Lovin'

So I few weeks before Jake my family had picutres taken so Jake and I were able to get a few taken of US! I love them!

This is my personal fav...
Okay, do you see how he looks at me? I am in love!

Ahh we are so stinking darling. I kind of love that he is holding my heels in this photo!

Getting these pictures made my happy :)

I'm 19!!!

November 3rd is the BEST day out of the whole entire year because it is MY birthday! This year I turned 19 years old. I feel pretty darn cool now that I am so much older than I was at 18, I know so much more, I am far more mature, and I know everything.

I had a spectacular birthday. I'll admit...leading up to it I just wanted to get it over with since I knew Jacob wouldn't be there and once it passed that meant only one more without him.

The night before my birthday I was sure to wear one of Jake's shirts to bed so that I could wake up on my day and be wearing it :) What a great idea I had until I went to put it on and is smelled JUST like him! Holy cow I think my heart skipped a beat or three.

When my family came in to sing happy birthday and give me breakfast in bed I kind of freaked out a little because I knew there would be no Jacob in my whole day.

Kami sprayed me with silly string to wake me. She said she did that because I like random things.

Me and my sisters opening my presents in bed :)

The cakes my mom made for my birthday. We each got our own cake! Man, my mom is the best!

Birthday lunch! I wanted to just have Pretzel's from the pretzel place at Town Square for my lunch but they didn't have cream cheese. Umm, what kind of pretzel place doesn't have cream cheese? So we couldn't eat there. We went to California Pizza Kitchen instead :)

Okay, umm do I not have THE cutest family? My mom made me a blanket out of MINE AND JACOB'S SHIRTS!!! My mom is SO great! Kennadi gave me a build-a-bear. He is a little missionary named Elder Hansen. When your push his paw he says "hey Kacey, I love you SO much" in Jacobs voice. Kennadi had to record him saying that before he even left!

This is me with the gifts from my family :) They are so good to me! I really am so lucky! They all tried so hard to make my birthday perfect, they did a great job! I love them!

Chocolate Covered Orange sticks for lunch.

YAY!!! My first letter came today! It totally made my day! It was a much needed letter. He is so cute. I love his handwriting, the way he writes, the silly things he says, and his success! It is so much fun!

This picture doesn't even do justice to how excited I was when I got this letter!

Also, Tuesday's are his PDAY! So he was able to e-mail and update all of us! We have been going crazy since Wednesday! Mom (Jake's mom) and I have been waiting on pins and needles to hear from him! We pretty much are going to be living for Tuesdays for the next two years.

Jake is loving the MTC. He is the district leader! Is that really a surprise though? He likes his companion, Elder Bass. He prays, teaches and bears his testimony in Spanish. He was so worried about the language but we all knew he would be a natural. I love that he is so happy there! He is seriously so cute. Everything he writes makes me smile!

Elder Jacob Riley Hansen is the world's cutest missionary!

So to celebrate my letter, the e-mail, and my birthday I got some orange sticks :) No real relation, just and excuse to eat a yummy treat.

An early birthday present!!

OH. MY. GOSH.

My first thing from Jacob on his mission came! He sent me a birthday present :) He must have sent it before he left (what a thinker). I was so happy when this came in my mailbox and my heart just melted! I love him and this is the most perfect thing for this birthday this year!

My birthday isn't until Thursday but I couldn't help myself...so Happy early Birthday to ME!


He is wonderful!

Trunk-or-Treat

It's that time of year again...THE HOLIDAYS! Who doesn't love them? It's like once September passes all of the sudden it's January. This is the best time of year! It start off with Halloween, then MY BIRTHDAY, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New years, then BAM! reality.

I love everything about this time of year. Even though I love it, I would really love if it would pass...quickly! Why? Because once it's over that means only 1 more of each one until Jake comes back! Also, on my birthday (next week) I will be 19 and I will be 20 when he gets home!

Man, I miss my best friend!

Trunk-or-Treat!

My family always goes all out for our ward Trunk-or-Treat. Is is a really fun tradition! I love my family and how cute we are! This year we were Who's from Who-Ville. So we decorated my car like Christmas with presents, a tree, snow, a countdown, the whole get-up. It was kind of darling. I felt like a celebrity because everyone wanted pictures of us.

