Our Weekend

We had such a nice & relaxing weekend. The weather was gorgeous, so we took full advantage and went to the zoo...along with every other Houstonian and their 12 children. It took half an hour to find a parking spot, but once we were finally in it was a lot of fun!

Ryan's favorite...the rhino!

These tigers were actually playing...something I don't think I've ever seen! Usually, they just lay around and make me mad. Those are some BIG kitty cats!!

This little baby elephant was so cute! It is the largest Asian elephant (FYI: they're the ones with the smaller ears) to ever be born in a United States zoo. He weighed 364 pounds when he was born!!! UGH. His momma was so protective and wouldn't let him out of her sight.

Here's my favorite. Her name is Lucy, and she's an Okapi. She was so adorable! I had never even heard of this animal before, but it's a relative of a giraffe but has zebra striped legs. Don't I sound like an elementary school teacher giving you all of these animal facts that I'm sure you already know??

Ryan and I were like two kids yesterday. After we went through the children's part of the zoo, we paid way too much for some Dippin' Dots because I have to have my banana split! YUM!!!

Cheyenne, the Orangutan. She just hung on that board, chewed on her grass and stared at everybody. We couldn't take our eyes off of her!

OK, we couldn't quit laughing at this crazy giraffe that kept licking the electric fence wire with its enormous tongue. I really hope he didn't find out the hard way that the wire is there for a reason. Ouch! I remember at the Abilene zoo, we used to feed the giraffes animal crackers from the bridge and they'd lick them up. One time, I put my own animal cracker down and licked it up off the same bridge the giraffes lick on all day so that I could "be like the giraffes". It's a wonder I'm still alive...disgusting.

After we saw all we could see at the zoo, we walked around Hermann park for awhile and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon. Then we went and drove through the wealthy older part of Houston and "Oohed and Aahed" over all the mansions that we dream of but never could afford. I wish every weekend could be that relaxing and carefree!

Yao Ming, Mohawks, & Magpies

I was browsing through pictures of things I hadn't posted about, and I had completely forgotten to tell you all that I have had a revelation. I like basketball!! (As long as it's in person, or the Mavs on TV). How did I come to this realization? Well, Ryan got great tickets for FREE to a Houston Rockets game from a guy at work, so we decided to go because normal people don't turn down free tickets to anything. However, I was completely non-enthusiastic about going and begrudgingly gave up my night of watching the American Idol results show to go to a basketball game I cared nothing about. I still don't really care about the Rockets, but can I just tell you that I was on the edge of my seat for that entire game? I caught myself being so nervous and into the game that I had to make myself sit back and pretend I didn't care...after all, I hate basketball. I was so close to Yao Ming, and let me just tell you that seeing the tallest player in the NBA in person was pretty cool...even for a person who cares nothing about basketball. Ever since going to that game, I find myself actually stopping on a basketball game while channel surfing. Very weird.

Here's a picture of Yao Ming ... he would be the one that's 7'6" tall!



When we went to visit the Poe's over Easter, Matt was determined to give Quinn a mohawk with the tiny amount of "fuzz" on his head. You can kindof tell in this picture though...isn't that funny? Oh, and doesn't Uncle Ryan look cute getting him some "Q-Love" as he calls it?!

Here are a couple more pictures from our Easter weekend.

Ryan's parents in Penny's BEAUTIFUL garden. I love going to their house in the Spring because everything is blooming. I wish she'd pass her green thumb to me!!

Anybody wondering what a Magpie is? According to Webster, it is: 1. Any of a genus of birds related to jays , having black and white plumage and a long tail. 2. A chatterbox, a garrulous gossip. 3. Sarah's new workplace.

OK, so the last definition isn't really in the dictionary, but it is the name of the new store I'm working at now! I started my new job today at Magpie's Gifts in Bellaire, and I absolutely love it. It's so nice to be in a work environment that is actually pleasant and a place I enjoy spending my day. For those of you from Abilene, it's similar to Surprises. For those of you not from Abilene, picture a kindof trendy home decor, jewelry, candles, fun gifts, monogrammed bags type of store. Super cute! I'm just working there 3 days a week and every other Saturday, so it's the perfect job for this transitional time in my life...as long as I don't spend my entire paycheck there. UGH!! I prayed and prayed for God to open up a door, and just like he always does, he provided me with an opportunity that I couldn't turn down. His goodness never fails us, and I am constantly being reminded of that.

