Diamonds in the Rough

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Catching Up...

OK...so life has been extremely busy and blogging has not been on the priority list. So now that the holidays are fast approaching and I will only get more behind, my goal is to get my blog updated before Thanksgiving. After all, my main purpose in doing this is to have a record of the years highlights so I can make it into a book at the end of the year. I consider this an important part of my journal keeping. Unfortunetly due to computer failure some of my photos have been lost....aaah! dreadful I know....but not much I can do about it. Here it goes..

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

10 year anniversary!

LaJolla, CA we celebrated our 10 year anniversary. Wow, that went fast! A great 3 day trip away from home with no kids, well except Caleb but he was easy. Dave made all the arrangements, yeah! we went with Dallan and Bobbi since they were celebrating their 10yr too. We really had fun enjoying the beach, a nice hotel, window shopping, and lounging on the grass. It was great ... no demanding schedule.

Our little graduate 2011

Kami graduating from Riverstone Montessori. Its always sad to leave montessori. What a great school and great start it gives my kids, thanks to Aunty Amy. Kami was glowing all day from the attention. She got to tell about herself, get sung to, and receive a special book with pictures of herself at school.

Graduation from Kindergarten at Highland Primary. She really liked Mrs. Slade and of course kindergarten is always fun. Now she moves on to the real deal, first grade!

Kami's Pizza Party!

So when I asked Kami what kind of party she wanted for her birthday she said "pizza party with a pizza cake". So thats what we did ... a whole party around pizza. Anything with cheese, bread, and sugar has always been on her top list of favorites.

Aunt Amy made her pizza cupcakes. We called it her 6yr old Pizza picnic party..picnic decor... kids made homemade personal pizzas, then they played "pizza slice in the big mouth" game blindfolded. I even found gummy pizzas for party favors.

Kami had a fun birthday and loved all her gifts. Baylee was thrilled to find the perfect gift all on her own, getting a hand-me-down large stuffed horse from Amy, wrapping it and could hardly wait for kami to open it.
Kami is growing up in so many ways. What a sweet 6 year old she is. I love her zest for life and she claims that all our pets love her best because she takes such good care of them. She is a planner of creative fun and loves riding her bike, pulling caleb in the wagon and collecting treasures. And she can move to music better than anyone.

Kittens for sale, FREE!

So in my abundance of spare time..haha...I decided to take picts of our furry little kitties. Also, in hopes someone might want one. Baylee and Kami posed them. Can't you tell they are eagerly awaiting a good home?!

Chicks in the sticks...

There's a wet little chick in there..

The things we do for entertainment. For fun we decided to get an incubator to hatch our own chicks. We were all fascinated watching the process when the eggs started to hatch. the typical question was asked by Baylee.. "can't we help them by taking the shell off" . Even Caleb wanted to get a good look.

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.