Still Excited to be your Miss Kool-Aid Days

   Wow - I cannot believe the adventure I was blessed to experience representing Miss Kool-Aid Days at the Miss Nebraska Pageant!
   It all began early the morning of June 2nd when my Mom and I began our trek out to North Platte Nebraska to catch up with my sister queens and attend the opening ceremonies. After greetings and much chit chat, contestants, board members, volunteers, and family members met at the mall where we faced our first challenge - introducing ourselves, our wonderful little sisters, hostesses, host families, and our parents in front of the crowd in the middle of the mall. Not only did I get to see my amazing little sisters again, but I couldn't wait to see my host family again! We barely got time to catch up before we were directed to the autograph signing area to begin our work for the afternoon. As I got set up, I was excited to be snagged for the first TV interview of the week and talk about the excitement that is the beginning of Miss Nebraska week.

Hard at Work!

With Evelyn

Stepperettes

   We barely had any time before we jumped into work for the week as we began rehearsals Sunday night. After only one rehearsal not only could I tell that the week would be unbelievably fun with the greatest group of girls possible, but we finished learning a huge chunk of the opening number dance with our amazing choreographer (Kathy) and our wonderful producer (Brittany)!
   The first night at Miss Nebraska was certainly an indication of how the rest of the week would go. Monday we jumped right back in with rehearsals, finishing the opening number and getting to work on the little sisters dance before we were treated to a picnic sponsored by KFC. It was great getting to hang out with my sister queens Mindy, Rachel, and Chrissy and we even got a little on-stage question practice. We had to tell the audience what one food we would eat if we were stuck on a deserted island. My answer? Kool-Aid, of course! Just kidding - I already get plenty of Kool-Aid! My guilty pleasure is actually pasta - I love all the different kinds and I wouldn't have to worry about any stains.

KFC Host Family Picnic!

Miss Nebraska Class of 2013!

On the Carousel - I love these girls!

   Monday night was talent practice and boy was it intimidating. These were seriously some of the most talented young women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
   I got back to my house that night and the emotions really hit me. Not only were the emotions strong thanks to the experience of being at Miss Nebraska, but upon arriving home I saw an email from my director about my last appearance as Miss Kool-Aid Days. I have had such an amazing year as Miss Kool-Aid Days that it honestly makes me incredibly sad to think that it is almost over. Wiping my tears as I walked into my room I was faced with a beautiful silver jewelry box and a card from my mom. The card explained that the jewelry box described me and went on to discuss how each bead of a charm bracelet depicted an aspect of my Miss Nebraska journey and the support of my family. I'm so sentimental I was a balling mess. It was one of the first of many times I couldn't help but feel awed by how lucky I am to have the most amazing family, friends, and opportunities!

   Tuesday was a great day with our little sisters, but it was also the tough day at Miss Nebraska. It was the day I really started thinking about how amazing all of my sister queens are and I started feeling inadequate. I am so incredibly thankful I had a fellow pageant sister to go through the experience with though. It was nice to have someone who understood, but we both started feeling better after Jay and Amy chatted with the group about judging and after we had a chance to remember how much we could bring to the table as Miss Nebraska if given the opportunity.

Signing Autographs!

Pictures with my little sister!

Enjoying Frosties and Kool-Aid!

Photobomb success!

One of my favorite pictures from the week!

Playing Ninja - I am so thankful Mindy introduced this game to us!

   Wednesday was a big day. We started first thing with the judges as interview began. After waiting awhile (I was number 14 after all), I finally got to meet the panel of judges. While I was looking forward to talking about my year as Miss Kool-Aid Days, they had a much more challenging conversation in store. I didn't think it was a bad interview, but I certainly didn't think it was wonderful. I didn't have much time to dwell on it though, because we were rushed off to the Rotary Luncheon once I arrived back at the dressing room.

My rock and best friend for the week!

Ready for interview - what a good looking group!

    The Rotary luncheon is one of the best meals all week, not only for the food, but for the conversation as well. I had the pleasure of sitting with some extremely kind men as well as our state directors. We chatted about the Great State of Nebraska and about our personal lives until the program began. During the program, they do a raffle ticket drawing. They called out the numbers; as I listened, I barely noticed a ticket slide in front of me until the man next to me called out "We have a winner here!" I looked around in confusion before I realized he was talking about me! The emcee came over with a deck of cards and asked me to pick one. After picking a card, I asked what card I was looking for. I glanced at my king of hearts as he stated they were looking for the ace of spades. "I have it!" I proclaimed...before having to admit I was only joking. The kind man sitting beside me did win $5 and we got to have a pleasant conversation afterwards. It was a really great way to relax before the first night of competition!
   Wednesday night was the first night of preliminary competition. I started the evening with the opening number and introducing my little sisters. I was excited for the once in a lifetime introduction: "Hello and welcome! I am Kimberly Brennan, your Miss Kool-Aid Days. I am proud to present the 'Kool-est' little sisters Miss Nebraska has to offer, Evelyn and McKinley!" To which they responded "Oh Yeah!" They really had fun with it and so did I!

