Wisdom = A Father

So I haven't blogged in a month, probably because I forgot what the URL to this site is ha :) and I usually get on facebook on my touch now and the link on my facebook doesn't show up on my touch.

Yes, getting locked IN the bathroom and forgetting the URL to my own site, one more strike and I'm out.

The wisest man to have ever lived once said

"There will be people in life that don't like you because you remind them of their third grade teacher, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He also said
"Don't ride your brakes too hard"
"Always look twice before turning left across 2 lanes of traffic"
"You need some music appreciation, here's a Lynyrd Skynyrd cd"

I am so glad I listened to that first thing he said. Because there really will be people in life that just don't like you.

He probably followed it with something like "you can't be controlled by what other people think about you, you can't be affected by what people say, if someone doesn't like you that's too bad for them" but I tuned out after the first part :)

Moral of the story, Dad's are wise. They will say things to you that don't seem a bit relevent at the moment, and 5 years later you'll be wishing you had taken notes.

The best thing about Ethan, he is so much like Dad! I swear they've knew each other before.

My dad always used to quote random things at random moments like:

"Kiss me like you've never kissed me before"
"Something something to fight in the Kumatay and make my father proud"
"You're the cheese!"
and a zillion more...

The other day Ethan and I were sitting in the library studying, when not even looking at me Ethan goes "Kiss me like youve never kissed me before" I almost peed my pants!! I think they have secret meetings where they come up with silly quotes.

I've always wanted to grow up and marry someone just exactly like my dad, but I didn't think that would ever be even remotely possible. But Ethan is! Well maybe not exactly, my dad has a little bit longer attention span and never acts immaturely (my mother might disagree).

But I can already tell Ethan is going to be the kind of dad that gently brushes his 4 year old daughter's wet hair when she gets out of the tub (goodness knows our kids are going to have some good hair) and know exactly what to say when boys break her heart and get teary eyed whenever she leaves for college, everytime she comes home.

It's perfect, perfect for me. If I'm half as awesome a mom as my mom and he's half an awesome a dad as my dad, we might go down in history books as the best parents ever.

But we're not having kids for a good 5 years.

I brag on my parents so much, Ethan has a pretty awesome set of parents as well. That's why we're never moving out of state (knock on wood).

Slow Down Sister

Kindle or itouch? that was the question these past few weeks.

For those of you who are not familiar with the latest electronic devices. A kindle is basically an electronic book. Forget pages and sparkly bookmarks, now you can hold hundreds of books on a small square block of technology.

An itouch is an ipod on steroids. It can surf the web make phone calls, send text messages download hundreds of apps.

So you're thinking, why in the world would you pick a kindle over a touch, right?

Exactly. I picked the touch. Ya know the first thing I did? Downloaded the kindle app. So now I have a kindle on my touch.

This whole idea sparked from me wanting an iPhone and Ethan doing whatever possible to keep me from getting one, since he's going to be the one paying the bill in 8 months.

One thing I've noticed since we got engaged. Oh, have I even mentioned that yet?
WE GOT ENGAGED! On Sept. 12, so almost a month ago! I hope the next 8 months go by that fast.

Anyway, one thing I've noticed is that my dad has gotten a whole lot more supportive of my crazy ideas. I'll mention something to him and he'll be like "Oh yeah sure that sounds wonderful, might wanna take it up with your fiance." So then Ethan looks like the meanie, ha yeah my dad is clever clever.

I'm so excited to be going home this weekend!!! My parents haven't even seen my ring yet!! Or my touch, but that will be overshadowed by their new iPad. touch smouch as my dad says :( at least Ethan was excited!

Something I don't give enough acknowledgement to is my awesome friends. First of all my roommate is really really cool, if you don't know her, you should. She is like interior designer/baker/sporty/trendy/OT student, she's the real deal. I came in tonight and she had made PUMPKIN cookies! Hello!!! Pumpkin might be my favorite thing in the whole world! But that's like a weekly regular for her, there's always interesting breads and muffins in our kitchen. I hope I catch on to some of her ways before I get married!

Now, my parents might be the best people to go to for advice on anything. Really, it seems like they've got it all figured out. Statistically if Ethan and I turn out half as well as them, we'll be doing twice as well as most Americans, relationship-ically if we turn out a quarter as well as them, we'll be doing better than 9 out of 10 relationships all over the world. Those are actual mathematically based statistics in case you were wondering. Therefore, it is safe for me to go to them for advice on everything.

However, there is one other person I/Ethan and I owe a lot to. And that is our good friend Andrew. I think we both go to him for advice fairly often. He's a good guy, and definitely doesn't get enough credit for it. If you ever need advice, just go hang out at a WalMart cart corral, he'll eventually find you.

But the best thing that happened to me this week was: I finally realized I'm still running a race that I won over a year ago. Slow down sister. So now, instead of focusing on a race that's finished, I'm going to start wearing around my shiny metal. :)

Kingdoms

Fall is by far my favorite time of year. I think that feeling stands for 99% of Americans. The weather is perfect, the leaves become beautiful, football is playing in the living room, there are PUMPKINS! everywhere you look. (I love pumpkins).

Fall is my least favorite time of year. I can't go a day without thinking about home. See, winter is easy. Every morning that I wake up and my car isn't lost in the snow and it's above 34 degrees, it's a good morning and one that I am thankful to be in Arkansas instead of Iowa. But fall is rough.

Fall sometimes goes by the alias of "Harvest." A word that makes me think of INDIANS! (I love Indians) and pilgrims and farmers of course. Harvest is the best time of year in Iowa. It's usually 'light jacket weather.' The crops are all in, so the fields are empty. I can just feel it. My worn blue jeans, my soft jacket, hair in a pony tail, the wind nipping at my face (not freezing my skin off), running through the bare fields, being careful not to trip on a stray corn stalk. Heading for the pond with my cousins, to throw rocks, or shoot guns, or fish, or on a rare occasion...touch the electric fence.

One day we were bored so we went to the top of the hill and stood in a row, holding hands, while the leader oh so cautiously tapped the electric fence. Then giggled with joy and screamed with pain as the shock flowed through each of us. Only to find out later we were just mere yards from the source head and lucky to be alive. Maybe that's why were all smart, we zapped electricity through our souls.

I could go on all day, literally, telling stories about my family.

The other reason I love fall is because usually everyone comes home. I mean the two families that actually moved out of state. My family goes back about 5 times a year, we're addicts. My uncle Grant lives in Arizona, he likes to come home in the fall. And that's why fall is so great, we're ALL together, all of us, my whole family. That's when everything feels right, when I can finally feel at home.

If you can't tell from my previous blogs, I have an unhealthy obsession with Iowa and my family. I mean there's love and then there's an obsessive need. It's not good because apparently it isn't going to last forever. Which is weird because it's all I've ever known. But people will pass, land will get sold, things that are now won't be in the future. Then my platform of need will shatter and my heart will probably be broken.

In Iowa there is love, happiness, wealth, health, joy, peace, gentleness. When I'm having a bad day at work, or at school or I'm mad at someone, I go to Iowa in my mind. Sometimes it takes everything in me to stop myself from just going there and getting away from my situations. It's like a safety net.

We all have safety nets. People or places we turn to, long for when we're having a hard time. Our homes, a boyfriend/girlfriend, a husband/wife/fiance, memories of a deceased loved one. We're all looking for the same thing. Love, comfort, safety.

We're all looking for the same thing because we were all made by the same Creator. We're longing for and trying to create things and situations that are abundant in His Kingdom.

John 18:36
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is in another place."


His Kingdom isn't in Iowa. Although, we often long for our earthly homes, they are not the true source of comfort.


Think about this though, you don't desire things unless you already know what they are like. We long for things we've known.


Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."


We've known God's Kingdom. That's why we desire it, because we've had it. Its weird huh. Our earthly minds only remember and have knowledge of here, of earth. But we've had God's Kingdom, we've been there, we've known it. Or we wouldn't all be longing for the same things, longing for the Kingdom, longing for the comfort and the safety net we've already known.

Think about it like this: I long for Iowa, because I've been there because I've known it, because it's my home. I don't long for California the way I long for Iowa. I've never been there, I don't know what it's like. I've heard things about it, but that's not enough to give me the same kind of longing for it.

Alright, so what can we do? We have this desire for His Kingdom, but we're stuck on earth.

Luke 17:20-21
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, "Here it is," or "There it is," because the kingdom of God is within you."

