4th of July weekend in Show Low

Last year we had such a great, old fashioned 4th of July up in Show Low that we decided to make it a tradition. We went to the parade in the morning. Steve and Beau were on their stake's float depicting a father and son fishing. The kids got into a game of cards with a couple of roughnecks.


Later that evening, we were invited to a little get together by some of Ann and Steve's neighbors, where there was homemade ice cream and a friendly game of horse shoes. We didn't make it to the fireworks at the high school this year.

Aidan had a ball pulling faces...


... pulling everyone's faces.

I really have no dignity posting this picture of myself, do I?

The following day we went up to Hawley Lake to fish for crawdads.

Avery caught herself a whopper!

How do you like the sweet fishing pole I made for Aidan? I thought ahead and brought some clothespins to help hold the bait, but who would've thought a wooden clothespin would float? I had to use a rock for a sinker. He had fun "casting" it into the water anyways.

Here are Aidan and Gracie waiting for a bite.

Aidan didn't dare touch a live crawdad, but he found this claw on the bank and thought he was pretty tough holding it.

Alright David, show him how it's done.

Success!

Just a Little off the back

Jolie got her first real haircut! We went back up to Show Low for the 4th of July weekend to spend it with some of our favorite people, the Williams family, and Ann gave Jolie the cutest hair do. She didn't take much off (there wasn't much to take off), but she made it look so cute by just giving it a little shape.


Look how cute it looks from the back! And look at her little halter top swimsuit

She knows she looks so pretty.

Ranch on the Side

Out of all the condiments there are to choose from, Jolie loves ranch dressing the best! We were eating carrots and ranch, and everyone had their own plate. Jolie can't really eat the carrots, but she had a grand old time licking her plate clean of the ranch.

The Bevell Bunch

Here's the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up a very groovy brood
All of them were super cool like their mother four girlies and a dude
Here's the story of a man named Bevell who was busy with five kids of his own
There were four girls and their little brother. What's next? Who could have known?



Till the one day when this lady met this fellow, and they fell in love, got married in a crunch
Now this group, they make an even dozen. That's the way they all became the Bevell Bunch. The Bevell Bunch! the Bevell Bunch! that's the way they became the Bevell Bunch!




Congratulations to David's sister, Kelly, and her new husband, Brock Bevell! They were married over the weekend, in a beautiful garden ceremony in Lakeside. Kelly was such a stunning bride, and Brock didn't look too bad himself. Check out his sweet new hair do. Go Annie!







Here's Kelly with three of Brock's girls... Kandrys, Kaybree, and Keyala. Their kids were all so happy. All TEN of them. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for this new family. We love you!




Here's my little poser, Aidan. Avery was the photographer.

Got Sushi?

Ann and Steve, this one's for you! I hope these pictures don't cause you to salivate all over your computer keyboard. A couple of years ago, David's sister, Ann, and her husband, Steve, introduced us to SUSHI!!! I never thought eating raw fish could be such a fun, and surprisingly appetizing experience, but we took to it right away. We've tried some different, crazy dishes, but we've found our favorites, and now we crave the stuff. We can only get it a few times a year, on special occasions, because it can be pretty pricey, but we decided to treat ourselves on Saturday night and off we went. The place we go is called "Got Sushi". It just looks like a little whole in the wall in a strip mall in Mesa (NW corner of Power and McDowell), but someone who has eaten sushi all over the world highly recommended this place, so that's where we go.




David has mastered the chopsticks.








I, on the other hand, prefer to use my hands.






We started off with a little yellowtail and tuna.







Followed by some crab - I don't like the seaweed wrap, so I just take it off.







Eel - this was just for David.






Salmon! I love this one! It has a thin little slice of lemon on it that makes it extra tasty. Check out the rose garnish made out of a piece of salmon.




My very favorite dish is the "Got One" roll! It's got cooked fish wrapped in a cucumber roll topped with shredded cabbage and spicy mayo. There's other stuff in it, but I can't remember what. I don't care though, because it's just so darn good!




And here's another roll, the "CJ" roll. My favorite part about this roll is the smelt roe (fish eggs) on the top. It's the orange stuff. I love to bite each little one between my teeth and feel it burst. I love food with cool textures.





Look at this butterfly made out of a carrot. These sushi chefs do some pretty cool stuff. It's almost too pretty to eat.




When you sit up at the sushi bar, at the end of your meal, they give you an orange. It's already cut and sectioned for you. Mmmmmm!


The next thing I want to try is going to the "Melting Pot" and eating fondue. I have heard that it is just such a fun experience, and it's also so yummy. If I ever make it there, you know I'll have my camera with me. What is this world coming to when people take pictures of everything they do and post it on the computer?

Pigtails!!!

Jolie's hair is finally long enough to put it into pigtails! Avery's too old to do cutsie hair-dos, so I've really been waiting to do cute, little girl hair again. She would look cute in anything...mohawk,afro, mullett,jerry curl, dreadlocks, but SHE HAS PIGTAILS!!! Don't be jealous!

I really do have four kids. I know I post a lot about Jolie, but so much fun stuff happens when they're little. Not to mention, the kid can't take a bad picture, she'll sit still long enough for me to take it, and she still likes me, so she's happy and smiling in them. My other kids like to pull faces, and they're sick of having the camera on them all the time.


