Update from the Smithkirks
Greetings from the Northern California branch of the family!! Things are going great for us up here. Kristina is in her sixth week of teaching and is having a great time with the little people. Highlights have included tantrums (from kids and parents), aides being absent and absent-minded, antagonistic substitutes, and a huge donation of wet wipes (true story).
Another highlight was when Kevin came and visited the little people last week! He spent a few minutes interrupting math rotations to talk to the LPs about his recent root beer party (no mention of video games to the emotionally-disturbed children) before going and spending some quality time with a cute little Brazilian second grader who just moved to the U.S. and is totally lost by all things English.
Kevin is also doing really well at work, which is due in large part to the frequent lavish team lunches and Cold Stone runs (or "Pedra Fria" as his Latin American manager calls it). He has one week left with Visa in Foster City before he returns to Salesforce.com in San Francisco. He is looking forward to avoiding traffic and potholes and police as he commutes to the city via CalTrain. :-)
Seminary is also going great for us! We have a great and very energetic group of students (the Big People, or BPs) who keep us on our toes and entertained. On Friday we had out first Prophet birthday celebration! We celebrated Ezra Taft Benson's belated 107th birthday. We felt old when none of the students recognized his picture. We shared stories of his life and church service, and then briefly covered some of his well-known teachings--pride, the Book of Mormon, and roles of mothers and fathers. The BPs then enjoyed a rousing early-morning consumption of his supposed favorite treat, lemon meringue pie! Kevin was pleased there were leftovers, but Kristina was sad to see precious refrigerator space taken up that could have been reserved for chocolate (and diet Coke).
Speaking of desserts, we had some fun this weekend with our pretty new trifle bowl! We bought this on Friday night to console Kristina, who was asked to make a non-chocolate dessert for a baby shower on Saturday. (She was told that chocolate was too rich, so she should make something less sweet, like cheesecake. Go figure.) The trifle was a hit, and we had enough leftovers to share some with the Buskirk 'rents that evening. We are happy to report that they are optimistic and calm as Allen begins his treatment tomorrow morning. They again expressed their appreciation for all the love and support they have received from the Smith fam. :-)
In closing, Kristina wishes to remind you all that Halloween candy can now be found in a supermarket near you. Especially Snickers pumpkins, which are her favorite.
Lots of love,
K&K
Another highlight was when Kevin came and visited the little people last week! He spent a few minutes interrupting math rotations to talk to the LPs about his recent root beer party (no mention of video games to the emotionally-disturbed children) before going and spending some quality time with a cute little Brazilian second grader who just moved to the U.S. and is totally lost by all things English.
Kevin is also doing really well at work, which is due in large part to the frequent lavish team lunches and Cold Stone runs (or "Pedra Fria" as his Latin American manager calls it). He has one week left with Visa in Foster City before he returns to Salesforce.com in San Francisco. He is looking forward to avoiding traffic and potholes and police as he commutes to the city via CalTrain. :-)
Seminary is also going great for us! We have a great and very energetic group of students (the Big People, or BPs) who keep us on our toes and entertained. On Friday we had out first Prophet birthday celebration! We celebrated Ezra Taft Benson's belated 107th birthday. We felt old when none of the students recognized his picture. We shared stories of his life and church service, and then briefly covered some of his well-known teachings--pride, the Book of Mormon, and roles of mothers and fathers. The BPs then enjoyed a rousing early-morning consumption of his supposed favorite treat, lemon meringue pie! Kevin was pleased there were leftovers, but Kristina was sad to see precious refrigerator space taken up that could have been reserved for chocolate (and diet Coke).
Speaking of desserts, we had some fun this weekend with our pretty new trifle bowl! We bought this on Friday night to console Kristina, who was asked to make a non-chocolate dessert for a baby shower on Saturday. (She was told that chocolate was too rich, so she should make something less sweet, like cheesecake. Go figure.) The trifle was a hit, and we had enough leftovers to share some with the Buskirk 'rents that evening. We are happy to report that they are optimistic and calm as Allen begins his treatment tomorrow morning. They again expressed their appreciation for all the love and support they have received from the Smith fam. :-)
In closing, Kristina wishes to remind you all that Halloween candy can now be found in a supermarket near you. Especially Snickers pumpkins, which are her favorite.
Lots of love,
K&K
posted by Kristina | 9:59 PM
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