the ostrich, the zebra, and my monkey toes.

One of the many things Travis and I share in common is a love for animals. Whether the thing is wild or domestic, in our minds, each one loves his life and is a "good boy." So when we heard about the drive-through Wildlife Safari in New Braunfels, it was a no-brainer: we had to go.

We spent three hours at this place! It had an actual miniature zoo that you could walk around to see monkeys, lemurs, and exotic birds, and a petting zoo (which was just a field with goats, but still fun nonetheless).

 That's a smart boy right there.

The real entertainment came with the driving portion, of course. At the gate, they give you a bag of food with little bits of kibble that you can throw on the ground for the animals. You ride through the course with your windows down, and these wild animals come right up to your car to eat the food. Pretty amazing concept.

About 75% of the animals consisted of every breed of antelope you never knew existed. I gave up trying to identify any of them, but they sure were pretty.

 ?

 ???

 Longhorns! Finally, something I recognize.

 Ummm...

????????

The landscape was awe-inspiring, too. We didn't know Texas would be so green!

Now, there were two main rules at this place, and they posted them frequently throughout so you wouldn't forget: DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS WITH YOUR HANDS, and DO NOT GET OUT OF YOUR CAR FOR ANY REASON. We broke both of these, but it wasn't our fault--it was this guy's!

I don't have the pictures to show what went down here...it all went happened so fast.

First, ostriches are terrifying. Imagine this face...

...about six inches away from you.

He knew the drill with the car windows. To him, they were clearly magical portals from which he could expect treats. Before I knew it, his head was inside our car, looking for the grub. I was too scared at first to let him eat from my hand, so I held the bag out to him, thinking that he would just take what he wanted and move along. Instead, he picked up the bag with his massive beak, pulled it out of the car, and dropped it on the ground.

Travis got a little frustrated at this point, understandably because it was all the food we had. Now I had to figure out how to fix this problem. The ostrich had lost interest in the food, which I supposed was spoiled in his mind now that it was on the ground, and he was looking in the other direction. Slowly I opened our car door, and...

Let me pause so I can tell you about my toes. I have exceptionally long, narrow, dexterous toes that can pick up all sorts of things--used dryer sheets, laundry, keys--anything that's been dropped and I don't feel like bending over to grab. I've wondered what the point of having such monkey-like toes might be, and on this day, my monkey toes found their purpose.

...I ever so carefully stuck my foot out of the car door, grabbed the edge of the paper bag with them, and pulled my foot, and the food, back into the car.

Good thing I did it quickly, because that ostrich had his head back in the car in a matter of seconds. I let him eat out of my hand and we got out of there.

Finally, the zebras.

The zebras are the main event, y'all. I obviously have no idea what the wild ones are really like, but these guys have personalities that are similar to horses: mischievous, funny, friendly, always hungry. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

See what I mean? Mischievous. And awesome.

Here's a video of Travis, the Zebra-whisperer, communicating with wild animal. And afterward, the chaos when multiple zebras wanted our attention at the same time.

Then we journeyed back home to our own wild kingdom...

Mr. Bingley's not a fan of the gecko.

Just for giggles, check out this clip from one of our favorite comedians, Jim Breuer, as he describes a similar (but crazier) drive-through safari in New Jersey:


Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

the first ten.

No pictures this week, but I wanted to share a couple of things we've learned on our journey so far.

1. Puffy tacos are a thing. Basically, they're tacos in a soft shell that has been lightly fried (and thus has become "puffy"). I've tried one. Not impressed.

2. There is also a restaurant called "Furr's Fresh Buffet." One letter away from "Furry." That's a line I don't want to toe.

3. Even when you live with someone and spend all your time around them, you still need to make time to be with them. It's the craziest thing--Travis and I don't have social outlets at the moment, so we're around each other all the time, but I have noticed that after several days of just living side by side, we still have to carve out time to reconnect. It takes concerted effort to focus on each other for a time and not just continue life as roommates. So, date nights are still very much present in our weekly schedule, and will continue to be until we enter the assisted living facility in our 90s. Then, date night will consist of bingo.

