Fumuly, Socks, and the Elixir of Life

'Twas a rather lovely week, if I do say so myself.  It started off quite nicely with this lovely package in the mail.  Because my phone doesn't always take the best pictures, I shall convey the message to you, good reader.  It says: "Creepy treats to boo-tiful Kenz.  From your Mummy, Duddy, and Fumuly.  We luv you."  I do so love this note, although I think it may have some spelling errors--jk Mom!  Inside this package was a cute little tin box with popcorn and candies inside...mmmmm!  Plus also there was a little mummy that now currently sits upon my bed.  I really luv my fumuly. ;) 

 On Tuesday I was walking to the Institute building.  During the walk, I happened to look up into the sky.  This is what I saw.  Beautiful, no?

 Wednesday night I received a text saying: "Opening the call at eight" from good ol' Mark Knobbe.  What did I do next?  I then proceeded to tell everyone in my dorm that he had gotten his call and was going to open it that night.  Was I pumped?  Definitely.  Did I count down the hours til he opened it?  Yes.  He was so excited that he could hardly speak.  He's going to Phoenix, Arizona.  I am so proud of this kid.  He's come a long way.

I love Nutella.  It's probably my elixir of life.  I eat it all the time.  No seriously, all the time.  

This is a happy sight.  Indeed, a very happy sight.  

THIS

NOT THIS

WINNER

LOSER

 This would be what four girls cramming their stuff into Saedee's trunk for a weekend home looks like.  It was literally so packed that we couldn't fit much more than another jacket in there.  We packed it so tight it was crazy.  It was a very good weekend.  I surprised my familia by coming home unannounced.  It was AWESOME!!!  I got to the door and they all rushed out in a big ol' group hug.  It was one of my favorite memories of the weekend.  I just really love my family a lot.  They bring me a lot of joy.

 Also this weekend, I had the great opportunity to see my dearest bestest friend in the whole wide world Melissa Carson.  We met up at the football game and proceeded hugging and almost crying and screaming a little bit.  I haven't seen her in a grand total of six weeks, so being with her again was pretty stinkin' close to perfect.  We decided to visit our favorite baldy person at the high school, Mr. Knowles.  Nothing changed, he sent us to the concession stand to get him some money.  When we were in there, we saw this still up on the wall.  It made us super happy.

 This was also there.  We were probably the coolest and most attractive people to ever work in there.  Just sayin'. ;)

Here is a picture of us silly girls and li'l Ethan.  These are two of my favorite people I have been blessed enough to know.  Although this definitely isn't the most attractive picture of us, I think it's still pretty wonderful.

 I have here Mr. Fluffington with the fish.  Contrary to what you may think, he is not trying to catch the little fishies.  No.  Instead he is drinking the water that they live in.  He does this quite frequently.  Is it yummy?  Must be.  He's drinking it.

  So, um, sometimes I'm a creeper and I steal pictures of people I really love off of Facebook.  This would be one of those times.  In the picture, the one with gray on his head, with the beard, is smiling, and looking at the camera, is Brandon Hurst.  He just had his mission farewell on Sunday, which is actually why I ventured back to Declo for the weekend.  He will be leaving for Tempe, Arizona on October 26.  We have kind of a funny friendship, Brandon and me.  We didn't have very good first impressions of each other.  In fact, when we were little, we thought the other was weird and kind of dumb.  I still think he is, well, he's not dumb, but I'm more accepting of him now.  He teases me and I take it.  He makes me a little mad, but then somehow can also be really super nice so that I'm not upset anymore.  Don't tell him, but I'm going to miss him quite a bit while he's gone on his mission.  I'm going to miss grapes, Grinch, Whos, Starbursts, socks, looking to the sky for answers, penguins, his many shoes and how he can't wear the same pair two days in a row, and oh yeah, tractors with GPS so that he doesn't get lost in the field.  He's a really great kid.  I'm lucky to be friends with him.

To end my post for the day, I have decided to tell you about my darling sister, Madi.  Today was a Madi day.  Once I ventured home from school, I had a rather large desire to Facebook stalk her, and so I did.  Whilst doing this, I realized just how much I miss her.  I miss being able to watch chick flicks, Disney movies, and Phineas and Ferb with her.  I miss jumping on her bed at all hours of the night so that I could tell her about a cute boy or a stupid one.  I miss her chocolate chip cookies and brownies.  I miss drawing on the sidewalk with chalk with her.  I miss potential long bike rides with her, then wussing out and going home only about a half mile into it.  I miss belting out Glee songs to her and watching her face light up over a new shirt or hair thing or jewelry she got.  I miss taking weird and crazy pictures with her.  I kind of miss her watch me do my makeup in the mornings.  Kind of.  

