Do You know what I love?

Apple.:)

My BYU application

My BYU written prompt. Let me know what you think.....

1. Describe any special interests and/or passions and give examples of how you have developed knowledge and/or creativity in these areas.

For the last year and a half, I have had the amazing opportunity to work with a charity organization called Operation Smile. Operation Smile is a nationwide charity that goes to underprivileged countries and does cleft lip ,cleft pallet surgeries and other facial deformities on kids whose families cannot afford the operations, with no cost to them. As a student, I was very blessed with the chance to go to Guadalajara, Mexico , with my father, and Operation Smile to really be part of the whole experience. Seeing all these kids who have gone through so much in their short lives really motivated me to get involved and help make a difference in these kids lives. Since then, my whole perspective on life has changed. I have sense then started 2 high school chapters of Operation Smile, and 1 middle school chapter. I have gotten really involved with all of the fundraising and leading these clubs to success. It has been so much fun for me and I have learned so much about how to lead a team of my peers, who I am, what my purpose is. I am a much more confident, spiritual and motivated person because of my experience working with Operation Smile.

2. Describe a setback you have encountered in your life. Explain how you have handled the situation and what you have learned from it.
As a Junior in high school, I had my whole senior year figured out. I was already involved with a lot of school leadership teams, I had great , life-long friends, I loved my involvement with the school's theatre program, I had started my Operation Smile club that I was excited to continue with. And then, in one small discussion, my "pretty little picture" lifestyle came crumbling down. My dad had lost his job, and had found a new one in San Francisco California. I resisted the idea the entire way. I told my parents that there was no way I was about to leave. I had grandparents who were healthy and lived only a short distance away, I would make to commute. I lived my life like nothing was changing. I got myself on the Peer Leadership team, the Yearbook Staff, The Drama Presidency, in the Advanced Drama class, Advanced Choir class, and I was on track to graduate. Nothing could ever get me to leave. Until I made one small decision to give California a chance for the summer. So I made the journey, and there was just something inside me that knew I needed to stay. I started to worry because I knew that my heart was softening to the idea of staying in California. My head and my heart were each telling me different things. But when I took the time to look outside my little bubble, I knew that California was where I was supposed to be. I realized that I need to be more open to ideas. I needed to trust god more fully and I needed to learn to look for the light on the dark days. I learned that we don't always choose the hand we are dealt, but if we have a good attitude, and we just close our eyes and leap, then sometimes, you find yourself happier then you had yourself on track to be.

The Remander of my summer.

I have done a pretty crummy job of keeping my blog updated, so i thought I should probably update everyone on how the rest of my summer went. Enjoy!


My summer REALLY began mid July. The Groom Family (From our ward in Utah) was in town (we spent the fourth of july with them if you recall.....) and one of the last days I spent in California, we went to Great America with Heather and her boys Andrew and Carter

This is us with COSMO from Fairly Odd Parents (Please notice my AWESOME aviator glasses..... R.I.P )

Another fun thing we did at great America was see a fun BMX show. They had some really cool bikers and skaters.

A few days later, me and lauren took a plane by ourselves to Utah. It was kinda scary, but we did really well. It was good to figure it out while I at least had lauren with me, rather that be ALL alone. Grandma and Grandpa Kenney picked me and lauren up at the airport, and we all drove up to rexburg to see Cindy and Alex.

Drive Up to Rexburg:
We stayed with Alex and Cindy in their cute little apartment. It was SO SUPER hot up there, So that night, Me, Lauren, Brianne, Alex and Cindy all went mini golfing. I didn't do half bad! Alex actually TAUGHT us how to play, which helped us a lot. I think we all enjoyed it a lot more when we weren't just blindly hitting the ball anymore.
While there, I also got my ONLY snowcone of MY ENTIRE summer. Which is sad. But MAN it was so yummy!

We decided to pay 10 bucks extra to get unlimited access to the fun bounce houses they had there. And I am so glad we did. It ended up being the best part of the night! It was so fun to bounce around like little kids again! It was actually a lot of exercise and we burned so many calories!






The next day was Sunday, so we all went to Alex and Cindy's ward, then we went to the Rexburg temple. It was such a beautiful, blue day. And the temple looked so pretty.