Opening Number!

   It was quickly on to the swimsuit competition. Normally I could take or leave this portion of competition, but this year I was really excited after a focus on healthy eating and getting my workouts in. I felt great in my swimsuit and I really enjoyed strutting my stuff on stage!

"Girl look at that body..."

"...I work out!"

   The part of competition I had most been looking forward to, however, was evening wear. Walking out in my simple, form fitting, red dress truly made me feel like I finally had my "princess" moment. I even noticed a collective "oh" as I walked out in my gown which was thrilling. I would have gladly stayed onstage an extra 10 minutes just to show off the beauty of the gown!

   Visitation at the end of the night is almost always one of my favorite parts of the evening, especially on preliminary night number 1 - we actually get to see family again! This year I was honored to hear incredible compliments about how much I had grown in a year, how poised, confident, and sincere I looked onstage, and how much people enjoyed watching me. I was honored to even receive praise from volunteers and board members alike about how well I had done. One person even told me that they would love to be friends with me, simply because I looked like a fun, genuine individual onstage. This was perhaps one of the most touching parts of the week. After losing the hearing in my left ear at 14, I really shut myself off from the world and had trouble interacting. I never really exuded confidence or allowed myself to be natural and have fun onstage. Being Miss Kool-Aid Days, putting in all of the community service that I have, and plunging into my platform really gave me the confidence that I needed and the poise that I displayed on stage.

Olivia - one of the sweetest little sisters!

With my greatest supporter!

Emily has been a huge inspiration from my experiences. She is a CMN Miracle Child and a Miss Nebraska Little Sister!

With Evelyn!

My baby niece!

A huge part of my pageant inspiration :)

 

The AMAZING Miss Nebraska Directors!

 

   Thursday proved to be a rough one. No matter how many times I had nailed my talent (or even close to nailed my talent) on stage and off previously, it just would not go how it was supposed to on stage. I felt like I had done so well on Wednesday that the whole outcome of the week depended on my ability to pull off my talent on Thursday. After a long afternoon of rehearsals, I went back home, cried for a few minutes, then got over it and began practicing my talent in the street. Once I finally got over the stress of the week and the fear of messing up, I nailed every last move in the very first talent I ran at the house! I didn't give up though, I practiced for about 20 more minutes before heading inside to clean up and have a quick dinner before shooting back over to the school.
   My first area of competition for the night was onstage question. While many contestants stress over onstage question, I really like it. Earlier in the week I was getting ready for interview and I thought I would be asked about health care for sure. It never came up in my interview, so I didn't worry about it. Lo and behold, when I drew a question from the fishbowl, it was about health care! I seriously think I have someone watching out for me.
   I even managed to nail my routine that night! After hitting everything, I ran off stage and jumped on my dear sister queen Jessica Littlejohn celebrating a great performance, I hugged Hans (our emcee) and then repeated the exciting celebration when I reached our production manager and my amazing sister queen Jessica White on the other side! This was definitely another favorite memory from the week!

Visitation Pictures:

With the amazing directors of Sue's Stepperettes

Another one of my biggest supporters

I cannot believe how lucky I am!

With the lovely Kayla Batt

With the incredible Jessica White!

 

   After a week of hard work with the competition, we got a break on Friday. Our first major activity for the day was the Children's Museum. The museum was absolutely amazing. I was able to see my family, race cars with a little boy, learn a song on piano with a little girl, help some kids with crafts, get treated by some amazing "doctors," and have an amazing time with my sister queens. I also got to talk with the director and some of the staff about what we can do better to improve the upcoming generations. At one point, the staff even complimented me saying I would be great working with kids. I love hearing those kinds of compliments because it is what I plan to do with my life!

   Next up was the parade. I was lucky enough to ride with Miss Douglas County's Outstanding Teen Cari Wadman and my good friend and sister queen Charissa Hauge. As Miss Kool-Aid Days, I got to have the Kool-Aid Man walk in the parade with me as everyone handed out free Kool-Aid; We only had one problem - Charissa is scared of mascots! I am so proud of my girl though, she rode in the parade, on the same side as Kool-Aid Man and didn't have any problems!

