Jayson, Riley, and Kaiya back in Austin!

Well, we are now back in Austin. It was a bit of a long drive back but Riley and Kaiya actually did fairly well and I didn't have any accidents while I was trying to get the Goldfish, drinks, or Tic-Tacs (their new favorite treat).



Getting back to Work
I went to work on Monday morning and there was a huge poster that greeted me on my office door that said "Welcome Home Wilkinsons!" It is hard to read in this picture but at the bottom of the poster, it says the names and weights of each of the babies. My boss, Joe Silva, also told me that they are planning on doing a diapers for a year drive which is really nice. I am really amazed at how much my company and the people in my company have supported us. Amanda Webster, one of my coworkers, said that Rachelle is everyone's hero there. They have other posters in the lobbies of the buildings and I have gone by them and seen small groups of people looking at them. It is a little strange because we are sort of minor celebrities. I am sure it will probably fade and people will forget about it soon enough (until we pull our 5 baby stroller out!) but it is a little strange right now.

There was a lot of other stuff that greeted me upon my arrival both at the home and at work. Everybody has been really nice. Going back to work was a little weird. I had been out of the office and a lot had happened, none of which would probably be very interesting to the casual reader. In addition to missing NIWeek, the most important company event of the year, I also missed a good office prank involving a stolen bobble head Dwight from the TV show "The Office". I decided that it is probably better that I missed that because now I can't be blamed for any of it (which means there will be no retribution).

The Kids and the New House
The kids were very excited about the new house, their new rooms, and the toys they hadn't seen for about 7 months. It was a bit like Christmas. This means that, in their excitement, they made a huge mess...just like Christmas. We spent about an hour this morning cleaning up because I decided that I had better start enforcing the rules now before things got out of control. A significant portion of that hour was spent with each of them whining about it but after a little while, they finally realized that they were just going to have to do it or we were going to sit there all day.

Eating Thai food at my favorite Thai Restaurant
Also, last night I went to pick the kids up at Natalie Woods' house and we decided to splurge and go eat Thai food while the kids had grilled cheese sandwiches (which they liked better anyway). Having lived in Thailand for two years, I am a bit picky about the quality of the Thai food I eat. For anybody in Austin that likes Thai food, I strongly recommend Thamnak Thai on Buttercup and 183 (In Cedar Park). It is very authentic and the people are really nice. Because I speak Thai and because we have gone there so many times, they remember who I am and have been really nice about asking how things have been going with Rachelle over the past few months. Before Rachelle was pregnant, there was a time when we would end up going there almost once a week.

Thai food was also what we had for our anniversary dinner. It was funny, though, going to eat Thai food in Mesa Arizona. Normally, in every place except Utah and Arizona, when I go to a Thai restaurant and speak Thai, the people often jump in surprise because they have usually not ever met a non-Asian Thai speaker. When I go to restaurants in places with higher LDS populations, like Mesa Arizona or Provo Utah, they don't even bat an eye. It is a little better that way, though, because then I don't feel the same amount of pressure to try to dig up all those language skills to have a full blown conversation.

Update on Rachelle and the babies
Rachelle and the babies are all doing fine. Rachelle said that she put them all in the same crib and took some pictures so I am anxious to see them. They are all coming back in about a week and a half so I am pretty excited. Coming back with them will be Rachelle's mom, my mom, and the doctor, Dr. Candice Park, that actually performed the c-section and made the five super tasty cakes on the day of the delivery. It should be a fun trip and I am really looking forward to settling in and getting a better idea of what the rest of my life is going to be like.