the proposal anniversary.

one year ago today, i said yes to the most important question of my life:

"will you marry me?"

i can remember it like it was yesterday.

zachary managed to take me by complete surprise as we sat there in that little da40 aircraft.

{for the full story, click here}

i have to commend him for that, because there are few times in my life where
i have actually been surprised.
there were so many emotions running through my head in a matter of seconds.
i wanted to jump for joy and at the same time burst in to tears.
it was such a thrill!

it's so funny to think back to that day and realize how much we really didn't know each other.

compared to now anyway.
it was a time full of superficial twitterpation.
that sounds bad, like we didn't love each other or something.
not true.
of course we loved each other or i wouldn't have said yes.
but, after feeling what i feel today, it's incredible to see how much the dynamic of our relationship has changed and turned in to something much deeper; a stronger love than i have words for.
i can't begin to tell you how much i appreciate him and care about him and i love the fact that
it only keeps getting better.
thanks for picking me, babe, and for asking me to be your wife!
i love you.

-sarah

the end of a long haul?

i have butterflies in my stomach.
all. the. time.
not because my cute husband wakes me up every morning, just to kiss me goodbye before
work. {even despite my horrid dragon breath}
not because after i get out of bed, i am sometimes welcomed to a cleaner-than-the-night-before kitchen and an unloaded dishwasher. {a very welcomed sight to see}
and not even because i am constantly being left little notes around the house telling me why he loves me more than any other human being on the planet.
while these joys of being married to my wonderful man do give me butterflies, they aren't the kind of butterflies i have been having as of late.
remember how we had a bit of a change in plans in our adventures here in del rio?
well, the review board that zachary was a part of met three weeks ago.
word on the street is, we just might be finding out the results of that meeting....tomorrow.
just typing that sends my stomach into disarray.
after waiting around for 3 and 1/2 months, it's almost like we've become numb to the fact that we have no clue where we are going to be or what we are going to be doing for the rest of our life.
i have tried over and over to picture ourselves ten years down the road.
heck, even five years down the road.
are we going to be happily settled in to a beautiful home in massachussetts?
could we possibly enjoy the luxury of moving to aviano, italy, or maybe ramstein, germany?
or could we be living in logan, utah, close to family and surrounded by familiarity?
i can hardly believe that we are this close to finding out.
we basically have two options in all of this: either they keep us in the air force, or they don't.
i haven't decided which one i would rather have.
obviously, if they kept us, we would take our next assignment and move wherever they need us.
i have absolutely loved seeing new places and meeting new people over these last several months,
so i feel like there is no loss there.
on the other hand, i would give anything to live close to our families.
we visited them last month and it makes me so sad to see how quickly our nieces and nephews
are growing up.
zachary and i have a secret plan to be the best aunt and uncle ever and that's nearly impossible
when we live 2,000 miles away.
not only that, but there's something about being with people that you know love and accept you, that makes you never want to have a reason to leave.
maybe it's a good thing that all of this is in God's hands because if it were up to me, we'd probably end up being here another year while i tried to decide which option i like more.
we definitely don't want that to happen.
i can undoubtedly say that i am so grateful for this wait to be over.
we have learned a lot and have done our best to be patient, but we are ready to know.
no matter what the outcome, we will trust that God has our best interest at heart.
thank you for all of your prayers and support.
we couldn't have done it without you.
wish us luck!

-the wife

a day in the life...

i know you really don't care, but i want to share with you a day in the life of sarah:

9-9:30-wake up.
10:00-have breakfast.
10:15-get ready, so i can look half decent for my man.
10:35-tidy up the house.
11:30-wait patiently for zachary to come home.
11:35-eat lunch, watch t.v., and get as much cuddling in with zachary as possible.
12:30-send zachary back to work.
12:35-facebook.
1:00-watch some t.v.
1:30-facebook.
2:00-stalk people's blogs.
2:40-find the cheapest way to travel to disneyland/europe/utah/any kind of vacation.
3:20-facebook.
4:00-wait patiently for zachary to come home.
and then the rest of the day/night is spent doing worthwhile things because i have a
cool husband that makes life fun again.

