Christmas!

We had a fun Christmas with our family. Of course we missed our parents, but loved talking to them on Christmas Day and being with our family that is here in Salt Lake.

Our Christmas Eve pajama party



Santa brought Owen a football



Christmas Morning

18 months

Owen is now 18 months! We can hardly believe he is so old- I feel like I just had a newborn. He loves football, Jayhawk basketball, getting in the cupboards, cars, buses, and cheese. He is so fun and full of personality.

Santa Claus is coming to town

We got a tree...



Owen helped decorate it...



And he was so excited when St. Nick came to downtown Lawrence.

Family Weekend

My brother Rob and his wife Erin came in town this weekend- it was so fun to see family and to be able to spend the whole weekend with them. Rob had to work most of the time, which left Erin and I plenty of time to do some shopping! Erin is pregnant and is due in March- she told me that she hadn't had a chance to go baby boy shopping yet, so this weekend we decided it was time that she got some of the baby basics, and a few other things we couldn't resist!

Yesterday was Rob's birthday so we celebrated by going out to dinner and having some cake and ice cream.




When we lit the candles Owen got scared of the fire- isn't that face so pitiful!



We miss you guys already and can't wait to see you in about a month!! Thanks for coming and making time go by a little faster out here in Kansas!

Date Night

Joseph and I went to the KU game this week. Our friends watched Owen for us (Thank you Peterson's!) so just the two of us could go. It was a pre-season game so of course KU dominated (103-45!) We loved watching the game in the fieldhouse and to be a part of all the traditions!

Bob the Builder

Owen was Bob the Builder this year for Halloween.



Earlier in the night we went downtown to the shops. On Halloween the trick-or-treaters can walk down Massachusetts street and the businesses give out candy; Owen had a hard time holding his hat and his bag- I usually ended up holding one or the other, I felt really stupid when I ended up holding the bag open for the treat and Owen had run past me and the candy!



Then we went over to the Church for the Trunk or Treat. Owen had tossed his hat aside at this point and was dragging his bag around the parking lot, every once in awhile he would stop and search through his bag for some smarties.



I always miss family around Halloween, I loved going to my cousins and grandparents house trick- or- treating when I was little, but we are making some fun traditions here as well to help us not think about home too much.

Late night at the PHOG

Last week we went to the 25th anniversary of Late Night at the PHOG. For those of you not familiar with this KU tradition, it's basically a glorified pep rally to kick off basketball season. The players and coaches do skits, they play a video of KU basketball highlights and the teams do a short scrimmage. Since this is Kansas basketball we're talking about, the place was packed to the gills and the fans were loud. There's really nothing quite the the atmosphere of Kansas basketball. At times, it was a little too loud for Owen and he got scared, but after a little while he was clapping and enjoying all the action. It was a fun night at the PHOG!

Pumpkin Patch

This Friday we went to the local pumpkin patch. It was fun to pick out some pumpkins, go on the hay ride and to let Owen run around. It was kind of windy that day, Owen looked like he was going to get blown away a few times!





I was looking back at my pictures when we went to the pumpkin patch last fall; what a difference a year makes- I can't believe how much Owen has grown!

Utah

This past week Owen and I went home for a couple of days, it was nice to be in town when my parents were there and to just spend time with the whole family. I didn't take many pictures, but Owen loved spending time with his cousins and every morning would give hugs to everyone!
Owen and Olivia going for a walk; they are only ten weeks apart and play together really well, its so fun to have them so close in age!



We think Owen and his cousin Charlie look so much a like! Owen doesn't look too happy in this picture- but he really does love playing with Charlie.



Aunt Amy and Owen cheering on my Niece, Sarah, at her soccer game.



We loved being in Utah, but it is always nice to be back home with Joseph, we missed him!

Labor Day Weekend

We decided we would take advantage of the long weekend and drove to Nauvoo on Friday afternoon. Joseph's sister Holly and her family met us there; it was so nice to see them and made the trip much more fun!

The first night we were there Owen had a hard time sharing, he obviously didn't want anyone else touching his blanket.



The next morning we went down to see some of the pioneer homes, it was surprisingly nice weather and not too hot which made walking around a lot more enjoyable.



The Lesan family sporting their Ohio State Buckeye attire, it was a big sacrifice for Rob not to be in Ohio this weekend but we're glad he caught the game during the kids' nap time!



Ellie didn't particularly like being in the stroller but she loved being on her Uncle Joseph's shoulders.







The next day after church we went and took some pictures by the temple.





This was the best picture we could get of all the cousins, with Matt wanting to crawl away and Owen ready to run, we're just glad they are all in the shot.



This morning we got up and drove over to Carthage Jail before making the drive back home. It was so nice to be in Nauvoo; just to think about what the saints went through to build it up and then to just have to walk away is so sad. We are so grateful that we are living close enough that we can go and see that beautiful Temple and remember all that happened there.