Monday we drove down and droped Lauren and Brianne off at Retreat for girls. While Lauren was at Retreat for Girls I got to spend a week with my friends! It was so great! It felt like nothing had changed. It ended up being perfect timing because I got to go to the opening night of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with my friends! It was such a blast! We all had Harry Potter shirts, glasses and wands! Plus everyone in the theater was all dressed up! It was one of the most fun nights of my life!

Me and apple:
Jessica, Sara, Heidi, Kelsey, Erica, Apple
I spend most nights at my grandma kenneys house. Christina and David are living there for now, so I had so much fun playing with baby jasmine. She got so big in the 2 months I had been gone! She is sooooo BEAUTIFUL. I had a lot of fun playing with her.
Me and Kelsey and Apple also got to go to Thanksgiving Point Deli, which I had missed so much.
The next week I got to go to EFY at BYU PROVO with Lauren, Johnny, and Camden. None of us where in the same groups, but it was still a blast!

Me and one of my best EFY friends Christy.
Me and one of my Counselors Jenny
all the girls in my group, "Small and Simple"
We flew home that Saturday from EFY and left the next monday for girls camp. It was fun to become closer with the girls in my ward.


Lauren, Becca (the only other girl Laurens age) and Paige. (who is in a different ward, but good friends with Lauren)
At girls camp, I made good friends with a girl my age in my ward name Arianna. She and I get along well and I believe this is a beginning of a beautiful friendship!
Laurens aged groups went on a 3 day long hike. When she got back she was CAKED with mud

OUr theme for girls camp was SO CUTE. It was Dr. Suess Themed and the title was "I will seek him here or there, I will seek him everywhere." One of the leaders wrote this super cute rhyme about the gospel all in doctor suess rhymes
Arianna, and my new Bishop "Bishop Bromley". He is sooooo great. I love him so much already! He is so nice.
All the girls spend some free time to quilt each day, and for each 20 minute time periods they spend quilting they get to put their names in a drawing to win the quilts they quilt that day. By the end of their 6 years at girls camp, each girl has their quilt and everyone brings their quilts each year for camp fire and such. Most of them were rather..... interesting (for example, i wish i had a picture of mine, but mine was all CATS) but they were fun to have anyway because EVERYONES blankets were.... interesting.
For our Faith Experience we re-enacted the story of the Ten virgins. I was a foolish Virgin. (I know I know....)
Each "level" (Age of girls) had a flag and a Dr. Suess mascot. We were the oldest girls (YCL's) but instead they call us the Liahonas. and we were the Cat and the Hat. Our color was purple.
All the Liahonas on our end of the week trip to the river.
The NEXT week (I know..... i was crazy) I went to a leadership conference for Operation Smile in Virgina. ALL BY MYSELF. It was sooo scary.
We stayed at a beautiful campus.
I won an award for starting my club this last year. It was so exciting!
There were kids from all over. These are some of the students who came all the way from CHINA! they sold some really cool stuff at our cultural experiance.
Kids from Panama. (There were also many kids from Ireland, Mexico, Hundurias, and other countries)
One of the other presidents from Utah was also there. She is from Bountiful.
At the leadership conference we also got to go to Bushe Gardens. I had never been there before and it was SO CUTE. It was decorated very quaintly. Plus the crowds were down because it POURED the whole day.
(Ireland.... land.....) :
Some of the boys that had long hair, said if we could donate 2000 dollars from just the students at the conference they would shave their heads!
The NEXT week, we had a very fun week with Grandma, and Cousins and Gates counsins in Palm Desert at a very fancy Resort. There was a cute little Boat cruise that we all took together.
View from the Boat ride. A VERY beautiful place.


Sadly, I didn't get to enjoy it very much because i got SO sick and I recovered from it JUST in time to start school (lucky me. ) . I will soon update all about school, but I want to get some pictures first!
P.S. Good job making it all the way through the post!

I do this a lot, something will happen, and the first thing i think is "Putting this moment on my blog"

Gratitude.

Grateful for Stake Dances

Grateful for Lady Gaga and her awesome beats

Grateful for Best Friends.

Grateful for long conversations into the late nights

Grateful for my old wards love

Grateful for Alix's Car.

