New Blog

Hey everyone,

Since being crowned Miss Utah County I've started a new blog. Thank you for all of your love and support. I'm excited for the opportunity to be able to go back to Miss Utah and not only serve a wonderful city but an incredible county! Please follow my blog for updates on what i'm doing and also to get information about my platform. Thank you for everything!

http://missutahcounty2012.blogspot.com/

Love,

Lauren

Volunteer Week

April 4 - 9 was Volunteer Week for American Fork City. Previous Miss American Fork Kaitlin Hale first came up with Volunteer Week and it has been a hit ever since. We did multiple service projects along with a blood drive, 5k run and a Thank You concert to thank all of the people of American Fork City who help make our city the wonderful city that it is. We had the opportunity to hear from a lot of great performers that night including Jessie Funk and oh my goodness she is amazing. Needless to say Volunteer Week was a huge success. Thank you to all who participated and made it such a wonderful opportunity.

Hobby Lobby Grand Opening

I cannot begin to express how excited I was when I drove passed the wonderfully bright lit building that read "Hobby Lobby" I was like a little kid at Christmas time at the thrill of having one of these amazing stores so close. If you have never been to Hobby Lobby you should most diffidently go. If you can think it they most likely have it. Needless to say I could not be most thrilled that this wonderful store chose such a wonderful city to have it's store. 

Thank You Dinner For the Arts Council

Everyone has had something in their life that "saved" them from a hard time or a trial in their life. Sometimes that lifesaver is a sport, or a person, or a hobby. For me it was Musical Theater. All throughout Junior High I was a Cheerleader for the American Fork Cavemen! Being a Cheerleader was something I had always wanted to be and getting the chance to perform dances in front of a crowd and cheer on my friends while they played a great sport was a dream. When I reached the 9th grade I had the choice to try out for the High School cheer squad or audition for Musical Theater. Having done Musical Theater my whole life I decided that it would be a talent that would be beneficial and one that I could use for the rest of my life. With that said I auditioned for the High School Musical Theater Department and ended up making it. Little did I know that Musical Theater would be the reason I made it through high school. I wouldn't say I was ever the most popular girl or ever had the most friends but people knew who i was whether it was for the good or the bad. As most people would agree high school was a time in my life that i would never want to re live but if i ever had to relive it...i know that one decision that i made my Freshman year of High School of whether or not to audition for Musical Theater or try out for the Cheer Squad would be the same. So the real reason i shared this personal story is because on February 15th I was asked to perform for the members of The American Fork Arts Council at a Thank You Dinner that the city put on to thank them for all of their hard work. I just want to them to know along with teachers, coaches, and directors you have one of the most important jobs. You will and have changed the lives of many and will continue to do so. Thank you for what you do.

Princess and Pirate Night at Chick-Fil-A

As a little girl you grow up watching Disney classics such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid. I think it is every little girls dream to become a Princess just like the ones she grew up watching on her favorite movies. Even though each of us is already a "Princess" or "Prince" I had the chance to dress up with other little girls and we got to act like the Royalty that we really are with dresses, crowns, and delicious food! On January 31st Chick-Fil-A had their Princess and Pirates at the American Fork. This was probably one of my favorite events! Seeing everyone dresses up whether it was in creative pirate costumes to the lovely princesses that i saw in their beautiful gowns it was a night to remember. Make sure to check out Chick-Fil-A's facebook page to get their weekly updates and events! Go to Facebook.com and type in Chick-Fil-A at American Fork!

VFW Christmas Party

Oh how I love the Veterans of Foreign Wars! They are the sweetest people you will ever meet!! I was lucky enough to get invited to their Christmas Party and oh how it was so much fun. It was held at the Golden Coral and we had the chance to hear from some amazing young writers, Denise with Letters to Soldiers, we got to see awards given and also had a good time singing some Christmas songs but what I loved most about attending this Christmas party was the love and care these people have for one another. While I was there I had the chance to sit by Commander Edwards daughter who's husband just returned home from Iraq and will be deployed again within the next few months. While I was explaining my platform for Miss American Fork and also for Miss Utah she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said "I didn't think people cared anymore, but you proved me wrong" She expressed to me that although it is hard for the soldiers to leave their families it is even harder for those loved ones that are left at home. It brought tears to my eyes as I heard the things that her family had been through the past couple of years and how people really are forgetting that freedom isn't free. Someone, somewhere is paying the price for my freedom along with yours. The least we can do is show them that we care, and show our support and love for this wonderful gift they are giving us.

