Watch Out Italy!

We are at 36 weeks officially tomorrow! We had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.  My blood pressure was 118/72 which they said was great! They checked my cervix, and I’m officially dilated to a 1!  The doctor said he was pretty surprised I was dilated with it being my first pregnancy, so I was happy about that.  The heat is getting quite miserable, so I’m ready to get this baby out! He is growing perfectly though, and his heartbeat is always consistent and fast! We’re hoping not to have to worry about him having a heart murmur like his mommy!  I am quickly learning why many moms take time off of work before their baby comes.  I am definitely lacking in energy and motivation.  Putting in one load of laundry wears me out!

Monday night we went to Grandma and Grandpa Dalling’s cabin up at Sandcreek.  We ate hotdogs, roasted marshmallows, and fished.  It was a great time visiting.  We were able to go with Mom and Dad, Natalie and family, Kevin and family, and Tyler.  I worked on my roping a little bit, but Kolt showed us all how it was done.  He got Nathan to run away from him, and Kolt caught his heels.  He didn’t stop, so he totally face planted.  He thought it was pretty funny though, so I taught him how to not step into the rope.  He did it several more times, and Nathan stopped just as soon as he saw the rope, so he wouldn’t get caught! Kolt also reminded me why we never go fishing.  He got the line caught in the trees across the pond the first two casts.  It reminded me of a time we went fishing for a day date with Makayla Keck and Travis Henriod.  Kolt broke his pole in the first five minutes, asked me to borrow mine, and then broke mine.  The fishing trip ended a little early for us!

Thursday afternoon we went horseback riding with Mom, Tyler, Natalie, Brady, and Brooke.  We had an awesome time up at Little Kelly.  It was pretty hot, but it was worth the view.  I rode Cisco—it was a smooth ride! Kolt rode one of the horses he had worked with for his dad this spring.  At one point, Tyler and he were trotting, and Kolt’s horse tripped sending Kolt over top of the horse.  We spent the next 30 minutes trying to catch Choncho, but no luck.  Kolt ended up walking behind him as he followed us down the path.  We finally caught him about an hour later.  Kolt was a good sport—he was smiling when we finally caught him.  Thank goodness he has such a good attitude!

Friday Kolt went up to the Milo Ward’s Father and Son’s Outing.  He went with his dad, Rope and Brand.  They had a good time visiting, eating dinner, and roping.  They got back late Friday night and then left early Saturday morning for a cattle drive with Gaylen Stucki.  While they were gone, Tyler, Mom, Dad, and I went to the Pitmaster BBQ Grill.  It’s a new restaurant by the ISU IF campus that was opened up by Lisa Harding and her husband.  Her kids go to Foxhollow, and she is friends with Kolt’s mother, so it was good to support them.  Kolt got back just in time to hurry down to his cousin Brenda’s reception.  We enjoyed visiting with lots of family including Travis Sautter, who came from California.  Travis studied Medicine, so we talked about some good ideas for volunteer work.  We then rushed down to Pocatello to attend Lexi Strom’s reception.  She married Brenn Scheiss from Pocatello.  It was really good to see her.  Lexi was baptized in March by Brenn and is getting sealed next year in the San Diego Temple.  We are so happy for her, and I was glad Kolt got to meet her.  After the receptions, we hurried back to Kolt’s parents’ house for cake and ice cream for Landon’s birthday.  It might’ve been a little late for cake, but we celebrated nonetheless!

Sunday was a big day for us.  I’m dying because I didn’t take any pictures! We got up early Sunday for a last minute haircut and to make a salad for Tyler’s farewell dinner.  Tyler had also arranged a musical number with some of his friends from school.  I played the piano while they sang Come Thou Fount.  We practiced at 12, but not too many showed up.  By the time we got to the church, the chapel was full.  We called off the practice and I jumped on the organ to play prelude.  The chapel and cultural hall quickly filled up.  Kolt came up to sit by me to make room for Grandma and Grandpa Dalling.  I was really happy to have Kolt up there to help me with the volume on the organ.  Kolt and I said the prayers for the meeting; I played the organ, and then accompanied the musical number.  The bishop said that next time he’d have me speak, so I could just do it all! It was a great meeting.  The musical number was beautiful.  I was amazed because half of the people that stood up didn’t come to practice.  You couldn’t even tell; they were beautiful.  Zach Nelson spoke first and then Tyler.  They both did great, and Kolt is excited to see how they will both grow to have stronger testimonies.  We came back to a yummy dinner of pulled pork sandwiches.  Kevin made delicious rolls! Kolt’s family was able to attend Sacrament Meeting and came over for dinner.  We had lots of family and friends here.  There was just not enough time to talk to everyone! We also got to celebrate Kristi’s birthday! I can’t believe she is 26.  We watched some of the movies on Tyler’s list.  We watched Quigley Down Under, and then Kolt and Tyler were the only ones who stayed up to watch Shanghai Noon. 

We are so excited for Tyler to leave for Italy this week.  His bags are already packed.  He is going to be a great missionary, and we are excited to read his letters.  He will do great things for the Italian people.