The Sampson Family

More PINK for the Sampson's

2011-11-30T07:51:00.000-08:00

Our newest sweet Baby girl!
Her cute little hand down by her leg, I love that I can count her fingers
I know this is an interesting pic, but Clint says she's already talking like a girl!

Yesterday we had our big ultrasound to find out what our new baby will be. My friend told me that it is amazing how this one piece of information can change your whole life. We were both excited and nervous, Clint said more than with the others. We were surprised with Brielle and it was so exciting when she came out to hear Clint yelling, "It's a girl, It's a girl, we have a little girl!" He said he had to be prepared this time in case it was another girl. My doctor at first said he wasn't 100% but thought it was a boy and we were super excited, but not holding our breath. So our expectation was that it could be a boy! We were shocked yesterday to find out that we are having our 3rd baby girl!!!!! Brinley and I are so excited and we had bet the boys yesterday at breakfast that we were having a girl. Clint, Trail and Brielle thought it was a boy. I guess my motherly intuition was right, it's nice to know that works sometimes. When we were expecting Brinley, Clint's sister Jessica said that she couldn't see him having any girls and here we are. Poor Clint gets to deal with more pink and emotional girls. He says they just make you soft. He is a great Dad! At least he has Trail to tag along on scouting trips and hunts. Brinley does like to go fishing too. I told Clint I needed to go buy something pink now we know for sure! I do love pink, hairbows, cute little dresses and the girls have both had lots of curly hair, so hears hoping the heartburn is for something.

Oh how life changes.....

2011-11-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

Dad's little sidekick, he loves to go to work with Dad when he can!

She loves to pretend to go to school, I especially love her clothes!
Hunting season is coming closer to an end and I feel like I can actually breath. Quite a few things have changed in our life since I last posted. Trail turned 4, Brielle turned 2, Brinley started Kindergarten and I actually survived, I cried when I put her on the bus, but she was happy as could be. Clint and I went to New Mexico for 9 days without the kids in July(it was a lot harder on me, than them. They stayed with Clint's parents and were spoiled). We were able to help with the International Youth Hunter Education challenge there which was a BLAST! We were able to meet people from many places all over the US. But the biggest change is that Brielle is going to be a BIG SISTER!!!! We are expecting our 4th baby in the end of April!!!! We are all super excited! This baby definitely doesn't want to be forgotten, I had morning sickness which I have not had before. I was reminded everyday that we had a 4th baby coming!! Luckily at 16 weeks I am over that and life is a lot brighter! I died my hair a dark brown with red in it. It is hard to get used to, but I love the change. Clint also added a huge addition to our house in September when he killed a 348 7/8 Bull Elk in the Book Cliffs. He was/is super happy about it. He had been putting in for it for 17 years, so it was a dream come true! I told him it was like I am when I have babies, he was telling everyone it's size and when he killed it, it was really funny! Boys and hunting!!! We are looking forward to the holidays and the excitement of our new baby!!!

Honey Do list and coupons...

2011-05-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Clint says I am a Crazy Coupon Lady these days. I will tell you when you can get all of this stuff for $6 you would become a Crazy Coupond Lady too. I love it. It gives me a hobby and I save money at the same time is something I love to do.

Our old faucet had to go. The kids couldn't turn it on, so know I have the opposite problem they like to turn it on all the time. =)

We stained the Pergola Clint made me last year for my birthday!!!

Oh blessed tile! I have had this tile sitting in my storage closet for almost 4 years. I'm so happy to have a big area of tile. It used to be ugly brown and tiny. Thanks to Clint and our friend Larry for putting it in. It looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Good things truly come to those who wait!

I have kept Clint busy lately with projects around the house. He has been a trooper! It has been awesome to get a lot of things done. (Some of which have been on my list since we bought the house almost 4 years ago. Slowly but surely they get done.

May Day --- Thank goodness for Grandma....

2011-05-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

During nap time I found Brinley and Trail reading together. Precious moments!

Playing with Grandma. Look at that cute little hospital gown....

Playing in the waiting room before
Poor little Brielle had to get tubes in her ears. I think it was more traumatic for me than her. The nurses were so sweet and nurturing to her. The red star sunglasses helped a lot too. Luckily my Mom came to help though because the morning we went to take Brielle to the hospital Clint got REALLY sick. I was so thankful she was there to go with me for emotional support. They had just barely come down to deliver our new fridge I inherited when my Grandma passed away. She was so nice to make the 8-9 hour adventure to help me again.

Kids 'helping' with the cake.... that is what happens when there are 14 kids around one cake

A long awaited present, I've wanted this for a while now. It is SUPER fun and the kids LOVE it!

It's true I'm a another year older. When we asked Brin she said I was 16 (isn't that nice) and Trail said 4. Clint was so sweet and threw a suprise party for me. It sure was a suprise! As my friend and I drove up to our house I was so embarrassed - I had my grubby clothes, no makeup and an easy hair do. Hadn't got ready for the day. At least the house was clean! He had a great BBQ waiting. He knows I LOVE to be suprised and finds lots of opportunities to do so!