Revelation 1:6
...and has made us to be a kingdom...

You can quit searching, if you're saved you have the kingdom of God. Right there in the red letters, it is within you. Cool huh. You just have to access it, tap into it. Let God fill those longings. And don't worry because you are not alone. We are all after it, because we were all made by Him. His Kingdom is in you, He is in you. Seek that and you will not be disappointed.

Ever since I figured out I was seeking Iowa the way I should be seeking the Kingdom, God has filled my life with joy and peace, contentment and health. Everything that I once sought in Iowa and my family I now have overflowing inside of me and I am 526 miles away from them.

Acknowledge the earthly place or thing you treat as the Kingdom, seek God and He will fill your safety net far more than anything this world has to offer.

Sin Much?

God's love has been on my heart lately. I guess that's probably a pretty good place for it to be.

At my job, I come in contact with soooo many people. Growing up at a private school in Iowa I didn't realize there were so many people on the planet. And I definitely didn't realize how many people are hurting, even more so how many Christians don't really understand how much God loves them.

New Christians, religious-bound Christians, lifelong Christians, recents converts, pastors, disciples. I may be wrong but I honestly believe that no one really fully and completely grasps the depth of God's love for His children.

Children. That's a key word here. I think often times we accidentally bypass the idea of God being our Heavenly Father.

That concept is so easy for me to understand because my dad and I are the best of friends. He's my hero. I never ever doubt his love for me. But maybe you haven't had the perfect All-Star dad. Maybe you haven't had a dad at all. Maybe it's been so long since you've been with your dad you've forgotten what it's like to have a relationship with him.

This is where our God fills in the gaps. This is where His love is more than enough to carry us through the heartaches our earthly dads may or may not have caused.

John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

Hello! Cool! If you've received Him, you are His. And nothing can change that.

Another topic that's been on my heart lately. Maybe because people up at work have been talking about it, maybe because it's reflected in my own life.

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or future, nor any powers, neither height not depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have you sinned? Do you sin on a regular basis? Yes yes yes. I probably sin every day of my life. Who honestly doesn't? Sin has outliers. Thinking a mean thought is a sin, murdering someone is a sin.

Sin is sin. Thinking a mean/vulgar thought and committing murder were paid for with the same price. Death. Sure they have different consequences here on earth, but in the end, sin is sin.

Anyway, back to the verse connection here. As that verse states, nothing can separate us from God's love. God will always love you. He will love you if you're a Christian or if you're an Atheist. You CANNOT escape God's love.

Connect like this. When I lived at home, there were times when I might've bent the rules...a lot. Maybe I stayed out 4 hours passed curfew. Maybe I got pulled over twice in the same night. Maybe I lied on various occasions. All of these sins, I sinned against my dad.

Did he love me any less? No.

Did it make blessing me a challenge? Yes.

Did I maybe feel like he loved me less at times? Yes, when I was sitting in my room grounded.

Did his love for me ever change? No never not once.

If anything he loves me more than he did yesterday.

1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

God's love for us is unfathomable. Whether or not you're perfect. You can't change God's love. However, you can alter how it is displayed in your life. Sin makes it hard for God to bless us. The same way my dad isn't going to give me $20 for some movie tickets the day after I stay out all night.

Sinning is inevitable. That's why we're called humans. If we didn't sin, we wouldn't need a Savior.

We've already established that sinning does not stop God from loving us; however, sin is unhealthy for our relationship with God. It makes it hard for us to feel God's love. I don't know about you, but I need to feel God's love for me. I need to connect with Him everyday. Sin blocks that feeling, that connection. Sin blocks His presence. Sin makes prayer hard, which in turn makes connecting with God hard. Sin makes it hard to figure out what God is calling us to do. And worst of all as I stated above, sin makes it hard for God to bless us. And while I'd like to be noble and say I don't need anything, I do. I need God to bless me. I want Him to bless me with earthly things. I need him to bless me with His presence.

Sin prevents that. But......

The best part of the whole thing is...how easily we get forgiven compared to the people in the Old Testament. Since the price was paid on the cross, all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and for help to change our ways.

How cool is that. Not only does God love you more than your dad does, He cares so much about you, He sent His Son to die FOR YOU. So that you can simply ask for forgiveness and His help. So that all of the horrible things you & I do, every mark we get against us, none of it can keep Him from loving us. No matter what. As a Christian your eternity with Him in heaven is a sure thing. It's a promise.

So no matter where you're at in life. No matter what sin you're dealing with, God is there. He wants to help you through it, so just let Him.

God. Is. Love.

It feels so good to have a home.

I was raised/still am very Charismatic. I've never been in a church service where the Holy Spirit was moving and I was weirded out by what was physically going on in the service. That might be my favorite thing about my upbringing. I'm totally comfortable responding to the Holy Spirit in any place under any circumstance doing whatever He is asking. Even if it might seem embarrassing to some. My comfort zone is stretchy.

The church I am about to become a member of is very different from the church I was raised in. Well, I shouldn't say VERY. Just a little bit different. But I like it. It's a non-denominational church on the move, progressing each service toward the wonderful community of believers God has called it to be.

It's great because there isn't a lot of commotion, but the Holy Spirit is still very present in every service. That's one thing, though, that clashes with my idea of church.

God and His Holy Spirit are present in places they are called upon, desired. Whether it's the small Baptist church on the corner of Main or the 1200 member Pentecostal church on the other side of town. We call upon the same God, He desires and responds to the same kind of praise. He is present where He is loved.

It's like every service at this church is planned for me because the pastor knows it's just exactly what I need to heard. It's just exactly what I need help in, need convicted of, need more of.

For example, this last week was about love. It may sound simple, but loving is hard for me. It's hard for me to love the people I love and the people I don't even like. And I know I'm not the only one who struggles with this, although for a long time I thought I was.

Think for a second. It's hard to love people sometimes because they hurt us, because they don't love us, or because they are just plain annoying at times! It's hard to love because it's hard to put your heart out there, to risk not being loved back.

That's where we're wrong.

If we were really meant to live in fear of getting hurt we would never be able to love anyone. It's not us though, it's not our hearts on the line here. It's God's heart through us. We are a way He can express His love for other people.

Sure, there is a level of humility in loving. Not wanting to love someone because they've hurt you, for example. But that's the thing, it's not my heart, it's God expressing His heart through me. When this divine act of love teleportation takes place we feel it too, obviously, because it's through us.

How do we get this kind of love shock flowing through us? Exactly my question. Good thing I paid attention on Sunday. The pastor said this:

Step 1: Understand how much God really loves you.

Let me ask you this. Do you really understand how much God loves you? I don't think there is anyone who can answer Yes to that. But it might be possible for us to get a better understanding, one that fills the confines of our earthly minds.

So let that be your prayer this week. To really understand how much your Heavenly Father loves you.

P.S. If anyone needs scripture references, you can email me or facebook me. :)

Save Save Save!

Have I mentioned I love my job??



We're the only clinic in this town that is open on Saturday. All day.



However today was a day I will record as an enhancement to my life. All thanks to a 50+ year old man.



He was awesome.



He is an ex-competitive waterskiier. He explained to me how to gracefully go back over the wake once you're out in the open water. He told me how to solo ski and how to ski backwards. He even gave me some pointers to give to my dad about driving the boat. I was super excited.



I told him about the gentleman who told me it was all downhill after you turn 20. This guy said it wasn't until you turn 40. Then he gave me some really great pointers on how to save money. I explained that I save anywhere from 20-25% of every paycheck I get. He said that was great and when I turned 50 I would be patting myself on the back. He told me to invest in the stock market, which is actually the second time someone has told me that so I think I'm going to look into it.



He gave me some good advice that you can benefit from too. Young or old, especially young but don't count yourself out if you're old. He said to really think about what you're spending your money on now. Because when you're wanting to retire and you look at what you've got, you won't remember what you even spent your money on when you were younger. As in, eating out, buying new clothes and shoes, new cars, boats, campers. Every time you go into the gas station, ETHAN, don't buy a bunch of junk food. Seriously, start keeping tabs on how much money you spend per week on stuff that-a month later-you don't even remember buying. Then start putting that money into savings and you will not be disappointed. And it's never too late to start, as long as you're receiving some sort of income. Ethan wanted to go out to eat tonight, but I think we're just going to stay home. Like I said, it can start right now.

