A Contact

Another child in contacts....well, let's just say another child in a contact.  Easton opted to trade in his glasses for a contact last week.  He has one eye that needs a little correction so he tried out one contact to see if it was going to work for him.  This picture shows him learning how to put it if for the first time.  After three tries it was in!  I remember when I first learned how to put my contacts in it took forever to get it placed right in my eye and actually get it to stay in.  And it took even longer to learn how to remove it off my eyeball.  He did awesome and it looks like the new contact is going to work out just fine!

Homecoming Celebration

It was a celebration last Sunday.  As a family we celebrated Dallin's return from his mission and welcomed him home.  He spoke in church and gave a great homecoming talk.  The spirit was felt and I for one was touched by Dallin's message.  I am so grateful for his willingness to serve the Lord for two years and the sacrifice he made to help others come to Christ.  Ashton and Dallin sang an amazing duet right after his talk and they did awesome!  And I'm not just saying that because I'm their mother.  It really was incredible and I couldn't be prouder of those two kids of mine!

Easton with his cousins, Blaise and Kolby

 In the evening most of the extended Carroll crew gathered at our house for a chili dinner.  We usually have the chili dinner in October but things just got a little too crazy for me to pull it off so I just had a combined chili/homecoming dinner.  It was fun to just gather as a family and spend time talking, laughing and eating that good ol' traditional chili.  I'm grateful to have such a supportive family.

 This really is the best picture I got of Dallin at the dinner....I've got to do better!  But hey, at least I got a picture!

 Michael, Ashton, and Brian

 Jeni and Monica

 Gene and Sandra (Mama and Papa)

 Thomasyn and Rheya

 Mama serving up some chili

 Collin and Spencer

 Talk to the spoon!

 Cute little Ashton

 Stephen and his Momma

 Spencer, Collin, and Brent

Chowing down on cornbread and chili!  Yum!

Um, Yucky!

 I shudder as I type this and probably shouldn't even post this, but it is part of the Carroll family history and it happened.  While Ashton was here she taught her little brother Dallin about something called tonsil stones....look it up, it's a real thing.  I never knew these buggers even existed since I don't have tonsils.

 Dallin is checking to see if he has any tonsil stones.....YEP!  He does!

 Ashton teaches Dallin the fine art of harvesting the little treasures.

Dallin is successful and I learned something new.  Weird, crazy things go on with the human body, who knew?  Seriously, go look it up on the internet....tonsil stones are real!  If you have tonsils then the chances are pretty good that you have tonsil stones.

Sibling Love

After not seeing each other for over two years, these two little blonde cuties got to see each other again.  Ashton flew into town late Thursday evening (like one in the morning late) to spend the weekend with us and to hear Dallin give his homecoming talk in church.  It was fun to have a large portion of the family together again.  We laughed and stayed up late and laughed some more.  There is something amazing about seeing your children all grown up....they're different in so many ways but their personalities that they have always had are still shining through.  Dallin is still my calm, blue eyed boy that doesn't get his feathers ruffled and Ashton is still the big sister who is still taking care of her little brother!  (in a good way!)

 Friday evening was spent eating dinner at Mellow Mushroom.....yum!  It was a very cold evening.  I think Ashton brought the cold with her from Utah.

Love these two kids!

Ahhh...Sundays

 I sat with my family this beautiful Sunday and just enjoyed it.  We watched a movie and everyone was in the same room doing the same thing.  There was no where to be and nothing urgent that had to be done.  I just sat there loving the moment.  Sundays, a day of rest.  What a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father to be able to slow down and take a moment to breathe, reflect, and meditate.

 Love having this boy home!

And of course our Sundays wouldn't be complete without an awesome nap!

Brrrrrr!!!!