Mostly, I just miss Madi.  

She's the greatest.

Tune in next time, folks, for more exciting news and remember:

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

What a World, What a Life!

So I'm pretty much super duper stoked about this new blogger thingy.  They now make it so I can move my pictures wherever I want to and I can upload multiple at a time!  Woot woot!  It makes me really happy.  Well I decided my last few posts have been rather serious, good, but serious.  Time to lighten things up a bit with some silliness!

 This little moth had been fluttering around our apartment for several days, thriving off of our screams when it would flutter by our unsuspecting ears.  Jaycie and I decided to name it Fredrick.  It seemed like a pretty solid name for a moth, don't ya agree?  Well, a few days ago I was talking to Marci about the moth and a picture on her phone.  She was looking at the moth but then mentioned how the guy in the background was looking at the camera.  I thought she meant the moth.  So I said, "There's a camera?!"  I then proceeded to look frantically about the room for a hidden camera as Marci laughed at my stupidity.  Was I embarrassed?  Yes.  Was it worth it?  Definitely.

Several nights later, Marci, Jaycie, Brynn, Ciara, and I were standing in our hall talking.  Brynn saw our moth on the floor and decided she wanted to kick it outside.  As soon as she did, Fredrick exploded.  Literally.  His body and wings flew apart all over our carpet.  Needless to say, Brynn screamed and the rest of us laughed in hysterics for several minutes following the rather dramatic death of Fredrick.  Aren't we awful?

 Happy Halloween!  We have blood or other such mystery crap on our wall in the stairwell.  Someone died there, apparently.  Sick.

 This is my new favorite shirt.  No, it is not an Angry Bird.  It is, in fact, Perry the Platypus from the very wonderful Phineas and Ferb.  I love it lots.  Last Monday I was walking on campus when a herd of Zombies passed by me and then one of them began singing to me.  I was super flattered because he was rather attractive, but could not figure out what he was singing about to save my life.  Until I realized he was singing the Perry the Platypus song!  I fell hopelessly in love with him.  Unfortunately, I don't know his name and I doubt we'll ever meet again, but either way, I'll always reserve a special place for him in my heart.

 Let me explain.  I was doing my laundry downstairs, and I was almost 100% positive that both the washer and dryer was empty of all clothes.  Well, I began to fold my clothes (you can see my progress on the floor) when I came across something navy blue.  I grabbed it and thought that maybe it was someone's belly shirt (gross).  After holding it up though, I realized it was not a belly shirt.  It was a pair of boys underwear.  I was so confused and rather frightened.  Jaycie, though, couldn't stop laughing.  Neither one of us knew where it came from.  Me especially.  Then Jaycie had an idea.

Several weeks ago, we switched out our clothes with the boys' next door.  She thought that one of them decided to drop his underwear off in my hamper when he came back for his clothes.  I wasn't quite sure about this, but it was a somewhat logical explanation!  What did we do next you may wonder?  Well I shall tell you.  We wrote him a creeper note.  It was rather brilliant talking about the moon and stalking and such.  I was quite proud of it.

 This is me Saedee Lou, and Katie, too!  Hehe!  It rhymed.  We decided we needed to take a picture together since we just love each other lots and lots. :)

This is me.  This is what my bed looks like.  Why?  Because I'm a college kid.  If you look closely, you'll see I have all of the necessities of life.  Pillows for sleeping on, Toy Story blanket for napping in, homework scattered here and there, highlighter for homework, pencil for to chew upon, Institute journal, calendar to be somewhat organized, the USU Statesman to be up-to-date on all school happenings, food gift card, two bowls: one for cereal and one for ice cream, a binder for homework, old Biology notes from Knowles's class, lap desk so my laptop doesn't light my bed aflame, headphones to listen to some Mozart while working (and Nick Jonas when I'm not), laptop for homework/notes/Facebook, keys to get into my mailbox, cellphone on my lap, big loose t-shirt and slicky shorts for comfort.  Yes, this is my life.  Yes, I am a college kid. :)