i mainly want to focus on the hours of 12:35-4:00, though.

can you see a trend here?

i waste so much time in a day, it should be a crime.

i'm not trying to complain because i'm pretty sure there have been multiple times in my life when i have wished for nothing more than to sit at home everyday and do nothing.

i am just getting a little burned out is all.

so, to all you wives out there, how do you do it?

how do you fill your time in a day without wanting to cry from a boredom overdose?

i would think that the obvious solution would be to get a job, but we are
moving soon, so it wouldn't really be worth it.

do you have any cool crafts that you have loved and are willing to share?

any fun hobbies that while taking up your time, don't drain the bank account?

please help a sista out!

-the wife

happy pioneer day, y'all!

to most people, today is just july 24th.

but to us mormon-folk, today is pioneer day!

this is the day that the saints entered in to the salt lake valley after the 1300 mile long journey from nauvoo, il, using nothing but covered wagon and oxen.

i imagine, they didn't have much to eat on the road.

it's not like they could stop by mcdonald's and order ten double cheeseburgers and three happy meals to feed their starving families.

in celebration of this holiday, zachary and i decided to eat how we thought they might
 have eaten back then:

porridge, hard biscuits, and dirty water.

{ok, maybe the biscuits weren't hard, but rather hot and fresh out of the oven. and that porridge you see right there, is actually cream-of-wheat, which happens to be a favorite meal here in the averett household. and the water was really red and green food coloring.}

it was kind of fun, pretending that we were living in the 'olden days' and had to fight to survive.

it got me thinking though, what if it wasn't pretend?

what if we really lived during that cold winter of 1846 and had to leave everything we had?

would we do it?

i am in awe at the great faith of those pioneers that did everything that was necessary

to keep their religion alive.

to keep my religion alive.

i can't begin to count the ways that the gospel has impacted my life or even think about

where i would be without it.

it has given me faith in trying times and hope in moments of despair.

it brings me more joy than possibly imaginable.

i couldn't be more grateful for the two mormon missionaries that knocked on

my dad's door nearly 45 years ago.

without that single event, i may not have the greatest blessing i have 

now; the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

"How can we pay our debt of gratitude for the heritage of faith demonstrated by pioneers in many lands across the earth who struggled and sacrificed so that the gospel might take root? How is thankfulness expressed for the intrepid handcart pioneers who, by their own brute strength, pulled their meager belongings in handcarts across the scorching plains and through the snows of the high mountain passes to escape persecution and find peaceful worship in these valleys? How can the debt of gratitude possibly be paid by the descendants of the Martin and the Willie and the other handcart companies for the faith of their forebears? The descendants of these pioneers can partially settle the account by being true to the cause for which their ancestors suffered so much to be part of."

-James E. Faust

i love The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and i am proud to be a member of it!

i am grateful for the pioneers that paved the way for my eternal happiness.

i am grateful to know that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, i can be with my family forever.

-the wife

Zach's Horror Show

Disclaimer: This post is not for those who have somewhere to be. I got a little carried away. You better be ready to dedicate a good portion of the next 10 minutes reading/enjoying it. Without further ado, I present Zach’s Horror Show!



Let me give a prologue… Imagine this day: Teenager. Home alone. Don’t remember why. Concerned about hygiene – I know, big surprise. So, having the freedom of being home alone in a family of 7, I proceed to walk around the house in the nude before going in the shower. I don’t even bother preparing any clothes or a towel for when I get out. Why? Because I don’t want to, and I’m free!


I hop in the shower, not so much concerned about hygiene as I am about enjoying a hot, relaxing spray.

*Intermission* Have any of you seen the movie Arachnophobia? Remember the shower scene? If you do, just keep that in mind. If you have never seen the movie, it’s a classic. Oh, and by the way, you’re uncultured.


