awkward & awesome

It's so funny to walk across the field and have this huge flock of sheep follow you everywhere (:

my map of the places I've lived, & the sea of memories

(:

The perfect place to dance. 

beautiful Hannah (:

 awkward

- being hit on by an older man - probably at least fifty - who plays in the country band at the weddings I cater.

 - redneck weddings, where right after the ceremony the groom promptly strips off his shirt and shoes and walks around shirtless for the rest of the night. including when he dances, cuts the cake, ect.

awesome

- I drew an outline of the USA, with little flags of all the places we've lived. & then filled in the surrounding "ocean" with memories. Art is so fun. (:

- having a mini dance/jump on the bed in the barn attic party. that is truly exhilarating

- getting sheep. They are the funniest creatures I have encountered in my life, except maybe chickens when Isaac is around. Every time I see them I think of that childhood movie - Babe, the one about the little pig in the country - and the sheep who say "Baaa ram yooo". Comedy gold. 

- sitting on the ground with a bucket of grain and having the said sheep completely surround you trying to eat. Probably one of the cutest moments I've ever seen :) And one of the quickest ways to laugh and get a huge smile on your face. 

- polka-ing in the church parking lot

-  seeing Jenny Oaks Baker perform on the violin. She's Pres. Oak's daughter, and went to a music school in Philadelphia, then went to Julliard. She talked about how she was nominated for a Grammy, and how she started trying to fill her life with fancy things - trying (unsuccessfully) to convince her husband to buy a bigger house, buying fancy dresses & things, and eating fancy chocolate. She talked about how she just wasn't happy. And that she learned that even though she could buy fancy dresses, it didn't mean she was going to get invited to fancy parties. And that fancy chocolate leads to gaining some weight, which meant trying a kick-butt workout to get it off, which was pretty painful. She ended by saying as cool as the Grammy's were, as glamorous as the event was, it didn't compare to walking the halls of the temple with the peace and beautiful spirit that is there. It was an excellent talk. (:

- and, lastly, this band. My Name Is You. Precisely, the song I'll Be Waiting. It's not on youtube, so I definitely advise you to look it up on spotify, right now. gotta love excellent music.

that one day I built a ladder

andd this is why I love the country. 

We have this awesome barn up behind the house, and it has this wonderful, spacious attic up above. The moment I saw it, I knew it would be such a cool place to paint! Soo I decided to build a ladder to get up there. I went to Lowes and bought the lumber & the nails. I cut the wood, measured and hammered, and hammered some more, and painted. It was hard work! But so rewarding. I love that feeling when you work so hard outside, and you can see the difference your work made. My sweat and blood made that ladder, haha. (: Anyways, I wanted it to be a charming ladder, so I painted the names of some of my favorite horses from when I was a kid on each of the steps. The Black Stallion, Flame, Black Beauty, Seabiscuit... it's a pretty illustrious list. So fun (:

rainy days & strummin'

poor Jacob, being sick :(

our goofy but awesome watchdog (:

 Some days it just rains and rains and rains outside, and for some reason it just drains the energy right outta ya. All you can do is stay inside, read some Jane Austen, eat some sunflower seeds, and strum some on your guitar. (when I say strum, I mean slowly learning to play from the beginner of beginners books... but I can play simple songs now (: ) This summer is gonna be... interesting. Work has been fantastic, catering at all these fun joints with awesome people that I absolutely LOVE (and sometimes cuss like sailors) make it an adventure and hilarious. Being home has been great too, with my family. I love being with my brothers and sisters, and getting close to them again, since I've been gone. I feel a little bit like Sleeping Beauty though... there aren't too many people my age around, so while my friends are all getting married or going on missions, I'm just in my pretty little house in the woods with my family and my horses. It's a wee bit lonely sometimes.Which isn't bad - sometimes you just have to let yourself feel what you feel, and just accept it. But you let yourself feel it, and then you remember all the amazing blessings you have in your life - like the beautiful world right outside, my awesome family, great books... the list is endless. and it gives you a chance to come closer to God, and to look really deeply in yourself and figure things out. And when you come closer to Him, and understand yourself, you don't feel so lonely anymore. Especially when you realize there are people out there you can get to know, who normally you wouldn't have a chance to. So that's been a huge blessing. It'll be a good summer. :)

 (.... and, I may or may not be picking up a Southern twang. Hopefully I don't sound like I'm coming from Dixie when I get back to school, but we'll see!)