Diamonds in the Rough

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

First Day of Kindergarten

Well we are finally entering the public school system. Baylee was so thrilled about finally getting to go to kindergarten that she woke up at 6:30am (because Lacey told her that when you start school you have to get up super early) did her whole morning routine by herself and at 7:30 when she was almost done eating breakfast she says, "I am all ready mom let's go to school". Unfortunately she still had many hours before leaving at 11:00am. Lacey(cousin) had debriefed Baylee on the whole kindergarten school thing days before and so she was confident that she new exactly what to do and that you never want to go to the principal's office. Well, at 11:00 we headed to Highland Primary. I walked Baylee to her classroom and told her I was going to take her picture, but before I could she said "See ya mom, I got to go" and she was bolting down the hall to the playground. I don't think I have ever seen her run that fast. Apparently she has no separation anxiety. Poor Kami can hardly wait tell it is her turn. Kami is adjusting to being the playtime coordinator while Baylee is gone. Today she comes in while I am working on the computer and says "mom grown-ups can play with kids, you know! 'cause the scriptures said Jesus was like a child and played with kids." So what could I say to that? I left my work and we played school upstairs. We picked up Baylee after school and she gave explicit details of her day about 5 times over. I hope this enthusiasm for school lasts for the next 12 years.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day is always a big event in Snowflake. With the usual parade, fair, rodeo and fireworks. The kids really had fun at the parade this year. They always look forward to the candy, the horses, and the fire trucks. It was especially exciting this year when the huge fire truck at the end of the parade let out a huge fountain of water in the air spraying both sides of the street and crowds of kids ended up running into the road getting soaked. Great for a hot day! The adults all went fleeing for cover. Dave had a booth set-up at the fair to sell his artwork. He was pleasantly surprised at how successful it was. Amy and I planned a fun activity for our kids by dressing them up in the pioneer outfits Nana made, building a covered wagon (it only survived one trip around the yard), having a pioneer picnic, and reading pioneer stories. They all had great fun!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Horseshoe Lake Camping

I took the kids, while Dave traveled to speak at EFY, to Horseshoe Lake to go camping with my mom and the Durfees. This is one of my favorite places to camp. We have so many memories of camping their. The kids just love to run around and explore in the forest, catch crawdads at the lake and get dirty. I actually had time to relax and read a book. It was great. Even Lydia was content to play in Nana's trailer or climb up on logs. Baylee was so brave and decided to set-up her own popup tent and sleep in it all by herself - she felt so big. I was so proud of Kami for not giving up on our steep hike up the mountain at Ditchcamp. We always find the fort that Amy, Melanie, Dallan, and I built when we were kids and it is still standing. We have a treasure hole in the rock that holds a penny for each year we visit it. On our way down the mountain it was pouring rain and Joycelyn was the hero who rescued the little kids by carrying them down.

The make-shift band.

I love it when kids get together and use their creative imaginations to have fun. While we stayed at Nana's house for a couple days my kids and Bobbbi's kids got to play alot together. They got this great idea to make a band. Only there was only 2 real instruments. So the kids found anything that would make noise. JD got the marbles and Mark found the dress-up shoes to bang together. Elzya was the cheer leader. They marched around the house making noise. Too fun!

Grandma Nulls 90th birthday

We went to the valley to Grandma Null's 90th birthday party. It was good to get to see some of Dave's relatives and the girls loved getting to help blow out the 90 candles. Grandma was so happy and she was given a poster "90 things we love about grandma".

4th of July

We spent our first 4th of July home in Snowflake. We had a tasty BBQ in the backyard with a couple families from the ward. The girls made up their own parade. Then in the evening we went to the Rodeo and Firworks. It felt so patriotic, so American. During the fireworks Kambria couldn't stop ooohing ! & Ahhhing! at the top of her lungs. I love this country!

Cuties in the Creek

Amy took this picture with her new camera while we were camping at the Black River. It is such a cute pic of my girls and cousin Lacey. My girls just love water and take any chance they get to play in it.

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.