When I was younger, I used to say, "I love the smell of rain and thunderstorms."

My sister would wrinkle her nose and say, "You like the smell of worms?"

Scared of a Little Rain

I love Thunderstorms.

My first dog, Shiner, didn't mind them when she was a puppy, but once she turned four or five she started freaking out when it stormed. She would pant like crazy. She would run around the house and try to find a place to hid. She would follow you everywhere. Once she started losing her hearing, she suddenly didn't care again. Probably because she was blissfully unaware of the storms. 

Gunner is now seven. When he was a puppy, he didn't mind storms either. He used to watch Shiner run around like a goof. Now, he is starting to hate storms. Tonight, when it started storming he got really antsy and kept walking around. Now that its night time and it's storming really bad, his tail is down and he is scared. I picked him up tonight and held him real close. I told him, "It's okay Gunner. We won't let anything happen to you. You are safe." He calmed down while he was in my arms, but once I put him down he went back to being a mess.

Currently, my other two dogs are laying next to me, passed out. They could care less. 

It makes me think about the cycle of life. Not just with dogs, but adults too. As puppies or babies we don't care about the storms. Once we get a little older and we start noticing the storms, we are frightened. I know I was when I was little. I used to have to sleep with my parents or sister when it stormed because they scared me so bad. Then once you get older, you see that they aren't really that scary. Though the one doctor my mom works with would disagree. He got hit by lightening. 

I'm not scared of storms anymore. I think they are beautiful now. I love watching the rain come down and bounce off the ground. I love hearing it fall and the sound of each drop hitting. I love thunder as it rolls across the sky. I love when its dark out and the lightening suddenly lights up the sky and the world is bright for one brief moment. I love the smell. The smell of the world becoming clean once more. The smell of the water washing away the day and the dirt and making everything fresh. 

I love Thunderstorms.

To Whom It May Concern

Last week, I took my Aunt Mary to the laundry mat so that we could wash her comforter. This was a sign on the change machine. It made me chuckle. 

Mulch and Soil

Today I woke up a little late. I spent the night with my friends last night. We sat around a fire and talked until midnight. It was great. I was supposed to wake up early to go out to the greenhouses with my mom to get flowers. Instead, we went around 1. Late start for me, but my mom got a lot done before I woke up.

We found a lot of great deals at the greenhouses. When we got home, my mom and I started gardening. We got home around 3 and worked until 7. We planted almost everything that we bought except for some Petunias. I also helped my mom mulch a little around the house. I forgot how much work gardening is. It was almost 90 degrees here today to, so we were both sweating a lot!

 I don't have pictures of the gardens yet, but I do have pictures of some of the flowers. Here's what we did today. 

Strawberries! Yum!

Can't wait to eat them!

I forget what these are called but they are so pretty!

Mom really liked these

The whole front of the house is done in Snap Dragons this year!

Some of the Snap Dragons we bought

I picked these out. I thought they were really pretty!

What are your favorite flowers? 

2 Down 2 To Go

Tonight, I spent the night with four of the best people I've ever known. I'm proud to call them my friends. Their names are Megan, Becky, Mariah, and Lauren. We went over to Megan's house and she was nice enough to cook us all dinner. We sat outside at the picnic table and talked about college, boys, and life. A large part of our night was discussing the large amount of girls who are having babies that we know. It was crazy to see how much has changed in only two years. We are all single, independent women who are finally comfortable in our own skins. Everyone is so much more relaxed and outgoing. It was great to seen the difference in my friends. I wonder how much I've changed?

I bought an Ice Cream cake for us. It was really hot out and I thought it would be perfect for desert. I had the lady write congrats on the cake as a congrats for us that we are done with two years of college. Small achievements. Megan also made this delicious brownie and strawberry bar. It was very yummy. 

After we ate and the sun went down, we sat around the fire and talked until midnight. It was such a perfect night for a fire. It was a perfect night for friends and memories. The stars shined bright above our heads and we laid in the grass picking out constellations. I am so thankful to have these girls in my life, and to of have so many wonderful memories with them.