That is all for now friends, stay posted for more information on this stupendous blog, and always remember, ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

Roasting Moths at Conference

This weekend was wonderful! I had the opportunity to see some of my dear friends from back home in good ol' Idaho. They came to my apartment for General Conference and then early Sunday morning we left for SLC to watch the Sunday Morning Session live at the Conference Center. It was so much fun! I really love General Conference. Every year I generally love to hear from the Quorum of the Twelve and First Presidency more than I do the Seventy, but this year, that was not the case. Although I deeply loved to hear from the top 15, those from the Seventy that spoke addressed all of my needs. I now have a firm testimony that those men are called of God. I know this, and am so grateful that I have finally learned it.

So, here are some pictures of this weekends adventures.

This is Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith right in from of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Temple Square. Like every other Latter-Day Saint, I love these two people dearly. However, I have never had such a great appreciation for them as I have gained over the past two or three years. They truly were a remarkable couple; not only in the Church and Restoration, but their love story is probably my favorite of all time. They endured so much together, but they were always faithful and loving to one another. I hope that someday I will be so fortunate as to have a relationship with my husband like Emma's with Joseph.

Me with Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum. I love these two men.

Last year in seminary we talked about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum. I had never really considered Hyrum as a super outstanding individual in Church history. I focused on Joseph, which isn't bad, but I was missing out on a lot of very important information. Anyway, my teacher, Brother Lotz, talked about Hyrum and how he was his personal hero. As we talked about Hyrum, my appreciation for him grew immensely. His strength, faith in, and love for his brother astounds me. I hope that I can be as valiant as he was.

Probably my favorite shot of the the Salt Lake temple. I took a lot of pictures of it. It's so beautiful!!!

Me in front of the temple! Hoorah!

Another picture of the temple. Can you believe it took 40 years to build?!

Here it is again! Oh, interesting story. When the temple was first being built, the saints had inspiration to leave open shafts in parts of the building but didn't know why. Today we use those shafts for elevators. :)

Sarah, Victoria, me, Jacob at the Conference Center. Some kind (and rather attractive) boy volunteered to take our picture. I must say he did a rather fine job!

The organ, MOTAB, and General Authorities from our spot in the balcony.

The Conference Center. Why does it have a steeple? I don't quite understand. Any ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?

We took a stroll around the Logan temple on Saturday night. It is so beautiful!! If I am not so fortunate as to get married in the Nauvoo temple, I would like to get married here. I had the opportunity to be baptized and confirmed for Grandma Dawn here. It was because of this first step, that my mom and dad were sealed by proxy for my Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Welton. Doing this enabled me to have an eternal family. I am always grateful for mine, but today I was especially grateful.

I am homesick again. It's rather unfortunate, and I am trying to get over it, but sometimes it's just super overpowering. Well, as I was in the car coming back from SLC, I received a phone call. I looked and saw it was from my house. I answered expecting to hear my mom's voice, but instead it was the voice of my brother, Ethan. I was so excited to hear his voice, that I started to cry. We talked about Harry Potter Legos and the big battle between Voldemort and the Death Eaters and Harry Potter and Snape. Obviously, I've corrupted, uh, I mean taught, him well. ;) He then told me about his day and I told him a secret and made him cross his heart and swear an oath that he wouldn't tell anyone what it is. He's not very good at keeping secrets, so I expect it will leak out soon, but that's okay. Talking to him about these simple and kind of simple things made me feel so much better. I love my little brother so much. He has a way to make me feel better like no one else can. I go to my dad, mom, and sister for lots of things and they are fantastic at listening and giving advice, but there's something special about his seven year old boy that comforts me more than almost anything. I don't think that he will ever realize how much I depend upon him; his hugs, smile, and genuine concern and love for me.

I am so blessed to have a family that is sealed for time and all eternity. I love them, and can't hardly imagine life without them, especially that little boy.

Cute little Jason by a GINORMOUS moth right outside my dorm building. We thought it was going to eat him up cause it's almost as big as he is. ;)

A better picture of the moth. It was a beast. I was rather frightened for my life when I first saw it. Plus also it's really kind of gross looking in an odd beautiful sort of way...

This is Caleb Smith. He is #5 on my marriage list. He is pretty close to perfect. He plays the piano, sings, is attractive, has blonde hair, blue eyes, is going to be a mechanical engineer (so we'll be rich), is attractive, tall, kind, and has HUGE marshmallows that we roasted over my stove. Yup, we're pretty much a perfect match.