Brinley helping Papa with a project around the house

The kids with my Mom, enjoying being spoiled!!!!

We got a turkey! (Don't look if you don't like dead stuff)

2011-05-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Clint -"Tina, I might've spent some money today."

Tina -"oh Yeah, What did you buy?"

Clint -"I totally bought a turkey tag and just shot a huge turkey"

So any of you that knew me growing up know I hated seeing dead animals, the elk mounts in my neighbors house gave me the willeys and I didn't like eating meat. Now I am married to Clint who loves to hunt, our freezer is full of Elk meat and that is what we survive on(and I am thankful) and thanks to Clint we will be sporting a plaque in Trail's room with Turkey feathers. What I've learned is that elk meat is not that bad and actually has a LOT less fat than hamburger. I've learned to suck up that natural disquist to dead animals and put on a happy face for a happy husband. If you couldn't heard Clint's voice on the phone telling me of his AMAZING hunt and the smile he had on his face for that whole week, you could've put on a happy face too. I'm so proud of Clint! He says he is just being a provider for his family, but we all know that he hunts because it loves it and it is just a bonus to get meat out of it. =)

My Easter cuties...

2011-05-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Brielle was totally content to have candy for breakfast that day! She LOVES candy! It worked out to my advantage when she decided she wanted to potty train. It only took a few days of treats when she went potty and LOTS of praise and she was done. What a nice present for me!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't resist an after church picture. They are getting so big! I love that the girls match. They might not appreciate it when they get older but I love it!

We were totally blessed the week before Easter, a good friend brought by 2 Beautiful dresses and asked if I could help her take them. Her sister in law had bought them and they didn't fit the girls she had bought them for. Luckily for us they were PERFECT!!!!! Brinley says she wants a dress like that when she marries her friend Kyson.

We actually got them all smiling! What a feat! Those little faces brighten my day!

Will winter ever end????

2011-03-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Cute face (sorry I can't figure out how to rotate)

She was so excited to hug her Frosty!

I LOVE YOGURT!!!!

It is still winter! Every time I start to see part of our yard it snows the next day. It is beautiful today, so hopefully it will last! It is so cold here during the winter that we usually don't go out and enjoy the snow because it is so cold. But it was warm the other day so the kids and I went out. It was Brielle's first snow adventure. She wasn't too sure, but since she will bring me her snow clothes and wants to go outside. She did LOVE eating the snow. Her cute little face was red from the cold, but she LOVED it!

We were creative and made a snow hill out of our juniper bushes in our front yard. The kids had a great time and so did I! It was so good for me to get outside and play with them!!!!

Brielle loves this horse! When you tell her it is time for bed she will get her horse and blanket. It is so sweet! She will even bring it to me sometimes!

Here's hoping for warmer weather!

Snow White and a 5 year old Birthday

2011-01-24T11:18:00.000-08:00

Fun dress ups from Aunt Angie!!!! Perfect for a Snow White party. Brinley wanted to watch the movie for her party so we ran with it. Our good friends Kevin & Tori have a huge projection screen TV so they let us crash their house. The kids loved it! There was popcorn EVERYWHERE, but it was great. It was her first friend party and it was a BLAST!!!
Brinley wanted a pinata so we made our own, FYI they are super cheap and fun to make!!!!
Don't they look so sweet????
For Christmas my mother in law gave me the CUTEST cupcake book, so Brinley picked the owls!
Owl "pupcakes" as Brin calls them.
The birthday girl!!!!! I asked her he she could stay 4 and she said, "If I don't turn 5 then I can't go to school" I guess we will let her turn 5!!!!
My little Snow White girls waiting for the party to start!
I couldn't reset, this is Brielle's "ho-se" She LOVES it!!! All partied out!!!!
When I grew up the Birthday kid got to pick dinner. Brinley wanted Pizza, so we had a Pizza party!
Lots of fun girly presents!

I can't believe I have a 5 year old. She is such a good helper! She informed me this morning that 5 year old's can do the dishes all by themselves. (We'll see how that works out) She loves helping Mom and loving Brielle. They recently taught Brielle how to crawl out of her crib. She is super thoughtful and talks like a grown up. She loves to wear high heels and can even run in them. She can't wait to go to school and loves playing with friends. She is totally into Barbie's and anything Princess. She is always concerned when others are sad or hurt. She is so sweet! We have been so blessed to have her in our family!

Winter Wonderland!!!!!

2011-01-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Clint's long awaited T-shirt blanket!!!!
Brin & Trail enjoying the Leapster's that Grandma and Grandpa Sampson gave them!
A girl cousins sleepover, Rebecca, Abie, Brinley and Sarah. They were like sardines! Memories!
After Christmas Celebration at Papa and Grandma Winters'Our normal family Christmas pic, with Dad in uniform. We are lucky we can enjoy time together
Our little crew, happy as can be on Christmas day!

One of Brielle's favorite toys from Santa
Brielle was one of Santa's little elf
Trail is a pure boy!!!!!
Brinley loved Santa this year!