Wasatch Winds Symphonic Band

I was lucky enough to open for the Wasatch Winds Symphonic Band on December 6. Considering it is the Christmas season they did a lot of different Christmas song. My favorite one they did was an arrangement of all the popular Christmas song but they were all written in the opposite key. I love going to these concerts because it reminds me of what an incredibly talented people we have living in American Fork. At the end of the concert Santa came up and directed the band but honestly did more dancing then directing. After the concert was over I had the chance to help Santa in passing out candy canes to all the good girls and boys.

Operation Teddy Bear

With my platform for Miss American Fork and also for Miss Utah I have been focusing a lot on supporting the families of our military. I teamed up with Kraig Throne who is with the Veterans of Foreign Wars and we came up with Operation Teddy Bear. Operation Teddy Bear is a non profit organization that provides bears, uniforms, and voice recorders to the children of deployed soldiers. The bear is designed to be a symbol of the child's loved one that is serving. We also include a uniform for the bear to be dressed in and also a voice recorder so that the parent or loved one can record a message on the recorder and it will be placed into the bear for the child to replay over and over again. So far we have passed out over 200 bears and are looking to give out over 2000 within the year of 2011. We have had funds come in but are still looking for more. If you are interested in donating you  have two options
1. For small donations you can go to your local Wells Fargo bank and tell them you want to donate to Operation Teddy Bear.
2. For larger donations please contact me at missaf2010@hotmail.com or Kraig at operationteddybear@hotmail.com and we can give you more details from there

Also all donations can be used as a tax write off. If you want to email either me or Kraig we can get you all of the information you need!!

Show you care donate a bear. 

OPERATION TEDDY BEAR: Operation Teddy Bear helps children with parents serving overseas - KSTU

OPERATION TEDDY BEAR: Operation Teddy Bear helps children with parents serving overseas - KSTU

Thank You's

Considering it is the season of being thankful I thought I would take sometime and say thank you to some of the people who have helped me while being Miss American Fork.

Mom: Wow I could not being doing this if it wasn't for you and the constant push and drive you help me achieve everyday.  Thank you for always being here for me....you really are wearing this crown with me and I truly appreciate the love and support you give me on a daily basis. You're my best friend. Thank you for being so willing to help all the time, even though you are extremely busy. Thank you for coming up with such creative ideas and making sure we accomplish them. Thank you for always being there for me to talk too, It really means a lot. I love you!

Dad: Thank you for being so supportive and helpful these past couple of months. It really has meant the world to me having you be apart of this wonderful journey. Thank you for always being so excited for me, it is your enthusiasm and love that gets me through my rough patches and I'm very grateful for you. Thank you for teaching me how to market myself and how to have a good work ethic. Thank you for always being there when I need to talk, and thank you for always being so understanding....you always know the right things to say. Thank you 
for that constant reminder that I can do it and to work  my hardest. Thanks for being the best dad ever, I love you!

Rebecca: I don't know what I would do without you. Thank you for not only being my friend, but also the best cousin a girl could ask for. Thank you for our hour long talks and thank you for being my shopping buddy :) I love you so much and i'm grateful that you live so close.

Matt: If you only knew how much you do for me on a daily basis. Thank you so much for always being there for me to talk too. Thank you for being so supportive. Thank you for always being honest with me. Thank you for constant reminder that I can do this, and that I'm beautiful.  Thank you for always cheering me up and putting a smile on my face, I know I can always count on you for a good laugh. Thank you for being my best friend.........I couldn't ask for a better one. I love you.

Coney's and Kisses!

Oh happy day!!! Coney's is now in American Fork! I was invited to come to the Coney's Grand Opening on Saturday November 13! It was so fun to be able to go and congratulate such a wonderful company and welcome them into the city! If you've never been to Coney's you should diffidently go, they have AMAZING frozen custard and everyday they have a different flavor! They also serve delicious gourmet hot dogs and hamburgers! Along with the amazing food I also made a cute little friend while I was there! This cute little in the pictures was no stranger and decided to give me a few little kisses on the cheek while we were taking pictures! after that he wanted me to hold him and look how cute he is.....I just couldn't resist the invitation!

Veterans Memorial

Growing up I never realized how special the 11 of November was, until this year. I was really lucky to be able to attend the "Freedom is not Free" memorial for the Veterans at the Tabernacle last Thursday. What an amazing ceremony it was. We were lucky to hear from two students who spoke about the cost of freedom, and we were lucky to hear from Spencer Cannon who is such an incredible man and gave a phenomenal speech. After the speakers we got to hear from the American Fork Chamber Orchestra. I have always had a deep love for music, and the Orchestra brought tears to my eyes with each song they played. 