You know that stage in the shower routine when you wash your face and your hair? Often, in my shower routine, during this stage my eyes can be closed for a good while. Well, when I opened my eyes on this particular dreadful day, during that particularly dreadful shower, what did I see dangling right in front of my face? A spider. Now, I wish I could tell you it was a big, hairy, ugly black-widow or something. That may have justified my subsequent actions. No. It was just one of those super small and super ugly, nearly see-through spiders.


Now, if any of you were in the house at that moment, you may have thought a 9 year old girl had just accidentally cut her arm off. Nope. That was me trying to scare the spider into submission with my shameful squeal. I proceeded to swipe at the dangling arachnid, all the while trying to climb/slip my way out of the shower. Out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor I continue to swat and slap every square inch of my skin as a safety precaution. After all, if there was one dangler, the chances are pretty high that there would be a thousand other spider friends all over my skin right?


Afraid that my squeal was heard by a newcomer to the house, I shamelessly run through my home making sure that nobody was present during my… episode. Only later did I remember that I was still naked.


There’s your prologue. The point is this: I’m not a bug person. There are plenty of things in my life that could prove my masculinity and MANness, but this is not one of them.


Last night’s story was similar to last decade’s story in a few aspects. Fear of bugs, check. Added shame of not being entirely clothed, check. Girly squeal, check. Anyway... back to last night... I strolled to the living room to grab my phone prior to retiring for the evening. Upon picking up my phone I decided that I was thirsty, naturally. I flip on the lights and took a few swigs of H2O from a glass. I go to slam down my cup on the counter and see the largest cockroach I have ever seen in my life. He had found his watering hole in the form of a tiny puddle of water next to the sink. He stopped -- I swear on my life he looked at me, and then he continued slurping.


A few emotions went through my head in a matter of 5.3 milliseconds. First, utter horror and fear at the sight of the abomination. Second, even more horror and fear that the thing looked at me with its nasty, glossy black eyes and looked away – like some zombie enjoying his meal and deciding to hunt me down later. Third, an unquenchable fury took over as I made the determination to put the roach in its rightful place – hell. Of course, that fury didn’t take me so far as to raise my courage all that much… I frantically look around the kitchen for a weapon. The butcher knife? Though appropriate for a zombie Apocalypse, maybe a little overkill for the roach. The cleaning spray? No, too much risk of the little sucker running away and escaping his doom. The fly-swatter? It will have to do.


As I dashed to grab the swatter my view of the devil-roach was obscured by the wall of the pantry. When I look back, the little bugger had nearly run across the entire length of the counter. In a matter of 2 seconds the thing had travelled 5 feet. Do the math. If it were the size of a human, that’s the equivalent of running 64 miles per hour! If that doesn’t strike terror in your heart… *Zach shivers at the thought* Not to mention the “rat-i-tat-tap” of each of its six, nasty little legs striking the counter at 64 miles per hour. A chainsaw running across my counter would have brought me comfort compared to that tap-dancing cockroach. Luckily, the thing stopped just as I looked at him – like some sick version of red-light-green-light (remember that game?). The red light was definitely on him as I crept toward the beastling. Down flew the fly swatter. Not so scary anymore. I won’t tell you about the stuff that came out of him. That’s just too gross to share. We’re going to try and keep this a PG post.

 You think the story is over? Do zombies die by smacking the cream cheese out of ‘em? I didn’t realize that this really was a zombie roach. I grab a paper towel to transport it to its deep, dark grave. I go to grab the thing just as the hairs on the back of my neck finally relax. I just want you to imagine for a moment the absolute, supremely genuine terror that enveloped me as I felt the little hell-bug wiggle out from between my paper-towel protected fingers. Remember the 9 year old girl who accidentally cut her arm off? This time, the squeal was short-lived. I somehow manage to have enough sense not to make too much noise – for Sarah’s sake. The rage returned as I repeatedly slammed down the fly swatter over and over and over again. My ears were ringing with the noise of cheap plastic smacking against counter-top when I finished. Last I checked, zombies don’t reanimate if their head is separated from their bodies. Safe at last.


