How to Not Hate School: A Pictoral Field Trip

Tips for Not Hating School That are Mostly for Myself, But you Might Like Too in Case You are Having Your Mind and Self Esteem Blown by Finals Also

1. listen to brad paisley while doing homework.

  

2.  Eat Chocolate chips while studying.

 

3. Try not to get angry at teachers. Try really really hard. but if you do, remember that you only have to be with them for a few hours a week, and don't let them ruin the rest of your life. Try really really really hard not to let them but a damper on your spirits. Think about the great teachers you have that try to understand you.

4. Sometimes you just need courage. School is scary, especially when it is determining your future career. If you botch it up a little bit, just pick it up, be more dedicated, have courage to do better and know you can do better from now on.

5. When writing a paper, or a study guide, or anything typed, that is SUPER boring, change the font to one you love, or that's more cute. You can change it back to boring when you print, but why not work with a more fun font?

6. Be patient. Wait for your work to pay off, cause it probably will. Wait for things to work out. In conference Elder Uceda said that patience was also “having the quality of enduring evils without murmuring or fretfulness” or “calm under the sufferance of injuries or offenses.”  

 So wait, and if while you're waiting someone is just a total rock in your shoe, then try not to "murmer" and stay calm.  All of these really hard things to do combine into what is called patience. 

One of the hardest things ever. 

7.  When you are struggling to be patient, or have courage, or not be angry-try and keep your lips zipped. It might keep you out of trouble. 

8. Work really really hard. Sometimes that's all you've got left that you can control. President McKay said, ""The privilege to work is a gift. The power to work is a blessing. The love of work is success." You might not love it now, but maybe someday down the road you might start to. Any progress is good, right?

9. Remember how it good it feels when you DO do well.  Think about that awesome feeling when you know you have mastered something, and you look back at all you have learned, and you know you are smarter now than you were before.  Learning does feel good, it's just hard to remember that amidst mediocre scores and while at BYU, where you just can't ever seem to do as well as you'd like. Grades aren't everything. 

 

 10. Someday you won't have school anymore, and maybe you'll miss it. So enjoy what you DO like about it now. Even if it's the social life. I think that that's ok. 

THE END. Good luck!

Thanksgiving

So it was just Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving! I feel like it means that I need to tell you what I'm grateful for, which is a ton. I realize I've been incredibly lucky.  Let me show you a glimpse of just how much.

Some things I'm grateful for...
Steven Hansen-and that I'm married to him.
The temple
The LDS Church-and that covers a lot- the Book of Mormon, Sunday meetings, ward members, missions, general authorities, hymns, relief society, priesthood, etc.
The Wentzie family
The Hansen family
Katy, Brookie, Emilie, Sas, Kris, Allison, Lex, Cally, Stacey, Heather, Danielly,
Syl, Lisa, Cheryl, Louise, Kandis, and Kim.
Cars
Contact Lenses
Lotion
Chapstick
That Steve and Syl, and Sabrinna and Tanner came out to visit. I love seeing them.
Robert Hansen and his tools and car expertise.
Heaters
footie pajamas-they are an impenetrable wall against the cold.
bikes
snowflake ritz crackers
frozen yogurt
debit/credit cards (instead of cash)
mail
blowdryers
earrings
my wedding ring
our apartment
flowers
cooking
froot loops
chocolate
music- all kinds.
art/ classy photography
painting, ceramics, crafts
medicine
hospitals and doctors
cell phones
mp3 players
internet
ebay
cowboy boots
backpacks
vitamin c
drinkable water easily accesible
hot showers
huge cozy towels
new socks
baskets
picture frames
printers
ribbon
sparkly things
eyesight
shampoo
hairspray
Christmas, well and every other holiday for that matter.
weddings
whiteboards
scotch tape
scissors
braces
books
skirts
shoes
microwaves
dishwashers
mascara
America
airplanes
clorox wipes
windshield wipers
kids
kleenex with lotion
waterbottles
ball point pens
bobby pins
Brad Paisley. I can't forget Brad.

Wow. I'm lucky. Ya know what I was thinking too, as Steve and I were moving into our apartment? That we had a lot of trouble fitting everything in. We had so much stuff and so many presents we couldn't fit them all-or in other words, we were blessed more than we had room to receive. I also thought about that at Thanksgiving dinner when Steve was laughing because he wanted to eat all of this food but he couldn't fit everything on his plate. I couldn't either! How lucky are we to have so much food that we can't even fit it on our plates? Once again, we were blessed more than we had room to receive. We are lucky little duckies. :)
Happy Thanksgiving!

Write in your Journal.

So I swear I have heard a prophet tell us to write in our journals. Today I have a itty bitty inkling of maybe a reason why.

You know how sometimes you are super pumped about something and you know it's right and you have that absolute BURNING that you MUST do something!? So you write it down cause you know that later on, a few days, maybe months, maybe years, you might not feel the same, and doubt that that is really the right thing-but during that moment you were excited about it you wanted yourself to never forget to stick with it cause you KNEW it was right?

And then time passes and you feel like you kind of hate and want to change that thing you thought was right and loved?

I think maybe those old journal entries, or perhaps blog posts, are to remind you about that "burning" you had to stick with it-so that when you do feel differently you remember that once upon a time you knew that thing was right. And that might be one of the only things to make you stick with it-your own words from months past trying to remind you of how you felt. I think this could happen with a testimony building experience, or a big decision, or.....other things.

And sometimes you wish that you could just punch your younger self that wrote those words cause now you think, "what was I thinking!? I had no idea!", and you want to change your mind.
But you just swallow that little defiant, frustrated voice in your head and say to yourself, "self. We knew this was right once. Suck it up and stick with it. Maybe it will be worth it.".

Don't you hate when that happens?
I do....

I wrote this post February of 2009. That was almost two years ago.


