"You Are My Sunshine" Package

A few days ago I sent off the sunshine package to Preston and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out....

First off, all the random things I put inside! I seriously raided Dollar Tree and got anything that was either yellow or I knew he would laugh about. And since everything was a dollar is was beyond cheap!! Plus your missionary most likely won't be able to keep all this stuff because they only have limited amount of space and it wouldn't be that big of a deal if he threw them out after a few weeks! It was only a dollar for crying out loud! I also tried to get him things him and his companion could both have fun with. And don't forget the treats!!! Come on, you know boys love their food so spoil them with anything you know they love!

Next I had to put in a few sentimental things of course :) Girls will be girls! And as much as a boy might deny it to his friends, he really does love all the mushy gushy stuff. He loves hearing about how much you love him and all the effort with show that you still care about him even though he's miles apart.

I started off with an idea I saw on pinterest called an ABC book of reasons you love him...

After that I decided to make something that would remind him how about much he means to me daily so.. I started off buying a little gold box (to match my theme) 

Then I got colored paper and wrote down 10 reasons on each color of why I love him, cut them into small strips, fold them up and stick them in this box! I t ended up being 50 reasons since I had five different colors of paper but I could have definitely done more! I just didn't have anymore room in the box! But fill free to make as many reasons as you would like. After that was all done I cut out two hearts, one bigger than the other, and wrote "50 days of why I love you" on the bigger one and on the smaller "read one every day". Such a cute and INEXPENSIVE way to show your missionary you care :)

The only things I had left to do was finish up decorating the box and then put it all together! 

To make the box more sparkly and "sunshiney" I decided to decorate the inside with glittery foam stickers found at Dollar Tree.. once again a very inexpensive way to spice up your package..

Finally the last thing was to put everything into the box! I didn't do it in any special way.. you know just piled it all in there and made it fit the best I could. It seriously barely fit!! I was surprised at it all did actually! I had gotten a lot of stuff!! After I everything was in the box I covered the top with confetti, or easter grass, whatever you want to call it..

Viola! There you have it :) Make sure to send me pictures of your packages! I would love to see them!

UPDATE: I'm no longer posting on this blog since I'm not waiting for a missionary anymore and am now married! But I have a new blog called Lexi Rachelle where I post twice a week about life, beauty, DIY's and more! I'd love for you to check it out :)

Craft: Decorating Inside of Package

Since all you have to send to your missionary is a package, you want to use every inch of it! So of course you should decorate the package flaps but also the bottom! Most people have themes for their packages, mine is "You are my Sunshine" because it's almost the summer and he's one of the best things in my life! I wanted to let him know that! So of course it centers around the color yellow, I'll be sure to do another post on what I put into it. My entire goal for when he opens the package is to make him smile. So I thought of the great idea to put a picture message on the bottom :) Here's the pictures and then the finished product:

The flaps of the box were a lot easier and much simpler! Just glue some pieces of paper onto them and decorate them however you want! I like to put the "theme" of the package very noticeable on one of the flaps. For example, I put "5 Month Anniversary" in big pretty letters on the last package and this package says "You are my Sunshine" I like to make sure he gets the whole theme thing. Sometimes boys aren't very perceptive :)

Seriously this is probably one of the funnest parts of sending your missionary a package! Just let all your creative juices flow and make it as cute and girly as possible :)

Long Distance Mugs

I'm sure most of you have seen the long distance love mugs on pinterest or maybe instragram but I wanted to give it a try! Plus I needed more things to put into my package for Preston. This is one of the easiest (and cheapest!) things you could make for your missionary. Like seriously. Piece of cake. 

You'll Need:

2 White Mugs (Walmart or Target $3)

Sharpies!

An Oven

First off, preheat your oven to 350 and then find pictures of your missionary's state/country and your current state/country. You're going to want to practice drawing them on a piece of paper before you actually draw them on the mug. 

Once you think you've got the hang of it draw them onto each mug. Lots of people recommend you draw it on with an eyeliner pencil so you can easily wash it off if you mess up. Then after that, go around the outside of the eyeliner with a sharpie. Once the sharpie dries just take a wet towel and wipe off the eyeliner. 

I personally skipped that entire step and just drew it on with the sharpie. I didn't mess up.. then again I live in Utah.. one of the easiest states to draw. But do whatever you feel comfortable doing! 