This is me handing out candy canes to the little ones :)
The parentals. My mom with the Grinch! He thought he was so funny by freaking out the little kids by telling them he was going to take their candy.

All the Who's. This was so much fun!!

ME! I now have to take tons of solo shots to send to my missionary!!! :)

Bring on the 2 years!

Ahhh!!! The count DOWN can offically begin :D


Here we go...This is a my count down. (you can see the one dot filled in already) with my sharpies to make is pretty. A letter box to hold those things and a picture of my hansome missionary.

On June 2, 2011 my best friend in the entire world was called to serve in the Mexico, Mexico City South Mission. He would be repporting on October 26, 2011. I was really excited about Mexico but also kind of mad that I had to wait 5 months for him to leave...the longer it took for him to leave, the longer it would be until I get hime back.

So finally after 5 months the time has come!

I have really kept it out of my mind, the more I thought about it the crazier I got. But I had to face the inevitable.

This past week has been a huge roller coaster. I have gone from being so happy to uncontrollable tears. Every single night for a long while now I have prayed for peace. I wanted the feeling of peace knowing that everything will be okay. That's exactly what I got :) Oh the power of prayer!

Jake's farewell was Sunday, October 16, 2011. I had been looking forward to and dreading this day. I knew it: I was going to be a complete wreck! But...I was the complete opposite! I maybe cried a little while he was speaking but other than that, complete peace. I spent the entire afternoon with Jake and his family. I felt at home! I felt so relaxed and happy! I have always kind of known that I am going to marry Jake one day, but today I really felt it. This is where I belong.

The whole next week was fabulous! I spent just about every waking moment with Jake. We never get sick of each other :) We are great!

I have dated Jake for over a year now and have enjoyed every single second of it! Jake has made me a better person. I would not be who I am today without him! I love him!

Jake was set apart on Monday, October 24, 2011. That whole day I was pretty much counting down the hours. I was there while he was getting set apart. It was so beautiful to be there for. The spirit was so strong. It was amazing to hear his testimony. I am so proud of him!

He really is going to be the best missionary!
The handshake after he was set apart...

Audrey, me, and mom (Jake's mom). Gotta love the red faces!

Jake and I before he was set apart! What a stud!

Missionary hair cut time! I'd like to say I can cut awesome missionary hair. But I just stood in for a quick picture. His mom did the real thing :)

Hours before he was set apart what do we do? Oh you know, just stop at mini grand prix.

The money he plans to use while in the MTC. He felt so coolt holding this much cash. Okay, how can you resist this face??

Dinner with the fam on his last Saturday.

I am so proud of Jacob!!! He is wonderful and amazing and perfect.

Jacob has the ablitity to be a friend to everyone. He is wonderful!

I am SO excited to start this journey of our next two years. I already can't wait to have him back though ;)

MEXICO IS SO LUCKY!!!

Septmeber...?

Someone once said "there is never a dull moment in the Smith house"

September was an eventful month to say the least...

On the 17th, Jake and I had been dating for 1 whole year! Now we know that celebrating dating anniversaries is almost not okay but since he will be gone for the next two years we decided it was okay. So he got me roses :) and a cute little ring for my thumb!
On the 16th Jake turned 19! My mom made Jake the most adorable cake! It was perfect for Jake because it was a monster and Jake has a little thing called the stress monster! (shh...don't tell him I mentioned it)

For Jake's birthday we (the Hansens) played Beatles rock band! SO FUN!

Jordan turned 17 on the 13th. My mom, dad, kami, and I stayed up SUPER late so that he would wake up to 72 balloons hanging from above his head. We go all out at my house!

Jake and I on his birthday.

So the first half of the month was almost better than any other because we celebrated 2 birthdays in the Family!

Then came September 21st...

I woke up at 4:30 to leave for work at 5. I was all ready to go and went to get my keys, I couldn't find them anywhere (really, again?). So I looked everywhere for them, looked for my dad, (maybe he drove my car the night before) couldn't find my dad! Then I ran and looked and my car wasn't there either! I was thinking "what the heck! he knows I have to work early, maybe he is getting gas for me though" Then I noticed he was on the couch! Strange...

