Rain...

In Kansas, it does not rain very often. However, I have come to find that when the rain does come, it comes heavily!

Here in Manhattan my mode of transportation is my wonderful and trusty bike. It is about 4 miles to and from campus, and from my home it is 2.6 miles to the dairy farm in which I am employed at. No big deal, right?

Wrong, on these wonderful days that include work at 6 AM, class at 8:30 and lots of rain, I question my own sanity and the reason that I insist I ride me bike. So, I headed out at 5:30 in the rain to get to work. At the GRAVEL driveway of work, my pants went from being wet to wet and dirty. So, I am at work and half of my pants are wet. It quits raining and I feed calves.

Now, of course, just as I am to leave on my bike to get to English class where I must be on time to hand in my paper, it begins to rain again. I make the couple miles to class and arrive drenched! Even my water-proof jacket is not doing a very good job of keeping me dry and I am just full of gravel and dirt. I am pretty sure people wondered about me...I was wondering about myself.

Luckily I made it to class! I even survived my other three classes, just extremely wet!! But even walking around campus didn't make me dryer, the lawns were filling up and the sidewalks were running with water! It was a great experience that I hope will not be a constant occurrence.

Every adventure yields learning opportunities. Today has made me want to work even harder to start saving for a car! I love biking and am a true advocate for it; however, not EVERY situation is bike-capable or sane!!

Keep biking, but try to stay dry! Enjoy that last days of summer before fall really sets in!

God Bless!

Changes

No one can ever go through life and not encounter many changes. I sometimes feel like I set out to make as many changes in my life as God will permit. Or at least as many as I can fit into my already complicated world!

My August has come and is nearly gone. I began the month working at the Wisconsin State Fair as part of the Agriculture Staff manning Gate 5 and working at the WI Cheese Grill flipping grilled cheese sandwiches. It was a crazy, busy, and tiring two weeks, but I made it through.

After state fair came the Grant County Fair and then the Fennimore International. They were great fairs with wonderful weather, but it felt so different as I was only spectating and not actually taking part in all the wonderful livestock showing activities.

In the midst of all the fairs I had to ready myself again encounter another school change! On the 21st, my two sisters and I headed south to go for my orientation at K-State University in Manhattan, KS. It was a really quick trip! We left late Wednesday and arrived Thursday morning in order for me to learn about how wonderful K-State is from the Dean, change my major to German, and get my new schedule figured out. After all the details were figured out, we headed home.

Besides fairs and school visits, my parents just celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary on the 12th! Congratulations to them! Many marriages these days are fizzling out before the first child is on its way and my parents have made it through four births and 25 years together! They really are survivors and wonderful parents! In recognition of their great milestone, we were able to have an open house to celebrate their years together. Now they are off and running towards another happy 50 years together!

After all the celebration, my parents were able to bring down south here one more time so I could start classes this past Monday. You would think I was used to all these school swaps and changes, but they never seem to be the same and therefore always challenging! I have made it through four days of class and haven't gotten completely lost on campus yet. But I am still getting used to the numerous amounts of people here on campus along with my 20-25 minute bike ride to and from class everyday!

I am looking forward to this next year here in Kansas and really excited about my German major. It will all be fun and exciting and lead to many new opportunities! I am just praying for guidance and seeking out the Lord to lead me on the many journeys I am about to embark upon.

It is Getting Hot Out There!

It is July, the 4th has passed and everyone is realizing the summer is almost half over. I for one am really realizing it. In just over a month, I will be heading to Kansas State to continue my Animal Science degree in Livestock Production. I am really looking forward to the great faculty, facilities and friends I will soon be familiarized with.

But, as for now, I am basking in the heat of summer. After many days and weeks of rain, the sun is finally shining and it is really starting to warm up. I always forget during the winter what it really feels like to step outside and immediately begin to perspire. Now I don't even know what it is like to be chilled! The weather always amazes me! It can be 70 degrees one day and the next 90 degrees! God really made our world remarkable.

Enjoy the heat and the hot, lazy summer days. I will not be missing unloading small square bales on the days where temperatures reach over 100 degrees!

Hope the humidity doesn't get you if the heat didn't! Stay Safe, God Bless!