4. Freddy's Frozen Custard = AMAZING.

5. Zebras are a lot like horses in terms of personality. (More on that later.)

6. Building relationships takes FOREVER. I met a girl that I connected with maybe three weeks ago, and I'm realizing just how much time it takes to go from acquaintance to friend. I have no idea when I'll have an actual Texan friend. I'm not complaining or asking for pity--I'm just realizing that, man, this is gonna take a while. But I'm enjoying the process. It's really made both me and Travis even more grateful for the dear friends we have in our lives, even though we're separated by thousands of miles.

7. Transferring your life to another state is expensive. Sheesh. But learning to be creative in terms of frugality is kind of fun when you're on the same page with your spouse!

8. San Antonio drivers are N-U-T-S. It's dog-eat-dog out there, and Travis and I are tempted to kiss the pavement every time we get home.

9. God will never lead us where He hasn't been. He's made Himself so apparent at every step of this process, fielding all the curveballs and protecting us from what's around the corner. It's been scary and amazing.

10. As Travis said recently, growth happens out of your comfort zone. And we are waaaaaay out of our comfort zone, but the growth even this far has left us both in awe.

"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong has been on my heart for probably six months now, long before we got in the car to move here. And it's still just as true, resonating with our hearts as we actually experience the lyrics:

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown, where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep, my faith will stand

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Whatever you're going through, keep trusting Him. Wherever He is calling you to go, I hope you will take the next step out onto the water.

And we'll keep learning...and eating custard.

Love to you all!

Well hey, Austin!

A few weeks ago, we reunited with our friends the Miles for some touring of downtown Austin. (Side note: I just accidentally typed "Downton" instead of "downtown." That shows you where my head is most of the time...I just can't get enough of Maggie Smith! Anyway.)

Some background first: Jim Miles is one of my favorite people on the planet. We worked together for years, creating some awesome things and some utterly ridiculous things. Best working years of my life so far. Before I even dated Travis, I told Jim that he would be officiating my wedding. Several years later, he did exactly that, and made some people laugh harder than they had ever done at a wedding, myself included. It was 100% awesome.

Our families were so excited to find out that we would once again be living in the same state, so we wasted no time in getting together once Trav and I were settled.

The day itself was utterly beautiful, almost autumnal. Those days have already passed. I'm starting to wonder if we skipped fall and winter altogether and went into another summer...but I'm not giving up hope. Yet. Maybe my magical boots will bring the chill...Anyway, pictures!

The giant guitar where we met a lady whose daughter lives near Charleston.
Amazing how many people we have met who are familiar with that area!

 Obviously, my favorite county ever.

 Reunited!

 I've never seen such a tiny oboe replica...usually they leave the oboes right out!

 Creepy ghostlike picture that I promised Jim I wouldn't post.

This is a series I call, "The Progression of Weird."

 

 This is Travis teaching Charley how to do "The Walk."
You'd have to see it in person, but it involves a lot of chest movement and quick steps.

 He caught on pretty quickly.

 FAVORITE PICTURE EVER.

The Chuggin' Monkey! Totally appropriate place for children.

Thanks for the great day, guys! Can't wait to make more memories soon!

life lately:

Hello all!

We just passed our four-week mark here. Hard to believe that it's only been that long...so much has happened since we left our sweet city in the South.

Things are slowly becoming "normal" here in Texas...a new normal, that is. I've gone back to work, we've met a few folks, and we finally got a car!

Let's talk about the most exciting things first: scarf weather arrived! For about a day, and then it went back to the mid-90s. But I definitely took advantage of that one day.

I don't have friends yet (*whimper*) so I decided to let all my online friends know about my fashion sense.

Next, we've been anxiously awaiting the opening of San Antonio's first Trader Joe's, and the day finally arrived! It strangely felt a bit like home walking through there. They are also putting in a Zoe's Kitchen right next door...it was a day of heaven-sent discoveries.

Seriously, pumpkin trees?? Greatest plant ever.

Since we've been down to one car for the past month, I've been cooped up at home while Travis is working. Thankfully, I had a couple of DIY projects to complete, including repainting a travesty of a project I did about a year ago. I attempted to make my own chalk paint using baking soda, and it was definitely a Pinterest fail. The baking soda seemed to make the paint retain moisture, and it was only a few months before the paint started peeling and changing colors. So I sanded it down and made another batch of chalk paint, this time using this great recipe I found at Lowe's. It worked fantastically well, so I did two pieces!