I knew right away that Jordan my 17 year old unlicensed, uninsured brother STOLE my car! Great!

I ran into my moms room and yelled "he stole my car!!!" My mom and dad were both up right away.

**This is the car that I blogged about 2 months ago, my new car, the one I spent all my own money on, the one I paid off...**

We had no idea where Jordan had gone. My dad drove me to work and then at 6:30 a.m. called and said "Kacey, we found the car Jordan rolled it twice, you won't be able to drive it again, but he is going to be okay." Jordan was being life flighted to the head trauma center in California because of the crash.

I burst into tears I didn't know what would happened to Jordan...would he be retarded for the rest of his life? will he ever be the same? How will he pay my back?

I got done with work at 10 and around 12 the doctors finally called and said all his tests came back normal and he will be good to go that night.

We joke that only drunk people and Jordan survive accidents like that! Jordan walked away without a scratch!

For about a week I was a total wreck! Almost every word anyone spoke to me I cried about and hurt. I didn't know how to feel..mad, angry, glad he's okay, upset he's okay...Every single emotion..I felt it!

**Note Jordan WILL pay me back EVERY penny!

Through prayers and a lot of pondering I came to the conclusion...

Jordan is not here on this Earth for him. He will probably never be able to think or be the way the rest of us are. Jordan is here for the rest of us. He is here to teach us patience, understanding, love...Jordan is here for us.

When my family weas in Heaven Jordan was the one in my family to say "I will take on all these challenges" Jordan was the one to do that.

As mad as he makes me, he is here for a reason.

Without and eternal and Gospel centered perspective I would have never been able to come to this conclusion. I have a testimony of the Truthfulness of this church and I love it. As hard as things and times seem, IT IS WORTH IT!

An unforgettable summer...

Moments like this make life worth living :)


I am not sure how a feel about summer coming to an end.

I LOVE summer...

I love the sun

I love the pool

I love being tan

I love relaxing

I love sunglasses

I love the beach

I love late nights

I love shorts

I love swim suits

I love flip flops

I love it all

This summer I worked like CRAZY! Every single week of the summer I worked 50+ hours...it about killed me! This is why I might be ready for fall. I spent most of my summer teaching kids how to swim. A dream job right? It is pretty fun until you spend 6+ hours in the pool everyday, live with a sunburn, always have wet hair, never getting to dress up, dry skin, and being so tired from spending ALL day in the sun. The kiddos make it worth it :)

My summer was very busy. I didn't have much free time but when I did I embraced every second of it and this is what I did...

I took naps (well not really)

I swam on summer nights

I played games with my family

I went on dates with the hottest guy ever

I went to San Diego

I went to the Lake

I went paddle boarding

I went surfing

I tanned

I wore shorts

I went blonde

I shopped

I looked cute

I worked out

I played

I loved it all!

So as I embark a new school year I look forward to the many adventures ahead of me. This summer has been unforgettable no doubt. I am ready to take on new tasks and new things but sad to see summer of 2011 drift away.

Beach trip with the Hansens :D

This is Kennadi doing a back flip off a cliff. Lakes trips are the best :) Mine consisted of yummy snacks, tubing, wake boarding, friends, family, cliff jumping, and memories.

Shopping!!! With my favorite girls.

One of my favorite parts of summer...spending time with my man! Part of the reason I am unsure about summer ending is because it also means Jake leaving, I loved having all summer long :)

Wish me luck as I take on a new year, new friends, new challenges, new memories, and new experiences!

Dates!!!

So pretty much I go on some of the best dates EVER...

Here is a little glimpse of the wonderful life I live and the most wonderful man to take me out on dates...


We go the the temple! Some of the best dates are those we take to the Temple :)
This may be a little foreshadowing... :D He has said I look good in white ;)

We get active! We go snowboarding and love it! I am better than Jake because I pretty much jump, do tricks, whatever!

Okay, okay...so I may not be doing that just yet and Jake may be the better one...
We go to the STRIP! Umm hello we live in VEGAS and LOVE it! On our very first date we went to the Strip so it has a tender place in my heart.

We live on the edge! This is on top of the Stratoshpere. Man we do some sweet things!

We saw Believe! It was interesting to say the least...

