Easter

For Easter, we went to my brother Shawn's house for dinner, and for Keith to meet Baby Kate. Nothing too exciting, but the food and company were great.

We also made a final decision to move to Texas May 3rd, so Keith can continue his job search there. I gave my notice at work today, so if anyone in the American Fork UT area is looking for a GREAT full time job, let me know so I can recommend you! I will really miss my co-workers, and especially the atmosphere of my job.

I'm going to miss my family, and I'm especially saddened by the idea that some of my nieces and nephews here won't remember Keith- it may be a while before we'll get to be able to go back to UT or CA. I just hope the ones that are old enough to remember us remember that we are the "cool" aunt and uncle!!

Andrew's birthday party was on sunday, can't believe he's 3 already!
I also caught Ryan making his monster sound on tape.. he's so cute.

The Latest Austin

Erik the Great

Erik just completed his first season of wrestling! He is a great little wrestler and suprisingly agressive and agile on the mat. We were suprised how determined and unrelenting he can be even when pinned down, he was usually able to get back up and keep going. Off the mat, hwe was gregarious and friendly with all the other kids. He really enjoys the sport and ended the season 5-3 and is looking forward to next year when he will be even bigger, stronger and faster!

Italian Night

Sunday Dinner at the Austin Household

Andrew is simply adorable!

Can I Please Have some?

In his defense, he WAS willing to share with Grandpa, he actually said "oh, wait just a minute" while he went back to scoop him more than what he had originally offered.
What a sweet little boy. :)

Landheim Family Christmas 2008

We had a spectacular time this Christmas season and were able to visit with family and friends as well as do a lot of fun activities with the kids. We rode the Polar Express, saw Santa, strolled the plaza to view the lights at temple sqaure, went sledding, performed the traditional family Christmas pagent and had our first ever family ski trip! Little Sofia (age 2 1/2) was able to get up on skis for the first time. She only lasted about an hour, but had blast nonetheless. We look forward to many more family ski trips in the future!

Thanksgiving at the Kuykendall House

Keith's parents came to visit us for Thanksgiving. We had a good time with them!
Keith and I with all the food. There was so much! We'll have leftovers for days, which isn't necessarily a bad thing =)
The mess that making such a "feast" creates. This was AFTER two loads of dishes had already been done...

I'm thankful for so many things, but as of last night, I was thankful I was able to have Keith's parents with us, and we were able to eat a turkey without getting food poisoning!!
I was pretty nervous about cooking dinner, and wasn't sure if I would do it, but Keith convinced to me to at least try, and I'm glad he did. I, at least, thought it turned out okay!

Autumn in Utah

Here are a few of our photos taken at Ashley's baptism and on our recent trip to Utah. It was so beautiful there, with the autumn trees and leaves everywhere. Makes me wonder why was it again that we chose Bakersfield. I'm sure there was a reason, but it escapes me for the moment. How we love the fall colors and being with our grandchildren in Utah. We were so glad that Sharol, Andrew and Ryan shared the journey with us, and gave the Austin cousins a chance to be together. Great events, great food, great fun. We hated to go home!

Fall

Mom, Dad, Sharol, Andrew, and Ryan came to Utah for Ashley's baptism this past weekend. The kids had fun playing in the leaves in their church clothes afterwards. We also had a BBQ at Chris's, and a delicious chicken dinner at Shannon's.

Thanks for visiting us!!

My New Blog

You can see my latest blog at leslieak.blogspot.com

I have info about what I'm doing all day, my attempt to make mom's cinnamon rolls, and my first foray in floral design, compliments of Amy.

Thanksgiving

Just curious as to what all the UT family members were planning for Thanksgiving. Keith's parents will be here visiting us, so we'd like to plan ahead a little bit. Does everyone want to get together for dinner, or would you guys rather just do dessert as a group? Any other ideas? Any volunteers to host dinner this year? I would, but I doubt we could fit everyone in our apartment! Comment below on your ideas/thoughts...

Our trip to Oahu

We went to Hawaii in October with our friends Roger and Lavonne McCumber. Some of the above pix are of the set for the Lost TV series. They were going to shoot Monday, but we were due to go home Sat. night. Judy demurred on extending our stay (go figure) to watch them shoot. You want to know what is really relaxing? Get one of those cheap floating lounges and just float on your back in Waikiki bay. Man, it is neat. Why don't I do it more often? We saw BYU play Utah State at Giovanni's Pastrami-they have 17 flat screens, 50" each. And they don't kick you out when you're done eating. If you want a full description of my vacation, call me. I have the meal-by meal, place-by place, wave-by wave description all ready.

Spencer is out

Spencer is now in Bakersfield, at the half-way house on H St. He is quite pleased to no longer be at Corcoran, where, frankly, they treated him like a prisoner or something. He will be at Westcare until Dec 26. Then he can stay on at a sober living facility for 6 more months, but the difference is that he can leave during the day to get a job. And the state pays for it. That is his plan. More later. Thanks to all those who wrote to him at Corcoran.

Since No One Else is Posting, I'll Bore you With Details About My Life

In the last year, the biggest lesson we have learned is that you can't plan anything too far in advance. You can plan and plan and plan, but things still might change. Today, our plan for the next couple years changed.

I got a call from my advisor informing me that I would have to take 3 more classes in order to be considered for the Secondary Teaching program. They are classes that I had already took at BYU, but the committee wanted me to take the UVU equivalents of those classes. So, instead of starting my student teaching next September, I wouldn't be able to start until January '10.

Since Keith is now graduating in August instead of December, it puts us in an awkward position if I want to finish the credential program. He would either have to extend his graduation even more, or he would have to work here in Utah for a few months, or more if I can't get permission to student teach in another state.

So far, we've decided that I will finish this semester up, and concurrently look for a full-time job. If I ever have a burning desire to become a teacher I can always go back to school wherever Keith gets a job. It's kind of a bummer since I feel sometimes like I don't pull my weight around here, but hopefully I'll find a job soon.

P.S. My camera is broken! SAD! So pictures will come once we mail the camera to Fry's in Texas where we bought it, they fix it, and send it back. That could be awhile....hopefully it's before Thanksgiving!!!

Disneyland

Ryan taking a little break from the action

Last Friday, we took to kids down to Disneyland where we met up with the Landheim Family, and Mom and Dad. Andrew was in absolute heaven. It took a few rides for him to grasp the concept of waiting in line, but he got it after a while. At the end of every ride he immediately said "again, again!" His favorite was Buzz Lightyear. Not only did he get to shoot, but he loved making our car spin. He also had a lot of fun in the Brother Bear playground. Max said he went down the slide about 30 times. Of course Grandpa kept the kids supplied with candy and soda-which is pretty much all Andrew ate. He insisted on walking all day, and only rode in the stroller a couple of times when we forced him to. Ryan was great, and the Disneyland "Family Centers" made life with an infant a lot easier. Overall, we had a fabulous day, and are already planning another trip while both kids are still free.