Smile!

Dallin is entering a new time in life--BRACES! He had braces put on his teeth yesterday and was feeling the aches and pains this morning. His front teeth aren't straight and his bottom left molars are out of alignment. He'll have these beautiful things for 18-20 months as long as he does what he is supposed to do. It'll be an adventure!

Our little girl is all grown up

Remember this little girl? Well, Ashton is all grown up now. Stephen and I took our little, all grown up girl to the airport yesterday to send her off to college at BYU in Provo. What an emotional day for us. A time to reflect on our daughter's life and how fast time has flown. She's turned into quite the young lady, ready for her new adventure. She has dreamed of going to BYU ever since she was little and worked so hard over the years in school to make her goal a reality. She is a hard worker and very success oriented. She decides on something she wants and goes after it. This strong work ethic will help her in the future to be successful in college. We look forward to watching her continue to grow with the new experiences she will be having. We're actually jealous because we know how much fun she is going to be having! Good luck to our little girl--we love you, Ashton. All dressed in pink from head to toe--even her suitcases were pink.
Ashton follows her Dad into the airport--you could feel the anticipation and excitement. When we checked in her large bag it was over the 50 pound limit and would cost 90.00. The guy told us to take some stuff out that we didn't need. We scavanged through the suitcase removing a hairdryer, 3-4 jeans, sweatshirts and a very heavy flat iron (to straighten your hair). We got it down to 50 pounds. Then the guy asked me what we were going to do with all the stuff we had taken out. I said I would just mail it to her in a box. He quietly told us to put it back in the suitcase. We quietly did what we were told (well, I did and had to remind Ashton to lower her voice!) and he promptly tagged her suitcase and loaded it down the conveyer belt. He said we owed him a cup of coffee. Thanks whoever you are!

Our last meal with Ashton

Ashton was able to pick our dinner spot Monday night for her last meal with the crew. We went to Golden Corral, a favorite of the children's. They love the selection of food--Dallin likes the fact that he can eat whatever he wants and how much he wants.

Ashton gave Easton 50 cents to use in the gumball machine. Easton had Dallin play the crane game where you use the crane to try to pick up a stuffed animal and win it. Well, Dallin got it for Easton. Yeah!

Landon is ready to dig in. Landon likes the rolls, Bourbon Street Chicken and the banana pudding.
Easton picked steak, mac n' cheese, baked potatoe and a yummy soft roll. He had numerous desserts--gummy bears, jello with whipped cream and sprinkles, ice cream cone, and banana pudding. Now that's any kids' dream!
Ashton stuffs her face with the good stuff--brocolli cheese soup.
Look at the spread that Dallin has and that was just his first plateful!Mom's dessert-banana pudding and brownie icecream sundae.
Mmmmmmmm...... Dad's favorite is Banana Pudding. He got a bowl before he even had his dinner. I guess you can do that at Golden Corral because there are no rules--just eat whatever and how much you can.

Tender Moment

As I was tucking Easton into bed tonight he was showing some concern about his sister, Ashton who is flying out to Utah tomorrow to go to college. He said, "When I get up I have to say goodbye to Ashton. And then I won't even see her for four years!" I explained that she would be home for Christmas and it would only be 4 months that he wouldn't see her. That's when he started thinking...."Will she be home for Thanksgiving? Will she be home for Easter, he asked? I think he felt a little better and was able to comprehend the 4 month separation. It brought a little tear to my eye. He also wanted to make sure that Ashton would say goodbye to him in the morning before he left for school since she would head to the airport while he was at school. I'm not sure how this will affect him. He has been so excited for her to leave because he would get the whole side of the dinner table to himself!

The next morning.........Easton hugged and said goodbye to Ashton before going to the bus stop. Because it was pooring rain we sat in the car at the end of the driveway waiting for the bus to come. Easton was a little sad and reflective. He quietly said, "I'm actually going to miss Ashton."

Toe Fun

Ashton gave me a pedicure gift certificate for Mother's Day--well, I finally got around to using it today. Ashton and I went together for some relaxation and pampering time. We both got pedicures and manicures. It was awesome and I have to say that my feet look better than they've looked in a very long time. We had a grand time trying to figure out what the Asian ladies were laughing about--probably us! Ashton messed up her big toe as we were leaving so she had to have it redone. She splurged and had cute little flowers painted on her big toes. I just had mine painted a very loud RED!

Don't our toes look awesome?

Advancements in Scouting

My sons have done it again! We are on the advancement trail of Scouting. Landon received his Life rank last night at his Court of Honor. Woohoo! I had no idea that was happening. He is now ready to get after the rank of Eagle. We look forward to working on a project and finishing a few more merit badges. Way to go, Landon! You are awesome. FYI--Dallin is also the rank of Life. They both are on the path to get their Eagles.

Dallin received the family life merit badge and his On My Honor award last night. Good job Dallin!

First Day of School!

School officially started for the Carrolls this morning! We are so excited to be going back to school to learn and see our friends. Easton is in second grade this year and has Mrs. Willis. Landon is in 8th grade this year and is going to a brand new middle school. Dallin, our 10th grader is an old pro in high school. We look forward to a great year of watching our children grow and learn. Make it a good one kids!

Mom is looking forward to some much needed time to get projects done. I made my list of Fall projects so that I could stay focused. I get to check one thing off my list--Blogging! I have been so busy since coming home from our Utah vacation and the computer has been dead with a virus since last week. We finally got it fixed. I had to download my camera software again to get my pictures and that finally happened this morning. I'm hoping to get our vacation blogged this week. Be on the lookout for more posts--I'm Back!!!!