Presenting Superstar, Kami!

There are so many people who inspire me. Especially people from the my home ward (or congregation). One of those people was Sister Kami. Talk about a hero! This woman was Primary president extraordinaire, made everyone around her laugh, had the cutest, most loving family ever, and she always had the coolest hair. She taught me what clogging was, and I always loved watching her perform at ward activities. She even had a community clogging group called Kami's Cloggers. My favorite routine she would do was done to the song "Check it Out" by Nicki Minaj and will.i.am. She's the whole reason I started taking clogging at BYU, even though I'm horrible. One of my favorite memories is taking Sister Kami's zumba class at our stake Girls' Camp. To this day, I still break out the moves to "Waka Waka" and "Firework" whenever they come on at BYU dances. I loved being around her; her energy and love was contagious.

Photo credit: Melissa Blasi

Recently I found out that Sister Kami has been diagnosed with cervical cancer. To be honest, I didn't know what that meant, so I called my Dad and he explained what that meant to me. Sister Kami has been documenting her experience in a blog with the best attitude ever. Here is an excerpt, just to show how awesome she is:

"I am loved. I am blessed. When I'm reminded of this, the clouds lift and suddenly life is bliss. Cancer, shmancer. I have stuff to do, kids to love on, friends to love back, and a whole lot of life left ahead of me. I say let's get 'er done and move on!!!"

Another amazing woman from my ward created this T-shirt to help support Sister Kami and her family. Here's an explanation of the design:

"The boxing gloves represent being a fighter. The diamond is for [my husband] who is my ROCK. The butterflies are for each of my kiddos who give me hope. The guitars are because, in my own mind, I am a ROCKSTAR! ;) The eight ball is a happy nickname for my cancer mass. The teal and white are for Cervical Cancer awareness."

Macomb Ward represent!
Photo Credit:  http://kamiinsideout.blogspot.com/

Also, here is a picture of some of the kids and their mothers from my home ward who made a banner for Kami. The faith and love they show is absolutely incredible. Our ward is a family and we always look out for one another. Even though Kami and her family moved away last January, we still love them, miss them immensely and always have them in our thoughts and prayers. They will always be part of the Macomb Ward.

Sister Kami is such an amazing woman who is going to win this fight! I ask anyone who has read this to help support Kami and her family in a simple way: pray for her. Pray for her health, pray for her body,  pray for comfort, pray for her family. You can follow Kami and her battle against cervical cancer at:

                                                                         http://kamiinsideout.blogspot.com/

So, "Check It Out!" All my love to Kami and her family; you are constantly in my and my family's prayers. We are right next to you all the way! Love your guts!

{Song: "Check It Out" by will.i.am & Nicki Minaj}

The adventure has just begun!

Greetings from good old Provo, Utah once more! I have (barely) survived my first week of school and am so glad that it is a three day weekend! While I feel a little overwhelmed, I am really happy to be back at Brigham Young University. I have wonderful roommates, a nice apartment, a fantastic job, and some classes that I really enjoy. I really have been so blessed in so many ways. I can't imagine beginning at any other school than BYU. It has opened so many learning and growing opportunities for me, like going to Mexico, and recently, it again has given me the opportunity of a lifetime. I have some exciting news to share.


BYU has a dance/performing troupe called Living Legends. It's an amazing group that performs traditional dances from the Polynesian, Latin American, and Native American cultures. Students who audition for the group are from one of these three ethic backgrounds, which gives such a deeper meaning to the group. They get to perform and celebrate the cultures of their ancestors. A while back I got the crazy idea to try out for Living Legends. I don't have any experience in dancing, but once I get an idea in my head, if it's right, it sticks. So last week I auditioned for the group, and needless to say, I didn't get in. However, every dancing troupe needs a good crew, right? After I auditioned, I learned there would also be interviews for a tech crew, and of course, I jumped right on that opportunity. And....I made it! I am so thankful to be part of this group! Not only we will get to perform here in Utah, but next April/May we will be going on tour...to...CENTRAL AMERICA! How amazing is that?! Never in my life did I think I would get to travel, much less two summers in a row! We will be performing for the people of Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua over the course of three weeks.

The moral of this story is when God closes a door, He always opens a window.

It's been great because since I've been back a BYU, I've been running into my study abroad friends all over the place. I thought we would like never see each other again, because we are on a campus with 35,000 other students. It's been great seeing everyone again! Last night, we had a reunion at our Profe's house. I loved having all of us together again, even if it wasn't in Mexico. It was so fun just talking, eating, and enjoying their company. It's almost like being back in Yucatan when I'm with them. :)