January: Part 1

Ok. So first of all in my last post I told everyone that I was excited for church. We thought it started at 2 o'clock but when we got there we found out that not only was it stake conference and it was over, but it started at 9 am. Bust. I joked with Mark that we were being tested because we are now on our second year in a row starting church at 9 am. Oh life is so hard!

Anyways fast forward to next Sunday. The ward is very small. A lot smaller than I'm used to. The relief society only had about 20 women in attendance. Much much different than my San Antonio ward or any Utah ward I've ever been to. And so far there are a ton of little kids. A ton. In fact the couple in front of us had two little boys. Super cute. One of the little boys was playing with his dad's zipper on his fleece pullover he was wearing and next thing I know the little boy has zippered his dads neck into the zipper. The dad was silently screaming and the child looked on in horror as his dad was grabbing his neck trying franticly to pull the neck skin loose. Can we all picture this? Hate to admit we were laughing, but we were. How could you not? Oh and there are no deacons in the ward. Well, there is one or two. So the sacrament is served by older gents which is great. I joked that Mark's next calling might be to be a deacon. He did not think that was as funny as the zippered neck. Our bishop is super young also. With all that said, I think I'm going to really like the ward. Everyone seems super friendly and they really are pushing for people to get involved. We will see how it goes!

After church we decided to explore a bit. We took the dog and we drove to a trail about half a mile from our house. Whats really cool is Lady Bird Lake is in our own backyard. I am so excited. The running/biking trails run all the way through the city. And its gorgeous.

The River!!!

Our backyard. Be jealous

Best.Picture.Eva.

I love where we live. We were there forever walking. It was great. I told Mark we are doing this every Sunday. If we ever get visitors, we will take you there. How exciting right? Don't everyone book your plane tickets at once! Oh and did I mention we live right next door to the livestrong foundation building? Some people say right next door but they really mean a block away. But I mean right next door. So I got to scope out the drama when I would run errands. There were cameras, news reporters, you name it parked out there forever.

Livestrong

The cyclists here are in a huge uproar. But thats old news. And do people have any tips on condensing stories? I just don't see how thats possible. I have a lot to say and this is basically my journaling. So...most of these will probably be long. Which I'm very sorry about but I must document.

Bonus material: People of Austin
1. Old man sitting outside of our building with a shaved head, gold hoop earrings and a red full body leotard
2. Girl in our complex doing yoga on the picnic table
3. Homeless vet in a power chair with no shoes
4. Guy with a sign on the road that read "Why lie, I just want beer"
5. And last but not least whilst my friend Mariel and I were walking back to my car that  I had parked a block away from the homeless shelter (big mistake) a tweeker running towards where my car was parked stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the road. Picked up a dead pigeon that had been run over, flattened, guts everywhere with his bare hands. He looks around very upset by the scene of the crime and while we are frantically trying to get into my car screams in a scruffy voice "Cat'll eat it" and takes off running into the ally way. Did I mention this guy was wearing a long leather leopard earring in one ear? It was blowing in the wind as he ran away with the dead pigeon.