Walk and Talk

Does everyone remember the Royal Lane walkers? These ladies would walk the loop a dozen times, a whole row of ladies blocking the entire width of the street. In my naive youth I would kind of chuckle as I drove by and was sometimes annoyed that I had to slow down and wait for them to walk single file so I could pass on the way to my important event of the day. My thoughts always wondered how much exercise could these ladies possibly be getting by just walking and TALKING?!? It didn't seem like they were exerting themselves or even breaking a sweat. Oh, the follies of youth. I was so judgmental and downright ugly! Having experienced the onset of middle age and the little aches and pains that come with it, I have resorted to walking and talking. And let me tell you that it is a great form of exercise. The boys (Dallin and Landon) meet the Cross country team every morning at 7:15 for summer practice and I, of course have the extreme pleasure of driving them to the various trail destinations every morning. Easton comes with me as well with his bike in tow to ride with his little friends. With sneakers in hand after leaving the boys I gather with my fellow "Cross country Moms" and walk and talk! We make the rounds for about an hour. I'm happy to report that I do break a sweat, my joints don't hurt, my mouth gets a workout and I get some therapy too. It's a productive hour spent early in the morning. I finally get it......walking and talking is good for your health. You should all try it.This is a horribly unflattering picture, but you asked for it! I'm blogging, I'm here and you get to see all of my life.

M.I.A.

To all my friends and family out there-----I know I've been missing in action. My blogging has been lacking. Sorry. I don't know what to say. I didn't know that I would be missed so much and talked about at the Sunday dinner table!!!!!! That's just wrong to talk about people that aren't there to defend themselves. (I'm just kidding you know!) I did so enjoy blogging and sharing my family with you. I guess the whole employment thing has dampened my spirits around here and it's sometimes hard to find the joy in the journey when it's just not fun. But, that is part of life too. Soooooo....if you'll all forgive my little unexpected blogging break, I promise to bring you a week of blogging. Get ready for whatever comes my way---hope my life has a little bit of excitement to brighten your day. See you tomorrow! It's going to be a great week.

Love,
Sheila

Life Plans

Our eight year old, Easton came in our room last night after being tucked into bed. He was very serious and wanted to discuss something with us. He stood at the foot of our bed and very confidently said, "I think I know what I want to be when I grow up....a swim teacher." Stephen and I were thrilled that he has decided on a career so early in life. Now we can help him to achieve his goal by taking him to the neighborhood pool everyday so that he can better his swimming skills! He spent the day yesterday at my friends' pool helping some young children swim and play. I think he felt very big and grownup since he was the oldest one at the pool. I suspect that Easton will be the best swim teacher ever when he grows up. Do they have swimming 101 classes in college?!?

Bored

Landon and Easton get a little silly on Sunday afternoons. Since we have morning church at 9 it makes for long afternoon and the kids tend to go a little stir crazy. This was last Sunday's goofy episode. Gotta love these guys!

How does your garden grow?

My neighbor and I decided to grow a garden together this year. As a team we came up with a plan of where to put the plot, how to lay it out, and what seeds and plants to put in the ground. It was hard finding a place that would allow for 6 hours of sun in our yards because there are so many trees in our yards that give off shade or block the sunlight. We cleared the land with the help of both our boys (six altogether). The boys enjoyed using their hatchets and saws to cut down some fairly large trees. It took hours and hours to get the soil turned and ready for planting. We used garden ties to hold one side of the land because it was on a sloping hill. Because of the deer, rabbits, and squirrels we also had to put up a fence of chicken wire to keep the critters out. I hope that works. We planted tomato, pepper, cucumber, squash, and zucchini plants and then from seed we planted gourds, pumpkins, white pumpkins, beets, beans, peas, and lettuce. It's been almost two weeks and all the seeds have sprouted. Everything looks great except the squash and zucchini plants are getting yellow leaves. What's up with that? We're very excited and look forward to a great crop.

Out!

Easton smiles as he waits for the bus on the last day of school.
Dallin grins knowing it's his last day in 10th grade. Notice the yearbook. Remember getting all those important signatures and notes? "It was really fun getting to know you this year in Chemistry. Hope we have a class together next year. We should do something over the summer. Good luck next year."Landon thinks about his last day in middle school. He's off to ninth grade in high school next year. Wow!

The boys had a great school year and are looking forward to relaxing summer and hoping to not have too many summertime chores! May 24 was the last day of school. When do the rest of the cousins get out?

Dallin's a beast!

Dallin earned his Varsity letter in Track! What an awesome accomplishment. He also earned recognition for breaking the school record in one of his team relay events. His name will be placed on the wall with the three other guys he ran with. Hopefully they can hold the record for years to come! Good job, Dallin.

Mother's Day

Okay, so this post is a little late but I still wanted to document Mother's Day in the blog. It's always a fun day to be honored and loved. My children and Stephen did a great job making me feel special with their help with dinner and the special cards they created. I have kept all of their Mother's Day treasures in a scrapbook and we bring it out every year to see the cute drawings and special wishes that have been shared with me over the years. We laugh and laugh.


Easton made me some fabulous notecards in school. He designed and colored them himself. I can tell that he spent a lot of time and did his best work to make these cards special.

