Since I've been home

 I've been home since the third week of July and Since then, I have...

• Helped Jenae out on her farm

So my little sister is a hard core aggie. So straight up planted her own vineyard at our high school's farm. And it's really big! she planted it, set up all the wire things (I know nothing about farming, don't judge me) and water drips, and she tied almost all the vines by herself! (we went out and helped her finish the last couple rows so she could meet her deadline) I was honestly impressed on my first trip out there

while tying vines, my mom found a tiny baby bunny! then my Dad touched it, and i bet it's mom ate it because it had my Dad's scent on it -_-. Way to GO, dad.

Jenae also has two animals that she cares for and is sowing them in the county fair in September. Then she'll sell them to Butchers and make lots of money? i have NO IDEA how the system works, alright? but she devotes a LOT of time to these stinky things. they have names but i call them McDouble and McBacon.

Jenae is not amused...

yeah, she's like an Officer in the FFA. who gave her permission to be an adult? I didn't.

• Harvested Almonds

Some friends of ours have an Almond Orchard and every summer they hire a bunch of kids to come do the in-between jobs that machines don't do. So i the last week of July waking up at dawn to shake almonds and rake them to the middle of the row. It seems easy, it kind of is,  it's also tiring. But it goes by quickly if you're working hard.

Jenae hates me.

Cons: - stupid immature high school boys who wasted the Peruch's money by standing aroudn joking and laughing while the rest of us were working. ugh.

- the heat. luckily we ended at noon, before it got obscenely hot. My body went through a weird thing at first because i was so used to Idaho weather, i was NOT prepared for the 100+ days here.

- my hair getting stuck in EVERY FLIPPING BRANCH IN THE ENTIRE ORCHARD. seriously at least every other tree. most AGGRAVATING thing in the world. awful. 

Pros: - getting to walk and talk with my cousin Teddy, my little Sister Jenae, and our friend Jaise, all morning for a week. It's good to catch up and talk like normal teenage girls.

- I GOT A TAN. a fatty farmer's tan actually. and i'm still ridiculously pale, but i no longer have that 'Idaho Vampire' look.

- 200 bucks. holla.

- arm muscles. seriously, though. holding a giant pole up in the air all day hitting stray almonds has it's benefits. and raking all day is a serious ab workout.

- gospel analogies. seriously! almond Harvest = perfect metaphor for a lot of things. 

• celebrated Jonathan and Derek's 23rd birthday! OLD GRANDPA'S. since I was home with Jonathan, we tried to recreate some old photos. they just turned out awkward and so i didn't put them on facebook. but as you know, i have no problem putting attractive pictures of myself on here :)

• Said goodbye to some of my best pals

they're wonderful. and good looking. I'll miss 'em. they're off to serve missions! Janelle to Brazil, Nicole to Tennessee, and Ernesto to Chile! good luck fellas!

• Enjoyed 3 of my 8 (soon to be 10!) favorite kiddos

My sister Allison and her husband Kent wanted to go on a trip before their new baby comes in just a couple weeks! so they went on a romantic coastal getaway and we watched the kids. i MISSED THEM so much!! they're each so unique and hilarious and i cannot WAIT until their baby brother (please name him Seth please name him Seth please name him Seth) is born!

Friday around noon my mom was still at work, the kids were getting cabin fever and it was HOT. so i sprayed them with the hose. haha just as fun for me as it was for them. haahahahahaha

Jenna has a black eye from an unfortunate run in with a buzz lightyear toy. haha. i was also cracking up at her swimsuit because it reminds me of a wrestling uniform. (by the way, Allison, I LOVE Natalie's suit! her shorts are adorable.)

Jenna HATED being sprayed with water directly. haha so i sprayed down the trampoline and Jenae supervised her splashing around. too cute.

other highlights of the weekend include Peek-a-boo:

grammy's toy closet:

and stargazing!

• other summer events not pictured: 

-where's waldo for Young Single Adult FHE. I was Waldo.

- babysitting. lots of it. hallelujah.

- a baseball game

- going to Brandon's house. happy happy. applying for 235474 jobs in Idaho

- MERLIN. MERLIN MERLIN MERLIN. honestly, it's a sick obsession. the day i finished the fifth and final season, i cried because i hated the ending, and then i cried because it was beautiful, and then i cried because i wasted hours and hours on a TV show and i felt lame, and then i cried because it's over. sigh. and last night i had a dream that Sir Percival asked me out on a date. swoooooon.

- missionary lessons! one of my friends from high school is learning more about my church and is going to get baptized! SO exciting! and i get to go to her lessons with our missionaries,m which is way cool.

- Mal pal. Mallorie Lane Hakanson. late night talks, sleep overs and taylor swift. sounds good.

and that's it so far. Summer's half way over, now.

still don't know how to feel about it.

the ONLY reason why i wish i had stayed i Rexburg was so i could see my brother Donny (or should i say, DON...hahaha) and his wife Christine's baby who is literally due any day. I WANT TO MEET HER SO BAD. I won't say her name in case they wanted it to be a surprise, but i can already picture her brown curly hair and her squishy cheeks.

my thoughts on new niece and nephew will  be coming to this blog soon.