Lance Armstrong who?

One of the things Austin has no shortage of is bicyclists; so Russ is able to fit right in. He got a really good deal on a nice road bike that he loves to ride when he gets the chance. In an attempt to keep up with him I too found what I consider not so much a "nice" bike as a "cute" bike, which I think is way more important. We found a little beach cruiser bike at Wal-mart for super cheap and knew we couldn't pass it up. Because my theory is bikes are meant not so much for riding as cruising, so that's exactly what we did today in Texas' crazy 80 degree weather. We had a fun time and hope to get to do it again soon!

My sweet bike.

Russ' real bike.

Us right before we got really, really sweaty.

Trick-or-Rice Krispies Treat

So I realize it is now November and we are just switching to a Halloween themed blog but, since it has been like 3 months since our last post, I figured it's a step in the right direction.

This past week we celebrated Halloween. On Saturday, we went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat and had a fun time decorating our car and passing out candy for the kids. We racked our brains trying to think of what to do for costumes but, then inspiration struck while we were on the cereal aisle at the grocery store. We decided on Snap, Crackle and Pop of Rice Krispies fame. We roped my mom into going as Snap, Russ was Crackle and I was Pop. Below is 2/3 of Snap, Crackle, Pop. Enjoy.

Not Pictured: Snap

Happy Birthday Dear Russ

This weekend we got to celebrate Russ' 27th birthday! We started his birthday festivities at Carrabba's, as requested by Russ. Then we came home to have some cake and open presents with my family. We had a great day and can't wait to do it again next year!

Can't have a party without balloons!

Russ' favorite part of his birthdays is his mama's famous Strawberry cake. Although he ate mine with a smile, I'm sure it's just not quite the same as when Mama makes it. :)

Yes, yes, those are sparkler candles.

You know you're becoming an adult when you get excited to unwrap investment management books.



Us singing "Happy Birthday" to Russ. Note the 4 part harmony.

I was lucky enough to get a picture with the Birthday Boy himself.

Down By the Sea Shore

Russ is getting ready to start his Masters of Accounting Program at UT, so we figured before he started school we'd have one last hoorah. We decided the beach was the perfect getaway. Now, Texas isn't typically known for its beaches but Russ and I did some research and decided on Port Aransas. It is a cute little island about 4 hours away from Austin. It was kinda cool because you needed to take a ferry ride to get there! We had a blast and enjoyed our mini vacation together.

Russ in front of the Texas State Aquarium.

Us in front of the Gulf of Mexico.

Only in Texas would you find cows at the beach.

On the pier we must've gone a little too far and encroached

on a very territorial pelican's home.

Closer to a hungry pelican than I ever want
to be again...who knows what they have in those oversized beaks.

Russ + Sarah = Love

What Do a Fair, a Rodeo and a Lady Antebellum concert have in common?

...They're all things we went to last night! When Russ, Josh, Lauren and I found out the Pro Rodeo was in Austin we got really excited. And when we found out that there was a Lady Antebellum concert following the Rodeo we got even more excited! And then when we heard there was a fair surrounding the Rodeo events we all let out a big yee-haw! (Rodeo lingo for super excited.)

Us enjoying the fair.

We got up close and personal with some of the livestock.

Our seats were so close to the horses, we got to wish em luck before they went out.

We even had some time to Rodeo clown around.

Lady Antebellum was awesome. We are all now officially fans.

"Snow" Way!

When we left Provo, the one thing we said we weren't going to miss was the snowy Utah winters. But today, the snow we thought we left behind came to Texas! That's right. For the first time in about 20 years it is snowing in Austin, Texas! Although it's been cold, it has been a lot of fun having a snow day and getting an excuse to pull out our snow gear that hasn't been used for months and months. Here are a few pics of the historical day.

Ok so it's not much but still pretty exciting.

Genuine Texas snowballs. They only come around once every 20 years.

I Heart NY

Russ and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to New York City. Russ got flown out to interview for a job (the job's here in Austin), so we figured we'd make a mini vacation out of it. It was a definitely a new experience for us trying to hail taxis and fighting through crowds to get where we wanted to go. We had a blast! Here are a few pictures of some of the sights we saw.

In the middle of Time Square.

In front of Radio City Music Hall.

In front of the tree at Rockefeller Center.

The whole tree.

Thanks to Mama Brown for the tickets to see Wicked. It was "Oz"some!