What a Year!

What a year it has been.  I look back on myself over the past year and realize that I have grown leaps and bounds! I am not the same girl I was when 2014 started, and to me, I see that as a success.  A few of my highlights.

~ Attended my first hockey game in January to watch this super cute boy... (aka my now fiance)

~ Danced in the LDS Conference Center on February 21st

~ Turned 19 years old and won a hair modeling show on my birthday on February 24th

~ Won overall acapella at every clogging competition last year- March 9th

~ Became a two time Utah State clogging champion in April- 14th

~ Went to Hawaii with my most favorite boy- April 30th

~ Became the 2014 MVP National Champion Acapella Clogging in May 15th

~ I was also inducted into the clogging hall of Fame that same day- May 15th

~ I competed in the Miss Utah Scholarship pageant in June an was a top 10 finalist! (I also had the most amazing support team!) June 23rd -- my face when I made the top 10 was so classic lol

~ I took a cruise the carribean with my favorite family and had the most amazing vacation ever.  (also our first family vacation with all of us in over 5 years!) on July 6th

~ I went to Lake Powell in July with my love and family! We doubled surfed for days! July 16th

~ Right after Lake Powell I gave up my crown as Miss Wasatch County ending the most amazing year of service and opportunity in July 20th

~Learned how to shoot real guns with my favorite family the Flores! (Also met the inlaws for the first time) - August 20th 

~Danced in the BYU homecoming parade with my new folk dance team! We danced Russian and Bollywood - October 18th

~I was able to move out of my basement studio and move into the Dance Addictions studio on mainstreet where I now teach and can expand what has alwas been my dream! I am so grateful for all my students! ~October 21st

~ Danced in the Autumnfest clogging Competition and won overall acapella.  I also danced in Kingsbury Hall while performing a Turkish dance in the Eastern Arts Festival.  -November 19th

~ **My most Favorite Highlight**  I had the most perfect dream proposal that I had always imagined.  Right in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland to get engaged to my Prince Charming!! Oh, and the ring is spectacular!!!! -November 26th  

~ I got to dance Russian and Haitian in BYU's Christmas Around the World. ~December 5th 

~ I got to end this fun year by spending the holidays with my new Family! The Flores'  -December 24th

There was so much more that happened in between! These were just my favorite parts.  I am so grateful for the Savior and the temple becuase it allows be to not only be with my family forever, but be with my Roger forever.  I am so excited to be sealed to him on March 13th, 2015.  What a magical year this next year will be! I am so grateful for all my family and friends who made this year one I will ALWAYS cherish and remember.  I plan on making goals to improve personally, spiritually, and finacially, to become a better dance teacher, sister, and WIFE!! Cheers to 2015 :) 

Why I Don't like Halloween

I don't like Halloween.  I know it's November, but I figured better late than never to write about something that has been on my mind and I think is very important for everyone to know.

I don't like to be scared.  I don't like the dark.  In fact, something you may not know about me is as a Sophomore in college is that I still sleep with a night light.  I call someone every time I walk to my car in the dark, and I sprint up the stairs to my apartment every night.  I have always had a fear of the dark, and have been scared of small noises.  I have super high anxiety of being kidnapped due to the fact that the Elizabeth Smart case happened right near my house when I was little, and it is something I have always had nightmares about.  This fear was magnified my Junior year of high school.  During the Summer of my junior year, I was bullied by a group of boys.  This isn't something I like to talk about often,  and no one really knows about it, however I don't want this to every happen to someone else or think it is funny and so I want to share.

These boys would hide in my bushes at night time and jump out when I would be walking into my house.  At first I didn't think it was a big deal, I thought it was funny too, however it started to get progressively worse.  These boys would do more than just jump out of my bushes.  It started to become their nightly ritual.  They would hide in masks and beanies and try and grab me and tell me they were gonna hurt me.  They threw water balloons at me.  They dumped water on my head.  They toilet papered my house with a thousand roles of toilet paper.  They would shine lasers in my bedroom window at night time.  They spread rumors about me at school, and one of the boys pretended to like me, kissed me and after the kiss the boys jumped out of tree in my backyard and laughed and made fun of me.  They had gotten a picture of the kiss and posted it on social media and tried to hurt the feelings of the boy who liked me at the time who was supposedly their "friend" and no matter my begging, they wouldn't take the picture and the rude word they had said about me on Facebook.  I was mortified.