Fun-Filled Easter Weekend??

I have to laugh when I think about our trip to the metroplex for Easter last weekend. It started off with me at Discount Tire getting a flat fixed the morning we were supposed to leave. Doesn't that always happen when you really NEED your car? Well, I guess Bryan (that was the Discount Tire guy's name) was in a happy mood because it was Good Friday or something because he didn't charge me, so that was nice! Ryan got out of school early, so we actually got an early start, which was a nice surprise. Not that it mattered...we sat in traffic just trying to leave Houston for 2 hours. It only takes us 4 hours to get to Dallas normally. We were both about to go insane, and Harley had already thrown up in the back seat. We had high hopes that the weekend had to get better. After all, we had tickts to the Red Sox vs. Rangers game, and I had bought a new Red Sox hat.

Our first stop was to see the Poes so that Ryan could meet Quinn. It was so much fun to see how much he had already changed. He looked so much more like a little person after just a week and a half! Ryan and I traded off holding him for awhile, then we sadly had to be on our way. I already can't wait to hold him again!! Oh...and of course it was great to see Brittney and Matt too! Brittney...you look SO good. :-)

We got to Ryan's parents house just in time to go out to eat for dinner. While we were getting ready my brother called. I assumed it was about the baseball game we were all going to Saturday night. Like I said, the Red Sox were in town, and sorry for all you Rangers fans, but my family goes to the "Red Sox" games...not the Ranger games. We cheer for the Rangers as long as they aren't playing the Red Sox! Even though the weather promised to be cold, I had come prepared with lots of layers. So back to the phone call...Brad calls and says, "Uh...we have a little problem. Actually, it's a big problem. I bought tickets for the wrong night." I tried not to be upset or laugh, both of which I really wanted to do. He hadn't just bought tickets for the wrong night, he had bought FOURTEEN tickets for the wrong night. It was my Dad's birthday present from my brother to get the whole family together for the game. The company wouldn't let him trade his tickets, so long story short, we didn't go to the game after all. Instead, we all went to Babe's in Burleson, which is a really fun family-style restaurant. Then we went to Kendall's brother & sister-in-law's house for coffee and to watch the rest of the game in the warmth of their home. We gave Brad a pretty hard time about it, but it was all in fun. We felt so bad for him though!! At least we weren't watching the game in the snow. Can you believe we had snow in April?!?

The next morning, Ryan's parents and I got up to go to church. We left extra early because it was Easter and we knew everyone and their dogs would be there. Surprisingly, we found a great parking spot, so we knew that we had gotten there early enough. HA! We got inside and they were closing all the doors to the sanctuary and telling people (very rudely might I add), "This section's closed." I wanted to say "Happy Easter to you too!" but I refrained. They weren't even adding extra chairs or anything, so I was a little annoyed that they weren't trying very hard! Seriously, didn't they know that I hadn't gotten to go to the Red Sox game last night?!? The only seats that were left were single seats scattered all over the room, and none of us really wanted to sit alone on Easter, so we decided to go to the overflow room with everyone else who was being shut out. Trying to keep a good attitude, we found our seats among the screaming babies and badly behaving children (whose parents I wanted to strangle, but again....I refrained). It was Easter Sunday--one of my favorite Sundays of the year--and I found myself getting a really bad attitude about having to watch the service on a TV screen. I mean, all these "once a year Christians" were taking all the seats! Then, I stopped and thought. Maybe someone who had never been to church a day in their life was sitting in "my" seat in the sanctuary. Maybe they were supposed to be there instead of me. Maybe it was more important for them to hear the sermon away from the distractions in the overflow room. So, in the midst of my crazy Easter, I did have a moment where God showed me that it isn't all about me. I think I needed that.

The rest of our trip was uneventful. We had Easter lunch at Ryan's Aunt Julie's house with all of his family, and it was so good to see everyone. Our drive home was traffic-free, and Harley didn't even get sick. It's nice to know that even though our plans didn't quite pan out, we still had a nice weekend. I'll never let Brad forget about those tickets though! :-)