Summer Fun!

It's official! I am all moved-down to Utah. Which means only one thing: Summer is officially over (almost). Where, oh where, has the time gone?! Before Summer is completely over, I think it's necessary to celebrate with a song:

If you haven't had any sexy summer nights, it's high time you repent, get out there, and do something before time is up!

So, what have I done to make my summer worthwhile (besides work, you may ask)? This is the first real summer I've had since I graduated high school. Every summer since then was consumed with school, so it's been nice not to have to worry about school for once and just be able to party whenever I wanted to!

A couple of weeks ago, Jonathon dragged me along to hike Table Rock. (Yes, there was some real dragging involved...especially the last little bit of the hike!) Jonathon picked me up at 4:00 in the morning and we made our way over to the Tetons with Jonathon's dad and sister Elizabeth.  

This is the trail we took up the mountain. The men thought this sign was cute. Word to the wise: Heed the sign!!! The "trail" was so steep, I thought my knees would give out on me and I would die on the mountain. Ok, not really. But it was a very steep trail and I was grateful when it leveled out some.

I was not very amused with the hike at this point -- especially that early in the morning. I should have still been in bed!!

 Almost past the tree line. There was a light at the end of the tunnel!!

The last little trek of our journey. Suddenly that light got very dim...I wasn't ready for more steepness.

Atop the peak. There wasn't as much snow as I expected (it's been a really warm summer), but the wind was frigid cold!

Awww....aren't we such a sick-nasty couple?

The hike was good, and I'm glad I did it, but it's going to take me a long time to forget how much it hurt! I want to go back to Jenny's Lake. It's a beautiful hike with lots of water and waterfalls, but not nearly so strenuous! ;) (And yes, I know, I am a baby). 

A week after this hike, we took off to Palisades for a YSA activity. The first day was pretty stormy and the water was too cold, so we just played some volleyball. As always, I look lovely.

 

The next day started out coldish, but it got much better and turned into an awesome day of boating! I'm pretty sure I got severe whiplash from being tossed to and fro on those tubes. My body is covered in bruises. It's kind of ridiculous.

Jonathon is embarrassed that I'm "immodest" in this picture, but he's the one that took it! (and every other picture on this post...) But he totally thinks my ghastly-white shoulders are hot ;) Someday we will get a decent picture of us together. Someday.

Before these two adventurous activities, Jonathon was Charlie Brown in the local production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" so that consumed our (mostly his) lives for a few weeks. We didn't have too much time to play together, but we took many walks and enjoyed the pretty sunsets. We have also enjoyed many softball games, ping-pong matches, frisbee golf rounds, and movies to keep ourselves busy! Not to mention Mexican restaurants... ;)

From the WEST side of my house. This picture doesn't do the sky justice!

From my backyard. Isn't the moon awesome?

It has been a very wonderful summer. I am sad to see it go, but I look forward to the many adventures Fall will bring! I'm already making a must-see Halloween movies list :)

Change of Plans

For those of you who don't know, I will not be attending Utah State this fall. This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my life. I was super excited to start this next phase in my life, which I thought would be graduate school. I had everything lined out perfectly! I wasn't even going to go into debt at all in receiving that little piece of paper. BUT...the Lord has a different plan for me!

I'm not exactly sure what that plan is. During the middle of June, I started dating Jonathon. Many people think he's played an important role in this decision, but to be perfectly honest, my relationship with him made me want to go to Utah State all that much more! I am a very independent person. A part of me wants to get married, but another part of me wants to get that degree and travel the world. I wasn't about to let a boy hold me back! And I'm still not. I figured, if Utah State was the right place to go, and we were supposed to be together, things would work out. In fact, with that attitude in mind, I was fully prepared to move forward with my education at Utah State. But many factors (that had nothing to do with Jonathon) added up and stopped me from pursuing this course further. I am still heartbroken at giving up all these opportunities, but I know it's the right thing to do. As hard as it's been, I've felt an incredible amount of peace that things will work out.

So, what am I doing with my life? Well, next week I am moving to Provo. Permanently. (I hope). I am so done with Idaho and am ready for a change of pace with new adventures! I've learned so much this past year living at home preparing for the future I thought I'd have. But it's time to move on and work towards something else. So, I will be taking one class through BYU. It is a pre-requisite required to get into their Master's program. I plan to re-apply to their program again this next January. In order to do so, I need this class, as well as a better research paper and GRE test score. I am not at all excited to take the GRE again. I thought I would never have to experience that wretched test again! But I gotta do what I gotta do...

I'm kind of nervous to start life afresh again. I've got a tentative place to live, and I'm still looking for a job, but I have faith that things will work out. Provo is the right place for me to go. I don't know what's in store for me, but I know the Lord isn't going to send me on a wild goose chase to be left with nothing. He loves me. He knows what is best for me and what needs to happen in my life to bring about the ultimate happiness.. And for that, I am grateful :)

Where is Beautiful?