I didn't want to admit it as a 16 year old girl, but I was being bullied.  I felt totally and completely alone.   I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to tell my mom because I was embarrassed.  These boys had made me feel dumb, vulnerable, and basically helpless and I believed them.  I lost a lot of my friends and everyone on the soccer team thought it was just a big joke and no one really realized how big of a deal it was.  So I decided to tell myself the same "it isn't that big of a deal."  But.  it is.

Bullying is a big deal.  It happens every day.  We see it.  We are often a part of it. When we gossip, that is bullying.  When we comment a rude thing on someone's picture that should be kept to yourself, that is bullying.  When you belittle someone, or make them seem "less righteous" than you, that is bullying. I have one request STOP. 

I kept waiting for these boys to apologize.  To this day, they have not said sorry for what they did.  I don't think they quite understand.  We are the same, I don't think we always understand how our words, texts, or Facebook posts can hurt someone else.  Through the atonement, I have been able to forgive them and let it go, however I still don't want this to happen to anyone else.

I don't like Halloween because it is scary.  People are wearing masks and hiding behind something to make you fearful.  It often brings be back to that long summer where those boys were trying to scare me.

Satan wants us to feel that same way.  He wants us to feel fearful and dark.  That is not how Jesus works.  There are numerous versus throughout the scriptures that explain that Jesus is the light of the world.  He literally is the light.  Where there is light, there can not be dark.  Whenever I feel scared, a prayer is ALWAYS the cure.

(Photo Credit: Tyler Smith) 

Not only is prayer comforting, but it is healing.  Don't be fearful.  Have faith in Jesus Christ.   He will light up our lives and cast out the evil darkness of this world.  There is still a lot of good in this world, and we can add to it if we just BE MORE KIND.

PLEASE, I beg you, just be a little more Kind and our world will be so much happier and full of light.

The Cold Never Bothered Us Anyway

I am so overwhelmed with emotions of gratitude and love, I just feel I need to write.  This weekend I had the opportunity to take a weekend with my family and go to St. George to watch Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat as well as go do our favorite family activity one more time for the year boating.

We all crammed into the crowded car, 7 full adults, 3 with extra long legs in the squishy back, and took the long trek (shouldn't be that long but we had a boat and my dad was driving) to St. George.  As we woke up Saturday morning we all put on our swim suits to the sound of rolling thunder and were greeted with the loud long beeps of the flood and tornado warning message on T.V. At first we were sad, but if any of you know my dad, you know that tornado or not, if he got the boat out, we WILL go boating.

We ate our mini waffles from the HUGE hotel breakfast (and by huge I mean the waffles were the only thing they had) in our 5 star hotel.  5 stars to maybe the drug addicts and prostitutes that were sleeping in the rooms nearby lol.  We then went to Walmart to get food when Grandma King asked the Polygamists if they had come from a pioneer parade! She also bought 4 cases of Pepsi, they were on sale of course! lol... We then all piled in the car and went to Sand Hollow.  The sun was not shining, it was raining, and it was cold, but the water was as warm as a hot tub and we launched the Mastercraft.  The best part about it was due to the rain, we were the ONLY ones on the lake! By only I mean really, only there was no one else! It was awesome! We didn't even have to worry about putting up the orange flag because we knew there would be no one else to run over us! We wakeboarded, skiied, double surfed, double kneeboarded, and jumped the wake, and did 360's till we couldn't hold on anymore.  I also got an ab workout from laughing so hard at Calli being stuck bouncing on the waves catching air because her life jacket got stuck to the velcro of the kneeboard and she couldn't get up.  I also had fun going 30 miles an hour on the kneeboard with my dad literally skidding the water and catching air off the wake, and of course, my favorite, double surfing by my best friend Buddy! 

~Splash fight while double surfing~

We were warmer in the water than the air and so far none of us got swimmers itch that was supposedly in the lake.  How can you beat an entire day on the lake making memories with the ones you love with no one else on the lake! It was an absolute blast full of giggles and wipeouts.  

