“High On A Mountain Top!”

 

What is wrong with this picture?

Yes, Evan does own pants.  Yes, Evan has a winter coat.  Yes, Evan lives in Utah where it is currently 25 degrees outside.  Yes, Evan’s mother takes very good care of him.

But, Evan refuses to dress for cold weather, because Evan says, “my school is an inside school.”  So, his good mother has given up the battle.  Evan wears shorts to school everyday, no matter the weather.

P.S.  Shorty tries to go to school with Evan everyday.  She is sad to see him leave.  Shorty is a good dog who does wear her winter clothes everyday!

Follow-up on the Jr. Prom:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauren in her “sparkly” dress with Claire (taking it all in).  Doesn’t she look tan?  Yes, due to the sessions at the tanning salon.  And, don’t forget to notice the fake nails.  Because, EVERYONE will have them and she’d be the “only one without them at the whole dance.”

Oh, and here’s the date:

 

In other news:

Here, at the “big house, high on a mountain-top,” as I like to call it, we are ABOVE the inversion layer that plagues the valley this time of year.  See that yucky, brown layer of “fog?”  It’s actually pollution and when you go down the mountain, it is cold and dreary.  When you’re down there, you’d never guess it could be sunny and clear anywhere.  But, up here, blue skies and beautiful.  Of course, that got my mind wandering to all the analogies I could make about how living the gospel keeps you out of all the murk and filth of the world.  Also, how going to the temple lets you breathe the fresh air of the spirit and gives you a better perspective on life.  You can see and feel the sunshine so much easier at the temple.  Also, it reminds me that my children go “down there” to get to school and they get to come home “up here.”  I want to make sure our home stays, spiritually speaking, above the inversion layer also.  Something to think about…

By the way, it only takes 10 minutes to get to the temple.  I LOVE the Bountiful Temple.  It is the prettiest and best temple EVER!

I’m so excited to be going to Arizona this weekend to visit my parents.  Just think, 70 degrees!!! 

Love, Carol

OPTIMISM-2011

 

I decided that one thing I would like to have been known for after I’m gone is the characteristic of optimism.  Since I tend to tip the scale  somewhat more toward the pessimist side, I decided this year to focus on developing the ability to “anticipate the best possible outcome in any event.”

As I’ve been studying, I’ve realized how intertwined faith and hope are with optimism.  I came across this quote in Sheri Dew’s No Doubt About It:

How many times has my absence of faith resulted in a withholding of blessings?  And, likewise what blessings can come into our lives by exercising greater faith?  Such a simple and powerful concept, but do I really believe and practice it?  How can we not be optimistic when we know the Lord is waiting to bless us with our “holy desires (D&C 95:16).” 

And so, I approach 2011 as a year to look for the good in all situations.  And not by simply wishing good things to happen, but by faithfully moving forward and that by doing so I’m enabling the Lord to work miracles in my life.

I really enjoyed filling out the following downloads from SimpleMom.  They are year-end evaluations and goal-setting questions.  Check them out at:  http://simplemom.net/tools/downloads/

-Carol

It’s Prom time…

Lauren had 2 boys racing each other to ask her to Jr. Prom.  Here’s the note that was on the front door:

And, here’s what she found in the driveway:

Cody’s the winner!  He’s sipping some lemonade.  So cute—don’t you think?  The boy and the idea.  Now for the dress shopping (shoot me now).

Christmas 2010

 

View from our awesome deck!  This was the first break the kids have had from school since July.  We all enjoyed the time off.

Some highlights:

Seeing THIS guy perform with the MO TAB.  He really is so cute!

Watching THIS guy working hard to clear 2 sets of driveways of A TON of snow.  The novelty hasn’t worn off yet!

 Having THESE guys come and spend Christmas with us.

  THESE sisters bonding over pierced ears.  Yeah, I know you can’t see the earrings.  For some reason, standing in the middle of the mall they were not feeling very cooperative for a picture…

And, THIS best friend coming to visit for a week. 

It was a nice Christmas with lots of family time and extended family time.