Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

Well, Christmas is over... All of the houses' lights are slowly flickering off. The trees are coming down and the trashbags filled with wrapping paper are being put out at the end of the driveway.

I've been so lucky to spend the holidays with my family. Christmas was two days for us this year. Christmas Eve was spent with my brother and my mom. Let me tell you about this cool tradition of ours - Every year on Christmas Eve, we get to open one present early as long as Mom gets to choose. Well, it used to be a surprise but then we caught on a realized it was pajamas every year ;) So now we just look forward to our new pj's. This year, however, was slightly different. Mom hand-made my brother and I the onesie that Max wears in "Where the Wild Things Are". SO COOL.

They are so soft and warm. And duplicate as awesome Halloween costumes! We took mom to the airport the next morning super early while still wearing our pj's so she could fly out and spend part of the holiday with her parents. Jansen (my brother) did not take his off until the following evening and only because he really needed to shower.

Christmas day was spent with my dad and my step-family. We woke up bright and early to do presents and then proceeded to fill ourselves with pancakes and cinnamon rolls, yum. One of the coolest things we "got" was a riddle accompanied by a rhyme. I don't remember the whole rhyme, but it told us that the four items that we were given represented words that we had to put together to find out what the gift was. The items were: a tack, a pot, a lightbulb, and a pack of matches. My brothers and I were shouting out "Pin! Light! Bowl! Match!", "Pot! Matchbox! Lights! Pin!", and awful combinations like that. Finally I said "tack" instead of "pin" and we all got it at once - Tacky Light Tour and the Melting Pot.

Our family was going in a limo on the Richmond Virginia Tacky Light Tour and to the Melting Pot for dessert afterward. For those of you who may not be familiar with this activity - Richmond, VA has built a legacy of what we call "Tacky Light Houses", or houses that go way overboard with their Christmas light decorations, and consequently make it on an actual tour during the holiday season. Some of them are pretty incredible. One house we saw had over 700 hand-made decorations that used 170,000 lights. 

Attending college in Kansas and investing a good portion of my life there now makes spending the holidays with my family mean so much more. I am blessed to be able to travel back here to see them during this time and I treasure memories like the Tacky Light Tour and sharing a stupid amount of excitement with my brother when we open a pair of pj's that our mom took the time to hand-make for us. 

I hope you all have had a great holiday season and continue to through the New Year. 

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

Home For The Holidays

I flew back to Virginia to be with my family over the winter holidays last week. It's really great to see all my family and friends but there is no rest for the weary! I spent yesterday with Rick Mckinney of Rick Mckinney Images getting my headshots done. They turned out so well - I really feel like a queen (:

While I'm home, I am making more progress on my book. I'm working on the text and the layout of it all. Also practicing and working out the details of my talent which is still a secret...! Hoping to get some rest while I'm on break but also keep up with workouts and eating healthy as the new year approaches.

I probably won't be posting as much over the break, but I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a great start to the new year!

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

From the Wooded Hills to the dreaded Finals Week...

On Saturday I had the privilege of singing the National Anthem at the Miss Wooded Hills pageant. I got to see some good friends and support the four women who competed that night. Savannah Kelley walked away with the title, but all four ladies did a really incredible job.

After a packed extended-weekend, it's full speed ahead through finals week. I have five exams in the first three days - two Wednesday morning before I fly out that evening!! It'll be another crazy couple days, but I've already conquered one exam, I have a critique in an hour and then three more till I'm done. Lesgo!

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

Radiothons, Parades and Pageants, OH MY!

I've been keeping pretty busy this past week, which might not be the best thing to be the week before finals - but I'm staying on my feet! I've had the opportunity to be a part of some pretty amazing events the past couple days.

Wednesday, I traveled to Kansas City with Mai-Thy Ta (Miss Woodson County) to volunteer with Mix 93.3's MIX for KIDS Radiothon benefitting Children's Miracle Network. I don't believe they have posted their total from the two-day event yet, but from what I can tell from other posts and updates, we raised well over $177,000! That's incredible. All the money raised during the event is staying in Kansas City and going straight to children's hospitals here. A huge thank you to corporate as well as individual pledges and sponsors, it was a huge success.




Thursday (yesterday), I made the drive to Augusta, Kansas where I was part of the Augusta Christmas Parade with Alyssa Marsh, Miss Augusta. We braved the cold and got to ride in a fantastic red Corvette. We met Andy the Alpaca as well as Santa and his elves! It's always great to see our directors, Larry Strong and Juven Nava, too.

Tomorrow I'll be in Leavenworth to sing the National Anthem for the Miss Leavenworth pageant. Then it's godspeed through finals week!! Wish me luck!

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

Finals Week

Finals week is spreading across the country... Mine starts on Monday.

It's important to remember to sleep, breathe, eat, and relax. Studying is important but staying up studying till 4 am is not going to do you any good when you are falling asleep during the test. Take study breaks - go to the gym, get coffee with a friend, watch one episode on Netflix (don't get hooked though).

Finals week gets students very frazzled and stressed. Once it's over, our minds give a big exhale and are off their guard - this is when germs creep in. After finals week, don't let your immune system's guard down. Drink lots of water, exercise, and sleep. It doesn't help that the cold weather is encroaching and we are all inside stewing in each other's germs, but doing these things will help.

That being said - good luck to everyone on your finals. Take three deep breaths before you begin each exam. Know that these exams are not the end of the world...they are very small in comparison to the big picture. So don't stress, it's not worth it.

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

I have a surprise for you!

You only get this little peek...

I have mentioned on Facebook that I have big plans for states this year. That is absolutely true. Along with writing and illustrating my own children's book, I have a few other tricks up my sleeve.

In preparation for Miss Kansas, there are several things that go into it...more than some of you might expect. Health, fitness, being up to date on current and political events, finding "the dress", prepping your talent, paperwork, community service and platform work - all things that are considered as June approaches.

Keep checking back to see what I am up to, maybe I'll leak a little more about this surprise before June ;)

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014

#positivelypink

Over break, I was at the mall on Black Friday doing what you do on Black Friday...shopping. My mom and I went into a store just to steal a quick look at a pair of pants. On my way out, I was waiting my turn out the door and looked up to see the best thing I could have seen on the other side of the glass door - Kristen Harris.

Kristen Harris was a teacher and mentor of mine in high school. My senior year, I was in a leadership class she was teaching when the school learned that she had been diagnosed with severe breast cancer. My class ended up starting The Harris Project (you can read more about what that is here: http://theharrisproj.weebly.com/what-is-it.html ) where we raised over $8,000 for the Massey Cancer Center in her honor.

Kristen's chemotherapy wrapped up right at the end of October, a huge thing to celebrate.  I'm not home often, so running into her and being able to catch up briefly was a real treat. She is the kind of person that you never see without a smile on her face and she is the among the most kindhearted people I've had the experience of knowing despite what she has dealt with. She's a constant reminder of how thankful we should all be for everything we are blessed with and a shining example of positivity.

Stay #positivelypink .

- Annika Wooton

Miss Butler County 2014