Grateful for Alix

Grateful for snow cones (almost two of them in one day)

Grateful for cheesy, and to be frank- awful movies

Grateful for chocolate covered raisins

Grateful for Coal Umbrella

Grateful Philly Cheese steak sandwiches and Strawberry Lemonade

Grateful for Modesty

Grateful for Airplanes

Grateful for Sub Zero

Grateful for writing numbers on napkins

“How Lovely!”

Grateful for licking nasty bean bags

Grateful for the "Raspberry/Peach Combination"

-It never lets me down

Grateful for Music

Grateful for Singing out loud

Grateful for pleasant silences

Grateful for disagreements with seminary teachers

Grateful for Smiths Marketplace

Grateful the 5 Love Languages

Grateful for Family

Grateful for Alee's Mothers Trials

Grateful for Alee

Grateful for Kaylie

Grateful for Emmalee

HECK! Grateful for Cord and Evan.

Grateful for Suessical.

Proud To be An American

This last week we have been so lucky to have Charise, Bill, Brighton, And cole come visit us, while they have been on tour for Kids are music, and came a few days in advance to hang out.
For FHE we made fruit pizzas. Char and Bill tend to make yummy foods while they are vacation (I know from experience)
With Kids are music, Char took those who wanted, to go see Wicked. She bought tickets for her two boys, but then realized that you aren't allowed to have small children in the audience, so she sold her tickets to Ricky and Spencer. But because my mom didn't love the idea of Spencer and Ricky Riding the BART (or sort of "Subway") into San Fransisco alone, and Ricky has been saving his money to buy a new Ipod, I bought his ticket from him.
We Ride the BART into the City (Both of our first times into San Fran)
The next two days (3rd and 4th) We did a lot of fun sight seeing with Kids are Music. This is a fairly bad picture of Lambard street. Its really famous because it is so steep that the had to make 8 switchbacks in order for wagons and horses (back in the day) to be able to go up it.

*For those of you who know the Wingetts, We have been babysitting alot of them as of late, and we ran into them here on Lambard street on a total couincadence
Our first morning, we went to this really awesome kids museum called the "exploritoruim" Where they have a lot of really cool things for the kids to run around and learn about.
Kids are music kids play with awesome magnets and such.
This cool "fog machine" that you would push on and it would make.....
a Perfect "o"
Making Huge bubbles
Just outside the exploratorium is what they call "The palace of fine arts".

Its this REALLY awesome dome type thing with columns and awesome statues, that is modeled to look like greek art. It was built in the early 1900's for the "world trade fair" or something. They origonally had 11 domes, but knocked them all down except one. the domes where huge.

Just look at how small the kids look!

After the Exporitorium, we went to Fishermans Warf.
Hard Rock Cafe
This was fun to see in one of the shops since i still had WICKED on the mind.
P.S. notice my shirt says "There is no place like home".
I thought this was appropriate since these are the "san fran wicked shirts" (Meaning they only sell this shirt in san fran.
The view of the city at the end of the pier.
There are probably 100 sea lions that all just sit and lay on these docks
The beautiful ocean. This picture does not even come close to how beautiful it looked that day.
After Fishermans Wharf, We preformed at Gharadeli Square. (chocolate! yum!)

The next day (the 4th) We went to the Boudin Sourdough Factory. They made a huge Alligator out of sourdough
they have a little tour you can take of the factory. These pictures are some of the things we saw:
Preforming on the FOurth of July in Boudin Factory.

Our tour guide and his sourdough lobster

The trolleys
Loui Vuitton had the coolest display in Union Square (Where my dads office is- Which is cool because he works close to Prada, Gucci, ect)
The origional Chine Town. (They had China Town in San Fran before New York, because asians would come across the pacific ocean to get to america verses cross the whole world to get to New York)
Yes. that is right. a mouse, on top of a cat, on top of a dog.
That night was one of the coolest and patriotic Fourth of July's i have ever had. We got to spend it with the Grooms!
Kids are music got to preform on the U.S.S. Jerimiah O'Brian. (an old war ship from WWII)
It was neat to be in such a Patriotic place, with Patirotic music, on such a patriotic day.

IT was FREEZING
awesome fireworks over the ocen. (Which we got to watch from the ship!)