   Shortly after finishing the parade, it was time for the garden party. I wasn't sure what I thought of the idea of having a garden party Friday night, but it ended up being perfect! Not only did I get to spend time with my family, but it was fun getting to see how creative everyone had been with their bags (and umbrellas for the teens). We even got to hear some phenomenal singing!

All of the girls!

I love the flapper idea!

Stepperettes!

Get us together at a Miss Nebraska party and we...talk about baton :)

Love love love these ladies! Mindy is seriously one of the kindest, funniest people I have ever met!

Beautiful!

  
   Saturday marked our last day at Miss Nebraska. We began the day with the Children's Miracle Network golf fundraiser. We weren't able to get enough golf carts for all of us, so Charissa Hauge, Jessica White, Morgan Yost, and I stuffed ourselves into a small golf cart to roam the (mostly) unknown golf course. It may have been one of the best 20 minute periods of time I have spent at Miss Nebraska. Charissa drove us up and down hills, around golf carts, and through the greens (for the most part) without actually losing anyone (although we came close)! After quite the adventure, we made it back just in time to catch our rides and get ready for the teen pageant in the afternoon.

   This year's teen contestants were incredibly talented and had really tough competition. I am sure the new Miss Nebraska's Outstanding Teen, Samantha Washington will do an excellent job serving the state of Nebraska!

Photo from the Miss Nebraska website compliments of Don Milroy Photography!

 

   At the final night of competition they began by announcing the top 8. I am incredibly proud of all of my sister queens, especially the girls who made top 8. While I did not make top 8, I was amazingly honored to receive the non-finalist talent award - I guess my interview went better than I thought!

I am so proud to say I have gotten to share some amazing memories with this phenomenal Miss Nebraska!

The incredible Top 8!

   Without any pressing responsibilities for the rest of the night, I had the opportunity to help the amazing 8 girls who were a step closer to their dream have the smoothest night of competition possible. I jumped right into helping my table mate Kiya and my good friend Charissa right away and I did what I could the rest of the night.
   I was doing really well with everything until one of our incredible hostesses hugged me and, nearly in tears, told me "You have character." It was one of the most touching compliments I have ever received. Earlier in the week, I ran into the reporter from the newspaper who asked me how you cope with the fact that you don't win when it happens, assuming everyone comes there to win, whether they are intensely seeking the win or not. I never really got to answer her question, but that's how I cope. I help out those around me, I remind myself that I have so much to offer the world, whether that is as Miss Kool-Aid Days, Aunt 'Ti,' or Miss Brennan, and I remember that only one of us are meant to fill the shoes of Miss Nebraska and that God has chosen that path for one girl for a reason. Honestly, having character means more to me than any crown.
   I am proud of all of the girls for competing at Miss Nebraska. They accomplished so much, set amazing examples, and made the week a truly unforgettable one. I am proud of JaCee and excited to see her amazing journey as Miss Nebraska. I know she will make Nebraska proud.

Photo courtesy of Don Milroy Photography - what an incredible moment!

 

   There are far too many people to thank for making my week at Miss Nebraska a success, but I would like to focus on a few real quick. I want to thank my mother for all of her hard work and her support to get me to this point; my directors and the Kool-Aid Days festival for giving me the opportunity not only to compete, but to grow so much; the Miss Nebraska Board, without whom the pageant wouldn't have been possible; my amazing sister queens; our wonderful little sisters; my host family, Diane and Kirk Livingston; our hostesses, especially my personal hostess, Lynda; my always helpful and positive table mate Kiya; my brother and sister and their families for taking time to come see me compete; Bob, Sue, and Tami Foehlinger for their constant support (along with the Stepperette family that made the trek to the pageant); my boyfriend for being there in some of my best and some of my most difficult times and his family for traveling to Miss Nebraska to watch me; and to a few of the sister queens I spent most of my time with for sharing some of my fondest memories from the week. There are so many more to thank, but I hope I have reached everyone on a personal level, even if they weren't mentioned!

My wonderful brother and sister-in-law

Part of my boyfriends family

The other part

   At the beginning of the week, I cried at the thought of my last appearance as Miss Kool-Aid Days. At the end of the week, I was able to say that I am still proud and excited to be your Miss Kool-Aid Days. I am currently arranging more appearances so I can go out with a bang as the first ever Miss Kool-Aid Days - here goes nothing!