This Christmas we were so blessed!! Someone decided to do Secret Santa for our family. They went above and beyond and this year we ALL BELIEVE in Santa. We will never forget this Christmas! It was a HUGE reminder that there is still so much good in this world! We are so thankful that we were able to go to Meridian and see my family and enjoy New Year's and a Baby blessing for my sister's new baby. This Christmas I learned that as long as you have family surrounding you we don't need to stress about what is under your tree!!!! We were able to focus on the true meaning of Christmas! What a blessing!!!! I hope you all had such blessings as well!

Trick or Treat

2010-11-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Tired after the Trunk or Treat.

Trail is very determined, which is hard as his Mom, but he spent lots of time working on his pumpkin and did a great job.

The Sampson Garden produced 10 pumpkins this year. It's so fun to watch them grow!

The kids had so much fun dressing up for Halloween! They looked so cute (Brinley thought she needed to be a Tinker Bell Vampire for the pictures, lovely) I had to also share some cute pictures of Brielle's curly locks. Here's hoping the winter is mild this year!

Would you believe?

2010-10-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Trail and Kallie driving in the kids new car, so fun, Kallie is a crazy driver (Brielle is sitting in the flowers)
Trail (hiding) Papa, Brielle, Celinda (my mom) Parker, My brother Brandon, Sister Angie, Brin
Hanging out with cousins....Brinley, Parker, Trail, Sarah, Abie, Rebecca, Wyatt, Jaxsin
Chuck E Cheese with Papa and my nephews Parker and Jaxsin (Trail didn't want his picture taken)
T

Hiking up McConkie Ranch to see the petroglyphs about 20 minutes from our house.

Larry helping Trail with his bow and arrow! What a hit!!
A totally chessy Trail smile!

Brinley and Trail ready for preschool!
I love these curls!!!! That is my stamp on the girls! It reminds me of my hair when I was little!
Clint is in the orange hat, guarding the bear cub in the shed.
Dax and Clint carrying the trapped bear. They are a great team.
Brinley and Trail taking a peak at the cute baby bear. They wanted to pet it, but I had to break the news that this bear wasn't as kind as the ones on tv.

Would you believe that there was a baby bear 2 doors down (which in our area means about 300 yards) from our house yesterday? Clint let us come check it out. It was really exciting!!! Maybe a little scary watching my husband in the shed with a baby bear. But that is all in a day's work for him.

The kids are getting bigger with Trail turning 3 and Brielle turning 1 this year. August is a party for our family. We were lucky to have my Mom and niece Rebecca come to enjoy Trail's party and celebrate Brielle's a little early. Brielle is walking and loving it! I can't believe my baby is 1.

To help with the long hunting season we have just come into, I decided to take the kids and go to Boise. We were there for 2 weeks and loved being with family. We went to Wahooz and rode the race cars, went to Chuck E Cheese with Papa, saw Great Grandma Barb, celebrated my Mom's birthday and enjoyed being together. Thanks for putting up with us for so long!!!!

Here's to a new season!!!!

New look for the mother of 3

2010-08-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

the closest picture it was like (yesterday)
Feeling like a new woman

My cute niece Rebecca came and is a huge helper!

Today was Trail's 3rd birthday! Wow has time flown! I will post pictures of the festivities later. But with my Mom in town I got brave and chopped my hair! I needed a pick me up, something to make me feel cute! I need that as a Mom often! Hope you like it!!! It is totally different than anything I've ever done. Thanks to my friend Jamie, it's awesome to have a friend who does hair!!! Brinley did the double take when she first saw me and gave me her stamp of approval. (They are brutally honest sometimes, so I know she isn't lying)

July went out with a bang....

2010-08-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

I thought Brinley was sleeping, but she was hiding from the people who were going to poke her.
A very sick, tired Brinley - I think it was around 3am. Gotta love the ER!

A traumatized Brinley - she had blood drawn out of both arms and an IV. Poor girl!
Feeling better- thankfully!

A happy girl ready to go home!
The day before taking a shot as a firewoman at the fair
Silly Brielle!!!
Back to my princess a few days after being released from the hospital!
Trail giving Anika a romantic horse ride. He turned around and kissed her right after this. =)
This one is for my Mom, she loves pictures like this!
11 months old - they jury is still out on her eye color!!!
Clint & I celebrated 7 years - wow how life has changed!!!

Swimming at the Kremin's on the 4th
Fireworks with the Moon's, I love this picture of Brinley and Makinley
Cute pigtail while they laster
Clint has thought for a while that it would be fun to have a float in the parade, so beings the DWR's big theme is Take your kids fishing, we thought this would be perfect. The kids were "fishing" and handing out fishing bobbers. We didn't get anyone yelling at us so I was happy about that!

July has been a very busy month!!! Clint broke his arm the end of June, the 4th - Clint's birthday- our anniversary and much more. The kids are loving being about to play and swim outside! Brielle is getting close to walking and loves to eat sand by the handfuls.

Trail loves doing boy things and begs Clint to take him to work all the time! Clint felt so bad the other day when he had gone to his room, got his boots and camo hat on and was ready to go. Poor kid, hard lessons to learn.

