A tribute to my sister.

Dear Pretty,
Happy Birthday! I cannot believe that you are so old, but am the luckiest person alive to have you as my sister. You are such an example of strength and preserverence, my life is happier because you are in it.

When I was younger I asked Santa to bring me a sister every year for Christmas, and the winter of 2002 he finally followed through. You were definitely worth the wait! I was a little older than you are now, and was ecstatic. I want you to know that our whole family has loved you since the moment we met you. We are so blessed to have you in our family. You have made our lives so much better. I want you to know that two of the happiest moments of my life happened the day you officially became Kaitlynne Nicole Kilburn, and the day you were sealed to Momma and Daddy in the temple. I love you more than words can express. I truly believe that you were always meant to be a Kilburn, and that Heavenly Father always knew that we belonged together. You make me a better person. Your spirit and charm light up the room, and your wit and sass always keep me laughing. At 10 years old, you have already overcome more than I have in my entire life. I love you so much Katie, and I am so grateful that we are sisters forever. I hope you know how special you are.

I love you so much and am so sorry that I can't be there today to celebrate your 10th birthday with you. I hope that you have so much fun playing in Fairbanks with Momma, Daddy, and Matthew. I hope that this year turns out to be a great one. Remember to always try your best, and remember that you are always loved no matter what. I can't wait until I get to see you this summer!! I'm so excited for you to open the present I sent you, I just know that you are going to love it!

Happy happy happy birthday Katie!!
I love you!

Love, Mandy

Anticipation Station

I cannot contain my excitement any longer.

In less than 2 months I will be moving back to Idaho!

I will definitely miss Alaska's people, wildlife, scenery, my family, and my dog. 

I will probably not miss,the freezing cold, non-pack-able snow, and the lack of sunlight winter has brought though. 

Rexburg will be like a tropical vacation. 

Seriously.

I love my life of econ and friends. I love seeing a temple everyday. I love getting to run away to UT to see my Grandma, Grandpa, and extended family. I love only being 4 hours away from family get-togethers and parties. I love that I'll live less than 5 minutes from Ry. I love that we'll go to the same school. I love having parties for no reason at all. I love buying 10 pounds of potatoes for $5. I love hearing inspired words everyday. I love that I will still be able to visit Grandpa Jim regularly to talk, clean his grave, and leave happy things. I love hearing devotionals weekly. I love visiting teaching. I love moving. I love change. I love love.

BIG NEWS- I have decided to move. I love Davenport Apartments and all of the girls I have lived with, but am ready for a change. Frequent parties will still be held at my place... my new place. I plan to see you there.

<3 Living the Dream,

-MK

REMEMBER:  We don't quit playing because we grow old.... we grow old because we quit playing.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

The biggest question on my mind right now is whether or not to return to Idaho this weekend. I am off-track and don't start my next semester until January. I have a refundable plane ticket and have been praying hard about this. We will see whether I get a definitive answer or get the opportunity to exercise my faith and agency.

I am the type of person that goes more by intuition than reason, so I have decided to do a little pro/con action to help me rationalize....

ALASKA: 

I feel like I may have not fulfilled my purpose here... 

Cons:   1. I don't know many people...yet.

            2.  Dark winter months.

            3. No jobs that can help boost my resume.

Pros:    1. I feel like there is still a lot I have yet to
                   explore and discover here.

            2. I love our branch and would love to get to 

                   know everyone even better.

            3. It's gorgeous with plenty of places for

                   outdoor adventures.

            4. Get to drive the F150 and see gorgeous
                   tucks constantly... <3

            5. I love my family and get to be with my 

                   dog.

            6. This place forces me to slow down, and we all know I need to get better at that.

            7. Job prospects at Fort Greeley or I can always substitute teach= a job guaranteed.

            8. I'd make much more money here, jobs pay far better. Also, no rent!

            9. My momma has a sewing machine... meaning fab crafting possibilities.

IDAHO: 

I feel like it might be time to take the jump...

Cons:   1. Job uncertainty.

            2. Living expenses.

            3. Certain drama I wouldn't mind avoiding...

Pros:    1. Living with Ry and Kim.

            2. My car and independence.

            3. Have interviews lined up for jobs that can 

                  help my resume.

            4. Get to be in warm weather again.

            5. Grandpa Jim <3

            6. Much closer to my extended family.

            7. Friends.

            8. Friends.

            9. Did I say friends yet? I love so many 

                  people in Idaho.

            10. My possessions are in ID waiting for me...meaning less storage unit rent$.

            11. Idaho is beautiful and there are many adventures to be had.

            12. Football season, need I say more?

Hmmmm.....

The Clash: Should I Stay or Should I Go

<3 Living the Dream,

-MK

Remember: "Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows." - Thomas S. Monson

Roadtrips & Changes

Hello friends!

Sorry about my lack of posts lately. This massive fatty should hopefully catch you up... 

 Last I blogged I was heading home to Minneapolis in the morning. I did that. I loved that. 

As per planned I only spent a short amount of time in MN. My days consisted of helping my family prepare to move, with the occasional sneak-away to see my lovelies. I can definitely say that Minnesota has a special place in my heart. I love it. 