"I have spent a lot of time in classrooms around utah county, mostly upper grades, but some kindergarten, and I absolutely love it. I have wanted to be a teacher all of my life, but I never realized what teaching actually included. I have had so many fears about it-there are aspects of it that I don't know if I could do very well, and so I have been studying it out to make sure that is right for me. I have most definitley looked into other careers that I think I would enjoy-ya gotta keep an open mind ya know. I love culinary arts, and have dreamed of going to culinary school. I love physiology and biology and would love to be a nurse. I think nutrition is fascinating and dietetics would be a fun career. I have searched out these different careers and thought they seemed great, but when I step into an elementary classroom I am a fish who has found the ocean. It just fits perfectly and I get so stinking excited!! I got to go tutor at Canyon Crest Elementary yesterday, and though I was only there for a little bit, I got to tutor, talk to the teacher about her job, and watch the kids out at recess and I just flipped. I HAVE to be a teacher!! I MUST!! I CANNNOT WAIT!!! I had the giggly/screaming thing (many of you have heard it...) coming out of my mouth in my car the whole way home cause I was so excited that I was going to be a teacher. I love everything about it. The kids, spelling, reading, writing, science, the creativity of it, the organization, the learning, the classroom, the friendships, the humor, even the paper work/grading part of it. I have never been so excited about it. Ok, ok, my point. I have lots of hobbies that I will enjoy as just that-hobbies. Of course I will have doubts as well, as school gets hard, and unexpected bumps happen, but that is why I'm writing this. I don't want to forget moments like this where I know I want to teach. So, I hereby declare that for my life's work, I want to spend my time in a classroom teaching kids. I am willing and excited to take the good with the bad in that all around package we call elementary education. I can't wait. :)"


That whole feeling I just explained above?...ya I kind of feel that right now. I'll let you know if that little defiant, frustrated voice inside my head wins. He's kind of in the lead...

Might a share a smidgen or two?

"Dismiss the destructive and
keep dismissing it, until the beauty of the
Atonement of Christ has revealed to you
your bright future, and the bright future
of your family and your friends and your
neighbors. God doesn't care nearly as
much about where you have been as He
does about where you are, and with His
help, where you are willing to go....This is an
important matter to consider at the start
of a new year ‐‐ and every day ought to be
the start of a new year and a new life.
Such is the wonder of faith and
repentance and the miracles of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ."
-Jeffery R. Holland

"Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was
made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith “A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all,
nor be afraid.” "
-Robert Browning


....'nuff said.

I kinda feel like there are scrambled eggs in my head.

I know it's annoying when people talk about their spouses lots, but can I tell you some funny things I've learned about Steven Hansen? just as the funny person he is? I love this man.

1. He spends more time in the anatomy lab with dead people than he does with me. that's kinda creepy if you think about it. yikes. but that's science classes for you. and He's a TA. So it makes sense.
2. He wants to name one of our children after a Laker's player. He loves Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom. But why choose just one? He has decided on LaPau Gasodom Hansen. Ugh. I will veto that one, but thanks to espn for puttin that thought in his head.
3. He has five different deodorants. He claims that his armpits get immune to a certain kind after using it so long. In his words, " I have to keep my armpits guessing! ". He really said that. Ha.
4. We were out of cereal the other day and he told me he'd go buy some. When I got home I saw he had bought cookie crisp and marshmallow mateys. I would have chosen like total or cheerios? but ok, let's eat miniature chocolate chip cookies for a good wholesome breakfast. That won't put us in a sugar coma at all.
5. The other day at 1am we had to drive back up to campus to find his IPOD because it fell out of his pocket. He remembered where it might be because it was a corner where instead of walking on the sidewalk, he jumped over the bushes. Glad he "saved some time" by jumping over those bushes...

He's hilarious. that's why I married this hilarious man. I like the variety that's added to life when you get to be a part of someone else's too. :)


So guess what else? I have been teaching a little bit! I spend every day up in Salt Lake at the cutest elementary school.
I am in second grade, and my class is pretty funny.
So far we have had two, uh, "potty accidents", a tooth get knocked out by another girl's head, and a few kids accidentally wearing clothing items backwards and being really embarrassed when had to tell them and have them go change. We have a little bit of a lot of different cultures in our room, and I think it's kind of fun. There are two twin girls that dress alike every day, A little asian boy who always asks me how to spell things, and this little girl that looks JUST like I did in second grade who tells me almost every day that her birthday is in April.

I have learned far more about how to teach than any class could have taught me. Sometimes that's cruddy learning though cause the mistakes you make are even worse.
Today, my lesson that was supposed to be 20 minutes went for almost an hour. Things just don't go how you planned and sometimes it's just chaos. A lot of the time it's you vs. a class with a bad case of the wiggles and sometimes it feels like the wiggles win. But I have years to go, and to practice before I think I'll ever feel "comfortable" with teaching. You can't just fix what you did wrong in your lesson either! It's so frustrating! Once you've taught that lesson, you can't waste time teaching it again just because now you know how to do it. You have to just be able to apply that new technique you learned to the next lesson you teach. It's a big difference from being able to fix your answers on a test and resubmit it for full credit. It's experience, not paperwork. And it's way harder and more complicated that I thought. It's trying to remember 30 management strategies in your head while trying to follow a lesson plan, answer questions, and try to make sure they're learning-not just that you're throwing facts at their heads. Yikes.
I admire those teachers who do it well. Obviously anyone could be a teacher. Anyone can stand in front of a class and say things from a piece of paper in their hands. But it's incredibly hard to be a GOOD teacher. An EFFECTIVE teacher, and one that the kids will remember as learning from and loving to be in class with. Maybe someday I'll catch on to it.

Just a friendly little hello. or two.

Hello October.
Hello pumpkins.
Hello leaves.
Hello apple spice EVERYTHING!
I love fall very most.

Hello also to lots of homework.

Hello five bagillion thank you notes that we are working on getting out. But how cool is that that we have five bagillion awesome friends that were so kind to us at our wedding. Thank you you five bagillion people, you! we love you most too. It's possible to love two things most. I promise.
Hello Salt Lake School district. I shall be with you in about two weeks. Who votes I might pee my pants the first day because I'm scared of kids? For the El Ed program we are going to be in the classrooms every day for about a month. I was assigned Salt Lake. Which means having to leave the house at 7am every day. Hello alarm clock.

