Mad Dash.

For some crazy reason we always wait until the last minute to bring everything in from the field and get everything under shelter before it rains. Last night was no different! It really wasn't as crazy as usual but we did wait until the last minute. I think we do it just because secretly we know that we enjoy it. ha 

Can you see the combine? My dad was flying away as fast as the thing would go, which is actually much faster than you would think.

We are soooo thankful for the rain and are supposed to be getting more tonight. Still praying for no bad storms, just rain! :)

Memorial Day.

{I had this all ready to post Monday night and our internet went out from the storms and the same thing happened last night. Joys of living in the country.}

Today was a busy day and we got lots done!

I made 3 pies. 2 Chocolate and 1 mulberry. They were so yummy with some homeade ice cream. {more on that later}

{Sidenote. I was just making another pie crust and realized why these weren't as good as usual. I forgot salt. Goodness, Allyson. That is why you follow recipes.}

My mom and Macy painted the living room and I helped a little but I was mowing the yard most of the morning.  It desperately needed painted and it looks so nice now! 

We painted it a pale yellow color and really like the way it turned out. Cooper was a big help...

This evening a few family members came over and we ate ice cream and pie. :) It was yummy! My mind must have been somewhere else when I made the mulberry pie because I messed up everything so it wasn't as good as usual but it was still okay. The chocolate was so yummy and so easy though!

I remembered to take a picture after I had already eaten part of it. I'm smart like that. ha

The dogs... always the center of attention. 

 Entertainment... Lexy and Macy trying to whistle. They were unsuccessful but I can't say much, I'm pretty bad at it myself. 

Result=Laughter. We are pretty good at that.

Storm clouds rolling in. We are praying for some good rain but no hail. The wheat is extra fragile right now...

{We ended up just getting shower Monday night and some pretty good rain last night. So thankful for the rain and no hail.}

Cousins and sister! Do we look alike?! 

So, after eating way to much ice cream somebody (Adam) got the crazy idea to play "softball." We had 2 bases (trees) plus home (sidewalk). 

Spectators.

Yes, just two bases, Adam. It's okay. ;)

It was Adam and I against Macy, my Mom, and Lexy. Sophie joined our team later.

I'm certain Adam and I won...

Cooper was quite confused by it all. ha

No caption needed.

They tried to take me out the whole game. and yes that tree is dead. It didn't survive the drought last summer. :(

I tried to tell them that every time I made it home it equaled 3 points because Gus and Cooper were always right behind me. They didn't agree.

Homerun.

It was hot and I was so full of ice cream I thought I would be sick but it was fun anyway. My mom did end up taking me out. I was pitching and she hit it right into my ankle and there was no way I was fast enough to get out of the way. We had a good time though! I never laugh as much as I do when with my family. 

Outdoor Church.

My church has what we call "outdoor church" once a year. Instead of having church service in our normal building, we all head out to the lake and have the service there. It was a really nice day if you don't count the crazy, strong winds. 

Peaceful.

 We started out with Sabbath School. The adults had lesson study and a few of us took the kids to play charades. Can you guess what Bible stories these are? :)

We all joined back up for church! We started by singing some songs. My sister and cousin helped me lead song service and later on some of the kids helped us too.

Cousin Andrew spoke and did a great job! 

 Cooper even got to come along.

I could have church outside every week during this time of year. It was so nice to be outside in nature worshipping the Creator. 

Adam's 8th Grade Graduation.

My baby Cousin graduated from the 8th grade this week. 

So serious...

 When he was younger he used to say he was going to marry me, and there was no convincing him otherwise. 

I just needed to tell the fact.

I remember the day he was born. I'm getting old... 

Congratulations Adam!!!

{Please excuse the terrible pictures I was totally unprepared. ha}

Mother's Day... A Little Late.

 For Mother's day we headed to Arkansas to visit my grandparents. (Mom's side) We just went for the afternoon and it was a nice visit. Cooper got to come with us and had a blast. 

We played outside and I got to visit with a friend I hadn't seen in awhile. Of course, we took pictures as well!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Friendly Visit.

Last weekend I got to spend some time with one my best friends. We became friends in high school and have stayed close ever since! Elle came over Thursday night and spent Friday with us here at the farm. I wish I had more pictures to share and more time to write about what we did but this is going to have to be another quick post. 

Friday ended up being a rainy day but we didn't let that ruin our fun! We started the morning off by taking a tour of the farm and climbing the grain tower. 

We then went on an adventure to pick mulberries. More on that later. :)

After picking mulberries we headed over to The Busby's house. (They are the couple that have about 100 horses and mules.) This is the only picture I took. I don't know what happened to me.

We rode for about an hour and, I can't speak for Elle, but I was sore for approximately forever. I am so out of shape but I'm working on that. 