Brinley is a sweetheart and a huge helper. She loves sunbeams and can't wait to go to school (even though she has another year) She gave us a good scare as you can see by the pictures. July 31st she woke up not feeling well and by the afternoon she was NOT well. I debated whether to take her in and decided to wait it out. By 8pm she had been asleep most of the day and was hard to wake up. She had a temp of 100.5 and was breathing really fast. After much debate and urging from our friends I took her in. (Clint was on the mountain taking a trailer up for Scout camp this week) After waiting forever I thought it was probably nothing and I should just tell them never mind. When the doctor finally came in he found out very quickly she had a double ear infection. Then he listened to her lungs and said, That sounds interesting (Clint always says "It's never good to be interesting to a Doctor" He asked if she had asthma and sent us off for an xray and labs to check for RSV and the Flu. (That is when you are grateful you followed that motherly instinct) After a while we had the news - She had PNEUMONIA. (Yes you can get it in the summer) They called the pediatrician and when she came in she thought she would be able to go home, until they checked her oxygen levels. They were too low and she got admitted. It was pretty scary to have my 4 year old in the hospital, but we were blessed that after 2 nights she was released and she is doing well. I knew a few days later when she was running laps around me that she was all better!!! Sometimes we need little reminders how precious our little ones are and that nothing is more important than spending time with them!!!! It was a precious bonding time for the 2 of us! And although I tried to make it exciting and not scary it tore my heart out when they had to poke her. She did keep telling me though, "Mom, I love you" what a blessing to comfort her!!! Gave me more respect for the times my Mom has been there for me!!!

I'm looking forward to an uneventful August except Trail and Brielle's birthdays of course!!! And a visit from Grandma Winters and cousin Rebecca.

What a life this is....

2010-07-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

My Dad's Mom!
Trail was telling Clint how big his fish was!
My beautiful sister Angie with Brielle
Angie, my Mom Celinda, me and my sis in law Tangi
Sarah Jane at her baptism
More cousins, some random girl got in our picture, Sharlie, Lincoln, Trail and Brinley

Our 10 month old Brielle!
A very tired, hurt Clint

Life has been crazy at the Sampson house. We were able to go to Idaho to visit family for my cute niece Sarah's baptism. There is nothing like family time! I love being able to share special moments with them. My family had a belated birthday party. My sister Angie makes amazing cakes and I was so excited to see the BEAUTIFUL cake she made for me. It was great to be with family!!!

On Saturday Clint had to work all night, when he came home Sunday morning he was helping feed Brielle before we went to church. By the picture you can see he wasn't tons of help. I sent him to bed and when we got back from church we ended up in the ER with him. He had fallen at work and hurt his arm and when he woke up he could hardly move it. He is usually hard to convince to go to the Doctor. We got him in and sure enough it was broken. He broke the radial bone right below his elbow, it is in a sling right now and we have an appointment Wednesday to see if he has to have surgery. As I was moving the lawn (we own about a 1/2 acre and only have a push mower) and tilling the garden I quickly realized my summer just got a LOT busier. I'm have been praying everyday to have the strength to do what is needed of me. I am so thankful for the power I have received! I have always earned TONS of gratitude for what Clint does, walking in his shoes has opened my eyes!

I am so thankful for healthy children and a beautiful place to live! There is beauty all around us (and lots of mosquitos and gnats - not so good) Happy 4th!!!

Let the sun shine on.....

2010-05-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

The sun has started shining down on Vernal. We love everyday that we can play outside. After a long winter it is a wonderful change to go for walks and work in the backyard.

Clint's becoming a horse man. He loves working with these horses he has for work. He even got me on the other day. I had the cutest riding partner! Brinley thinks she is a cowgirl!!! Trail loves the horses too, last night he was helping his Dad up at the corrals, so cute.

I have always had little "Monkey's" jumping on my bed. It hasn't bothered me until they have gotten bigger and had lots of built up energy after a long winter. I finally convinced Clint that we needed a trampoline! The look on those sweet faces jumping on the tramp was totally worth it. They have also been sleeping very well which is a huge perk!

Thanks to all the well wishes for my birthday! It is true, I am another year older as of the 15th! Clint spent all day making a special yard ornament for me! I will post pictures soon! He took good care of me and the kids made sure to keep telling me Happy Birthday!

Brinley graduated from Preschool and looked super cute! She was shy and didn't want to sing the songs they have learned, but she warmed up a little. I can't believe she is getting so big! She and I have been learning sign language together, it has been so much fun learning with her! I LOVE BEING A MOM! Hope the sun is shining on all of you!

Horses, teeth, on the move, snow in April...what's next?

2010-04-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's been busy around the Sampson house lately. Little Miss Brielle has two teeth and is on the move. She has the army crawl down. If they made a vacuum as good as she is I would buy it in a heartbeat. She will get whatever I miss.

This morning I woke up to Clint saying, "You'll never believe what is outside" About 4 inches of SNOW. It had Brinley asking, "When's Santa coming? I miss him" Luckily it's almost melted! Nothing much about the weather surprises me about Vernal. I'm looking forward to planting flowers and getting the garden producing.

