Diamonds in the Rough

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Friday, April 16, 2010

Easter at Last!

Easter baskets what fun. The Easter Bunny suprised us again with such fun things - and it kept the girls occupied for hours while watching General Conferance. What a great day!

Even a real bunny rabbit. What a surprise!

During the week of Easter, each day Dave told us about the last week of Christ's life. Then he had the idea of doing a dinner representing a traditional Jerusalem passover meal. So Chelsey and I had fun planning unique things to eat. Dates, Nuts, Unleavened bread w/ honey, Lentil soup, yogurt, Grapes, and pork (we didn't have the lamb). We even sat on the floor. The kids thought this was way fun!

Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Bevells

I can still remember when I was a little girl having the annual Easter egg hunt at Grandma Bevells. I am glad my girls have got to be a part of this tradition. It is always good to get to visit with extended family and enjoy grandmas beautiful yard.

I am so glad we all got to visit with Grandpa Bevell. He is sick with cancer and this was probably the last time we will get to see him. We sure do love him. Since we had been talking about Christ and the resurrection during Easter, the girls kept asking lots of questions about what would happen to Grandpa after he passes away.

Lydia turns 2 !

Itty bitty Lydia just turned 2. She was so excited for her birthday especially since she saw mom making the cake. What a cutie pie she is with such personality. She continually makes us laugh with her facial expressions and has become quite the conversationalist having to compete with her 2 older sisters. She just mimics every move they make. She is also our gadget girl and has figured out how to run the DVD player, digital camera, and cell phone. She is also pals with the dog and cat, and would be content spending most of her time playing outside. She loves shoes and her 5 "silkys", but absolutely can't stand getting dressed or having her diaper changed.

Hooray cake!

Her new wagon and sand toys.

Lydia did an egg hunt on her birthday with the cousins. She discovered carrying her basket on the plasma car was much more fun.

Baylee lost her 2nd tooth on Lydia's birthday. Uncle Troy helped her pull it out.

Sabino Canyon

Sabino Canyon in Tucson was another one of our Spring Break destinations. I remembered how much I love the desert. We enjoyed exploring as a family and seeing the cactus in bloom. I showed the girls how to search for sand ruby's in the creek. Dave even discovered a rattle snake. I am glad I am not the one that found it.

Baylee looking for sand ruby's

We found holes in the rocks where Indians once ground their corn.

Here we are riding the tram.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

More of Spring Break...

So Amy found us a good deal on a hotel in Tucson. The best part is it had a heated pool. So great to be in a pool again.

That night we ate at Pinnacle Peak, a fun cowboy restaurant with western town around it. A place I remember well as a kid. We watched a fun western show and Dave took the kids on the short train ride. Baylee was thrilled to be able to spend her $1 that she brought.

Oh no! There stuck in jail.

It was fun getting to be with my sisters and see more places from our childhood. A trip down memory lane.

So, this is the house I grew up in from 4th grade to 9th grade. Here on Siesta Dr.

We should the kids the private park and creek that was just down the road from our house. We spent many days playing here as kids.

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.