Introducing Kim Caldwell

 

 

Kim Caldwell was born in Provo Utah. During her early years her parents moved around while finishing college and setting up their careers. They moved from Provo to Logan to Provo to North Salt Lake and finally, when Kim was 7 years old, they settled down in West Bountiful Utah. Shortly after moving there her parents divorced. Her dad moved out, Kim, her siblings and her mother continued living in the house. In fact, her mom and step dad still live there today.

 

While growing up Kim attended Bountiful High school and was in Xela, the all girls show choir but the thing Kim remembers most about growing up was flipping houses with their family. Kim's mom had a good job working for the state as an environmental scientist, but to make extra money Kim's mom sold real estate and flipped houses. This was in the late 90's and early turn of the century, prime real estate sells time. It provided great income for their family.

 

Some of Kim’s best memories with her family were traveling. Aside from spending three weeks in California every year with her dad, her first trip was to the state of Missouri because this is the state she was assigned in 5^th grade to do her state report on. All of the kids in their family traveled to the state they had studied. After that they went on many great vacations including St. Thomas, Hawaii, Canada, Florida, New York, Cruises and the Virgin Islands.

 

Kim did well in school and was awarded with a full ride scholarship to Weber State University. Her plan had been to go to beauty school. However, her dad and grandpa talked her out of that decision and through prayer Kim realized the place she should be was BYU. So she turned down the scholarship and went to BYU.  Her freshman year she ended up living with some roommates from Brazil (while her future husband was serving a mission in Brazil).

 

Kim's first year at the Y was spent doing generals. She felt a pull to study in the interior design program. She had taken an intro course to interior design in high school and again that first year at BYU but the field was so broad she really didn't have a sense of if it was a good fit for her or not. Still she submitted the paperwork and portfolio to see if she could get into the program. She decided if she got in that would be her answer on whether or not she should pursue the major. She did get in and spent her sophomore year in the first year of the 4 year program.

 

The first year, was a lot of beginning art, drafting, and composition courses. She still wondered if interior design would be a good fit because there were so many niches it was hard to understand what would truly be involved.  It was all over the place, from managing a business, accounting, budgeting, construction, working with architects and clients, drafting plans, to understanding materials and finishes and the requirements for each of these in different venues. After learning all this she still wasn't 100% sure about where she was headed in schooling. She also had a mission on her radar.

 

The 2^nd year of the program, Kim attended her first day of classes and inspiration hit. She now was completely in love with the field. She wanted to drink it all in. She realized she loved it so much that now she had lost all desire for a mission. She knew that staying at BYU and completing this major was what she was supposed to do. It ended up being a good thing she didn't leave because shortly after that, they found out BYU was going to drop its interior design program. The students fought back and they let those who were already in the program finish up. That meant she would have to go to school through the summer, but that she would also finish her degree in 3 years instead of 4. She stuck around for one extra semester to finish a minor in Marriage, Family, Human Development.

 

After graduating from BYU, Kim's first job was at Bassett Furniture. She worked there for about 1 year and 9 months. By this time she had now lived in Provo for 5 years and was aching to get out of the college town. She wanted a change and so did her roommates. They had heard about an apartment complex in Salt Lake City called Turnberry. It was a complex where lots of young  single adults were living. So they moved up to Salt Lake together and Kim started looking for a different job.

 

Three of Kim's roommates were sisters. They had a cousin living in South Weber named Mark Caldwell who was commuting down to Salt Lake. He was tired of the commute so they suggested he come check out their apartments and see if he liked them. He came down one Sunday to go to church with them and check things out. He got there at 8:50 before church. He and Kim started talking and he didn't end up leaving until 10:30 that night because he and Kim had hit it off so well. He only left at 10:30 because he didn't want to wear out his welcome. (Perhaps it was a little late for that.) Needless to say, he knew right away he wanted to ask her out. Kim wasn't entirely sure, but she was willing to entertain the possibility.

 

Mark and Kim hung out a few times with Mark’s cousins.  After a few weeks Mark asked Kim out.  They went out the weekend before Labor Day. They were engaged in November and married in December. Kim swore she would never do the quick date and marry scene but somehow it was right and she went with it.