The kids love Dollar the horse and had been asking to ride him for a long time. Clint was getting ready for a ride so he brought him down the road to test him out. The kids loved riding with Clint and are still asking to ride him. We are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area! Bring on the summer.

Spring time and a wedding

2010-04-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

Brinley & Abie enjoying cartoons!
My cute sister Angie and her son Jaxsin (Brielle loves touching faces)
Brinley looking up to her cousin Abie
Little Miss Brielle 7 months old
Brielle's alfalfa hair. She has one long piece in the back, so cute!
Sharlie, Brinley and Skye
All the Sampson grandkids with Westin and Jessica
The best family picture we could get.
Brinley dancing with Uncle Bryan
A happy boy on Easter morning
Trail and Lincoln playing football

Life has been busy as always in the Sampson house! Clint's little brother Westin just got married. It was beautiful! Easter was that same weekend so we had fun with all of the cousins. Trail really wanted a baseball bat, hence the super smile. Brinley loved being a flower girl and dancing with her Uncle Bryan at the wedding. Brielle is starting the army crawl and can roll wherever she wants. I'm so thankful for our families and that we have had time recently to spend time with each of them!

Spring is on it's way to Vernal

2010-03-13T21:47:00.000-08:00

Brielle and Trail collided, luckily she didn't get a black eye! I love those cheeks!!!
The boys hangin' in the backyard doing boy stuff!
Don't they look guilty! Kids and markers don't mix, luckily they were washable.

The kids going to check the cows and calves! Our friend Kevin was brave to take them.
My little ray of sunshine! How can you not smile at that?
Brinley posing for a picture all by herself!
Wow she is getting way too big!
Trail was so proud of his pretzel sandwich!

Today I was able to go to an amazing Women's Conference with Hilary Weeks (an amazing singer, songwriter) She is so inspirational! She poked fun at all the crazy things mother deal with on a daily basis. I'm just grateful that other people get down with all the laundry and dishes that get so mundane. It was great to go with good friends and have a girl's day out! When I came home and saw there were dishes to unload from the dishwasher, my first reaction was, "I'll wait til later." Then feeling inspired from earlier I decided to try to make it exciting and timed myself. The kids got into it and kept saying go faster Mom and Trail tried helping. You should try it! It was actually fun unloading the dishwasher and it only took me about 4 minutes. And although I still have lots of laundry to do, I have realized I need to be grateful for the laundry because that means that I have children and a husband to get them dirty and a washer and dryer to help me. It really is a blessing to have a family! It sure makes me more thankful for my Mom! She is an amazing woman! She has been helping me be so optimistic lately! Thanks Mom!

Growing kids and winter fun

2010-03-05T16:23:00.001-08:00

Look at those piggy toes....
Enjoying our Traditional Valentine's Dinner (Clint is an amazing cook)

"Mom, Mom, Mom" is the amazing sound I am listening to right now. Our sweet Brielle's first word was Mom. Whether she knows what she is saying or not is another story. But it is sweet! She is 6 months, she can get where she wants by rolling, laughs, blows bubbles and is totally a Mama's girl. Which I love!!! Although we are ready for the winter to be over (it doesn't seem close when we got more snow last night), the kids have had fun going ice fishing with Clint. He is so good to take them and he captured some awesome pictures! It's been nice to have some time to just Brielle and I. Clint has also enjoyed fishing lately. He got bit by the lake trout bug and has enjoyed smoking the fish too. Which to the surprise of my family, I LOVE. It is super yummy! I've been busy with my new calling and wishing for warm days! Clint even gave me some time to myself the other day to scrapbook. I LOVED it! Here's hoping for sunshine and green grass!

Little Miss Brinley turned 4

2010-01-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

(This is Morris the Moose, our kids get their picture with him every month for the first year of their life and every month after so fun to watch them grow. He was the one hiding my ring when Clint proposed, he is super special)

My Brinley turned 4!!!! I love their birthdays because it gives me time to reflect on when they were born and how exciting it was! Especially with Brinley because I became a Mom for the first time! What a miracle! She has grown so much! It seems like she has just hit a growth spurt, she grew out of a bunch of clothes. She is such a beautiful girl! She is very kind when she sees someone else that is sad or hurt. Clint says girls are so emotional! True! Poor girl got her mother's emotions! I see myself in her often as far as that goes and I just sit back and laugh at how I must seem to others when I am emotional. Good thing Clint has a son to outweigh all the girl hormones floating around our house!!! Brinley can be fiesty if she wants to be though! I guess it is good to be well-balanced!

She loves Ariel and after a little wavering she finally decided to have an Ariel party! It was so fun to celebrate with family and friends!

Brielle is 4 months old...

2009-12-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

Her feet tend to get stuck in the same hole often, she must like it.

Ryker Dale Gardner
December 29th 7lbs 14 oz 20 1/2 in

Can you believe Brielle is 4 months old? It sure flies! It has been a lot of adjusting and a whole lot of loving!!!! My sister in law Alisa had her 1st baby yesterday, wow so many memories. We are really excited for them! Brielle is a sweet little girl, she smiles and laughs all the time. Her little Face is a welcoming sight every morning. She is very patient with Brinley and Trail. We are so blessed to have such a sweet little spirit in our home.