Hello to my new devotion to undo what genetics has done and break my addiction to sugar. We have a Wentz gene where we are completely addicted to sugar, and crave it probably more than most people. It's funny sometimes to talk about, but I don't want dumb sweets to rule my lifetime. You always feel so sluggish and gross after eating treats, you remind yourself that you're never doing that again-until that feeling goes away. But seriously, when have you ever eaten a carrot and regretted it? The answer is never. Cause you don't feel awful, you feel like you just ate a little piece of life, and your insides thank you for looking out for their long term well being. So at least till halloween, I'm gonna have to break up with my beloved glucose. For health's sake. That's what, like 20 days? I can try that. I think that's possible. goodbye deliciousness. hello healthier kellie's innards.

Hello to NBA basketball season coming up. Hello Jazz. Please don't stink this year.

Hello to my attempt to be more charitable and less judgmental thanks to General Conference. I've fallen into an awful habit of being so critical of people and so quick to make judgments. That's not who I want to be-I want to be someone who assumes the best of someone, or who is patient and helpful to those who need it. I've been a little isolated in my own little world, and that's not how a Latter Day Saint should live. Read this talk by President Monson from the Relief Society meeting- http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1298-39,00.html
You'll understand why I'm feeling the need to improve this. I think we all can a little. I think I would be happier if I did. So I shall. I can have a happier spirit along with a happier body. :)
Good ol' Conference. I loved every second of it.

Well, goodbye procrastination technique, aka blog of mine.
Hello Chapter 9 of "The Study of Language"....

Stevey

I love this man.

Tickets are the worst.

I hate tickets.
Parking tickets and traffic tickets are the biggest waste of money for making a stupid mistake.
Like not wearing your seatbelt, or parking more than 12 inches away from the curb (ya I didn't EVEN KNOW that was any sort of law or anything! but some cop must have pulled out his measuring tape cause I was 14" from the curb dang it...), or leaving your car in a BYU lot overnight, or not having current registration on time, or speeding. Gah. Stupid mistakes that policemen catch and say "oh, you goofed. Pay me sixty bucks." NO! I will not! Except I have too within five business days or then they say "Late payment! Pay me thirty more dollars!" I hate you. Stinky coppers. Stop stealing all my dollars. I could have bought probs like three pairs of pants, and a couple shirts, and a cute pair of shoes with the money I've spent this year on stinky tickets. And that money just gets yanked out of your account online and you never see it again. With new clothes you get to wear them everyday and say hey, this is that fifteen bucks I spent-but I'll wear that fifteen bucks for like the next five years.
Oh booo. I know I need to be more responsible. It's my own fault-and that makes it worse cause you know when something frustrating happens and you know its totally your fault for being dumb? That just makes it worse. Here on out I'm going to be a driving/parking smarty and stop getting tickets. lame lame lame tickets.

Hansen. That's right- the name is now HANSEN!

Dear world of mine,
First, prepare for cheese. I just got married-of course this will be cheesy. you've been warned.
Well, I am wed. I am now Kellie Ann Hansen. Oh my cow, I'm married to Steven Hansen, who is now my husband, and I am Kellie Hansen. wow. how wierd is that. I swear I'm not old enough for a husband. husband. haha, how wierd is that that I get to use that word. that's such a grown up word, and I'm such a little kid.
I do love the name Wentz. I shall miss it's uniqueness, and I don't know what some of my friends are going to do that call me "Wentz" instead of Kellie. I guess we all make sacrifices :) I also had to scratch out and rewrite my name on a few papers today because I forgot. It's gonna take some getting used to in lots of ways, but it's SO STINKING COOL!!!!!
Friday was absolutely perfect. and gorgeous. and wonderful. and happy. and such a party. and full of FABULOUS gerber daisies, and SO many people I love! All you who tease me and ask me why I'm always happy, I wish to confess to you right now I've never been happier than I was on that day. Hands down, THEE happiest day of my entire 21 years of lifetime. I think my cheeks wanted to jump of my face so my smile could get bigger- I struggled to not break my face by smiling so much. It's just full of all of those things I just said-all my favorite things and people! I just want to say thanks to anyone who helped out or came, or supported us in any way. You are definitely not taken for granted-my heart is bursting to tell you how truly truly grateful I am for you. I understand how much people did for me, and I will ALWAYS be grateful. I figure a good way of saying thanks will be by doing the same thing for others, so I hope I get the chance a lot in my life.

Well, now we're hitched, and it's so wierd that life revolves around one other person now. It's like, well, Family again. It reminds me of high school with kyle actually. Him coming and jumping on my bed when my alarm goes off trying to wake me up. (it would never wake me up, but it would wake him up in the next room and he'd have to come wake me up.) and when he was always waiting in the car outside to go to school while I'm hurrying but still make us late, and knowing I'll see him at night and talk about the crazy day. It's kinda like that same feeling. Just family, that knows you inside and out, and you do boring things together like laundry or dishes-but it's still fun somehow. I like family. Family is fun. and now me and mr. hansen hath become the Hansen Family. How cute. It's a really good feeling. I think it's cause marriage and family and the proper priority and respect of it is VITAL to Heavenly Father's plan-and when you do things Heavenly Father's way you get blessed like mad. It's pretty simple how it works really-but so stinking cool. We've already felt that incredible happiness-no, it's more than just like your everyday happiness, it's a feeling like there is this giant fuzzy quilt of JOY that hugs every little bone in your body and then feeds you caramel brownies and ice cream for a week straight. Ya- That's kinda more accurate of the feeling I'm talking about. Anyway, that comes from doing things right-like getting sealed in a temple. It was incredible in the temple that day. Nothing can ever match the feeling of love and the sense of eternity that you feel when you are being sealed with the priesthood to your best friend forever. Forever has become one of my favorite words. And now me and Stevey boy here get to be forever. and that's freaking sweet! I might be in this cheesy newlywed bliss mode for a while, and then it might wear off a little bit, but I'll never take for granted how lucky I am to be married to steven hansen. Life has never been better than it is right here and now-and thanks to proper priesthood power it can be like this forever. I love forever. yay for marriage. :)

Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day! I hope you ate some BBQ, admired a flag, lit some things on fire, and relaxed with your families. I love fourth of July. I remember the awesome water balloon fights/bbq/cul-de-sac of fire at Bishop Packs house growing up. Those memories will last forever. Fourth of July is such a tradition holiday, it's awesome. It's great to have Steve and Syl out from Colorado too! I hope everyone had fun.
Oh, and we got our engagement pictures done. Steve was miserable. He hates pictures. His face in most of them look like I'm holding a knife to his back. It's kinda funny.

