This Week: PA Interview, Haircut, & Indexing

Wow! A family letter two weeks in a row is getting less and less common these days, but I did it! Kason is learning lots as a 13-month old.  Kason loves the newly remodeled porch with carpet and a cover. His mom likes it too because Kason can go outside and play even when it’s raining, which it has been doing most of this week! He even has a bucket of toys out there for him to play with.  He loves to follow the cat out on the deck. He seems to think they are good friends! Kason also loves to play with his Kazoo.  He will hold it with his lips and blow in it over and over. He is quite proud of himself when he does.   Kason has been working on getting his molars in, including the last one on his right bottom, making 11 teeth.  Kason got his 2^nd haircut this week.  His hair in the back grows quickly and gets curly. He looks pretty grown up with a haircut! Thanks, Grandma Lindley! Kason loves riding horses whenever he can. He at least wants to sit on one for a few minutes in the pasture.  He plays peek-a-boo on his own with his own hands. He has learned where his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose are. We have been working on those lots lately.  His new word is “all-done”.  He is learning to throw fits on the floor and to scream when he needs help (which aren’t working too well as of late)! He is sure a fun boy with lots of energy!

Our baby girl is doing well and growing lots.  I am feeling her move lots more, but most of the times I feel her are when Kason is asleep. I think she is afraid she might lose a limb if she moves when Kason is around!  He is quite the active little boy!

I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago my official ISU diploma arrived in the mail.  It is sure nice to have it in hand and makes it a little more real. With Kolt starting the semester tomorrow, I think my graduation is going to become more of a reality! Kolt starts his last fall semester tomorrow with 15 credits.  He is going to keep working at the BHC, and we hope it goes well! He is going to work Saturdays and a few night shifts during the week which will be a challenge this semester. I am going to keep working at the Post Register this fall as well as coach volleyball.  I am going to be working in the office a few less days to help me catch my breath and spend some time with Kason.  There are also lots of things I can do from home which is nice. Between school, our jobs, and volleyball, we are going to stay busy this fall!

Kolt and I also found a show on Netflix that we have really liked called Prison Break. Apparently, it is kind of old, but it is new and exciting to us! We have been watching it over the summer and enjoy talking about it as we go along.  We decided we needed a little break before we start another series, but we have sure enjoyed the action.

On Monday night, we had a block party at our house.  It is nice to get together with neighbors that I always wish I had more time to visit with.  The food was great and the company even better.  Kolt loved following around the younger kids and cousins at the dinner.

Tuesday night Kolt worked a night shift at the BHC.  On Wednesday night, Kolt, Kason & I went to the LDSSA Meet ‘n’ Greet Social at Freeman Park.  Unfortunately, the rain did not cooperate, but we were in a nice shelter.  When it let up, Kason ran out onto the playground, climbed up the stairs to the top of the slide, yelled over at me, and then went down backwards on his tummy.  It was pretty cute! We had pizza and lemonade for dinner which hit the spot! Kolt talked to the new LDSSA president about some of the responsibilities. Kolt is going to be Vice President this year which will work better with his schedule. It was a great night!

Thursday morning at 4:30 AM I dropped Kolt off at the airport to fly to Harrisburg, PA.  He stopped in Denver and Chicago on the way there.  Kolt spent his time there with Jared & Emily Knowles and their 2 boys.  He had a great time. They were so great to Kolt while he was there.  Kolt said he felt at home with all the trees; it reminded him of Mexico.  Jared showed him the Harrisburg campus and city after picking him up on Thursday.  On Friday, Kolt drove to the main campus of Lock Haven University, about 2 hours away, for his interview.  He stated with an essay, then a biology exam, and then the interview.  Twenty-one applicants were interviewed the same day as Kolt.  He was worried he was the last one to be interviewed out of all 21, but I’m hoping it was a good thing!

Kolt thought the interview went well, and he managed to be quite relaxed, thanks for Jared for the mock interview on Thursday night!  They told him he could hear anytime between now and November.  So the waiting game begins again! While he was on his way to PA, Kolt got a call from Arcadia University in Philadelphia, PA and now has his 2^nd interview scheduled on October 8^th.  Kason and I skyped with Kolt on Friday evening after his interview.  Kason wasn’t too interested in sitting by the computer long, but he let Kolt watch him play at least! Kolt also had a great time playing with Jared’s oldest boy over the few days he was there.  On Saturday, Kolt flew home, stopping in Washington, D.C. and Denver.  We are so thankful for Jared & Emily for taking care of Kolt while he was there! They helped Kolt so much, and I felt better knowing he was staying with friends.

