So... When Do I Start Feeling Like an Adult?

Today I turn 25 years old - a quarter of a century.

Last night, Mike asked me how my 24th year of life was for me. We started listing all of the things that have happened over the past 12 months. After thinking about it for awhile, I decided this would be a really good blog post. There have been some big occurrences in our lives over the past couple months that have caused me to take a break from blogging. I figured this was a good time to talk about them - hopefully I can write about them without crying ;)

Why not start with last year's birthday? This was my birthday outfit last year, but I'm still rocking my favorite birthday girl tee this year (it's by ILY Couture and they keep it stocked all the time).

Last year was the first time that I looked in the mirror and thought, "Wow... I kinda actually look 24." I still didn't FEEL 24, but I definitely saw it in myself.

Just some fun pictures from September 2016.

I remember going on this hike for Labor Day and talking to my brothers about when they were going to put their availability dates for their missions. Them leaving seemed so far away. We listed so many things that we wanted to do over the next year before they left.

The realization that they would be leaving me, hit in about October. Every year, my family goes to Gardner's Village. We were walking around and Josh said, "This will be the last time we're all together at Gardner's Village for awhile." Well I kind of had a mini melt-down after that. I started soaking up alllll the time with them I could.

October was also the month I decided blue hair was a good idea. This is definitely one of those things that I look back on and wonder what I was thinking. It's all fun and games until your hair doesn't match anything without looking like a neon sign. It was fun though.

Mike & I try to get pictures done every October. Mike's birthday and our anniversary are the same day (October 27th). October is a pretty big month for us - I daresay it's my favorite month. We were celebrating our four year wedding anniversary and Mike's 25th birthday ♥

Finding out that Sam & Kaela were gonna have a baby girl was probably one of my favorite parts of 2016 (Sam is Mike's cousin and best friend). 

Here's a cute picture of me and my nephew, Landon, celebrating a little Halloween ♥

Next up is November. We hadn't spent Thanksgiving with Mike's family since our first year married, so we decided that this was a good year to be with them. The weather was so perfect. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday, and I think the fact that the weather is generally picture-perfect is a big part of that. Most of it is probably eating all that food (yummmm).

December was pretty low-key too. We hosted an Ugly Sweater Christmas Party with some of my cousins. There wasn't really a contest on whose sweaters were the ugliest. Mine won by a landslide. 

My Christmas outfit was probably one of my favorites all year. The skirt is really old and I got the shirt from Bohme. I'm sure they don't have it in stock anymore, but Bohme never disappoints me. If you love boutiques and you've never checked them out, I HIGHLY recommend it. 80% of my clothes are from Bohme.

January was apparently uneventful, so here's a cute picture of Mike & I :)

Yep... February followed the same suit as January.

The earlier months were giving us a break before March happened...

My nephew, Travis (not the one pictured), was baptized in March. I talked about this in a past blog. Dylan (the nephew pictured) is the most-willing child to take pictures with me.

I finally gave in and got my wisdom teeth out in March. I always had myself convinced that I would have enough room in my mouth. That may have been true for my top ones, but my bottom wisdom teeth were soft tissue impacted, and one of them ended up getting infected. Luckily, I found a great oral surgeon and I got knocked out for the procedure. They had to leave one tooth in (I also think I explained this in a past blog post) so I'll probably have to get that one out someday.

The main event in March was this sweet thing being born. Baby McKinlee was born at the last minute on March 16th. She has been a light in everyone's lives since. I cannot believe how much she's already grown. I sure love this sweet baby girl ♥

And our lives started to get even crazier... My baby brothers, Joshua & Caleb, received their LDS mission calls the beginning of April. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Joshua (on the left) got assigned to Bogota, Colombia. Caleb (on the right) got assigned to Rancagua, Chile. Both Spanish speaking and both reporting July 26, 2017. The pride I felt/feel in them is unexplainable. I couldn't believe how fast THEY were growing up! Weren't they just cute little six year olds??

On a less spiritual but just as life-changing (not really) note... The end of April, I got to see my favorite band, Avenged Sevenfold, live in Vegas. This was easily one of the best days of my life. They have been my favorite since I was 13 and this was something that was VERY high up on my bucket list. 

