I couldn't be more proud to be her big sister this year as well as her Nebraska's OT sister as well. It was great to see many familiar faces and be there to support Brooke.

Mama KayKay States

My favorite Drullinger Family

I had planned on driving back to Lincoln that evening, but changed my mind and luckily dodged a red alert thunderstorm! Whew! I don't think little Howie and I can do those anymore, too stressful.

Pumped for Brooke,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." 1 John 5:20

Autograph Signing for Epilepsy

2011-08-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I made my way to Papillion to sign autographs at the Epilepsy booth. They were having a walk the following morning to raise funds for Epilepsy and I was so pleased to be a part of the evening and to help raise a little cash for the cause. I met many wonderful people and was able to enjoy the music of the cover band, Lemon Fresh Day.

Such a little sweetheart!

This next young man came up to the booth with his uncle who told me that he had traveled the farthest to see me. So I asked him, where are you from. He then said something that I didn't understand, so I turned to his uncle and asked, "Where is he from?" He then told me, Holland. It was then that I realized I had heard the young man but his accent was so thick that I couldn't make it out! And just for the record, I decided I'm going to ignore the fact that he was visiting his family and enjoying the evening and just happened to stumble across me and go ahead and say that I had a fan come all the way from Holland to meet me! :)

I then met Joel. Joel has had epilepsy for many years and was excited to participate in the walk the following day, but I think if you asked him or his family he was more excited to meet me! His excitement was very strong when I asked him to take a photo with me! What a great smile :)

Joel and I

Montez from Channel 94.1 in Omaha

In the midst of all the wonderful live music, I didn't realize the band had taken a break until the lead singer Danny came running over to my booth and gave me a signed pic and asked for an autograph from me. I jokingly said to him, "Now I thought you were coming over here to ask me to sing!" Well, I guess since I'm a little more prestigious with a crown on my head, he invited me up to sing with the band! I had such a blast singing songs like Brick House and 867-5309! And I thought I was signing a lot of autographs before I sang, I had a mile long line after that from all my new fans.

In the midst of all my singing and signing I forgot how hard I played the tamborine and when I got back to Lincoln that night I found a fist sized bruise on my leg! Ya, funny story right? I guess you could say I was really getting into it!

Loving my musical talents,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well." Ecclesiastes 11:5-6

Car show in Columbus

2011-08-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

I'd take this one home!

Saturday the 30th, I was headed to Columbus for the car show that happens every year. Unfortunately, I was unable to be in Scottsbluff for the Scottsbluff County Fair Queen Pageant that evening because I was across the state, but I was still happy to be able to make an appearance. I had a booth set up in the dealership to sign autographs then made my rounds to all the cars. I did find a few that begged me to take them home but unfortunately, I'm committed to little Howie, and I know he'd be heartbroken if I chose someone else over him!

Excited fan!

He thought I made his car look great!

It was great to see the town of Columbus and well as all of the wonderful people who came out to the car show! I had a great time!

Loving classic cars,
Kayla
Miss Nebraska

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Sunday in the Park:Meet Mileigh Krebs

2011-08-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday in the park brought much more to me than just a performance. Before I sang, a woman came up to me asking for an autograph for her daughter Mileigh. I obliged of course and while I was signing it she told me Mileigh was blind. I really wanted to meet her so I asked if she was there and luckily to me, she was. Mileigh's mom, Tina, took me to her and when I saw her beautiful curly hair I couldn't help but to love her instantly. Mileigh's grandma told me that she has optic nerve hypoplasia and was born blind. She was so excited to meet me and I felt so honored to make her day. My mother was playing photographer but wasn't with me at the moment so I asked if I could come back after I sang to take some photos.

While singing, I often looked in Mileigh's direction to see her dancing in the sun to my singing...it was an unforgettable moment and feeling. After I sang I went back to see her and introduced her to my mom as well and she was able to touch my crown and my earrings and face. She felt one of my "four points" rhinestones and kept turning my head, she asked me "What is that?" I told her it was a sparkly stone from my crown, and at that moment she had tears in her eyes. With the disease she has, she can see a slight reflexion of light from the sun and in that moment she was seeing a glisten from my crown.

I was so blessed to meet Mileigh that Sunday and will cherish this moment for the rest of my life. I am humbled by this little girl and her family. I have recently talked with her mother Tina who told me that Mileigh still talks about me, for that I am so proud. I am so thrilled that I made an impact in her young life and even more thrilled about the impact she made on mine. I will cherish this moment and this little angel forever.

Beyond blessed,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:7-10

Miss Nebraska Homecoming

2011-08-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

At my homecoming with the Husker Elvis'

Friday night of Heritage Days brought my homecoming celebration! I had many visiting queens and many supporters! I was able to speak a few times as well as perform. My favorite Great Uncle and Great Aunt came from Lysco to see me as well and most of my family from Colorado! It was so great seeing all the support around the community. I had so many thank you's for everyone who helped as well as donating their time and travels to come out!

Performing

One of my little princesses, Regan

Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen, Brooke Ludemann

Some girls from my graduating class of 2008 at AHS!

