Diamonds in the Rough: 2011

Friday, December 2, 2011

Falling Leaves...and Fall

So... as fall approaches so does the daunting task of leaf raking. Only this year it started early when a huge hail storm caused the leaves to be pulled off the trees prematurely...they were still green. Literally covering the lawn. A strange sight. So the kids started the leaf raking fun and they always enjoy hiding in the piles.

Caleb even decided to bury the cat...poor thing!

Finally, the next leaf pile episode really was Fall and the beautiful autumn leaves. These picts are the great photography of my friend Arabeth.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Halloween festivities!

Off to the Willis Pumkin Patch to pick the pumpkins...

Who are these hoodlums ?!

..just the right size!

Home to carve them...

..this takes serious concentration

..and its definitely messy..

...finished creations. Hey, that face looks just like the pumpkins.

...lookin' good.

Time for the trick-or-treating.

Lydia the Witch Fairy

Caleb the pirate pip-squeak

Kambria the gorgeous Rapunzel

Baylee the fabulous Fairy Godmother

School break...off on a road trip!

Destination Four Corners, Telluride, and Mesa Verde. We had a great four days traveling with the Merrills , seeing great sights, and lots of outdoor fun.

First Stop.. Four Corners! Yes, we stood in four states at the same time..wow!

A couple kiddos never got out of their PJ's that morning.

Next stop...the funnest park ever and gorgeous fall leaves, in Colorado just before Telluride.

Entering Telluride, Colorado. Most of the fall leaves had fallen, but it was still beautiful. We fished and hiked to waterfalls, and just had fun being together.

YEa! Kami finally caught a fish after much patience. Sometimes I wonder why she likes fishing so much. She was so giddy

So many fun things to take pictures of..

...stopping in the sweet shop for some ice cream.

Since it was the off season Dave found us this great condo to stay in for a couple nights. We even got out for a date night, while Rustin watched all the kids. Hooray for Rustin!

After a couple days in Telluride we stopped at Mesa Verde national park. It was really quite fascinating to see the adobe homes built in the rocks. There was hands on activities of kids to do.

Our Adventure

Our adventure together started when a city boy met a country girl at heart (even though she grew up in the city). We are so glad that our paths crossed and that our destination was the same. Now after almost 8 years of marriage we continue to enjoy the adventure of our lives together. While I try to keep up the pace along the path, he makes sure I don't miss any of the scenery along the way. We want to appreciate each stage of our family journey together, by treasuring the moments that matter. With so much to be grateful for through ups and downs we like to carry on the phrase "never has life been better than this".

Describing Myself

So, I have always thought it challenging to describe myself. Maybe it’s a second child syndrome or maybe its because I am a melting pot of quircky traits. Luckily I am not alone in that, its genetic, haha!

So, here is my attempt at describing myself.
An Arizona native, though I was actually born in CA. I love Arizona and its diversity. The desert can be so beautiful. I come from a family of 4 kids. I am #2. I loved taking care of my sister Chelsey, who was 8 yrs younger than me and growing up I always loved babysitting, because I could just play with the kids. I have a lot of self-motivation and a challenge never stops me from trying. This trait was acquired at a young age when I wouldn’t let being the smallest and shortest be a disadvantage. I have always loved horses, since I can remember. It’s in my Randall blood, though I have never actually owned one. I love the outdoors and sometimes its hard to be doing the mundane house jobs when I would rather be outside. I really enjoy figuring out solutions to problems. I like gadgets (a trait from my father). Thus, when my Sunday School teacher hired me as his secretary, when I was a Junior in Highschool, I was in my element and thoroughly enjoyed getting his company out of the old and in to the new computer world. This job supported me through college. I truly love learning. School wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed what I learned and was able to go to BYU. In college I had a hard time deciding on a major because their was so many subjects I wanted to learn about. I took classes in Engineering, science, business, dance, recreation, and music. - so, I probably could be labeled as knowing a little bit about a lot of things. An experience I’ll never forget was living in Jerusalem and Egypt for 4 months doing a BYU study abroad. It gave me a bigger perspective. I am more of a listener than a talker. I love hearing about peoples experiences and I am good at keeping confindences. I remember as a youth sitting amongst my adult relatives, just listening to them talk. I am so grateful for a close extended family that loves to share ideas. I am a detail person and a planner, I am working on being more spontaneous. I am learning to appreciate the different stages in my life, and now that I am 32 I really wish time would slow down. I am so grateful to be married to Dave, a super wonderful husband and father. Above all, I love being a wife and a mom to 3 beautiful daughters, it gives purpose and meaning to my busy days. I enjoy music in my home - playing the piano, singing songs, and dancing with my kids. I especially love to dance with Dave, even though we don’t get to very often. I love doing projects with my kids and reading to them. I enjoy cooking healthy nummy foods and I have way too many cook books. Cleaning the bathrooms is my least favorite house chore and sweeping the floors (since they need it so often) is therapeutic. I will sweep and sweep with a million thoughts going through my head. I have always loved giving hugs (the big bear hugs), when I was young it was my pets, now it is my kids. So big hugs have become a tradition in our family. I love it when I can use my talents to serve others. I love the Gospel. I love that the Lord makes up the difference for our imperfections. I am so grateful to have a forever family.