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

Earl & Marilyn Lindley Family Reunion Week

Kason is going to be 13 months old next week! He is growing and learning lots.  He is now pro at opening the back door to the patio and has now opened the front door once. Yikes! He did his second sign this week for the first time. He asked for "More" at dinner time.  It will be a great thing when he can communicate with us as he is quite persistent with particular things.  He is a happy baby outside; when we are outside, you will never hear from him.  He goes from one thing to the next, checking everything out.  He is definitely a goer.  He is getting to be a good walker. It helps when he is around older cousins who show him how much fun it is to walk! He loves bath time and now likes to slide back and forth on his belly in the tub.  Kason is still being a great sleeper when he is in his own bed.  He is pretty consistently sleeping 8-9 hours on his own which is great for mom and dad. He is drinking much more milk now from a bottle; he seems to really like a bottle throughout the day and especially at bed time. He has been a little onery the last week due to teeth #7, 8 and 9 making their way through his gums. Ouch!

Here's our first attempt at 12 month pics...he would not smile!!

 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday my mom and I put on the 2nd part of our Hamer Skills Camp.  This week was basketball week.  My mom did most of the daily planning, and I worked with the younger kids all week.  It is sure fun to coach cousins and their friends and see their progress each day and over the years.  We look forward to that camp every year. On Wednesday, Kason came with me while Kolt was at work.  Kason was a little overwhelmed with the flood of girls, but started to feel a little more comfortable with Aunt Trish by the end of the session!

We have also had 3 boys from Tahiti stay at our house while they are touring the US and learning English.  They are cute boys, one speaks lots of English, one speaks hardly any English.  They are cute 11 and 12 year old boys and have started to really look after Kason.  One of them lifted Kason to the piano and played with him for a half hour the other night.  Michael made Kason a bracelet today! They are nice boys and are starting to warm up!

The highlight of the week was definitely the Earl & Marilyn Lindley Family Reunion.  We have been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time.  Thursday evening the family arrived for hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner.  We also made crafts, including tiles for the girls and hot dog sticks for the boys. I spent most of the night, and weekend, taking pictures for the reunion book that I'm putting together this week.  During the reunion, we stayed out Kolt's parents house, so there were extra bedrooms for family at our house.  We had a great time staying with Grandpa & Grandma and are grateful for them letting us use one of their bedrooms.  Kason had a great time with his Grandma & Grandpa Piquet!

Early Friday morning, we attended a temple session with the family.  We dropped off Kason with my cousin Alysa and Hallie Hufford from our ward.  He did great with them! It was a great session, and it was even better to be with so much family. After the temple, we picked up the kids and went to the Tautphus Park Zoo.  Kason slept the entire time! We enjoyed the park though, taking pictures and enjoying the animals, including the penguin walking down the path and the baby cubs.  We went to a park on Sunnyside for lunch.  Kason woke up just in time to eat, of course! He loved playing on the playground, especially going down the slide!  Friday evening, we rode horses in the arena at Piquet's.  Kolt and I got the horses ready and gave a short intro to riding before everyone jumped in. It was a great night! Some even did some barrel racing and steer wrestling in the round pen.  The kids were covered in dirt by the time it was over! Kason was definitely professional at playing in the dirt! It was a great night. Thank you to Shane and Angela for letting us use the horses and arena for the night! It was definitely a reunion highlight.

Saturday morning we participated in the Annual Iona Days 5K Fun Run.  Kolt did great finishing 2nd in his age group ages 20-29, and Kason and I....finished the race!! Our family did great overall, including Kelsi who was the 1st out of all the women.  Kolt and I decided that was definitely something we would like to do every year!  Saturday afternoon we went up to Heise Hot Springs to swim.  Kason went down the slide with Kolt twice! The first time he wasn't so sure, but the second time he loved it! We loved swimming with family! Kason got brave at jumping into the pool and got better at going under water! He is getting so big!

Sunday morning we went to church.  Corey & Janis spoke to the adults and youth a couple of times throughout the block.  I sure enjoyed listening to them and am excited to start the "Set the Date" program that Corey talked about in Sunday school.  I sure look up to both of them as great members of the church.  After the block, we ate lunch and then said goodbye to everyone as they headed home.  I love reunions! I had such a good time visiting with cousins, sharing stories and learning from their experiences.  I definitely feel that reunions are important and strengthing family relationships is critical.  I'm already looking forward to next year's reunion.

Birthday Month

Well, this is quickly changing from a weekly family letter to a monthly family letter! I am going to get better, I promise. Kason turned a year old a couple weeks ago! I still can’t believe he is a year old! At his one year appointment, Kason weighed 23 pounds 3 ounces (77%) and 31 ½ (98%).  He is still at the top of the charts, although getting much thinner than he used to be.  He is definitely a walker now. He takes off everywhere.  Sometimes he will still bear crawl when he wants to go really fast! He learned how to open the back door today which he has been trying to do for weeks.  He is now trying to figure out how to unlock it.  Kason still loves to be outside for any reason.  He eats a lot! At his 1 year checkup, the doctor said he needs to have lots more milk, so we have been increasing quickly. He has been great about that now and definitely is ready for milk at several times throughout the day.  He is a good sleeper now, going down at about 9:30 and sleeping until 6:30 all by himself in his crib.  He has come a long wit sleeping and his mom and dad are very grateful! Kason is a vocal kid with opinions about how his toys should work and every other thing.  He loves to play catch and drive cars, tractors, and all other toys along the floor while making the sound of an engine. It is pretty cute! Kason just got his 7^th, 8^th and 9^th teeth.  The poor kid has been a little sad during all of this teething! Thank goodness for medicine!