I’d like to say I won this battle. Don’t get me wrong, the hell-bug is resting in his eternal, bottomless, infernal, garbage-can grave. However, the emotional damage it inflicted may haunt me for the rest of my life. PTSD. If you don’t know what that is, look it up. Any encouragement in the form of flowers, a friendly phone call, or money to help me cope with my condition would be appreciated. Till next time folks… lock your doors and shake out your sheets.

one very rotten apple.

remember the days when almost nobody carried a cell phone and just seeing one was a novelty?
yeah, me neither.
which is why i was pretty upset when this happened:

i drop my phone all the time.

it's been knocked off my dresser, fallen from the bathroom counter,

shoved off the kitchen table, etc.

but the moment it falls out of my hand, {less than two feet from the floor might i add}, it shatters.

at least the bloody thing still works, or you might find me sitting in a corner in the fetal position, rocking back and forth.

it's more than a pain, trying to pick out the glass slivers in my hands every time i use it.

i love apple, but this is absolutely unacceptable.

not only because phones shouldn't be made of glass in the first place, but there are so many cases exactly like this and yet the warranty doesn't cover one bit of it.

i call for a strike!

who's with me?

-the wife

our cool family.

i opened up facebook yesterday and was welcomed by this video:



these are our brothers, jeff and derek.
yes, the same derek that i referred to as "special" in my last post, to which i was reprimanded for.
he is only special in the sense that he is freaking hilarious!
i'm pretty sure he could make lord voldemort laugh.
i just wanted to let the world know how awesome our family is.
that's all.

-the wife

p.s. for 'dude that's nothin-basketball style', click here.

the beehive state.

we just got back from a week long vacation in good ol' utah. we dropped off the plane and it was a whopping 80 degrees. that's a 25 degree difference from what we've been living in! it felt heavenly. we made it there just in time for the eaglewood fireworks on saturday:

 {sitting on the lawn, waiting for the fireworks to start with our special brother derek.}

    

{they were huge! 2nd time i've been able to go to these. definitely a tradition i want to keep up.}

on monday the fourth, we went boating with our pal vince and his familia:

then went to the the manti parade:

 {this picture made me laugh...only in sanpete.}

and we were lucky enough to be able to see double fireworks for the weekend:

 {it made for a really pretty view with the temple in the background!}

The rest of our week was spent fourwheeling,

playing in the snow up skyline drive,

eating snow cones and ice cream,

going on picnics,

having mallow roasts with the cousins,

going on walks,

playing bocce ball,

and croquet

and making tin foil dinners.

one of the biggest highlights of the week, was being able to go to my best friend's wedding!

she looked absolutely gorgeous! the entire day was beautiful. needless to say, i think we packed everything good about a vacation all in to one. it was so good to see our friends and family! besides getting sunburned multiple times, we couldn't have asked for a better trip. it will definitely go down as one of our top five favs.

-the wife

rants, raves, and ramblings.

isn't this song adorable?
it about makes my heart melt.
i found it as i am sitting here procrastinating writing our wedding thank you notes.
yes, we have been married 6 months and i haven't sent them out yet.
i am kind of a failure when it comes to things like that.
two days ago was actually exactly 6 months that we've been married.
it's so crazy how quick time flies!
it seems like yesterday i was just going on my first date.
do you remember your first date?
i went to the movie 'cars.'
when we got there, i turned around and my best friend was sitting behind me.
i. was. so. mad.
i'm pretty sure there were some not-so-nice things written in my journal that night.
then you turn the page and the first thing you read is "i'm not mad at kaitlyn anymore."
that's the epitome of our relationship.
we could never stay mad at each other for very long. {except when trying to draw magnifying glasses}
speaking of cars, did you know there's a cars 2?
sequels usually blow.
kind of like transformers 2.
i've tried watching that one 3 times and have fallen asleep every time.
i hear transformers three is pretty good though.
your thoughts?
we are going to it tomorrow night in san antonio and i'm super excited.
why are we going to san antonio just to see a movie, you ask?
we are flying to utah on saturday!!
i am so giddy about this trip.
as giddy as seeing a new puppy.
speaking of puppies, did i ever tell you that we bought one?
meet jetta:

