A Bit of Spring

I know, yes I have slacked on my blog! But so much has happened so I thought I should try catching up! This spring has already been so busy but it has been super fun as well! We have had weiner roasts, BBQ's, camping(at multiple places) picked up our English Buds, Fathers Day, horseback riding, birthday lunches, quading in the flooded river bottom, swimming and much more! Looking back at how fun our spring was it has me pumped for summer! Andin and I love to spend as much time as we can with our families and friends so I imagine its gonna be 'epic'! I love the way summer makes me feel, the way the sun can bronze your skin and make you look and feel alive after a long brutal winter! I love spending time at the cabin (we are off to there for the weekend today and back in Raymond for the 1st!). Just being able to be outside on the lake in the sun all day just makes me a much happier person and I am sure everyone agrees with that! But to explain my spring I thought I would do it with pictures as that's why people are here to look at that!

Mom and dad at the Alberta High School Hall of Fame Banquet

 me and Andin at banquet

 P-nut and Andin at West Ed

 Brixton loving the worms at the cabin

 How many people can fit in one fishing boat

 Boo Boo and Andin snuggles

 we were the best babysitters

 Kodi and Houston sleepover after babysitting. Andin got right in there

 First Weiner Roast

 Waterton

 Loaded up the car to surprise the bear hunters... packed to the max

 Such a fun weekend minus the sprained ankle

 Writing on Stone for Alan's b-day

 me and Sloaney

 Driving to pick up the Brits

 So funny story we thought it would be a good idea to catch a seagull so we put Jimmy (then Parker) under this blanket with bread on top and the birds swooped... but never bit. We threw the bread on Jimmy though and he thought it was a bird and I haven't ever seen him jump up so fast and so scared! Priceless!

 More campfire fun

roastin' mallows 

 Dad teaching Andin all about horses and horseback riding with the kids

 met mom and these cuties for their b-day lunch at Cora's!

 Swimming at Pavan's!

 Me and Dylan in the back of the side by side cruising down the river bottom!

 Look at those cuties!

 It was flooding as we were down  there! So cool to see

 All the Pavan's at the Sunnyside 60th Anniversary

 Look at the face!

 Cramming in the back of the car.. not Quincee in the back window

...and last but not least Happy belated Father's Day to the best dad I could ask for! I think saying I am a daddy's girl is a huge understatement. I love getting the quality time with my dad even if it is just running into Raymond to grab a treat we just love to spend that 1 on 1 time together! I trust my dad completely with everything and know I will be getting the best advice when I ask for it! I still, with new things in marriage and such feel like I need daddy's approval to make sure it is a good decision. It is crazy how one person knows everything and always has the right answers! My dad taught me so much and I was lucky enough to have him as a coach as well which I felt extremely blessed for! My dad has the ability to make me laugh with ease! He may look stern and a little scary if you don't know him but those that do know he is one of the funniest most outgoing people when he is comfortable! I also feel super lucky to have my dads light blue eyes! When I was a kid I used to put my eyes next to his and say see mom look me and dad have the exact same eyes and I was so proud of it! I am lucky to have such a hard working dad who worked two jobs my whole life so we could do the things we wanted as kids and support each other always! he has truly taught me how important family really is and I will be eternally grateful for that! Love you dad and I look forward to many more fun years with you!

Love, Kenz

May 16th

May 16th is a day I don't think I will ever forget! The thought of this day bring me so many emotions. It makes me anxious, nervous, excited, scared, and happy all at the same time. It has now been exactly one year since Andin walked off the plane in the Lethbridge Airport and got home from his mission! I Can't even believe it has been a year already when I think of all the fun stuff we have done! We have been to 6 countries in the past year (not including Canada), been engaged, married, had our first Christmas, our first place, bought a car, Andin finished his first year at school and much more! Looking back over the whole last year I feel so blessed with all I have been able to see and do and especially do that with Andin! 

I remember waking up that morning last year and having insane butterflies and thinking there is no way this flight is actually gonna arrive. Will I actually see him? Will he still feel the same way he did before? Will we know suddenly if it is still meant to be? I was hoping all of this was true as I had already bought my tickets over to Europe for a 3 week vacation with his parents and Ariel! I remember standing in the back as he walked through those doors with giant tears streaming down my face thinking holy he looks so handsome! I cant believe this is really happening! I looked at him and when we made eye contact the first time my heart melted. We didn't even have to speak and I knew he was the one and everything would work out! That first hug I never wanted to let go. I had longed for these perfect hugs for 2 years now and I was finally getting it. 

