Dog Days

We've had computer problems; we've been really busy; my camera stinks; I am never online. You know the usual suspects in the list of excuses for why I have not blogged anything in over a month, but let's be honest...I WAS JUST HOT, too hot to think, too tired of shorts and swimsuits, too tired of painting toe nails and shaving legs, and too tired slathering sunscreen. Some call it the "August Crazies," and I've had a case of it. Not that this last month hasn't had great moments, but the last thing I've wanted to do is blog about them. (That's a lie...the real last thing(s) I've wanted to do is clean and cook...but that's a post for another day.) I'm not doing justice to anything that's happened lately, but then again, do I ever? Here goes:

*The month started on a low note when neighbor hooligans stole our wagon and wading pool.

*We had a pretty busy weekend where we attended our 10 year high school reunion (or was that Lehi's 10 Year Reunion? Seeing as I knew no one there [except my friends whom I keep in pretty good contact with], it may as well have been) and Brandon and Melinda Boulter's wedding, which was lovely, by the way. It was a great weekend to catch up with everyone.

*We headed off to central Oregon to spend the week with Shannon and Michael and kids and Shelly and kids (and Chloe and Grandma and Grandpa) at the cabin on Lake Billy Chinook. Boy, those Neal's show you a good time! Hiking, boating, eating, trickery (Hayden flipping over Michael on a wake board), and relaxing (there were officially 4 babysitters there...HEAVEN). Sabrina can't stop talking about the kids and how Aunt Shanny is the "bestest surfer"! That's in contrast to me who is "not the goodest" at wake boarding. Thank you Neals! We don't see any of you nearly enough.

*Paul officially started his cushy government job; and we are loving that when he gets home, he's actually done working. It's been awhile! So far he's really liking it. He only goes to SLC 3 days per week, which makes the commute bearable. He also managed to talk his way into a carpool with the Judge, which is always good face time.

*Preschool started and man what a difference a year makes. Sabrina was so nervous about the whole ordeal last year, and this year, she jumped out of the car, slammed the door, ran into the building like she owned it, and left her mother hanging by the car with outstretched arms. She didn't even say bye. Her teacher this year is Miss Sherrie, who seems really nice. So far she's made a friend "with snarly hair" whom she doesn't remember the name of.

*I got back today from the Utah Shakespearean Festival with my mom and sisters, Grandma I, Janet, Mary Ann, and her girls. It was really fun; too short, but really fun. We saw Much Ado About Nothing and Pride and Prejudice. I've always loved that the women in my family are so eager to get together. It's quite the sight to see 17 short ladies, who all laugh exactly the same, walking around in chatty conversation. We're like a circus act. Thanks for the good time!

I'm feeling really honest tonight, so I'm just going to say that putting pictures on here is more than I want to do, so until next time, this is me signing off.

Well, this doesn't happen every day...

so I'm posting about it. We went to Justice Lee's swearing in ceremony yesterday and got to meet none other than Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Lee clerked for him, so he flew in to do his swearing in, and we liked him immediately (mainly because he was a loud laugher, and an overall friendly guy). When we went to shake his hand, the convo went like this:

Paul: Justice Thomas, great to meet you. I'm Paul Sampson, this is my wife, Lindsay. I'm one of the lucky two who get to clerk for Justice Lee this year.
Justice Thomas: Lucky? Boy, you won't be saying lucky in a few weeks.

I thought that was funny. The only down side was that our phone picture turned out kind of blurry. Oh, well. You'll note that Mike Lee (republican candidate for senator) is in the background of this picture.

Cha Cha Changes

I bet you thought you knew where the Sampsons would be come fall/winter time right? Well, so did I, but I've learned something invaluable in my short 6 year marriage...DON'T MAKE PLANS because the hassle of changing them just ain't (and yes, I meant ain't) worth it. On Tuesday Paul accepted an offer to clerk for Justice Thomas R. Lee of the Utah Supreme Court starting in August (the day after he takes the bar, to be exact). This means we will stay in Utah for one more year and then head to D.C. to work for Sidley next Fall. Where to begin? Utah has many things to offer...family, friends, Summer nights (which just cannot be beat), but in my heart, I am still just a little bit sad to not be going to D.C. yet. This, however, is an amazing opportunity for Paul and is something he has always wanted to do, so here we are. We have some logistical issues to work out, but I know it will all work out.