isn't she adorable?
sad story: we bought her and sold her a week later.
i know, we're pretty pathetic.
we can't even hack having a puppy.
it was fun while it lasted though. {sort of}
kinda like "it was fun while it lasted" when my brother bought me
a puppy for christmas a few years ago.
we put it in the laundry room for the night and it had diarrhea all behind our washer and dryer.
dis-freaking-gusting.
speaking of christmas, zachary and i have talked about spending it on our own this year.
obviously it would depend on where we are at, our leave situation,
and if we could afford going home.
i'm wondering though, what was your first christmas away from home like?
was it a good or bad experience?
would you recommend it for our first christmas as a married couple?
i can't imagine not being with my family for christmas, but since i have a new family now,
it might be fun to start our own traditions and such.
speaking of traditions, i had better go carry on the tradition of writing
thank you notes for our wedding gifts.
i promise i am grateful for everyone that supported us!
i just have a hard time keeping a long enough attention span to get the job done.
peace out.

-the wife

leaky faucet, coming through.

i've never cried in a movie before...until the other day, watching p.s. i love you.

i don't know what it was, but the thought of ever losing zachary seemed so unbearably awful that i couldn't keep myself together. {cheesy, i know}
but if you look at it that way, then it was a good cry. right?
wanna know what else can make me cry?
this video:

works every time.

being married and loving someone enough to know that your whole world would be a wreck without them has turned me in to one big bawl baby.

i sure do love that husband of mine!

-the wife

every cloud has a silver lining.

picture this:

camping.
in tents.
no grass.
lots of dirt.
and wind.
105 degree weather.

that about sums up my week.

i was able to go to girl's camp with my church as the camp director.

it all sounds miserable {and to be honest, some of the time it was} but i actually had a lot of fun!

it wouldn't have been nearly as great if it weren't for these cute ladies:

{l to r: marisol, amber, kathryn, yours truly, alisa}

i've only known these girls for a short time, but they have already been such a huge example to me! i am so grateful for the opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. maybe moving around so much isn't a bad thing after all...

-the wife

Abusement Parks - Zach checks in

I’ve had several requests from friends lately to give some sort of update/post/whine/whatever. “Sarah O’ my heart” does a great job at giving the day-to-day, ins-and-outs of our situation. However, I’m feeling the itch that must be scratched! … Don’t read into that too much… It’s a metaphor for: I’m feeling the need to tell people about my life!


Since D-day, that is Demolition-of-My-Career-Induced-Irrevocably-by-Barfing Day, I have been granted quite the cocktail (not that I would know) of emotions. Let me take you on a tour of these emotions.


First stop: The abusement park known as Dizzyland, not to be confused with Disneyland. Surprisingly, they do have a lot in common. You will find plenty of roller-coasters at Dizzyland; however, they aren’t the roller-coasters of fun. Instead they are roller-coasters of disappointment, inadequacy, and (let’s be honest) fear. To dream of something since I was 5, to see every single thing line up JUST right for the last 7 years to set me up for the realization of my dream, and then to see it come crashing down in a matter of a few days is, to say the least, a big roller-coaster of disappointment, inadequacy, and fear. Luckily, I only spent a few days in Dizzyland.


After Dizzyland, I visited Irony Land. Irony Land is peculiar. I didn’t even know I was there until I saw the way I was reacting each time I glanced at my flight suit that I will never wear. Before D-Day, I witnessed the attitudes that many non-pilots (not all of them of course) had toward pilots. There was this underlying tone of vehemence and jealousy in everything they said to, or did for the pilots. I thought to myself, “pilots aren’t too bad. Why can’t anyone get themselves to do more than just tolerate them?” Funny (ironic) thing is, after visiting Irony Land, I am one of those people. I find myself fighting the insistent urge to cast judgmental glares at the sea of flight suits walking around me in Irony Land. It’s not that I’m jealous in the sense that I would want to sabotage any of them or anything. More accurately, I hope they know what they have.


