S E V E N T E E N.

Happy GOLDEN birthday to my baby sister!

S E V E N T E E N.

Seriously, how is that even possible.

My baby sister is growing up&I can't do anything about it but smile at the way she is growing into such a godly young woman.

For her golden birthday I told her I was going write seventeen reasons why I love her or what I love about her...

So enjoy these reasons Kenzi---YOU are AMAZING!

Oh, and the adorable pictures of us from the last few years.

1} I love having you as my little sister. 

I love teaching you the little & big. 

I love having a "mini me". 

I love that you are growing up to be one of my best friends.

2. I love the way you love Jesus.

You are such a gorgeous young woman that loves living out God's word. You have amazing friends that you have grown up with and they are such an encouragement to your faith walk. 

I love hearing you talk about the serious matters, and giggle because you don't care about what normal teenagers care about.

3) I love your natural beauty. 

From day one, being a seven year old sister, 

I have always thought you were flawless.

 You, my dear, are so beautiful. 

Your natural beauty is only emphasized by your inner beauty.

4- I love the way you look up to me.

I love having a little sister watching me, learning from me.

It makes me a better person, for you.  

5] I love helping you experiences your firsts. 

I love being the one who can help you experience the joys in this life, but also be the one there for the heartaches. 

6} I LOVE our sleepovers.

The end.

7- I love that when I have blonde hair, we are blonde and brunette partners in crime.

I love that when I have dark hair, we definitely look related.

8| I have loved being able to share clothes finally.

You have such a cute style, half thanks to meh... ;)

It's always fun to swap outfits and shoes!

9] I love how much you and Scott love each other.

I love you being his younger sister, and you having another big brother. I love the silly relationship that you guys have!

10> I love that we are getting to the ages of being able to share friends. Most of the time. Hahaha.

11. I love that I was able to help name you.

More like I really did name you.

Thanks Mom&Dad for taking a seven year old's suggestion and naming my sweet baby sister MaKenzi! 

12| I love that you were my Maid of Honor.

I love how excited you were for me.

I love how you shared the experience with me.

I love that you were able to stand right next to me on my special day and I can't wait to repay the favor... MANY years from now!;)

13) I love that you love adventures.

Whether it be your spring breaks with me at college, spending summers together, Sno Biz, hanging out with my friends, Lucee drives, our Pirates of the Caribbean marathons&our Pirate dinner in Myrtle Beach, and the many more to come. 

14- I love your simplicity. 

Our mother probably loves it even more because her older daughter was not very simple. But the beauty of being opposites, is that I can learn from you as well! 

15\ I love our Cafè Rio & Sno Biz dates! 

I love our traditions and our sister dates.

Moments that will forever be cherished.

16. I love being an aunt with you.

It has been such a fun experience to share loving our Kohen Bug together. That boy definitely has crazy loving aunts.. Skye Lee included! 

17] I have loved watching you grow up.

I loved having a baby sister, probably playing with you as a doll.

I loved having you a little older and probably bossing you around.

I loved having you turn a teenager, being able to teach you 'the ropes'. 

I loved having you turn fifteen&sixteen to help you learn how to drive and actually being able to have you drive me around for a change.

I have loved the high school experience with you so far.

And now having you turn seventeen, I love that you are growing up to be such an amazing young lady. 

Someone who I look up to, learn from, and call a best friend.

Someone that travels with me, trusts me with secrets, and goes along with my crazy ideas.

I have loved you your whole life---

and I can say that I have never been so proud of you! 

I love you, Sister Sue, to Heaven and back!!

HAPPY GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!!! 

My travel must-haves.

My Travel Must-Haves

Right after my mission trip to Haiti, I received an email from the community coordinator from Turo asking if I would write a blog post for my travel must-haves. Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace where private car-owners can rent out their vehicles. They also have an airport rental page on their website, a perfect solution to those times you need a vehicle right when you land and get going on your adventure.   

Sounds pretty awesome if you ask me! I will most definitely keep this in mind during my travels.

My Husband, Scott, is in the Navy and we are currently stationed in North Carolina. 

{Just found out that we will be moving to Hawaii in December--so stay tuned for more adventures!}

We are both from Utah, and now my husband's family lives in Virginia&North Carolina, so we are constantly going on adventures-- whether around here or going back to Utah to see my family and  friends. Oh and the mountains, definitely the mountains. 

This blog post is about my travel must-haves and I will be talking about those that I love for out of country adventures!

The first real adventure that I had out of the US (not including a day in Mexico on a family vacation) was when I went with a best friend's family to the Bahamas. We stayed at the gorgeous Atlantis Resort--highly recommended. Then that same friend and I moved after I graduated college to Australia for six months with a month road trip around the south island of New Zealand. During the time in Australia, I went on a mission trip to Cambodia to work with Rapha House, a safe house for girls who are rescued from sex trafficking. My Husband and I were very fortunate to have spent a Christmas in Costa Rica with his family and then Haiti just recently with my family for a mission trip. 

Basically--after that first out-of-country trip, I was hooked!!

Wanderlust at it's best.