But then some are cute. Like this one.


Ah no, I'm one of those cheesy, crazy in love engaged people. Sorry if I make you feel like puking.

Also, great news-I narrowed down my bridesmaids to a final count...12. Yes. There will be 12. I know, it's a little not normal, but I couldn't narrow it any more from that, so we're gonna stick with an even dozen. We'll see how that goes...

Can I add a cheesy bit of info too? Of course I can. I do it all the time. It is MY blog after all. :) I got to spend a few days with steve's family down in southern utah boating and stuff, and it was really interesting to see what family meant to them. You could see how his family definitely has different personalities than mine, but they still had such a high priority for having a sense of "family". I have so much respect for his parents. Wow. They are wonderful people. His siblings-they are a ton like my brothers. It's not any of this gushy sensitive stuff you would get from a family of girls (he does have one sister though, but you can tell she grew up working hard to survive around them), it's a lot of the survival of the fittest that happened in my family-but it's so fun. Everything is a competition, and everything is way more intense than it would be with other people. You have to stick up for yourself, and when you're a Jazz fan surrounded by Lakers fans that just won a championship that is not easy.
It's harsh-but so fun. It makes me miss that with my fam a bit. Maybe it's just me, but do you ever sometimes you miss the way things were before, but you don't know what's in store for the future, and you wonder if maybe it's better, but you don't think anything ever could be? Woah, run on sentence. Anyway, I loved growing up with my brothers. I love them a lot, and I love how we did things. But that doesn't mean that I can't find even more of that happiness in the future just because childhood is past. Who knows, maybe my kids will be even cooler than me and my brothers were growing up. I figure if I'm doing all I can to live right I'll be blessed with bigger happiness to fill the shoes of the happiness I had growing up. I miss childhood. I admit it. So I'm kinda sayin this to myself, but maybe you've felt that too? But things get better, better than you thought they could. And it seems you only find yourself experiencing even deeper happiness than you thought you could before. Even the Beatles agree when they say "I have to admit it's getting better, it's getting better all the time." Ah, the profound Beatles. Love them.
I think that's true. Things only get better. I mean honestly. I'm getting married for heavens sakes! What makes you happier than that?! Ok, enough philosophy for today.
Enjoy the sunshine! Eat a popsicle. woot woot!

I conquered the fishies!!

Last weekend Me, Steve, Stacie, and Shane Johnson trekked on down to the Messina Residence in Henderson Nevada!
My roommate Sarah is leaving on a mission on June 2nd to Paraguay, and her family was so nice to let us come down and spend the weekend with them so we could go to her farewell and have some fun in Vegas! Here's a little pictoral recap for ya:
Lake Mead-gorgeous. Oh man being here for a few days was way better than being at work, or Provo for that matter. There was actual SUNSHINE there, something Utah has been a little stingy on latley...

I'm actually scared out of my mind of deep water because I'm scared of fish. Intensely scared of fish (hence the fish Stacie hung in my room on april fools...cruel.). Brother Messina was nice enough to wait until after they talked me into getting into the water before pointing out these monster fish hanging out in the water. Oh my gosh if I saw these first I would have never gotten in.
But I put on my brave facade and got in and had a total panic attack. But panic or no panic I did it, mostly to impress steve. and he says he's still planning on marrying me, so I think it did the trick. but here is my proof-

I actually got up on waterskis! I was so proud. This was huge progress for me facing my fears. Thanks for letting me brag for a sec.
We also went on a cool bike ride through some crazy tunnels and stuff over to Hoover Dam.
This is Danielle and Sarah Messina and Stacie Purcell. They are incredible. Sarah is the one that leaves on Wednesday.



While we were there we saw my great friends the palm trees. There were like nine of them right by hoover dam, but I was only allowed to hug five of them so that I wouldn't totally humiliate our whole group. I chose this one. I wanted to take it home, but it was too heavy to carry on my bike. Someday I'll have a palm tree, just wait.



This is our crew at Hoover Dam. Um, I kinda wonder why so many people go see Dams. They are kinda boring. It's just cement, and water. Lots of it. I mean, I appreciate the engineering genius just as much as the next person, and it's cool to see if you're already there, but I wonder if people really say, "Let's go on vacation somewhere super cool...I know! Let's go see a dam!". I mean, maybe it's just not my style. But it was fun here with all my buds since we were already in the neighborhood.
Bike Riding-I learned how to properly shift down/up so your quads don't explode when going uphill. Handy trick, those little gears. I praise the man who invented that.


This is Heather and Stacie on Lake Mead. They were some of my favorite roommates ever. You can tell that from their lovely faces.




Welp, that's all for Vegas. Now it's back to work at Seven Peaks. We don't have many groups coming until July pretty much, so I'll be doing random stuff around the park until then. If you come to Seven Peaks I will probably see ya there!
Also, Kyle get's home in three months. August 26th. I'm so pumped! It's gonna be a huge welcome home kyle/me and steve's wedding extravaganza weekend!!
ok, toodles!

I have something to tell you...

Hello! Ok, so remember the curveball I was talking about a few weeks ago? The twist in life that you least expect, and you wonder if it's a good or bad thing? Well that particular curveball was a good thing. A VERY good thing. In fact, let me introduce you to him. My life's biggest curveball, but I can say I'm so so glad it got thrown at me. I'll explain. but first, introductions:


This is Steven Hansen.This is also Steve Hansen. With his head in a bucket of dry ice fumes.


This is me and steve at our ward closing social for winter semester. Try to notice his fabulous green eyes. They are fabulous indeed. He is also a red head. I have always been partial to red heads. Oh and the front right tooth of his? The bottom of it is fake. He face planted on concrete while playing basketball in high school and there went his tooth! You'll see that picture someday.


