Working on my spanish

So after leaving my sister's home in Idaho, I drove solo to my hometown in Oregon - home sweet home. Oregon looks even more magnificient than my previous visit. Driving towards Bend, the three sisters were gorgeous! What a view! I made it back home safely, obviously. I have been having a good time - but it hasn't been all fun. I've been working at the van essen nursery for the past 3 weeks and have atleast one week left. Most of my fellow workers are hispanic - so I get to listen to the Eugene, Oregon Spanish radio, and of course, they talk all in spanish. We have an interesting time translating info back and forth. I try to go where I am told to - they tend to move you around and it can get confusing what exactly they want from you. I usually take cuttings from plants, but somedays, work will consist of weeding, potting, planting, loading and emptying trailers of plants, filling pots with soil, putting small pots into the trays, cleaning stacks of various trays and pots, sweeping greenhouses, and even breaking apart grown plants to make more baby ones. The most used spanish phrase is now: Yo necesito ligas. = I need rubberbands. Exciting, uh? We use rubberbands to hold the bundles of cuttings together. Even though I get tired from the hard work outside - usually bent over and climbing thru plants - I have gained a great farmers tan and enjoyed the great beauty of Oregon surrounding me. I take it forgranted - in Texas, you can't find this beauty - atleast where I am at. It is also a blessing to work with two of my best friends - we usually get to eat lunch together; however, now and then, I will get separated from the group and have to eat at a different break time - probably a punishment for my low number of cuttings. I have gotten to go to the coast a couple of different times and am also going this next weekend with family - I'm looking forward to seeing my aunt and uncle from out of state and other relatives that I may only see 2 or 3 times a year. My sister Kimber and her husband Ben having been visiting the area - they stayed with us for a week. We have had a couple of hot days - in the 100s or 90s - and as a result, have jumped in the river for refreshing. I got to see Pirates of the Carribean - Dead man's chest with my mom - I think its worth seeing - pretty long though. I also had a slumber party - the first in forever - we watched a movie and gazed up at the stars and the next day went to Eugene for the saturday market, shopping, and a park - we saw quite a few interesting people - some you try not to stare and others, you want to run away quickly. The spanish theme seems to follow us - we were eating at a mexican restaurant and we heard the Ring of Fire song by Jonny Cash in spanish - talk about weird. I've tried to start running again - hasn't worked out so well, but I did get my friend to run with me once - it was one of her major goals this summer (way to go!). We also had a girls night out at the movies - my two friends and I invited our mothers - I think they felt pretty special :o) We saw The Devil Wears Prada - funny, strange, and some moral mix ups. My nephew is quite the pill - talking more than ever - now he will pronounce my name by each syllable --- Em mil leeee He repeats everything you say - so he is definitely learning some good and bad things. I taught him how to hit a ball using a bat and to catch - he never wears out of energy while playing with balls. He is already at the point where I want to duck or I shut my eyes when he raises his arm back to thow a ball. Last weekend, I finally finished my online english course - 8 weeks of long writing assignmenst completed! such a relief and joy to come home after work and not have to study! I got to visit my friends church near Portland today - they just started meeting this year, so they still have it in a high school - but it was way cool - the people were real and friendly. In a couple of weeks, I'll be flying over to Bethel, AK to stay with my sister and her husband - should be a one-of-a-kind experience - its quite the remote place. I can't believe that summer is going so fast! By the way - the pic is of me, my sis-kimber, mom, and kimber's husband Ben - I'll be with them in alaska.