A bunch of dare devils!

After Albuquerque, we headed west to Las Vegas and stayed with Scott's brother Justin and his family for the weekend. In the summertime there isn't much to do in Vegas besides swim. Its just too hot for anything else. I was afraid of how my boys would do in the water, since last summer we only got in a handful of times, and they were spent sitting on the steps of the pool. Easton was terrified of the water! But look at him now! I couldn't believe my own two eyes. He must be taking after his crazy father. I was totally impressed with them both.

Albuquerque!!

We went to Albuquerque to visit my sister Erin and her family for about a week and a half. It was great! We got an awesome tour of the town and hit all the big sites. The kids loved their cousins and playing everyday in the dirt pile in the backyard. We loved New Mexico and we highly recommend that as a fun family vacation spot or as a spot for a second honeymoon! New Mexico really is the 'Land of Enchantment'.

Just some thoughts

I love the Ensign! Each month I read the articles, and at least 1-2 of them speak directly to me and my situation. Sometimes I think, "Well, why didn't they just title it 'Lindsey Pingel's monthly message'." Especially now during our current family situation of searching for employment I am always impressed with how well the leaders of the church are in tune with the members' current needs. This month there was a pamphlet to help those unemployed and last month, Pres. Uchtdorf's message on "Prayer and the Blue Horizon" spoke directly to my heart. One of my favorite passages from the article was:

"The answers to our prayers come in the Lord's due time. Sometimes we may become frustrated that the Lord has delayed answering our prayers. In such times we need to understand that He knows what we do not know. He sees what we do not see. Trust in Him. He knows what is best for His child, and being a perfect God, He will answer our prayers perfectly and in the perfect time."

How profound, yet so simple. I know all of this in my heart, because Scott and I have witnessed this a zillion times in our short almost-7-year marriage, but it was sure nice to be reminded of it again. For instance, when Scott graduated with his Masters in WV, we had been hoping on a job in Albany, NY for months. We were devastated when we found out 3 days before graduating that he did not get the position. The same day he found out the bad news he also had one last interview lined up with Federal Way. Not even 24 hours after that interview, Federal Way called him up and offered him the job. We had so many blessings from living in Federal Way and we know now why we were meant to go there instead of Albany.

Our feelings on our situation right now are the same because of this experience. We know there is a reason why we are currently unemployed, and we know that God will give us the exact job, in the exact place, at the exact time that will most benefit us and our family. People have asked us "Aren't you scared?" And the answer is, of course we are a little nervous, but we have love and support from our families, and a great plan just in case this unemployment period should last longer than just a few weeks. But we are not scared, because "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30), and "He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh." (D&C 46:30)

So for now, we are doing fine, even better than fine! And I know that everything will be okay, because I've never been let down before. My prayers are always eventually answered even above my expectations or wishings for myself and my family.

More Utah Fun!

We've done a lot over the last few days. Scott's parents are at Girls Camp all week and so we've had to find ways to entertain ourselves. We visited Michael's gravesite on Monday with the boys. The last time we were there, Easton wasn't even 2 years old and Luke was about Max's age. We need to keep coming often to teach the boys that they have a brother in Heaven who they will see again someday. It was really neat to finally get to talk to Easton and Luke about Michael and they are starting to understand.

On Tuesday, my sister Allie and I took Easton and Luke to see the new Ice Age. It was cute, but Luke is still a little young and so I spent a good 30 minutes out in the hall with him so he could have his melt down.

Wednesday we spent all day out in Salem at Scott's parents house because we wanted to get a lot of work done for them while they are away. We cleaned, hung pictures, weeded, and dug out big mounds of dirt and leveled them out. It was a great workout!

Thursday we decided to take Trax up to Salt Lake and tour around Temple Square. The boys loved riding "the train" and they have never been up to Salt Lake before so it was great showing them the Temple, all of the statues, and seeing all of the displays in the visitors centers. We had a nice picnic on the lawn, and then went over to the JSM Building and went up to the viewing floor. After all of that, the boys had had enough and we took Trax back home. It was a really nice, really short visit to Salt Lake.





Last night, Scott was watering the lawn, and the boys decided it would be so much fun running through the sprinkler. I think its been the best 15 minutes of thier entire vacation. They just couldn't get enough! It was so much fun to watch them just be silly kids.

Max is 3 months old!

Our Max doesn't grow by the day, he grows by the second! His chubby cheeks and about 14.5 pound weight prove it. He is large and in charge!! Thats what makes us love him so much, though. He is already rolling over from tummy to back, holds himself up well on his tummy, and gives the biggest smiles that looks like he is going to bust up laughing, but nothing comes out. He is also quite the talker! And he has found a new love of ceiling fans, they could entertain him all day. And the boy is my best sleeper yet. He naps well during the day (although that came after lots of crying and training) and he sleeps 8-9 hours at night breastfed. We couldn't ask for more! I think he knows that with his two crazy brothers, he better be good or his mom might lose her mind.

Happy 4th!

We had a great 4th of July in Utah. We went to the parade in Provo that morning and it was fun! We even got awesome seats where we got last year, and no one had even thought to sit there yet, but I'm not gonna tell where because then the secrets out. That afternoon we had a BBQ at Scott's parent's house with his brother and sister's family as well. It was just so nice and relaxed. We even did a few fireworks before the wind and rain came in later that night. What a great country we live in, go USA!

Free Fun in Utah!

We are all enjoying being tourists in Utah. There is so much to do for free! We arrived in Utah late Tuesday night and we were so glad to be done with the trip. Wednesday morning we met Scott's Mom up on BYU campus and enjoyed lunch in the Wilkinson Center, bought BYU stuff for the boys in the bookstore, and then toured the Bean Museum for about an hour. The boys were mesmerized by the giant Elephant in the middle of the museum and they loved looking at all the animals. Scott and I enjoyed saying "Don't touch that" and "Get down from there" about a million times.


Today, Thursday, we went back into Provo again and went to the Paleontology Museum. Easton and Luke were in love!! There wasn't much to see, so it only lasted us about 20 minutes (if that). Easton saw an Ogodon Rex (his made up name for a T-Rex type dinosaur) and a Mother, a Little-foot, a Petrie, and a Spike. Anyone know the movie? After the dinos, we had a little picnic downtown by the Provo Tabernacle and then walked around the exhibits for the Freedom Festival. Scott and I also took a self-guided driving tour of Historic Provo provided by the wonderful booklet from the Chamber of Commerce. It was actually kind of neat, but it is really long if you go look at everything.


We are looking forward to the rest of the free things to do in Utah this weekend of the 4th. Its great!!

Things we'll miss about Federal Way

1. Our Friends. You will be missed.

2. The Puget Sound. I don't think we ever took enough advantage of the water.

3. The views of Mt. Rainier from 1st Avenue and Campus Drive.

4. City Hall and Scott's job and colleagues. They treated him well and he'll miss everyone who helped give him a great experience and lots of good training.

5. St. Francis hospital. It was the best birth experience by far! I loved my room service dining option.

6. Winco: aka The cheapest grocery shopping on earth! Thankfully they have Winco in Kennewick where we will be living temporarily.

7. The BPA Trail. Home to many Sunday walks and early morning runs.

8. And last, but not least, Glen Park apartments. It was an upgrade to what we've had before, and it was the longest we've ever lived in one place. It was home for 2 years and we loved it.


We will miss Federal Way and all the good memories we made there with our family. It was a great place, but notice, I mentioned nothing about missing the rain.