Oh My Baby

As you may or may not know, I just recently started working for an Optometrist. I've been working full time so I haven't had much time to blog, but I got off early today so I decided to catch up.

I really really like my job. A lot. I've wanted to do it since I was in the 6th grade. There are 2 things I love the most, number one the kiddos that come in. If you know me, you know I have a heart for the elderly. I mean I like all people, but I really just have passion for the eldery. But for some reason every kid that has come in has stolen my heart. All the boys look at me terrified and the girls just gawk. Yesterday a little boy came in and asked if I had a son like him, and I told him no, then he asked if I had a daughter, and I told him no, then he asked if I was married, and I told him I would be soon. Then he got really sad. I'm pretty sure I crushed his dreams, he was about to propose. Then I took him to the exam room. Which if you're little and you're without your mama, those tiny rooms packed with oversized black equipment can be a little intimidating. I started dialing his prescription into the feroptor when he noticed a tv up high on the wall. I don't really know what they're for, I've never turned one on before, but he started begging me to "Please please please just turn on the TV." I asked what he liked to watch and he said "Cowboys." It was that moment I regretted telling him I was about to get married, I can handle the 13 year age difference ;)

The first time I went to the eye doctor I was 11 and in the 6th grade. That's when my infatuation began. I don't know if it was the fact that I got to skip school to go, or that my dad got to skip work to go with me. Sometimes just doing something with my dad can make it the most awesome thing in the world. Funny how I'm 20 and that still works. I remember 2 things about that visit.

1. Popping a zit in the mirror and my dad laughing that the doctor didn't want my nasty zit all over his exam mirror
2. The puff of air

If you've ever been to an Optometrist before then you know exactly what "The Puff of Air" is, and you're probably shivering right now just thinking about it.

Professionally it's a pressure check/pre-screening for Glaucoma.

Unprofessionally....

Here's how it goes down. I lead the patient into the prep-room. Check their Visual Acuities, Color Blind, Depth Perception, laugh and joke with them, ask them to slide up to the table (still laughing and joking and talking about their interests). Little do they know... Ask them to please align themselves with the machine, ask if they can see the light. Keep talking then kind of slip in "just a quick puff of air" then laugh when they jump to the ceiling. Getting the first eye isn't so bad, it's the second eye, when they know it's coming, that takes a little more persuasion. It's actually pretty fun...for me... :)

All summer my baby has been parked in Iowa. Or should I say raced up and down the gravel roads until she's so dirty you can't even tell what color she is. I've had Rylee's G6 here for several weeks while she had mine up in Iowa. I gotta say, her car is all that and the bomb. It's sleek, cute, and very nice on the inside and outside. But it's only got a 4 cylinder. I didn't realize how much I appreciated my V6. I love driving my car, we connect on a foot/gaspedal/engine level. When you get in you immediately notice the race car style curvature on the odometer and air vents. You start the engine and it sounds like a tractor. You take off slowly down the road. With no change noted in your mind, you look down and you're going 45 and a 35 zone. She's a sneaky speed beast. It's like the air coming through the ventalation system gets trapped in the car and surrounds me, filling my brain with whispering thoughts of "a little faster a littler faster don't you want to see what I can do" Ohh the temptation. I say all of this to justify the three times I've been pulled over (2 of them on the same night) the new set of brakes I had to get and the fact that I've had to get new tires twice. I've had her for 4 years. My mom drove her one day and now she understands why all of those unfortunate events have happened, my dad not so much. It must be something only girls can connect with.

Relaxation?

Just drove for 8 hours straight..as in, me-Brandy- was the one pushing the pedal. I guess when you turn 20 your dad will finally let you drive your own car all by yourself ;)

My dad is quite the driver, to put it in terms that won't get me in trouble. We caravaned back to Arkansas, the King in front, my Silver Bullet taking the rear (yes I named our cars). While mom was driving she was never more than a car's length in front of us. We could wave from the front seat and they would wave back. But while dad was driving, they were never in view, or at least very rarely. It's like he's trying to beat a speed record. Can we make it back faster than we did the last time? Pretty much he's awesome.

As you may or may not know, my extended family and I just spent the past week adventuring through the Black Hills. To answer your first question, we drove. Honestly, I have never heard of anyone flying out there, it's so close to where we're from. To answer your second question, we took 3 SUVs. To answer your third question, we had a blast.

Over a three day period we visited/explored/hiked:

The Corn Palace- yes a building made out of corn, right up my alley :)
Wall Drug- counted 67 billboards advertising it.
Mt. Rushmore
Sylvan Lake- twice
Crazy Horse
Cosmos
Spearfish Falls
Roughlock Falls
Devils Tower- in Wyoming
Custer State Park
Horseback Ride through the Black Hills
Wind City Cave
The Mammoth Site
The Air and Space Museum
The Badlands
Cabelas

Under no circumstances are vacations supposed to be relaxing.

We stayed in cabins in the Badlands one night. And a lodge nestled right behind Mt. Rushmore the rest of the nights.

Pretty much, it was one of the best vacations I have ever taken. For one thing I LOVE prairies, indians, cowboys, the 1800s, and the West in general. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century. For another, I love my family, and I don't get to spend much time with them. So my family plus the West equals pure perfection.

Wyoming was my favorite part, for the pure reason that I have an unnatural infatuation with all things Western. Wyoming is like the capitol of the West. I know what you're thinking, I love cowboys, I picked the wrong boy. Not so, I don't want to marry a cowboy, I want to be a cowboy-or girl. I want to be a cowboy that has all the resources town offers available at every given moment.

There were a lot of hilarious adventures on our trip, too many to list right now. I think my butt has gone numb. I'll post pictures on facebook

Goodbye

Please, do not read this title and panick. I am, by no means, going anywhere. I just want to talk about goodbyes. Unfortunately my keyboard is sticking for some reason, so you might see some words that look like: sa i lve tis ect. Don't worry, it's going to Dad's Fix It Shop this weekend. No replacement iPads though, that's for Rylee.....

Anyway, goodbyes are interesting. I find myself wondering why they're called 'good'-byes, when 9 times out of 10 I don't want to leave the person or the place. Sadbye or dreadbye would be more appropriate.

Everybody has a different way of going about their goodbyes. There are people who like to hug and cry and hug and babble on about how much they're going to miss the person, there are people who hold it together through the hugging then let loose in the car/plane, and there are people who just put on some sunglasses and walk away nobody really knows if they're crying or not.

I don't know about you but I am definitely the sunglass type, I would even go so far as to sneak out to avoid a goodbye. Because honestly, if I love you enough that I'll cry when I leave you, I'm probably going to see you again very soon. Then it's like we never had to be separated.

Worst goodbye ever, the day we left Iowa. We had the van and the black truck parked in front of the house. Dad's whole side of the family was there. Kids were running around eating cake (I dont know why) laughing and playing. I don't really remember much, kind of like a wedding day it just happened so quick, but I do remember playing one minute and being buckled in the van looking out at my family in front of my house the next. Then it was like "wait a minute what's going on?!" Poor Rylee didn't have a clue where we were going. Then the truck and van started pulling away leaving my house and family in the rearview while my best friend chased us down the street on his bike. Almost everyone was wearing sunglasses.

Family Time

I haven't updated in a week! Probably because when I'm around Ethan I forget about phones, facebook, email, computers, pretty much everything but him.

Most of you know, I love sleep. Pretty much a bomb could go off right outside my house right before I fell asleep and I could still sleep like a baby.Very few things affect my nightly sleep. But last Saturday night I slept for maybe an hour, I was so excited to pick Ethan up from the airport!

Airports in general are tear whisperers, in my opinion. Probably because everytime I'm at an airport it means I'm leaving someone behind. I was a red, teary-eyed zombie with long curly brown hair that morning. My dad said it was just the airport.

Whenever I saw Ethan, it was like I'd never seen him before. Imagine- tall, cute boy carrying his suitcase sees his shorter tan girlfriend, drops his bag to the floor in the middle of a crowd of people, dashes 3 feet before she jumps up into his arms and they stand there hugging like the first time they ever hugged for a long 5 minutes. Then she starts crying, promising to never leave again, while he strokes her long hair.. Yeah my parents waited in the cafe.

The first night he decided to stay with my mom's parents. This is the All-American family. As in- everyone's perfect. Beautiful, smart, successful, each has perfect athleticy/musical children. There is a specific place for everything, and everything will be in that place, perfectly. Ethan loved the kids.

