10 Miles

We are still working on Easton's Cycling merit badge....you may be hearing that for a while to come.  On Saturday morning we woke up and rolled out of bed early so we could hop on our bikes and head to Chick-Fil-A and grab some chicken minis for breakfast. 

A ten mile bike ride seems a little easier when you know there is an unhealthy breakfast waiting for you down the road!  It was a beautiful, perfect day as we strolled down the rode.  Easton did so great.  With each bike ride we all get stronger and our endurance builds.  I know we're not ready for our 50 miler yet, but we will be.  Our next ride is 15 miles....maybe we'll grab lunch somewhere next time!

Dad and Easton in their matching neon yellow and blue shoes.

 

 Every once in a while Mom gets in a picture!

19 Reasons

We love Landon!  His 19th birthday was last week and we missed him.  It's the first birthday he has had a way from home and I thought about him all day.  I thought about what I love about him and what a great young man he is.  As a birthday tribute to him, we came up with 19 things that we just love about Landon!!!

1.  Landon has a crazy sense of humor.  His whit is amazing and it has always been a little mature for his age.  When he was in first grade his teacher told me she just loved Landon because he would laugh at her jokes when none of the other first graders would.  He gets humor and can make a "funny" out of any normal everyday thing.

2.  Landon is loyal to his family.  He is supportive and loving.  He never complained about having to go to another brother or sister's event.  He was always happy to spend time with any family member.

3.  Landon loves food....I mean he really loves it.  He loves to try new foods and then analyze and critic them.  I have loved having awesome one on one lunch dates with Landon because he can appreciate the good stuff.  We have a grand time tasting funky creations and deciding if we ever want to eat   them again.

4.  Landon's calm demeanor is a great quality. He is pleasant and great to be around.  He just doesn't get worked up over things.

5.  Basketball is one of Landon's passions that I love about him.  He just lives for it.  He follows all the games and stats on his phone.  He knows all the players and has his favorites.  He also loves playing the game.  Thousands of shots were thrown in the family basketball hoop in the driveway.  Games with the neighbors and the brothers were played almost daily. 

6.  I love Landon's knowledge.   He just has a brain that has been packed full of absolute random junk and facts.  And he remembers this trivia and loves to share little tidbits of information.

7.  Landon is Mr. Technology.  He can fix any gadget or computer.  It amazes me that he just knows all the greatest and latest apps for my phone or how to repair some dumb thing I've done to the computer or the phone.  He's happy to share his skills and with a little prodding is always able to help when my old brain is dealing with what I think is an "unfixable" computer problem.

8.  From the time Landon was little he has loved to laugh.  He would just put his little head back and just laugh right down to his toes.  He still loves to laugh.  He can get everyone at the dinner table just laughing at the most random things.  He is able to find the funniest things to laugh at and loves to share it with all of us.

9.  Landon has a commitment to the gospel.  He has always had strong faith and a testimony.  He uses his priesthood to serve others and takes his church responsibilities very seriously. 

 

10.  He loves his dog. He takes such good care of his puppy and just adores him.  I didn't realize how much he did for Charlie until he headed off to college.  He had such a calmness when dealing with Charlie.  We all called him the "dog whisperer" because he would use calm, quiet whispering commands to teach and train Charlie.

11.  Landon is good, he really is.  A while ago Landon had an interview with the Stake President at his home.  After the interview the Stake President came out of his home and walked to my car in the driveway.  He said, "He's a good boy.  He's a really good one."  We did get a good one when Landon came to our family.  I have always known that he was a "good one".

12.  Patience is one of Landon's incredible qualities.  He can wait patiently for things that others would just go bonkers about.

13.  This next characteristic is kind of like patience, but a little different.  Landon just has this low-key whatever attitude.  If something doesn't go well or the way he wants it he can just brush it off and say whatever.  Nothing is a big deal and he is able to move forward.  The only time I really can think of when Landon got really angry was when he dropped his brand new laptop and cracked the outside of it.  And even then, he didn't rage....just a little disturbed.

14.  Landon is friends with everyone.  I have never met anyone who doesn't like Landon.  He's just a likable guy and he is very kind and tolerant of others.

15.  Landon has a funny relationship with his Papa Carroll.  Ever since he was little Landon and his Papa have shared little jokes with each other whenever they are together.  They also looked at books together and learned those crazy, trivial facts that no one really cares about.  They love gaining knowledge together.

 

16. Landon doesn't care what others think about him.  He has never been influenced by the world or his peers.  He has always just done his thing whether others though it was cool or not.  He makes good choices when others are heading down questionable paths.

17.  When I think of Landon I think of someone who sets a good example.  Because of his good choices and how he lives his life, he is a super example to others, especially his brothers and sister.  He's an example to me and his father as well.

18.  Landon is not competitive in our home.  He celebrates the successes of others and does the best that he can.  He doesn't feel the need to be better than a family member.  That attitude has helped him get along with his siblings, no matter what their successes are.

19.  Landon is a quiet leader and has a quiet confidence about him.  People follow him and are drawn to his confident, funny personality.  He's quiet, but once you get to know him....you just like him!

 

It wasn't hard to come up with 19 wonderful things about my son.  After coming up with this list and thinking of Landon and the great young man that he has become, I feel extremely blessed to be Landon's mother.  What a blessing he is in my life.  I love you, Landon!

 

21 Years

 

My boy, Dallin has a birthday today, he's 21 years old.  I have to admit that this is a hard one for me.  Because Dallin is serving a two year mission for our church in Recife, Brazil, I will miss giving him his birthday hug and singing a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday to him as I watch him blow out birthday candles.

