American Heart Association Heart Walk 2012

Hello again!

It is only 10a.m. and I have already attended an event and had time for an awesome breakfast this morning! This is what happens when you start your day at 5:30a.m.! This morning was the American Heart Association Heart Walk, an annual event that promotes being heart healthy and raises money for heart research! I was in charge of leading the "Children's Mile" warm up, greeting the walkers (and runners) before and after the Children's Mile, and signing a few autographs in the mean time! I got to enjoy this event with Kimberly Brennan, Miss Heartland!

This event began at 7:00a.m. with autograph signings, then at 8a.m. I led the warm up and greeted the participants, and we were all done by 9:30! It always feels great to get so much done so early in the morning! Luckily, it was also a GORGEOUS morning for the event, which makes it even more enjoyable!

Here I am with Hearty!! 

With two of my fellow twirlers, Steph and Michelle! Wish I could have performed with them this morning but I had other jobs!

Here I am with Kimberly Brennan, Miss Heartland! Kim and I have had such a fun time attending events together all year!

Leading the Children's Mile warm up!

Kimberly and I with the Creighton Mascot!

Here we are with Hearty!

Kim and I got to hang out around the start/finish line to pump up the participants in the beginning and then to cheer them on and congratulate them as they finished the race!

Here we are with some of the walkers!

The finish line!

These kids are all wearing capes. The capes are made by a company that designs them for heart disease survivors. Each child gets to choose the color they want their cape to be! Such a fun group of kids to spend time with!

Showing the capes!

It was SUCH a beautiful day for the Heart Walk!

Kimberly and I ar our autograph booth!

A big thanks to Ashley Christiensen for inviting us! We had such a great time at the walk and we are both hoping to make it back next year!

Kimberly and I are both baton twirlers in marching bands, so we are naturally drawn to other marching band members! It was great to hear the Papillion LaVista drum line this morning!

I have been volunteering for the American Heart Association since I was a sophomore in high school (5 years now!) and I have to say that the organization never ceases to amaze me. They do so much to make sure that people are happy and healthy, they do so much for both children and adults who are having heart problems, and they do so much for the community! It is always uplifting to attend Heart Association events. Thanks again to Ashley Christiensen for inviting Kimberly and I to participate in such a fun event this morning!!

I have more events coming up this week so stay tuned!

Love,

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

Teaching Baton, Dance, Tumbling, and Teamwork to Girl Scouts!

Hello everyone!

Yesterday I had an opportunity to teach some basic skills to a group of Girl Scouts in the Omaha area. The girls came to the studio and I gave them an hour-long lesson on baton twirling, dance, tumbling, and teamwork! At the end, I let the girls try on my crown (which was of course their favorite part)! We had a great time and learned a lot together! My favorite part of the class was at the end when I asked what everyone's favorite baton trick from the day was, they all said the same thing...VANILLA CHOCOLATE! This is the first baton trick that we teach our students at the studio, and it is always a hit (maybe because we link it to ice cream flavors)! I have a few pictures from the day to share!

Here are the girls as I am explaining what we're going to do with our time together!

This is a High V..

This is a Low V!

Here I am doing a "summersault roll off!"

Helping the girls with their summsaults!

Here is the whole group, so much fun!!

They wanted to do a silly picture, but I couldn't stop laughing!

Here are each of the girls getting crowned :)

It was such a fun day for everyone involved! I hope the girls had as much fun learning the basic skills as I had teaching them! I will never forget the memories we made yesterday!

That is all for now, I have a few appearances coming up in the next couple weeks so stay tuned! 

Rachel

Miss Lincoln

Autism Society of Nebraska's Autism Puzzle Walk & 5K Run

This morning, I had an experience unlike any other, for many reasons. The event was the Autism Society of Nebraska's Autism Puzzle Walk & 5K Run. I was honored to be asked to appear at this event, and have been looking forward to it all year!

When I arrived at the event I was immediately asked to perform a twirling routine, so even though it was a little chilly (and a little early), I performed for the crowd and had a great time! After I twirled, I had time to walk around and talk to the different teams from the race, the kids...and some people I did not expect to run into, which brings me to my first set of photos! (Since I performed at the event, I did not have hair suitable for wearing a crown, but that led to an opportunity to crown anyone who wanted it!)

Mr. Star Trooper America :)

I am a new member!

My favorite picture ever, this is Bently! 

With the Storm Chasers mascot..

I had a great time with those characters, but the interactions I had with the kids at the event were truly special. As I mentioned earlier, I twirled right when I got to this event, and it ended up being a success because I was asked to give an impromptu twirling class to a few kids who were dying to learn some tricks! I had so much fun teaching and interacting with some of the kids!

 I spent the rest of my time interacting with people, and I had several people approach me about one thing. I was approached by a number of people who asked me if I knew "that boy twirler who used to twirl for the Huskers that passed away." When I mentioned that he was my brother, I was told by many people how much his performances inspired them, some told me they stopped going to the bathroom at halftime because they didn't want to miss a performance of his, and some said that he gave them a reason to go to games when the team wasn't doing so hot. These conversations remind me how many people one person can impact. My brother is, to this day, one of the most amazing people I have ever met. He had a gift for motivating people and connecting with them, not to mention twirling ability beyond most others of his time. I have lived every day since he passed in his memory, and I try every day to continue his legacy and make him proud. Today I was reminded why. I don't usually go so deep with my blogs, but I really wanted to share this because it was a very special experience for me.

I have lots more pictures to share from the rest of the day! 

Crowning the kids!

The announcers..

Thanks for inviting me Mitzi!

Two of Bobby's biggest fans :)

More crowning..

Events like this do not work without the sponsors!

Love my new t-shirt, it will always remind me of this awesome event!

Overall, the event was amazing. There was a great turnout, everyone was having a fun time, I got to hang out with Star Wars characters, and I was reminded why live every day for Bobby. I could not be happier that I made the trip to Omaha this morning to attend the event. I want to thank Mitzi Ritzman for inviting me, and all of the other volunteers for working so hard to make the event so special.

Well that's all for now!

Until next time,

Rachel