Here are the highlights of the past 3 weeks:

On the 1^st, I celebrated my 22^nd birthday.  I was bummed to have to work a full 8-5 day on my birthday, and I had no idea how much Kolt was doing at home.  Kolt and Kason had the laundry done and the house spotless!! Both of them picked me up at work in shirts and ties! It was a great surprise.  We went shopping for a new swimming suit which I had wanted for a long time. Kolt knows me well-enough to know I like to have a say in new clothes; hence, he took me shopping to pick it out which was great! We found just the perfect swimming suit and ordered the right size online.  We then dropped off Kason to my parents for a birthday dinner at Stockman’s.  As we were leaving the restaurant, I began to notice that Kolt wasn’t going the right way home.  When I asked him about it, he just made a joke.  Out of nowhere, he surprised me by pulling into the Destinations Inn Hotel, the place we stayed the first night we were married.  I was SOO surprised! Kolt had our bag already packed and in the room. We stayed in the Rio de Janeiro room which was beautiful, and we enjoyed every minute of a quiet evening and good night’s sleep.  Kolt was even nice enough to let me watch my Tuesday night TV series to top off the night! Kason did great with Grandpa & Grandma Lindley and had his best night of sleep to that date! It was a great birthday. I’m still amazed at how perfectly Kolt planned it all!

On the 3^rd, Kason turned 1 year old! In the morning, we watched Nathan’s teeball game.  We spent most of the day thinking of the memories from the past year.  Kolt took Kason to the park while I was at work. They had a blast.  He loves sitting in the swing.  In the evening, Grandpa & Grandma Lindley, Natalie, Brady, Nathan, Brooke and Great-Grandma Lindley came to eat cake and ice cream with us.  Nathan & Brooke got Kason a big truck and trailer toy set.  Grandma & Grandpa Lindley got him a farm set and some clothes.  Great-Grandma Lindley helped us get Kason a new basketball, clothes and several other fun toys.  I also decided I wanted to decorate my first cake for Kason’s birthday.  I couldn’t decide which one to do, so I did them both! I made a football one and a John Deere one. I am still pretty excited about it! Later in the evening, we had a visit from Daniel Price and his kids.  Kolt took the kids on the horse.  Kason had a great birthday!

We had a fun 4^th of July this year with Kason! This was his first 4^th celebration, since last year, we spent the day in the hospital.  The day started with the Idaho Falls parade.  We brought Rope with us, and he thought it was pretty cool.  Kason like the parade; he loves watching cars on the road, so it was right up his alley. We had great seats in the shade too which was nice! In the evening, we went out to Aunt Karla’s for a BBQ to see Kolt’s family in town.  We got some dinner and then hurried off to the Chuckars game.  It was a great game, and they even won! Kason wasn’t much for watching the game.  He loved being on Kolt’s shoulders, so we spent most of the game walking around the top.  It was a little hot for me! After the game, we watched down to the river to watch the fireworks.  Kason liked watching them for about 15 seconds. After that, he remembered that he was tired and ready to go home! We are sure grateful for this country.

On the 6^th, we had my and Kason’s birthday party celebration with the Piquet’s.  We had an awesome lasagna dinner and then cake and ice cream.  Kason got a ball popping vacuum, cars, and dinosaurs.  Kolt and I got him a basketball hoop.  He still picks up his ball and stands at the hoop until we lift him up.  It is pretty cute! I got lots of new clothes and sandals and a pink fishing pole! It was a great time! We definitely got spoiled rotten. Kason was a pro at opening his gifts.  It was fun to watch!

I spent a few days early in July at the BHS Skills Camp.  It was great to see the incoming freshman and to see my team this year.  I am getting excited. 

On the 7^th, we had Kason’s doctor’s appointment.  We got his weight and height.  His doctor told us he needs more milk, but other than that, he is doing great.  He got some blood work and 4 shots.  He was a champ, especially with Dad not being there.

Kolt and I have both been working a lot. We are so grateful for all the help with Kason.  He has definitely turned into a Momma’s boy with me being gone from 12-5 every day.  I’m looking forward to the day when I don’t have to leave him anymore.

Kason and I have been to a couple of reunions so far this summer.  We went to the Heileson reunion in Alta, WY with Grandpa Lindley, Grandma Lindley and Great-Grandma Lindley.  We also went to the John Loader Dalling reunion the following Saturday.  I really enjoy going to reunions and visiting with family that we don’t see very often.  Now that I have Kason, it is fun to have some posterity to bring as well.

On the 17^th we attended the ward adult dinner.  It was nice dinner and hot, hot, hot!

My mom and I started the Hamer Skills Camp.  I’ve spent lots of time collecting waivers and fees, as well as ordering basketballs and volleyballs.  We host each day of the camp at Hamer Elementary.  We did 3 days of volleyball last week and just started the 3 days of basketball this week.  I really enjoy doing that camp; the girls love learning and are excited when they do things right.  We have had a great turnout this year, our 3^rd year hosting the camp, with a record number of kids in attendance.

I have enjoyed having my cousin Ashley stay with us for the week to trade babysitting for some volleyball.  She was a great help, and I still owe her big time! She took great care of Kason and was great to do everything with me. 

At church, I filled in for Primary chorister and sunbeams teacher.  I love being in Primary and am grateful for the chance to serve with kids.  Kolt went to his 2^nd cousin Brody Eaton’s mission report.  I met up with them for dinner.