One day, my grampa asked if we wanted to take a load of corn into town. We agreed and followed him to the other farm on the fourwheeler. So we get there and he loads two wagons, while we stand around and look at every piece of equipment he owns. After about 30 minutes he walks over and says

"I only have one extra seat in this tractor, so Brandy you'll have to run back to the other farm."

Like as in, only him and Ethan are going. Oh this is good. But there was nothing I could do, so I jumped on a fourwheeler, went back, and nervously waited for a good hour and a half. Apparently they just talked about the land, ethanol, my grampa's property, Ethan's ambitions, nothing too damaging.

Ethan man-ed up and decided to stay with my dad at another farm. Then they became best friends. My dad is a swell guy, most boys adore him. They went and checked cattle together, they stayed up all night telling stories and sharing secrets, then they made friendship bracelets and went to the courthouse to sign the adoption papers. Umm you signed the wrong papers Ethan!!

After sitting on the gravel road watching the sunset while staring into the never-ending sea of green, Ethan promised to quit making fun of the way I talk about Iowa.

Now we're back in God's country, spending some much needed time with Ethan's family. I'm probably going to paint the shed with his awesome Mama, take his little brother out on a brother/sister date, and learn everything I didn't know from his dad. And his family is coming to town this week too!! I love love.

To Ethan

Alright, this post is pretty much for Ethan. To prepare him for his Iowa adventure.

Some things you should know about my family (nothing personal).

Mom's Side:
My Papa is the one who needs to have the best impression of you. I am his first grandkid and he often refers to me as Rhonda. Like as in he always refers to me as Rhonda, rarely gets it right on the first try. That's not because he doesn't pay attention. It's because I remind him of her with my continuous "deal making." The way to his heart is through work. Act interested in his routine life. Offer to open gates in the morning when he does chores. I still haven't figured out what you should call him yet. See around here we don't do that Mr. First Name business.

My Grama ..will probably ask you 1400 questions. Not prying questions, but weird questions you've probably never been asked. Like "does your church have pews?" or "do you nap often?" or "I bet the sun shines a lot brighter in Arkansas, you're probably sick of all these open plains?" She might be the gentle-est person I've ever met.

My Aunt Cary's family. They're cool. I've been watching the kids all summer. My uncle might be a little taunting, but you can just give him a mean face and he'll leave you alone, trust me I've been doing it since I was 3. Be nice to Darin and he'll be your buddy, he's your best bet to get in with the kids. McKenze 12. Darin 10.

My Uncle Tom's family. In quite contrast to your Uncle Tom :) They are fun, but not affectionate it in any way. Well except for Jack, but I think the only affection you'll get from him is a smack in the face. Ben might not talk to you at all, he's 7. Don't take it personally, he doesn't talk much to anyone. Paige 10. Ben 7. Jack 3.

My Aunt Tammy's family. Her husband Kyle, is a lot like you. Super friendly and outgoing. I think you'll get along well. Juicy toot is her son. He might be shy at first, but I think he'll warm up to you. He's your ticket to being friends with Jack. Gracie 9. Gabe 5. Gillian 2.

My Dad's Side.
They're a whole nother tribe.
My Grampa. Already likes you since you always send the flowers to his house. He will tell you as many stories as questions my other grama asks you. Just listen ATTENTIVELY. Which is sometimes an issue, as your mother pointed out. Most of them are funny, so if you accidentally don't hear, just laugh at the end. Or if he's laughing, then you laugh too.

My Grama. I still haven't figured her out. Bingo is her thing. As you know, you will be joining us on tuesday for a game. Just be attentive (there's that word again!). Don't speak at Bingo, unless you are yelling Bingo. My dad might try to tease you during the game, don't get distracted. It's intense! You will probably meet a lot of old ladies that night too. Tell her you fish, she'll like you. Oh one more thing, Bingo starts at 7, but she'll be in the lincoln at 3:30, honking the horn, literally.

My Aunt Monica's family. They will try and tell you embarrassing stories about me, none of them are true! Seriously, anything about squirrels, just tune that out. They have 2 kids.

My cousin Nicole's family. Christian 13. Jeremiah 9. Glorya 7. She's nice, but will probably try and tell you things about me, which are also not true.

My cousin Zanniell's family. Heaven 13. Zedekiah 9. Zariah 7. Abiah 7. If you haven't noticed, we like IAH. I call her ZB, it might bother her, not sure. See ZB used to be her initials, now they're ZZ, I just haven't made the switch yet.

My Aunt Gina. She is awesome! She might seem like she doesn't like you at first, but then whenever you're alone with her she's totally different. She let me drive her car when I was just learning, ya know like 8 yrs old. She lives to fish. She has one son.

My cousin Luke. I don't even know what to say. Avoid! He WILL try to scare you away. He will act like he doesn't like you. He will have a mountain dew in his hand at all times. He has a son, Colton 2. And a wife, she's cool.

My aunt Tina. Bryce's family! They'll ask you a lot of questions, tell you a lot of stories. Basically good conversation. Bryce 19. Ryan 16. Brooke 12.

I think that's everyone you'll meet. I love you. I love you. I love you. See you at 10:45!!!

Cow Whisperer

6 more days!! Until I see my wonderful boyfriend!
5 more days!! Until I see my awesome dad, mom, sister, and doggggggg!!!
11 more days!! Until I see Ethan's wonderful family!!
I CANT WAIT!

Everyone always sets their facebook status about how awesome their dad is on Father's Day. I don't do that. My dad deserves statuses about him everyday, not just Father's Day. That's why I am writing about him today. I haven't ever met anyone that hasn't said something nice about my dad, actually I haven't met anyone that doesn't secretly wish my dad was their dad. I don't want to brag, but it's hard not to. I've never seen my dad get mad or angry. I've never heard him say a single word he shouldn't have. I've never heard him insult anyone. I've never seen him and my mom even have a disagreement. I've never even heard him raise his voice! I've only seen him do things I want to mirror in my own life. He's not an overly controlling dad, he's not controlling at all. He's always there for Ry and I, from when we were little dancing with him in the living room to "You are so Beautiful" by Bob Seger, to him gentley combing our wet hair after a bath, to never missing a single game (never complaining about going to a game either), to rocking us to sleep at night saying we'll never be too old to sit on his lap in the rocking chair, to brushing our hair Christmas Eve night while we're bawling about being an old maid at 18. He's surprisingly cool, just when you start to think he's let you down, he tells you he got your boyfriend a plane ticket to visit you. I'm going to be 55 years old and call him when I need a tire changed or another opinion or just someone to tell me to put my life in perspective. It's an amazing thing, I don't know how I got so lucky.

Now let me get my red eyes cleared so I can tell you about the past few days.

We went to the fabulous Storm Lake on Saturday. The water wasn't even iced over! We could actually get in. I was water skiing and I jumped over our wake into the clear water and then everyone on the boat starting making weird gestures to me so I looked ahead and saw these massive waves coming towards me. So I panicked, let go, and sunk down into the water. Somewhere in all that I messed up my ankle again, and am now wearing the brace. Hopefully for just a few days.

We were wading up to the beach and the water was about up to the bottom of our bellies. Apparently there was like a plateau of sand about a foot high that everyone was tripping over. But this isn't like white Florida skin purifying sand. It's like seaweedy, black, mushy, Tyson dump place sand. I decided I just couldn't make it over this plateau unless I was piggy-backed over (Ethannn!!). The only person who wasn't on the other side was my 12 year old cousin. So I hollered at her "Kenze piggy back me!" She laughed at first and then gave in and I hopped on. It was going well at first, she's pretty tall. Then just as we were stepping up onto the plateau, she loses her balance and face-plants, sending me down into the mush on my hands and knees. And that's when I decided to never make selfish plans again.

