The Sampson Scene

2009-10-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

In memory of my beautiful mother

who passed away five years ago today.It seems like yesterday and forever ago in the same instance.

I miss her hugs. Feeling her soft skin and the sweet smell of her perfume.

I think of her almost daily. Wondering how she was able to raise nine children,

as I struggle to take care of my five boys.

I miss the way our family used to be.

She was the glue that made us stick together.

She was a pillar of strength to the very end,

giving us a pep talk days before she passed away.

I wrote a poem a couple days after she died. I usually don't share my writing,

but it is so applicable today.

A Mother’s Words
Please don’t cry she would say,
I am in a peaceful place to stay.
Today I feel no more pain,
Only my mansion to obtain.
Friends and loved ones came for me,
So much love and joy has set me free.
I will be there to watch over you,
To help my children, grandchildren old and new.
My presence you will feel in your mind and heart,
During those special times to come, I will be a part.
Remember my example and the things that I taught,
Will bring you closer to me in thought.
So when it is answers that you seek,
Pray to hear the whisperings quiet and meek.
You must build your families strong and true,
For it will be the greatest accomplishment you do.
I will be waiting to greet you here,
My love, my child, my little dear.

I miss you Mom!

I love you!

2009-05-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

This is my sweet angel, Ty Gabriel Sampson. He was born on April 27, 2009. He was 7 pounds and nine ounces and 21" long.

The rollercoaster ride that I have been on for the past nine months finally ended on April 27 with the arrival of our son, Ty Gabriel. See the last post for how the ride began. This pregnancy was anything but normal for me. At my first ultrasound my doctor changed my due date from May 5 to May 22. No pregnant woman ever takes that news very well, but there is no arguing because doctors know best, right? Instead of being sick for the usual 4 months, it didn't subside until month six. That really sucked! My heart goes out to all those that are sick their entire pregnancy, time passes so slowly. The tired, I can't get up off the couch feeling lasted until a couple weeks before I gave birth. I am just thankful for a husband who is obsessive about a clean house and is willing to do it himself, with a smile! That is the craziest part about this pregnancy, is that Sean and I have never gotten along better, even though this was by far my hardest one. We have had some big changes in our world during this time period. We moved to Lindon in November and Sean took a job with a company called Qualtrics in January. After trying to weather the economic gloom in the construction world, we decided to partner up with another company who handles the day-to-day, so Sean could take this job. Both changes were scary, but have turned out to be better than we could have imagined. We love our house, we love our ward, and we love having a paycheck. At week 28 my contractions started and my cervix began to change. So my doctor put me on partial bed rest. Yeah right, is the thought that went through my head. Four other crazy boys to take care of and you think I will be able to lay down. And no more gym, whatever! That is a death sentence to me. The people who deserve huge accolades are the amazing, wonderful, and tireless ladies in my ward. They brought in meals several days a week and helped to watch my boys a couple days a week. Without their help, me or my family would never have survived. My last two boys were born 3 weeks early and 6 pounds 1 ounce. They were sick all the time, spit up endlessly, and were extremely colicky. So my goal was to get to week 38, hoping for a bigger baby that would be happier and healthy. At week 34 I didn't know how I was going to last any longer. My husband told me that he was going to buy me an eye patch and started calling me Jack Sparrow, because I limped around like a peg-legged pirate. Sleeping was non-existent due to contractions. Food lost its savor. Life was as miserable as it possibly could be. With every pregnancy I would go to the hospital at least two times before they would admit me to have the baby. So this time I was going to wait until I knew they would keep me. Finally, Sunday April 26 my contractions started getting harder. After being up all night with contractions, at 5 am I told Sean we were going to the hospital. I called Steve (Austin's Dad) and told him that we were going to the hospital. He and Austin came over and we left. I had been dilated to a three for a couple of weeks and I have never gotten past a three without pitocen before. When I got to the hospital I was at a three and a half. After contracting every two minutes for an hour, I actually got to a four and a half on my own. They told me that they were going to admit me. Both Sean and I were flabbergasted. They asked if I wanted my epidural, I said duh, of course! The anesthesiologist came in and gave me my drugs. Right after he was done, I started to feel really dizzy and my blood pressure dropped and freaked out the doctor, nurse, and Sean. They gave me epinephrine and then my heart and the babies heart started pumping like crazy. After that everything calmed down for a while, so much so that my contractions went down to practically nothing. They did not give me pitocen after the epidural. Come to find out that they had two emergency c-sections and two scheduled c-sections over the next few hours and they were trying to put me off. We waited, and waited, and waited and I did not progress very much at all. At this point they decide to hook me up to some pitocen but very little. They kept increasing the amount and at this point the epidural had worn off. The nurse comes in to check and the pump is not even on. So she gets the anesthesiologist and he gives me another shot through the IV and tells me to press the button every twenty minutes. This is when labor really kicked in. The epidural was slowly waring off so I sent for the anesthesiologist again. I didn't hear back from anyone for a while. I thought I was going to die. I sent Sean to go get the nurse because I felt like pushing. The nurse and doctor came in and checked me and I was dilated to a 10. Then the bad news came. The anesthesiologist was in one of those darn c-sections and could not come to fix it. So I got to deliver sweet baby Ty with no drugs. This brought me back to Austin's delivery. 3 hours of pushing with no drugs either. How did I survive that? So I was pushing and pushing and then the doctor says stop pushing. He sounded quite freaked out. No one told me what was going on. Then he told me to push again and the baby came out. The doctor was trying to get him to breathe, but he would not take a breath. At this point the room became really crowed with four more nurses running into the room. I was told later that when his head came out the cord was wrapped around his neck twice and he was completely blue. Sean was very freaked out. They finally got him breathing after a couple of minutes. Those were a really long couple of minutes. They took him up to the nursery and checked his blood sugar. It was at 30, which is really low. It should be in the 80's. He was so lethargic that he would not drink from a bottle. So they put in an IV and gave him sugar water intravenously. They put him in the NICU (newborn intensive care). That sucked because I could not take him to my room. I could only have limited visitors to see the baby. We finally got him nursing that night and he went into the regular nursery the next night. The other babies in the NICU were so tiny and some were not doing well at all. One was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital because he got pneumonia. I was so glad that my baby was doing well. It breaks your heart to see little babies hooked up to all these crazy monitors and tubes going in and out of their tiny arms, hands, and feet. Since we have been home from the hospital everything has been wonderful. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent me such a sweet baby. The boys are having so much fun dotting over him. Jack has even come around. We only had four days of crazy screaming and crying. Now he gives him kisses on the head and tries to help put his binky back in his mouth. So after taking Ty to his pediatrician he tells me that he was definitely full term. Of course Moms always know!

