It's finally FALL

I can feel it in the air. I love this season so much. The leaves nice and crisp, as well as SWEATER WEATHER!! Living in Southern California my whole life, there aren't too many times that sweaters are appropriate to wear, but now I can wear a sweater almost everyday(and at night it's absolutely necessary to wear sweaters). Since Fall is my favorite season to dress up for, I'm beyond excited to share some of the clothes people have recently been able to see me in.

My first outfit of the season. This is perfect for day-to-day or even a nice evening out with friends.

Button-up:Target Sweater:Forever 21 Pants:Target Shoes:Vans Watch:Nordstroms Necklace:South Africa

5 Things..

For the month of November I thought I would share what I am grateful for.
1. I am grateful for my seminary teacher who tells us great stories, teaches us songs, and really helps me remember what I learn(which is hard to do in the morning)
2. I am grateful for Jude. He is the most adorable boy I babysit, and I love him so much.
3. I am grateful for my cousin for serving a great mission. I can't wait for him to come home next week.
4. I am grateful for the gospel of Christ. It helps me guide my life daily.
5. I am grateful for days where you wake up knowing it will be a good day.

And a picture for your enjoyment. I can be pretty crazy:

Funny Story.

Let me give you some background on how our school was built. Our school was built on a hill that has 2 lanes going up and only one going down. We all joke about how one day we are gonna get stuck on the hill since there's only one way in and out. We all predicted it would be because of a fire, but today we found out that was wrong.
At the bottom of this hill there is a ton of construction going on. I mean a bunch of new houses, road widening, and shopping centers that are all in the making(it takes about 30 minutes just to get to school).
Today we are just casually taking notes in History when the Principal speaks over the loud speaker and says "The construction workers hit a natural gas line on the corner of La Pata, Ortega, and Antonio. This means you can't leave until after they fix the repairs which could take a few hours."
Aghh. The whole class sighs. This basically ruined our whole day. All I can say is that we are still stuck in class, and we all just want to leave.
I guess I should be grateful that I have a car to drive home so when we finally get to leave I won't have to make my mom wait in a bunch of traffic just to get here. Also now the waterpolo game is canceled so I may be able to actually make my friend's last game. I am trying to find joy in the little things.

On another note, we have our stake Halloween dance tonight and I get to decorate the whole thing which I am beyond excited about. Here's a picture of our Pink-out football game supporting breast cancer:

(Matt, Me, Trevor, Andrew, Ryan, and Skyler)

My Cray Cray Mind

Our family pictures from this month

Dear Sweater Weather,

Isaac, Trevor, and I decided you are almost here. It's the best time of the year so I would hope you will stay for awhile.

Dear Rain, 

I absolutely loved waking up to you on Saturday, and I didn't mind sitting outside in the rain that night either.

Dear Sickness,

Go away please, and don't come back. Also, maybe you could fix my immune system because it seems to not be very good.

Dear San Juan Football Team,

The difference is amazing. I love how we actually have won most of our games this year. And also you better destroy Capo on Friday.

Dear Elder Shipp,

Your letter made me laugh out loud during seminary today. Can't wait to have you home in less than a month. You are the older brother I never had.

Lots and Lots of Genuine Love,

Kenz

Life in the Lately

Now that school has started I have been crazy doing nothing. Literally, I get HW only on the weekends(which is actually pretty ridiculous and upsetting). But during the week I am too tired to sit down and write about the past few amazing weekends I have had.

Or the fact that I wish I was going to Six Flags for the first time ever with my friends on Saturday. 

Or that Spanish pretty much is the end of my high school career(and I was convinced this would be my first semester in high school with straight A's). 

Or that I have the funniest friends.
Or that in Anatomy we have our little group of 4 people and we sit around and  play LIFE when our teacher gives us time to talk(we are pretty competitive too).
Or that my seminary teacher is the best guy to ever come to this earth.
Or that I get scripture or christmas songs stuck in my head all day(The joys of being in choirs and having a cool seminary class).
Or how I have the PSAT on Saturday
Or how stressful, but beyond amazing life is with all of its challenges
Or how I wish it was Fall, oh if only I lived on the East Coast where seasons weren't unheard of.
BUT that doesn't get said much by me(even though I wish it did).
I guess you will have to do with just pictures of the past few amazing weekends in my life.

Oh you know, just a typical Friday night.
 Pooped from Seminary and school and sleeping at a party after our Homecoming
 football game. Damon and I were dead asleep while Krista chose to model on us.

Our Anti-Homecoming Adventure. Free Backstage passes to Hurley's Back to School concert,
 Escorted by the lovely Connor and joined by Kyle and Emmy. Twas' a fantastic night.

Beach Evenings with some Pedro's Tacos and my
best friend Lauren. We are some Hot chickas.

Also some late night parties with Sam, Will, and Lauren

Awesome thrift store finds with Madalyn and Krista

Madalyn, Krista, and I went to a concert to see the none other than Paradise Fears

This Merch seller was pretty amazing

An overview of the entire night

 

The lead singer from Paradise Fears with me

I basically made Madalyn's entire life by bringing her to this concert and
having him ask her to marry him. Just sayin' no big deal.

After we enjoyed a tee-peeing trip with my cousin and his friends

We saran wrapped the car too, it was a very grand job

General Conference. Nerds.

Oh you know, just typical excitement in Anatomy with Mason and Dylan

And a Friday night Disney trip

The lil' sis and I were twinners. So presh, and so many comments of "how adorable you two are!"

Joy from Babysitting

Joy to me is not being able to describe the love you have for kids.

It's when you stop caring about the money from babysitting.

It's when you realize you don't want Summer to end 

because you will miss "your" little kids.

It's when children are the only ones to make you truly happy.

It's when the kids start doing things because they know you'll love it.

It's when the children you babysit start to notice your love for them.

It's when you honestly miss the kids.

It's when you choose to babysit over hanging out with your friends, and there isn't one part of you that longs to be with your friends. Because you love the company of children. And because you recognize how much they have changed your life already.

Once Upon a Time...

I cut my hair ALL off. I don't know what I was thinking because seriously I would never do that today. I was in 4th grade, and I remember being really bummed because nobody really noticed it was different. The reason I bring this up now is because apparently its the "cool thing" to have shoulder-length hair right now? A few people have asked me if I'm going to cut my hair since it's long, and I just say "Do you think since I've been trying to grow my hair back out since 4th grade that I would cut it off..?" No matter how annoying long hair gets(although I have it pretty easy because my hair is naturally straight and doesn't really frizz), I remind myself of 4th grade when I cut my hair short.

At least it was for a good cause though, right?

I cut my hair for Locks of Love. An organization that takes people's hair to make wigs for cancer patients. You can check out their whole non-profit organization page here.

My hair before(How cute is that shrug? HA.) 

The process of cutting it off

My face when I first saw it(I was just surprised it wasn't longer)

My hair in the end(Notice the stain on my shirt please. I think
it reminds me why you don't wear plain white tshirts)