As many of you already know; My families business was struck my lightening September 11, 2011. Around 9:30pm Sunday night, there was a lightening storm that came across Southern Utah. Lightening struck the roof of the cleaners and started a fire. After the St. George Fire Department shut down Hilton Dr, It ended up taking 6 fire trucks, 2 fire trucks were the ones that had ladders and fought it from the top and it was 3 1/2 hours until the fire was contained enough to leave it for the night. Malibu would of been celebrating 19 years of service soon, it so awful to see all my parents hard work just go up into flames. They will have a lot of work to do infront of them, along with the wonderful employees that they have staffed. I wish I could be there, but I can only do so much from this far away. I know that my family will have amazing support behind them in the road to recovery, but I just hope that the wonderful customers will still use the cleaners and come to the other location over in Washington.

Here is a link to KSL about the story of the cleaners, and a little video clip.

Click Here

Here is a link to THE SPECTRUM, they have a pictures that are good but you have to be a subscriber to see more than just the single one that you can see when you click the link.

CLICK HERE

Malibu Cleaners
324 W Hilton Dr.

Front View

Right Side of Building

Right Side of Building Up Close

Front Lobby

Front Lobby from Outside

Counter Area

Airplane Tetertotter

Kids Play Station/Alteration Area

Counter Area Again

My dad talking to the Insurance Company

As many of you know, I love to write poetry. I also love to read poetry online, and see what people write. It is just such an easy way for me to write down my feelings, and just feel creative. Today before I left for work I had sometime to just sit on the couch and read some poems online. I found this letter about a woman who tells her kids her success in a good happy marriage. As I was reading this I really liked what she had to say, about how marriage is not all serious business and how it is really is the small things that you do every single day to make each other happy and remind each other how much you love them. One of the lines in her letter really spoke to me; she told her kids the thing that is the most important each and everyday to your father and I, is our goodbye kiss. this is what she wrote in her letter; word for word. “ The way to remind each other every day that you love them, is a goodbye kiss Sounds strange I know, but it's the time we connect and commit every day and make a silent promise to be there for each other.” I love this, and I do believe it to be true. I believe no matter how the night ended, each day is a new day. Each day deserves a fresh start, and each and every single day you need to feel loved; whether it is with words or not. Also, here is a poem that she wrote to go along with this goodbye kiss.

------

Breakfast Over
Tie on straight
We meet by the door
Can't be late

Thinking about
What lies ahead
A grouchy boss
Unmade beds

Fires to put out
Bills to pay
We need strength
To face the day

The Goodbye kiss
Don't rush this time
Smiling eyes
I'm yours, you're mine

Tousled hair
Fresh shaven face
My love, my partner
A warm embrace

Infusing strength
A daily pact
I'm here for you
You've got my back

We are one
A braided cord
A lingering kiss
Courage shored

I love you

------

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.

love, kenzie

While I was in town, I stopped by the cleaners to say Hi to everyone. Rochelle had Mia at the store that day, I couldn't believe how big she was getting. She now sits up all by herself, and eats big her baby food. She has the funniest little laugh ever. Oh how I missed seeing her. Then there is my little Ashy, ooh how I love this little girl. I cant believe she is going to be 2 here in a short month..! She is so funny, and always has be laughing. She is like a little mama to Mia, always wanting to help and there whenever Mia makes a fuss. Aren't they just adorable? I sure think so!

MY MOM PUT TOGETHER A BIG "SUPRISE" DINNER FOR MY BIRTHDAY WHILE I WAS IN TOWN. IT WAS FUN TO HAVE EVERYONE THERE AND GET TO SEE EVERY ONE. THANKS ALL FOR COMING!

ASHLYNNE

ASHLYNNE

RYDER

CUTTER AND AMY

IZZY

ABBY

MADI, LAUREN, IZZY

RYDER AND KATIE

JOHN AND BRIDGER

ABBY AND JESSICA

CAMILLE AND RANDY

TAYSON, MATT, AND HALLIE

MOM AND DAD

LEVI, KATI, MOM, ME, AND DAD

ME AND KATI

ME AND ASHLYNNE

SEAN AND GRETCHEN

SEAN AND GRETCHEN

ASHLYNNE AND GRETCHEN

RANDY, ME, AND CAMILLE

FLOWERS BRECKEN GAVE ME

FLOWERS FROM KATI

I dont remember if I ever got the chance to put this picture on my blog. This was from Perla's Birthday. Us girls from the cleaners (that were of age) went down to Mesquite for the night. We had so much fun!

Happy Birthday Perla.!



