oh, hello.

HI. It's me, Jan.

Thought I would give a little update to the bloggy blog.

I finally got my bachelors degree in December! It was the best feeling ever. I never thought that moment would come. And to top it all off, right after I graduated, it was Christmastime! AKA: my fav holiday. Kyle and I had our first Christmas together at my parents house and it was so fun to show him my family's traditions and have all 6 siblings back together again under one roof with our spouses and all 15 of my nieces and nephews (a great form of birth control, FYI).

Then this past winter, Kyle was in school and I found an amazing job working at an accounting firm where I was their front office secretary. Me? An accounting firm? The reason I chose Communications as my major was because it required the least amount of math. Lets just say, I never thought I would have found myself working at an accounting firm after I graduated, but I ended up absolutely loving the people I worked with, and the things I did. I learned so much during tax season and I'm so grateful I had that job. They're such a great company in fact, that they offered me my position back for when Kyle and I move back in the fall! Cheers to not having to worry about searching for another job when we move in 4 months.

Oh, we got a .... dog? So random. But we got one. She's a german shorthair. Her name is Lux. This just goes to show you how much of a die hard Harry Styles fan I am, but, I got the name Lux from Harry Style's hairstylists daughters name. JUST DON'T TELL KYLE, he won't be a fan of that. Okay but real talk, bottom line is, I just don't think I'm a dog person, but she's pretty cute and she's kind of changing my mind. Kyle is trying to train her to be a hunting dog, but for now, she's a farm dog and basically just chills on the farm all day and follows him around. It's pretty precious.

                                                                       Little lux


With that being said, we just barely moved back to Washington so he could farm for the summer again. I thought I would never say this, but I think the farm life is growing on me (I did not say the town was growing on me yet. That's still a work in progress). I've always loved the country, but I love the way of life that the farm offers. For example, yesterday after dinner we went out to the front yard, and walked to the pond (with the cutest little paddle boat in it), and we found wild asparagus, so we just snipped some and we're going to eat them for dinner this week. It's so simple and beautiful. Yes, I miss having TJ Maxx & Target 15-30 minutes away, but I can live without it being immediately close to me. Seeing Kyle so excited about something he loves so much makes me excited about it too. He's actually thinking of buying cattle, so now I can almost say I truly did marry a cowboy.

Oh, yep, just me creepin pictures of that hot farmer I call my husband.

                                          After all this time, 4-wheeler rides are still my favorite.


Since we're only here for the summer, I found a temporary job working at a paint store near our house. The hours are great and it'll give me just enough time in the day to hit the lake and get back to waterskiing and working on my tan. It'll be way fun. Plus, I'm taking a trip back home for my mom's birthday this June, we have a family reunion on the Oregon Coast, we just bought some tickets to a Seahawks Pre-Season game in Seattle, and we might be going to Montana (heaven on earth) later this summer, plus I want to plan a trip to see my bestie in Vegas. Life is busy, but it's great.

OK. I'm sick of writing now, BYE.

rambling.

-Can I be annoying for a minute? I just have to say how extremely grateful I am for having such a fantastic husband. Every single day I'm reminded in some way of how lucky I am to have married Kyle. He is seriously everything I've ever wanted. The amount of work he does for us both on a daily basis astounds me. To all you single gals: find a man that isn't afraid to treat you like a million bucks and is honest to you always. It's not worth it any other way. Trust me on this one.

-I've been in school non-stop since September 1997. To say I'm ready to be done with school would be an understatement. This last semester of college has been so trying for me. I had a huge breakdown today. Tears, snotty nose, mascara running- the works. It'll be a near-miracle for me at this point if I do get that piece of paper, and cap and gown in December. It would be the greatest Christmas present ever.  All I've got to say is thank goodness for Kyle and a large Dr. Pepper.

-Randomly, the old man that came to our apartment today from the US Census Bureau to take a national survey really made my day. He was so upbeat and happy. I love happy people and I love little tender mercies. He has no idea how much he helped me today.

-All I ever want to do is shop, decorate and bake. Could I somehow turn that into a career? Without getting fat? And poor? :)

-The only thing I can think about lately is Christmas. I think the buildup to Christmas is so much more fun than the actual day of Christmas.

-Waking up earlier really does help boost your day. I read my scriptures, cooked breakfast, did homework and got ready all before class today; just because I got up an hour earlier. I'm a changed woman. This is huge!

-Where would we be without wool socks? I don't want to know.

-I need to know why Zayn wasn't at the premiere of 1D's Album launch on Good Morning America. Besides that, they're new music is to die for. I'm secretly 15 years old - judge me.

Farmer's Wife Life: Venting

I just need to say something that has been on my mind a lot lately.

I remember on our first date Kyle told me his family farmed. Besides my brother in law who farms in Mexico, I didn't really think people farmed anymore (ignorant, I know). Low and behold, a few months later, we got married and I found myself in the middle of Washington while Kyle worked hard on the 2,000+ acre family farm with his brother and dad. I really grew to love the land and the profession of farming. At first I was really hesitant to be "out in the country" but I actually ended up loving it. Luckily, I had my awesome mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my oldest sister to relate to and to help me out with the transition. I saw how happy farming made Kyle. Not only that, but I'm certain my great grandpa, Ezra Taft Benson (who was an American Farmer and served as United States Secretary of Agriculture during both presidential terms of Dwight D. Eisenhower and also as the 13th President of the LDS church) would be elated that farming is now running even deeper in my blood. I really grew to respect farmers and the countless hours, blood, sweat and tears that go into their crops that they provide.

After our summer ended, Kyle and I packed up and moved back to Rexburg to finish school at BYU-Idaho. Coming back to school married, I ran into a lot of people I haven't seen in a while and they have asked what my husband does. When I say that he farms, I get so many negative reactions. I've noticed that majority of people are clueless as to how hard and prestigious farming really is. Since being back to school, I've had a lot of people come to me and say they can't imagine me as a farmers wife and "they think it's funny to see pictures of me out in the country", or that they think it's weird that my husband farms. It really has made me almost sad (and absolutely infuriated, Kyle hears it all the time) that people don't realize that the food on their table, the lotion they put on their face, the paper they write on, has all been farmed by a farmer. And no, we don't have missing teeth, we aren't dirt poor, we don't wear overalls, and we aren't 20 years behind socially and technologically.

It's crazy that ever since I've seen how farming really works, farmers do not get nearly enough credit for what they do and how hard and long they work. I wish people (especially majority of students here at school that are not from Idaho or farming places) weren't so naive and could have a positive paradigm shift towards farming. Next time you're on a road trip, take a look up from your iphones and look and see how many miles of farmland you pass. The farmers are working for you. There have been countless times were I have had to bite my tongue while listening to people talk about farmers and/or farming.

I can't wait for the day when Kyle and I have kids so that we can raise them on the farm. I have seen how beneficial it has been to my husband and it has taught him the value of hard work. The farm made my husband the great guy that he is today. He has such a passion for it. If he loves it, I love it. Farmers make the world go round.