Kensey

2009-11-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

In my American Foundations class we watched this video of a girl from Idaho who is attending Harvard and did an interview where she answered almost all questions the public has about our church or clarified false assumptions. It was very interesting and if you haven't seen in watch it. Something that was very interesting and that we talked about in class was how she wasn't hearing these questions for the first time or it wasn't the first time she thought of these answers. She was prepared. At a time like this when our beliefs are being attacked we have to be prepared to state our beliefs and answer the common questions of the public. Elder Oaks came and gave a contraversial talk here a few weeks ago(even on campus i've heard it was contraversial which is totally unbelievable to me). He said we need to silence the religious voices in the public square, but to do it with love. I think this is what Rachel does in the video and something we all must do. As Elder Oaks said, "We must defend that right of religious freedom we have been given".

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

I haven't talked to everyone in awhile so here's my update. School is going great, I am so grateful to be here. It was such a difficult decision of whether to come here or go to Provo, but there isn't a day when i wish i wouldv'e gone there over here. I love that the temple is in walking distance and i can see it from my window. The other day I was eating lunch on campus, and was like I can actually say a real prayer before I eat; it's not weird here. I wish everyone could have this opportunity, but our light is needed among the world as well. I can't wait to go home for thanksgiving. See you guys soon!

Im Graduated

2009-05-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Last week i was home all week and graduated from high school. Since January i have been down in Safford living with Brandon and Marcy and finishing cosmetology school. I will finish in August then go to BYUI to start this fall. I'm loving cosmetology and living with Brandon and Marcy is pretty fun. They are very sweet to let me do it

.

2008-09-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

I figured while i posted one thing might as well post another. It'll probably be awhile before i have time to put something else up. This is from the Diamondbacks game last weekend. Dad got tickets from work so me and Alena went on a double date. It was actually really fun. Except the diamondbacks lost but they did have fireworks after the game so who can complain!

Life Is BUSY!

2008-09-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

For anyone that knows me they know that i love staying busy. However, i can honestly say ive never had this busy of a school year. Ill recap the rest of my summer real quick. After EFY i worked alot, im still working at the Salon, and i went on a trek. The trek was such an amazing experience. I loved that Dad was up there and we could see him occasionally. I am so grateful for the pioneers who have gone before me. They set such a strong foundation for me, my family, and for the establishment of the church as a whole. After being in Nauvoo earlier in the summer then going on the trek, i got a piece of how they felt leaving that beautiful city. Going from the sweet spirit of Nauvoo to demanding physical battles of their journey west is hard to comprehend. Our trek wasn't near as hard but it was definitely a worthwhile experience. The youth of the church continue to amaze me. There are definitely some losers at school dont get me wrong but i love the kids from church i associate with. I read in a talk one time from Elder Bednar and he said the youth of the church have been blessed with spiritual strength and courage equal to or greater than that exemplified by captain moroni or the stripling warriors. I love reading of captain moroni and the stripling warriors so this means so much to me. The youth are doing and will do amazing things. The potential we have to make an impact is so exciting! i cant wait to grow up except its coming way to fast! Well after the trek i started cosmetology school. I absolutely love it! I go to two classes at highschool which are Government and English both classes i actually am enjoying. Then i go to 4 hours at Cosmetology school. I like the girls in my class and 2 of them are actually LDS. This program cost us almost nothing so it has been a blessing and something ive been enjoying. I continue to work but only 3 days a week. I am also busy with preparing my job interview things for nationals in October. i sent off my paperwork on Friday now i just have to practice interviewing! All of these very well fill up my whole day oh plus i have to squeeze in working out because i pretty much love it :) Life is going good and ive been blessed with so many opportunities and great people in my life.

EFY!

2008-06-30T15:52:00.001-07:00

This year EFY was alot of fun. I went with amanda and we had such a good time together. We had fun but also had some good spiritual experiences and we grew closer together. The whole week was so great with all the classes and people. My favorite is definitely all day thursday when we dress in church clothes, have more classes and testimony meeting, and sing the EFY medley. There is such a strong spirit at EFY and i've had a pretty amazing month. Im so greatful for these opportunities to learn and to grow. I didnt take too many pictures so here is just a few of our week!