And after my homecoming event, and all my pretty make-up and done up hair I transformed by putting on my shorts and a tshirt and throwing my hair in a pony to make my way to the Good Samaritan Society dunk tank. Oh ya, I was gonna raise some money by partially drowning every time someone had a good arm!

Helping Good Samaritan raise money doing the dunk tank!

I tell you what, that big metal tub was rather intimidating when I first peeked in but after my first dunk I realized how warm the water was and how cold the outside air was. When we weren't getting any takers to dunk me I just swam around in there to stay warm! And much to my dismay, upon winning Miss Nebraska, my abilities to think everything through and always have everything I need, did not take charge. I didn't bring another set of clothes...or a towel. But despite all of that I helped raise over $70 in an hour and my eye shadow stayed on!

Cheese!

After the dunk tank I ran home, threw some cream in my wet hair added some mascara and got ready to head to Newberry's for the piano bar. It was great being able to sit and chat with friends and family rather than just speak to them! I do believe that I may have been falling asleep by 10pm but it was a great day and I had another big day ahead of me!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Heritage Days Parade

2011-08-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was an early one as I made my way to Newberry's for breakfast with my little princesses! And what a crazy thing, they both wore purple :) We had a great breakfast before heading to the parade route where we snapped pictures and I crowned both Regan and Kate as my princesses for the day! It was a beautiful morning with that wonderful "western Nebraska wind" to cool us off in the heat. The three of us had the pleasure to ride on the First National Bank float where I did have to ditch the high heels due to the lack of balance I could maintain. And despite anyone telling me that it's not lady like to go barefoot, I was comfortable and no one even noticed!

Kate and Regan, my little princesses!

The wonderful float!

Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the best part of this parade. You see, in the back of the truck that was pulling our float was a team of First National Bank employees who had a t-shirt shooter. Yup, so if you can imagine yourself being a 5 year old child and having to decide if you wanted to wave at Miss Nebraska or try to get the guy with the t-shirt shooter to shoot the shirt at you, what would you decide? Even though, I should probably say that I'd wave at the princess...I like t-shirts. Because of this I can't be too discouraged in thinking of how many children as well as parents, ignored my presence due to the shooter. It was about the middle of the parade that I decided something needed to be done about this...and that's when I requested the gun and had Marcus run along side the float and provide the ammo. Yes, that's right, I rode in the parade carrying a 30lb t-shirt shooter (in a dress) and shot t-shirts and balls to the crowd. Needless to say, I got many looks then and some sore arms in the morning! It was a blast though and a perfect day for the parade. My whole family from Colorado made it up too, plus my Granny from Angora and my Aunt and cousin from Bridgeport. Their support is never ending!

Aunt Juge, Aunt Nanny, me, Aunt Mel, and Gram

My little cousin Colby :)

I had lunch with my little princesses and then went to Steph's Studio for green screen photos! I was ready for a nap by the end of the afternoon and though I didn't get one I was able to relax for a while and get everything ready to head back to Lincoln Sunday afternoon!

I love red dresses,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear." Philippians 1:12-14

Miss Flame 2011

2011-08-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know I've been slacking beyond my norm lately but I'm here to catch up before I leave again for a week! Back to Heritage Days a few weeks ago to one of the most interesting and somewhat disturbing event...the 2011 Miss Flame Pageant. I was asked a few months ago by a friend to judge the Miss Flame Pageant. All of the proceeds that are raised go to the volunteer fire department in Alliance. Men enter the contest and then compete in evening gown, swimsuit, talent and onstage question...dressed as women. I really mean it, men dressed in drag to raise money! It was quite the hoot as you'll see below!

Some of the judges

Morgan Wills and Megan Dimmit

Miss Smoke, Me, Miss Flame and Miss Spark

And rather than the typical 2nd, and 1st runner up's they had Miss Spark and Miss Smoke. The winner of the Miss Flame pageant was Morgan Wills (one of my friends from high school) and it was almost scary how well he pulled of the womanly appearance! All in all it was a great event and of course entertaining. I did a little fill with the emcee where he asked me what was one thing that was different about this pageant than any I had competed in. My answer was simple and honest, "There is much more hair!"

Until next time,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

^"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thessalonians 5:16-18

A Little Mail

2011-08-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

When I was home for Heritage Days I was receiving many checks in the mail for t-shirts and raffle tickets, which was a fabulous thing, but it was one letter that stood out to me that I thought was worthy of sharing with you. It was a letter from someone who knows how important music is to me and it included this small article.

Why Teach Music?

Music is Scienceà

It is exact, specific, and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor’s full score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody, and harmony all at once with the most exact control of time.

Music is Mathematicalà

It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

Music is a Foreign Languageà

Most of the terms are in Italian, German, or French, and the notation is certainly not English-but a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language.

Music is Historyà

Music usually reflects the environment and times of its creations, often even the country and/or racial feeling.

Music is Physical Educationà

It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheek, and facial muscles, in addition to extraordinary control of the diaphragmatic, back, stomach, and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

Music is all these things, but mostly music is Artà

It allows a human being to take all these dry, technically boring (but different) techniques and use them to create emotion. That is one thing science cannot duplicate; humanism, feeling, emotion, call it what you will.