I had a very scary encounter with a herd of cattle yesterday. We got some chicken from Cargo and took it up to the cabin. Me, Grama, Grampa, Luke (my cousin), and his son Colton (2yrs old). So after we get done eating the adults are sitting at the table visiting while Colton is racing around the cabin. He pauses at the screen door for a long time, just starring up at the hill. Grama nudges me and tells me to go see what he's looking at. So I get up, peek over his shoulder and see about 50 mama cows with at least that many calves walking over the hill. I open the door and let Colton out. We walk out the gate and up to the edge of the cattle. Then I had a momentary lapse of good farmkid, good babysitter sense. One starts walking toward us so I stick out my hand and pet its nose. Then Colton starts mumbling about mamas and petting and starts wandering into the herd. I'm thinking about Ethan (still suffering from the lapse of good farmkid judgement) and start following him through herd. He's babbling like a crazy maniac so I kneel down to try and figure out what he was saying. After a few minutes I give up, look up, stand up and realize we are completely surrounded by a circle of 40 angry bellering mama cows. Umm problem. I look back down at the cabin and see Luke and Grampa standing in the yard. I quickly grab Colton's hand so it looks like I'm a decent babysitter. I honestly had no idea what to do. These cows are loud and not happy. Then all of a sudden they just start walking past us back over the hill. I grab up Colton and run back to the cabin. Grama starts hollering about how we're lucky to be alive. Grampa says he wouldn't even drive his truck through those cattle. Luke tells us there was a bull right behind me. He decided that I am definitely a cow whisperer. It's a theory, but one that I never want to experiment on again.

Sunshine Lives

Its been a whole week since my last blog! Internet is a rare commodity around here. It's also been a whole week since the sun came out, but it finally did and we were able to go to the pool!



I ran a 5k with Kenze on saturday. I got first place for my age bracket (19-29) and she got 2nd for hers (12-18). She did awesome! She helps me understand what parenting will be like. I mean I remember changing her diapers. In fact, there's dirty proof of that on the carpet at our old church's library (haha sorry mom). And now she's running beside me, miles at a time, telling me about her boyfriend. It's like everytime I look at her, I still see that little baby. Gah I feel like such a pansy girl!


Another big adventure was that my grandfather CHOSE to go into town with us. I tried to talk him out of it (shopping is much more fun with a grandma ;) ) but he insisted. So we dropped grandma off at the doctor and then we went.......ATV SHOPPING! Yes, that's right. After how many years of trying to convince him to add another to his collection, he finally gave in. We went and looked at those Gator things, his exact words were "Thats the stupidest thing I've ever seen Brandy, you're the only one who could drive it, and you don't even live here, the mothers would never let the grandkids come over again!" And that's a bad thing? ...I'm just teasing. I love being mobbed, followed, and robbed of any privacy by small children. As you're probably guessing, we walked away empty handed. But I haven't given up!!



One thing I am concerned about, at least a little bit, is how Jack is going to react to Ethan. You see, they both think that they're my boyfriend. When my dad was little he wanted to marry his oldest sister, so at first Jack's infatuation was cute, but now I'm really worried! He is under the impression that he has bigger muscles than Ethan and walks around talking about how he's going to beat Ethan up because I'm his girlfriend. He's 3 I might add. He'll run up to me and jump/hug my legs, then lift his arms up so I'll pick him up, then in his high pitched lispy kid voice he'll say "Are you hungry for a squeeze?" then hug me as tight as he can and say "I'm your boyfriend!" He'll be in for a shock when he sees Ethan's manly muscles!! :)

So there's a story around these parts that took place in 1886. Apparently two German immigrants moved to Iowa with the dream of being farmers, imagine that. They never had any kids so they had to hire people to do work. Well one day the man went to the bank and took out all his money, and the next day they found him and his wife murdered. The farmhand who was living with them was no where to be found, and of course the money was gone. Weeeell these kind folks are buried up at a little cemetery in the middle of no where. One day an old lady was placing flowers on the grave and oh my goodness the face of the murderer had appeared on the stone. So everyone from all over Iowa, including professional grave-looker-atters, came to observe. And sure enough, the face was showing up due to reactions with atomospheric conditions. ...Yeahhhh right. My Grandpa told me this story. Then he took me and Grandma to the actual grave. I must say there definitely was some atomospheric reaction taking place; however, I was expecting a portrait. Not quite the case. There were some lines where if you kinda tilted your head, squinted your eyes, spun around three times on a full moon night you might be able to see something something resembling long hair, but nothing worthy of being published in a book. Which the story actually is published in a book called Haunted Heartland.

The trip to the cemetery wasnt completely disappointing. On the way back we drove by some guy's house that looked like a junk yard. There was so much junk, old cars, tractors, big pieces of metal. So I'm looking at all this junk as we're driving by and I notice in the corner under a tree...are you ready for it?? Rylee, pay attention! In the corner under a tree I saw THE OLD SUBURBAN! The brown one. Ohh the memories came flooding back, I almost jumped out of the car and ran to it, hugging it, thanking it for safely teaching me how to drive. Grandpa wouldnt stop the car because apparently the guy that lives there likes to talk. But I'm thinking, Rylee, it'll be a night adventure, maybe with a big dog and a .22

Lawn Mower

So McKenze just walked around my laptop, sort of inspector-like, and asked if it really had my name encrusted in diamonds. She was completely serious, I'm like "Kenze who the heck told you that?" She couldn't remember, I'm thinking it might have been a Papa joke. Oh Dad, do those ever get old?

I mowed for the first time ever on friday. Yes, it was a rider, but still! You should see the size of this yard, it takes four hours!! It was a Papa-Brandy bonding experience. First he taught me how to drive it, then he walked me around the entire yard pointing out all of the dangerous wires. Basically if you hit a "dangerous wire" the whole farm could explode, but everything else is fair game. I finished the four hour yard in about two, and I would say it looked 10x better than Ethan's last haircut. I had just parked by the garage and dusted myself off, a job well done. When here comes Papa "You mind if I jump on there and get the places you missed in the very far corners that no one can see even if they drive all the way to the machine shed?" Seriously? Ok maybe he didn't actually say that last part, but that is definitely what he meant. Some things will never change.

As some of you know, I have about 9 cousins under the age of 12. They recently discovered the joys of talking to Ethan on the phone. At first it was cute. They love him, talk about how awesome and funny he is. Great, he's fitting in already. But now it's like, I'll sneak off to talk on the phone with him, and one of them will find me, announce to the others, and then there will be a line of bug-eyed kids waiting to talk to him. Then by the time the phone gets back to me, he'll have to go.

They all have this running fantasy too. They see me run by their house every morning. Well one morning they decided to meet me at the end of the lane and run back to Grandmas with me. It's about a mile. So they take off like wild Indians yelling back "Why are you so slow?!" But by the time we get to the cemetery they are huffing and puffing. And I blaze past them screaming "Suckers!" Ha, not really, but I wanted to. So we walked the rest of the way. But not too bad for a 7, 9, and 10 year old.


One thing I've noticed since I've been here is how much my Grandparents are still in love with each other, even after 45+ and 55+ years together. It's amazing, sincerely amazing. Even though Grandma gets her feathers ruffled when Grandpa takes 17 detours on the way home from a restaurant to tell 20 different stories with each land mark. Even though Grandma is silently saddened by all of the hours my Papa spends working on the farm. They still send each other sweet looks. Kind of like "We've been through a lot of crap, but I love you more today than I did the day I married you." They take care of each other. I would say between them and my parents I have perfect role models.

Cosmic Brownies

What month is it anyway? It was in the lower 60s here yesterday. I'm talking jeans and jackets (naturally I only brought shorts and tshirts). I'm so freezing I'm about to pull out the winter gear.

One improvement I have made on my life since I've been here is, not sweating the small stuff. Hellooo story of my life. Tuesday we went to the pool. Both my little cousins have significant others that they meet at the pool. Before we left they were like "Brandy, what are you going to do?" Sit and think about Ethan. That can be dangerous, so I sorted through Nancy Drew, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hannah Montana, and 1980s romance novels before I found "Simple Steps to not Sweating the Small Stuff" or something to that effect. I figured that would be most benficial. It basically just talked about everything I already know but effectively ignore. For example, when you have an anxious thought before you fall asleep like "I have to make that phone call tomorrow" if you allow it, the thought can spiral into whirlwind of other thoughts concerning your to-do-list tomorrow. Then you end up losing precious hours of sleep because you're stuck in your own hurricane. I don't really struggle with the sleep thing, but I am a pretty intense whirlwind maker. Especially when it comes to Ethan. Needless to say, he was happy I picked that book over the 80s romance novels.

Another thing I've learned is the amount of naughtiness that goes on when Mom is outside mowing. You play wrestling, hit each other with sticks, eat all the junk food you can find, watch shows you otherwise wouldn't be allowed to watch, and call each other mean names. I witnessed all of this yesterday. And being the big ornery cousin that I am, I did nothing to stop the occurence. I fed the fire by reaching the Cosmic Brownies for Jack because he wasn't tall enough. I let him eat a whole one instead of a half (because mom was outside mowing) and then he threw up. Ok learned my lesson, follow the rules, even when mom is outside mowing.

