Down on the Farm

Once a year my family makes the trip to Illinois to visit my mom's family. In the past few years things have been changing. I thought it would be nice this year to take some photos and capture the beauty in this old farm. Here are some of my favorites:

looking down the road at all the pretty lillies


I never thought these fields could be so pretty


Grandpa's tractor. I took many a hayride pulled by this tractor.


"The Farm"


The black-eyed susans look so pretty!


the backyard

Heart Grows Fonder

Sorry for my lack of finale to my European adventure. After Edinburgh I spent one more week in Nice. The weather was somewhat stormy and a lot of my friends were traveling, so it had already started to feel like the end. But, I savored one last MaNolan's trivia night, one last kebab, one last yummy crepe. Then, on the eve of my departure, all of my friends and I gathered on the beach and had a pizza party, many of them also acknowledging the fleeting time.

And before I knew it, my European adventure was over and I was back at home. My return was bittersweet, as expected. I have seen a lot of my close friends and family. However, life on the mountain is significantly slower than anything I've done in the past 5 years, so the day to day is a bit monotonous. I feel a bit like my 16 year old self because I no longer have total access to a family vehicle and if I do, it's the "mommy van." I brought nearly no money home, and am therefore dependent on my parents financially, and am unemployed for the summer and missing camp like crazy. All complaints aside, eight months away really makes me appreciate the beauty of the mountains too.

I have some summer goals (meant to keep me up off my butt and not let life get too stagnant) and I'm working on them. I'm getting a lot smoother at driving stick shift. Once I master this, the other 2 family vehicles will be available to me. I've done some cooking, but I have to admit that I haven't been too adventurous yet. I've been working out to try to keep the summer weight off, it's a challenge but I think I might get to join the Y and so some swimming and such. It's also funny how things you haven't used or thought of in 8 months suddenly lose value. I would like to go through a lot of the stuff in my room so that my life doesn't seem as cluttered. Also coming up this month is my cousin's wedding, and exactly a week later, I'll be appearing in my first role as Bridesmaid.

Oh, and p.s. Don't ask about jobs... I haven't found one yet and it could be until August.