The bottom one just needs new knobs, preferably from World Market.
Productivity makes me happy happy!

Next up: the car search. After a time of looking around, we decided to go the good ol' Dave Ramsey route: Find a very used car and pay cash. Build wealth. Get a better car later. (Not sure if he said that last part, but that's our plan.) That made things a lot more interesting. Trav spent hours searching Craig's list for an ad that was actually worth our time. None of the choices were too pretty, but we just wanted a car that wouldn't break down on the interstate. The first option led us to a guy who calls himself "Redneck Willy." Turns out, that's his stage name. He's a "comedian." Seriously, see if you can find him on YouTube. We didn't end up purchasing from him, and it bummed me out just a little because I really wanted to try to capture the scene of Travis meeting Redneck Willy. Ah well.

Then we found the ugliest car in the history of ever--a "murdered out" black Mustang with Cobra accessories. (Maybe some of you know what I mean--I try to only repeat what Travis tells me about cars, because I know next to nothing.) It was painted flat black, and all the light cases had been painted black as well. Why? To not be seen at night. Obviously. Guys, it was ugly as sin. Travis loves Mustangs, and he even thought it was hideous. Thankfully, we didn't go with that one either.

Finally, we met a lovely man named Enrique who had fixed up a '93 Thunderbird (yes, you read that right) for his granddaughter, who decided she wanted a pickup truck instead. The price was right, and the engine was brand new. Without further adieu, I introduce you to our newest family member:

The second ugliest car on earth! Don't worry, it smells worse than it looks.

We're truly thankful for this car. And for the ability to change out the carpet...and the steering wheel...and probably the seats, too. But we have a second car, and we didn't break the bank. These are very, very good things.

We're considering names for this new addition...any ideas?

And finally, times are always fun (and weird) when two humans have no other humans for company and must rely on the cat for entertainment. I leave you with this picture of weirdness. It sure made us smile.

Love and miss you all!  

32, how about you?

I'll be honest. I wasn't so sure this birthday would be a very enjoyable one, what with being so far from all my friends and family and familiarity. For some reason I've come to believe you should have a good time on your birthday if at all possible. Probably because I think that God celebrates the fact that we were born...and if He does, then we should, too. 

But how does an extrovert like me celebrate when there are no people around? Answer: FaceTime with parents, go shopping at Lowe's (because I'm a big kid now) and enjoy a Pride & Prejudice marathon until Trav gets home from work. Done and done!

 Yeah, that's a cactus. I now own my own cactus.
And I got some supplies to redo a few furniture pieces--thanks, Dad!

Mr. Bingley had a good time relaxing, as per usual.

When Trav was finished working, we finally got to go explore the Riverwalk! I haven't been there in probably ten years, but it looks just as magical. Maybe more so, because now it's my city. But Travis had never seen it, so showing him around was fun! In case you haven't seen it either, here are some shots for you to get an idea.

 Tour boats on the man-made Riverwalk.

 Long live Mariachi bands! They will play at your table and literally blow trumpets in your face if the price is right. Heck, they'll do it regardless. You cannot escape the Mariachi.

 The restaurant umbrellas' reflection in the water is my favorite thing.

He doesn't like it when I make him take pictures. But he's usually a good sport about it.
And ain't he cute??

But let's talk about the main gift, or as I like to call them, my induction into Texas culture. I present to you MY NEW BOOTS!

Can you smell the leather from your screen? Mmmmmm...

And speaking of mmmm, we have a Cheesecake Factory nearby. We consider ourselves among the elite to have such delicious dessert within ten miles of us.

 Caramel turtle pecan. Next time I'll try the pumpkin pecan. Then the banana cream. Then...

 My singing waiters..at least there is no clapping involved at the CF.

SWOON.

Best present of all. Every day with this guy.

Not too shabby for only being in town two weeks. My husband loves me well. My parents and friends love me well. God loves me more than all. And we're living the adventure He has called us to. 32 is starting off fairly well, I'd say.

Much love to you all, and thank you for the birthday wishes!

S