Really Big Rocks

So my Iowa adventure officially started when dad's plane left the ground.



Yesterday we had to take dad to the Omaha airport. It's really an inspiring place. My family decided that since some of us were going to Omaha, everyone should go! As in all my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. So we planned out a fun little day at the zoo. Dad was thrilled to be spending his last hours with ALL of the in-laws.



The best part was the aquarium. Hands down. I wish I were a fish. We were in that part where you like walk through the ocean and there are fish peacefully swimming all around you, not eating each other, oddly enough. Anyway, I'm up against the glass peering like a 5 year old when this little girl, probably 3, runs up and points and yells "Look at that big rock!" Rock. Kid. You are in an exhibit of the most unique creatures on the planet, and you notice a rock. You need to get off the farm.

My dad's plane left at 4:45. We skipped lunch so by the time his plane left and we were on the road home, we were famished. Seriously, kids do not handle hunger well. What am I saying, I don't handle hunger well. So after an hour of whining (from the kids) we decide we couldn't go another mile so we stopped at the nearest restaraunt. Which just so happens to be the WinnaVegas Casino buffet. N-A-S-T-Y. But we were starving, and when you're starving, everything tastes good!

Today we went to the Memorial Day service at the cemetery. It was very nice but there were lots of bugs, and lots of extended family. See in my family, we don't do "reunions" because nobody ever left, so every holiday is a reunion, even Memorial Day. All of the women were standing around after taps and my aunt made a bold announcement. "I would just like everyone to know, Brandy is promised." Thank you. Got to show off my ring :)

Then we went boating on the lake. Gotta say, not quite as warm and clear as Beaver, but not bad for a lake day in Iowa. You could even see your hand when your whole arm was submerged. And the water was 5.4 feet deep, not 54 feet deep. That took a little adjusting. You could even walk along the beach and not worrying about getting attacked by a snake! This is the life.

Then we came home and went dirtbiking and fourwheeling.

Apparently there will be 2 college boys and 2 old men hammering shingles into the roof above my bed bright and early tomorrow morning. Great. So I've decided to wake the munchkins up at 7:45 for a 3 mile run. Now that should be interesting.

Running faster than bugs can fly

Well roadtrip with dad was awesome! He talked the whole way! ;) Orrr maybe that was me, at any rate, we solved all the problems of the world in 8 hours.

We stopped in the sioux for the first time in 3 years. Umm weird. We pull up at a stoplight and at the same time we both go "this is weird." Its like as soon as you land on familiar soil, every memory that was ever made comes flooding over you like an unexpected blast of hot water. It was like we never left.

We went to Taco Johns in the mall! And then decided to stop by random haircutting places until we found my best friend. Thankfully she worked in the one right beside Taco Johns. Then dad decided we should cruise by our old house. As we're driving by, dad decides we should stop and say hi to our old friends. WHOA. Hold it right there mister. My dad wants to randomly drop in on old friends we havent seen in 3 years? Yes. That is correct. So we did and it was great.

Then we headed out to the farm. So far the first thing everyone has said to me is, "Lets see the ring..no don't take it off, its bad luck!" I don't need luck, I've got love.

The bugs are disgusting. Horrid. I have never in my 20 years of existance seen them this bad. But I figured out I can run faster than they can fly. Problem solved, I'll just run everywhere.

On our way into town this morning we were cruising along when all of a sudden. MEOW. "DAAAAAAD! I just heard a meow." So he pulls over, and we get out and sure enough, there's a kitten up under my wheel covering. Conveniently dad's hands are too big to reach up and pull it out. So I reach up there and snatch its little head and start twisting and yanking it. Finally I get it out and it's this little tiny kitty. I crank my hand back to chuck it into a cornfield (yeah yeah call peter or peta or peda or whatever the heck it is) but dad hollers "NOOOO we gotta take it back." Seriously, there are 40 where it came from. So we turn around and on the way back we hear more meowing. You have got to be kidding me. So I WOULD be setting up a kitten obstacle course for my fourwheeler, but Jack (my other boyfriend) counts each kitten everynight before he leaves. Kids.

conway

conway. sure feels good to be back. (even though ive only been gone a week),

yesterday we shopped til our feet fell off...butttt after 12 hours we found a new bed and dresser so now i have a piano, guitar, bed, and dresser in my new room. very exciting.

now im spending the week with my favorite family! should be fun!!

Copperheads

welll its summer. the summer ive been waiting for.

basically i wake up about 9, eat, get on facebook, and go for a run, then i come home watch wifeswap, then go to the gym with my sister. the end.

yet it is awesome and i cant wait to get up every morning and do it all again.

today i ran around the lake trail. about half way through i come around this corner and there are these 45yr old husband and wife walking towards me. they start talking but i cant hear because i'm jamming but i yank out one of my headphones just in time to hear "copperhead"

i looked confused so the man repeats himself "theres a copperhead on the trail up there"

i scream and turn to go the opposite direction. yelling back at them "im from the north! we only have garden snakes!"

if they hadnt stopped me..ohh boy.

summmerrrr

andddd i made it! finals are over and it is now officially summer..and a dang long one at that. no more school until august 20th! but i can assure you come june i will be clawing my eyes out for some calculus. its like i cant function without using my brain

but first things first. go for a 7 mile run. since ive been sitting all week studying!

44

in approx 14 hrs i will be done with organic chemistry forever. well assuming i pass.

i studied for 12 straight hours today. i think i forgot how to walk.

i am hoping to make a 44. as in 44%.

my boyfriend is sick. and this time it is not my fault! he has a stomach virus and had to go to the ER at 2am. Naturally my phone was one silent all night and i missed all the commotion. i'm getting good at this girlfriend thing.

good news-only 2 more days.

bad news-im going crazy for ethan and its only been 24hrs since i last saw him. idk what i'm going to do this summer!!

On an exciting note.

I love his mom. Seriously. I've always wanted to date a boy who had a mom that was super nice and really easy to talk to. We went on a family camping trip with his whole family this weekend and his mom and i sat in bed talking until 1:30am! Which is crazy for me because i'll kick ethan out at 10pm so i can go to bed. I dont know what it is, but there is just something about this family. i wish ethan was like a decatuplet. so i could hook him up with nine of my closest friends, because i honestly dont think it can get better than this.

Watermelon Days

well the week before finals week is finally over. talk about worst week ever. its been so stressful i havent even been hungry!! and that my friends, is saying something

just when you feel like dying. you have 5 two hour tests ahead of you. but next week at this time it will all be over.

i live for summer.

seriously, without summer, there would be no point in living.

My summers always consist of:

fourwheelers
waterskiing
pools
boating
the lake
wakeboarding
late night runs
and lots of ice cream.

Not to mention

camping
smores
airplanes
Watermelon Days
my birthday
vacations
waking up early to watch I Love Lucy
and volunteering.


The best part of the summer is Watermelon Days. Its this crappy little carnival that always comes to our town. But it is the HIGHLIGHT of the summer, if you live in the 50 mile radius. Its called Watermelon Days because the local grocery store (20miles away) gives out free watermelon. Makes more sense to call it Corn Days but whatever.
Basically theres 5 little kid rides and 3 grown up rides, including the Octopus, Tilt-a-Whirl, and some swingy thing.
I used to ride the Octopus 8 or 9 times in a row, then get so sick I couldn't go to church the next morning.
There are also a ton of games that are impossible to win.
I remember dad sneaking me and my cousin money. We'd run off and literally win maybe a ping pong paddle off of $20 or $40. One year bryce won a pink stuffed animal flower. He immediately gave it to me. Best summer of my life.
Every year towards the end my Papa will find me and ask which ride I want to go on, and he'll ride with me. He may be old, but he is young at heart. Last year it was the Tilt-a-Whirl. We both got sick. Imagine a grampa riding a Tilt-a-Whirl with his granddaughter! Now that's love.
The very best part is the end. Right at the entrance (the end of the street) my good friend's grandparents have a homemade ice cream stand. One cup for one dollar. THE best ice cream you will ever eat. Trust me I know my ice creams.

And that's the end. The highlight of the summer. June 25-26.

It's better than Disney World, folks.

Commotional Bike Riding

alright, i'm going to paint a little picture here, you do your best to follow along.

it was a sunny sunday afternoon (yesterday to be exact). The bf and I decided to go on a bike ride with his awesome mom and little brother. We arranged to meet them at Salem Trail at 4:45. We decided to bike to Salem instead of drive our bikes over there.