2009-05-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

TY GABRIEL SAMPSON

ARRIVED ON APRIL 27, 2009

HE WEIGHED 7 LBS. 9 OZ. AND WAS 21" LONG

HE IS THE SWEETEST BABY!

I WILL POST THE CRAZY DETAILS OF HIS BIRTH WHEN I GET TIME.

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THIS SWEET LITTLE BOY!
HE HAS BROUGHT A SPECIAL SPIRIT INTO OUR HOME.

HOLY @&$# ! .....WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

2008-09-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

.15% - Less than 1%

This is the statistic that Sean and I found ourselves in this week.

So for the past 3-4 weeks I have felt fat and tired and I have kept joking around with Sean that I felt pregnant. We both laugh and say, "Oh that is impossible!" Finally on Sunday I decided to check the calendar. I kept counting and counting and my heart started pounding. I got to 49 days I started into a panic attack. I proceed to tell Sean how late I am, and he gave me the usual you are not pregnant. I told him that he is going to need to take me to the mental hospital and admit me for the next year, if I am pregnant. He said go to Walmart and get a test, so we can both sleep tonight. I get back and take the test. I had barely put the cap on the end before the plus sign was showing up. I could feel the blood rising up my chest to my face. The flushing had begun. (This is something that all Shepherd sisters do when they are mad or upset.) I walk into the family and chuck the test at Sean. A bewildered look and disbelief came across his face. I don't believe it, I am going to get another test. 5 minutes later he is back with two more tests. I go in and take the second test and the same result is repeated. I check the expiration date, nope 2010. Could I have taken something that would give a false positive? How could this be? Sean had, had a vasectomy over a year ago. We were free from swimmers! Then the fun began. Sean started to freak out. How could this happen? I could tell he wanted to ask me the question.... The question that would be fighting words... He said to me, "What are you going to do when my test comes back negative for swimmers?" My (edited) response was, "What will that change for me, I will still be pregnant?" That is when the crying began. He is always scared when I cry because it never happens. It was dead silent for the rest of the evening. The next day Sean took his sample to the doctor's office. Dr. Platt called him the early the next morning. He said congratulations you are my third patient in more than 3000 procedures to get pregnant. So I guess that fits the statistic. He said that he thinks that a stitch has come undone. Because in a field under a microscope there are usually hundreds of swimmers, Sean had 2-3 swimmers. He is still in the sterile category and a normal couple would never get pregnant. I guess the operative word is normal.