Brief digression: Just last week, a pilot-trainee was kicked out of the program just weeks prior to graduation for breaking a stupid-simple, but important rule. Why risk something that is so valuable to so many? For every pilot in the Air Force, I would argue that there are probably 20 people/kids/kids-at-heart that would kill to be in his/her position. So, DON’T be a dingle-berry! Appreciate what you have!


Next on this strange vacation is a place known only as ResignationLand. This is the place where all you see around you are signs of abdication: a comfortable pseudo-suede couch, a HUGE bowl of ranch popcorn, Seasons 1-6 of Lost, World of Warcraft, and zombie books. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) I kinda like this place. It occupies my time, takes my thoughts away from my troubles, but it sure is hard to leave. Kinda like Hotel California… *Zach hangs his head in shame knowing that Sarah will have no idea what he is referring to, but is quickly cheered knowing that Mark Christensen will, that is, if he ever reads this… he is cheered again knowing that SOMEONE will… right?* Anyways… Don’t get me wrong, I don’t spend ALL my time there… just more than I should *cough*.


When I can take myself away from ResignationLand, the other bemusement park (oh wow, I am just full of witty puns today aren’t I?) that I visit on a daily basis is Don’t-Give-Up Land. This park can be quite rewarding, if you can get through it. At least, I have to believe that as I sit at my desk at work writing this blog post. You see, I am now sitting in Don’t-Give-Up land. Though ‘at work,’ I find myself bored and yearning for the next non-bemusement Park to come my way. I have been tasked with a temporary job that the Air Force has given me where my potential isn’t seen and my skills under-harnessed. I understand why they did it. I’m getting paid, and I must do SOMETHING after all. I get that, but have you ever been given a temporary job that has no effect on your overall career or skill set? It can be difficult to take seriously. Yet, seriously I take it – because it’s not in me to do a half-hearted job.


Yes, I trudge on. If only because that’s what I have always done and it has always paid off. After all, I have a lot to be grateful for. I have a beautiful wife that has never failed to thank me after 1,000 car-door-openings. I have a roof over my head. I am healthy *Zach is transported back in time to November 2009 – the last time he was truly ill – remembering the fun times with Derek playing Mario Party for 5 days straight.* I’m $till getting paid. God is watching out for a family member and keeping him from dying in a potentially horrible car accident. I will be taking a 9 day PAID vacation in July. The Lakers met humility this NBA season. There are a lot of fun movies coming out this summer. I have a tootsie roll ready to be eaten in my pocket. AND, last but not least, I have full confidence that someday I will come across my favorite amusement park: I’m-So-Glad-God-Took-the-Pilot-Opportunity-Out-of-My-Stubborn-Fingers-to-Give-Me-My-REAL-Dream-Job Land. That place is out there somewhere, and I’m going to find it!
 
-the husband

facts and confessions.

i love cold pizza.

i have zero wisdom teeth.
and allergies.

i am a mormon.

i am so ticklish that massages almost aren't even worth it.

i sleep-talk and on occasion, sleep-walk.
just last week zachary woke up to me standing on our bed, whimpering because
i thought i saw a spider.
i don't remember a thing.

i am number four out of six children.

sour patch kids and swedish fish are my guilty pleasures.

i can be very shy at times.
i hate it.

i am addicted to biting my nails.

i want to own a truck someday.
and a dog.
that seems like the perfect combo for an ideal camping trip.

i love camping.

jealousy and grudge-holding are my biggest downfalls.

my mom used to cut my meat for me before every meal.
right up until i moved out of the house.

i wish i had stuck with playing the violin.

i am terrified of bridges.
mostly because i am terrified of drowning.

i have gone a year without candy or soda.

my favorite movie is thirteen going on thirty.
i love jennifer garner.

i am self-conscious about my body.
my legs in particular.
i've never been confident in the way i look.

when i was eight, i wrote my name with my left hand on my dresser.
just so i could blame it on my little sister.

i want to train my body to like waking up early.

i took swimming lessons when i was in 8th grade.

i'm afraid of getting a job because i'm afraid of failing.

i have had the same friends since i was ten.
so making friends is a struggle of mine.

i love doing things spontaneously.
it makes me feel free.

christmas is my favorite holiday.
i love looking at the lights and listening to the music that comes with it.
there is definitely a different feeling during the month of december.
kind of like the feeling you get at disneyland.

oh, i love disneyland.
it's magical.

i love my hair in french braid pigtails.
i want to learn to do them to myself.

i love being with level-headed people.

i want to travel the world.
winning this giveaway would be a great start.

i am so done with living in del rio.
i can't wait to visit utah and see our family in just a couple weeks!!