We were cruising down UCA campus, right in front of Laney (Chemistry building a.k.a. my second home) when Ethan decides to jump the curb.

This curb is like 90degrees, its square not rounded, and about 6 inches off the ground. Remember that.

There is one person, and I mean one lone individual walking outside on UCA campus on this Sunday afternoon. Everyone else is playing softball, watching tv, grilling out, or just living their life. This dude is walking. Remember that.

Back to the curb jump. Being the trouper girlfriend that I am, instead of riding all the way around to where the sidewalk dips down to let wheeled machines up, I decide to follow suit.

Well apparently I never learned how to jump a curb. So instead of hitting it head on like you're supposed to I kind of angled it hoping to gradually transfer my bike to the sidewalk. Yeah well that didn't work.

My bike did this weird thing where it tipped and the front tire spun completely around and I went soaring through the air.

Remember the lone walker? Yeah, landed on my face right at his feet.

Seriously, my left cheek, left shoulder, left & right hands, and left and right knees are all dinged up.

The walker freaked out a little bit because he thought I was attacking him. No buddy, just never learned how to ride a bike.

My wonderful boyfriend hears the commotion from up ahead, drops his bike on the ground and comes running back. Aww what a sweet boyfriend. Then he goes, "You SUCK at riding bikes." Yeah, thanks.. as if I'm not completely mortified already.

Ethan laughed at me for the rest of our ride.

I would say it was the worst wipe out I've had in 20 years. On a bike at least.

In other news..

I got the optometry job!

Slog Dump

organic chemistry 2.

like a sequel to the horror "Organic Chemistry 1". On thursday, we took the hardest test i have ever taken in my life. seriously. normally i dont really know whats going on, but i can look at the question and use my writing skills to formulate something relevant and end up getting credit for it. but this. i could've taken the test blindfolded and had the same shot at the right answers as i did with perfect vision and a brain.

needless to say, i ran about 7 miles immediately following that one.

all of my friends got into pharm school! i pretty much expected them to, but it's still exciting!!

and i think my phone has a virus again.

Note to self: when a number like 425 625 texts you something in Spanish, that isn't even grammatically correct, dont reply. or you will get a little devil that runs by the name "Slog Dump" on your phone. and he is sneaky. when you think he's left you alone is exactly when he attacks.

i guess its about time for a new phone.

off to salem...

Tan

life. what to do.

iowa. is ahmayzing, my favorite place in the whole wide world. spending the summer there. wonderful. sunshine, fourwheelers and family. nothing could be better.

except maybe.

getting a job offer from and optometrist. cool. optometry is still an option in my life. after i get my degrees. no sunshine in the office, but it looks good on resumes and i could stay here.

but.

being an RA. would be pretty swell. room and board would be paid. and i wouldnt have to worry about living near people i dont like.

or.

my lifelong dream of being like indiana jones becoming a reality. and getting credit for it. um cool.

but what about.

bentonville. lake, family, boat. waterskiing. waterskiing. waterskiing.

if summer in iowa exists, the optometry job can't. if the RA job exists, the optometry can't. the RA job and the summer in iowa can coexist. the waterskiing and the summer in iowa can't coexist. if i become indiana jones then i can't have an optometry job. also, indianajones as an RA would be very interesting.

and life goes on.

so basically. do i want to be tan and waterski? or do i want to be tan and ride fourwheelers, dirt bikes, and spend every afternoon at the pool? golly life is stressful.

on an awesome note.

I HAVE THE COOLEST SUITEMATE OF ALL TIME.

im not even just saying that. seriously she is the most interesting human i have ever met in my whole life. she's from memphis, like ghetto memphis and her brothers are bloods and crypts and she was in the marines. she stays at a hotel everytime she goes home its that bad.

hi im brandy i grew up with a pretty dog and a white picket fence. my dad is super successful and my biggest stress is WHERE to spend my summer getting tan.

(eyeroll). ;-)

she told me i could go home with her one weekend if i want.

UMMM YEAHHH!!

there are guns laying around her house. seriously.

sure. my dad would prolly not approve. but hey. you gotta learn about life somewhere right?

=)

A Love Story

Sometimes Ethan drives me up the wall.. Like right now for example, he is asleep on my floor while I am in the middle of trying to tell him VERY important things.

But I still love him.

And I've been wanting to blog about it for awhile. I usually include a little story about him in every blog, but this one is all about him.

Amazingly enough I'm still able to type this even though I want to step on his little sleeping toes right now. Must be love.

I met Ethan..well let's see, I knew of him last year, but I didnt actually meet him until August 27th.

My awesome old roommate Carlene wanted to go for a bike ride. However, neither of us had bikes. So she decided to borrow our suitemates bike, which left me bikeless and desperate. Little did I know.

So I walked down the hall hoping to maybe run into someone who might have a bike handy, low and behold, my friend Kayla told me of a boy named Ethan who had a bike. A few minutes later I was knocking on his door. He flung it open and looked at me kind of like "Holy smokes what just walked into my life." Little did he know.

So after about 15 minutes of him explaining how janky his bike was I finally got him to give me the combination and where it was located. Then after the ride I parked it where I found it and told him it was safe and sound..The End. Or at least that's what I thought.

We became friends on facebook and I didn't hear from him for like a month after that.

Our dorm went on a Memphis trip. I didn't think it sounded enjoyable by any means but he asked if I wanted to go so naturally I changed my mind to "This sounds like the funnest thing ever!". The money was due at noon and I turned mine in at 11:59, literally. The lady who took my money said. "You're just in time, it must be meant to be." Little did she know.

So then we started eating lunch together and riding our bikes together (yeah I had to go ahead and get my own) and then one day..he pretended to be an ant in Walmart. Yep and that was it. I was like "this guy is too weird for me I'm done." But some good people talked some good sense into me and I realized he was everything I ever wanted in a guy. So I decided to give him another shot and about a month later (11/11 to be exact) we became facebook official. And we all know, nothing is official until it's facebook official.

Sunday we'll celebrate 5 months of laughing, music, church, biking, fishing, working out, eating ice cream and double doozies, hiking, Oretha, chemistry homework, building forts, blueberries, a little bit of quarreling, and a whole lotta love. And I hope there's 50 more years of the exact same thing, except maybe some kids and grandkids sprinkled in there.

So to everyone who's single-keep your head up, you never know just when your whole life is going to turn around. And when someone invites you on a bike ride, go for it.

Dating Carbon

so exciting news! as a chem major i have to do some research before i graduate. one of the profs here does radioactive decay and 13, 14 carbon dating on old like hieroglyphs and cave paintings to determine hold old they are. umm hello?? is that not the coolest thing you've ever heard? its so indiana jones, right up my alley. i think i am definitely going to sign up with her.

ethan is jealous that i am going to be 'dating carbon' haha, we are such nerds. but seriously i love that guy. last night he took me to the new china buffet! and it wasnt as impressive as i thought it would be, but he said it was just because it was late and the food was cold. AND i almosttt convinced him to buy me some fish last night!! but he was sore from our 3 mile run. or my 3 mile run, his chat-with-old-black-lady-while-walking-1-and-a-half.

pretty much, he's perfect, wonderful, amazing, and the best boyfriend ever

Marry Me

for some reason i still havent fully figured out how to use this site. which is embarassing considering i'm my father's daughter. but i am kind of getting the hang of it and i have internet again! so i wont be completely isolated in my dungeon doing chemistry problems.

its almost time to register for classes again! seriously, i love school. i want to be in school forever. i talked to the chair of the chem dept today regarding classes and he told me i should consider teaching at a college level.. psshhh. this guy only looked at my grades, he doesn't know that i am not always a mad scientist. i like to run and be outside and buy stuff and eat ice cream. and laugh. and i would rather talk about dumb things than intellectual things oh and i believe in Intelligent Design ..how many college profs do you know that do all that? plus i didn't let him on to my biggest secret...i love MATH! i only do chemistry because it makes sense in my brain. my heart and soul belong in the math dept.

soo now i'm thinking about double majoring..chemistry so that i can get a job, math because i love it.

on the less nerdy side.

i have THE BEST boyfriend in the whole world. seriously, he isnt even sitting beside me making me type this. and i love his family. like a lot. sometimes whenever i'm around them i forget i'm there because of Ethan, they just make me feel like family! i'm counting on being in that family no matter what. if Ethan doesn't marry me, his little brother already asked me, so my spot in the fam seems to be pretty secure..

we went fishing on Easter, on our way out to the house. His little brother rode with us. When we got in the car he grabbed my hand and said, "Brandy! Now we just have to get rid of Ethan!" haha! i love kids

Buttered Noodles

Do you know what happens when 40 inches of snow melts? You go from snow drifts over your head, to water up to your knees. It's been a hard winter in Iowa, my family has lost 6 cows total, 3 mommas 3 babies, and an unfathomable amount of corn. But even with conditions that leave most depressed, we've still had a lot of good memories this winter.