Since I have moved back to the deli at my job, I work with a lot more guys. This means I hear their kind of talk on a constant basis--especially about other girls. And what do guys talk about most when it come to the opposite sex? Physical appearance.

It's a pretty well-known fact of life that men are usually much more driven by physical aspects than women are. They notice instantly whether a woman is attractive or not, whereas a woman might have to think for a minute to determine what level of attractiveness she finds a man (or at least, I do).

The three main levels of attractiveness (from my fellow male co-workers' viewpoints) are: pretty, hot, & gorgeous. Do you see something missing here?

Before I tell you, let's explore each category.

Pretty- "pleasing or attractive to the eye"

I think most girls find themselves to be pretty. After all, they have to look at their face every day in the mirror, so their eyes have grown accustomed to their looks. To be called pretty by a guy is a nice compliment, but it's not anything special. It's just reaffirming how a girl thinks she looks (which, don't get me wrong, is important. Words of affirmation are always important). 

Hot- "attended with or producing such a sensation"

Now I don't know about you, but when I read that, I think of a sexual connotation. I stopped using the word "hot" in high school because I realized it was such a fake way to describe the attractiveness of someone. I am not describing their looks, my hormones are. Seriously. How many times have you heard "Oh man, that girl is so hot! I wanna make out with her!" compared to "I want to have intellectual conversation with her." It just doesn't exist. Using the word "hot" is treating someone as an object, not a person. You're completely overcome by your hormones, and nothing else.

Gorgeous- "splendid or sumptuous in appearance; magnificent; dazzling"

Let's be honest. How many girls think they are gorgeous? Probably 0.5%. Every girl is insecure about some physical aspect she possesses. So, if a guy calls her gorgeous right off the bat, she most likely isn't going to buy it (unless she is really insecure about herself...or stupid). When a guy calls me gorgeous, I think to myself "He wants something. I'm not gorgeous. A jewel-incrusted dress is gorgeous, but not me."

So have you figured out what word is missing from mens' vocabularies these days? Beautiful.

Beautiful- "wonderful; very pleasing or satisfying

It's every girl's desire to be told she is beautiful. In my opinion, "beautiful" is the most sincere expression a man can use to describe a woman's appearance. And the wonderful thing about beautiful is that it encompasses more than just physical appearance, for it also means "having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to hear, see, think about, etc."

Beautiful captures what is both inside and outside of a person. And remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so if a man truly finds a woman beautiful, it means he has processed all the information he has about that woman to come to the conclusion that he "beholds" her as beautiful.  

Now, I don't really know what the point of this post is, so I'm sorry if you read it and were disappointed. But what I guess I'm trying to say is, let's get rid of the phony words used to describe someone's physical appearance, and lets start using words that are more in line with what women really are--beautiful daughters of God.

Lessons Learned from a 3-Year-Old

The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy! We've had a wedding, a graduation, and a move from Caldwell to Montpelier, not to mention I've had to keep my social life active :) Throughout these various activities, I've had the wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time with my family.

The Wedding
The festivities started the night before Tyler and Carrie's wedding. We went out to Melina's to eat. Yummy! My 8-year-old nephew, Stockton, found the comment card on the table and decided he wanted to fill it out. On the section "Any additional comments?" he wrote, "Can you please serve the food faster?" He was a hungry boy! We all fell over with laughter.

While eating our meal, we learned that after one time of watching Jumanji, Stockton could recite all the rhymes. For example: "At night they fly, you better run. These winged things are not much fun." That kid is a genius! We kept quizzing him--"What about the stampede?" and he never failed us.

The next day was the wedding day. Yay! The song that kept running through my head all day was the song ad from Aladdin 3: They're finally getting married! It only took them 2.5 years ;)

They're getting married!!! YAY!

They're getting married...Ugh...

While the actual wedding ceremony took place, I had the fun job of watching the four little ones. We chased birds, ate snacks, colored, and watched church videos. It was an adventure!

The happy couple

The dinner afterwards and the reception were both really beautiful. Tyler and Carrie were as happy as could be. And even though I couldn't be there the witness the actual ceremony, I could feel a very sweet, sacred spirit that accompanied the day. It was a wonderful day--in more ways than one :)

The day after the wedding also rocked. I pretty much just laid around all day, but it was very nice. My 3-year-old niece, Brinley, taught me how to wear my jewelry correctly. 

You can see that she put the earrings around the bee's antennas. It was so funny!

We went on a bike ride and I rode from my house to the church (1/4 mile) with no hands. I was so proud of myself! Later that night, we played an intense game of Cranium and learned some exciting news I am not allowed to announce yet.

Everyone left Sunday, but the next Friday we traveled to Caldwell.

The Graduation
Saturday, Lance officially graduated from his residency. He can now practice medicine wherever he wants. The graduation was SO LONG! It was almost 3 hours. We ate hors d'oeuvre before hand, but it was rich people food and it wasn't that great. I did feel like I was in Gilmore Girls at a DAR party or something, and I felt very grand, but after the first hour, I was ready to go.