-the wife

weekend getaway.

zachary and i splurged a little this weekend. and by splurge, i mean we drove to san antonio and went to sea world!

i realized that most of the fun things we've done in the past couple months have to do with animals; going to the zoo, visiting the aquarium, and now this. not to mention, the animal safari in san antonio that i want to go to as well. i feel like we're five or something. i still loved it though. we were able to feed/pet dolphins:

their dolphin/whale show was pretty entertaining too. besides the fact that it smelt like throw up and the lady behind us squirted us both in the face with a water balloon, i'd say this was our favorite show.

and of course, what is sea world without shamu? honestly, this show was pretty lame. the only cool part was when shamu did a flip and soaked everyone. other than that, it was just a bunch of fluff about saving the planet. not my idea of a good time. it was still awesome to see live killer whales though!

considering we didn't have to pay to get in, {yay for military discounts!} i'd say it was worth it.

we also went to austin to visit my brother and sister-in-law. we haven't seen any of our family since march, so it was a nice little reunion! while we were there, my sister-in-law, carli, made us these delicious pumpkin pancakes for dinner. you have got to try them. i have been craving them since we left.

it was a great weekend minus all the driving! that's what we get for living in good ol' del rio i guess. we should know in the next month or two when we will be leaving this place! i'll be sure to let ya know.

-sarah

p.s. i ordered a burrito this weekend that was the size of my hand.  for the record...i have really big hands.

just thought you ought to know...

the big 2-1.

i turned 21 years old yesterday!
it was one of the best birthdays yet.

it started off with breakfast in bed from my charming husband.

he sure knows how to make some mean german pancakes.

he then sent me on a scavenger hunt to find my presents.

they consisted of a game, a movie, some things that would be
inappropriate to share with you ;), and a pinata!

i have always wanted a pinata for my birthday!

we beat the crap out of that thing.

now we eat ourselves sick with the junk food that was in it.

my favorite present though, would have to be my new sewing machine!

{i apologize for the blurry image. there was lots of excitement/commotion going on.}

he knows me so well.

i've been saying for weeks now how bad i wanted one!

my first project will be to make this pillow:

isn't it beautiful?

i discovered it right after we got married and seriously fell in love with it.
 but there was no way that i was ever going so spend 25 dollars to buy it!

i found an awesome tutorial on how to make it though and i'm going to give it a go.

chances are, it'll end up disastrous, but i'll let you know how it all turns out.

we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant in del rio: jitra thai cuisine.

i had never eaten thai food until i met zachary and it has now changed my life.

want to know what else has changed my life?

dr. pepper.

you know how most 21 year olds are excited to drink alcohol and gamble?

well since i don't do either, i decided to celebrate in another way.

first, confession time: i've never drank a caffeinated drink before yesterday.

i went out on a limb at dinner though and ordered my very first caffeinated dr. pepper.

you can all laugh, but that was one big step in my life that i will never forget.

we wrapped up the night by watching kung fu panda 2.

i know it's a movie for kids, but i have to admit that we really liked it. a lot.

it was super funny!

i think half the entertainment  came from all of the little kids' goofy laughs in the theater.

oh and you can't forget the birthday cake!

fun fact about me: i am not a chocolate fan.

so seeing me in this picture:

blowing out candles on a chocolate cake is a definite first.

but this isn't just an ordinary chocolate cake.

it's a chocolate molten lava cake.

it's the easiest, most delightful recipe that you could find!

it really was a wonderful birthday.

big thank you to zachary for making me feel like a million bucks all day long!

and thank you for the cards and 'happy birthdays' from all of my family and friends.

love you all!

-sarah