Frosty the Snowman

This is the snowman I made the other day at our girls' craft night. One of my friends made it up. The day after I hung him up it snowed here, which is a pretty rare occurance in Richmond!

Williamsburg's Grand Illumination

Jacob and I went down to Williamsburg Sunday night for the Grand Illumination they do every year there. We had dinner with Brandon, Elizabeth, and Atticus and then we headed downtown. It was our first time seeing Colonial Williamsburg. It is beautiful there, even though it was dark and we couldn't see very well. All of our friends have told us about this event and we decided to go since it was our last chance. We loved it. It was a nice night, not too cold, so we didn't need the pile of blankets we had brought. We got there just in time for the fireworks. All of the houses and shops downtown light a candle in each window for the Christmas season. We were also entertained by a storyteller, bagpipes and drums, and fifes and drums.

Jacob was having trouble keeping his eyes open in the bright flash of the camera. This was the best we could get.
Keeping warm by the fire lantern.Elizabeth, Brandon, & Atticus
Thanks Moons for taking us. We had a wonderful time!

Wedding in a ...

...Barn! Yes, that's right, I went to a wedding in this barn on Saturday. I played (piano) with a violinist and cellist. I felt like we should've played fiddle music instead of Pachelbel's Canon in D. The music went fine even though I thought my fingers were going to fall off because they were so cold. It was freezing in there and I had to keep my coat on through the whole wedding. Good thing it didn't last very long. It was at a place called Amber Grove Inn, which is a bed and breakfast. It is a really pretty place, and when I pulled up to the house I never thought I'd be headed out to the barn for the wedding. :) They had the reception in the house.

Tagged!

I usually hate these things, but I guess I'll play along.

THE RULES
1. The player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves - try to find 6 you haven't already posted about!
2. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules.

1. I had surgery on my right ear about 5 years ago to remove a cholesteatoma (kind of a tumor) that was causing some hearing loss. I had a lot of ear infections growing up, so that's how I knew to get it checked out. I still don't hear as well out of that ear.

2. I do not like inside pets. Neither does Jacob. Our kids are going to hate us. Just the other day at a student's house during their piano lesson, their huge French Mastiff came up and slobbered all over my pants and sweater. Yay. Just another reason for no pets. No offense to all my pet-lover friends. I like animals, just not inside my house.

3. I wish I had a beautiful solo singing voice. I sing fine, but I have a choir voice. I've always wanted to take lessons so I can be more confident with my singing. I also want to take organ, but I'm a little reluctant b/c once I know how to play the organ I'll never escape the music callings at church.

4. I hate it when people tell me that I'm "so quiet". Yeah, that really makes me want to talk even more. I'll talk when I have something important to say.

5. I am a chronic toe-stubber. Jacob always teases me b/c I'm always stubbing my toes. He makes me wear slippers around the house to help prevent it. Fortunately I've never broken a toe, but I have bruised them pretty bad a couple of times. I guess I need to work on being less clumsy.

6. I eat at least a little bit of chocolate almost every day. I love all kinds: milk, dark, with nuts, with peanut butter. Yeah, I love chocolate. I think I get it from my dad who always devours the huge dark chocolate candy bars.

Well, those are my facts. Hope you all learned a little something about me.
I tag Jana, Shaela, Alissa, Cortney, Lindsay, and Brooke.

Salvation

I saw this in front of a local church here and had to take a picture.

How to Host a Murder

Last Saturday, Jacob and I were invited to play How to Host a Murder with some friends. There were 8 of us who each had a character to play. We ate a really nice dinner first, then we played the game and tried to figure out who the murderer was. The theme was "Powar and Greede" (a Hollywood premiere). Jacob's character was a screenwriter from Paris so he got to do a French accent all night. Neither one of us was the murderer, but we had fun figuring it out. My friend Brooke let me borrow her cute clothes and accessories. Thanks Brooke! Sorry I don't have any group pictures.

Does anyone else think Jacob looks like the lead singer from Rascal Flatts in this picture? (don't tell Jacob I said that)

Thanks Michelle and Dave for inviting us. We had a great time!

Halloween Party

Friday night our ward had its annual Halloween party. We had a chili cook-off, desserts, costume parade, and trunk-or-treat (which had to be inside the church b/c it was raining). Jacob and I usually do not dress up, but this year we decided to get into the holiday spirit. Everyone loved our costumes. Of course, not that many adults dressed up. We actually won a prize for ...closest to character, whatever that means. Did they think we're really pirates?