 

About a week after meeting Mark, Kim started a new job working for Chase Associates an interior design firm. This was a dream job for Kim. The firm was a full service design firm that allowed her to work all the areas. Every project was different.  She quickly rose in the company and began doing work that normally a more senior employee would be doing. She learned so many things among which was how to wine and dine high profile clients and close deals.

 

One of Kim's favorite projects was The Sky Lodge in Park City. She was able to take the project from the design stage to installation and opening. Starting with drafting the units, designing the furniture, specifying the finish plumbing and decorative lighting, all the way down to furnishing the kitchens and installing the art. After the design phase of the project was done, she managed the various moving and installation crews to get the hotel ready to open.

 

Kim loved this job. She worked there from 2005-2011 until their second child was born. After that she started working only one day a week. In addition to working for her firm, Kim also managed to pick up her real estate license and work as a real estate agent on the side. In fact, Kim found this neighborhood while showing houses to other clients.

 

After being married about a year and a half and living in an apartment, Kim and Mark decided they wanted to buy a house. That year they helped Kim's mother flip a house in Bountiful. The money they made from helping her they used to make a down payment on a house in Woods Cross. They planned to only live there about 2 years, but as goes in life, their plans changed and they lived there from 2007 until they moved to our neighborhood. Even though the house was small, they are so grateful they lived there. It was beneficial to their family and Mark's career because of the people they met and associations they formed.

 

When they decided to move, everything fell into place. They really liked this neighborhood and put an offer on a spec home in our neighborhood. They hadn’t planned on moving quite so soon so they hadn’t listed their house yet.  Another offer was accepted so they decided to build. They are very grateful they did.

 

Kim and her family love living in this neighborhood. They love all the kids in our ward and really are grateful for the opportunity it provides for friends for their kids. They love how down-to-earth the people around here are and appreciate that they don't feel judged by others. We are so fortunate to have Kim in our relief society and the talent she brings. She is warm and easy to talk to. Every time I have ran into her I have been greeted warmly and feel welcome by her. We look forward to a hopefully long associate with Kim in our ward!

Spotlight: Lyndsey Wade

Lyndsey Wade grew up in Orangeville, Utah. Orangeville is near Price (yes, I had to ask). Her mom and step dad still lives there. She attended and graduated Emery High School. During high school she worked at a pizza place and a video store. She focused on school and mostly hung out with friends. Since she lived in a small town they had to be creative with what they did. They had bon fires, went four-wheeling, trips to the mountains and cliff diving at the lake. 

After high school Lyndsey attended a year at The College of Eastern Utah and worked at a gas station. She then transferred up to Utah State and lived with her grandma for a year. She then moved on to Bridgerland, a Tech school, and earn her CNA. She worked for a couple of years at an assisted living center. She then went back to Briderland and studied to be a dental assistant, which she never ended up using. 

During her time at CEU (College of Eastern Utah) her roommate introduced Lyndsey to a newly returned missionary, Derek Wade. They hit it right off and they both knew that they were going to get married. They ended up dating for a year and half. During this time Lyndsey spent the summer in Connecticut as a nanny. Derek and Lyndsey didn’t let a day go by without talking on the phone. They finally got engaged in March of 2003 and were married in the Logan Temple that July. 

As a newly married couple they moved to Brigham City. Lyndsey commuted and worked in Logan and Derek worked and went to school in Riverdale. Lyndsey eventually found a job at Getaway Today in Ogden. During this time the Wades moved to Clinton and they had their first son, Hayden. Lyndsey was fortunate enough that she was able to leave her job and be a stay at home mom. A couple of years later they welcomed their second son, Maddax, to the family. 

They moved again, but they stayed in Clinton. There they had Zander and Nixon. June 2013 they moved here, into our ward and just recently they welcomed their 5th son, Jasper. 

The Wade family loves sports, especially RSL and the Utah State Aggies football. They have season tickets to both. They love to travel to see their Aggie’s play. This past fall they even travelled to Seattle to watch them play. 