Yesterday was Gretchen's Birthday. I had the perfect picture in mind to put up on my blog to wish her a Happy Birthday, but for some reason I can not find it for the life of me.. And of course this always has to happen to me, just when I want it the most.. Right? I wanted to wish Gretchy a Happy Happy Birthday. Right now, she is on the mountain for the deer hunt.. Get 'em a good one.. and she has my brother with her.. Yippee! So Happy Birthday Gretchy, I miss you and Love you! Cant wait for you to get your present in the mail, your gunna LOVEEE it!

Many of you know, I am obsessed with flowers and headbands. I really love them; for myself and for little girls. When I found this blog, I became obsessed. I loved all the tips on it; and this blog sends you to other blogs that give you other cute ideas. So pretty much, this is what I am going to do for you. Here is the link CLICK HERE I love these headband ideas, and scroll to the bottow, walaa! There is more!

Brecken and I went out to see a movie last night. I wanted to see "The Change-Up." So after showing him the trailer on my phone, he was sold. Let me tell you, it was worth every single penny that we paid for. We both were laughing the entire show, along with the whole entire rest of the theater (and it was packed). It looked good from the trailers, but I am secretly obbessed with Ryan Reynolds. So I kind of wanted to go for that reason alone. This will a movie that I will run out and buy the second that it comes on the shelves; I wouldn't even mind buying it on iTunes and having on my iPhone or iPod. Dont just agree with me though, the critics did give it a 4 out of 5 stars; but I would of given it 5 stars honestly. It wasn't only a hilarious comedy, it had such a good plot behind it and really such a good story. The meaning of the show, was really good. Honestly! I believe you dont find that very often with a good comedy, usually they are just funny shows; so I think this is a good funny movie all around.! So take my advice and get off your butt right now, go to the movie theaters and see this movie. You are going to LOVE it! I did, Brecken did, The who theater did!

I cooked my first pork roast all by myself yesterday.

I was super proud of the way it turned out.

It was so tender and seasoned perfectly.

I also cooked some potatoes and carrots.

Couldn't forget the cheese crossants.

Yes, I did just take a picture of my plate.

Oh well, it doesn't look like much, but it was yummy.

I also cooked some garlic and rosemary potatoes,

but for some reason they took forever to cook.

They finally were done cooking once we were all finished,

I did try one though, and they were good too!

Pretty Proud of Myself, to say the least.

Dont really know what was going on with the last post and the white background behind the text. sorry guys. it looks all weird...

much love, kenzie

p.s. i have my first roast in the crock pot. wish me luck!

A. age :: twenty one.

B. bed size :: queen.

C. chore you hate :: cleaning the shower.

D. dogs :: sadly none.

E. essential start to your day :: brush my teeth.

F. favorite color :: turquoise. lime green. yellow.

G. gold or silver :: white gold.

H. height :: five.feet.five.inches

I. instruments you play :: none :(

J. job title :: Shift Leader. Denim Specialist. Outfit Coorinadtor.

K. kids :: none.

L. live :: Minot, North Dakota.

M. maiden name :: Spafford. Never Married.

N. nicknames :: Kenzie. Kenzer. Kenz. Spafford.

O. overnight hospital stays :: couple of times.

P. pet peeve :: mean people, chewing with mouth full.

Q. quote ::

"There is an inner beauty about a woman who believes in herself, who knows she is capable of anything that she puts her mind to. There is a beauty in the strength and determination of a woman who follows her own path, who isn’t thrown off by obstacles along the way. There is a beauty about a woman whose confidence comes from experiences; who knows she can fall, pick herself up, and move on." --Marilyn Monroe (I Believe)

R. righty or lefty :: right

S. siblings :: Younger Brother, Levi Jordan. Half Sister, Torie.

T. time you wake up :: Depends on the day.

U. university attended :: None.

V. vegetables you dislike: onions, tomatoes, cauliflower (is that how you spell it?)

W. what makes you run late :: Brecken. Waking up late (not wanting to get out of bed.) My lovely hair.

X. x-rays you’ve had :: Dentist. Wrist/Hand. Elbow. Fingers.

Y. yummy food :: Pizza, BBQ Sandwiches, Italian (pasta), Mexican (everything), Chinese (everything), Seafood in general, Dessert, and of course Ice Cream.

Z. zoo animal favorite :: elephants, giraffes, monkeys, and turtles.
 

So lately, I have been blog surfing..! Yes, you heard me right; blog surfing. I have looking for new ideas for lots of things. Recipes, Crafts, Hair accessories, anything, and everything that I can look at; and I’ve been finding a lot of really fun blogs. Some that I like a lot more than others, and things that I have been dying to try out! Well I wanted to share some of my fun finds with you guys (:

I love this sight little miss momma, its got a lot of fun ideas, challenges, recipes, and dIY projects that I have wanted to try out.. so here is the link little miss momma

I also really like this just.lovely.things. because I love head bands and so this blog gives me so many fun ones that I want so bad, but it also has a ton of links that take you to other sights that give you other ideas.. so here is the link {just.lovely.things}

I have really fallen in love with Jamie cooks it up. I actually got told about this blog from my family members when I was on facebook one day and they were talking about some chicken artichoke pizza that they made. It sounded so good and I just wanted to try it out, once I got going through the blog I realized that there was so many other fun recipes that I wanted to try out; and I have! They are soo soo soo good! She is seriously amazing, and I love her menus, because honestly it helps me plan out meals for the week. which makes it so much easier for when we go to the grocery store her in Minot (yes, the store can be total hell here!!). so here is the link, enjoy! Jamie Cooks It Up!