That is why we teach Music. Not because we expect you to major in music. Not because we expect you to play or sing all your life. Not so you can have fun.

But- So you will be human. So you will recognize beauty. So you will be sensitive. So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world. So you will have something to cling to. So you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good, -in short, more life.

Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live.

THIS IS WHY WE TEACH MUSIC.

Kayla

Miss Nebraska 2011

The GONG SHOW!

2011-08-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

My morning started at women's Bible study at my church where I was able to sit in on the lesson and also participate in a prayer circle for my year, my travels and my struggles and accomplishments too. Those women, and my church, love me and have watched me grow up. They know what I've been through and how much I've gained from it and I am so thankful to be a part of their family.

I then ran to Alliance Times Herald where I picked up a check for the money that they raised for me in the ads! Such great supporters I have here at home!

I had some free time in the afternoon to organize and get more t-shirt orders out, little did I know what I would need to be preparing for with the evening's event!

The judges!

Elton John

Me and my frannn Beau!

Dancin' with Bob!

A little MC Hammer!

And some Thriller!

Announcing the winner of the $516.32 check!

And the winner is...

This event is best described by the photos above! We held a first annual Gong Show in Alliance as a replica of the show from back in the day. That's just it, I'm a little YOUNG to know what this was all about. Not to worry, as I had quite a taste of the show and am already planning my act for next year!

Thrilled for next year already!
Kayla
Miss Nebraska

"Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
   who walk according to the law of the LORD.
² Blessed are those who keep his statutes
   and seek him with all their heart—
³ they do no wrong
   but follow his ways."

Psalms 119:1-3

2011 Heritage Days Grand Marshal

2011-08-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

This sweet thing didn't want to smile :(

I hope you all realize that this isn't the typical reaction I get from most little girls, needless to say there has to be a couple that reject me! What a welcome home, right! :) I made my way back to Alliance Monday afternoon and right away Tuesday I was at the radio station doing an interview with Kevin Horn. I have to throw this in here because of the situation of my home's AC being broken I was so satisfied when I got to the station and was sitting in the temperature of 65 degrees (or so it seemed). I did experience something interesting though, by the time I got home. I had condensation. My body had gotten so freezing that by the time I got home I was still cold on the inside but my outside was just sweating like crazy! The cool inside didn't last long!

I spent the day preparing for the week and organizing my things and it seemed like only hours and I was at the fountain for Family Night. There were wonderful booths set up and down the path, from businesses to food stands. Of course our booth was set up directly across from the pulled pork sandwich booth. I didn't have supper before I came out...so...yep, definitely grabbed me a sandwich, potato chips and a cookie before making my way over to the Grand Marshal Ceremonies.

I was asked by my dear friend, almost brother, Dan Marquez to sing with he and his group before they announced me as the new Grand Marshal. It was fun to be singing in a group again!

Accepting the honor of being named 2011 Grand Marshall

Upon being announced, I expressed my gratitude and honor that I felt when I found out that I would be the Grand Marshal. It is a big deal in Alliance and I feel so proud to be a part of it. And what's a better treat than DQ Dilly Bars afterwards! I had Butterscotch...mmmm!

With my Granny :)

New fan from Kansas!

Some soccer boys from England!

Day on of being back home was a success. I am so blessed to be a part of a community that is so wonderful and truly cares about the people in it!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
   says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
   they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
   they shall be like wool."

Isaiah 1:18

Monday-Funday!

2011-07-22T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today I visited KCMI radio in Scottsbluff where I was on the "Coffee Break" show. It was such a great time and a time full of worship. I was able to share some hardships of my life along with the awesome things that have happened and continue happening to me too. It was my first live radio interview and I think we did pretty well!

After that I stopped to pick up my t-shirts from Scottsbluff Screen Printing, which are COMPLETELY awesome! And it was off to my home town of Alliance, NE.

I had the afternoon to go over the plans of the week and get prepared mentally and how ever else to have everything in line for my busy week at Heritage days!

Prepared and excited,
Kayla
Miss Nebraska

¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹⁴ or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." 1 Peter 2:13-14

Gospel Fest at Five Rocks

2011-07-22T14:04:00.000-07:00

I had the privilege of participating at the Gospel Fest at Five Rocks Sunday evening and had such a great time. I was familiar with the Hebbert family before but I got quite a treat hearing their different performances all night long. I was able to perform one song and then sit back and relax as the talent continued. Just an awesome night of praise and worship with some very awesome people.

The Hebbert Family!

And what a wonderful compliment I received from Timothy Hebbert (far left) at the end of the night. I went to thank him for letting me participate in the show and he not only complimented my voice but also the deliverance of my voice and how I sand the song. He said, "You sang that song like you wrote it." Such a great compliment that I will always remember.

Gracious,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

Sunday Morning Churches!

2011-07-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Elmer and Edith

I was able to spend a few nights in Scottsbluff with some family friends dear to my heart, Gerald and Betty Parriott. And they had many plans for me this weekend. Sunday we went to Central Church of Christ in Gering where I had the pleasure of singing a special and speaking momentarily before the congregation. It was such a joy to be able to share the gifts that God has given me with people of faith. I know that it is such an honorable place for me to be that I can share God's word and my own faith openly. I take pride in how I was raised and what I believe.

