Miss Brainerd Lakes 2013: My week at a glance.

This past week was filled with many fun and memorable appearances! On top of Thanksgiving, I managed to pack some appearances in.

Last Tuesday, I spoke to students at my alma mater, Nisswa Elementary School, about Alzheimer's and dementia. I spoke to students in kindergarten through 4th grade. It was so fun to be back and see the teachers that I had when I was in elementary school and reminisce memories of my time at Nisswa Elementary. I'm so grateful God has given an avenue to speak about a cause that's close to my heart while making a difference in my community. I'm even more blessed to be able to speak about Alzheimer's while wearing a crown on my head. I really felt that the students understood what I was talking about, even the kindergarteners, whose random questions like "Does your Dad know how to use a fork?" make me laugh. All-in-all, it was a fantastic day and I feel blessed God gave me the opportunity to speak to those students.

Friday was the City of Lights celebration in downtown Nisswa. This is Nisswa's kickoff to Christmas celebration in which they start a countdown at 5:29pm until 5:30pm and the whole city turns their Christmas lights on at the same time. This is always one of my favorite celebrations in my little hometown. The people truly make this celebration. They are always so energetic, even when it's freezing outside. I'm so blessed to live in such a great community!

Saturday my parents and I headed down to the Mall of America because my sister queens and I performed Christmas carols in the Rotunda. Glitz Gowns, a sponsor of the Miss Minnesota Scholarship Program, was gracious enough to let us borrow gowns to wear for our performance, which was extremely generous of them! The performance was short, but it went fairly smoothly and I was able to meet a lot of people, including the cutest little girls who were so starstruck by our crowns and sashes. We signed many autograph cards and posed for lots of pictures. I was exhausted by the end, but it was fun and really put me in mood for Christmas!