LV/UT PART 2

D A Y  3 // 

This day we signed up to volunteer at Dog Town. The "town" was divided into several houses: puppies, middle aged dogs, old timers, small breeds, and dogs with special needs. We were only allowed to pick two houses to work in, so we chose puppies and small breeds. Our day consisted of cleaning out rooms; cleaning up poop, refilling food and water, washing blankets and setting out new toys. Then we got to take the puppies for walks along the trail. We each walked 4 puppies and they loved it! After the walks we got to have some one on one time with two of the puppies - to help them develop social and interaction skills. Needless to say, it was the best.

Once we broke for lunch we got to move onto the small breeds house. We had the opportunity to take Katelyn, a jack russel chihuahua, on her very first "outing". Of course we said yes! She had an issue with her digestive system which required her being held upright for 30 minutes after she ate, and issues with her femur which gave her the cutest little walk. She loved hanging out in our cottage and it was the perfect ending to our wonderful trip!

D A Y  4 //

We hated saying goodbye, but the beautiful drive made it worth it! I can't even explain how beautiful it was and am sad that the pictures do it no justice. We drove out of Utah, through Arizona and then back through Las Vegas. We hit a portion of snow, but the view was always great. I will always remember this trip and if you are even the least bit interested in visiting, you should do it! I promise you won't be disappointed. We're already planning our next trip back!

Thanks so much for letting me share my little adventure with you! 

xo. melisa

footnote: if you'd like to see more photos, you can always follow me on instagram! (@pienthesky)

LV/UT Part 1

D A Y  1 // 

Our great adventure started off on Thursday when my Stepmom, Adrienne and I all flew in to Las Vegas. I had never been there before so it was so much fun exploring and seeing the strip! In case you're not up on the news, there was also a shooting on the strip earlier that morning. You can get more info on it here, but basically it happened across the way from where we were staying so we couldn't get to our hotel. After about 3 hours of driving around, stopping to eat and killing time, we finally got to check in! We stayed at the Bellagio and had a perfect view! I was mesmerized. We got to do a little shopping before going to see Cirque Du Soleil, O! It was absolutely fantastic! This night was so great I can't even put it into words!

D A Y 2 // 

This day started bright and early as we had to drive close to 4 hours to get to the Best Friend's site in Utah. We checked in and went to our orientation. Our first session of volunteering started about an hour after we got there. We chose to volunteer in the Cat World first! We visited the "Benson House" which had cats with a variation of needs. Some were completely healthy while some were deaf, blind, had survived poisoning, being hit a car, and a variation of other physical disabilities. We got to play with them, brush them and even take them for walks! Putting a cat on a leash is just about the cutest thing ever. Due to one of the physical illnesses mentioned above, Adrienne had to use a stroller to walk one of the kitties. She absolutely loved the fresh air and looked oh so cute in her stroller!! 
The organization offers "sleepovers" as a way for the animals to get used to living in a home and being around people so that when they do get adopted, it's not a difficult transition. We chose Misty to be the cat that we took home for a sleepover. We all fell in love, as she was just the sweetest cat ever! Doesn't she look like an Alpaca?? hehe! This day was perfect.

I'll share more on day 3 & 4 tomorrow! So excited to show you all of these photos and share what an awesome experience this was. For more info on Best Friends, you can visit their site here!

xo. melisa

footnote: if you'd like to see more photos, you can always follow me on instagram! (@pienthesky)

a little vacation

photo via / edited by me

I'm going on a trip! Before I explain where I'm going, I should preface this by saying, this place actually exists and no, I'm not making this up.

Tomorrow morning I'll be boarding a plane to Las Vegas! I've never been there, so that in itself is exciting news. I'll be meeting my stepmom and sister early in the morning, where we'll be staying at the Bellagio and going to see Circue du Soleil. I can't put into words my level excitement, so I'm not even going to try. Moving on.

The following morning we will begin our drive to Kanab. Where is Kanab? It's a sweet place in Utah, which currently houses Heaven. So here we go. I'm going to be spending two days at Best Friends. Upon our arrival, we will tour Dogtown, Cat World, Horse Haven, Parrot Garden, Piggy Paradise, and Bunny House. Yes, this is real. We'll spend the next few days volunteering and spending our days playing, cleaning, grooming and running around with animals. I understand that my love for animals can be a bit much at times, but seriously, this should make anyone happy! We get to stay in a cabin on site and at the end of each day, bring an animal of our choosing home, to have a "sleepover" with us. I am giddy with excitement!!

Of course, there will be entirely too many photos to share and lots of stories to tell. I will do my best to keep in touch while I'm there, but if not I'll be back soon and you can always follow me via instagram (@pienthesky)! Have a lovely weekend friends!

xo. melsa