I can't wait to return. ASAP!

 Due to some unexpected truck issues, we ended up heading out later than planned. We bid farewell to our cities August 7th, and opened a new chapter in our book of life. 

 I love road-trips. To me they are one of those little treasures wherein one can really, honestly, truly experience life and peace. 

The world is a wonderful place. 

Change is something I really like so this trip was fairly easy for me to enjoy. I am a very blessed girl. Other members of my lovely fam would like to kick 'change' in the face. Despite our ups and downs we made it alive. 

A success in my book.

Our route included going over to North Dakota then cutting up to Canada to drive the Alaskan Highway 1.

 Surprisingly enough the borders weren't too bad to cross. After reading horror stories online where people had to unload their trucks and pay officers $180 an hour to search all their belongings, we were all a bit worried about this endeavor. But, it was a breeze. Pull up to the window, give the man paperwork/passports, go inside to register guns, welcome to Canada / Alaska.

 BREAKING NEWS: Canada is magnificent!

Not only is the scenery spectacular, but the mass amounts of Ford trucks as well. I imagine Heaven could potentially be like this. : ) 

The 55 hours of driving we anticipated from Google.Maps was quite an underestimate.

Things that can slow one down when cruising: 

1. Two large moving trucks with trailers driving 45-60 mph.

2. Said trucks and trailers needing 6 tires replaced by the end of our little trip.

3. Huge storms day after day.

Breaks in the rain provided opportune moments of beauty. Don't dismay, we got plenty of time to take mass amounts of pictures.

(You were worried. I could tell.)

 Can I just say, I think the above picture of Katie is one of my very favorites.

Also, can I just say that I love my family.

Answer: Yes! 

It's my blog. I can say whatever I want. 

Word.

We drove, drove, and drove, and when we were tired of that and our bums were completely numb, guess what we did?....Kept on driving. haha

We made it to Delta Junction, Alaska, late Saturday afternoon, got the keys to our new party pad, and had mass amounts of happy Mormons to help unload the trucks.

For those of you who are counting that means 7 days of driving.

 This whole Alaskan experience is great....different but great.

There are a total of zero stoplights in our town, something completely foreign to us. Delta consists of a missile base, an automotive supply stores, a couple shelves worth of an overpriced grocery store, a library, coffee, and a couple gas stations that charge $4 a gallon....that's about it. 

We are only 2 hours from North Pole and Fairbanks though, so we get to sneak away to stoplights occasionally.

Great things about Alaska...

-Light. When we got here we had daylight until midnight, now we lose it about 10:30, still awesome.

-Trucks. Everywhere. Bomb.

-Scenery. Gorgeous. always.

-Wildlife. Birds, Caribou, Bison, and plenty of Moose (above pic).

 While I really like it here, I have decided to take a leap of faith and move back to Rexburg with my brother to get a big-kid job and be with friends.

My flight leaves next Friday, Sept 2nd, and I will be arriving back in Idaho on Saturday afternoon.

That's the plan for now. I'll let you know. 

: )

Here's to the longest post ever! Hurraaah!

(and sorry)

My final requests for now:

1. Come visit Alaska, the land where we have all of these wildflowers in our yard.

2. Love living that lovely life of yours.

<3 Living the Dream,

-MK

Remember: It's far easier to add chapters to our story than to subtract them.

Bye Bye Burg

In the morning I hit the road for marvelous Minnesota.

It is a bittersweet feeling because I love Idaho, am ready to soak up some Minnesota, and will soon be moving to Alaska. I am so fortunate and blessed, life is so wonderful!

Throwing Alaska into the mix has made this move rather abnormal for me. For the first time I am unable to take all of my belongings with me. By the grace of God I was able to pack everything I 'need' for potentially the next five months into two suitcases. Quit being impressed, I have omitted the fact that these suitcases are massive...still, it is an achievement for me. I have a clothing/shoe illness but am not ready to take the step past admitting it. :-) 

I am seriously the luckiest person alive. I know I say that a lot, but it's really so true. Everything has worked out. I am so grateful for the people that have helped make things happen. I have a hard time asking for help, but had to bite the humble bullet and do it this time. Massive shout out to my awesome brother and his wife who will be moving here in a little over a month. They are going to pull my stuff out of storage and keep it and my car at their new house for me until my return. Also, my lovely friend Lisa is housing my car for me, my homegirl Jenny is giving me a ride home, my bestie/roommate April has ensured I don't pull my hairs out, and the BYU-I bulletin board helped me find a ride for the luggage and passenger that were supposed to be riding in my car with me. Yup, I definitely qualify as blessed.

While I am excited for the adventures that await, I am going to miss all of my Rexburg lovelies.

A friend asked me how I can enjoy moving so often since I don't have one real place to call home. This gem immediately popped into my head. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros explain home as simply 'wherever I'm with you.' I am grateful for my wonderful, goofy, loving, crazy family. We stick together and make it work. Home is where we are. I love it! Check it out...

<3 Living the dream,

-MK