Let me tell you about Steven Hansen.
He was born in Valencia, California. When he was 13 he moved to Vacaville, California. He is a total city boy, and I am a lover of open fields and cowboys. Well, it's ok. Everyone is different. He'll love country music someday...we'll see to that. :)


He likes soccer, basketball, baseball...basically every sport possible. Espn/sportscenter are his best friends.

He went on his mission to Baton Rouge, Louisianna. That's Elder Hansen with a cute little gecko on his tie. He learned spanish while he was there, and his testimony grew leaps and bounds. I am so thankful for his rock solid testimony. This steve boy with the gecko on his tie-he knows the gospel and he loves it. That right there you can be sure of, and that is one of the things I love the most about him.



Steve is a super smarty pants. I can only wish to get the kind of grades he gets at BYU, as well as in High School. But sometimes, his smarts don't keep him from things like this...


This is steve after crushing his face while playing broom hockey for a ward activity. Quite the stitch job, and lots of blood, but a really funny memory. Perfect for him though because he wants to be a sports doctor/pediatrician. We'll graduate BYU together in April 2012 and then we wants to go to med school. We have quite the road ahead that's for sure. But he'll be awesome at it. He's just genius like that.

Well no one is perfect. He does have flaws. His main downfall? The Lakers. But we try not to talk about that. Too bad his family makes sure they always bring it up. I declare here and now I will NEVER be converted to like the lakers. Never ever.


Steve doesn't like Seafood, or olives, or peppermint. Random, but good thing, cause those are also my least favorite things ever. He has a very "wentz" sense of humor. I can't wait for him to meet kyle.
He whoops me at every sport, but it's ok, he's super fun to play anyways.

This is me with Steve. I love Steven Hansen. You might say, "well if you love him so much why don't you marry him!"

Well... Ok. I Will!!
How about August 27th?



How about here?
DONE! It's scheduled! August 27th, at 11:00 am, here in the Mount Timpanogos temple I get to marry this Steven Hansen and from here on through forever become Kellie Ann Wentz Hansen!!!! wooooooooot woooot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got engaged on Sunday, May 2nd, and we're getting married in August! The day after Kyle gets home actually. He flies in August 26th. Ha, let's PRAY that plane isn't late. I'm excited for him to be here. He's my twin, he's gotta be!

Well, alright. Introductions are over. Now let's talk about the curveball.
Let me tell you a story... (it's kinda long, sorry!)

Once, during the first week of July, 2009 a girl named Kellie was walking down the hall from sunday school to Sacrement meeting. Summer term had just started and some new people moved in. One of them was named steve. As she...ok enough third person. I'm blowing the secret-it's me. I'm kellie. (that was a clever play on my blog's address too...haha itsmekellie? I'm so funny). Ok, as I was walking I ran into him talking with some other people in the ward. I was tired of the dating game, and was just focused on my calling that day and not paying much attention. But I said, "oh hey, you're new. What's your name?" He said, "I'm steve". Simple enough.
The very thought that popped into my head as I said "oh hey steve! Welcome." was, "oh he's cute...but he probably has a girlfriend. so who cares if I impress him or not. welcome to the ward steve." blah. I just felt like oh whatever.

The next day when I got off work I felt like going swimming. wierd. I hate swimming. super wierd. But it was nice out, so I went. And there was that red-chest-haired steve and his friends playing pool basketball. I was braved and asked to join them right as they started trying crazy dunks. Steve thought it was smart to try to get a running start and jump all the way across the pool to dunk it. He tried it and it made a huge splash that landed on a girl trying to sunbathe. It was hilarious. I remembered his name was steve, and we played basketball for a while. Afterwards we were just talking for a minute and he mentioned he was going to play soccer. I wanted to play! So our conversation ended with a "we should play soccer sometime" and we both left to get ready for fhe. Psshh, like we would ever acutally play. or talk again. but I just thought oh well, he was cool. (TOTAL BYU ward couple meeting...I know it). So that night at fhe he started talking to me again, I started wondering why this steve boy was talking to me so much. He couldn't have had a girlfriend. He was too flirty and he hadn't said anything about her. Then he got my number that night at our ward fhe at rock canyon park. SO zoobie. but oh well. I didn't hear from him again till later that week. He invited me to play soccer friday morning. My roommate brooke came too, and once we all met up and were heading to her car, I told them I had to run back to my apartment and get my water bottle.
I lied. I actually had to puke. I was SO SCARED to hang out with him (cause by now I realized he was pretty cool, and he didn't have a girlfriend-and he was talking to me ALOT), and when I get that scared I get way pukey. Well, I really liked him by now, and I was so nervous I actually went inside and totally puked. How embarrassing. To be so nervous to hang out with someone that you puke. Ya, I really liked him.
Then we played soccer, and all was well. He asked me on a date that day actually, but I was leaving to be an EFY counselor for the next 2 weeks. AWFUL timing! But we planned a date for the next saturday, and I crossed my fingers that he wouldn't find some way awesome girl in our ward before then and totally forget about me. After soccer we all went swimming again, but I had to leave cause I had a date. A picnic lunch date with someone else. How ironic. It was way fun, but steve was definitely on the brain. That night I got off work at 1am. All my friends were still out lighting fireworks (it was july 3rd), so I met them out there and steve was still up too. We sat on the porch and started talking. Everyone else gradually went to bed. We kept saying we should probably go to bed, but we just kept talking. Soon I noticed that it was getting light outside!! It was 5:30 in the morning! We had been talking forever, and it seemed like nothing. I really really liked this boy.
Ok, short story- I went to EFY for two weeks and he didn't forget about me. We started dating two days after I got back. And we dated for four and a half months.

Well, I wanted to marry him. We both felt that way. but the Spirit had other things to say and after a lot of thinking and talking-we broke up. The day before my birthday. Not a "we need a break" breakup, but a "this is the end, good luck with your life" breakup. It was done. and I maybe died like fifty times inside. but it felt right, and I tried to move on. Time to find new things in my life, and a new boy.