On Saturday, Kason and I had a great Saturday! We did laundry and crafts! Okay, maybe I just had a fun Saturday! ;) I made some blocks to go in Kason’s room with some wood scraps I got from Bryant. The front side says “Cowboy” and the back side says “Allstar”.  We sure think he is a cute cowboy and allstar! I also worked on a Growth Board to measure Kason on.  It is not quite done yet, but it is looking great! Saturday evening, we went with my parents to Red Robin.  Both pregnancies, I have craved their fries and campfire sauce! It was delicious! We complained that it was loud in the restaurant, but then realized it was the perfect place for Kason, as the restaurant volume matched his volume! We stopped at Seagull Book on the way home before I left to pick up Kolt at the airport.  It is sure great to have him home! We missed him!

On Sunday, we had a great Sacrament Meeting.  One of the talks was a great talk from Roberta Stevens about sacrifice.  Somehow between wrestling Kason, I was really touched by it! She shared a quote that I have been thinking about all day. It went something like, “Our willingness to sacrifice indicates our readiness to be with God.” I definitely left the meeting feeling like I was ready to sacrifice whatever it takes to be ready to meet God.  In Sunday school, Kolt taught a great lesson about Family History.  I remembered one of my goals after I graduated was to get started again on doing family history and indexing.  We then watched a Mormon Message that had a quote from Elder Bednar. It said, “[Family History] for a young person (and others) in the wickedness of the world in which we live today is one of the greatest safeguards against the temptations of the adversary.” I really loved that quote. As I thought about what I wanted for my children and for me, I realized that I would be wise to invest some more diligent time for family history.  I would love for Kason to have even a little greater safeguard against Satan, and if I can help that by doing family history, I will do it! I did 2 batches today for the first time in years! Kolt even helped me with a Spanish one. It was neat to work together and feel the Spirit of the people of those whose names we indexed. It was definitely a successful Sunday!

Our Summer News & Other Adventures!

Since our last family letter, we have some big news! For those of you who haven’ t heard, Kason is going to be a big brother! Kolt and I are going to have a baby girl, due on December 29^th.  We are so excited! I am officially 21 weeks as of today.  Overall, I have been feeling significantly better than my last pregnancy.   I am able to keep my nausea to a small portion of the day, as long as I have lots of food with me throughout the day.  I also think I’ve been feeling lots better because I knew what to expect during my pregnancies, so I’m not quite as surprised when I don’t feel good.  It also helps to have Kason around who helps me get up even when I don’t feel like it.  Last Monday, I had my 20-week ultrasound appointment.  This baby girl is growing perfectly so far.  She is in the 67% for size and measuring right on for 20 weeks.  It always amazes me at the things they can see on the ultrasound machine.  We were able to see her heart, fully-functioning, as well as the bones as small as her tibia, fibula, radius and ulna.  We could even see something in her brain that’s called the Circle of Willis that provides all the blood for her brain and has nearly 50 normal deviations.  Thankfully, her Circle of Willis is functioning properly and thankfully Kolt knows what the Circle of Willis is! J We are so excited to meet this little girl in a few short months!

Kason is an active 13-month old! He is starting to notice that his Mom’s belly is getting bigger as he will hug my belly or give a few “love taps” to the big belly that interrupts a good snuggle J He loves being around the horses and still prefers playing with a sports ball over many other toys, although cars and trucks are a close second.  The stairs have once again become a hazard.  He is beginning to notice that you can go down the stairs forwards on your feet, and he has unsuccessfully tried that twice in the last month.  Yesterday he took a good tumble that left a nice little road rash mark on the side of his head by his eye.  He sure wants to be a big boy! He worked in tooth #10, a bottom molar on his left side.  The right side has almost broken skin.  I like to attribute lots of his “whiny-ness” to teething, which is probably true.  He is ready for haircut #2 which is scheduled for this week with Grandma Lindley.  He is a good sleeper, although he is a 6:00 AM alarm clock without fail, no matter if he goes to bed at 11 or 8.  We are trying to get him down at 8, so he gets a full 10 hours of sleep.  Most of the time he will come lay in our bed after 6 and give us another hour or so which is nice.  He is also trying to make the transition from 2 naps to 1 which is not a bad tradeoff for his great sleeping routine at night.  Kason has lots to say, from wanting to be outside whenever the door opens to snapping at his toys when they don’t do what he wants them to do.  He says Mom, Dad, Uh oh, Papa, Grandma, Hello and just recently starting saying Pedro (the name of Kolt’s horse).  Kolt usually takes Kason out to catch his horse with him.  When he walks out the door, Kolt will whistle and shout his name.  Kason does a kiss (instead of a whistle) and yells Pedro just like his dad.  It is pretty cute.  The other day I knew he had walked out on the deck, so I gave him a 20-second head start until I went after him.  He had gotten all the way out to the pasture and was wiggling the chain for the horse. He definitely knows what he wants, and he doesn’t get quite the headstart anymore! He is sure loved!

