yehaw.

we scored some tickets to a local rodeo in alabama and we spent saturday night watching bucking horses and roping cattle. this was my first rodeo and austin was so excited to show me what the rodeo was all about. we even dressed the part.

painted faces.

halloween traditions. usually we do the normal pumpkin carving at halloween time, but because georgia is so humid, you can't really carve pumpkins because they will deflate into grandma pumpkins within 24 hours. so this year we painted our pumpkins instead.

recon.

the next military training completed on austin's bucket list: the army reconnaissance course (ARC). pretty much a bunch of sneaking around and spying in the woods, he totally loved it! as a part of his uniform for the sneaking, we had to make a ghillie suit.

the wolf's den.

austin and i love to go hiking and exploring, and the rolling green hills and woods of georgia make this so fun.

one saturday we visited FDR state park and hiked the wolf's den. it's about a 7 mile loop that follows a beautiful trail through the woods and along several small waterfalls. we loved it!

we had some adventuring fun along the way...

war eagle.

scored some free tickets to an auburn university football game = instant fans!

 we were super stoked to experience one of the south's greatest traditions of college football!

the game atmosphere was great with a phenomenal half-time show...

seriously, what marching band can do that!? they were insanely good!

fun fact: auburn's mascot is the tigers. however war eagle seems to be their slogan, and they iconically release an eagle that circles around the field before every home game (austin made sure we didn't miss this highlight of the game). so what is it auburn...war eagle or tigers? either way, auburn dominated the other small college team, and we ended up leaving after half-time, feeling proud of our new home team--although we could never give up USC or UT, ever.

trips to the city.

atlanta is a good 1.5-2 hours away from columbus, so when we go we like to make it into a day trip. atlanta is a huge city, with interesting skylines and architectural features. realistically we try to go about every other month and make a trip to the temple.

after our temple trip we of course need a good bite to eat, and look at the little gem we found right in atlanta...

chuys! one of our most favorite restaurants in texas, with the best creamy jalapeno and salsa you could imagine. austin was amazed that the restaurant had expanded out of texas, and was even more shocked that it was not bursting with people--he eventually concluded that it had to be new to atlanta and therefore no one quite knew about it yet. we were so excited to find a piece of home here in georiga, we now go as tradition after every temple trip. 

on a steel horse i ride.

well we made it through a georgia summer, and austin made it through his armor-basic officer leadership course. with long in the heat and woods, i am so proud he made it through with high achievements and was recognized on the commadant's list. he never ceases to amaze me. however, austin was most proud of his stetson hat. yes, this beloved hat, which lives in a precious box and only comes out for special occasions, is his pride and joy. the stetson hat is a traditional symbol for cavalry units, who historically rode on horseback but now ride the steel horse of tanks, strikers, hum-vs. the graduation was short, the celebration sweet, and we enjoyed our time with great friends we have met here along the way.

found myself a real cowboy

inspiring story: a group of us went out to dinner later in the day to celebrate. all still dressed in our celebratory outfits, we enjoyed our time together reminiscing about the past and looking forward to the future. in the end, when we went to pay our individual checks, we were informed by our server that our entire party's bill had been paid in full, which had to amount to at least a couple hundred dollars. feeling greatly indebted, we asked for his table number or name, but the server said he had already gone and she pointed to his empty seat at the bar. we were tremendously disappointed that we could not thank this man for his overwhelming kindness, but i later found him in the left side of a random picture austin and i snapped during dinner. we were all greatly touched by this man's generosity, and someday i hope we can follow his example and pay his goodness forward .

labor day play.

labor day weekend my family came to visit georgia and we squeezed in as much fun and goodness columbus has to offer during their stay. 

first off, we explored fort benning, which included spotting some gators in the pond 

and getting up close and personal with the tanks. austin was able to get dill inside a tank! anyone that knows dill, knows that this was a dream come true for him. it was awesome to see his excitement! 

annnd we had to take my family to our favorite place in columbus, the animal safari! it was hilarious to watch each person's reaction to feeding the various animals...lots of screams and laughs..we had a blast!

we also spent an afternoon at flat rock park and explored rock waterfall slides. and it wouldn't be a sarmiento trip without some kind of clumsy event which took place as dill slipped, while climbing around the falls, and then slid several feet into kayla, who then also slipped, and the two continued sliding down the falls together. it was a comedy in the making. apart from a few wet bums, everyone was okay and we laughed about it the rest of the day.

we also got to celebrate dad's 50th birthday. the big five zero! with a cake for the diabetic man...

such a fun weekend! we loved having them visit and can't wait for their next trip!