I honestly NEVER thought we would ever get back together. I was trying to move on. But moving on wouldn't quite happen...I had the steve bug bad. But move on I must because Kellie Wentz doesn't dwell, she pulls up her dang boots and keeps moving. At least I would hope so.

Welp. Then came the curveball. One sunday night about two and a half months ago, me and steve had a good long 4 hour chat. I was expecting another firm assurance that it was over. but I got square smacked in the face with a curveball-we started dating again.

Well, this is Long, cheesy, detailed, and very journal-like, but moral of the story is we got back together. I was stinking scared about that, but felt it was worth the risk. About two weeks into it I knew why. We were so getting married. It was only a matter of time. No one could be more perfect for me. and I knew it, and I felt it, and It made me so happy. I had prayed so much to stop caring about him-ya gotta move on ya know? but my heart never changed and I kept feeling the impression to be patient and give him another chance. I knew I still loved him, but I admit I tried REALLY hard to hate him! but it wouldn't work. good thing too. Cause now I'm going to be Kellie Hansen. And I am so stinking happy. It's my turn to build my own family. A family based on Jesus Christ, and the temple, and the scriptures, and love and patience and HOLY COW it's just going to be freaking AWESOME!!!! It feels so good to be so sure, and so happy, and know that what you're doing is completely right. August 27th. I'm pumped. I hope you'll all be there! Thanks for the congrats. I am so excited to be Kellie Hansen. :)

This week so far...in pictures.

Well, classes end next week. Consequently this week and last week have been a little crazy. Here's a little pictoral representation of my current life...

My pile of homework still to do looks about like this....

The weather has felt a lot like this...

I have gotten four of these (which is a total injustice, I'm still bitter)...

I feel a LOT like this...

but also a little bit of this...


I'm addicted to these...

I've been hanging around with him...


I have high hopes for these guys here in the next few weeks...


I got a summer job here!...

Oh and I LOVED this...

loved loved loved it. :)

Welp, that about sums it up. Happy Wednesday. :)

Addendum to April Fools

Welp, the day was not over yet when I wrote that post. Let me tell you how it ended..

• I got off work and went out to my car- it was covered in tuna. I hate tuna. And honey was under my door handles. Punks.
• When I did get home I opened my scriptures and screamed-another piranha picture right there in 1 Nephi 17 where I had left off. And I found other one on this weeks page in my planner.
  
• I went to brush my teeth to go to bed and I couldn't find my toothbrush. Well you know it' April Fools Day when one of the places you think to look is in your freezer. There it was, encased in a thick block of ice.
  
• This morning as I was hurrying to get dressed to get to class my pants all felt like they fit funny-It's because all my pockets were packed with packing peanuts. So I took em out and threw them on Stacie's bed while yelling to myself how happy I was April Fool's Day was now over.
  

I can't take that holiday anymore. And I'm still finding fish pictures. Kudos to Stacie. How was you're april fool's? Anything fun happen?

This is Ridiculous!

Today is April Fool's Day. I have always loved April Fool's Day. Kyle and I would saran wrap everything, put shaving cream on everything, set water cups on doors, and put a rubber band around the sink sprayer and mom was always the one that got it. Jay would switch the sugar with salt while we were eating cream of wheat. It was fun. We all felt so sneaky.

Well today it was redefined. Heather Miller and Stacie Purcell, my current roommates have completely outdone themselves. All day long was absolutely ridiculous. Wanna know what they did? Let's bullet point this out so you can see the damage of what we did, as well as what was done to us. All trust was totally out the window.

• Last night heather made pb cookies with extra salt in them. She put them on my doorstep so that when I came home from this date I saw them (we all have secret service people in the ward that we're supposed to do things for) it said to Kellie from your secret service person. How cute. So I went inside and ate a piece of one and almost died. I thought it was so funny so I went and told all my roommates how my secret service person totally got me! I told them to try some so heather went in the kitchen and came back with a cookie and she tried it and was fine. Then my other roommates tried it too and didn't notice anything. There was no way they were joking cause those salt cookies were sick. I was so confused! Then I started to notice that I recognized the plate the cookies were on. Oh my gosh. I had been dooped. I stood up and started yelling at he sneaky buggers that I knew that plate and they confessed! It was heather! The whole time! She made a plate of normal cookies too and that's what she had gotten and eaten with Danielle and Sarah. Oh my, she really got me good.
  
• Last night Heather and I bought 18 ice blocks from smith's, and carefully stacked them in from of some guys in our ward's door. It got up to just above the door handle. So enough to block you from leaving. We poured water all over it to make them stick together and prayed that it would be cold enough to freeze them. I was very pleased to wake up and see snow on the ground. I walked past on the way to school and they were still in tact. I found out those guys were just climbing over it to get out. :) Nice job Heather.
• We also wrapped everything in Danielle's backpack with princess wrapping paper. We wrapped some other random things as well and threw them in so she would have to open all of them during class to find out what was what.
  
• I HATE FISH. Especially creepy deep sea fish. So Stacie hacked onto my computer and changed my background to this sick looking scary fish. It scared me so bad.
  
• I came home from class and Heather, Stacie and I were all home together and we were just watching each other so bad. It was hilarious. No one trusted anyone. So Heather had made frozen pizza and when she went back into her room for a second me and Stacie lifted up her pepperoni's and shoved a whole load of basil underneath them. Well little did we know she eats her pizza by pulling the pepperoni's off first. So she saw it and scraped it off. shoot.
  
• I couldn't find my phone for like two hours! Heather thought the mail had come so she asked me to come check it with her. We didn't want to leave Stacie alone because we didn't trust her, so we made her come with. We open the mail box and there is some mail and a package for me. I open it and there is my phone, amidst all the packing peanuts. Nice Heather, nice.
  
• Heather fell for a cup on water on the top of the door-she got soaked.
• soap was put behind the handle of the refrigerator.
  
• The toilet was saran wrapped and icy hot put on it.
• vinegar was mixed into a pitcher of water, I wonder if anyone has drunk out of it yet.
  