Here’s the highlights from the past 3 weeks:

July 29^th-We had scheduled to go to Lava Hot Springs with Kolt’s family and Aunt Terri’s family, but it rained all day! So instead, we met at Winger’s in Rexburg and then bowled at Fat Cats.  It was a blast! Winger’s is one of my favorite places to eat! Kason even got to bowl! He pushed the bowling ball off the bowling stand which he thought was pretty cool.   He fell asleep before we finished! We had an awesome time visiting with family and enjoying each other’s company.

Kolt has been helping out at mutual, teaching the young men the Horsemanship Merit Badge.  They still have one more night to do some more hands-on things.  They spent 2 weeks learning about horses.  Kolt enjoys working with the Young Men.

July 30^th-We went with Grandma & Grandpa Lindley, Natalie & her family, and Evan, Saydie & Charlie to Rexburg Rapids.  Kason was fascinated with the water fountains and absolutely loved the carousel.  He was a pro at riding the horse!  We had a great time there for the afternoon and had a nice picnic in the park. 

July 31^st—Kason went to Grandma Piquet’s for Grandma’s Day.  Kolt and I went on a date!! We don’t go on many official dates, but sure love them whenever we get the chance. It sure helps strengthen our marriage to spend some quality time together.  We used a gift card to Chili’s and then went to the War Bonnet Roundup.  I learned the importance of changing the name on our PayPal account, as they ticket office couldn’t find our tickets anywhere.  They were under “Susan Lindley”.  We also saw Jessica & Tavann Young as well as one of Kolt’s coworkers.  It was a great rodeo, and we had a good time visiting.

August 1^st—We went to Rope & Brand’s 4-H Working Ranch show.  It started at 6, but didn’t finish ‘til after midnight, too late for Kason and me! We watched them do a few events in the early evening and then went home to bed.  We also ran over to Celicia & Tyler Ayers’ wedding reception which was beautiful.  It is fun to catch up with friends.

August 2^nd- We left early to deliver Blue & Cooper down to Provo.  Rope & Brand rode with us in the truck.  Kolt spent lots of time throughout the week finding tack and horse trailer to take with the horses down to my aunt and uncle in Orem.  After our horseback riding evening at the family reunion the week before, they loved these 2 horses and purchased them from Kolt’s dad.  The boys were sad to say goodbye, but it was great to see their new home! They are going to be in heaven at the stables in Provo.  After we got the horses settled, we with Uncle Corey & Aunt Janis and their family to Riverside to swim and have dinner.  The boys had a great time and helped with Kason.  Kolt went with Aunt Janis to try to find a bit that Blue would like.  We had a great evening.

We stayed at Megan’s home on Saturday night and then got up early to attend Sacrament Meeting at their church building.  We then headed out for the Bear Lake Cabin.  We had a great time at the cabin.  My cousin Lacey met us at the cabin with my parents.  We had a blast relaxing, going for 4-wheeler rides, eating steak dinner, and going to North Shore Beach before we came home.  Everyone had a great time. We got home in time Monday night to take Rope to football practice at Bonneville and pick up the Tahitian boys to show them Stoplight Pizza in Ririe. 

Lacey stayed with us until Wednesday night.  I’m so thankful for great cousins who like to hang out with us.  They take great care of Kason! Lacey was such a good helper; she would follow Kason around all over outside for hours and hours.  She was a great sport.  We hope we weren’t too boring for her because we are so glad to have her.