 I don't get to plan his birthday dinner with his favorite food choices and watch him smile as he enjoys his special menu items.  And I won't see him open his presents with anticipation.  As a Mother you want each birthday for your child to be special and above all, you want your child to know he is loved. 

I miss Dallin but he is where he should be right now in his life.  I wouldn't want him to be doing anything else but serving the people of Recife, Brazil and teaching people about Jesus Christ. 

Twenty one years old is a pretty big birthday...for a lot of young adults 21 is that "magical" age where you are legally able to drink alcohol.
Celebrations of turning 21 often times include a trip to the local drinking place to cheer on this coming of age time with a swig or two.

 

When I compare that scenario with what my 21 year old son is doing on his 21st birthday I feel extreme gratitude.  He is doing amazing things with his life and with the lives of others.



He chose to serve others and the Lord.  He is working daily to teach people the gospel and about Jesus Christ.  The life experiences he is having right now are changing him into a man.  Dallin is an example to his family and me.  I feel blessed to be his mother, especially on his birthday.  And even though he is missed, I thank the Lord daily that he is doing BIG things with his life. 

I am grateful for the blessing of being able to miss him and for the reason that he's not here.  I wouldn't want it any other way.

 So, I send out a loving Happy Birthday to my wonderful son from a very proud and blessed Mother.

Oops

Yesterday I had a lovely conversation with my sister-in-law.  She was blessed with a new little baby girl recently and was discussing the need for some new post-pregnancy "transitional" clothes and the frustration of dealing with her post baby figure.  We chatted about using clothes as a camouflage strategy and I was mentioning all the cute options she had to choose from this year with leggings, blousy shirts, and cardigans...the whole layered look.  As she was heading out the door with her three children in tow, I commented, "Your nest is growing, mine is shrinking."  She looked back at me with a perplexed look and said, "My neck is growing and yours is shrinking?"  Oops!

Sunday Walk

 A Sunday afternoon visit to our Sim's park is a great activity for our little family.  Easton brought his Ripstick with him this time and pretty much left the old parents in the dust.  He buzzed around the pathway and had a great time.

 The new art in the park made for a fun picture with Easton.  It's always nice to meet "a new person" at the park.

Charlie loves the park.  He sniffs and walks and enjoys the outdoors.

And the best part....the trip home with the wind blowing in your face.  After a hot, humid summer it's so refreshing to be able to roll down the windows and feel the cool air blowing in your face.

Mystery Solved

See this shiny dime sitting on the ledge outside Landon's bedroom window?  His windows do not open and it's on the second level of our home.  I know you're all wondering, "Well how did it get there?"  I wondered the same thing too when I looked out Landon's window while helping him pack last week.  I asked, "How did that dime get on the ledge out there?"  Landon cracked a sly smile and answered, "Dallin."  So, the story was told of how Dallin was locked out of the house late at night after coming home from his teen age activities one evening.  He didn't want to ring the doorbell and wake up the parents.  He grabbed all of the loose change hanging around in his car and started pelting Landon's window with the silver and copper coins in hopes that Landon would wake up and save him from having to ring the doorbell.  Thankfully for Dallin it worked.  Landon woke up wondering what the heck was hitting his window.  He looked down and there on the porch was his desperate older brother sending out a plea to open the front door.  I just love those stories that slowly come out after the fact.  What other secrets do Landon and Dallin have....only time will tell.

Working at the Carwash

 It was carwash Saturday for our cars.  Stephen and I both took our cars to the carwash and Easton was our awesome helper.  He did such a great job vacuuming, wiping down the windows and drying the outside of the car.  I love a clean car!

Spicy

 

 We love our local Mexican restaurant, Monterrey.  It's been our "spot" with the family for many years.  With one child in the nest now, we had to branch out and invite Easton's friend Ethan to go with us.  We are now official "friend importers" for Easton. 

Warm, delicious cheese dip for our tortilla chips, YUM!

New Wheels

Easton and I have been working on his Cycling merit badge for scouts.  The requirements are pretty intense....complete two 10 mile rides, two 15 mile rides, two 25 mile rides, and one 50 mile ride.  Last week at Calloway Gardens we completed a ten mile ride and we wanted to get another ten-miler done this week.  Easton's bike needed a tune-up and the gears checked so I took it into the bike repair shop to get it done.  The bike mechanic informed Easton and me that it would cost more to fix the bike than it would to buy a new one.  So, we donated his broken bike to the store for charity and headed to Wal Mart to get a new bike.  Easton picked a way cool bike with 21 gears.  It's going to be great on all of our bike rides coming up.

Another 10 mile ride was completed this week.  We drove to Sims park and  around the park four times and then back home to get our ten miles.  We are hoping to do the 15 mile ride in the next week.  Our goal is to complete all the rides before it gets too cold.  Wish us(me) luck!!!

Visitor

 

 

 Easton invited me to attend his school's parent visiting day last week.  What an honor it was to spend time at his school watching him in his element.  I have to say that middle school hasn't changed a whole lot since I was in junior high.  I was amazed at the casual atmosphere in some of his classes.  Easton is a great student and works hard.  I was impressed with his positive attitude and his willingness to participate in class, even though his mom was there.  Stephen joined us for Easton's last class and we had a great time. I actually learned a few things in his Social Studies class.  And the real treat for Easton was being able to drive home with me after school and not have to wait for the bus!