Dimony Elmo and All the Sports

It's been a good week here. We've already done some Halloween Celebrating which is always crazy, but I'm going to save that stuff for next week.

On Saturday morning, Paul got a call from the judge offering him tickets to the BYU football game. The game started one hour from the time he called, so we scrambled to see if we could find a babysitter to go. Alas, we couldn't. So Paul took Sabrina. When they arrived home (at halftime), I was quizzing her about it. They splashed in puddles, ate treats, watched Cosmo the mascot, and then she said, "Yeah, it was fun. I got tired of all the sports though." A classic comment from our little princess lover. (Although, we WILL keep trying because I believe there is a place in sports for tiny, non-athletic girls. As an observer. At least that's what I was raised to believe.)

Another noteworthy development around here is the naming of future children (not an announcement) . Sabrina has been doing this for a while now. And this week Lucy joined in. Among my favorites for boys: Gago, Ferd, Villany. And for girls: Salin, Fraselle (which sounds oddly like "for sale") Villa, and Vauna (great names for twins). This week Sabrina came up with Dimony for a girl. As soon as she said it, Lucy piped in with, "Dimony Elmo. It's a girls name." Should we be a little worried for our future grandchildren?

Honeymoon Period

I'm going to admit that I sort of miss blogging. I've just hit what I feel like is a honeymoon period in parenting. Sabrina is very enjoyable right now, Lucy has hit the "funny 2's" and says awesome stuff every day. Subby has preschool 3 days per week and I get to shop and hang out with Lucy alone, but then Sabrina comes home and I get to hang out with her while Lucy naps. The weather has been awesome, and I bake nearly every single day. Life doesn't get any better than this; so I think I'm ready to blog again. My goal is once a week. Every Thursday. I'm calling them, "Thoughtful Thursdays". Get excited.

Disneyland 2010

Disclaimer: I was going to post this about 2 weeks ago. Then all the pics got messed up and about 1/4 got erased from our camera. You all may remember that I made fun of my father's lack of technology know-how on several occasions via this blog because I knew he'd never get to a computer to see what I had said. Well, all I have to say is I'm a chip off the old block. Anyway, since I'm never going to fix these pics or this post, let's just post it mistakes and all and give my future teenagers even more material to make fun of me. Enjoy this mess of a post!

We're back from our big vaycay. I'm not one who loves travel log blog posts, actually. So I'm going to post pics with few comments. Let's just say, it was the "happiest place on earth"; we loved every minute of it!


Small World. My smile is staged. Sabrina's is not. This was her favorite.


Maya was such a trooper to do this with her!


Here are Grandma and Grandpa with 5 blonde grandkids. Hint: the way to do Disneyland is to have 6 adults to 5 kids. Great ratios!


Lucy had a definite love/hate relationship with all characters.



Goofy's playhouse. So turns out we could have just gone to the park. J/K. But it did provide a nice little break one day.




"The Minnie Episode". I've never seen so much love and so much fear in one little girl at the same time (Lucy). Lucy loves Minnie. Although you'd never know that based on the kick to the head Minnie received right after this photo.


Hey, the Neals showed up while we were there. Can you tell Sabrina has Delaney worship?








Funny story. We waited for what seemed like an eternity to see the Princesses. After we saw them, we headed for the train. When we came back, Sabrina peeked over the edge of Princess Stadium and saw Snow White, got excited and wanted to go to the princesses again. We weren't going to wait again. So this picture was our compromise. One happy Sabrina, and one miniscule Snow White in the background.


Hotel Room Birthday! Happy 2nd Lucy!





All in all, one great trip! Radmalls, why don't I have any pics with you guys? What is wrong with me? Thanks for going with us, nonetheless. You guys rock. Mom and Dad, thanks too. We MUST do this again!

Happy BeLATEd Lu Lu!

 

Oh, Lucy. My sweet little one. Will you ever forgive your mom for not posting a birthday post for you until she realized she forgot to do it altogether? Never you mind that your 2nd birthday party was spent in a hotel room with zingers. (We were at Disneyland [post to come someday], so that made up for it, but still).

Lucy is beloved in this family. I could write a list of 10 million reasons why we all love this spunky little one. Here's a few: she imitates Cookie Monster, sings a myriad of songs, requests big hugs and kisses, walks around with a "friend" (stuffed animal) in her hands at all times, requests big hugs and kisses for her "friend" too, has the best cheeks (both kinds of cheeks...I know, TMI), has curls I can't keep my hands off of, jumps and runs so bouncy, adds "mom" (which sounds like "mam") to the end of everything she says, is a constant entertainer. Here's a newborn pic, to celebrate the day of Lucy's birth and to make me just a little teary-eyed.

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.