Christmas Miracles....

2009-12-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, this was only a few days before Christmas, so cute!

On the way home from our crazy trip, I think the kids say it all!

Good thing we have little ones to make us laugh!

I love Christmas time, it seems so magical to me. Getting to Christmas was quite a feat this year.

We made a trip to Idaho to celebrate Thanksgiving and my nieces baptism. I love going home, but the first night we were there Trail was awake all night throwing up. Fun, then the next day Clint could hardly walk, he hurt his back sleeping on the couch with Trail. Then the next day I was having some cramping in my stomach and within 10 minutes I was on the couch in excuriating pain. Clint woke up, he and my brother gave me a blessing and Clint got me dressed and took me to the ER. I literally felt like I was in the last stages of labor (remember I just had a baby all natural 4 months ago) I knew I wasn't having a baby so I knew something was wrong. They took me right in and got some amazing medicine in me to help with the pain. Once I was feeling a little better I was able to look in the mirror (YIKES, I don't think I've every looked scarier-good thing I didn't care when I was walking into the hospital.) They quickly discovered I had a kidney stone. And YES it is the closest a guy can come to understanding labor, because it is pretty close! I told Clint it didn't matter how much it cost to go to the ER because it was worth the relief. But I wasn't quite expecting the $5000 bill we got. (Luckily that is before insurance-so I hope that all works out) Can you believe they can charge that much? That is almost as much as it was to have Brielle! There is my woe! Before we got home Brinley and I also had our chance with the Flu. Wow what a trip! But the highlights were being with our family, watching Abie getting baptized, shopping with my family, dinner with our family, did I mention spending time with my family? and the kids sitting on Santa's lap. Brinley ran to him and Trail had to have Clint's Dad hold him to even get close. Trail told me "Santa's scary with his big beard."

The week we got home there was a leak under our sink, but thanks to Clint he got it fixed.

The next week we went back to Clint's parents because he has training and came home to find that our pipes froze and we had a trickle of water in the kitchen and NO hot water. We were at a loss to how to fix it. Luckily we have amazing friends that helped the best they could. We decided to go to church and figure it out later. We got home from church and Clint had the water running before I walked in and there was steam coming out of the faucet! Oh did I mention the new TV we got from our cousin was broken too, the next day Clint played with it a little bit and it is now working. It was our very own CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!!

Lessons learned....
1 You can handle anything with the help of family and friends
2 Hot running water is a modern miracle - not a necessity (you can heat water on the stove to bath it just takes FOREVER)
3 The pioneers were amazing survivors!
4 I'm thankful we have a warm house and a roof over our head
5 As long as we have each other and we are healthy and happy the other things don't matter so much!
The Most Powerful Lesson learned...
5 Heavenly Father hears and ANSWERS our prayers! He knows us and our needs!

Christmas was a blessing, the kids were so happy and loved opening their presents! I did too! As I look back through this month I had a lot to cry about, but most importantly I had immeasurable moments to LAUGH and SMILE about. I'm thankful for those moments and that we were able to reflect on what is really important in life and it isn't things! I'm thankful for wonderful family and friends that I have to share this life with!

Sampson Family Photoshoot

2009-11-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

I love pictures!!!! I get my kids pictures done every year on their birthday. For Trail's birthday though I was too pregnant to go to the city to get his done. A good friend does a great job so the day I went into labor with Brielle we had made plans to get his pictures done. Life finally settled down enough and we finally went this last week and had her take some pictures. She did a great job and I am so thankful to have these awesome pictures to capture these sweet little ones! It's hard to believe we have 3!

Our Brielle's special day...

2009-10-20T15:11:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Brielle!!

Look at those eyes!!!

Our growing family

Grateful parents

My brother Brandon and some nieces and nephew with Brielle

My sister Angie and her daughter Abie and son Jaxsin

All of my nieces and nephews, for the most part they even cooperated

My Mom and Dad (Papa)

A smiley baby Brielle!

We were so blessed to have our family come to Vernal for Brielle's baby blessing. Family is amazing. It was wonderful to spend time with them. Clint gave Brielle a beautiful blessing! We have been so blessed with 3 wonderful kids. It is special moments like these that I sit back and am so thankful for all we have!

A protective brother and other random pictures

2009-10-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Keeping a watchful eye over his sister

Trail's idea of canning pears (don't we wish it were that easy?)

Trail happily canning! We did tons of canning, it has been my stress relief and super rewarding!

Brinley on her 1st day of Preschool

Our precious Brielle with her brother close by

Three kids sleeping on the couch = PRICELESS

Our 1st Day back to church (wow 3 kids, I still can't believe it sometimes)

With three kids there aren't too many dull moments, hence the not blogging for a while. The adjustment hasn't been easy, it is a struggle to find balance and time for myself. I find myself getting frustrated and then something will happen to make me laugh. The other day it seemed like I had been after the kids all day, cleaning up mess after mess that my mischevious 2 year old was making. Trail and I were in the bathroom and all of a sudden the bath toys spilled out of the container onto the floor spilling water everywhere. I said, "O Man" and Trail busted up laughing. If you haven't heard him laugh it can be very contagious. So we sat on the floor and laughed together. Laughter is the best medicine, it physically lightened my load! So my advice to any tired, down trodden Mom - find something to laugh about!