Our friends, the Christiansons as Aladdin, Jasmine, the Genie, and Abu. They won the prize for Most Unique.

Arachnophobia

A few days ago Jacob found this is the corner of our living room.

Yes, it is a black widow! Don't worry, Jacob killed it... right after he picked it up. Just kidding. Sorry to all you spider haters (Shaela). Hope it doesn't creep you out too much!

Could you be a vampire?

Ok, tonight I have book club for the books Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. I couldn't resist putting this up. I guess I just have vampires on my mind. Here is my result-it is all pretty true!

You Could Not Be a Vampire

Sorry, but you're not just cut out for flesh eating, turning into a bat, and living forever. But that's okay. The sight of blood turns your stomach... without even thinking of drinking it. And while you definitely would never be a vampire, you're exactly the type of frail prey Dracula wannabe's crave. Maybe it's time to arm yourself with a cross and some nasty garlic breath! What you would like best about being a vampire: The raw power (though you wouldn't admit it to anyone) What you would like least about being a vampire: The whole killing thing

Could You Be a Vampire?

Pumpkin Palooza

On Saturday I spent the day with Elizabeth and her little boy Atticus who visited from Williamsburg. (Elizabeth's husband Brandon is Jacob's cousin.) We went to Byrd Park to check out their giant carved pumpkins. Here are a few.

Thanks for coming Elizabeth and Atticus! We had a great time!

National Folk Festival

A couple of weekends ago Jacob and I went to the National Folk Festival here in Richmond. It comes to a city for 3 years in a row and this was its last year here. We enjoyed the music and food and watching all the people that were there. I would have posted this sooner but Jacob had the camera at school all week (he has to take pictures of his patients' teeth- gross, I know). Anyway, here are some pictures from the festival.

This is Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitar and Elana James on violin. They did western swing. Elana also sang. It was fun music to listen to. We loved it when the guy on upright bass had a solo. He was crazy.

This is a band called Vishten from PEI, Canada. They did Celtic/French music. They were a bit weird, tapping their feet a lot, but the music was good, even though Jacob couldn't understand their French very well when they sang.

This is a woman named Karan Casey from Ireland. She had a beautiful voice. I think she has a myspace page where you can listen to her. I really liked her music, but Jacob almost fell asleep!

Here is Jacob eating alligator nuggets! I tried them too and liked them. We were pretty hungry though. I don't know how to describe their taste other than to say it was kind of like chicken. :)

Well, that's it. We had a great time listening to the music and looking at all the stuff people had for sale. I don't know what city the festival is going to be in next year, but if it's in yours, you should definitely go!

Conference Highlights

Well, we had a great weekend watching general conference. Some favorite moments and talks for me were:

• Elder Spencer J. Condie's talk that even when we may feel forgotten, God "will not vary from these promises."
• Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's great talk on charity/love while he struggled to stand and Elder Nelson holding him up. What great examples of love from both of them!
• Sister Julie Beck's talk about mothers who know. Hopefully someday I can be that kind of mother.
• Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk about choosing things that are better or best to help our families. Great counsel for now and for my future family.

Of course I always love listening to Pres. Hinckley speak. I always feel so much love for him when I hear him talk. Overall it was a wonderful conference and I feel uplifted and motivated to live the gospel better! What were your favorite talks?

Elder Austin arrives home!

Last week I was able to go to TN to be with the family to welcome Will back home on Friday, Sept. 21. He was released that afternoon from serving an honorable mission in the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission. He had lots of pictures and stories to share and gave a great homecoming talk at church.

Arriving at the airport Will, Mom, Dad, and Anna
the banner Mom and I made :)
the 3 William Glenn Austins
me, Anna, and Will
I had a great time being home with everyone. We missed having Jana and Louisa and husbands there too. It is great having Will back. He is very mature and polite (what happened to my pesky little brother?). It was so fun talking to him again. Welcome back Will!!

Fun Day at the Apple Orchard

On Sept. 15 we went with some of our friends to the Carter Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville, VA. We had a great time picking and eating red and golden delicious apples, which were so much better than the store-bought kind. It was a beautiful day with awesome weather and got me in the mood for fall.

Jacob about to eat the apple (and me)!

Finding the perfect one!

Apple trees with view of Charlottesville in backgroundJacob and me

The whole group: us, Christiansons, Sampsons, and Huffs

Last Visit- August 10, 2007

These are some pictures from our last visit with Jana and Rob at their apartment in Herndon, VA before they moved to Hawaii.

At Last!

I am finally getting started with our family blog. Hopefully I can keep it updated fairly often. We'll see how it goes!