After the graduation, we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate. While we were eating, Brinley had food on her hands and decided to give me a hug. I learned the fabulous trick of rubbing the food in my shirt so it wouldn't show anymore--oh the joys of motherhood! To keep my 1-year-old niece, Avery, from crying, I took her out of the restaurant and danced her around to "Cotton Eyed Joe." It was bonding moment.

Sunday we laid around a vegged. Brinley sang all about her woes. Apparently, everything either makes her really sad or mad. It's hard to be 3! Seriously, though, she reminds me of a sour patch kid. First, she can be really rotten and she cries and complains when she doesn't get what she wants, or when you want her to do something she doesn't want to do. But then, like 2 minutes later, she turns into a little angel by giving you a hug and kiss. She's so funny and very strong-willed! She also decorated my hair before church and told me I looked like "an angel."

The Move
Monday we loaded the 2 U-Hauls and made the trek from Caldwell to Montpelier. Lance will start practicing in Bear Lake in a couple weeks, so we helped move his family. I got the fun job of driving the Sunfire that's an automatic, but acts like a manual. I was scared it was going to die on me on the on-ramp in Boise, but luckily it didn't and I made it on the freeway safe and sound. I caravanned with Joni, who drove like bat out of you-know-where in the minvan. We went approx. 85 mph the whole way. Luckily there was not a cop to be seen!

We arrived to Montpelier around 6 pm and decided to unload one of the U-Haul's. Neighbors and ward members came over and we ended up unloading both. I luckily got out of unloading most of it by watching this little one: 

Avery

Give the phone to me!

Tuesday, Mom & Dad helped unpack, clean, and put up different things. I was pretty lazy and just laid around and watched the kids. I told Brinley I was going to write a blog all about her. She first thought I meant I was going to draw her, but then I explained that I was going to write about her. She squealed, "Me? Really?! Let's do it!" It was cute. She then wanted me to take a picture of her hand.

The Aves-Meister wanted to be included too!

And that pretty much concludes the happenings in my life this past month. Another thing happened too, but I don't think this blog post is the appropriate way to declare the news.

When Email was Cool

Do you remember back in the day when emailing was actually cool and you sent a bunch of FWD: stuff to your friends on a regular basis? What about those questionnaires? You know, the ones that ask you a million questions about yourself, you fill it out, and forward to all of your friends for them to fill out? Yeah, that was fun. Well, I was reading some past emails I had saved in a file called "Kandace" and I came across about 10 different questionnaire things. Some of them are super teen-bopperish, but I thought it'd be fun to fill one out again and see how much I've changed (or sadly, haven't changed) in 7 years. So, here it goes! Oh, and you'd better copy and paste this to your blog or else you will be cursed for 5 zillion years with bad luck!!!!! Go ahead and do it . . . it will be FUN! :)

1. Name as it appears on your birth certificate? Kandace Hansen
 

2. Any nicknames? Kander, Kansas, Willa Jean, Queen Kandi, Special K... 

3. Parent's names? Zane and Janae 

4. Candles on your last cake? 22 

5. Date that you regularly blow them out? February 18 

6. Pets? 1 dog, Bella   

7. Favorite Pet? Brandy :( 

8. How much do you love your job? Love is strong word. But I'm sure I will love it come August. It's an ok job to tide me by, but if I wasn't planning on furthering my education, I definitely would not be there right now!

9. Birthplace? Blackfoot, Idaho 

10. Favorite vacation spot? Somewhere warm! I loved Rhode Island; it was so beautiful! I also loved New York City. 

11. Ever been in a car accident? Yes

12. Croutons or bacon bits? Croutons

13. Salad Dressing? Ranch

14. Favorite Pie? Reese's Chocolate Pie. Peanut butter + Chocolate = HEAVEN

15. Favorite Number? 11 

16. Favorite movies? Dan in Real Life, The Italian Job, You've Got Mail, Pride & Prejudice

17. Favorite colors? Purple & Blue

18. Favorite Holiday? Christmas, closely followed by Halloween 

19. Favorite day of the week? Friday, Friday, gotta get down on FRIDAY!

20. Favorite TV show? Gilmore Girls, Once Upon a Time, The Middle

21. What is your favorite food? Chocolate. Oh, real food? Chicken Cordon Bleu 

22. Most recently read book? The Hunger Games trilogy

23. What do you do to relax? Listen to music, play Tetris, watch TV (aka Gilmore Girls) 

24. What do you do when you're bored? Play Tetris, blog stalk, internet shop (w/o actually buying anything), plan pretend vacations, try to find someone to talk to!

25. Where do you see yourself in 10 yrs? Either married with 3 or 4 snot-nosed little ones runnin' around like wild animals wreaking havoc on the neighborhood, or working a prestigious job for well-known company and traveling to the many different wonders of the world. A girl has got to plan for a life without a man, right?

Now. Be good little boys and girls and don't forget to copy and paste or else. . .