Grandma's love pictures....

2009-09-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma was begging for some updated pictures of Brielle, so this is for you Mom!!! I heard the kids laughing the other day and went to see what they were up to, I went in to find Brinley "making Trail's hair handsome" by putting shampoo in his hair, but it also got all over the floor of the tub and they were sliding all over the place. Listening to my kids laugh is one of my favorite things! We laughed and they got an early bath that day! Brielle has been so fun! She has been such a good baby and doesn't complain too much when she is mauled by Brinley and Trail. Life with 3 kids is an adjustment, but I am enjoying our little ones!

Our Heritage

2009-09-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Not long after Brielle was born, Clint's Grandma Denton passed away. She was an amazing woman. She always told Clint not to mourn when she passed away because she would be with her husband. She left a heritage of hard work and faith. She was one of the most optimistic people I have ever met. She had 11 kids, 43 grandkids and Brielle made 60 great

grandchildren, but whenever you talked to her she was so excited and happy to hear what was going on in your life. She showed so much interest in our lives! We are so thankful for her example! Although it wasn't the best of circumstances it is always good to be surrounded by family. She left quite a posterity behind!

Some explanation-(All of the people trying to get the great grandkids to smile scared Trail - hence I was in all of the pictures too. And for my own peace of mind, no I was not pregnant in the pictures but Brielle was only a week and a half old. Someone asked me once if your belly goes down right when they are born. Don't we all wish that was true????)

And then there were 5!

2009-08-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Our precious little baby finally arrived!!!!

Clint is outnumbered! Although most people were sure it was a boy, Brinley and Trail got a little sister!!!! Brielle C Sampson (Her middle initial is for both Grandma's, Celinda and Cindy) arrived Friday August 21st at 12:39am. She weighed 8lbs and was 20in. She has tons of dark curly hair!! She looks a lot like Brinley did when she was born! I realized you have to be careful what you wish for. I was telling my Mom I wanted my water to break just so I would know I was in labor for sure and I wanted a faster labor than the 8 hours of my other 2. Sorry but every new mom has to share their story so here it is! Well Thursday night I went grocery shopping even though Clint said he would go in the morning, I just felt like I should get it done. Clint went hunting, so my friend Kari kindly watched the kids so I could go shopping. It's a good thing because when I got home and was putting groceries away I started getting contractions. With lots of urging from Clint (I didn't want to get sent home) we left for the hospital at 11:30pm and got to the hospital at 12:05. By that time my contractions had been 2 minutes apart for a while. I was dialated to a 6 1/2 cm. Not long after my water broke (wow that was scary) and I was an 8 1/2. I was anxiously asking for an epidural, but I had to have an IV first. Not long after my water broke I had the nurse check again and I was at 10 cm. Needless to say I didn't have time for an epidural, the doctor (mine was out of town so it was the on call doctor, but I didn't really care) walked in with his wranglers and carhartt shirt got his 2nd glove on and she was her. Once she decided to come she flew out! Clint screamed "It's a girl, it's a girl!!!" We are so lucky she is here and healthy. She gets lots of attention from Brinley and Trail! What a blessing and miracle!!!!

Trail's the birthday boy!!!!

2009-08-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

My baby boy turned 2 today!!! Time flies that is for sure!!!! He is no longer that chubby cheeked baby. He is a BIG BOY! It's been so fun to reflect back on the day he was born. My kids birthdays have been so emotional for me, it makes me so thankful for the opportunity to be a mother! He loves cowboys so it seemed fitting to give him a cowboy birthday. Clint had a great idea to bring Dollar, the horse to his party. (They have horses for work that he uses a lot, so he brought one of those) Trail got a special ride with his Dad! I even tried my hand at a horse cake. I'm just thankful that is resembled a horse. He was such a cute little cowboy! I can't believe he is 2!!!!

Girls Trip to Grand Junction, CO

2009-08-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

So I knew I was pushing it when I wanted to go on a trip so close to my due date, but I was in DESPERATE need of a break. You start to realize that your life will not be your own for a while with a new baby. Not that it is a bad thing, I'm super excited!!! After approval from my doctor, my friends and I decided to make a girl's trip. Can I just tell you that I came back so rejuvenated??? My friends Kari and Jamie who just happen to be sisters and I went with their Mom, sister Katie and their almost sister in law, Natalie. They have taken me in as another one of the girls! Let me tell you I am SUPER BLESSED to have them!!!!!!!!!! We had so much fun shopping!!! We also splurged and went to Olive Garden, Cold Stone and Red Lobster! What an awesome trip! Clint was super supportive and although I missed them, it was great to be just me!!!

