Sept & Oct 2008

Samantha turned 5 on November 17th!

Our little girl is growing up way too fast

Sammy loves doughnuts so this years 'cake' was a dream come true for her.

I wish.... I wish.... that I could have doughnuts everyday!

Sammy had a fun party with friends and cousins.

This adorable apron was made by my talented friend Ciria and given to Sammy from Zoey.

What's a birthday party with Sammy without a Pinata.
We let Sammy pick it out this year (that was hard for Diana to do).

I was going for a garden party theme with the butterflies and flowers so the kids planted a pea in a cup. They really enjoyed it and it is growing quickly.

Samantha loves to steal the camera and take pictures of random things. This was a great shot she took during our pumpkin carving.

We enjoyed taking the kids to pick out their pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.

Our cute little pumpkins!!

This year we all dressed up and enjoyed the Omniture Halloween party. James dyed his hair as was Clark Kent / Superman, Diana was Superwoman, Samantha was Supergirl and Matthew was Superchunk.

The super family!

SUPER KIDS!

Matthew and cousin Esther playing with leaves in the park.

Would you look a this face! She is so beautiful! We stopped in at Daniel and Autumn' s before going to California and Samantha and Matthew had fun with their cousins. I did not want to leave this little princess .

The beach was so amazing!
It felt like we left the world behind and time stood still for a little bit.

My two sweet boys playing in the waves.

Samantha and Matthew loved the beach.
Matthew did really well with the sand and Sammy could have stayed all day.

A little bit of heaven!

Look at this cute Grandma with her darling grandkids!

In September we went to Disneyland with the Stemmons (James' sister and her family) and Grandma Nan. It was a very fun trip. Samantha loved everything about the park. Her favorite rides included Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Star Tours and Toy Story. We were happy that we were able to take Matthew on quite a few rides as well.

James and Sammy entering Disneyland for the first time together - yes James is skipping.

Samantha and Carson

Diana and Sammy on Grizzly Rapids in California Adventure.

Samantha meets her favorite Disney character, Ariel. It was a very cute moment.
Sammy likes how they are both holding out their dresses in this picture.

We took Sammy to Ariel's Grotto and enjoyed a feast. This was our dessert try...quite tasty. Sammy loved it as she was able to meet and talk to 5 of the Disney princesses.

The Princess and The Pan

Mommy and the kids enjoying Fantasyland

James and Matthew on a boat ride

Sammy in Wonderland (Disneyland) she loved it!!!!

Happy 29th BirthdayAutumn!!!

This is my beautiful sister.

She is an amazing friend, mother, Aunt and wife.

I am so grateful she is in our family. My brother is so lucky to have her.

I can always count on her to listen, understand, give good advice, and laugh with me or at me (with love of course.)

I love you friend!

Summer Fun

It's been a great summer! We unintentionally took a blogg vacation during the last few months and figured we should post some pictures. We are going to try to post more often but we hope you enjoy seeing the pictures and what we've been up to :)

We were so excited that Kristy came to visit in June! Charlotte is so beautiful and she and Matthew really hit it off (he's even checking her out during this picture)

Kerrian, Hudson and Brooklyn came to visit a few days ago. Sammy and Hudson pretended it was snowing. Such great imaginations.

Happy 30th Birthday!

Most embarrassing moment of my 7th months...but mom thinks I looked so adorable.

We caught up with our good friends the Gibby's. Matt Gibby, on the right, is holding our son Matt. James, obviously on the left, is holding Matt's son James! Kinda cool!

This is one of James' favorite pictures of Samantha because not only is she sporting her awesome pink shades but she's also wearing her Cinderella dress, soccer medal from last season and she's sipping on some hot chocolate she begged James to bring home from work for her in the middle of June.

Welcome to the family, Esther! Esther belongs to Mandy and Bill. She completes the cousin trifecta for Matthew on both sides of the family.

Matthew loves bath-time and loves his toes.

Grandma Sheila and Sammy chillin' in the back of the Olds on the way to Addison's baby blessing in Cedar City.

Happy 4th of July!

These are Diana's flower arangements she made for my sister Mandy's baby shower. They were very beautiful.

Matthew eating some lovely sweet potatoes.

James turned 29! One of the most memorable birthdays of all time...long story:)

This is my mother listening to Kanye West's 'Hey Mama' at the Relay for Life and she actually liked it:)

Sammy riding the carnival rides with cousins Madaline and T at the Orem Summerfest.

Matthew and his cool cousin Jackson.

This is one of those magical moments when you watch your child discover and explore new things for the first time. He loved this baloon...but mommy kept a close watch on him. Safety first.

We love chubby cheaks.

Two mormon kids on a Sunday morning. Sammy and cousin Carter.

James, Sammy and Carter at the new St. George pool.

Daniel and Autumn's little Addison was born April 30th. She is such a beautiful little lady with her daddy's dark hair and her mommy's sweet little mouth.

Matthew and cousin Addison. They are so adorable and best pals already.

Sammy and all her crazy cousins hanging out in Park City in a hot tub. Does it get any better?

Sammy, Kennedy and Madison playing at the park in Park City.
We sure had fun on this family trip.

Us

Sammy at the Utah Lake Festival. We've made this a tradition every year since moving back to Utah. It's a lot of fun. Hot dogs, snow cones, face painting, crafts, games and this year Sammy even won a fish - Sally. (Unfortunatly Sally has since passed on to fish heaven. Sammy tried to dig her up the other day)

Smile sweet boy, while mommy takes lots of pictures of you.

Just missing Autumn and this picture would be complete.

James and Sammy went camping with some of James' friends from work. They had a great time. Sammy was instantly a huge fan of one of James' favorite camping treats - easy cheese. It was Sammy's idea to try the cheese on the Pringles - yummy!

Sammy was actually the only one to catch a fish the entire trip!

James, Lamont, Timmy and the lovely miss Sam.

Waking up to Samantha on a beautiful summer campout.