August 9^th—Rope & Brand had the 4-H Driving Show at their arena.  They did great and placed well in each category.  Shane & Angela put on an awesome BBQ afterwards.  After it was over, Kolt and I hurried off to leave for Utah with my mom and dad.  We first stopped at the Odgen Temple Open House.  It was beautiful.  I couldn’t believe how happy Kason was.  He giggled and smiled the whole way through.  There was no doubt he could feel the Spirit.  I’m so grateful to be able to have the opportunity to attend temple open houses.  I love to see the temple!

After the open house, we checked in to the hotel.  My parents watched Kason while Kolt and I went on a date with Candace & Justin Ross.  We had a great dinner at Zupa’s in the new Farmington Mall.  As we walked through the mall, we caught part of an outdoor concert which was fun as well.  Kason had a great time swimming with Grandpa and was fast-asleep when we got home. 

On Sunday morning, we went to a Sounds of Sunday at the Conference Center.  I’d never been to one, and I am so glad we had time to go.  My mom was nice to sit with Kason in a separate room as babies can’t attend.  President Monson was at the Conference Center as well.  There is sure something special about standing as the prophet leaves the room and his sweet wave as he exits.  What a strong Spirit.  We then left for my cousin Devin’s mission report.  He did a great job speaking, and I was glad we heard some of it, despite Kason’s refusal to be very quiet after being in the car for so long.  We had a great dinner at the Lindley’s and enjoyed visiting with cousins and family.  On this trip, we also tried out a horse for Kolt’s dad which he liked and picked up this week.

This week Kolt sold his buckskin gelding horse.  He spent quite a bit of time getting pictures and a video put together.  He does a great job of working with his horse and making it look attractive.  In less than 24 hours and over 20 different interested people, it sold! We are glad to have one gone and another one almost gone before school starts.  Kolt loves working with horses, and it’s nice to do it in a way to make money over the summer time between semesters.  We are anxious to have more permanent horses, but know we are several years away from that. For now, this works great for us!

This past week, we also had my cousin Lindsey over.  She was a great help to Kason and helped Kolt and I be a little more exciting! Lindsey and I took Kason to the zoo this week, had a pizza lunch, and went swimming at the Ammon Pool, just the right size for Kason! We had a blast! I’m so glad she wanted to come visit us! On Wednesday evening, we drove Lindsey home. Both she and Kason crashed in the car on the way to Hamer. 

On Thursday, we went to Kolt’s cousin Kaylee Beck’s Texas Roadhouse Lunch Fundraiser.  We had a great lunch and were glad to support her. She and the other cheerleaders from IF even got to be the waitresses for us. 

On Friday, volleyball started! This year I’m coaching the Bonneville Freshman Team again.  I love coaching freshman; it is a fun age to work with! We had tryouts on Friday and Saturday and began practices today.  This year there are 8 freshmen on the team.  Until school starts, we are doing a 3 hour practice session in the morning with a small break in the middle.  It worked great this morning. I’m excited to work with these girls.  Today we worked on passing and I was impressed at how well the girls listened and made changes. 

Saturday afternoon, we went with Kolt’s family to float the Big Springs River in Island Park.  We had a great lunch at the Island Park Lodge.  Kolt found me a sparkly belt in their shops that I have been wanting for a while. I am excited about that! We then loaded up in a bus and were dropped off down the river.  Kason fell asleep on the bus ride and was quite surprised when he woke up to be floating down the river! It was a blast! The river was nice and slow; it was so peaceful! Kason had a great time! It was a little too cold to swim, but he stood on the banks when we stopped.  Kolt was great to be a one-man-rower.  I wasn’t much help in the back.   Kason had a great time putting his fingers in the water, eating snacks from the cooler, and playing with his dinosaurs in the boat.  It was a fun day!

We had a great Sunday.  I played the organ, and Kolt taught a great lesson on The Family: A Proclamation to the World.  I’m so grateful for families.  What a blessing they are in our lives! I’m so grateful for my growing family and grateful that families can be sealed together forever in temples.  Kolt and I have challenged ourselves to make more time for the temple and to attend more regularly.  There is definitely no better way to prepare our children to face temptations and trials than to faithfully attend the temple.  I always think of a quote my parents have in their bedroom.

"I promise you that all who faithfully attend to temple work will be blessed beyond measure. Your families will draw closer to the Lord, unseen angels will watch over your loved ones when satanic forces tempt them, the veil will be thin, and great spiritual experiences will distill upon this people."

--Vaughn J. Featherstone