Mike & I took a couple days off work and headed to Vegas for the weekend. 

I may or may not have cried when they first came on stage... ♥

May got even busier... I saw some friends that I hadn't seen in wayyy too long.

My babies turned 18 (Miles - not pictured also turned 20).

We took my brothers on an epic birthday weekend to celebrate them BIG one more time before they left.

And lastly, in May, Caleb & Joshua graduated high school. This is about when my emotions started to get the best of me EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

We're finally to the times I haven't already blogged about... In July, some of my family and some of Mike's family ran a 5K with us for Huntsman Cancer Research. It was my first race (possibly my last), but cancer research is something that means a lot to me so I was grateful for the opportunity.

I spent more time with my amazing friends ♥

The biggest event in June was this... Caleb, Joshua, Dylan, & Dallas (Dylan and Dallas are another set of twins - also our cousins) all went through the temple. This was an experience that I will never forget. Getting to watch these four take this step together was nothing short of beautiful. Being in the temple with Mike, my mom, Caleb, Joshua, and many other family members was what I imagine heaven like. (Apparently I wasn't ready to write about this without crying... lol)

After this night, July flew by...

These are just a few of my favorite outfits from July.

♥

We got family pictures done. These are some of my favorites:

Next, on July 23rd, Caleb & Josh had their mission farewell and gave the most amazing talks on the temple. I loved hearing their feelings on how the temple has changed their lives ♥

I was crying before I walked into the stake center for Caleb & Joshua to get set apart and I don't think I stopped crying for 24 hours after. I'm not gonna go into a ton of detail about these events because A. They're kinda sacred to me and B. I really don't need to relive my emotions from that night. 

I will say, that I walked away that night having more faith in the power and protection given to missionaries then I ever knew possible. God watches his missionaries so closely. 

The last selfie I will take with them for the next two years ♥

I don't know if a day will ever come that I'll be able to look at these pictures without crying.

I'm going to give a disclaimer right now: Yes. I am absolutely torn up that my brothers left me for two years. It's been one of the hardest things in my life for me to deal with. It's also one of the best things that has ever happened to our family. I am beyond proud of Caleb & Joshua. I've already watched them make some amazing changes in just three short weeks. God takes care of his missionaries and he blesses their families more than is comprehendable. So again, I talk about how sad I am, but I would NOT have it any other way ♥

On July 25, 2017, we took my brothers to the airport. Caleb rode with Mike & I on the way there. We didn't say much. I think we were all pretty close to losing it so we just listened to music of Caleb's choosing. 

Joshua's flight was leaving first, so we got him all checked in and then we had some time to kill. About an hour before his flight left, it was time to say goodbye. One by one, he hugged each of us. Lastly, it came time for Caleb and Josh to say goodbye to each other. These are two boys that haven't been away from each other for longer than 24 hours. They did everything with each other. They are each others rock. We knew that this was going to be the hardest thing in the world to watch. And it was. That day my heart was ripped into two pieces. Half of it went to Columbia and half of it went to Chile.

We had quite a few hours before Caleb's flight left. He was probably pretty ready to leave us by the time his flight left because we were all glued to him. I cannot even explain how it felt watching them walk away from me. My baby brothers - boarding a plane - by themselves - to fly to a foreign country. It took strength beyond my own to watch this. 

Tuesdays and Wednesdays have become my favorite days of the week. Getting their emails is the highlight of my day. They are so happy. They love what they're doing. I'm going to start posting more about them while they're gone. It'll be my job to document their travels ;)

We've just been surviving the best we can over the past few weeks.

The weekend after Caleb & Joshua left, we had Mike's family reunion. It was really good for me because it gave me something to occupy my mind with. I snagged this adorable picture of Mike and our nephew, Landon. They had been sharing some chili cheese dogs and were both extremely messy ♥

I learned a lot in my 24th year of life.

I'm learning to love myself. I'm TRYING to figure out this grown-up thing. I'm learning to trust more in my Father in Heaven. I'm trying to trust more in general. I'm finding that I DO have a softer side, and instead of suppressing it, I'm trying to grow it.

I have no idea what my 25th year will bring for me, but I'm looking forward to finding out ♥♥♥