Here we are roasting marshmallows. Mmm mmm good!

A perfect way to end my blog post. Someone put this flower in Emma's hand so it looks as though Joseph gave it to her. Their love was clearly unmatched. Someday I will be this fortunate. Someday.

Highland Cathedral - Band of the United States Air Force Reserve - Mormo...

I watched this in Institute yesterday. I love this song so much. If this isn't what the Second Coming sounds like, I'll be sorely disappointed. Just picture us all marching out as saints and warriors for our Heavenly Father, and then at 3:11 the Savior appears. Nothing could be more beautiful to me.

Uchtdorf-Poppins-Sleeping-Scary-Lehites

A lot of stuff has happened this past week. I have had some really fun days and some rather not-so-fun days. I will just go by these lovely pictures and explain what all happened those days.

On this day Jaycie and I were Anti-Nephi-Lehites plus also Gadianton Robbers. This was for FHE. Alora-lai, our roommate/mother was in charge of it and did a rather fine job. She told us we were having a flour war so, Jayce and I decided we needed to look tough. So we put bandannas upon our heads and instead of being Lamanites or Nephites like everyone else, we decided to be Anti-Nephi-Lehites. Plus also I was wearing a Beatles shirt and a peace sign bandanna which are hippie things and the Anti-Nephi-Lehites were like hippies, minus free love, drugs, and other nasty crap. But then, Alora-lai asked us to be Gadianton Robbers and wreak havoc and cause contention. We decided this was a much funner way to go, so we graciously complied and put our game-faces on. I think we did a rather spectacular job at being annoying and being kind of rude, mostly because I was getting annoyed with myself. Everyone else thought we were fine, though. Kinda bummer. Maybe I should work on being a brat more often...

Anyways, we were split up onto different teams and whoever's team won were the Nephites. My team dominated like champs so obviously we were the Nephites, except not me cause I was a Gadianton Robber and obsessed with secret combinations and other very evil stuff. I think there might be something wrong with me. Oh well! :D

Also last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the General Relief Society Broadcast/Meeting with my mama. I LOVED it! I really love being in Relief Society, which is something I thought I'd never say because I plan on never growing up. Little did I know, though, that Heavenly Father is just being sneaky and made me Relief Society President so that I could grow up a bit. This is a bit of conflict of interest. Maybe there's a balance somewhere where I can still keep my dignity when climbing trees and furniture and being Relief Society President. I'm sure it's possible. Maybe.

This is my very attractive roommate, Marci. We had a little sleepover earlier this week. We picked up her mattress and threw it on the floor in my and Jaycie's room. It was quite enjoyable and I had lots and lots of fun. Marci did, too. Can't you tell? ;)

This is the tabernacle at the Relief Society Broadcast. This was taken before President Monson, President Uchtdorf, and President Eyring walked in. By the time they entered the room, almost the entire place was full! It was so incredible! President Uchtdorf talked and it was one of the most beautiful and inspiring talks I have ever heard. It was really funny, because when Sister Beck announced that he was speaking a little "yes!" went through the audience. Apparently we were all stoked that he was speaking. Augh, I just love him so much!

This is me in front of the Conference Center. Apparently, I am not super attractive, but oh well. I guess I'll just have to learn how to be. No big deal.

Everyone, yes, this is the one, the only, MARY POPPINS!!!!! Right before RS, Mom, Madi, and my little cousin Cady, and I went to The Capitol Theater in Salt Lake and watched the musical Mary Poppins. It was so amazing! The set was incredible and moved by itself and the Banks' house was like a dollhouse and the colors were amazing! I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Bert because when he was dancing to "Step in Time" he had his plaid red shirt sleeves all rolled up to his elbows and had on suspenders and danced and sang so well that my heart melted a bit. He was extremely attractive. Mom, on the other hand, loved the male statues. They were not very clothed. I think they had leaves. I don't know for sure, though. It was sketchy. Oh well, Mom enjoyed it, so I guess that's all that matters.

Mary Poppins was spectacular, though. I really loved it. It's definitely on My Top Five Favorite Plays of All Time List. Shall I share it with you? No. Just kidding! Of course I will!