Here is my list of my travel must-haves:

1> Qalo Ring.

My Husband and I came across Qalo rings last year and fell in love. {Huge plus, they had a women's ring in turquoise!}

They make super comfy silicone wedding rings for outdoor lovers and for people who have jobs where wearing a normal ring is dangerous.

Scott wears his ring almost 24/7. 

He is a Navy corpsman and his silicone ring is absolutely perfect for his career!

We also wear them when we are working out or traveling. 

I wore mine in Haiti instead of taking my real wedding rings and it was such a relief knowing I wasn't going to lose them.  

2> A Journal.

A journal is a great way to write down every bit of the adventure that you don't want to forget. I will never go without a journal, even when I just travel back home to Utah. I love writing down special tidbits and finding treasures to stash away in the pages. I actually have one journal for all of my mission trips that I just add to when my next one arises, it's very special to me. 

3> A Physical Map.

It might be the adventure part of me or the part where a it can then become a souvenir, but I love using maps. 

When we were road tripping New Zealand, our phones weren't working so we had to resort to a physical map. 

It also makes me pretty proud of myself when I find the final destination all by myself, no help from Siri.

 The best part is that you can track your adventure and then show it off when you get home.

4> A Great Pair of Walking Shoes. 

My husband's love for Nike wore off on me and I won't go anywhere without at least one pair of my Nike shoes. We are pretty active and love going places only our feet can take us--perfect for that great pair of tennis shoes. One day in Australia, we traveled to the beautiful Byron Bay's lighthouse. The only bad part was that we were just at the beach when a local told us to hike to it and we were in flip-flops. Trust me, always have a great pair of walking shoes with you!

 5> Toiletry Bag.

I have this Thirty-One bag and it's wonderful. I can fit all of my toiletries in it and it is the prefect size. 

Not too big, not too little.

 It also is great because I can take one bag with me to the bathroom and not worry about having more than one and juggling everything.

6> Dry Shampoo&Hairspray

Sometimes when you are traveling there are times when you have to forgo washing your hair. Dry shampoo is a life savor! 

I really love this stuff. Not only for traveling, but at home.

I also always take hairspray.

7> Coconut Oil. 

I absolutely LOVE coconut oil for everything! I use it for cooking, conditioning my hair, face moisturizer,& lotion.

The best part about that is that you cut out excess bottles and products, perfect for when you are trying to pack everything in one or two suitcases. 

8> A Headband.

A headband is perfect for those days where you need your hair up and you want it to be at least semi-cute. It was extremely helpful while I was in Haiti where the showering conditions are not..well, perfect. You definitely didn't wash your hair every day and when you did it was with a freezing cold, drizzle of water that ran out pretty quick. So believe me, find a headband that you love and match it with as many outfits as you can!

9> A Water Bottle.

A water bottle is perfect for traveling. 

I always have one with me in my carry on so I can fill it in the airport and have it with me on the flight. It is always wonderful to not have to constantly buy water bottles and just have my own so I can just refill it. 

Water when traveling is a must!! 

10> A Good Read.

The best thing to keep you occupied while you are on your flight, waiting for a bus or train, or when you have extra time on the beach  is a good book. I always love reading while I am traveling. 

Reading an adventure, while you are on an adventure.

Perfect.

Beauty from Ashes. {Part 3:Orphanages}

One of the biggest highlights of my mission trip to Haiti were the orphanages. We went to three: Hope House, Whole Hearted, & CAD. 

These children all have sweet spirits and a loving presence, you definitely knew you were in a holy place when you went through their gates. 

God calls us to love and take care of the orphans of the world, and quite honestly, loving these children is one of the biggest blessings I have ever encountered! 

We were able to spend time with the kids that my parents sponsor and I truly fell in love with my Haitian sisters!

Whole Hearted Orphanage.

Narlene&Magdala.
My parents sponsor Narlene (who has such a sad story from birth till four years old), but Magdala is her best friend. So if my parents send a gift for Narlene, Magdala gets one too! Scott and I are actually going to start sponsoring Magdala and we are so thrilled to love this little girl.. and her best friend;)

We were invited for a movie&popcorn night and I was SO excited!

 We got to spend more time with them, all while doing such a "normal" thing. 

We watched Airbud, and even though most of the kids are not fluent in English, they laughed and giggled throughout the whole movie! 

Tina and I were taught an awesome clapping game! 

We totally rocked it;)

Hope House.

My parents sponsor these two girls and we were able to share the love with them while we were there. 

Hope House is an amazing place! When we first arrived, they sang for us and you could just feel the love of God there. 

They also wanted to pray for US while we were there!  

Hope House also tries to help the community by selling their chicken eggs and plants. Their goal is to help the community sustain better by working together: growing food, buying that food, and selling more starts. 

CAD.

This is sweet Mott. My church here in NC sent money with me and we are trying to see if we can help Mott with her eyes. She might need more than Haiti can provide for her if she needs surgery, but if we can get her the best doctor appointments we might be able to help! Prayers for this, please.

Haiti, you will forever hold a piece of my heart.