Being around 16 children under the age of 12 makes me realize I never want children. Ha well, maybe I will reconsider, but I definitely don't want 16.

But the days I have spent around these kids have taught me good babysitting skills.

For Example:

When I was 16 I took my 4 years old twin cousins for a ride on the golf cart on the farm. One was in the front beside me, one was in the back. I got a little bit out of control, ramped it, and sent the twin beside me flying, only to crash land on her neck. Well she didn't respond for a minute, then she just jumped back up in the golf cart, we rode back to the house and she took a little nap....To her mother: I am sorry.

But thankfully, both twins are beautiful and completely alive, not to mention 7 now!!

On tuesday I was watching my little cousin Colton, almost 2. Well he wanted to go feed the cows hay, so after feeding him 4 cupcakes I walked to the screened-in porch with him. He wasn't wearing a coat or shoes but I let him go outside onto the cement sidewalk anyway. He kept saying "lets go lets go (down to the barn)" but I didn't feel like getting dirty so I just kept saying "You go you go". After about 10 minutes I was tired of listening to him holler so I made a quick evaluation and decided he probably wouldn't wander past the front sidewalk so I felt it was safe to leave him. I wandered back into the kitchen only to be greeted by 7 adults "Where's Colton?!" I explained I had carefully observed him and thought he wouldn't leave the front of the house. His mother, Megan, felt differently. She jumped up, ran out there, and came back a few minutes later with a crying baby. Apparently, he ran all the way down to the gate, he didn't even slow down when he crossed the gravel in bare feet. And all the babysitter's are crossing off my phone number. But at least he'll remember me as the cousin who gives him cupcakes and lets him play outside!

I was explaining to Ethan some of the foods we eat in Iowa. The only thing my little cousins eat is buttered noodles. Yeah, as in boiled noodles with a little bit of butter and salt. I love them, they're one of my favorite things to eat (next to fish) but he thinks it's boring. Whatever.

Jack (3) is my "boyfriend." Well, according to him he is. Over Christmas break I had him convinced he wanted to be a haircutter when he grows up. Imagine him running up to his dad saying he wants to be a haircutter! (His dad is working very hard to have a farm ready for him). It got even better this time when he told me he wanted to be a "MEAN FARMER" !! haha! Sometimes I'll tease him and say him and I are on a team and we can be mean to all the other kids, I guess he is taking it seriously.

The highlight of the trip is usually going into town and stopping at the gas station for snacks. This time, I picked up my 12 and 9 yr old cousins from school and told them we were going to do something awesome, that they'd never done before. In the gas station there's a bin of 15cent year old Little Debbie's. Just the kind of thing clueless little kids love. So I grabbed a couple bucks went in there with them and let them have at it. We got a big bag full of nasty cupcakes, donuts, and danishes. When we got back to the truck and opened all the treats the kids quickly realized why they were so cheap. I mean, we had to drive with the windows down the whole way back to the farm they smelled so rank! But, I dared them to eat the danishes, and told them I'd give 3 bucks to eat an oatmeal cream pie. They wouldn't do it.

All in all, it was awesome and I can't wait to go back, Memorial Day!

Dog Joy

Good news! I got unsubscribed from the Papa John's email list! That is probably the best thing that's happened to me all day. But I'm not planning on telling Ethan how to do it, he can suffer for a little while. >:-/

Last night he took me to the Peyton Creek Fish House, fish buffet. Pretty much my new favorite restaurant. Whenever we were at the buffet I asked him what a Hushpuppy was and he got all tense and whispered "Be quiet we're gonna get shot"
We don't have "Hushpuppies" in the North. Or gumbo or sweet tea or cajun filets. It was quite an experience.

I don't know how to follow other blogs, I really want to follow my friends, and I accidently followed myself whenever I was trying to figure it out..sooo if anyone could tell me how to unfollow myself, that would be great.

In my Bio class today we got back our tests from last week. Graded in record time. The grades were as follows:

A-3
B-12
C-16
D-18
F-17

51/66 were C or below. Seriously? So who holds the problem here, the 51 students or the professor? She kept saying that there were people who studied and did the work and knew it all, uh you mean there were 3 people. Everybody else was out partying. I would say at least 15 of those 51 actually put forth effort. Something is very wrong with the Bio department but I just can't seem to figure it out.

Today I came home to my precious dog wagging her tail. While I was unloading my stuff into the foyer I left the front door wide open. Any normal dog would be half way across town. But my dog just stood there and watched me carry stuff in. This is probably because: she is 13 years old, she loves us, and we give her these Tyson dog treats. Caution: they will turn your dog into a crackhead. She actually drools for these treats. They're made out of real beef and you have to keep them in the fridge. They're called Dog Joy and I don't even think they're sold in the central part of the US.

Papa Johns

I work in the Writing Center. I help tons of UCA students write papers everyday. I should keep up with a blog. (And I have brown hair).

The stories are at the bottom, I just had to ramble for the first part.

Awesome things that have happened to me this week:

I MOVED!! Yay! Finally I am free!! I now have my own room and bathroom, and I can go to bed at 8:30pm every night if I want to. No more getting attacked in the night by a rotten cat, finally just peace and solitude.

I feel like I might've actually dominated the Organic test on tuesday. Andrew Brooks looked over my test before he turned his in (ha) and said it looked like we had the same answers and he's pretty smart so hopefully we both got A's. Which would call for some serious ice cream AND cake. We will see tomorrow.

Brooke Burgin is helping me with an upcoming pageant. She is the coolest person I know by far, her and her husband Jonathan both. If you don't know them, you should!

Ethan is taking me on a date to a fish house tonight. Hello! Fish is my all time favorite type of food, I even take little pills that say "Fish" on them, because I just love fish so much. If only there was fish flavored ice cream, I'll present that idea to ColdStone next time I'm there.

OH YEAH, I almost forgot. I'm going to Iowa in less than 48 hours! Anddd my aunt wants me to move up there for the summer and watch her kids. Umm can you say, best job ever?!?! Like getting paid to have fun!

Things I don't like/understand:

Drama? In college. Come on guys, you gotta grow up sometime! Might as well start when you're 20. Seriously, this year I have been surrounded by so much I'm beginning to wonder if I accidentally went back to high school. If you know me, you know that I am pretty much emotionless (IT TAKES A LOTTT TO HURT MY FEELINGS), calm cool and collected, AND non-confrontational. So obviously, I am NOT the problem!! Seriously just stop, go away, just stop stop stop. STOP. It's annoying.

Carbon only has 4 bonds? Come one, how much easier would life be if it could make 5. Or if electrons didn't matter, nucleophiles and electrophiles could just come and go as they please.

A funny story (or 2):

The other day Ethan and I were eating ice cream (in cones) on his bed. Now, I like to save all the little pieces of cookie dough for the end, soo if I find one in my mouth, I just spit it back onto the cone. Anyway, I was teasing Ethan and telling him he wasn't American because he didn't like cookie dough and he reached up and smacked my hand (yes he hit me). Well I wasn't expecting it so I didn't have a good grip on the cone and it went flying across the room. Into a corner under a bunch of furniture. Nice. All my hard work saving the cookie doughs and I didn't even get to enjoy them.

Last night Ethan and I were trying to order a pizza. But for some reason he didn't want to pay full price, which I wouldn't understand because I have no concept of money. So we get online to look up coupons and deals and such for Papa Johns. While he is distracted (which he is most of the time) I quickly sign him up to receive emails about promotions and deals. I was just trying to be a thoughtful considerate girlfriend. :) Apparently he didn't think so. This morning whenever I opened my email I had a couple from Papa Johns and one from Ethan saying

"haha, here you go! >:)"

Yes, that is an evil smiley face. So now we're both signed up for these dumb emails and we can't figure out how to get off the list and they send 2 a week. :(