Graduation and Thank You's

It is over. It still doesn’t feel real to me. The past four years have had the best and worst years of my life in them. Although I hope to look back fondly on my years in high school, I am not sorry to say they are over. I am so excited about all of the new experiences that are coming my way in the next part of my life. I was extremely happy to have my family here to celebrate this with me.  I couldn’t have made it through these past few years without my closest friends and family.

Mom,

Thank you for teaching me to always put others before myself and love unconditionally.

Dad,

Thank you for showing my how to live a glass half full kind of life no matter what gets thrown at you.

Criston,

Thank you for being a role model to me.

Anna,

Thank you for being my best friend even from 400 miles away.

Colby,

Thank you for always encouraging me to be myself and not be afraid to be different.

Kyle,

Thank you for showing me how to stand on my own two feet and sticking up for me when I couldn’t.

Will,

Thank you for being my number one cheerleader and inspiring me to follow my dreams.

Haley and Ashley,

Thank you for making me smile on days I didn’t think I could.

Everyone else that I love,

Thank you for being there to encourage, love, and support me. You all mean the world to me.

xoxo,

         MK

what to and not to pack for college

todays post is from Sally at  Sweetly Sally! she has been so awesome to work with, and has some great advice for anyone heading off to college! her blog is wonderful, you she defiantly check it out! her out look on life is down to earth and it is so refreshing!

Hey y'all! I'm Sally from www.sweetlysally.com. Since I am going into my sophomore year of college (yikes!), I am pretty sure that I know the do's and don't's of what to bring. This year, I ended up bringing way too many things, way too many clothes, and my dorm room didn't look Pinterest-y enough. I have a few tips that I am going to follow this upcoming year as I pack to head up to school!

For packing clothes, trust me when I say that you don't need as many clothes as you think. I was told this many times, but I ignored this advice because I love my clothes. Turns out, everyone was right and I ended up wearing working clothes a lot and I only wore about 1/3 of my closet. And, turns out, the whole stereotypical "College Girl Outfit" is so real and you soon succumb to this style.

For decorations, I would say choose some neutral colors and then accent with one color. I decorated my room with navy and hot pink, so this big contrast of colors made my room feel less than homey, and the white comforter that I had clashed with the cinderblock walls. This upcoming year, I am planning on going with the color similar to Burlap, and then I am going to accent with navy. I am also switching out my navy carpet for a tan carpet so that my room doesn't feel so tiny!

As for other random stuff, trust me, you do not need it. My desk this past freshman year was filled was random things that I never used, and they just took up space! I also brought probably 20 nail polishes, when I really used only 2 colors, and I should have only brought a couple because it turns out that my roommate loves nail polish just as much as I do!

Thank you so much for reading! Have fun packing!

Sweetly,

Sally

things that made me smile this week

Maci makes me smile so many times a day i could never keep count

driving away from my school for the very last time. it was surreal. 

my new shoes

freshly painted nails and playing ball with my babygirl 

... tomatoes 

Haley and Ellie hanging out in Maci's new cage

xoxo,

       MK

Memorial Day Weekend

for Memorial Day weekend we went camping the mountains. it brought back so many memories of being little and camping with my family's closest friends. there was card games, camp fires, marshmallows (my favorite), hot dogs, and of course lots of laughter. the campsites we stay at were absolutely amazing, they were right by the river, and i mean right by the river! it was so much fun, i didn't even mind sleeping on the ground. there were always kayakers going by and the water was crystal clear. although it brought back memories of childhood it was nice being older and able to appreciate the memories we were making at the moment. i love being a part of groups were friends may as well be family and i couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate this weekend. 

thank you to all of the armed forces who give their lives everyday to keep us safe. also thank you to their families for supporting them and making the sacrifice to let them go 

Elle Belle showing her support this weekend 

since my mom's birthday was on friday we brought hats and cake to celebrate. i love the photo that (most of) us all together, including the dogs because in our group dogs are just as much a part of the family

i found out that if you want your dog to be (even more of) a snugglier take them to where when the sun goes down the temperature drops to 40 degrees and they will be right on you the whole night

the mornings were breath taking with the sun coming up and the mist on the water. at night it was just as beautiful the sky was clear and there were millions of stars.

GerBears first swim. she could barely even walk in her life jacket

Maci is such an outdoory dog. she loved the water, i couldn't keep her out of it. i even convinced (forced) her to go kayaking with me. we only had one time when she tried to make a b line for the shore 

xoxo,

        MK