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It's Finally Summer! Idaho and Nauvoo Trips

2008-06-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

Two Tuesdays ago i went up to Idaho to visit Alena. It was alot of fun! I loved being on campus. There is a great spirit to BYU-Idaho. It was a fun week, after spending several days there i went to logan to stay with a friend from EFY! That added to the week and i really did have alot of fun! Then on Monday i left to Nauvoo to participate in a week long YFE which is like EFY but i think better. I'll try not to drag on to much but i enjoy talking about it so i think writing this is more for me then anyone else. It was such a amazing experience. It was an opportunity i wont forget. I've always loved studying church history and Joseph Smith and this week it became more real. The temple is beautiful and the city has such a peaceful nature. I particularly enjoyed doing baptisms in the Nauvoo temple. It is gorgeous inside with such an amazing spirit. Its amazing knowing that Christ walks those halls and it was special to get to sit in the chapel there a little longer to study my scriptures. I also loved going to Carthage. It was humbling to see the room Hyrum died in, where Joseph fled out the window and died, where John Taylor sang to the dear prophet and was also shot, and where Willard Richards had to witness this devastation. On Tuesday morning,our first morning in Nauvoo, a few of us woke up at 5 and went for a run by the temple and down into Old Nauvoo. The sunrise was beautiful especially behind the temple. The next day me and another girl got up early and walked to the temple just to study our scriptures on the temple grounds. I think we ended up spending more time taking pictures then studying but just the peacefulness of the grounds were worth it. The classes taught by brother Packer were also amazing. It seems like he knows everything. I loved listening to him. I can't say enough about the trip theres so much more we did and experienced. There were some amazing youth which will lead the church in the future to do great things. These are some pictures from my week and also a few of the many stories i heard all week but i just thought they were neat and hadn't heard them before.

One interesting story was that after the saints left Nauvoo, a man named Joseph Agnew was one that started the Nauvoo temple on fire. He couldn't find his way out because of the smoke so he knelt down in the burning temple and said a prayer for help to get out and he finally did. I just thought it was interesting that he would burn down and mistreat the mormons but would still recognize God. Its frustrating that people would destroy such a building, but as chirst would say "forgive them for they know not what they do." I really believe they had no idea the extent of their actions.

One thing that continues to impress me is how loyal and dedicated Hyrum was to the Lord's work and to Joseph. As i saw the statues of them together i realized how strong their relationship was. On the way to Nauvoo i was listening to a tape by Truman Madsen and he said that Hyrum was always loyal and he never asked why Joseph and why not me, eventhough he was the older brother and usually older brothers are placed higher up. He compared this to Laman and Lemuel and how they caused so much tribulation because they would not follow their younger brother. Joseph knew they would die as they were riding to Carthage and he asked Hyrum 3 or 4 times to turn back and return to his family but he wouldn't and said, "where you go i will go and where you die i will die."

This little horse was inside John Taylor's house. They told the story that his little boy was so sad to leave this horse behind when they left Nauvoo because it couldn't fit in the wagon. After a few days of constant sadness and tears, John Taylor asked his son what was wrong and he told him that he missed his horse. John Taylor then proceeded back to the dangerous Nauvoo to pick up the horse to take back to his son. I just thought this was so sweet of John Taylor go back to get this horse a small thing but such a big thing to his son

CHURCH PROM

2008-04-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

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Last saturday was church prom so a bunch of my friends got together and went. We had alot of fun! One of the best parts was just getting ready to go with all the girls. I went with cody and we had a great time. Since mom and dad went to take alena to school i was home all weekend with danae. She only felt like smacking me a few times other then that we had pure fun right danae!? lol She was so sweet to come and put up with me it really was good to have her here and the boys too; their always entertainment! These are just a very small few of all the pictures we took. This is our favorite song to dance to at the dances so i thought i would throw it in!

cOuSiNs!!

2008-04-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

Alena, Brittany, Me, and Sara

Alena, Brittany, Sara, and Me
After Audra posted the picture of all of us i went and looked for the one we all took together when we were little. We've always been great friends. We have some awesome memories together! And we look so much alike!!

2008-04-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

well it took me 17 years but i finally got my ears pierced!! Last saturday me and mom went out looking for a church prom dress and i found one, which i like alot, so we went into icing to find some jewelry. Earings came with the necklace we picked out so i just decided to finally do it! This is the picture mom insisted on taking

2008-03-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile and i guess ill write something since theres not much else to do! I have to go back a few weeks since i haven't posted in awhile of whats been happening. At the beginning of March i won the state job interview contest for FFA, so i get to go to Nationals in Indiana around October. It consisted of a phone interview, 2 personal interview, and putting together a resume, cover letter and business card, and finishing it up with a follow up letter. That was pretty fun and something i could actually use in real life! I also recently got a job. It's at a Salon thats right next to my school. I like it so far, i stay busy. Last week was spring break and alot of fun. We vacationed with the shepherds and godowns in California. Me and Alena were the babysitters but im pretty sure we did more damage then we helped! Their kids are adorable and so fun to watch! Recently i also got a gym membership to the YMCA so this week i've been trying to lift weights and exercise. so im pretty much barely able to move i'm so sore!!