After meeting some of my youngest fans, we headed over to Westway Christian Church in Scottsbluff where I had the opportunity to share my testimony. I told a little story of the Saturday morning of the parade when I told my mother that I had been asked to share my testimony. She said to me, "Do you even have a testimony?" I don't have a story like most, I wasn't at the bottom of a rut before I came to Christ, but I was raised up in the church and surrounded by believers. I was blessed by that and have always had the support to maintain my relationship with God. As always there are downfalls and spiritual ruts but I have gotten through those and become stronger in my faith because of it. I know that there have been trials in my life for reasons and I overcome those for reasons as well. God put me in this position for a reason and I'm bound to find out why!

Sharing my testimony at Westway Christian Church in Scottsbluff

Some Westway fans. They all know Teresa too!

Yay for 4 hours of church!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have." 2 Corinthians 8:12

Oregon Trail Days Parade and Old Settlers Luncheon

2011-07-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Scottsbluff County Fair Queens

I was pleased to be back in Western Nebraska where the humidity followed me, you know, to make sure I felt at home after leaving Lincoln. I was a beautiful non-windy day in Gering, so the sun just beat down on you and there was no stopping the sweat from running. I know that this probably goes against all code of pageant conduct and being a lady but you would have thought I was sitting in a bathtub after the parade was over. It took 10 minutes for my dress to dry! Against all anyone has ever told you, pageant girls DO sweat...we just do it more graciously and with more cation than most.

Riding with Gerald and Betty Parriott

After the parade I was able to sit and chat with Miss America, Teresa Scanlan about my year thus far and about her traveling as well. We talked about how emotional we both were when we were crowned Miss Nebraska, even though we promised ourselves that we weren't going to let it happen! It was great seeing her and catching up on old memories!

The lovely Miss America, Teresa Scanlan

After the parade I was invited to the Old Settlers Luncheon to speak. They had the honor of having Teresa there Friday afternoon and then me Saturday afternoon! I ran into so many people that were such strong supporters...I was so humbled. It's such a great feeling knowing that I have so many people around the state that have watched my journey and are so anxious for the year ahead of me. They all vote that I go for two in a row by winning Miss America! :)

My Great Aunt Glennie's sisters I found in Scottsbluff :)

My busy, hot morning was followed by some much needed down time and catching up with my friends back in Lincoln. They seem to miss me when I'm all the way out here!

Blessed to be in the west,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20

Omaha Fun!

2011-07-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

My beautiful friend Tay from Alabama!

Exactly five months to the day was the last time I got to see my wonderful friend Taylor and it was five months too long. I was so pleased that it worked out for me to be in Omaha when she would be in town for the dance convention. And she missed me so much that she asked me to perform at the show that evening. I of course had to sing her my talent song, it's her favorite. It was a change in entertainment as all the other entertainers were dancers. Now I'm sure I could have gotten out there and you know, busted a move, but I may have embarrassed all the REAL dancers there so I thought I'd just keep that to myself.

The wonderful choreographers at the dance convention.

Tay's lovely VIP dancers from across the country! Strikin' a pose!

The wonderful Mr. Art

It was great meeting the staff and choreographers, they were a great group of people and all very talented, prestigious dancers. Some of them had magnificent accents too! :)

Taylor and I then went out to midtown for supper at a Mexican restaurant out there and had some great conversation and experiences. As we were leaving we spotted the Cold Stone Creamery on the corner and couldn't pass it up. I was so sad that I had to take her back to the hotel but at the same time so very thankful that I was able to see her and participate in the dance show. I am so grateful for our friendship and the bond we've created. It ain't goin' away!

Love,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by hte renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

My Daring Journey to Lincoln!

2011-07-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Although, the photo above may not quite be an exact replica of my drive back to Lincoln last Sunday, it was something of the sort, only much, much darker. I drove from Alliance to North Platte for a photoshoot and instead of spending the night and having to conquer the time change in the AM I decided I'd race the storm, get ahead of it and just zoom on into Lincoln. Little did I know that the forcast was going to change (weird right, that never happens!) I was approaching Gothenburg when I noticed the beautiful pluffy white clouds in the sky were turning grey and horrid black and they were rolling right over top of me. In an instant my car blew from the right lane into the left due to the sudden wind factor and within seconds, the rain came down. And did it ever.

I was sure that little Howie needed a bath but after that storm no way! I think had it rained any harder the paint would have started coming off. During this storm I spent a lot of time praying for my safety and that of the other drivers on interstate. I also prayed for the strength to release the grip off my steering wheel so my fingers wouldn't fall off. I practiced quite a bit of white knuckling that night. I slowed down to about 55-60mph and stayed behind a semi because that was the only way I could see ahead of me. I told myself that if he pulled over or exited, I would too. He and I passed several semi's pulled over under bridges, cars in ditches yet we kept on truckin'. It wasn't until Goehner, Nebraska that the rain stopped. That was a little over 100 miles that I drove in a pitch black, awful, horrible, crazy scary, yet entertaining storm. I don't think I want to do that again, not for a while at least.