My Top Five Favorite Plays of All Time List

1. Les Miserables

2. Wicked

3. The Little Mermaid

4. The Phantom of the Opera

5. Mary Poppins

This list is subject to change as my life goes on and I see and experience more culture and theater. But for now, this is the way it is.

Oh, kinda cool/really scary experience. Well, this last month I have had so many great and spiritual experiences that I just can't believe it. Well, you know that as soon as you become spiritually empowered, Satan will be right there even stronger than before to get you down. Well, I had forgotten this up until Wednesday morning. I was kind of struggling Sunday-Tuesday because I didn't feel like I could feel the Spirit as strong those few days. I was a bit frustrated. Well, Tuesday night I had the most terrifying nightmare I have ever had in my life. I couldn't believe that entered my head and woke up scared to death. I then realized that our room was super dark. Not like, "lights are out" dark, but the atmosphere was super dark. I got up and took a shower and when I returned to our room, it was still dark. So, I turned on one of my favorite hymns "Lead Kindly, Light" and, although it took about 20 minutes, the darkness gradually began to disappear. Everything went back to normal in our room, but throughout the day I felt as though there was something evil kind of following me around. I mustered up courage though, and thought of my Grandma Dawn, Grandpa Anderson, and Grandpa Seymour. As soon as I thought of them, I could feel their presence protecting me from the evil spirit. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. How grateful I am to have loved ones on the other side to protect me! I am so blessed.

This concludes my blog session for the day.

Stay tuned, folks, for more exciting news coming your way!

Free Food, Baldy-Heads, Jessie, and Walls

Oh the many adventures of college life! This past week has been very eventful and lovely. A few nights ago the RAs in our area put on a little BBQ thingy for all of us residents. This was the poster they put up. It made me laugh.

This is what we college kids live for. :D

I had the great opportunity to go with Saedee Lou to see Annie at the Emma Eccles Theater Friday night. It was very good! I almost cried a little bit when Mr. Warbucks was singing about how much he loved Annie because I started to think of my own father. Then I realized he's not that cheesy and the tears promptly dried up. I'm grateful that my dad isn't like that. And that he has hair. I'm a little disappointed that he's not a billionaire, but I love him anyways.

Here's me and Saedee at the theater!

The view of one of the walls at the theater. 'Tis lovely and very artistic. Except I don't understand the faces that are always on old theater walls. It's really kind of creepy. What's the point? It's like they're watching you, making sure you pay attention to the show. Maybe there are phantoms inside of the faces that rule the theater. You know, like in Phantom of the Opera. I think that's what it is. Only maybe these ones are less violent and don't kill people, because I haven't heard any news about strange deaths or threatening notes...yet.

The next night Saedee and I ventured down to the hockey rink to watch USU kill BYU. BYU is just having a rough season in all of their sports. Their football team is kind of...well...not doing as well as they did last season. Plus our hockey team slaughtered them last night. Poor little guys. The one true school is having some issues.

I was rather disappointed in our sportsmanship, though. One of the chants was "He shoots! He scores! Hey, Jessie! You suck!" They were yelling it at the goalie. It was kind of funny at first, but then they over did it. I started to feel really bad for the goalie. So we left. I decided that hockey may not be my sport after all. Oh well. I'll just go in search of another one.

So, I decided that I like to see the end of things from the beginning. Like, I almost have to know the outcome before I venture forth and do the activity. It's a problem, especially now that life has become more challenging and there are so many different roads I could take. But in Institute or something spiritual there was a story about Joseph Smith Sr. that let me know I need to have faith one step at a time. It goes something like this:

Joseph Smith Sr. was having a hard time moving forward with faith. He wanted to know the outcome of a situation before he went through with it. He then had a dream that he stood in front of a brick wall that was so long on either side that he couldn't see the end and so tall that he couldn't find the top. He knew he had to get to the other side, but didn't know how. It was then that he heard a voice that told him to take a step towards the wall. He refused and said that the wall was in his way. The voice repeated the instruction, so Joseph acted. As he took a step, the wall moved. This continued to happen; with every step Joseph took, the wall moved.

The lesson here is to move forward with faith. I feel like the Lord has been trying to get this lesson into my head and heart for a while now. I finally realized it last week, though. I hope that I can keep remembering to move forward with faith and trust that all will work out.

How to Make a Guy Like You - Disney Princess Style

Jaycie and I took careful notes. I suggest you do the same, if you're looking for a man.