I Touched Scotty McCreery!!

The highlight of this week was definitely the Scotty McCreery concert at BYU-I! Kolt, my mom and I went to the Scotty McCreery concert last night.  He put on such a good concert! We are still on a high, listening to his songs.  We knew some of them and then learned a lot more that we fell in love with! He did a good job of singing some of the old country songs and appreciating the classics.  The highlight of the night was when Scotty walked up our aisle, and I got to touch him!! We had a great night and enjoyed the music.

Kason is 1 week less than 10 months old! He has been trying to get over feeling sick.  He just get over pink eye and now has a cough and sore throat which makes him pretty whiny. He is quite a shy boy and takes some warming up still.He loves food, especially whatever anyone else is eating. He is quite the moocher. He likes bath time and taking naps with Mommy. He still loves being outside the most.  He loves going for walks in the evenings with Grandpa & Grandma Lindley. We are trying to get rid of the rain, so we can be outside more.  He could be outside for hours and never make a peep, just taking it all in!

During the first part of the week, I spent a couple days trying to get checks printed at work. Monday evening we let Kason destroy the rest of our Easter cake. He might’ve liked that a little too much! Tuesday evening, I had my last volleyball practice which was great! The girls did a good job, and we had a nice scrimmage at the end! We have spent lots of time this week finishing our last few papers and quizzes. On Wednesday evening, we had home teachers.  We are grateful for diligent home teachers who bring the Spirit every month.

Thursday I volunteered to watch a boy from our ward whose mom had surgery this week.  He is in preschool with Nathan, so I picked up both boys and brought them home for the afternoon.  They had a great time playing with each other. Their biggest concern was that Kason was ruining their race cars, so that was an easy fix for me. They were both good boys and were excited when Kolt got home to play with them.  On Thursday evening, Kason went out for Grandma’s Day at the Piquet’s.  I finished lots of homework and then went to my last Thursday night meeting. Kolt had his last lab in Pocatello.

On Friday, I went into work and Kolt took Kason to pick up envelopes at Artco.  I got my graduation announcements in the mail on Friday as well.  In the evening, we went to the ISU ASISU Awards Banquet at the school.  We had yummy steak for the meal. Kolt won the Outstanding Club Member of the Year Award. His clubs also won many awards as well.  He has been a big help to his clubs and is a very involved student on campus.  After the dinner, we went to ShayNiel Burch’s wedding reception. She looked beautiful! It was fun to visit with Kim Cooper, Danielle Bingham, Amy Miller, and other friends, including Kolt’s 1^st grade teacher. He talks about Mrs. Larsen all the time!

On Saturday I had my last 10 year old volleyball tournament at Taylor’s Crossing. Kolt came for part of it and left Kason with me to help with Chantal’s horse and get ice cream for the girls for a little bit in the afternoon.  The girls played good and have improved a lot over the season.  After the volleyball tournament, we got ready for the concert.  Kason stayed with Grandpa Lindley and Cousin Ashley.  

Today we woke up feeling pretty yucky, but we got it together to make it to Sacrament Meeting and Sunday school to teach and play the organ.  It was a nice meeting, and Kason was a good boy.

Kason's 1st Easter!!

Happy Easter yesterday! What a special day to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  How grateful we are for the Savior’s perfect atonement and the chance we have to repent and live again because of Him.  We had a wonderful day at church and evening at home with family, despite a few illnesses.  The Easter bunny made a visit to our home early in the morning with a book about Christ, and suit and tie for Kason, necklace for Mom, and tie for Dad, and a few treats for all.  We all matched for church.  It was a smooth day of playing the organ and teaching Sunday school.  I also said the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting, which always makes me nervous!

Kason is 9 months and 3 weeks old this week! He is getting to be the waving expert. He waves lots more often now, including to himself in the mirror, people on the TV, coworkers at work and of course his parents and grandparents.  He has been a pretty happy boy the last week.  He has been fighting a runny nose and cough, but we got some miracle infant cough syrup that has just about solved it.  Kason is getting fast at going up the stairs, probably because he wants to see his Grandma and Grandpa Lindley.  He has been changing his nap schedule from 3 little naps to 1 or 2 longer ones.  That is an exciting time for his momma! Kason had a quick check up this week to test his iron levels.  He is over a point low, so we are trying to pack on the red meats as well as Vitamin C, which helps with the absorption of iron.  We are so grateful to have him in our lives.  

Kolt and I have spent lots of time wrapping up school work this week.  We have one more week, dead week, and then finals week.  Graduation is getting very real! I’m taking some of the last exams in my classes and finalizing final papers.  Kolt has also been doing very well in his classes.  He is in a tough semester and still manages to score 97% and 96% on his exams.  I’m grateful to have a hardworking husband!

On Tuesday and Thursday this week Paisley came to play.  We took her for a walk and let her swing for the first time! Kason and Paisley had lunch together in high chairs and watched 101 Dalmatians while we played for a long time! She is a fun girl to have around and quite a social butterfly! For dinner on Tuesday, I made Pasta and a delicious cold corn and tomatoes salad. 