Thankful for dry roads,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16

I tell you what, if my light was lightening that night I was SHINING!!!

More Rodeo's and Chadron's Fur Trade Day's Parade

2011-07-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

My little cowboy friend :)

I think after four nights of rodeo, I'm all cowboied out! It was great to be back in Alliance at the rodeo's where I signed many autographs again and was able to sing the National Anthem. The thing I'm loving most about my job is seeing the support from people, some of whom don't even know me that well. I am so blessed to represent this state and my hometown of Alliance as well.

Me and my grandpa...he's my favorite.

When I saw this picture of my grandpa and I on my camera I nearly cried. I didn't know my mom was taking a photo and I'm a little partial to my grandpa so seeing us hand and hand together was such a great moment. I miss him dearly when I'm back in Lincoln but we keep connected with lots of phone calls. Another special someone I've missed so much is my Fancy cat! Even though my mother will tell you he likes it better at her house he secretly wants to come back home with me...okay so maybe there is a little fright in his eyes. I don't care, even if he doesn't want to come back home with me, someday he will be and he doesn't get a say in the matter! My mom is planning on doing an interview with him with a title that goes something like, "What its like to be Miss Nebraska's Cat." I'll keep you posted on the progress!

Fancy Kitty!!

The night of the rodeo I found out who my little princess for the parade was and had the opportunity to call her myself with the good news. Unfortunately, she wasn't around when I called but I told her mother the news and she said she'd have her call me as soon as possible. Not long after I answered a phone call saying, "Hello?"
"Um...hi. This is Aubree Noble!" (please insert a slight rise in pitch on the voice as well as a little heavy breathing)
"Hi Aubree, my name is Kayla Batt and I'm Miss Nebraska. Do you know why you're talking to me?"
"(more heavy breathing) I think I won a contest..."
"You did and you get to be my little princess in the parade tomorrow. You get to dress up and will get a crown and sash to wear too, what do you think about that?"
"...(heavy breathing filled with excitement) ok!"

My little princess for the parade, Aubree Noble.

So the next morning this is the beautiful lady I got to meet. We had a great time in the parade and really only hoped that we'd get a couple Popsicle's but were too unfortunate. It was great seeing Miss Mariah Cook, the first time since Miss Nebraska. The parade was a long one and I think the crowd was getting a little dull until we beautiful women came by. They woke up a bit after that, thankfully.

Some of my favorite title holders and our little princesses!

I learned that leaving my hair down in a parade on a day that's almost 100 degrees is a bad idea.

Lesson learned,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8

Hooray for Fundraising!

2011-07-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year! Okay, so what I'm trying to say is that I am starting my t-shirt fundraiser just in time for you all to wear them for HUSKER FOOTBALL SEASON! I must give a huge thank you to Jeremy Dollarhide of Scottsbluff Screenprinting for helping me with the design! It was a good idea turned great when Jeremy was finished with the design. We have made a hefty order that will be ready for Heritage Day's in a couple weeks but I will also be taking orders on Facebook as well as through my blog. Please if you are interested comment or send me an email at kayla.batt@hotmail.com

We will have t-shirts in sizes:

youth medium

adult small

adult medium

adult large

adult XL

adult 2XL

This is a great fundraiser for me and I hope the design is appealing enough to you all that you'd like to have it to wear anyway! The t-shirts will sell for $15 a piece. Please let me know if you're interested!

The front of the shirt is the official Husker 'N' with my real autograph and smiley followed by Miss Nebraska 2011.

The back of the shirt is made to look like a jersey with the number 11 for the year 2011, as well as the drum kit for my platform, "Make Music Rock" with my favorite verse on the bass drum, James 1:2-4

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

I am also raffling off a KING SIZE quilt that was handmade by my Grandma Karen Batt to help me raise money for my expenses as I journey to Miss America. The raffle will be going on for the next few months and a winner will be drawn in the fall (more updates on the final date to come). The winner does NOT need to be present to win.

Raffle Ticket Prices are as follows:

1 ticket - $10

3 tickets - $25

6 tickets - $50

9 tickets - $75

12 tickets - $100

If you would like to purchase tickets I would ask that you write you information on a 3X5 card as follows:

Name:

Address:

Phone Number:

#of tickets purchasing:

Please send a check written to "Kayla Batt Fundraising Acct" to:

Becky Herian

3959 180th Trl

Alliance, NE 69301

Again, if you have any questions on ordering please feel free to email me at kayla.batt@hotmail.com

Thank you so much for your support! Fundraising is key to this job so I really appreciate your participation.

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

I'm loving this song today :)

Moving, Stuffing, Lake Fun and Rodeo's!

2011-07-08T10:42:00.000-07:00

After spending a week going through all my junk, yes I'm going to call it junk, I was able to move out of my one bedroom apartment into a single bedroom. Needless to say I got rid of TONS of stuff! I believe I was on garbage bag number 7 by the end of everything. My mother always tells me that I'm a horrible junk collector and I may have been in the past, but recently I've become very good at clearing that junk out. My motto is: If I haven't used it in the last year, I don't need it. I sent bags of clothes to Goodwill and the Black Market in Lincoln and filled the dumpsters outside my apartment with everything else. It was fun filing through all of my past memories though, running into paperwork from Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen in 2007 to photos from elementary school. I avoided the sappy mess that could have come to be and just tossed things into the trash pile, it felt SO good!!