We stayed up late catching up on life and it was so nice to just have some girl time! Thanks for visiting Elle! Now you have seen my country side. :) And we are terrible about taking pictures. We have got to work on that. ha

Birthday Celebration.

I am just now getting around to sharing about my birthday. My actual birthday was pretty much the worst. It was filled with a horrible test, studying for another test, moving, and a few breakdowns. We celebrated the weekend after and it was perfect. I was done with school for the summer and could just relax and enjoy it. We didn't do anything to fancy just got together with family at my favorite park in Tulsa. My mom packed a yummy picnic and I enjoyed just being outside and being surrounded by family. The park we like to go to is called Woodward park and it has beautiful gardens. Most of  the flowers were past there prime but it was still very nice! 

Cooper got to go on his first excursion. He had never been on a leash because we live in the country and it's just not necessary. So this was his first time on a leash and he did great. I put it on him at home and he wasn't to happy so we walked around the yard with Gus on a leash too (Gus loves being on his leash) and Cooper quickly realized that it wasn't going to get him. He did perfect at the park!

 Little cousins.

Picnic!

Cutie.

Coopy is my baby and he is spoiled. I don't even really like small dogs but somehow he stole my heart.

More cousins. Adam is in that cool teenager stage of not smiling. I think this look is much better anyway. ;) The series of these pictures is quite humorous. Boys... 

When we first got there it was a little warm but it ended up being a perfect afternoon and a great way to celebrate the end of the hardest school year of my academic career plus my birthday! Oh, it was also a celebration for my dad's birthday. His is one day before mine! :)

I'm starting to get my routine worked out so I should start to be a better blogger. :) Hopefully I can find some time to do a little redecorating around here too. It's time for an upgrade! 

Adjusting.

A lot has happened and I'm hoping to get caught up on everything real soon, but for now I will fill you in a little on what has been keeping me busy. 

{Pictures are from my phone so they aren't the best}

We started at 6:30 am and I left at about 6:30 pm. I'm sure they kept working later than that though.

I'm pooped and sore. This body is used to sitting and studying not standing all day.

We were testing for bitter lettuce so we ate radishes to get that nasty taste out of our mouth. 

I'm starting to get into a little bit of a routine and eventually my body won't be sore anymore, but for now I'm going to bed.  

Reflections.

After my last final I have just been worn out. I knew I wanted to write about this past year but I needed to digest what I have been through. I can honestly say that this past school year has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I did things I didn't think I could do, but I have made it through and am more thankful for summer than I have ever been.

Some of my classmates say that first semester was the hardest but I think that the second semester was the worst. First semester was just an adjustment. Second semester was a lot of tough information to learn, plus I just had a lot of personal stuff going on. (read: broke up with my boyfriend)

Finals week was pretty stressful for me. Before starting vet school I had never gotten a C in my life. In fact I only had 2 or 3 B's in undergrad. The closest I ever came to a C was in biochemistry and that wasn't even that close. Vet school is a whole other story. I have gotten a few C's and am totally fine with that. I feel like I have learned so much and know the information. 

Anyway, back to stressful finals week. My physiology grade was a 74% (ugh) and I was really frustrated with it because I know that I deserve a better grade than that but I'm not even going to get into that. (teacher was a jerk. bottomline.) I studied my butt off for that test. (seriously just thinking about what he did to us is raising my blood pressure right now. ha) He gave us a horrible test with info he specifically said we didn't need to learn. (I have a note twice where he said that)  I was so afraid that I had failed the test and would fail the class. If that happened I would have to take an advancement exam and that would mean more studying before summer could start. Oh, did I mention this was the test I took on my birthday?? 

I got in my car and was just so frustrated. I listen to KLOVE most of the time. As soon as I got in my car they were talking about how God holds the script to our lives and no matter what we do he holds control. It was exactly what I needed to hear and it really gave me peace. Exactly why I listen to this station most of the time now. I'm not going to say that I didn't worry about what my grades were going to be anymore, but every time I would start getting worked up about it I would just remind myself that God was in control and there was no need to worry. 

I got my grades back yesterday and I passed all my classes. I truly think that it is a miracle. I feel like I could have done better but I can honestly say that my heart and mind were not always focused on school this semester. Yes, my GPA took a hit, (That physiology class was a 5 hour class) but that doesn't matter. All that matters now is that I pass my classes and pass the board exam at the end. 

I am so thankful to be done with the first year. I know that things are going to get better from here. I know I couldn't have done it without all the prayers and support of my family, church family, and friends. 

Let the summer fun begin!! :)

{P.S. Thank you for all the birthday wishes!! More on that later. :)}

Finals!

Today is my birthday! And I am drowning in finals... Just two more to go and it's summer time! I can not wait! :)