Kirk Herbstreit Should Resign

Or at least he should give the Mountain West some respect. Once again, Herbstreit predicted the outcome of a BYU game and got it wrong. (See my post on his prediction of the BYU-UCLA game last year.) On ESPN, Herbstreit was stating that BYU's defense was no match for the Heisman-winning quarterback, Sam Bradford, and BYU's offensive line would be crushed by the more athletic and experienced OU front 7. Wrong. Not only was BYU not crushed, they hung on for the win. OU is now 0-3 against Mountain West opponents in season openers, and BYU leads their series with OU 2-0.

Critics will argue that the only reason BYU won is because Sam Bradford got injured. That's a fair point. He's is the best in the nation. When OU needed a come-from-behind score in the closing seconds of the game, Bradford would have had the poise to pull it off; the back-up QB did not. Bradford is a fantastic player and I wish him well.

But look at BYU's defensive performance in the first half of the game: they held a potent OU offense to just 2 scores when that team usually scores 45 or more points in a game. They kept pressure on Bradford, forced four 3-and-out's, and forced two fumbles, all in the first half before Bradford was injured. Then in the second half, the defense denied OU the endzone on 5 consecutive plays at the goal line (BYU got a pass-interference call and gave OU a fresh set of downs, but OU still couldn't come up with the two yards they needed). I think the defense proved they can hang with the the nation's elite.

Then there was BYU's offense. Even without star players like Harvey Unga and Austin Collie, the offense got things done when they needed to. Did the OU defense force mistakes? Yes, painful mistakes. A fumble in the endzone, two interceptions, a load of penalties, and a dismal running game. But when it was time for Max Hall to get the job done at the end of the game, he pulled it off and lead a spectacular drive going 78 yards on 16 plays (including converting a 4th and 4) and ate up almost nine minutes off the clock. The drive finished with Hall executing a perfect play to misdirect the OU secondary and hit a wide-open McKay Jacobson in the back of the endzone.

One of these days, they are going to have to give the Mountain West teams some respect and stop calling it a "fluke" when a team from a non-BCS conference knocks off a BCS team. Utah has busted the BCS twice and BYU, Utah, and TCU (all Mountain West teams) are considered perennial favorites for being BCS-busters. BYU still has 3 ranked opponents on the schedule for this year, but things are starting out right this season.

All I'm asking for, Herbstreit, is a little respect.

New Car!

This past week we found out that our little corolla was on its way out and we were in need of a new car. After searching all over Kansas City, Lawrence, and Topeka we finally found this outback! We love having a little more space but wish we could have bought this in Utah where we have a few more options and we would have been a little more comfortable on our way back to Kansas; but we are glad we found what we did.



Owen really misses having a back yard, so tonight we took him to a park just to play and let him run around! He loved having a few more things to look at than just our small apartment.

So long, Farewell

My parents left to go back to South Africa this past weekend, it was so sad to see them go, but we just kept telling ourselves that we would see them again in October. Now it is back to just emails and phone calls, but we are grateful at least for that! I have this fear that Owen will only think his grandparents exist on a computer- so we made sure to take some pictures before they left to show Owen as the years go by.
With Joseph's parents gone and now mine as well, I guess it is time for us to get back to Kansas. We only have two more weeks left of our time in Salt Lake. It has been so fun to be back with family and friends and we will be sad to go, but we are ready to get back to our little apartment and our life in Kansas.( I am sure after a week I'll be calling my sisters crying that I can't just come over to their house for the afternoon!)




Can you tell that Owen was ready for bed, we had a hard time getting his attention!

Pioneer Day

We had a fun 24th of July weekend with my family. We went down to my parents place in Scipio, Utah. It was fun to just be with my syblings and relax (because there really isn't anything else to do in Scipio!) Scipio is a very small town- but they do have a parade on the 24th which is fun. We basically just sit in the car and pick up candy that the floats throw.



Owen loves playing in this little car- it kept him entertained for hours!



The big highlight of Scipio is the rodeo; a rider hardly ever stays on for 8 seconds but it can be pretty entertaining!

Park City

With my parents in town, July becomes family month. So this weekend we went up to Park City and enjoyed the pool, the alpine slide, the alpine coaster, and time with the whole family.



My nephew Nate wanted to take Owen on one of the little kid rides. I was worried that Owen would start crying as soon as the ride started, but he didn't cry out once!



I have been taking Owen to the pool all summer and he hasn't really liked it; but this weekend he loved it and I think it was because Joseph was there. Joseph got out to take some pictures and Owen wanted to get out and be with him!

4th of July

We spent the 4th of July weekend up at the Hinckley's cabin. We went a couple of hikes, enjoyed the Brighton breakfast, and watched the parade. It was fun to relax and to be up in the mountains - something we never realized we would miss so much in Kansas.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 3rd Wedding Anniversary

Happy Anniversary!

Week in review

We have had a week full of fun and sadness; Joseph's sister Lizzie came in town, which we loved. We went shopping, got manicures, and Owen loved playing with her! It was so fun to have her in town and to spend some time together. Yesterday Clark and Kathleen reported to the MTC; we tried to tell ourselves that we will see them one more time on Sunday before they actually leave, but we couldn't help but to have a few tears. We love staying with them, and Owen has grown quite attached- he prefers Kathleen to most anyone and loves sitting next to Clark at the dinner table.



Presidente and Hermana Hinckley