A Sailor's Life for Me

Sailing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents' best friends are their fellow sailors on the docks. They have become family to us! We have had a sailboat since I was 18 months old. In total my parents have had three different boats. Over the years we've upgraded boats as my parents love of sailing has increased (or as my mom gave in to my dad's nagging). At one point in time, I even had a small sailboat of my own on Lake DeGray.

Since the beginning, I've always enjoined spending a weekend at the lake. I have wonderful memories of being woken up way too early on Saturday mornings and listening to Car Talk or the Beach Boys as we drove down to the lake. I think taking us to the lake every weekend also kept my brother and I out of trouble when we reached our teenage years. (The weekends we didn't go with them to the lake definitely led to some 'lectures' when they got home!)

Terms like halyard, jib, main, tacking, heel, stay, and helm come naturally to me now. Sailing is a weird combination of hard work and a laid-back vibe. There is nothing better than a day with great wind that takes you all the way down the lake. We are a part of  the Iron Mountain Yacht Club (website) that has parties and races on different weekends throughout the year. I personally have only won one race, but I did recieve an awesome trophy with a base made of beer cans (it's a prized possession). I hope that sailing will always be in my life. With a beautiful lake only 15 min. from our new place in PA, I've already got my eye on a few boats on craigslist :)  I snapped a few pictures on my last sailing trip with my parents to give y'all a glimpse into what it's all about.

Crazy Week

On top of all the thesis writing I've been doing lately, we've also been taking care of my grandad's farm as he had a stroke last week and has been in the hospital. He is itching to get home today and back to his animals so we will see what happens!

Check out his goats and miniature horses. I want to put one in my pocket they are so adorable!

In my next post, I'm going to share with everyone a family hobby that we've been passionate about for a long time that not everyone knows about us! I'm excited to write about it, but it will probably be later tonight or tomorrow as I am feeling the need to get back to thesis writing. Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!!

My Day on the Farm

While back in Arkansas, I wanted to spend a day with Brett's family out on the farm. I stayed with my brother-in-law, Brandon, and his girlfriend Cat. They sell organic produce that they grow on part of the farm: check out Five Acre Farms on facebook or their blog at thewaywardcarrot. I headed to Pleasant Plains last Saturday afternoon and got to spend time hanging out with them and their chickens! So cute!

They live in in Brett's grandmother's house which they have done a ton of work to and it look so good.

Brandon was definitely missing Brett...I think he felt out numbered by being the only boy. It doesn't help that Cat and I have too much fun messing with him. Love ya, brother! Cat and I tried to get Brandon to take a picture of us. The first is his attempt. The second is our's (much better!).  

I think Brandon was happy to have his good friend, Jerry, to keep him company!

 They invited a few of our friends over for dinner and a bonfire later that night and we had the best time just telling stories and laughing. I always have a good time with them. The next morning after an early wake-up call by Brandon at 5:45am...I went back to sleep for about an hour and half. Haha. 5:45 was just too early for me! After Cat and I woke up, we all went out to plant sweet potatoes- can't wait for them to get big enough to eat! It was pretty hard work, but it was fun getting to see what they do everyday and a little of what I should expect when I get back to PA (I got a job on a produce farm! Eee!).

Sweet Potatoes

Laying everything out. We planted two beds this length.

I wish I had taken a picture after we got everything planted, but my hands were so dirty that I didn't want to touch my camera. This is their first year growing sweet potatoes so we will see how it goes. I can't wait to try them out. It was great getting to spend time with family and to have a little break from working on my thesis. Now...back to writing my conclusion chapter. :)