This is actually Aidan when he was Jolie's age. He had the thickest, curliest, and the most hair out of all my kids. I know it's a little disturbing, but I was just so desperate to get me a little girl. David came home from work that day and Aidan's hair was kinked from sleeping in the pigtails, so David knew what I had been up to. Aidan got his first haircut shortly after that.

Check out Goldilocks! I've got some little blondies. David was blonde when he was little, but he's dark now. I'm sure it will change as they grow. I always wanted a little red-headed girl, but I guess I can just dye it later on. Just kidding! It's beautiful!

"C" is for Cookie

How do you eat your Oreo cookies? Or in this case, your generic, $1.49, store brand, chocolate sandwich cookies? Well, Jolie likes to break them apart, scrape off the cream filling with her little pointer finger and eat it, then eat the cookies. She has five teeth now. For the longest time she only had the bottom two, but just in the last week or so, three have popped through on top, and the fourth one is on its way. Needless to say, she's been a little cranky. She's usually such a nice, happy girl, so we'll let it slide just this once.

Fun in the Sun

Our cousin, Christian, turned seven years old this weekend and we were all invited to his swimming birthday party. Here are the kids in their swimming gear. Check out Avery's model pose! Isn't she a beauty! And how about those farmers' tans? I guess it's at least more color than their mom has.

These are Aidan's "BIG MUSCLES". They match his swimsuit perfectly. Yes, I did that on purpose. He didn't really use them much, because the water was still pretty cold and he only got in for a few seconds and stayed on the steps, but I think they'll help him gain a little confidence in the pool.

Here's Jolie with her cousin, Claudia. Claudia's six weeks older than Jolie. Aren't they cute in their matching swimsuits? We didn't even plan it. It looks like Jolie had a few too many cupcakes. She really is a Roly-Poly-Jolie!

I know there's a big elbow in this picture and I need to crop it, but if you can, zoom in on Jolie's face. That's the face of an angel! I am a terrible photographer! I can't ever get everyone looking good at once or get the people centered and in focus, but thanks to editing and cropping, I can get a good picture every once in a while. This one's going on the wall!

Latex allergy?

With Jolie's birthday last week came some major discomfort for Ethan. Her birthday was on Tuesday, but it wasn't until he woke up on Thursday morning that I noticed Ethan's face was red and swollen. This has happened a few other times in the past and the doctor said that it was an allergic reaction to something, and that I should just give him some Benadryll and rub on some cream for the itching, but we've never been able to pin point what brings it on until now. I always take pictures of him when it happens, so I did a little detective work, and compared all of the pictures etc., and I came to the conclusion that it always happens right around the kids' birthdays. Birthdays = Balloons! LATEX!!! When I looked it up on line it confirmed my diagnosis. Don't get me wrong, I'm by no means a doctor, but it just all makes sense. I need to go have him allergy tested. He already has eczema and his skin is so dry and sensitive, but with this allergic reaction, he has just been so miserable. His face is so tight and itchy. He stayed home from school on Thursday and Friday. I lathered him up with a thick layer of vaseline last night, and when he woke up this morning, he scrubbed his face with a washcloth. It looks so much better! He was so embarrassed about it. He didn't want to go up during sacrament meeting yesterday when the Primary kids sang to their moms for Mother's Day, but he went up and sang to me. He's such a tough kid. At least now we know what might be the cause of it.

Mommy Dearest

I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was fabulous! I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be the mother of my four, amazing children! I woke up to breakfast in bed - french toast and orange juice - made by Avery and delivered by Ethan. Aidan was in the wings, so excited to tell me about the present they got for me -- the softest, cuddliest snuggle blanket EVER! Three year olds aren't exactly known for their ability to keep secrets. I was also showered with homemade cards and pictures. Those are my very favorite gifts. So much time and thought was put into each one. Ethan drew me a picture of a crown with the caption "Queen for the Day". They sure made me feel like a queen. I wish every day was Mother's Day. After church we went to visit David's parents at his sister Kelly's house. The kids had fun playing Rock Band. We've got some talented little musicians there. Aidan just loves to dance, and boy does he have some sweet moves. When we came home, we made some grilled cheese sandwiches in the new waffle iron/sandwich maker that David gave me, to go with the stew that had been cooking in the crock pot all day. We topped the night off by watching the movie, P.S. I love You, after we put the kids to bed. All in all it was a pretty laid back, relaxing day.

Big One Year Old Girl!

Our baby girl, Jolie, turned one on Tuesday! I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by. Jolie is such a big girl. She learns something new every day. I have just loved watching her grow and develop. The world looks a lot different through the eyes of a one year old. Seeing the excitement in her big, beautiful, blue eyes as she experiences something new for the first time, a new food, a new friend, the sound of a strange animal etc., I can't help but wonder what is going through her little head. She is such a sponge right now, soaking everything in. I feel so blessed to be a part of it. She has such a sweet spirit, and the funniest personality. We couldn't have asked for a brighter, happier, more beautiful baby. We love our sweet Jolie, and we are so happy she is a part of our family.