• we put icy hot on Brooke's deodorant. and Heather's. Ha, that was a good one.
• Once again with the fish, I came home from campus and Stacie had cut out the most disgusting fish ever and had them hanging from my ceiling. She also had one hanging at eye level in my closet so I opened it and FREAKED out. I don't remember screaming so loud ever. She also put on on my laptop screen, and it my wallet. It's the sickest picture of this piranha that gets me every time. She said there is still two more hiding as well that I'll discover.
• We pinned and taped heather's coat to her ceiling.
• We may or may not have lit 5 smoke bombs in a bowl and slid them into a boy's apartment where they filled the entire place with stinky smoke in no time flat.
  
• We saran wrapped the Messina's (my roommates, danielle and sarah messina are sisters) computers.
• Heather and Stacie put all the Messina's shoes in a box and duct taped it and hid it out in their car-leaving their keys at home was a bad idea.
  
• we froze heather's retainer in a plastic cup then took it out and put it on a plate on her desk. :)
• I got a couple of good, but really false, stories going with syl, katy, and staish. Sorry guys, I just had to have some way to say april fool's to you today!

Today was madness. I'm glad to be at work right now and away from the distrust and mischievous plots of my roommates. I wonder if we'll ever trust each other again. We were watching our backs all day long! It was fun!!

I don't really like baseball.

This is how you hold a baseball to throw a curve ball.

Clayton Kershaw throws a mean curve ball.
Ben Sheets is also good at throwing curve balls.

Ya know who else is great at throwing curve balls.

Life.

Yes. That bully/best friend we call life.

Sometimes we love love love Life's curve balls. Sometimes we hate them.
Ya know the dilemma of today? I don't know whether to hate it or love it.
I'm stuck. But I can't just sit here in the line of fire of said curve ball forever or I'm gonna
get nailed right smack in the nose with the dang thing.

Sometimes you wish things worked out exactly how you planned or wanted them to. But then they don't. But time goes by, and life progresses and THEN your are all sorts of grateful that they didn't. And you like how things turned out so much better than they would have if you got your way. But then, a curve ball comes your way and changes everything. And you may end up getting what you wanted after all, but now it's even better. Or maybe not. It depends I guess.

How good are you at catching curve balls?

Oh, Life. You're so funny sometimes. You should go into stand up. You'd do really well. Anyone concur?

From taxes...to complex carbohydrates.

So my life is pretty full lately. A lot lot lot going on. How bout some highlights? Ok.

• I taught...eh...tried to teach P.E. to kindergartners at Park Elementary. It's like trying to make caffeinated jello do jumping jacks. Oh my gosh. All structure goes straight out the window and your standard for success drops down to making sure no one is crying, dead, or yelling. If you can do that, well, congrats, you made it. Better luck this week huh?
• Tomorrow is the rex lee run! Also, I'm going to do the Provo Half Marathon May 1st if anyone wants in on it as well? Jake Cannon and I are going try and train for it, and some really important miles are during finals, so I hope we're ready in time!
• I simply love emilie laura jackie lucille wright and allison suzette hancock.
  
• Lots of great things happening in my friends lives. Congrats on the baby Berkeley(even though it was a while ago...) and Arista, the mission calls jade, wernsie, sarah, and erica, and the engagements sarah , katy, josh, jonathan, scott, jmac, kels, mindy, kevin, paige, colton!!!! yep, tis the season I guess. The next couple months will be quite the party! :)
  
• taxes. I love getting money back from a tax return, but filing is just so complicated, and paying taxes bites. That's a def love/hate relationship. But something inside me feels all grown up and responsible while filing my taxes.
  
• I have not been eating sugar lately, and I wanna die. I miss my old friend glucose, maybe someday when I'm a super fast runner and super skinny we might make acquaintances again. I hope so. but in the mean time I've been becoming great friends with veggies and whole wheat. It's funny how much better you feel actually. I would recommend a good healthy reconstructing of what you eat, it does wonders for ya. And it really gives ya peace of mind knowing all your wonderful little innards are being taken good care of.
  
• On monday I teach my class a dance I made up, in our math class we're working on a project with our textbook entitled "The Number Devil". Our refrigerator looks like a 1st grader lives there because of my wonderful art projects. I am playing the part of Royal Magician Number 1 in Drama. Yep, I'm slowly becoming a real live teacher. I love it. And I know my roommates secretly do to. :)
• Kyle comes home in Six months. Wow.
  
• I can't wait for BBQ. I love that the weather is warming up!
  
• I want to try and be a more classy dresser. So I have considered purchasing a brown cardigan. Nothin says classy like a cardigan right? But here's my shopping complex that I've developed. 1- I have to go to at least three stores, usually more, to find the best selection/prices. 2- Then I have to think about it for at least five days. In that five days I must analyze my current wardrobe and find at least four or five solid uses for it-something it will match or go well with so I know I would wear it often. For shoes they have to match 75% of my stuff. Some things can pass that test while I'm at a store, so that speeds up the process to about two days of think time. 3- But then it has to go up against "the list", which is a list of other things I have been wanting to buy lately, in order of priority from what I want/need most down to what's just a daydream. If this item isn't in the top five then it's usually a forgotten cause. Yes, this is the psychological road trip that happens with 90% of clothes I buy. I think it's a pretty solid strategy. Welcome to my thought process :) Now none of you will ever want to go shopping with me. Sorry sorta...
• Welp, time to get back to math. Thank you for reading and being updated on my lifetime. Next time there will be pics for sure.
  

later!
-Kellie

I made a cake.

Thank you to Kaitlin and Natalie for renewing my faith in myself and making cakes. I had gotten a bit discouraged about it since the last one I made was a disaster. But these two brought me the best book ever about doing cakes, and it was Scott and David's birthday, so I thought what the heck. I even got a little brave and tried my first fondant cake! Normal fondant is pricey and tastes awful, so I made homemade marshmallow fondant and OH BABY it worked like a dream! So friends, behold my first fondant decorated cake. :)

Oh for Heaven's Sakes,...this just needs to be said. Cheesy or not.