After you finish drawing on the state/country put a little heart where he is and where you are and connect them with a dotted line. Make it as personal as you want and add any cute details! Inside of my mugs I wrote "Love You!" and I've also seen ones that say "Miss You!"

Make sure you keep the one with their state/country and send them the one with yours! This is seriously the cutest thing ever and its just a simple way to remind them of you. Here is how mine turned out...

Pictures For Your Missionary

I wanted to send Preston a package at the MTC but I didn't know what to put in it! There's no holidays.. no major events.. no mile markers... nothing. But ya see, to send a package to the Philippines is very VERY expensive and I'm not so sure how many I can afford to send there. So I thought of the brilliant idea to send him one now while he's only a couple hours away! Pretty smart right? Well then I had the dilemma of what to send him... 

Then I came across this blog.. http://keepcalmandwaiton.blogspot.com/ and she had an adorable idea to send him some pictures with her holding the words, "Taylor will you be my missionary?" How freaking cute is that?! So cute. I decided to give it a shot and although mine didn't turn out quite as good as hers, I'm still pleased!

I also made him an ABC book of why I love him/encouraging thoughts that I saw on pinterest. Here's the link: http://pinterest.com/pin/362962051188719087/ 
I'm thinking about doing this at some point.. probably not this time but another one very soon...

Which was also found on pinterest http://pinterest.com/pin/362962051188731343/

If anyone else has any ideas for me please please tell me about them! I still have to think of quite a few other things to put into this package and I would love any ideas you have!

Ladies in Waiting

I'VE DECIDED THAT CHANGE IS A GOOD THING. SOMETIMES.. WELL MOST THE TIME IT'S HARD BUT IF YOU MAKE THE BEST OUT OF IT THAN YOU WILL BECOME A BETTER PERSON. PRESTON HAS BEEN GONE FOR TWO DAYS NOW, WHICH I KNOW IS LIKE NOTHING.. LESS THAN 1% OF HIS ENTIRE MISSION BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS ISN'T THE END OF THE WORLD. I'M SURE MANY OTHER MISSIONARY GIRLFRIENDS CAN AGREE WITH ME THAT THIS WAITING THING IS POSSIBLE. I'VE QUITE HONESTLY FELT AT PEACE ABOUT THE WHOLE SITUATION. I KNOW THAT IN THE END, WE'RE BOTH GOING TO END UP HAPPY. NO MATTER WHAT. EVEN IF WE DON'T END UP WITH EACH OTHER. BUT OF COURSE WE WILL :)
I'VE ALSO DECIDED THAT I'M GOING TO START PUTTING THINGS ON MY BLOG TO HELP OTHER MISSIONARY GIRLFRIENDS LIKE MYSELF WITH COPING AND ALL THE FUN THINGS TO BEING A MG. BEING A MISSIONARY GIRLFRIEND IS FUN GUYS! EVEN THOUGH AT TIMES IT SUCKS... IT IS A TON OF FUN! GETTING LETTERS, EMAILS, SENDING PACKAGES, TAKING PICTURES, COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS, HAVING SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO, TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT YOUR MISSIONARY.. IT'S ALL A BLAST! I'M EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE ALL OF THIS. 
JUST THINK OF IT LIKE THIS... ALL THOSE WAITER HATERS ARE JUST SAD THEY DON'T HAVE SOMEONE MISSING THEM. ALL OF US MG'S ALREADY FOUND THE MAN OF OUR DREAMS! I THINK WE'RE QUITE LUCKY MYSELF. THIS TWO YEAR WAIT JUST BRINGS US CLOSER AND MAKES OUR RELATIONSHIP EVEN STRONGER. WHAT FIRM A FOUNDATION OUT RELATIONSHIPS ARE BUILT ON! WITH A BEGINNING LIKE THIS, WE'RE BOUND TO MAKE GREAT THINGS.

P.S. FOR ALL OF YOU GIRLS OUT THERE WAITING FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES I SUGGEST CHECKING OUT THESE TWO BLOGS...

http://keepcalmandwaiton.blogspot.com/
http://theperksofwaiting.blogspot.com/
YOU AND YOUR MISSIONARY CAN GET FEATURED IF YOU EMAIL THEM YOUR STORY! YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT! ME AND PRESTON WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET FEATURED OURSELVES :)

Already?