Now, on to the reason everyone reads this blog...MY KIDS! J/K. A quick update.

Sabrina: Dancing, "swimming" in the wading pool (the best $9 I've ever spent) almost every day, smells of sunblock almost every day, wears a swimsuit almost every day, loves drawing, loves pretending, can't wait for Disneyland, can take the playroom from clean to hazardous in less than half an hour (I'm always amazed by this talent), she's a great sister to Lucy and very concerned for her welfare, and has declared "Hey Soul Sister" by Train as her favorite song (it's a phase, we hope).

Favorite Convo of the Week:
In the car heading to Harmon's, our third grocery store of the day.
Sabrina: Mom, we are tired. My legs can't walk any more. Lucy and I will just stay in the car and you can go in the store.
Mom: It's hot outside; you'd be roasting if I did that.
Sabrina: We like the hot, mom. We'll be just fine.
Mom: The police will hunt me down and get mad at me.
Sabrina: We'll be just fine, mom. We'll be just fine.
Note: There was a brief moment when I nearly took her up on this offer. After all, my mom used to do this and we were, in fact, "just fine".

Lucy: Funny, talking a lot, singing a lot, busy as a bee, stubborn as a mule, cute as a button, finally getting hair, still has curls that I love to play with, LOVES and stalks her grandpas (she's no dummy...she knows who will do whatever she wants), starting to cuddle more (she'll come up to me and say "a hug, momma?" or "a kiss, momma?"), started throwing tantrums (and man, are they good), has bleached out to quite the blondie this summer.

Lucy's first ever blog convo:
Lucy: Mom?
Mom: What?
Lucy: Mom?
Mom: What?
Lucy: Mom?
Mom: What?
Lucy: Toes.
Note: This same convo happens about 6 times per day with a different object each time.

Photos: Poolin' and at Cul-de-sac of Fire 2010 hosted by the Radmalls. Who needs Carrie Underwood? You can see the excitement in Sabrina's eyes over cheap fountains, a couple of dud tanks, and some flowers.

Getting Behind and Getting Caught Up

I am behind on this blog in a big way! I neither make nor have any excuses for it. And the thing is, I'm not sure I care much anymore. My posterity cares though, right? Actually, probably not. But just in case they do, here we go.

We went to the farm with our Smith cousins a while back and the miracle of the day was that Sabrina rode the pony by herself for the first time (after, I'd say, 5 trips to the farm in her life). I was proud. Lucy spent the day saying hello to all the animals. ("Hello, cow!" "Hello, horsie!" "Hello, duck!")

Memorial Day was spent visiting graves and having a picnic in the park. Pretty typical, yet still nice.

Sabrina goes to a dance class twice weekly and loves every minute of it. She grins ear to ear the entire time. It's always the best entertainment I get all day, so I enjoy going too. I have decided that with the right editing, her dance class would make one heck of a reality T.V. show. Why hasn't anyone thought of this?

I got together with my friends from high school for dinner at Ruth's Diner and a night over in Park City. We ate, gabbed, shopped, and got no sleep. Lots of fun, and a tradition I have come to enjoy.

While I was in Park City, Sabrina decided to cut her own hair to about chin length. I don't really know where or when this happened. When asked, she only said, "Cohen did it, Mom." Not a terrible alibi. After all, she had played with Cohen, our neighbor, one afternoon. The only problem with her story is that Cohen is blind, and I am pretty sure his mom supervises when he uses scissors. So now, she has a bob. It's really cute, so I guess I can't complain.

The day of the marathon came and so did summer's first deluge and 45 degree temps. Thanks a lot, Mother Nature! We ran in heavy rain for about 5 or 6 miles, and I've never been so happy to have a dorky visor in my life. Around mile 18 or 19 a shooting pain in my right foot began to really flare up (still don't know what's wrong), but by the time I hit that point in the race, I was going to finish no matter what! So I finished. I'm glad I did it, but I'm also glad it's over.

Oh, May.

I don't know about you, but this month has flown by and I have neglected it's happenings long enough.