On Thursday, Kason went to Grandma Piquet’s house while I had my class.  I did a little extra homework before my class which made for a productive night.  Kolt took Rope and Brand to play church ball. 

On Friday I went into work and Kolt worked on resumes for jobs. He is trying to find a phlebotomy job in Idaho Falls for the summer.  Hopefully, we will hear something soon.  In the evening, we went out to Shauna and Landon’s house to make an Easter craft and help with Paisley’s party.  We had yummy Chinese for dinner.

On Saturday, Kolt got up early to help with Gaylen Stucki’s branding. He roped on Kate and took JJ out as well.  I had volleyball in the afternoon, so Grandma Piquet watched Kason until Kolt got done.  Kason got to go for a horse ride with Grandpa Piquet! After my volleyball tournament, I met Kolt and Kason out at Aunt Karla’s Easter Party.  We love going to her party every year, but it was even more exciting taking Kason this year.  Kason liked playing with Tucker! We came home in time for the Lindley Family Easter Egg Hunt and BBQ.  Kason and Kylen had fun getting the eggs Grandma and Grandpa had laid out for them. Kason was all about the eggs.  He crawled around and touched all of them, but didn’t exactly get the basket part of it! It was fun for Kason to be with his cousins. All of the kids were excited to find the eggs.  After the Easter party, we went out for Paisley birthday party.  It was a fun party, and Paisley could definitely tell it was her party.

Our Babysitting Week & Our New Horse!!!

We have had a fun week and a half watching Cameron and Ashley High’s 4 kids. Ashley has been a friend for a long time! They used to live in our ward several years ago, and I often babysat their kids, so we know them well! We watched 3 boys (ages 9, 7, and 5) and one of their girls (age 3).  She and her husband went to Maui for 11 days, so we stayed at their house and watched their kids while they were gone.  We had a great time! There have been lots of fun times and lots of crazy times with Kason and 4 of her kids. Kolt and I have learned a lot about having kids and parenting.  During the first week,  the kids were on spring break, so they were home all day.  We tried hard to keep them busy! Kolt has had classes, and I have been working on my homework at nights as well as logging into work and printing checks from their house and running into work late at nights.  Here’s brief rundown of our adventures with 5 kids:

Monday—Arrived at High’s home at 6 AM, unloaded the car and tried to unpack, ordered tickets early in the morning for the Scotty McCreery concert at BYU-I, Kolt played lots of basketball with the boys, played Scrabble with the boys, played Memory with Brooke, corn dogs and grapes for lunch, 2 oldest boys practiced piano, gave up my plan to keep the house spotless while they were gone J haha, Brooke did my hair a lot, watched Frozen, raced on the blowup toys at Blast-Off—TIRED!!, made Chicken Noodle Soup and rolls for dinner—YUM!!

Tuesday-Kolt and I dropped the kids off at their Aunt’s house in the afternoon and headed to Utah for Kolt’s 1^st Villahermosa Mission Reunion at the City Creek Mall.  They had a pretty meeting room for us and there were lots of missionaries there.  I felt blessed to meet many of the missionaries Kolt has told me about as well as his mission president, who was called to be an Area 70 at General Conference.  Kolt was one of the few married and the only one with a baby.  Kason was great to meet everyone and fell asleep while we were there.  On the way home, we stopped by my friend Candace Ross’ home to visit with her and husband and family.  I love her so much and am so glad to see her every time we come down. We often go weeks without talking, but when we are together, it’s like nothing has changed! We were pretty tired driving home that night, but we made it!

Wednesday-Kolt went to classes for the day, I picked up kids early in the morning, kids let me take a short nap—THANK YOU!, went on a bike ride, watched Frozen, got kids’ meals at McDonald’s and played on the toys, went into work after kids in bed

Thursday-showers/baths, Kason turned 9-months old, worked a little in the afternoon, watched Frozen, went to volleyball with the Bonneville 18s to help them practice (I’m getting old!), Aunt Shauna and Grandma watched Kason for the evening, Kolt stayed with High kids, went and rode horses out at Piquet’s, kids loved riding the horses, Kolt, the High boys and the Piquet boys played basketball for hours, kids were tired!! 

Friday-Kolt watched kids while I ran into work to print checks, played Clue, watched Frozen, went out to Piquet’s to ride horses again, boys couldn’t get enough of it, Aunt Shauna did Brooke’s hair—SO CUTE!!, Carter played on Grandma Piquet’s phone, kids had a great time

Saturday-Took the kids to build a Rio 2 Bird House at Home Depot, kids were great painters, went to the Annual ISU Spring carnival, kids got LOTS of candy, Brooke won a raffle prize, played lots of games, watched the afternoon session of General Conference, played Conference Bingo, kids were quite competitive, Grandma High came in the evening to give us a little break, moved some stuff home, Kolt went to Priesthood session with Grandpa Lindley, I stayed home with Kason and Grandma—felt like I was missing a few kids!, went to Jacob Stucki & Hailey Gneiting’s reception (Jacob is a longtime Piquet family friend and we graduated from high school with Hailey), came home and slept great!