SO I WOKE UP THIS MORNING THINKING I STILL HAD THREE DAYS LEFT WITH THIS KID.. AND I COME TO FIND OUT I HAVE ABOUT THREE HOURS. I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS HEARING AND I SERIOUSLY WANTED TO THROW UP... AND IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME THAN YOU KNOW I ABSOLUTELY HATE THROWING UP. I KNEW THIS DAY WAS COMING FOR MONTHS NOW BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING TO BE SO SOON. PLUS I WASN'T PREPARED FOR IT TO BE RIGHT NOW! IT'S ONLY SUNDAY AND HE DOESN'T REPORT TO THE MTC UNTIL WEDNESDAY.. I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHAT I'M GOING TO DO UNTIL THEN. I CAN'T EMAIL OR WRITE HIM YET BECAUSE HE'S NOT THERE BUT AT THE SAME TIME I CAN'T CALL OR TEXT HIM. SO I'M STUCK IN LIMBO. AND IT ABSOLUTELY SUCKS. THE WORST PART ABOUT ALL OF THIS IS THAT I CAN'T EVEN BE MARKING OFF DAYS! THIS DOESN'T COUNT AS HIS MISSION SO THESE NEXT FEW DAYS ARE JUST DAYS FOR ME TO BE MISERABLE WITHOUT ANY REWARD. THEN TO TOP IT ALL OFF MY MOM IS IN ST. GEORGE UNTIL TUESDAY SO I'M GOING TO BE HOME ALONE, STRANDED WITHOUT A CAR FOR TWO DAYS.. YAY. 

OKAY OKAY I'M DONE VENTING NOW. I KNOW IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THAT BAD. IT'S GOING TO BE HARD, DON'T GET ME WRONG, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO DIE. I'LL BE OKAY. FOR THE PAST HOUR OR SO I'VE ACTUALLY FELT PRETTY GOOD. I HAVEN'T CRIED, WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN! PRESTON EMAILED ME A FEW HOURS AGO AND IT MADE ME SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY SO I WANTED TO SHARE IT ON INSTAGRAM WITH MY FRIENDS AND FELLOW MISSIONARY GIRLFRIENDS. EVERYONE WAS SO NICE AND SUPPORTIVE.. IT MADE ME REALIZE THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY GIRL OUT THERE FEELING LIKE THIS. THERE ARE TONS OF OTHER GIRLS THAT MISS THEIR MISSIONARIES AND THEY ARE DOING JUST FINE. IF THEY CAN DO IT, WHY CAN'T I? 

I'M ACTUALLY REALLY EXCITED TO BE A "MISSIONARY GIRLFRIEND". THERE ARE SO MANY FUN THINGS YOU CAN DO! PACKAGES.. PICTURES.. COUNTDOWNS.. LETTERS.. EVERYTHING SOUNDS SO NICE! IMAGINE HOW GREAT IT'LL BE WHEN YOU GET A MONTH CLOSER OR YOU GET A LETTER IN THE MAIL AND YOU START TO CRY BECAUSE OF HOW HAPPY YOU ARE. THAT SOUNDS PRETTY AMAZING AND I'M HAPPY I GET TO EXPERIENCE ALL OF IT. I LOVE PRESTON AND HE'S WORTH THE WAIT. NO MATTER HOW HARD IT FEELS RIGHT NOW, I'LL BE FIFTY BILLION TIMES HAPPIER WHEN HE COMES HOME TO ME. 

Colorado

I AM PRETTY MUCH THE LUCKIEST GIRL ALIVE. I HAD THE CHANCE TO GO TO COLORADO FOR A FEW DAYS AND SPEND THEM WITH MY SPECIAL BOY. THE DAY I FOUND OUT I WAS GOING TO BE ABLE TO HEAD OVER THERE I COULDN'T STOP SCREAMING AND JUMPING AROUND. IT WAS THE BEST NEWS I HAD FOR OVER A MONTH. AFTER I BOUGHT MY PLANE TICKET ME AND PRESTON HAD A LITTLE HAPPY DANCE SHARED VIA FACETIME. HAHA IT WAS QUITE THE SIGHT.