The challenge of the move out occurred when I remembered that I needed to take a lot of my stuff back to Alliance. As many of you know I drive a new Chevy Aveo, not the largest car but great on gas mileage. So I'm standing outside with my four plastic tubs questioning how on Earth I'm going to get them to fit into little Howie. (This is my car's name, it took me a couple weeks but he is and will always remain, Howie.) But low and behold, two in the trunk and two in the back seat with everything else stuffed in an around, I did it! The weight may have taken a little toll on Howie as we has a teeny trouble going at the green lights. Needless to say, Howie was pretty stuffed! We stopped in Clarks for some cabin fun with Joel's family and then it was off to Bridgeport for some 4th of July fun at the Lake.

My friend Sayla :)

Every year our friends from Colorado come down and we have a great time swimming, boating and fishing. And as always we make our way out to the county fairgrounds for the rodeo. I was honored to sing the National Anthem both Sunday and Monday night and it was a joy to run into so many people I haven't seen in years! I ran into family, friends, classmates, and teachers; some of whom I thought would have forgotten about me by now. Sunday night, I walked around with my little cousin signing autographs and taking donations and Monday we decided to do a 50/50 raffle to help raise money for my expenses. It was a great turn out and I met so many wonderful people! It was amazing to me, how many people had been following me over the years and to see how proud they were of me. That is the joy in coming home for the first time. I felt so incredibly welcome and honored. I singed hundreds of autographs, a few t-shirts and my favorite, two cowboy hats! What a privilege!

DJ and Matthew Hoxworth

It was so great to run into some familiar faces like DJ and Matthew. We spent many summers together at Angora's Vacation Bible School. If I remember correctly Matthew used to tell people he was really special because his name was in the Bible! They've always been family friends and it was great discussing the pageant life with them. Mom had asked them if they knew what rhinestone dresses were running for these days!

I also had the pleasure of seeing a good friend from high school, Levi Gorsuch. We reminisced about our first middle school dance that Levi asked me to and then later asked me to be his girlfriend. Too bad it only lasted a week when he broke up with me the following Friday. Some of his family members were teasing him because of this and had to tell them that I gave the kid a second chance my freshman year, when I asked Levi to the homecoming dance...too bad he was going to be out of town for a RODEO! Guess it just wasn't meant to be Levi!

My friend Levi Gorsuch

I have to give a special thank you to my Grandma Mary, Aunt Renee and cousin Ashlee who walked around all the stands selling raffle tickets for me! I also have to thank my mom, as stubborn as she is and as much as she didn't want too, she followed us around and took pictures for me! We raised $442 total but went home with $221 after giving the other half to the little girl who won the raffle. She bought the tickets with her own money and then won $221, she was thrilled! I am so blessed with amazing people in my life, I won't ever be able to thank them enough.

Aunt Renee, Gma Mary, and Ashlee helped me with a 50/50 raffle!

Feeling so at home,

Kayla
Miss Nebraska

"But as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving." 2 Corinthians 8:7

Jerrod Neman, Blake Shelton & Brad Paisley!

2011-07-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Abby, Jordan and I waiting out the two hours before the concert!

Ran into some Alliance boys while I was there!

Just playing a little catch up on the blog! After the concert, which was amazing, I was back in Lincoln packing my life into plastic tubs for the big move. So really I just moved across town but packing in general isn't my forte. I was without internet for a few days and without motivation to access some to write my blog. So if you will bear with me, I'll catch you up on life, love and continuing adventures of Miss Nebraska!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." Isaiah 12:2

Antique Car Show, Lunch with the Wild Bunch, Cake Auction & Rodeo

2011-06-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

The sunshiny warm morning turned a little damp and windy. As we headed to the antique car show, my legs began to shiver and goosebumps overtook my entire body! Luckily Kathy had a jacket in the car, the color was a bit retro but it helped keep me warm. At the car show I saw many beautiful cars and some that I would have loved to take home. I had many people congratulate me on my recent win and many little girls shy away from me when I smiled or waved at them. But these little boys walked right up to me to figure out who I was and what kind of car I had. I had to tell them that I didn't actually own the car I was standing in front of but that I was just going to be riding in it during the parade. They were still impressed.

The little guy on the right loved when I asked about his "schmancy boots"

Some of the USS NE Sailors.

While I was waiting in the car before the parade started a couple of little girls picked me some lovely flowers for my ride. It's so sweet to me to see the care and generosity that children have. And although they were just weeds, I could tell how important they were to those girls and how special I was to have received them.

After the parade it was on to Lunch with the Wild Bunch, and boy I tell ya, they were wild. I was thrown right into the mix of them and asked to try the brats they were making and rank them on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) I must say...they got an 11 from me! I was informed about the story of the brats and how they are developed from an old secret recipe.