Please make a note that this was Sean's second vasectomy. After we had Porter he had his first vasectomy done (2001) . We decided that Porter needed more siblings because he was always so traumatized when all the other kids would go to the other parents house. Then the reversal was done in 2004. I got pregnant with Cole 9 days after the surgery. I got pregnant with Jack the first time we didn't use birth control. Porter was my IUD baby. The only form of birth control that I was confident in was the vasectomy. I used to joke that the vasectomy was the last form of birth control that the Shepherd sisters had not disproved. Well I think that we have covered them all.

The next topic on this matter is regarding whether this will be a girl or a boy. Let me explain my point of view. I have come to love the idea that I have all boys. While it would be wonderful to have a girl, my expectations are low that, that will occur. So I would be just as happy with either. So if I find out that I am having another boy, please do not feel bad for me!

When anyone asked me if we were going to have any more children I would emphatically say, "Nope we are done!" with a big smile on my face. So you can understand how hard this situation is for me. Morning sickness, exhaustion, getting fat, feeling like crap, endless contractions, not sleeping, ugly dark roots, labor, delivery, post partum depression, nursing, colic, losing weight, losing my hair, three car seats, on and on and on. That said, there is obviously a huge reason why this is happening. I am sure that one day I will be glad that all this happened. I am not there yet.

One day at a time.....

So you want to date my daughter .....

2008-09-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

Alix thought he was joking all these years....

Sean has been threatening to be cleaning his guns when her dates come to pick her up.

They were good sports. We thought it would be funny!

I think all high school dates should begin with Dad and a shot gun.

Mountain View Homecoming 2008

Aupiu Abbott is in our ward. He asked Alix to his Homecoming.

SO CUTE!!

Tender Daddy Moment

The corsage and boutonniere ritual...

What beautiful girls!!

Aupui & Alix set up Katie (Alix's friend)

with Michael Benson (Aupui's friend)
They all had a good time.

WHAT MAKES MJ HAPPY?

2008-09-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

I was passing by this bedroom window when I saw this going on outside. This made me think of Elder Ballard's talk last conference. In reference to being a mother "happiness and satisfaction happens in moments." My boys happily working together. This was one of my moments. A moment when you think that it is all worth it!