 After that they read the names of those in our city who lost their lives in service, so that we could live the glorious lives that we live every day, followed by a wreath hug in their honor. I have never felt so many mixed emotions than I felt while attending this amazing ceremony. I felt guilt for the lives lost in order for me to have the freedoms that I have today, I felt lucky that there were people out there who love me enough in order to serve their country, and I felt an excessive amount of sadness for those sons and daughters, wives and husbands, girlfriends and boyfriends, and mom's and dad's that have loved ones serving this wonderful country. To those men and women that are serving, who have served, or who are planning on serving, thank you for making this world a better place.....I don't know what we would do without you.

Cornbellys

On Thursday night my family decided to pack everyone up and head over to Cornbellys for some family fun. While we were there I got to ride the mechanical bull for free :) which was pretty fun and shoot a giant pumpkin shooter they  also have some fun corn mazes and a haunted lizard and corn maze if you are brave enough to go through them....I chickened out and didn't go through the haunted corn maze...although my five year old brother did! So even though Cornbellys is no longer open for the season, make sure to mark a day on your calendars for some good ol' family bonding time at Cornbellys :) 

Downtown Trick-Or-Treat!

I love Halloween!! It is so fun to be able to dress up like something for the night and get enough candy to last you a whole year! If you aren't familiar with the downtown trick-or-treat that American Fork does it's fantastic! They get businesses that are on Main Street in American Fork to pass out candy to little trick-or-treaters. It's a great way to promote your business and also to support your community! I got to be at the start of the route, which started at the senior citizen center! It was so fun to see everyones costumes they were all so creative! Well around  4 o'clock we did costume judging and I was lucky to be apart of that! There were the COOLEST costumes.....from Pumpkin Princesses to Cereal Killers I had the best time! 

 

My cute brothers and sister came and saw me :)

American Fork Symphony

If you have never attended an American Fork Symphony, you need to!! They are phenomenal! We were lucky enough to be able to be introduced at the American Fork Symphony concert tonight. I have never heard such beautiful music, I was so impressed with all of the wonderful talents that I was able to see tonight and all of the hard work that everyone puts in to make those concerts so wonderful. Thank you so much for having us tonight it was out pleasure to be apart of your amazing concert.

Halloween 5K Fun Run!

On Saturday October 23 I got to judge some costumes at the Halloween 5K Fun Run!! It was so fun to see all of the creative costumes and be able to watch as little children to grandparents completed this 5K! It was also fun to spend time getting to know all of the great people who helped put the race together, the people of American Fork city truly are amazing people who are always willing to help each other out. Normally when I go to an appearance I wear my crown and sash so that people know who I am, not matter how hard I try to fit in I seem to always stick out like a sore thumb...unless it is Halloween! Then everyone assumes that being Miss American Fork is just your costume! I don't know if it's the blonde hair or my lack of common sense but it didn't occur to me that people would think that I would be Miss American Fork for Halloween! So after being at the race for a little less than 5 minutes I had person after person asking me if it was real. Overall it was very entertaining to see some of the reactions :)

Meet The Candidates Night!

Here is a little secret about me, ready? Well I have been avoiding singing The National Anthem all of my life. Not because I don't love our beautiful country but because for some reason that song terrifies me to sing! Well I finally overcame my fear when my dear friend Kraig Throne asked me to sing The National Anthem at the Meet The Candidates Night on October 19. It was great to become educated on what each of the candidates stood for and what they would do to better improve the state. Make sure you mark your calendars and vote on November 2nd! 

Friends Week At The American Fork Library!

I don't think there is a better place to make friends than the library! I was blessed to be a part of Friends Week at the Library on Monday October 18th I got to sit at a table and tell people about the program Friends of the Library! The American Fork Library has a group called the friends who meet together once a month and plan activities to help support and raise money for the library. When you sign up to be a friend of the library you agree to volunteer some of your time when they have activities and events. I was lucky enough to meet some of the friends of the library and I have never met happier people who honestly love to serve their community. One of my favorite things about being Miss American Fork is getting to meet such amazing people! If you are not already a friend of the library make sure to stop by and sign up!

Miss Utah's Outstanding Teen!

On October 1st and 2nd I had the opportunity to support two of my dearest friends Chloe Johnson and Tiffany Vincent in the Miss Utah's Outstanding Teen competition. It was so fun to watch these girls compete for the title of Miss Utah's Outstanding Teen and they both did a spectacular job, I am so proud of both of them! congratulations to Chloe Johnson for winning 2nd runner up, you deserve it and I'm so proud to call you my "little sister." Also congratulations to Tiffany Vincent for doing a pageant and putting yourself out there and being the amazing girl that you are, you truly shined like star and I hope you will consider doing another pageant. People think that pageants are easy, but let me be the first to tell you that they are anything but that. A lot of preparation goes into being in a pageant and you learn a lot about yourself , the woman that you are, and that woman that you want to become. I look up to any girl that has ever competed in a pageant  because although they may look like a beauty contest, it is far from that.