I'm laughing so hard at the present that Ashton gave me. For years she has really been bothered that I shop at the same stores she does. Often times we actually own the same clothing items. She used to tell me that I couldn't shop at her stores. Her gift to me was some very cute hot pink sandals, the same exact ones that she has! I thought it was so funny that she actually gave me the same thing that she owns. Thanks Ashton
A yummy dinner. I picked everything out this year and bought it at the grocery store. I was trying to keep the stress level down. Salad, kabobs, homemade rolls, rice, and grapes.My adorable children make me happy to be a Mother. What a blessing to have them in my life.

That's entertainment

Easton's second grade music class performed for the parents.  They have been working on their musical program since January.  They learned songs and the official sign language to go with them.  Easton had an eleven word solo that he was pretty stressed out about.  He did fabulous and Stephen and I really enjoyed the show.

Amazing

Can you do this?  The amazingly talented Dallin Carroll does the triple roll of the tongue!  Crazy.  I can do the taco tongue, but not the triple roll.  Any other talented tongues out there?

MoPro

At 5:00 this evening Dallin and his friends, Scott and Jacob waited patiently at the Carroll home for their Mormon Prom dates to arrive. The clock ticked on, no sign of the girls. 6:00 pm. No dates have arrived. About 6:15 the doorbell rings. The modestly dressed girls had finally arrived and they looked stunning! An elegant candle lit dinner of chicken, funeral potatoes, salad, grapes and rolls was soon devoured in. Seasonal glazed strawberries over pound cake with a topping of whipped cream was then served. The kitchen help could hear the guests having a grand time laughing and conversing. As dinner was finished corsages and boutonnieres were exchanged and then a stroll through an English garden was the perfect setting for pictures of the sharp dressed couples. Now off to the dance in downtown Atlanta at the Georgia Tech ballroom in an RV type limousine-the best transportation and certainly most impressive! What a grand time these couples will have as they mingle with other 16 and 17 year olds of the LDS faith in the Atlanta area in a great prom environment. With 500+ youth attending (I hope that's a safe guess) it's sure to be a serious party!

Dallin with his date, Michelle Galt

Rain!!!

Check this out....we have been having amazing rainstorms this Spring.  We've been getting rain like the olden days in Georgia.  It's been such a blessing to have moisture after being in a very serious drought for the last few years.  The lakes are rising and it's very exciting.  The trees and plants have gone crazy and nature is very happy.

Odd

It was hat day at Landon's school.  I was thinking that he would just wear a cool baseball cap--keep it safe.  But NO!  He chose to wear an old hat that Dallin had used with an old Halloween costume from the past when he was a bum.  Landon had a blast at school that day.  Way to step out of the box!

Wow

Months ago I remember watching Easton swinging happily on a rope swing that had been attached to a strong towering,  tree in our front yard. It was a time of reflection for me...of focusing on simple moments of joy. At the time I thought about how life really is very simple. Just enjoy the ride, enjoy the quiet, calm times............CRASH!!!!

Last week that very tree that Easton was swinging on came thundering to the ground with a vengeance!  Around 11 am I was looking out my window watching the neighbors swinging in the tree.  I glanced at my computer and then back out the window.  The tree was coming down.  It was the most amazing thing to see.  It wasn't windy--just a really beautiful, calm day.  I counted heads--there should have been three, I only saw two.  I ran outside with a panic.  All was well when I ran down the driveway as I was able to count three heads.  The boys were talking up a storm, telling the story of being on the swing and hearing the tree cracking.  They had quickly jumped off the rope moved out of the way.  Now...we have a very large tree in the middle of our front yard.  

Our neighbor borrowed a chain saw and cut the top of the tree off because it was hanging across our driveway.  The boys helped haul logs and branches to the open field area in our back yard.  The trunk is still sitting there because it was too large around to use the chain saw.  Stephen called yesterday to tree removal companies--we were getting quotes like $500.  Ugh!  We'll call around again today and see what we can come up with.  

When life comes crashing down around you there is hope that it can be cleaned up and repaired.  It's a process, not usually completed in one day.  That gigantic tree won't always be strewn across my yard just as the problems we are going through won't always be there.  Trees will always fall and cause concern and difficulties, but they can be picked up and removed.

Well, well, well...

I'm hearing concern from my fellow blog readers about ME! Wondering if I'm okay, where am I, why haven't I been blogging? Well, I suppose I can announce that I'm back. We've been going through a crisis for over a month....Stephen lost his job. It's been a challenging time trying to pursue job leads and hoping to land a job in this horrible economy. It's a very slow process that certainly makes one feel anxiety. Life is a little stressful in our home. The kids are thrilled that we aren't going to Alabama anymore even though I still feel very unsettled, not knowing where we will land. We are looking for jobs in Atlanta as well as Utah. Please keep us in your prayers. We need all the prayers we can get.

I'll do my best to keep you all posted on our status.....I have a hard time getting to the computer since Stephen is basically on it all day long doing his thing.

Remember a few months ago when I said that I felt a storm brewing and I was ready for it? Well, this wasn't exactly what I was thinking. I'm not liking this storm so much.