Learning the history of these famous Brats

After eating, actually I was still chewing my last bite, I was asked to help auction off the cakes that were made by only men. I joined Miss Rodeo Nebraska, Becky Grimm and Miss Teen Rodeo Nebraska, Shelby Peters in this job. Little did we know we were getting our weights exercise done! With all the icing and decor on the cakes some of them weighed over 30lbs.

Playing Vanna White with Shelby

The Sailors cake. It weighed SO much and sold for $1100!

It was indeed a wild and eventful morning and I anticipated a bit of a break before it was rodeo time. I got to retire the dress and heels for my jeans and boots, man did that ever feel good! Brooke and I headed to supper at the Nebraskaland National Bank dinner where I had the honor of sitting with the Spady's. It was great telling stories and getting to know one another a little better, then it was off to the rodeo!

Takin a break from our heels and dresses and gettin' a little bit country!

We had a great time at the rodeo and a bit thanks to Maris who was our date! Unfortunately, the people running the show didn't know that we were there. There were people from Pennsylvania getting introduced, a family reunion but no recognition of Miss Nebraska and Miss Nebraska OT...needless to say we changed that. After a little talk with a man on the Nebraskaland Days board, and then a little chat with Hadley (he had a microphone so he's really who we needed) Brooke and I were recognized in the grandstands. I guess we are kind of attention getters with these new crowns on our heads!

All in all, it was beyond a great day and there is plenty more to come!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

ps. I just typed 'Miss Omaha' ...see I'm still getting used to this!

1st day home in Lincoln as Miss Nebraska!

2011-06-23T16:46:00.000-07:00

Abby's so happy to see me!

After the whirlwind of winning and jumping right into the job of Miss Nebraska I finally got to make a trip back home and as you can tell, my friends were happy to see me! I stopped into work to visit all my babies and my coworkers to find a giant sign with congrats all over it and signed by all the kids at daycare! It was a little bit of a tear jerker. I decided that while I was home I should have a little fun, so a few friends and I went bowling! As you'll see in the next photo, I started off doing fairly well for myself in the first game. By the third game...well we really don't need to go over that do we.

This is how I started out bowling #winning

I was doing well though and most of you would probably laugh if you saw me bowling because I go a little "granny style" and normally it works like a charm. As the night went on...my charm faded. It was great to be back in Lincoln though with my friends. I got to talk to them about all the perks of Miss Nebraska, what I'd done so far and what I have in store for me in the next couple months. It felt really great to be in the presence of those who've stood behind me on this dream for such a long time, who've watched me fail and try again. I am so glad to have such great friends and look forward to the time we get this year.

Joel and I

So very thankful,

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2

Nebraskaland Days Kiddy Parade and Family Night!

2011-06-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Walking in the costume parade Monday morning.

Here I am to play a little bit of catch up on my last couple of weeks! I jumped right into the job of Miss Nebraska with the kiddy costume parade Monday morning. It was a bit rainy and windy, but what's a little frizz in the hair? It was great seeing all of the Miss Nebraska little sisters and they welcomed me with claps, cheers and shouts of "KAYLA!!" I must say, I don't mind that at all. It was only a short walk in my heels then many autographs and pictures. I had such a great time talking to all the kids as well as meeting the rodeo queens.

I even found a future Miss Nebraska! She thought that my sash was prettier than hers but I thought she played the part very well. She told me her favorite color was pink and liked to wear her crown at home when she was playing. I also found a Miss Nebraska 2012...my successor?

MRN Becky Grimm, me, MTRN Shelby Peters, MNOT Brooke Ludemann, MRA McKenzie Haley

Becky Grimm and I, representing Omaha :)

After the parade and lunch Jay and I rode down to Spady's to pick up my new car!! It's quite a change for me moving from my Toyota Camry, V6 engine, Bernice, to a Chevy Aveo, 4 Cylinder who has yet to be named. We are working on our relationship right now and until I get a great feel for him (I think it's a boy) I won't name it anything. I am most definitely open for suggestions though. I am so pleased to be able to have a new car (with a CD player, that's a first) provided by the Spady family dealership. They are a great bunch of people and I'm eager to get to know the rest of the clan across Nebraska.

Mr. Bob Spady and I with my new car!

After picking up my little car I met with the Engels for supper before heading out to family night at the arena. I was welcomed by this friendly moose, who broke all rules of mascots and revealed his face to me and spoke! Rance would never do such a thing! It was great running into new friends and supporters. There was a group of singers from Nebraska Chrisian College that were AMAZING! They had some great worship songs and awesome voices. After that there was a little surprise from Roy Helu Jr., where he shared his testimony with the crowd and was very welcomed.

This is Bean and Bailey the duo comedians from Tennessee. They snatched me before the show to get a picture and then even gave a little shout out on stage. They had some great acts with Elvis and Micheal Jackson and even Christmas songs! And of course what's a trip to the fairgrounds without funnel cake! We indulged just a little bit, and it felt so good!

Bean and Bailey-comedians from Tennessee.

Official 2nd day of my new job was a success. I will definitely get used to this. Thank you for the support and prayers!

Kayla

Miss Nebraska

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition,there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:13-18

Your new Miss Nebraska 2011 is Kayla Batt!