Sometimes I hate agency. But sometimes I love it. Don't you agree? Sometimes I feel like Satan, and I so badly want to take someone else's agency and make their choices for them because I can see so clearly what would be best for them. Oh all you parents I feel for you, I'm sure you feel that all the time. I bet you would pay a fortune for a chance to make a big decision for your child because you know that is the best one for them. But, as I said before, that's exactly what the adversary wanted in the war in heaven. To make people's choices for them. So, when I feel like I want to do the same for those that I love, it's almost as if I'm trying to live Heavenly Father's plan using satan's tactics, or force them to live His plan, which is the same dilemma.
It's a paradox. I can't. I cannot choose for another person, I already decided a long time ago in that war to fight for the side of giving all men agency. I knew what it meant, and I treasured the gift of agency just like Heavenly Father did, just like Christ did. So why do I get so frustrated out of my mind when someone I love makes a decision that I know will only hurt them? What do you think Heavenly Father feels when we make decisions He knows are only going to hurt us? Probably frustrated out of His mind. Are you catchin on? And yet, agency lives on in each of us. That shows me that it is something far more sacred than I understand, and that I should respect the agency other people have as well as my own. That's where my next two thoughts come in.
1. People can make whatever choices they choose, but the consequences don't change. You will always have to deal with the consequences of choices you make. Hence, 2. I can still make my own choices of how to react to consequences. Whether they are consequences of someone else's choice, or of something completely outside of anyone's control.
Let's be one hundred percent serious for two seconds-crap will happen. I know, it's blunt and brutal, but who will disagree with me? It's mortality, it's what it's for! How miserable would your life be if nothing difficult ever crossed your path? That sounds backwards, but you know it's true, don't you? I know that mountains are thrown in our path so that we can climb them and enjoy the view from the top. Ya flat ground is nice and it's easy, but what are you becoming when you walk on flat ground for years and years? Definitely not what you could be if you started doing a little climbing. Thank heaven's we are given mountains. TRUST ME, life is better with mountains.
Ok, that said doesn't mean that mountains aren't tough little buggers to get your little self up. Ya, they hurt. Oh man I had no idea how much. Mountains are anything that really cuts to the core and shows us who we are. Or mountains are when you think you know what it means to have your heart ripped open and cut to pieces and then some jerk called life comes along and he throws a gallon of freshly squeezed lemon juice all over it. And you just think, Seriously? Are you really gonna be like this? Ah. COME ON!! But ya, it's real, and it's a mountain, and you get to climb it. That's kinda what life feels like sometimes. But ya know what, you accept it. You can't change it. Why on earth worry and stress over what you cannot change. If you can't change it, it's a reality, not a problem. You can only change problems-not realities. You deal with realities by opening up your heart to the Savior and letting the Atonement take care of those realities that you can't. Well, so here we are with a huge fatty big boy problem on our plate, and what do we do? Well what can you do? You start to solve it. One bite at a time. You have friends, family, a Heavenly Father,and a Savior to give a lifting hand. You have the scriptures and the Spirit behind you giving you the revelation you need. You have prayer 24/7 that works miracles because that infinite Heavenly Father hears and answers them. You have friends like emilie who when you text them telling them you need something they call you back ready and willing to do anything before you can even say hello. How do you ever tell those people how grateful you are for their helping hands? I'm sure grateful for these supports in my life. They rock the house. I love you all dearly.

Ok, sorry, HUGE tangent. but choices. Ah, choices. Here's where we are grateful for choices. No one can take from you your choice of how to react. You always have that. You choose your attitude. You choose your actions, your priorities, and how you spend your time. You can choose that no matter what happens you are going to do the very best you POSSIBLY can to be the very best you POSSIBLY CAN! Woot woot! That doesn't ever have to change no matter what.
I'm feeling a lot right now, but mostly I feel like pounding my fist on the dang table and publicly declaring that no matter what mountains I'm gonna have to get my big ol booty up, I'm going to climb them. So that when I start to wonder what I'm going to do about what mess I've gotten involved in, I can remember that I have already decided. I'm going to have a good attitude. I'm going to be a mom someday. I'm going to live the gospel. I'm going to be the best dang teacher my district's ever seen. I'm going to be a happy person-the real kind of happy that only comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm going to love other people. I'm going to have a celestial home where Jesus Christ is the very center always. I'm going to have patience, I'm going to take care of my body and mind. I'm going to love, appreciate, and be loyal to my family. I am going to be Kellie Wentz, and this is who I want Kellie Wentz to be.
So come on, throw your lemon juice at me punk, I'll take you down. :)

Hello Saturday.

I LOVE these things.





I want to be a cowgirl. I know that's realistic, but I at least don't want to end up in a big city. I want to live somewhere with wheat fields and a sense of community. I want to put up our own wood slat fence in my backyard someday. I want to plant a garden, and sit on the porch on summer nights and look at the stars and talk to neighbors walking past. Mostly I want to run through a field of sunflowers in a flowy skirt and the country air in my face. Yesssss. Someday I will find me a field of sunflowers. If you come across any in these parts of provo utah you better let me know! Cause I want to find it, and frolick through it and take pictures of it in the sunset.

A few weeks ago we had a stake barn dance in a real barn in spanish fork. Oh my lands, dream come true. Yay for barns. I love barns. and the smell of dirt and wood, and dancing! It was one of the funnest ward/stake activities I've ever been to.



Aren't my roommates adorable? Yes, yes they are. I am so blessed to be at the Elms again with these awesome girls. I am so blessed to be at the Elms, period. I love it. and ya know what else I love? Good conversation. Like the kind where you feel like you really know that person a whole lot better after. I've realized I peg people for certain things, as in what they probably like or dislike or how they think. I love when you have a good chat with someone and realize they aren't quite what you thought. I don't realize how impressed I am with someone until after time like that together, and then I start to understand what they are all about-and I'm quite impressed. I love people I can talk to really easily, and who are good at having balanced conversation back and forth-not just dominating it and talking about themselves. It's really nice when you feel like they have genuine interest in your opinions as well. That is a sure fire fun time, and I love learning about people I didn't know very well before! I had one of these conversations last night. It was so much fun, and I had no idea such amazing people were out there, but it's a refreshing thing to discover. Three cheers for awesome people. They enrich my life and make me want to be better. Thank you all you awesome people you!