UNEXPECTED LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR MJ

2008-08-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

It all started with a little piece of mail. The letter began with you have been selected for jury duty. Those words would reek havoc in my world over the next few days. The usual thoughts go through your head, I don't have time for this right now, what can i say or do to get out of this? In the letter it said that you have a 1 in 4 chance of being selected for the jury. Monday I show up at the courthouse with a drink, egg mcmuffin, iPod, laptop, and a bag full of work. After watching this lame video about how it our duty to serve as jurors, we had to stand up in front of the other 35 people and tell about ourselves. What we do for a living, how many kids we have, what we like to read, watch, and do? After that we were taken and individually interviewed by both attorneys the judge and the defendant. Then we waited and waited some more. Then they all came back into the courtroom and read off a list of 8 names. I sat there in disbelief as my name was read. What are the odds? Oh yeah 25%! That sucks! They immediately began the trial and all the fun began. We were told that this was a criminal trial for the sexual abuse of a child. From the moment I walked into the courtroom, I got the heeby geebies from one of the men sitting at the table. He turned out to be the defendant. No one explains to you the pressure and emotional stress that jurors go through when deciding the rest of someones life. At the end of each day I would come home and squeeze and kiss my kids. Then I would be so exhausted I would want to crash on my bed. I kept thinking how could sitting my butt in a chair all day doing nothing make me so pooped. I soon realized that emotional stress makes me more tired than hours of kickboxing. It was heartbreaking to hear this 15 year girl tell how her step dad started abusing her when she was 6. He would turn on Sponge Bob and Bob the Builder in her room in the morning and abuse her before school. Her mother, while not involved, was just as disappointing. It is very sobering to realize that these situations exist everywhere. It is not a wonder that our world is going to hell in a hand basket. This experience has opened my eyes and given me a different perspective. So many of the people who end up criminals or drug addicts, never had a good start to life. Their childhoods are horrific and unfathomable to most of us! The breakdown of the family is responsible for a majority of our societies woes. I didn't sleep very well the night before we had to decide on a verdict. The evidence was minimal and the witnesses contradicted each other. So it came down to, who do you believe. We were deciding the fate of two people. The defendant and the victim. I was very lucky to have amazing people to work with on the jury. Several of the women were in tears. After about 5 hours of deliberation we decided that he was guilty. Then we had to go into the court room to face the defendant, the victim, and all of their families. You know in cartoons when they show their heart jumping out of their chest. That is what I felt like. The court clerk read the verdict and the victim let out a big cry. She had been pretty unemotional throughout the trial. It was good to see the reaction. I was nervous about the reactions of his family. His son was waiting in the parking lot after and watching everyone leave. I was a little freaked for the next couple days, thinking that he was going to show up at my house. I would like to thank all those that helped with my boys! This experience will not soon be forgotten.

GIRLS GONE WILD (The Mormon Version)

2008-06-30T21:05:00.000-07:00

Do you know what happens when 6 Mormon Moms escape and head to the Desert?

GIRLS GONE WILD... Well the Mormon version anyway!

Me, Melissa (Hirschi) Thatcher, Shannon (Herbert) Child, Holly (Olsen) Kneeland, Julie (Peterson) Haskins, and Kari (Skinner) Morrison (taking the pic) took a trip to Palm Desert in June. It took me about a day to start to relax. After that we all really let loose, and I don't just mean Melissa :) (see her blog for details)

Laughing, crying, eating, shopping, swimming, exercising, laying out, playing funny games, driving, getting ready, picture taking, playing tennis, surfing the net for mug shots of people we knew and laughing and eating some more.

LAUGHING

I didn't need to do a single sit up while I was gone, because I did enough laughing to fill several workouts. This can be a little dangerous for those of us who have had a few children. :)

EATING

We definitely did a lot of eating! Here we are at a mexican restaurant eating.

Here we are at brunch after tennis workout.

We went out to eat at Ruth's Chris. I had never eaten there before, but most of the friends had and they raved about it. I am not much of a steak eater, but it was really good! My favorite had to be our dessert though! It was bread pudding with a rum sauce. I was practically licking the plate. Ok I really was!

SHOPPING

Women + vacation = shopping

We spent two days shopping at a really awesome outlet mall in Palm Desert. Melissa was so funny. She always wanted things that others bought. It is way nice to shop with friends and ask them their opinion and not get the default answer of that looks great honey.

EXERCISING/PLAYING TENNIS

I don't know if it is a blessing or a curse, but I can't NOT workout everyday. So we made the venture to the Gold's Gym in Palm Desert on Saturday. That was the most sweaty workout I have ever had at a gym. Hello where was the A/C? It is freaking Palm Desert and is 115 degrees outside! We didn't go back once we discovered the country club fitness center. That is the way to workout! Bottled water and a towel was waiting for you. Every piece of cardio equipment had it's own flat screen. We played tennis there on Sunday. We only lasted about an hour before we were about to black out from dehydration. I have never sweat so much in my life! There was definitely no water weight gain on this trip!

SWIMMING/LAYING OUT

Laying out was serious business for some. I love to be in the sun. It makes me happy, but I coat myself (mainly my face) with sunscreen. The sun is not friendly when it comes to the aging process.

Something I have been noticing since I am "getting old," as Porter puts it. Hanging out by the pool with your friends is one of my happy places!

