Diamonds in the Rough

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Bevell Egg Hunt

A tradition thats been going on ever since I can remember.....lots of eggs...lots of fun...lots of family.

This year I felt youthful and brave. So with Dave's assistance I was able to get the well hidden eggs on the palm tree trunk. It may look like Dave is doing all the work, but I had a death grip on those stubs.

Bowman Cousins

We had a fun visit with Dave's brother Darren and his sweet family. They stayed at our house for a couple days and we so enjoyed their company. They are so easy to please and fun to be with. The kids all had great fun playing and sleeping up in the loft together. We showed them around Snowflake and took them to the lake in Showlow.

..where did that face come from?!

Caleb and Nat's Birthday!

Caleb's first birthday and Natalie's ...well 30ish birthday. I can't believe how fast Caleb's first year has gone...it seems the years get shorter and shorter. We so love having a little boy in our home. We are all fascinated by how he is drawn to those boyish things, like pushing cars around the house, wrestling, and eating dirt. Thus, I made him a "dirt" cake with cookies & cream ice cream. Amy surprised me by bringing over an adorable fondant cake for my birthday so i got to celebrate with Caleb. We had no idea both cakes would coordinate with the chocolate pokadots.

Caleb's favorite part was eating the worms.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Kitties and Chickies

Spring brings new life and this year it brought baby kittens and chicks. It's been fun to enjoy these little creatures and an educational experience for the kids.

So Chelsey announced to me this day "I am a grandmother". What? oohhh! yes....her cat had 5 adorable kittens. Chelsey faithfully nurtures all these little kitty's along with Sally. I am so glad she can call something her own.

Kambria brought home 12 chicks that hatched in her kindergarten classroom. She had contributed some of the eggs and so was thrilled when they actually hatched.

Toy Story 3 birthday

Yes..anyone who has been around Lydia lately is aware of her Toy Story obsession. So of course her birthday had to involve Toy Story. She was looking forward to it for weeks and then on her birthday she was sick. So sad...but the party went on and she was able to enjoy it somewhat. Sweet Aunty Amy made cute cupcakes and her greatest present from mom was the kitchen mudpie maker to put in the new sandbox dad built. Baylee and Kambria built her a cardboard house to play in with her Toy Story dolls. Fun stuff for our little Lydia with a big personality.

Trainin' m right!

So...in our family we start the chore of dishes very young.

Superstition Guest Ranch

Our favorite smelling desert creasote bush

So now that my aunt and uncle are running the Superstition Guest Ranch by Saguaro Lake, we get the priviledge of visiting it on occasion. This happen to be a beautiful day and we took the kids on a short hike, played in the creek, and enjoyed the awesome views of the mountains. Even was feeling well enough to join us. A great end to a valley trip.

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.