1. SNOW. What the devil was that all about? In my opinion, Utah usually has 2 (possibly 3) months of solid weather. Months you can usually count on to be perfectly lovely. May and September (possibly June, too). Well, May has gotten all unreliable on me, as we awoke to about 3 to 4 inches of snow on Monday morning. In my head I keep a tally of Utah vs. Virginia stats. Let's give Virginia 1 point as Utah has proven to be a big weather disappointment this year.

2. Park City. Paul and I had the opportunity to get away for two nights to Park City, and it was lovely. We were amazed at how much we can do in one day when our kids aren't involved, so the weekend was action packed and downright enjoyable. So much so that no pictures were taken. (That's a lie. Paul wouldn't pose for a picture at the outlets as he is opposed to any pictures that show us doing normal things like shopping or eating which was pretty much what the weekend was.)

3. Rewind. Let's all take a trip back to the fall of 2004 when a young Paul and Lindsay were newlyweds, and had the opportunity to sit courtside at the Utah Jazz game courtesy of the Petersons. The Jazz press people took this lovely shot, gave it to the Petersons, and Amy e-mailed it to me this week. I wish we looked a little more ecstatic in this photo, as we both put this on our "Top 10 Life Events" list. This is NOT a normal thing, so Paul insisted that I post this. Thanks, Amy!


4. Sabrina's Program. Well, preschool is over. Sabrina had an end of the year singing program at Hadfieldadelphia to close out the year. She was really cute and funny. She smiled not only for our camera, but for all others too. We have really enjoyed watching her grow this year and change. She has LOVED school! After the program they presented her with a quilt of projects that she did throughout the year. It is very cute and a great piece of preschool we get to have forever. I have really loved her teacher, Miss Megan. She has done an awesome job!


5. Lucy Speaks. Lucy is growing and changing each day. This morning (as we were catching our last bit of shut-eye), Sabrina, being a caring and devoted sister got Lucy several stuffed animals and threw them into her crib to cheer her up. Lucy is a not a great "waker-upper" and usually takes a good half hour to get happy. With every stuffed animal that was thrown she yelled, "Don't do that!" at Sabrina over and over again. And Sabrina kept doing it over and over again. We had to chuckle.

A Little Validation

I actually have other stuff to post, but I thought this was too funny not to document. Today as I was changing Lucy's diaper Sabrina came in, noticed what I was doing and said, "Mom, you're changing Lucy's stinker. And you cleaned up my puzzle pieces. Way to go, Mom! You did it!" She then proceeded to chant, "Yay, Mom! Yay, Mom! Yay, Mom!" To which Lucy joined in. I felt like I had just won a gold medal and should take a victory lap around my apartment.

I guess I need to post...

I don't like to get behind on this thing, but this is a moment in time when I really don't have much to tell. So here's a rather boring post, just because.

Post-student-living has been wonderful for Paul so far, but the bar exam class starts on Monday, so we will see. Paul has been working for an attorney in Provo and has been pretty busy with that. He was our neighborhood's State Delegate at the Republican Convention this weekend, and enjoyed EVERY minute of it. I enjoyed getting a play by play via texts all day long.

I spent this weekend in Logan watching Jeffie graduate with a bachelor's degree from
Utah State. Way to go Jeff!

I had a great Mother's Day! I'm so blessed to be a mom and have a mom, mother-in-law, and grandma in my life.

We said goodbye to our Utah Jazz for the season last night. As Paul put it, "It was like a very sick person dying. You're sort of glad they don't have to suffer any more."

Sabrina was supposed to start her dance class yesterday, but came down with a slight fever so had to miss the first day. She'll go again tomorrow.

Lucy is very funny and busy. The other day she called for her dad by saying, "Dad! Dad!" And then getting no response started in with, "Paul! Paul!" How quickly they learn.

We've loved getting out to the Aquarium, Thanksgiving Point Gardens, the Park, and bike riding with our neighbor Sara when the weather cooperates. (I think Mother Nature hates me, as it is currently about 40 degrees outside.) If only I had taken some pictures. I'm going to be better in the future.

We have planned a trip to Disneyland for September and are very excited about that.

There is a possibility (not certain yet) that we may be moving to DC in the fall rather than after Christmas, which is sort of bittersweet at the moment.

Wow! No zest in that post, whatsoever. Blah.