After many hugs and hellos at the airport we were off to Pavans for a big dinner and party (Andin got set apart on the way from the airport at the church!) We spent the night with all the family talking and eating and listening to Andin's mission stories and I think even a little swimming party! Then Andin watched his first movie while all the kids slept over I think it was Cars 2! Then as I decided it was time to leave I got the kiss I had been longing for! I couldn't believe how it was exactly the same! I had butterflies in my stomach like I had never had before! And if he had asked me in that moment to marry him I would have said YES! (which I did only a month later!)

I feel so blessed to have been able to be with Andin for 6 years now! It is crazy to think when we first met we were only just kids! I love and cherish him more than he could ever know! Thanks Andin for loving me back!

Love, Kenz

To All The Amazing Moms

So as I celebrated Mother's Day with my moms yesterday I was amazed as I sat back and realized all the have done for me.  I'd like to take a min to say thanks for each!

First off my own mom is such an amazing example of hard work and selflessness. She never says no when you ask for help and will put everything she has aside she has planned to help you with whatever you need big or small. She is always been such a strong example to me and I have looked up to her so much! She has always made family her number one priority and I hope to be able to be the same! She would always push off wanting to go on vacations with my dad and they would make time to come watch me in all my sports their priority! I still don't think they have gone on a vacation the two of them since their honeymoon! We have continually grown closer the older I get and the more we have talked and become more like best friends! I tell my mom pretty much everything and we talk more than once daily! (Andin always teases me for useless phone call-but I just love to chat!) I love my mom so much and cant imagine not having her in my life!

Next my mother in law Sandy! We are like giddy school girls when we get together! Her laugh is so contagious and we get laughing and just cant stop! She is so fun and always smiling! She also raised Andin and made him the man he is and I will be eternally thankful to her for that! And in gets alot of his carefree attitude from his mom where things don't tend to stress them out easy and they just take life as it comes which I really appreciate!

My Grandma Dene is also amazing! I was able to live with her on and off in my young single adult life and we always had fun! She would call me at work to check if I had would be home for dinner and in many ways was my second mom! She would always ask me how I was doing and we spend alot of time watching evening TV together! I have alot of memories of the great support she has been throughout my life and I feel so fortunate to know someone as Christlike as her.

Grandma Jazzy- with the legs I would die for! I remember sleeping at her house every Friday night growing up and making buns with her on Saturday mornings. We spent alot of time together over the years and she was always there for me whether it was needing somewhere to go when a friend ditched me or coming to all my games! She is such a strong active woman and I hope at her age I can still walk all over town and do my own work without a sweat! She is amazing and I love her to bits!

Jade- She is my sister but many times felt just like a mom! She is 5 years older than me so whenever I had problems or questions she was the first I would ask! She is such an amazing mother and a strong woman I don't know what I would do with out her (well I wouldn't be hooked on Days of Our Lives that's for sure!) We really are the best of friends and can vent to each other about anything and know the other will sit back and listen even if they might not agree. I know as me and Jade continue to get older and have kids together we will only get closer and closer! I dread the day when I have to move away from her and can't see her as often as i do! I love her tons and am so lucky to have her as my best friend!

All my sister in laws- If I wrote on each, this blog post would be much too long! They are all amazing each in their own way. Each with their own set of skills but all are amazing moms! I am so fortunate to be able to have so many to look up to so when I have my own kids I will have learned from the best! And that is such a comfort to know that!

Thanks to all the women out there in my life that I am able to look up to I haven't mentioned each person that has had an amazing impact on my life but there are so many from coaches to teachers to church leaders the list would go on and on. 

George Washington said it best:

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.

Love, Kenz

Could it Really be Summer?

So this warm weather has got me right pumped! The only downfall is I work inside in a medical clinic from 9-5 Monday-Friday and so that makes me miss a lot of the nice weather we get but I will take it  over rain snow or wind thats for sure! But I did get to enjoy some beautful weather on the weekend while I stayed at my parents. Andin is on a bear hunt right now with his brother and some friends so I get to go back home and stay at my mom and dads from Friday-Tuesday and as much as I miss Andin it is sure fun to be at home with everybody! We have done a lot from bike rides to watching soccer games to wagon rides and watching the Kentucky Derby! I have seriously had so much fun and it sure makes me miss being in Raymond that is for sure! I am even excited to get back out there after work today and enjoy some of that beautiful sunshine! I got burnt a little yesterday and man has a burn never felt so good! I JUST LOVE SUMMERTIME! So here are a few pics of what I have done this weekend!

I love bike rides!

 Dylan cracks me up in this picture

The little soccer players!

 Wagon Rides

 Quincee the poser

My Manly man hunting bears!

Next on the blog will be the awards banquet... See you then!

Love, Kenz