The Smell of a Freshly-Mowed Lawn

I love the smell of a freshly-mowed lawn! I also love mowing lawns, but it has been over a year since I've had the opportunity to mow anyone's lawn. So it was very refreshing to get to help Dad mow the lawn today. I couldn't mow the lawn when I lived at Miss Betty's in Natchez because Willie took care of the Routhland grounds, and I couldn't mow the lawn in Illinois because part of my rent money went to pay guys to mow the lawn. So, it's nice to be home where I can help mow the lawn.

Speaking of Natchez, I've been having Natchez nostalgia again--it hits me quite frequently. So I went back and looked at my blog from last year at this time, and a year ago today I was flying home from Natchez for the MHA conference in Salt Lake! :-) That was totally fun--except that Stanley Thayne was there. I didn't make it to the MHA conference this year (it's happening this weekend) because it's in Sacramento and I wasn't sure when I would be home from school. I saw the schedule for this year's conference though, and Stanley Thayne is giving a presentation--of course. Grrrrrr. But it's okay because I bet Stanley Thayne has never been able to take a picture in front of the American Gothic house in Iowa. Next year the conference will be in SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS--woooo hoooo!!! It will be right in my backyard! Dr. Rugh, who is on the MHA board, said that since I'll be living back in the Springfield area she is going to recommend me to be on the local arrangements committee to make hotel reservations and set up tours for everyone who will be flying in. Ha ha ha--I bet Stanley Thayne has never been on the local arrangements committee!! Dr. Daynes (the infamous cake lady) is the acting MHA president. So, I'm going to make some special arrangements just for Stanley Thayne and Dr. Daynes to stay in . . . Springfield, Missouri! Just kidding. Maybe I'll invite Dr. Daynes over to Greg's and my house to eat some CAKE which I will have BAKED! :-) I'm very excited for next year's conference.

Today Dad and I got to go hang out with the Barrett girls while Nate and Lindy went to see Indiana Jones. We had a lot of fun playing and watching "Enchanted." Sidney has become quite the good talker. She knows all of the important words like "treat," "outside," "juice," and "cookie." The girls are excited to see "Uncle Greg" in a couple of weeks when we go to Nauvoo!