Lyndsey enjoys a good book and set an impressive goal to read 100 books in the year 2015. She achieved her goal with 2 days to spare. 

Lyndsey loves this neighborhood. She has friendly neighbors and wonderful neighbor kids for her children to play with. She loves her calling working on the Relief Society Committee and just started serving on the Stake’s sports committee. We are so lucky to have Lyndsey here in our ward. She is so thoughtful and giving. I’m so grateful to call her my neighbor and friend.

Candace Waters

 

Candace Waters is not your regular born and reared Utah Mormon girl. Despite only being 25, she is a young woman of experience and adventure. She grew up all over the United States with her family moving about every two years. She did however, live in the state of Texas the most (although not over consecutive years). Her father was an executive vice president in the banking industry. During the late 80's and into the 90's when Candace was growing up, big banks were consolidating little banks. This combined with better career opportunities created the need for multiple moves for their family. Candace said mainly, for her, moving was an adventure. She didn't mind it at all, although that was not the case for her mother or all of her other 3 siblings.

Candace was born in Monterey California, however the family moved when she 6 months old. She does someday want to visit there and see it. The next place they lived was Michigan, but only until she was 2, so again she doesn't really remember life in the sub-zero zone.

From here, Candace's family moved to Dallas Texas and then to Charlotte North Carolina. This is the time period where Candace's memories started coming into play. She remembers the family having a pool and splashing and spending time together. Candace is also the youngest among her siblings with the closest in age being 6 years older than her. So by the time she was 3, her oldest siblings were in high school. Therefore she remembers being very busy attending football games ( for those who don't know, when a son plays football, it takes over the family schedule). Her mother also taught early morning seminary at this time and their family was very busy.

While living in Dallas, Candace started playing soccer. She remembers her dad working with her and running drills, which she loved. Candace also really started to embrace her inner tomboy at this time in her life. She wasn't interested in singing (her mom and sister did singing so it seemed « girly » to her) or anything else girly. She loved adventure and action. She loved swimming and playing Nintendo 64.

 

From here Candace's family moved to New Jersey in Clinton Township in Lebanon city. They lived in New Jersey about 1 ½ years. Although they only lived their a short time, this was a very difficult place for Candace to live. This was the only place she lived where friends didn't come easy. Although the girls here were mean, Candace learned a lot about who she wanted to be as a person. At first she also tried being mean, but quickly realized that wouldn't bring her the happiness she was used to feeling. So despite the unkindness of the girls at school and the lack of warmth at church, she decided she would be kind.

 

This shortage of friends however, did have an upside. Candace's oldest brother, who was now home from a mission, took a special interest in her and they became very close. He would take her to the library and they would study interesting things. In fact, one day , without her mother knowing it, he took her out of school so they could go study Socrates. He also took her to Pennsylvania and Washington DC. He taught her to play chess and bought her a science book. She loved all of these things.

Candace also became very good at gymnastics while living here. She mainly worked on floor work doing back hand springs, tucks and floor routines.

From here the family moved to Castle Rock Colorado while Candace attended the 7-9^th grade. Despite the fact that she had to work to get rid of her New Jersey accent so the western kids could understand her, this may have been her favorite place to live. There was quite a big community of LDS kids her same age. The first week there, she entered the young women's room and waited to see where everyone would sit, not wanting to take someone's seat. A girl their said to her, « You can take a spot. » Candace was thrilled to be invited and felt and immediate warmth toward this girl. They became best friends and for really the only time out of everywhere she lived, she had a group of LDS friends that would all hang out together. This was the first time Candace didn't want to move when the time came.

After Colorado the family returned to Texas, but this time they lived in Houston. In Houston again there were more LDS friends to choose from and Candace made two good friends. Although she still missed her friends in Colorado, it was good to have these two gals to do things with. The best thing she said about living in Houston was getting her drivers license. She loved driving even though mainly it was just running errands for her mom.

Candace also joined the track team in Houston and although she wasn't the fastest runner, she worked hard and did alright. She also became more focused on her grades and took some AP courses. In fact, she became so focused that during her Junior year she approached her school counselor wanting to know what it would take to graduate early. They talked about it and that summer Candace did her first semester work on-line. That made it possible for her to graduate in December and begin college.