2011-06-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I know it's been too long since I have been on here and some of you may be wondering why I haven't posted my winning blog yet but with the process of creating a new blog as well as being Miss Nebraska, it has taken me a few days! Lets take a little blast in the past to Saturday night.

The top 5 were announced right after the community service awards as well as the awards given by Miss America. I was announced as the 5th and final contestant in the top 5 (which was more nerve racking for my mother than myself) but I was so pleased to be competing with Jessica, Rachel, Kayla and Mindy. Over the years we have really been able to create a bond and it just felt like a little family going into that night. We competed in Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimwear, Talent, Evening Wear, and then On-stage Question. Before we walked out onstage for our final time that evening I grabbed all the top five girls back stage and we said a prayer together. It was assurance that God had a plan for the night and already knew the winner and we were all chosen to be there for a reason. It was an honor and a privilege standing hand in hand with these amazing women and praying before our Father in satisfaction and peace with what was to come.

After all eleven of us took our final walk onto the stage the top five were asked to step forward. As you can tell, we are all pretty excited. All in wonder and praying...at least I can say that for myself. We all stood holding hands in await of the announcement of the 4th runner up...Kayla Decker; a wonderful role model and friend who I will always cherish dearly. She's my "kay kay."

It seemed like only seconds later that the third runner up was called...Rachel Foehlinger. I have had the pleasure of knowing Rachel since I put the Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen crown on her head in 2008. I have watched her grow and was so joyed to spend this week with her. Rachel you are an amazing woman and I'm so glad to call you a friend.

Then there were three. At this moment the nerves were so intense I don't even think I could keep a smile on my face. Also, you know how most of the time during the announcement of the runners up that there is a lot of waiting...not tonight. It felt like only seconds were going by before the next runner up was announced and at that moment it was Jessica States. What an incredible girl. Jessica has been my sister title holder two out of my three years at Miss Nebraska and has always remained a wonderful friend. I love that I have had the opportunity to share such an amazing three years of friendship with you and well as the stage at Miss Nebraska. You have such an amazing heart JStates!

If you look closely at my face in this picture you will notice the concern, nerves, possible shaking that was happening. Mindy and I exchanged "good lucks" and hugs and loves and we stood arm in arm waiting to hear the announcement of the first runner up and the new Miss Nebraska. Mindy and I were sister title holders (still are!) and I am so glad to have gotten to develop a great friendship as well as get to know Mindy. You, my dear, are fabulous. Your vibrant smile lights up a room and your kind heart touches so many. I couldn't have asked for a better person to spend my year with and will never forget this moment above. You are incredible and have so much going for you. Thank you for being such a great friend and sister.

At this moment, I went through the realization that I had done the very best I could have and I had remained at peace throughout the week and no matter what happened I would walk off that stage smiling. And with the smiles came the joy, excitement, tears, laughter, fist pumping, a little dance and more happiness, as I was crowned by the amazing Nicky Haverland, as the new Miss Nebraska 2011.

I couldn't believe that the dream and goal that I've had for years had finally come true and I was getting a chance to compete at Miss America. What an honor. I was so overwhelmed with happiness and joy..still am. I have so many people to be thankful for that it would take me ages to write them all but I'm going to give it a shot:

Mom: being my mommy when I need you...always

Chabree, Brett, Dani: your constant support is always needed and you all do fabulous at giving it

Joel: listening, calming and pushing me through the ups and downs of the process and all the love and support

Abby, Sarah, Chandra: you heard it all too...thank you for always listening and supporting me

Gma & Gpa: thanks for always pulling me back up on my feet even when it was tough for you, all the stamps, love, foo foo coffee, advice and prayers

Aunt Nan and Uncle Mark: Vegas! ;)

Gram: my robe, CMN help

Rick, Laura, Joe, Tonja, James, Ben & baby: I couldn't be happier to be a part of your family, thank you for housing me, doing laundry, feeding me and driving me everywhere

Kris and all other hostesses: I couldn't do it without you!

Miss Nebraska Board: you have gotten to know me over the years and have become some of my closest, most looked forward to seeing, people of the year!

Marianne & Tracy: you have both been so supportive of me and have never tried to change who I am...and if you tried, you didn't succeed!

My Sweetheart sisters: your support across the country is endless, appreciated, and loved

My MAOT sisters: you get the same thing! Hearing from you all the way from Vermont is such a spectacular feeling

To all my friends, family, supporters and loved ones (that includes everyone above and those who at 11pm at night I can't directly think of); thank you. I asked you all to support this adventure of mine and you did. I asked you to think of me during the week last week and you did. I asked you to pray for me and I felt God's presence on me the whole week. Without you all, I wouldn't be here. You have seen me struggle to get to this point and withstand difficulties, but that's all part of what made me, me. The same "me" that competed all week, won the title and the "me" that will work as hard as I know how to be the best "me" that I can through this walk of life. I don't strive to be the best Miss Nebraska, I strive to be the best "me" because that is what will make my life, my journey, and my future destinations real and amazing.

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded." Hebrews 10:35

Honored and blessed to be your Miss Nebraska,

Kayla