~Sure love this cute Grandma of Mine~ 

We also had an amazing time at Joseph and the Technicolor dream coat! The play was AMAZING and had a great energy about it that put a smile on everyone's face.  The highlight of the show for me was when they brought out a camel and had it portray the Hump day commercial! On the way home we got pulled over for lack of trailer lights, but we were greeted back at our scary hotel by the famous Ice cream from my mom and aunt! Today we were lucky enough to go to church, listen to an awesome primary program, and then walk around the beautiful St. George Temple.  It was impossible not to feel the spirit.

~Don't we make a cute Joseph and Jacob?~

As I come home this evening I listened to President Uchtdorf's talk from the womens' conference.  I was so overwhelmed with the spirit and felt he was speaking right to me through my headphones on my twin size bed in my little apartment.  I wanted to share my thoughts from that.  My favorite quote was when he said, "God is CONSTANTLY Raining down blessings to us, but it is our FEAR, SIN, AND DOUBT, that like an umbrella block those blessings from us."  This really hit home for me.  I am always doubting.  That is what Satan wants us to do, because if we doubt enough, we will believe it! And we may pass up a direct blessing that was sent to us from God to help us grow and progress.  If we would have put up umbrellas and just stayed in the hotel because we were scared of getting wet, we would have missed out on all the fun memories at the lake! 

~Love the Temple, Appreciate the Temple, Attend the Temple~ 

happiest place with my favorite people

When we choose to take a leap of faith, it can be scary, and sometimes we will get wet.  But remember, YOU are loved.  You are a child of God, and God is watching out for you.  He knows you better than anyone.  He knows your successes and all the great things you are involved in and doing.  Uchtdorf said, "God is not waiting until you overcome your struggles to bless you and love you, He loves you fully RIGHT NOW!"  We should be living the Gospel JOYFULLY! If we do so, we will discover our true self, and our REAL SELF that God wants us to be.  Now that is a pretty cool blessing if you ask me! Happy Sunday. :) 

~Kenna 

Crownless

Wearing a crown around has its perks.  Despite the struggle to make it straight and stay without wobbling, having some extra bling attracts a lot of attention.  When I was crowned I got the pep talk of making sure to always be on my best when I was wearing the crown because I was a role model to young children and youth around our community.  People were watching my every move to see what I would say and how I would act, but how about now when I no longer have the crown?

The Night I gave up my crown I didn't think I would cry. However, when my final video played and I saw all of the memories and events that I had been a part of this past year, I could not control my emotions and tears streamed down my face like a literal waterfall.  Wasatch County has become such a part of my heart as well as all the youth in it that I felt that I was losing a part of my heart. I didn't want it to be over.  As silly as it sounds, I wanted to be Miss Wasatch forever.

(During my final walk my dad escorted me.  My mom was there to embrace me before walking up the stairs and crowning the next Miss Wasatch County, her eyes also filled with tears which made me cry even more)

After much pondering and talks with my amazing mom and many others, I realized something.  It didn't have to be over.  My mom asked me what was my favorite part of being Miss Wasatch.  I told her that my favorite part was the interaction I had with the youth in our community, being a role model to young girls and boys, and being able to implement my platform throughout the whole year.  Yes, the parades were a blast, Miss Utah was incredible, but my favorite part was the influence I had in our community. What I realized, was I didn't need to crown to continue influencing our community.  I didn't need the sash to make a difference in someone's life. I may not be wearing the title, but I carry the crown with me wherever I go! (figuratively of course)

This principle applies the same with the Gospel.  One of my favorite talks "Let your faith show" written by Russel M. Nelson said, "Day after day, on your path toward your eternal destiny, increase your faith, proclaim your faith! Let your faith show!" This quote doesn't say proclaim your faith only at church, or only when you are with your family, or just when we feel like it, it is all the time! 100% of the time in any situation and any environment! 

You don't get to choose when someone is looking to you for an example, an answer to a prayer or question, or a guiding figure in their life.  You have to be ready, because even though you may not be wearing the "crown and sash" you never know who is watching. 

Be your best self.  Be positive and uplifting, and LET YOUR FAITH SHOW!