Upon my arrival I woke up my entire household(which only consists of my mom, dad, and gabe since jade, luke, and I left for college).  We sat around on the couch and talked about how we still can’t believe what’s happened.  The next day was the Farm Bureau Safety Day!  Only a Miss Kentucky would give her first big speech in an open field to 300 children sitting on hay-bales, ultimate.  I kicked off the festivities with a speech about dreams/gifts/small town-big dreams/health/tomboys/tim mcgraw etc. to the most attentive little corn fed kids around.  After my speech I took my first live question and answer session…a daily part of my year that I am certain will keep me on my toes moreso than my 5 inch heels.  A few of the good ones…”Have you ever picked a peanut plant?(my talk said nothing of the sorts about peanut plants)”…”Have you ever met Taylor Swift…followed by…oh, well, then have you met Barack Obama?(Taylor Swift is now not only topping the charts, but apparently now the president as well)…”Are you dating a famous person?”…”Are you healthy?”…”Have you ever been in a pageant and won?”…etc.  I spent the rest of the day in first class Union County style, being chauffeured from one outdoor station to the next in a Kabota.    

The next day came bright and early with my mom’s intercom wake up call that reminded me of high school days, and presented me with yet another great group of children and an opportunity to inspire again, this time indoors.  Uniontown Elementary sat like little angels as I entered into their gym…quickly turned into miniature megaphones for a second when I said “Hey Uniontown Elementary…are you excited to be out of class?!”…then right back into angels.  The first question I asked broadened the generation gap between my generation and theirs from about the size of the gap between my little sister’s two front teeth growing up to more like the grand canyon.  I’m standing there in ruby red slippers and I say, “Ok boys and girls I want to start today by singing a song for you from a movie called ‘The Wizard of Oz’…can you guess what it is by these shoes on my feet…?”  In unison they all yell, “Red High Heels!!!!!”  Oh well.  I guess Kellie Pickler has officially replaced Dorothy, and ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ is now  only a place where Skittles come from…but oh well, they’ll be ok…Then on to Morganfield Elementary where 500 more of the best kids around sat indian style and refrained from turning into wild indians for the entire assembly.  Questions from this bunch got even better, with ones like, “What’s your mom’s name?” and “Are you country?”  The children I’ve seen so far have been perfect(though I could be partial).  Someone needs to inform the world that the future is going to be just fine judging by what I’ve seen so far here in Kentucky.

And amidst my time at home I found myself trying to catch up on sleep, only to be quickly reminded that it is in fact dove season…and there is no way to nap or sleep in when your brothers and cousins are shooting shotguns right outside your bedroom window…so I joined in for a spell.  I also got to see baby Daylee!

Flew back to Lexington and jumped right into the (all day long live tv) Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon doing interviews, answering phones with callers on the other end, answering phones with prank callers on the other end, etc.  I was happy to be a part of this great cause…Go Jerry!

And finally…for the bad news.  Sianara Sugar!  Labor Day marks the beginning of many days laboring on the treadmill for me…or else I will be looking like this photo of me in my very first swimsuit at Miss America…and you thought you were a fat baby…WRONG!  Please say a prayer…I live right beside Dunkin’ Donuts.

    

P.S. Thank you Union County for making me who I am…