Fun Times

2008-01-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend me and my friends Anna and Lyndsay had a girls night! We went to the mall just to waste time. None of us were looking for something to buy but pretty much only for something to do. We took pictures of random things and tried on crazy stuff. After the mall we went to Annas house and watched a chick flick and ate pazookie while we put on face masks and nose strips. It was a typical girls night. A few of the other pictures from the slide show are from spirit week where me Anna and Amanda dressed up as the Power Puff Girls for Super Hero Day! We all have so much fun together and im so blessed to have awesome friends. Also the same weekend was winter formal, me and anna didn't exactly want to go so we helped our friends get ready and instead we went on a triple date. We had so much fun! I went with Cody, Anna went with Josh and our other friend Alanna went with Nick. First, we went to Nicks house where the guys made us a chinese dinner where we sat on pillows on the floor with a candle lit table and ate with chop sticks. Then we did a scavenger hunt at Walmart where each couple took pictures of 15 random thing, then we switched cameras and we had to put in our carts the 15 thing that the other couple took pictures of. It was very fun and quite interesting! There were no rules and i would say me and my date won. Everyone else says we cheated but i call it strategy because there were no rules. Let's just say dont leave your items or cart unattended because they might get "misplaced"!!

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2008-01-03T14:05:00.001-07:00

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2008-01-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago me, Alena, and a few friends got together and took pictures just for fun. My friend Nirantha likes taking pictures, and shes really good at it! These are some of the pictures she took

2007-12-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well this past week i had a movie project due so my group decided we would take pictures and add them in. Needless to say we got a little carried away. It was really fun though! And our movie turned out great...thanks to alena (she did all the editing). These are a very slim amount of all the pictures we took.

2007-12-20T20:29:00.000-07:00

2007-11-22T11:54:00.001-07:00

Alena's 18th Birthday is today. We love her so much and wish her the best. As you can tell in the pictures shes a beautiful girl, inside and out. Your the best Alena!

Happy Birthday Alena!

2007-11-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

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2007-11-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago we went to Indianapolis. I finally posted some pictures from our trip. We had alot of fun and it was definitely worth spending Dad's money for!! Eventhough not shown in any of the pictures, Dad actually was there and i'm pretty sure he had alot of fun too. We were there for FFA. While we were there we went to the Indianapolis Raceway(it's not as interesting as it sounds but was still pretty cool). We went to the NCAA hall of champions which was definitely my favorite! Also, we spent one morning at the Zoo and went to a Montgomery Gentry Concert. Besides touring the parts of the city, we went to the National Convention Sessions(the actual reason we were there). I'm glad i had the opportunity to go. There were some great talks, and it was good to get away from school. By the way Dad whipped out his photography skills and took these great pictures. He found all the pretty scenery BY HIMSELF!!

2007-11-09T22:11:00.001-07:00

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College Day

2007-10-18T21:16:00.000-07:00

We had our homecoming and for spirit week one of the days was college day so a few of us were spirited out in BYU. These are just a few pictures we took!

Flag Football game

2007-10-11T10:30:00.001-07:00

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i've been tagged

2007-09-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Jobs I've had
1. Babysitting
2. Gymnastics Teacher

Favorite Movies
1. How to lose a guy in 10 days
2. While you were sleeping
3. Just like heaven
4. Princess Diaries

Places I've lived
1. Morenci
2. Glendale

Guilty pleasures
1. Chocolate
2. Soda

Vacations I've been on
1. California
2. Rocky Point
3. Texas
4. Idaho

Favorite Foods
1. mashed potatoes
2. Steak
3. Mexican Food

Websites I visit
1. blog
2. hotmail
3. spark notes

Places I'd rather be
1. Beach
2. Sleeping
3. With Friends

Favorite books
1. the book of mormon
2. all the work and the glory books

Things I'd like to know how to do
1. cut hair
2. ball room dance
3. swing dance

Neglected body parts
1. fingernails

Things I worry about
1. my friends
2. my family
3. going to college

Happiest moments
1. EFY
2. being with nephews
3. dancing
4. having fun with friends

Things I want to do this year
1. organize my room
2. get good grades

People I'm tagging
1. anyone that hasn't done it yet

First Day of School Picture

2007-08-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

First day of school

2007-08-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was my first day as a Junior. So far i have some great classes very difficult but i should learn alot. My favorite so far is sports medicine. It is interesting mostly because a physical therapist is teaching the class and we'll get to do alot of hands on stuff this semester. I'm taking an ag class so i will be in FFA. My other two classes are the ones that worry me a bit. They are my ap ones but the teachers are really good.

San Diego

2007-07-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

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This last week i was in San Diego with one of my friends, Amanda. It was kinda a last minute thing and i just flew down there. We had tons of fun. We hung out at the beach or just relaxed at the beach house her family rented. One day we went to Sea World and that was way fun. The best part i thought was feeding the dolphins!!! The last day on the beach we finally got the courage to get in the chilly water and try boogie boarding. That was exciting and we had a blast. San Diego definitely has the perfect weather.

NO BRACES!!

2007-06-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone i finially got my braces off. I had them on about 2 years and i was really happy to get them off. i got them off right before we went to efy so that was even better. well this is what i look like now!

Sophmore Year

2007-06-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Splash park

2007-06-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

here is some pics of me with my YW leaders cute kid!!!!

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