A Lincoln Reunion

This past weekend, Ryan and I got the chance to catch up with some college friends in Lincoln. Our friend, Stephanie was visiting from Dallas, so we all decided to head out to her favorite Nebraska restaurant, Lazlo's! The food was soooo good and the conversation even better. There's something about old friends...(forgive my cheesy analogy here)...they're like your favorite sweater, although you may not wear it for a few seasons it still fits just right and is just as cozy when you put it on again. I always feel like we can all pick up where we left off last time and continue on just chatting like there was never any time in between.

Friday was great and so was Saturday night. We attended a Halloween Housewarming party for our friends Matt and Rachael Breck. We got to hang out at their new pad and even donned some great Halloween costumes (we were golfers, of course).
Sunday was filled with Vikings football and some more house hunting/lot looking. I'm not sure if the lot looking really goes together, but I thought it fit nicely.

If we don't post before Saturday, HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all of you!

I guess your wife's sunglasses are better than no sunglasses!

A Lincoln Reunion
L-R
Ryan, Amberly, Laura & Kevin
Jeff, Betsy, Kelly, Stephanie & Cassie

Happy Halloween!

Happy Early Halloween!!

Ryan and I decided that we would start our own tradition and carve pumpkins this year just like we did when we were kids. Our pumpkin adventure began with a trip to the grocery store to pick out the best pumpkins. I picked out a cute medium sized pumpkin, and Ryan picked out one of the largest of the bunch. What we didn't realize about these pumpkins is that they had been sitting outside for the past couple of weeks...with the colder weather we've been having, they were a bit frozen, which would make our task a tad more difficult.

After working hard to get all of the gunk out, we decided to create our masterpieces. But first it was pumpkin seed time. Our recipe said to let the pumpkin seeds dry overnight, but if you know us...we're not patient people. So we improvised (see pictures below) and in 15 minutes the seeds were dry and ready for preparation!

After about 45 minutes of carving and beautifying our pumpkins, it was time for apple cider and the big reveal. We turned off all the lights in the apartment and lit the candles inside. It was very exciting, verrry exciting! We hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Ryan Starts to Cut into his pumpkin

We were being silly. I think Ryan is trying to give me a hat here.

When in doubt...use the blow dryer.

Or even better yet, TWO blowdryers.

Our Finished Pumpkins!

They are sooo spooky!

Bowling...Austad Style

That's Right! Just like the title says, we went bowling...Austad Style (and Rubin style!). We were lucky to have a quick visit from Mom and Dad Austad and lovely Miss Abbie too! So what's better than a little friendly bowling competition? There might have been some smack talk before the games started, but when Mike surprised us with his own personal bowling ball, we knew it was on! A few gutter balls, spares, splits, and even a few strikes later...Mike was the overall winner! Good work Mike! Abbie was also a winner too, enjoying the arcade games at the bowling alley, Abbie came up with 6 different prizes from the night! See her picture below!

At the moment I'm hanging out at our place waiting for Ryan to arrive back from Kansas City! I've got the fireplace going and the cozy socks on...this 40 and 30 degree weather is quite a change from the end of September, but I'm not complaining one bit! I'll be enjoying my spiced tea in T-5 minutes :)

A Fall Frolic

A few weekends ago Ryan and I enjoyed a beautiful fall hike at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska.
http://www.fontenelleforest.org/
It was the most beautiful day! After church, we headed home to pack up a picnic lunch and a few bottles of water, and we were off! The weather was great, with just a slight chill in the air, autumn was here! We hiked for about 6 miles and were quite exhausted when we were finished. What a beautiful and perfect day!

GO BIG RED!

It's Thursday night October 8th and we're ready for some HUSKER FOOTBALL!!!! With Nebraska ranked 21 and Missouri ranked 24th it should be a good battle between the Huskers and the Tigers. Mike and Sara are headed over tonight to enjoy a good meal before the game begins. We've been looking forward to Thursday night all week! GOOD LUCK HUSKERS!

See You Soon Baby Moon

My cousin Nikki has got to be one of the cutest mommies-to-be out there! I attended a baby shower for Nikki this last weekend, where we got to see her cute tiny baby bump, enjoy some cake and open pretty pink presents. I can't wait to meet Baby Girl Moon in a little over a month! Congrats Scott and Nikki, we are so happy for you!

mmmmm...peanut butter cookies

Peanut butter cookies have got to be one of our all time favorite types of cookies. After a long weekend of lounging and enjoying the fall weather, it was time for a project. At around 7:00 last Sunday night Ryan decided he was in the mood for some peanut butter cookies, and I just happened to agree. After a quick trip to our neighborhood Bag N Save, it was time for some cookie baking!

I mixed the batter and got all of the prep work ready and then it was time for Ryan to help. He was the criss crosser and sugar shaker, and he did such a fabulous job! After a good bake in the 350 degree oven we had warm, soft, yummy peanut butter cookies.

I took a dozen to work on Monday morning, and by 10:00 AM they were all gone! I guess next time I'll have to bring a few dozen!