PLAYING FUNNY GAMES
This is where we played true colors, a really funny game. We talked until the wee hours of the morning most nights, mostly laughing but some crying. Everyone sharing stories of their lives. Reminiscing old stories and sharing new ones. I am glad that we love and trust each other enough to share feelings and stories that are very personal. This is also where we checked out the utah county jail website and looked up people that we knew. This was very entertaining and very sad at the same time. If you know us and you have been arrested then we probably were checking you out.

DRIVING

Ok so let's discuss the driving situation I have been getting a lot of flack for my driving, while I am sure that most of it is true. I would say that I handled things pretty well, considering the

other four girls in the car who didn't know where we were going either and trying to understand four different people trying to tell me which way to go. Patience is usually not a strong suit of mine. If I had a dollar for every U turn we made it would have paid for my trip. We definitely have to go back now that we know where everything is. All I have to say is thank you Brigham Young for doing it the right way here!

PICTURE TAKING
I don't quite remember why we were hugging the tree. This was the last day I think we were all a little crazy due to sleep deprevation.

Holly was making a funny from the movie sixteen candles.

Melissa and I realized that we were the only ones hugging and that made us laugh hysterically.

FUNNY FACES

Julie & Holly were pros at pulling crazy faces.

A big huge thanks to my sweet awesome sister Jill for letting us stay at her beautiful house in Palm Desert!

MVHS CLASS OF 1993
It is hard to believe that it has been 15 years since high school. Wow what a weekend! All my friends are hotties aren't they?! It was really great to get together and talk about the goings on of our lives and realizing that we all have our challenges and no one's life is perfect. It was so good to see Holly! What a woman! After hanging with the girls for a few days, I felt like a new person. I can actually do more than change poopy diapers, cook, clean, do laundry, and chauffer my kids around. Thanks ladies for an awesome time!

THE DEAD COCKROACH

There was a dead cockroach on the floor in the hallway at the house. We probably walked passed it a hundred times, but none of us would pick it up. I am so glad that we do not have them here in Utah.

THE RANGERS "We Are The Champions"

2008-06-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

2008 Orem Youth Baseball Major League Champions

The Rangers

Austin is on the back row with the catchers gear on.

THE PROUD PARENTS

Austin played catcher and third baseman.

Watch this clip. This is one of his good hits from the championship game. He hit it to the fence two of the three hits.

CONGRATS AUSTIN!

You are the MAN!

TOP 10 THINGS THAT SYMBOLIZE LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED FROM MY DAD

2008-06-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

1. Holey garments and socks: FINANCIALLY CONSERVATIVE, growing up we all used to tease my Dad for wearing holey garments, socks, shoes, etc. This I did not truly appreciate until I had a large family. I find myself trying to make something due for a little longer to save some money. I had a good laugh at myself when I realized that I had been wearing my garment bottoms with a hole in it for a few months. I now know how much my Dad sacrificed in order to house, feed, and clothe all of us.

2. Worn Brown Triple Combination: SPIRITUAL DILIGENCE, if you went into my parent's bathroom growing up, you would always find a brown triple combination. He has always been an amazing example of scripture study. I know that he has a true love of the scriptures and especially the Book of Mormon. Today if you go into that same bathroom you will find a black triple combination that hopefully one day will be held together by a rubberband, like my Dad's.

3. Dollar Days Sign: ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT, whenever I go into a store that has a dollar sale promotion, I will always think of my Father. We grew up selling things door-to-door, yard sales and helping with promotions at stores. Frequently, I get asked the question why so many of us have our own businesses. This is the reason! He helped us understand that we could do it!

4. Binoculars: LOVE FOR NATURE & SCIENCE, my Dad could tell you the name of just about any bird or plant. He took me bird watching, fishing, camping, etc. I developed a real love for nature. This is coming in handy with my boys.

5. Green K. Swiss Tennis Shoes: WORK ETHIC, my Dad used to wear an old pair of green K. Swiss tennis shoes to mow the lawn. There was always something to be done around our house and my Dad was always busy doing something.

