{ The Great Plains and homey stuff }

Oklahoma.  Land of horrible roads, but beautiful scenery.

I have always loved traveling through the State.  The very first time we drove through it was many many years ago, when we were still stationed in Mountain Home, Idaho.  Nicholas wasn't even dreamed of at the time, and Jasmine was a tiny 6 month old.

We made the 22 hour trip, going through Kansas, down through Oklahoma City and into Lawton to visit my in laws.  We were young, it was our first real road trip and we didn't know any shortcuts to make the trip shorter.

Aside from the car trip being long and boring, one thing stands out for me, and that was the drive through Oklahoma.  Coming from Idaho and traveling through Utah, Wyoming and Colorado which is surrounded by mountains as far as the eye can see, it was quite a shock seeing nothing but flat land for miles around.

But I quickly fell in love with the plains.  Miles and miles of green land, cattle, little ponds here and there and hay bales.  It was beautiful, it was peaceful and I never got tired of looking out the window.

When we went to the Renaissance Faire on Saturday, we traveled through Oklahoma and once again I was reminded of just how beautiful it is.  I still dream of a ranch house surrounded by acres and acres of land, horses, chickens and cows and all that.

A girl can dream right?

My Easter flowers are still going strong, well, for the most part, there are a few that are starting to wilt and that's expected, but I do enjoy the pop of color they bring to my bedroom.

I've started growing some herbs.  You have no idea how many times I think back to our home in Arizona and miss all my herbs, it broke my heart to have to leave them behind.

But never mind that, I'm starting my herb collection again and so far I have parsley, cilantro, chives and basil growing.  Oh and of course I planted some Lavender because, well, I had to, it's stronger than me.  Hahah

Spring is now in full force, our yards are littered with hundreds of birds, chirping and flying from tree to tree.

I actually took a little video yesterday and put it on Instagram.  I had stepped outside with the dogs and couldn't believe just how loud the chirping was, it was almost like being in a bird sanctuary.

That feeling is like nothing else.  It's why I will never willingly live in a city again and why I will always choose the country life.

With the busy life I've had the past few months, or year actually, I can always count on stepping outside and taking a deep breath to make me feel rejuvenated. 

So I've been working on the yards, the patio out back, the inside, growing flowers and herbs and really trying to bring Spring into the house.

You've probably also noticed that I've posted quite frequently the past few days.  I know, I shocked myself, but I've learned not to get too bummed out when I can't, and to just post when time allows it.  It takes that pressure off of me and so I hope you are ok with my sporadic blogging, it's kinda like my life, sometimes it's calm and sometimes it's chaotic and crazy.

Right now, I am about to go get school done with Nick.  He is dying to finish as fast as he can so he can be done for the year.  My Jasmine on the other hand seems to think she has all the time in the world, she goes slow, she often falls behind and it's become a struggle getting her to really devote herself to school.

I guess it comes with age, she's about to turn 17 and she's all over the place.  One thing I am finding myself dealing with is her anxiety, and I think I should probably do another post on dealing with teenage anxiety and how to approach it, things I'm learning etc.  Maybe it will help another mom out there.

Let me know if that is something you would be interested in reading, or if you yourself have a teenager going through it and have any advice to offer, I would love hearing it.

Off I go, have a blessed Tuesday :)