We had a great time cheering on our Cougars in Murfreesboro, Tennessee this past weekend.  We drove about three and a half hours and stayed the night so we could be ready to go to Cougar Town on Saturday before the game.  Cougar Town was just a big "tailgate" party planned by the Tennessee BYU Alumni association.  We saw Cosmo and the cheerleaders, ate an awesome BBQ lunch, and just enjoyed being with our fellow BYU cougars.  The day was bitter cold which is so weird for this time of year.  It was so windy and that made everything feel colder.  We stopped by the sporting goods store in the morning before the game to buy some hats and gloves so we could survive sitting outside during the game.  I am so glad we did that or we would have died!  The wind just blew right through you. 

 Easton got a BYU tattoo on his cheek to show his team spirit.  I felt bad for the volunteers that were helping because it was so cold.  Their fingers were bright red and they just looked cold!

Our nephew, Dylan is a cheerleader at BYU and he got to travel to Tennessee for this game.  We got to see him and watch him perform with his team.  It was fun for Dallin to be able to see his cousin.  Between both of their missions it's been probably at least three years since they have seen each other.

Here we are sitting in the bitter cold.  I was grateful for the hot chocolate we had at half time to help warm up my insides.  Thankfully BYU pulled off a win and we survived the elements.  Go BYU!

He's Home!

Elder Dallin Stephen Carroll has returned from his two year mission to Recife, Brazil!!!  It was such an exciting day last Wednesday, October 29, 2014.  We have been counting down for quite a while until the day finally arrived.  We almost couldn't believe it was really happening.  His flight arrived from a layover in Miami at 8:55 in the morning.  We had to get up super early to get on the rode so we could get to the airport on time since it was right during rush hour.  It took us almost two hours to get their but we had plenty of time.  He flew with American so he arrived in a totally different terminal than the rest of the airport.  When we got to the gate we literally were the only people in the whole place.  It was quiet and we just sat and chilled for a while.  We checked Dallin's flight status often and finally saw that he had landed.  So much joy!!!!!!!  We waited until people started coming through the doors.  Stephen asked the passengers if they came from Miami, but they were from Chicago.  He continued asking until finally one man answered yes that he was from Miami.  Then we got crazy excited!  We could only see half of the escalator from the entrance so it was hard to see who was coming.  We watched people's feet to see if it was Dallin.  I finally saw him coming down the escalator and I said, "It's Dallin!  I see him!  It's Him!"  He was talking to a Brazilian couple when he came through the door.  I gave him the biggest hug ever!  It was just great to see his happy face and to hug him.  I can't even describe the joy I felt in having my son return after serving an honorable mission.  It was an incredible feeling, one that I won't forget.  He looked great.  He was a little tired from flying all night. 

Here we are waiting for Dallin to arrive.

Trying to get a cart to carry Dallin's luggage

I got my boy back!  Woohoo!

Easton has a brother again!

We grabbed some Chick-Fil-A breakfast on the way home because Dallin was starving and then Dallin arrived home to our welcome home sign.

We went over the Stake President's home around 4 pm so Dallin could officially be released as a missionary.  President Galt asked him to share some things from his mission and I enjoyed hearing him talk and loved him sharing thoughts and things that happened to him on his two year adventure.  After Dallin was released we headed to Longhorn for dinner.  He said after two years of hearing about this restaurant through my letters he wanted to go there.  I didn't realize he had never eaten there.  He loved the stake and pretty much everything!

We stopped by Mama and Papa's to visit with them after our dinner.  Mama had made Dallin an apple cake to take home.  Yummy!  That's his favorite cake that she makes.  

This was a great day...we were missing our boy Landon who is serving his mission in North Carolina but his time will come when the time is right.  He is serving the Lord, working hard and changing lives and we sure love him!  

It's hard to believe Dallin is home.  I find myself just looking at him and smiling.  I smiled when I heard him singing in the shower.  I just keep smiling.  I love that he keeps slipping up speaking in English and would rather speak Portuguese.  He gave the prayer on dinner in Portuguese and that was really cool.