6. Light Switch: CONSERVATION, anyone who has lived with my father can attest to his tireless effort to turn off lights. He also conserved when it came to the thermostat. Growing up, many a winter mornings you could find me sitting on the heater vent with a blanket. Porter has now taken over that position in our house. Sean calls me Jay frequently, but it is mostly when I am turning off lights.

7. Guckum Pucky: YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO BE SILLY, my Dad is wacky! When you mix mayo and mustard you get guckum pucky. We ate it on ham. He had funny wacky phrases, like when we asked what we were going to do for FHE he would say, "Choose up sides and smell arm pits" or we would ask what is for dinner? He would say, "Stewed prunes and sour kraut" And who could forget driving in the car to California and not singing "Jumped on a chicken coup!"

8. Thrifty Ice Cream, Cutie Pies, & Totinos Pizzas: FAMILY TIME IS IMPORTANT, he made time for me even when he was busy and traveling a lot. Saturday Thrifty ice cream cones were the best! Cutie Pies and Totinos Pizzas were for the weekends when he was home. This was a huge treat to us!

9.The Old Brown Spinny Bar Stool: HONORING HIS PRIESTHOOD, this was the blessing chair growing up. My father has given me countless blessing. With nine children it was not a wonder that the stool wore out. He is an amazing example of honoring his priesthood.

10. Liberty Park: GOALS, how to set and achieve your goals. He had a contest with Michael, Me, Ritch, and Jen to get us to say our prayers and read our scriptures. If we reached our goal he would take us somewhere fun. I think that we went to Lagoon as the grand prize. It was this contest that helped me develop the habit for prayer and scripture study as a kid. I am very grateful today for those habits.

Thanks for making me who I am!

I wear my Jay badge proudly!

6th Grade Graduation

2008-06-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

This event freaked me out. Austin will be going to Lakeridge Junior High in August. He will soon be a teenager. I couldn't be having any more fun with him. He is such an awesome kid. It is weird that he went to the same elementary school and now the same junior high.

DAD & AUSTIE
MOM & AUSTIE
Austin & Mr. Harward

His teacher taught @ Vineyard when I was there.

Discovery Park

2008-06-08T13:16:00.000-07:00

Jack kept trying to eat the bark. It was pretty funny to watch his face as he spit it out.

The Tire Swing

a.k.a.

The Vomit Trap

Jack's 1st Birthday

2008-06-08T12:47:00.000-07:00

YUMMY!

I always love watching them eat their cake.

It dawned on me that this would be the last 1st birthday party. I was sad for about 5 seconds, and then I came to my senses.

My 1st Haircut

2008-06-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

What a cutie!

Jack has had the most hair of all of my babies. The other three didn't have this much hair until they were two. You gotta love the baby curls!

MOTHER'S DAY

2008-05-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

BITTER SWEET
This is a difficult day for me. While I love the cards from the kids and wonderful gifts from my husband. It is only a huge reminder that I do not have a mother to go and visit and bring a gift. I miss her more everyday. As I am going through a challenging time with having more work, chores, errands, etc, etc. than is possible to accomplish with babies, toddlers, and teenagers at the same time. I reflect on how my mother survived having nine children and this was before Prozac was invented. She is an amazing example of many things: determination, education, poise, positive attitude, integrity and on, and on. The thing that I miss the most is her hugs. I will forever remember how soft her skin was and how she smelled. There was always a feeling that everything is going to be okay.

On a lighter side... Porter's Mother's Day card will definitely be saved. He wrote that he never wants to leave me. I think that I will have to pull it out when he tells me that he is thinking about getting married.

Sean does such a great job of trying to take care of me and make it a good day. Thanks baby!

WORK, WORK, WORK

2008-05-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

This is my world! Taking every possible moment to fit in more work. The best is what is going on in the background. You can also see the trash can on the counter. That is why I now work at the bar in the kitchen instead of my office. Also note that this pic was taken at 7:30 pm. I workout at the gym at 9:30 am, I was finally able to shower at 9 pm after they all went to bed.

BASEBALL MANIA

2008-05-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Austin is playing on two baseball teams, a super league team (The Mustangs) and a city league team (The Rangers). The Rangers won the championship last year and most of the team is back again this year. He is playing catcher, third base, and outfield. Who has room for groceries when the back of your car is full of baseball equipment, strollers, car seats, etc? He is sure fun to watch.