Candace really wanted to go to Texas A&M (agriculture and mechanics). However, even though she had a 3.7 GPA, she wasn't in the top ten percent of the state, so she wasn't immediately accepted there. She ended up enrolling at Blinn College for 2 semesters and living away from home. That worked out well because her parents were moving again. Blinn College had a great institute program and she ended up rooming with some older LDS girls who took her under their wing.

After the two semesters, Candace was able to transfer to Texas A&M and fulfill her dream of attending that school. She absolutely LOVED it. Texas A&M is steeped in traditions and rituals. A lot of which stem from way back to when it was an all military boys school. Chivalry runs deep and whenever she was on the bus a man would offer her a seat and doors were always opened for her. She also said the people were so nice.

Football games are taken to a new level at Texas A&M and become a highlight of all the students. Candace never missed a home game. Her institute group would meet together every Friday night and would go over to midnight yell practice. What is « yell practice » you might ask? Well apparently at their football games they don't have cheerleaders, they have yell leaders they tell the spectators what yells to call out. The whole student body practices these yells on Friday night so they are all in sync with one another. Also, during a football game if someone leaves the game early or if they don't stand the entire game, they are called a 2 percenter and yelled out. But maybe the most fun tradition is after the game is over all the stadium lights are turned off and if your with a date, you are expected to kiss them. If you don't have a date, you hold up a cell phone/lighter and go find a date to kiss. Candace says she didn't ever go find a date but it was still fun.

After graduating with her degree in English, Candace was on the fence about law school. So she decided she would try working in the field awhile to see if she liked it. She went back to Blinn College and got her para legal certificate. She then moved to El Paso to work for a great firm.

One of her former roommates had moved to Provo and Candace decided to go visit her. She asked her friend to set her up on some dates while she was there for a week. Her friend found a guy named Gayle Waters for Candace to go out with, so before she came out to Provo, she gave them each other's phone numbers and they started talking. Their first date, was supposed to be a double date, but her roommate's date got sick, so Candace and Gayle went by themselves.

They did a hike in Spanish Fork up to the hot springs and had so much fun. Laughing and joking was so natural between them. They went out 4 times during that week and by the 4^th date they really had started to like each other. They talked about what they should do and decided they would just keep talking. For the next 6 months they would Skype every night and then Gayle came out to see her. After that, Candace decided she would move to Utah. She moved here in June of last year and they were engaged by July and married in September.

Both Candace and Gayle were more interested in their wedding being about the marriage and not the party. So they had a very small temple wedding in the Manti Utah temple. They went to lunch with some family and friends and then went to the temple for the ceremony. That was it, no reception or big fanfare. They loved it. They saved money and felt like the day was just about them being married forever.

After that they moved into Peterson's basement apartment on Equestrian Parkway. Candace adores her husband. She loves how he is so even tempered. He doesn't allow himself to get stressed. She loves his adventurous spirit. He works as a firefighter for Farmington city. They don't know where life will take them right now, but are just enjoying being together and newly married.

I hope you get a chance to sit down with Candace. She is fun and easy to talk too. Her views on life are so interesting and she is unique. We welcome her openly to our ward.

Sally Zlotnick

 

Sally Zlotnick was born and raised in the land of glorious summer and winter's so cold you have to plug your cars in at night to keep the battery from dying. She had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. One of her sisters was an indian foster child through the church's former indian placement program. But their family never consider her a foster child. Sally feels having her as her sister was a wonderful experience. Her dad was the superintendent of schools and her mom was a stay-at-home mother.

Sally was born in Missoula Montana and when she was 4 years old, they moved to Preston Idaho. That's right Preston Idaho, the land of Napoleon Dynamite and the birthplace of Ezra Taft Benson. In fact, Sally's dad's name is on the credits of Napoleon Dynamite – he allowed access to the school they used to shoot the movie. She said it was fun to watch the movie and see the places where she had grown up and even worked on the screen.

