This summer has been busy, but boring for me at the same time. May and June we were all over the place, but July wasn't too bad. We managed two road trips. One was not too bad while the other took us almost all day.
In the beginning of July we were able to drive down to Utah in order to attend Austin's Mission President's homecoming. We went down Saturday afternoon and stayed at the Allsups. We went out with Tean and Aby and met up with Alora and Jared. We went to Applebees for dinner and then we went to the Boondocks until about midnight. Highlights from that night definitely playing Pokemon Go in the parking lot while waiting for Alora and Jared, the food (of course), and kicking this whole guy team's butt in two rounds of laser tag. We had so much fun and always love seeing our friends when we're there.
The next morning we headed for Pleasant Grove for church. The homecoming was beautiful and I absolutely loved seeing Austin with his fellow missionaries singing in Spanish. It made me tear up and I felt the spirit very strongly. After sacrament we went to his mission president's house for a luncheon. It was absolutely delicious, but the best part was finally getting to put faces to the elders that I had heard so many stories about. It was awesome for me to sit there and hear them all recount stories and then just laugh and laugh. I'm so glad that we were able to go.
I then managed to convince Austin to high tide it for a few days in order to attend my Grandma Keeler's side's family reunion, or the Barlow Reunion, as we refer to it. We left really early Wed. morning of the 23rd. I had finished my last final the day before and since we live in married housing there were no clean checks or moving out (I swear that's almost more stress than finals themselves), which meant all we had to do was pack and we'd be good! The Reunion itself started Wed. at 3 so since we figured that's when all my family would show up, we planned to be there then. Btw, before I forget to mention it, we figured it would be way more fun to surprise everyone, so for safety and logical reasons we told my mom (she had to tell my aunt Kendall for food reasons), but all the rest of my extended family had no idea we were coming. I thought it would be fun to do it that way, especially since I knew my grandma would be thrilled that we were actually able to make it.
We arrived right on time on that day only to realize that none of the rest of my family was there yet. We talked with my mom's cousin Sherilyn and her family, which was great since I haven't seen them in years! It was way fun to introduce Austin to everyone and see how well they just took him in, though I'm not surprised. I can't even tell you on how many occasions someone has told me what a great guy he is or that I really picked a good one. Obviously I know that, but it's really cool for others to tell me that too. He's an amazing man and I'm so happy others can see that.
Anyway, by the time my family arrived it was about 4:30-5. Austin and I realized that we could've left later that morning, but it was nice to have a little of the afternoon and evening not driving. One by one my aunts and uncles and their families all showed up and it was super fun seeing their expressions when they realized it was us. My grandma's was the best by far though. I swear I thought she was going to pee her pants out of excitement. It was definitely worth the surprise to see all of them thrilled that we were able to make it.
We had a wonderful couple of days hanging out and playing games. It was fun for everyone to get to know Austin more since the first and last time they had seen him was at our wedding. He fits right in and they all love him, surprise, surprise. We taught all of my cousins that were old enough how to play werewolf and that was probably the best part of it all. We got told we were being too loud countless times and I view that as having a lot of fun.
I loved seeing everyone and getting to make more memories with them. I loved having Austin there with me too. But in all honesty by Friday morning I was glad we were leaving. Sleeping in that tent was not my favorite and I felt really bad because I forgot my mattress pad so Austin gave me his and he just slept on blankets. Needless to say, I was very happy to sleep in my own bed that night. I'm so glad we were able to go even it was short and my sleep was very uncomfortable.
In the beginning of August I was also able to attend my first rodeo EVER and I loved it!! It was so fun being with all of the family and seeing how excited the boys were. We had delicious food and great entertainment. I had no idea how many events there were. It was so fun and I'm so glad I got to see what Austin's life is like, especially having all his family there!
Since my job is being a tutor on campus there's not a whole lot you can do when school's not in session. I was hoping for more hours by preparing for this next semester, but I realized after my first couple of planning seshes, there wasn't a whole lot more for me to do. So basically I have binge watched Netflix pretty much all summer. Btw, in case you're in need of a show, I recommend Gilmore Girls, I'm hooked. Besides that I did sit in the combine next to Austin and few days and witnessed how harvest works, I've spent a lot of time with Liz and the boys, which makes me so happy because I love my cute nephews, but that's pretty much about it.
Austin did surprise me however at the end of July by saying that he had been saving up for a little while so that I could go home for a week. At first I was a little taken aback and was a little apprehensive about being gone for an entire week, but he assured me we'd be fine being apart so we made plans. I flew to AZ Aug 11th and was there until the 18th. I loved being home and being with my family. It was so fun going swimming after Sierra got home from school and just relaxing. I got to see some of my best friends too, which was awesome! It's always fun to catch up when I'm home. I got caught up in enjoying myself so much I forgot to take pictures, but the memories are great. Unfortunately I got sick while I was there, but managed to still have fun. It was an absolutely wonderful surprise and though I did miss Austin like crazy, I can only attribute that to how amazing he is and that he's totally worth missing.
I think that pretty much wraps up the updates. I start school next Mon, the 12th. It's my last technical semester on campus. I have 5 more credits to take after this semester, but rather than overwhelm myself with so many things I decided to rearrange my whole schedule, add a class that will count as my internship, and technically not graduate until April. I will walk in Dec, on my birthday, actually, and then that way when we move to Boise, I'll take my last two classes online and be able to work. I feel really good about it all and know that it worked out so I could enjoy my last semester here. I'm happy we have a few more months in our ward and with our friends, but I'm also extremely looking forward to our adventures to come in Boise.