I HAD TO WAIT TEN DAYS BEFORE I COULD FLY OUT AND IT WAS TORTURE! I WANTED TO LEAVE RIGHT THAN AND THERE BUT I COULDN'T. AT THE SAME TIME THOUGH IT DIDN'T FEEL REAL. IT FELT LIKE A COMPLETE DREAM. EVEN WHEN THE DAY FINALLY CAME TO HEAD TO THE AIRPORT, IT STILL DIDN'T FEEL REAL. 

GETTING ON THE PLANE WAS A LITTLE STRESSFUL, I HADN'T BEEN ON ONE SINCE I WAS SIX SO I DIDN'T REALLY REMEMBER ANYTHING. BUT EVERYTHING WORKED OUT PERFECTLY. ONCE I LANDED IN DENVER I STARTED TO GET REALLY NERVOUS. I COULDN'T BELIEVE I WAS ABOUT TO SEE PRESTON AFTER FIVE WEEKS OF BEING SEPARATED. I SERIOUSLY FELT SICK TO MY STOMACH. WHEN PRESTON TURNED THE CORNER AND CAME INTO VIEW, MY STOMACH DROPPED. I KEPT TELLING MYSELF THIS WASN'T REAL AND I'M GOING TO WAKE UP ANY SECOND. BUT WHEN HE PULLED ME INTO HIS ARMS THAT FIRST TIME, I KNEW I WAS AWAKE. I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW AMAZING IT WAS. I COULDN'T STOP SMILING, I WAS SO HAPPY.

I DIDN'T REALIZE HOW MUCH I WAS REALLY GOING TO LOVE COLORADO. I THOUGHT I WOULD GO OUT THERE AND HUMOR PRESTON. YOU KNOW, SAY I LIKE IT AND ITS SO GREAT BUT REALLY NOT CARE ALL THAT MUCH. BOY WAS I IN FOR A SURPRISE! ITS SO PRETTY THERE. I'M USED TO BEING SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS AND PRETTY MUCH FLAT AREA BUT COLORADO IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO MOUNTAINS AND ITS ALL HILLS! AT FIRST I DIDN'T REALLY LIKE IT BUT THE MORE TIME I SPENT THERE, THE MORE I REALLY LOVED IT. I REALLY AM CONSIDERING LIVING THERE AT SOME POINT IN MY LIFE.

HE SHOWED ME SO MANY THINGS AND I LOVED LEARNING ALL ABOUT HIS LIFE OVER THERE. IT'S CRAZY TO THINK I DIDN'T KNOW HIM MY ENTIRE LIFE AND JUST FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS WHILE I WAS LIVING IN OREM FOR SCHOOL. THERE'S A WHOLE OTHER PART OF HIM I DON'T KNOW AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL I WAS ABLE TO SEE A LITTLE GLIMPSE OF IT. MEETING HIS FAMILY WAS PROBABLY THE SCARIEST PART ABOUT THE WHOLE THING. I WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION. I THINK IT WENT WELL... THEY'RE SUCH NICE PEOPLE AND I LOVE HIS NIECE AND NEPHEW. THEY ARE FREAKING ADORABLE!! I HOPE I CAN SEE THEM AGAIN SOME DAY.. HOPEFULLY IN TWO YEARS :) HIS FRIENDS ARE SO STINKING FUNNY! I'VE TALKED TO THEM BEFORE ON THE PHONE AND TEXTING BUT I'M HAPPY I GOT TO SEE THEM AND HANG OUT WITH THEM. THEY ARE GREAT GUYS.

OUR LAST DAY TOGETHER WE WENT ON OUR LAST DATE FOR TWO YEARS.. IT WAS AMAZING AND DEPRESSING AT THE SAME TIME. IT WAS ALSO OUR SIX MONTH ANNIVERSARY DATE. ITS NOT OUR ANNIVERSARY UNTIL TOMORROW BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO STAY IN COLORADO UNTIL SATURDAY. HE TOOK ME TO A MONGOLIAN PLACE AND IT WAS SO GOOD! I WISH UTAH HAD PLACES LIKE THAT BUT I GUESS THAT GIVES ME AN EXCUSE TO TAKE A TRIP BACK TO COLORADO. 

IT WAS SO HARD THIS MORNING AT THE AIRPORT TO WALK AWAY FROM PRESTON, KNOWING I WON'T SEE HIM AGAIN FOR TWO YEARS.I CAN'T EXPLAIN HOW HARD IT WAS BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE UNLESS THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH IT TOO. I KNOW HE'S MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY EASIER. I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM AGAIN.