Our MPFO photo shoot with Zac was an absolute blast! Kate, Christine, Autumn and I had a day full of glamour, glitter and even a little SNOW. The day began with our “glam team” consisting of Troy O’Neil and his incredibly talented crew of make-up and hair ladies. Troy, owner of the Troy Richard Salon, is the official hair and make-up sponsor for all of the MPFO girls and we are SO lucky to have the very best working on us! Many thanks to Troy for making me feel gorgeous!

May was an incredibly busy (but incredibly rewarding) month for me! The month started off with final exams. A necessary evil of college. I was so excited to finish up with my semester at Texas Christian University  with good grades and to finally be able focus all of my attention of preparing for the Miss Texas Pageant. In addition to dance rehearsals, interview preparation and a rigorous workout routine, I was able to squeeze in a few memorable appearances! I attended the 2011 Crowne Plaza Invitational tournament at the Colonial.

Colleyville Dancing With the Stars

Reilly, three of our precious princesses and I had the opportunity to perform at the Colleyville Dancing With the Stars event put on by the Colleyville Rotary Club. On Saturday, Princess Brit, Princess Gwyneth, and Princess Ally met Reilly and me at the venue early to rehearse and it was clear they were all naturals when it came to singing and dancing to Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly”. 

We taught them a bit of choreography and then had the opportunity to rehearse two times on stage prior to primping and getting our tiaras on for the evening.

 For the third year in a row I had the incredible privilege of attending the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas. On Tuesday afternoon my mom and I headed to Vegas and were met by Danny at the airport. After checking into the hotel we enjoyed a nice dinner at P.F. Chang's with Danny and then headed to the first night of preliminary competition. Ashley did an incredible job on her talent night. I was such a proud best friend. All of the young ladies on stage were gorgeous, talented and intelligent and I am so glad I was not a judge!

I was able to spend an awesome afternoon with my precious princesses. We had a “Princess Holiday Tea Party” in a small tearoom in downtown Plano. The atmosphere was incredible and I truly felt so loved being surrounded by 6 amazing little ladies. Although for many of them it was the first time they had ever had tea, they were all more than willing to try it. They each enjoyed their own teapot full of “princess punch” and Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, and the other Disney princesses adorned the table.

 I want to introduce each of my incredible Colleyville Lone Star Princesses to you!

Gwyneth is 11 years old. She is an incredible swimmer and dancer. She attends St. Alcuin in Dallas, Texas. She is the beautiful daughter of Gaylene and John Lonergan.

Brittney or "Brit" as I like to call her is 11 years old. She is a 6th grade student at Rogers Middle School in Prosper, Texas. She loves to play basketball. 

Facing AIDS in the United States

OnWorld AIDS Day, I want to pause to reflect on the vision laid out in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which says:

That's a vision I believe in, and one I will work to support.

On Saturday May 1st, after 2 days of non-stop studying for my final exams, I took a break for the evening to attend Irving Healthcare Foundation’s TexasFest Gala. It was held at Eddie Dean’s Ranch in Dallas.

When Alex and I arrived we were greeted by a lady who had actually lived in Irving her whole life and competed for the title of Miss Irving many year ago! She was very excited to meet me and tell me about her experiences with pageants.