So I’ve been cooking a lot of the
nights since we have gotten into the apartment. It’s a good, fun challenge to come up with a menu for the week. I made these BBQ Pork Sandwiches one night, and they were a total hit. I must say that they were pretty amazing. I wanted to get a picture, but I felt kind of dumb pulling out my camera in front of everyone and taking a picture of my food. So I didn’t, and they were pretty much gone when I got the opportunity to take a picture. So I will just have to settle for the link to the website and a picture from there. I do say though myself, they are a must try. And super easy to make, seriously a breeze!

click here for the recipe PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

{the job search}
As I came to Minot I had to find myself a new job. I was sad to leave the comfort of what I have always done, and always new. I wanted to find myself something that was different from what I had always done, but also something that I knew that I would enjoy. I put my resume in at a lot of different companies before I came up. A couple weeks before I came up I got a phone call from The Buckle. I got all excited, I wanted to work at Buckle when I was at home for part time. This was great something new, something different. I just had to get the job first. I had an interview that next day after I got into Minot, so I was hoping that I would get it. Well the interview must of went well, because I got the job! Hell yeah! I am excited, I am a full time team mate now at the Minot Buckle! Come see me and I can dress you in some awesome clothes!

Yes I can make you look like this..

..North Dakota..

{a new adventure}

Sautrday July 9, 2011.. The start of the Journey. I finished packing up the rest of my car, with help from wonderful Matt (of course) and then we got into the car and started our drive. We had a long long drive ahead of us was the least to say. MapQuest says that Minot, ND is approx 20 hours 55 minutes, 1398.21 miles. Yes, so a long drive; is the least to say.
Here was the Game Plan... Saturday we would drive from St. George to Pocatello Idaho 7 hours 12 mins, 479.13 miles.
Sunday we would drive from Pocatello Idaho to Bismarck, North Dakota 12 hours 3 mintues, 812.28 miles.
Monday I would then be dropping off my mom at the airport in Bismarck (cause flights werent going out of Minot until thursday, and due to the flood there was no hotels that were open and three of us in the trailer with one bed wouldn't work.) I would then make the 1 hour 50 minute, 109.96 miles drive to Minot by myself.
So we started our journey northward, and stopped in Salt Lake at Jamie's condo where the family was having their monthly get together. They were all having so much fun swimming in the pool, it was so good to see everyone even though it was just for a short amount of time. The kids are all growing up so fast I can hardly believe my eyes, it crazy how much they grow up in just such a short amount of time. Once we left Jamie's condo, we headed to Pocatello and stayed at the Hampton Inn. Geez, that Hampton Inn is soo nice, I recommend staying there if you are headed up that way.
Sunday, we woke up a little on the late side; but I figured it didn't matter. We ate breakfast and got on the road. Then it hit, the construction... let me tell you I have never hated construction sites so much as I did on this trip. They were everywhere! The speed limit was only 35, and of course not a single soul was found on any one of the job sites.! So our just under 13 hour driving day turned into 16 with all the construction that we ended up going through. We stopped along out journey at a little fishing town in Idaho, and took some pictures. Then we stopped at Big Sky, Montana to have some late lunch at the BugaBoo Cafe. Then again along the road in Montana at the Cinnamon Lodge, took some pictures and dipped our toes in the freezing Montana waters. Finally at 1:30am we made it to Bismarck, North Dakota Hamptonn Inn.
Monday, we had breakfast and lounged a little; got ready and then left the hotel. Mom's flight wasn't until later in the evening and she didn't have to be to the airport until approx 3pm. We ended up walking around the mall and target, and drove around Bismarck. It is kinda a nice town, got lots of fun restraunts and things like that. I dropped Mom off at the aiport and headed to Minot. 1 hour and 30 minutes later I was in Minot, ND. Finally, no more driving.! Yay, I was at my new home..
Here are a few pictures from the trip.. I wish I would of taken more, but I didn't.

Welcome to Idaho

The little fishing village

Welcome to Montana

My toes in the freezing montana water

Mom and I took some pictures

Cinnamon Lodge. Yes there was a huge carved bear! so of course we had to take pictures with it! duh!

Our pictures.