Sally said she loved growing up in Preston. She enjoyed spending time on her grandparents farm and they always had animals around them. Although, she's not sure how it happened, but she grew up to not really prefer animals. She says she likes to pet them, but doesn't really want to live with them.

Sally also really liked being from a small town and that everyone knew everyone. She said because the school and community were so small she had the opportunity to participate in any activity she wanted. There weren't many other kids to compete with so everything was up for grabs and she grabbed almost all of it. She participated in choir, dance, soccer, student government and taking AP classes (although the AP classes and honors course were not nearly the intensity and the variety as we get in our bigger schools.)

Her favorite activity to be involved in was student government. She really enjoyed the planning of the school dances and assemblies and just being involved with the other students and having fun. She also worked after school at Big J's (also featured in Napoleon Dynamite). She says even though she was involved in many activities, she never felt super busy. Just busy enough for it to all be enjoyable.

After graduating from High school, Sally went on to attend Brigham Young University where she majored in School Health Education . True to form Sally liked being busy but not stressed out, so she took a little more relaxed pace taking 12-14 credit hours a term. This meant it took her a little longer to graduate but the pace was more manageable.

While at BYU she was able to be part of the BYUSA (Brigham Young University Student Association). Being part of this organization gave her the opportunity to help out with and attend many of the activities on campus. But her favorite thing with the BYUSA was helping with the special olympics.

She also was on the BYU back up ballroom dancing team (it would appear only at BYU would they have a backup BYU ballroom dance team). She said that was great fun. She also worked at the BYU bookstore and in the music department.

Sally's best friend also attended BYU although they didn't live together or were even in the same ward. But there was a young man in her friend's ward named Justin Zlotnick from Santa Fe New Mexico. Sally's friend introduced them and three months later Justin asked Sally out. They liked each other right away and dated over the next 1 ½ years. They were married in April of 1995 and Sally graduated the next month. However, even though she enjoyed School Health, she never used her degree, accept in real life.

Justin had another year at BYU before he could start working on his MBA. So Sally stayed at BYU and worked for the athletic department. Her job was to help the athletes stay academically eligible. This was fantastic training for being a mother. It was amazing to her that after providing all the tutoring and support some athletes still would not turn in their assignments. She loved however, getting to know all the people she worked with and was able to attend many different athletic events for free. She also really liked her boss. It was her favorite job at BYU.

After a year, Justin enrolled at Purdue University in West Lafayette Indiana. By that time Sally had had their first baby, Abby and Sally began the best job she has ever had, being a stay-at-home mom. She said she always wanted to stay home with her children and feels very fortunate that she has never had to work since the day her daughter was born. She does however help Justin out with his business sometimes.

After graduating with his MBA Justin began working for Ingersoll-Rand. His job took him all over and the family was transferred every year. They lived in New Jersey, Colorado Springs – where they had their second and last child, Danny- and then back to Indiana to live in Indianapolis. Although they really enjoyed the adventure of moving, they thought it would probably be better for their kids to find a place to live for awhile. They also wanted to come back West to be closer to their families.

Justin knew a friend that worked for State Farm in Utah, so he gave him a call to find out what it would take to work in the business side of the insurance business. His friend however talked him into looking into becoming an agent. So they took a leap of faith. Justin got his licence to sell insurance and they moved to Layton Utah just right across from Heritage Elementary. They lived in that house for the next 12 years providing their kids with the stability they had desired.

However, Justin and Sally still liked the adventure of moving. After 12 years they were getting a little antsy and wanted a change in scenery. They started looking at home in their kid's school boundaries. That's when they came upon their house in our ward. They have loved this neighborhood and have felt incredibly welcomed. They also really appreciate their children's young men and young women leaders. But maybe Sally’s favorite thing about living here is her calling in nursery!

I asked Sally what has been the greatest struggle of her life. The thing that has changed her and molded her into who she is. She said it is being a mother. That no other thing has moved her out of her comfort and made her stretch the way mothering has.

I found Sally to be enjoyably laid back. She is a good listener and easy to relate to. I hope each of you will have the opportunity to get to know her.