JACK

2008-05-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

JACKY ROO ROO

Don't let this sweet little face fool you!
He can turn into the devil child at the blink of an eye.

He is our little "Linus"! I have never had a blanket baby.

This pic says it all about his personality. Since he was born he has wanted to walk. Now that has been checked off his list. His obsession has changed to driving.

Last weekend he was cutting his two top teeth. This made him happy for about 20 minutes. We are always searching for ways to keep him happy. He has a cry that clears a room and when he is unhappy you hear about it.

Blowing Stuff Up!!

2008-05-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

There are two things that I like to do to relieve stress. The first is kickboxing and the second is shooting guns and blowing stuff up. My favorite is Sean's Beretta. It packs a pretty good punch. We had some good bonding time with our kids: Alix, Cody, Austin, Sydnie, & Porter.

Alix
Cody, the good big brother, is instructing Porter.
Austin
Cody
Porter

"THE GIRLS"

2008-05-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

The Annual Friend Christmas Party

Julie, Aubree, Beckie, Me, Kari, Jill

Shannon, Rachel, Kim, Melissa, Sandy, Sari

We have been going to the cabin since high school. 15 years has gone by since we graduated. I can't believe we are that old. It seems like only yesterday that we were hanging at the rail, making runs to Holiday for the much needed Mountain Dew, Diet Coke, or Dr. Pepper, or dancing to Salt n Pepa, Prince, or En Vogue wearing our oversized polo shirts with our big bang curly hair. Oh the 90's what a glamourous time!

Melissa has been digging through the old photos and displaying the hair of the week on her blog. She has inspired me to go through the old pics and find some funny ones. So stay tuned...

ROCK BAND FAMILY

2008-04-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sean & I have always been anti-video games, until Rock Band. We have had so much fun and I love that it involves the whole family. They are learning the music from our generation. It is funny when I catch Porter singing one of the songs around the house.

Sydnie and Austin on guitar, Alix on drums, Cole on vocals, Porter as a spectator.

Austin schools us all!

Porter is determined to be able to keep up with Austin.

He has been practicing as much as Mom would allow.

WARNING: This game is addictive!

Sampson Easter Festivities

2008-03-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

COLE

Ready, bright and early Sunday morning for the Easter egg hunt. Do you like the cowboy boots with the sleeper pj's and coat? It was cold that morning!

PORTER

This was the first morning in forever that he was excited to be awake early. He is modeling his spiderman pj's.

GOING THROUGH THE LOOT

I am not sure if Cole was happier with the candy or the money. He scored three bucks and a lot of change.

PORTER scored big with a ten, a five, a one dollar bill + his change. When the older kids are not there for the Easter egg hunt, it is much more lucrative for Porter.

THE GREAT PEEP DEBATE!

Do you like peeps? Sean and I are on opposite sides of the fence on this issue. He loves them and I find them repulsive. Porter likes them, but I think Cole is on my side.

It was a wonderful Easter because it was spent with the people I love. We went to my sister Cathy's house for dinner and another Easter egg hunt. Jack was a bystander to all the events, but will take his part next year!

Tag... you're it!

2008-03-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was still married to my first husband, Steve. Selling Mary Kay and loving it, in the process of earning my MK car. Mom to 1 child, what a breeze!

5 Things on my to-do list:
Pick up another prescription for Jack
Go to Verizon and switch cell phones (Cole gave it a bath in his cereal)
Try to get a shower before 5 pm
Make meal plan for the week
LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY!

5 Places lived:
Fullerton, CA
Cyprus, CA
Fountain Valley, CA
Orem, UT,
Winter Haven, FL and back to Orem, UT

5 jobs:
Roberts & Schaffer Engineering
Comtrol
American Name Services
ICCE
Aspen View Construction

5 things people don't know:

I have weird double jointed arms
I want to write a novel series
I have a weird anxiety about dumps, electricity, and water
My basement scares me!
I hate roller coasters!

I am tagging - there is no one left to tag!

Alright I will do it!!

2008-03-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

I have finally succumb to the peer pressure to to set up my blog. Stayed tuned there will be more to come....