The Jacob & Shayla Bentley Family: Crossed the Finish Line

August 11^th, 2013

My Dearest Brother,

I can hardly believe it because it still seems so surreal to me but summer semester 2013 is officially over. We went into it saying, “It is only 8 1/2 weeks.” Little did we know just how busy and intense those 8 1/2 weeks would be.

I spent Monday – Wednesday of this week studying very hard and finishing up everything that needed to be done for school. I wrote papers, combed through my notes over and over, gave a presentation, and made sure everything was squared away. I took my Kinesiology final on Tuesday and came away from it feeling that my instructor had been very generous. All of our origins and insertions only required the name of the muscle and there were many questions on the final that were repeats from previous tests. I left the test feeling like there was nothing that I could have possibly done to be better prepared. Jake and the kids were waiting for me outside (I am not one to take a long time on a test) and we went to one of our new favorite Mexican restaurants, Agave, to celebrate the end.

Waiting for the test results was definitely agonizing. I am also not one to believe with full confidence that I performed well on a test. I second guess myself and wonder if there were things that I overlooked or misunderstood. Results came in on Thursday morning. Our instructor had taken the time to review every scantron and make sure that there were no errors on the tests. He also calculated everyone’s final grade so we all knew immediately where we stood with the results of our final. Drumroll please….. I scored a 97.3% on the final exam by only missing 2 questions – the highest score in the class. I finished the whole class with a 97.2% in the class – 1 out of 4 people in the class to obtain an A. I was so happy that so much hard work and dedication had paid off. I really applied myself to this class and to the material and I really felt triumphant with my results. Isn’t it such a satisfying feeling to know that you worked and you pushed and were able to be successful? I know that it doesn’t always work out that way but I am very grateful to the Lord for blessing me with the wisdom to know what and how to study and for being with me throughout this class to calm my nerves and to enlighten my mind so that I had a fullness of the knowledge I had worked so hard to obtain. I truly know that He guided my path.

I am still waiting for 2 of my grades to come through. I was hoping that they would be posted by now. I have done well in every assignment for both classes and I don’t anticipate “bombing” the final assignments/tests that we had to complete. Grades are due for release by the 15^th so hopefully they will be in by then, at least.

Since school ended my brain has been in serious recovery mode. It has been hard to read for fun or do any “meaningful/purposeful” task. I felt so completely drained and exhausted on Thursday. I told Jake that I didn’t realize just how much the semester had taken out of me until it was over. I felt like I had been totally leeched and, luckily, I was able to have several days to take it easy, enjoy myself, and recover.

On Friday we were planning to go swimming with Alyssa and her girls. We put the babies down for a nap and were going to go once they got up; however, a few hours later Nathan was still sleeping and some very dark clouds had rolled in. The wind picked up and there was some light rain. We figured that swimming wasn’t likely to be on the agenda for the day. Instead we put together a fantastic, All-American barbecue. Mom and Kayden are in Maryland this week for another tournament so Dad and Brynndi came over to join us. Matt and Alyssa recently got a smoker from Matt’s parents and they have been having great fun making beef jerky and smoking all kinds of meats. Alyssa threw some pork and chicken into the smoker and I spent a while wrapping corn and putting it in the crockpot to cook. Alyssa made homemade fries and we cut up a giant watermelon. SOOO much food and SOOO much deliciousness! We have never tried to cook corn in the crockpot before and so I was a little skeptical about how it would turn out but it was seriously the best corn on the cob I have ever had. I think we all ate much more than we should have and we rolled our way out of there later in the evening.

Jake’s 10 year high school reunion was on Saturday night. It was held by the Usana amphitheater at the West Ridge Golf Course. The venue was really pretty and there were several people/friends at the reunion that Jake knew. The food was okay but Jake had a great time visiting and that is what matters the most.

Abrielle starts her 2^nd year of preschool tomorrow. I think she will be very thrilled to go back. She loves preschool so very much. We have decided to send her to Kindergarten next year. We would like to send her to Navigator Pointe, Entheos, or Hawthorne Academy – all charter schools. Unfortunately, they are all admission based on a lottery system so there is no guarantee that you will be able to get in. We will apply and pray and hope for what is best for Abrielle.

Nathan is doing very well; growing, laughing, and loving life. He is completely obsessed with the temple right now. He goes around singing, “I love to see the temple” and telling other people to sing it too. He calls every church we pass a temple and points out every picture of the temple that we encounter. Jake took the opportunity yesterday while I was teaching to bike them to the Oquirrh Mountain temple. Nathan was so happy to be there and so sad to leave. He talked about it all day long. He is still in love with all things cars and trucks and has several that he carries around constantly each day.

We finally got a chance this past week to take him to Wal-mart to spend his birthday money. We biked over there and he picked out a truck to buy, paid for it himself, took Abrielle on a ride on the Pumba ride at the front, and then treated Abrielle and Daddy to ice cream at Sub Zero. It was a beautiful evening with our little family and my heart was very full with happiness and love.

Fall semester starts on August 21^st. I will be taking 10 credit hours including Lifetime Wellness/Fitness, Pilates, Designing Training Programs, and Exercise and Special Populations. I believe that the next (and final) two semesters will be much easier than this previous semester. Besides being longer in duration I believe they will also be lower in intensity besides just being lower in total credit hours. We have reached the downhill!

I love you, dear brother. I hope that you are doing well and that things in Finland are happy and prosperous. I can hardly believe that you have just over 4 months remaining in your mission. Make them the absolute best 4 months yet!

All my love, always and forever,

Shayla