One of our favorite dates to go on is to the park! We love the park because we can play and then stay until the sun sets and watch the stars and talk :)

We've been ice skating! This was a fun winter activity and totally cheap!

Recently we went to THE VOICE concert! This was awesome because we are faithful watchers of the show and we love them!

Other dates we've done and loved are: going to the movies, going to dinner, renting a redbox, runnign together, swimming, raquetball, double dates, and we can't forget Jousting tournaments!

These are only a few of the many AWESOME dates we have gone on! There is never a bad date when you get to go out with Jake :)

I should have put some photos up from some of the double dates we've been on...

I am so lucky that we have so much in common and have so much fun together.

I look forward to the MANY more dates to come!

Flashback, summer, and lovin'!

Sunday is one of the best days. It is a day when I always wake up stress free and excited because I get to dress up and get ready for the day (I don't get to do that being a swim teacher).

I kind of love my outfit today. Mostly because when my dad saw it he said I look like my mom did 20 years ago. My mom says she's pretty sure she had this same outfit :) It makes me happy because my mom is the most beautiful woman I know. I love that my dad liked my look!

I am having a happy day because I feel cute today!

This pictures kind of cracks me up! I love it because it makes me look tiny and I love tiny! I look like a little happy ball full of love and I love it!
This past week I got to go on TWO dates with Jake! What a week!

Okay so we went to BJ's and they have this deal where you get two salads, pizza, AND a pazookie all for $20! THEN if you eat there you get movie ticket for $15. DEAL!

This next picture is from our second date. I love it because Jake and I have this inside joke...when one of us doesn't fully understand something or are slightly confused we make it a huge deal. It doesn't get old! So this is when Jake picked up his spoon to eat fries! HE WAS SO CONFUSED!

We love swimming! This is when we were trying to be like the scene from Pirates when they were under the water breathing in the canoe...we tried it with this pot..totally works.
This is my favorite! Umm...look who I get to stand next to :) I get to wait for this boy while he Serves our Heavenly Father. He is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I am the luckiest girl in the world. I pretty much worship him :)

Shout out to Emmanuel!

If you are reading this you probably know Emmanuel. Everyone knows him! He is one of the best men walking this earth right now!

I have known Emmanuel for about 6 years now. We had a few classes in 9th grade together. He always stood out to me as one of the nicest guys I have ever known.

Throughout high school the swim team sold burritos during lunch. I hunted Emmanuel down because I knew he would ALWAYS buy a few, and he ALWAYS did.

Last summer Emmanuel was baptized and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. "The best day of my life" -Emmanuel

The path he has taken since joining the church has not been easy. His family did not support him, as an 18 year old buy that had to be VERY hard. Emmanuel knew that he had made the right decision and continued to remain faithfull. I am so proud of him for continuing to stay so strong when it got so tough!

The day that Emmanuel was able to he entered the Lord's house and did over 100 baptisms. He truly is an example.

When the 2011 school year started Emmanuel got together a small group, myself and Jake included to go to the Temple every Friday morning. We arrived every Friday at 7 a.m. which meant we had to get up at 6! Yes, crazy but worth it! As the school year went on the Friday morning group grew and grew. By the end of the year there were over 20 students involved all because of one man, Emmanuel, was such a good example.

Emmanuel invited a guy from school (Steve) to join in on group activities like UNLV football games and movie nights. Because of the leader and spirit Emmanuel has with him he influenced Steve in such a way that he too was baptized. Steve is now one of my very good friends.

Emmanuel is the kind of person that everyone wants to be around. Just about everyone who knows him feels like they are his best friend! I want to be that kind of person!

Today he enters the MTC to serve a two year mission in Mexico. He will without question be one of the best missionaries the world has ever had.

Emmanuel is one of my best friends and I love him! I am so proud of him and the influence he has had on my life. I am a better person because of him.

"Missionary--someone who leaves their family for two years so others can be with theirs for eternity" Emmanuel's favorite quote!


A few friends getting together to celebrate Emmanuel!

Jake, Emmanuel, me! We love him!!!

His farewell talk! What a great day :)

Me, Emmanuel, Jake, and Steve! 3 of my favorite people and 3 of the most influential people in my life! I love you all SO much :)