Sunday-watched both sessions of conference, caught up on homework for the week, had breakfast for lunch with the Lindley’s between sessions, went back to High’s early evening, ate meatballs and pasta for dinner (Thanks Grandma High!), Kolt studied for a test this week with a friend in the evening.

Kolt and I really enjoyed watching General Conference.  I enjoyed the Women’s Broadcast, and Kolt shared lots of things with me from the Priesthood Session. We are so grateful for prophets and modern day revelation.  One of our goals is to be better with Family Home Evening on Monday nights.

Monday-Kids went back to school—YAY!!!, made lunches, sent kids on bus at 7:25, took Kason and 2 younger kids to Kason’s 9-month appointment, Kason is doing great!!-- (more details below), stopped at Albertson’s to catch some good sales, kids played outside lots after doing homework, picked up Arby’s and went to a park for dinner, kids tired tonight!

Tuesday-lunches, bus, shower/baths, enjoyed a little nap while kids at school and younger 2 taking naps, kids wanted to open a lemonade stand after school, kids drank all the lemonade earlier in the week, decided to open an Apple Juice stand instead, kids made some good money, Kolt watched kids while I went to the 10 year old volleyball practice with Kason, girls were a little giggly at practice, but got it together by the end--thank goodness!, ran into work after everyone was in bed

Wednesday-kids had early release at school, worked a little today, kids wanted to open up the Apple Juice stand again, couldn’t find more apple juice, decided to make freshly squeeze orange juice, accidently added too much water, so they tried selling candy instead, took the kids to Orange Leaf in the evening, all the kids loved it, Kason even got a few bites and couldn’t get enough!, kids all ready to see Mom and Dad!

Thursday-got kids off to school early, worked a little bit, did a little homework for night class, kids tried to make lemonade from lemon juice for lemonade stand, did homework, made welcome home banner for parents, hung it up on the door, Mom and Dad got home, kids so excited, Kason and I went home and ate dinner before my night class, Kason went on a walk with Grandpa and fell asleep for the night, Kolt got home from Pocatello lab late

Looking back through this, we have done a lot! We are so grateful for the opportunity to do this for Cameron and Ashley. While it wasn’t all roses, we had lots and lots of rewarding moments. Kolt and I are much more prepared to have a big family of our own.  We are grateful the High’s let us stay in their beautiful new home.  We have enjoyed being around those kids a lot because they are such good kids and have felt weird the last few days, since we’ve been home. It seems like we are forgetting a child! We are afraid those kids are going to dread seeing us again, but we hope they won’t mind seeing us again at Cade’s baptism!

Friday I left Kason with Kolt and went to work.  We did a lot of shopping in the afternoon and helped Natalie and Brady move a few things. We are excited for their new home! We had a great time relaxing today!

On Saturday, I coached my two 10s teams in the morning and then filled in for another coach in the afternoon.  Kolt took Kason in the morning while I was running back and forth, and then he brought Kason to me in the afternoon.  I was grateful to have Jeanna’s help in the morning. I enjoy visiting with her on our breaks.  Kolt took Kason out to watch Paisley for a few hours in the morning.  Kason took a bit of a tumble on Paisley’s walker and was a little weary of standing after that! In the afternoon, Kolt took his mare out and traded her for a 4-year old Palomino gelding.  He is a nice looking horse that Kolt is going to work on this summer.  It was a great trade for us. We are excited to see how he progresses.  As for now, his name is Pedro, but I anticipate a name change in the future! 

On Sunday I played the organ and Kolt taught the Sunday school lesson.  After our block, Kolt and I went to Tyler Ayers’ homecoming talk.  He did a great job. It was great to see the Howard’s, Parker, and other friends.  In the evening, we had a little birthday celebration for Nathan and Evan.  We gave them both a Cars coloring book with stickers.  I think they though it was pretty cool! We are so grateful for our family.  It is crazy to see them grow up so fast!

Last, but not least, here are Kason’s updates: Kason is officially 9-months old! He did great at his 9-month wellness check.  He weighed 22 lbs 1 oz (85%), 31 ½ inches long (99.98%) and has a 86% head.  He had some red goopy eyes before the appointment and found out he had a little pink eye. Within a day of using the drops, he was completely healed.  We are pretty lucky he was so happy during all the sickness. He has really turned the corner these last days.  Kason has learned that life isn’t all about him! Imagine that! He has really been great about learning that lesson; he is such a happy baby and enjoys just going along with the flow for the most part.  He loves watching kids and seeing every move they make. He has learned to eat all kinds of new foods—whatever I was cooking, since I didn’t have time to serve him anything else! He has started eating a lot! He even stood all by himself for a few seconds today! Kason really enjoyed going to Blast-Off.  This kids loves any kind of sports ball.  When I put him in the ball pit, he just froze. He couldn’t believe there were so many of his favorite things. He went crazy trying to pick just one to hold.  The biggest news of the week is that Kason has gone to sleep by himself without crying in his crib for 5 days in a row!  He has even slept almost 9 hours on those nights. That has been a lifesaver for us! It is so rewarding to see him learn and grow.  We are so grateful to have him in our family.