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-06T15:42:00.000-07:00

In the 2 years we have lived in our home it has definitely come a long way. With one project at a time it is becoming more like we want it to be. In the past few months we got an outlet outside thanks to my Dad, we also removed a HUGE dead tree that was hanging over part of our house. What a relief to have that gone! Then my sweet mother in law came out to spend some time with us a few weeks ago and helped me achieve more projects. We started painting our house and our new shed. She is an amazing woman! We also added new shutters (we made them ourselves and saved $136-gotta love a deal) which I think make it seem more cozy and inviting. Clint still has a little to finish the paint on the house, but it looks amazing! What a blessing to have a nice place to call home! As I sit at 2 1/2 weeks (yes I have to get the 1/2 in there) away from the arrival of our new baby it feels great to have these projects done or almost complete! We will definitely keep you posted on our new addition! I am hoping for the baby to come sooner than later of course, but we will see!

Clint's hooked on Wild Cow Milking

2009-07-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

When Clint heard that the Dinosaur RoundUp was doing the Wild Cow Milking he had to do it. Luckily he had his good friend Dax (he and his wife Tristie were in our student ward in Logan and he ended up getting a job out here also and they just built an awesome house in Roosevelt. They are great examples and super fun to hang out with) to help and another guy from work. It was so funny to watch. This cow was HUGE!!!! They are on the far right side. They gave it an awesome effort and even caught it after it got away. They are amazing guys! Next year you'll have to watch for them on the Wild Cow Milking Circuit!!!!

6 years later....

2009-07-17T15:24:00.001-07:00

Clint and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on July 11th. It's been neat to reflect on how far we have come. Living in Vernal was not even a thought in my mind. I didn't even know where it was. But interestingly enough I can't imagine being anywhere else. It is amazing to see all the blessings that have come. Clint graduated from college with a very stable job, that he loves, which is a HUGE blessing right now. We have 2 healthy, happy kids that bring a smile to us everyday and a little one set to arrive in about 5 weeks!!!! I'm so thankful for Clint, he is a super hard worker and an amazing Dad. I am reminded all the time that there is a divine purpose in having a father and mother. I couldn't do it without Clint!!!! He was super thoughtful and went to a Bath & Body store and got some foot soak to help with my sore feet. (He was listening) He also got my favorite flowers! Thanks to our good friends Mark & Colette watching our kids, we were able to go up to Flaming Gorge to the Red Canyon Lodge and eat dinner on the deck over looking their private lake. It was so nice to have a romantic date with my husband! I can't wait to see what the next 6 years bring.

We love Strawberry Days!!!!

2009-06-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

Besides the Wild Cow Milking we love Strawberry Days! I mostly love the Strawberries and Cream! The kids and I went down to Pleasant Grove to spend time with Clint's parents while he was in the Book Cliffs for 6 days. There was so much free entertainment for Strawberry Days they loved it! Free swimming, a children's parade, concert in the park (with free Strawberries 'n Cream) a parade and a carnival. Clint's sister Calissa came up with her kids too, which is always fun to have cousins around. The kids loved spending time at Grandma and Grandpa's and I loved the break. Grandparents are the best!

Wild Cow Milking

2009-06-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

It has become tradition for the Sampson boys (last year they even got Clint's Dad to enter with them) to do Wild Cow Milking at the Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove. This year they even had posters of them for an advertisement at the local C-Stores. I think this was their 3rd or 4th year. For those of you who haven't ever had the priviledge of watching, it is so hilarious and I am so excited to be able to share this crazy tradition. We usually have 2 video cameras going and they critic themselves after. They usually go into the Finals and have actually won money every year but this year. They did awesome, one year after they had milked it Clint even took the cow for a ride around the arena. He is such a kid at heart. Enjoy! (Clint and his brothers are on the last shoot, sorry you have to hear me screaming, something about your husband getting drug behind a cow makes you do that)

Hi Baby Deer!!!!!

2009-06-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Life with a Conservation Officer is never dull!!!! Late night calls, working on your "day off", random hours, and random animals at our house. Clint called and asked if I wanted to babysit a baby deer the other day. He needed it to stay somewhere for a little while until he could take it to a lady that rehabs animals. Some people had picked up this baby deer and taken it home because they thought it looked malnourished. It had just been born from what Clint could tell, it was a day old at most. Word to the wise, leave nature to nature. If you have a question call a Conservation Officer. Lucky for us though we got to see an amazing baby deer. Watching the kids was hilarious! They had to keep checking on the deer. After they had taken it to rehab the kids kept going into the laundry room looking for it. I'm so thankful Clint has a good job and LOVES it! Now we can chalk up a baby deer to our list of animals that have visited our house.

A Surprise Visit from Family

2009-06-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Can I just say I have awesome parents????? Knowing I was a little overwhelmed with the upcoming birth of Baby #3 my parents showed up on my doorstep (a 9 hour drive for them) They came to help us with some things around the house I wanted to have done before the baby came. It was a huge stress relief for me. Thanks Mom and Dad! They brought my niece and nephew along, which Brinley and Trail loved!!!! Living in the land of the dinosaurs we had to visit the Dinosaur Museum! Family time is the best! Utah had free fishing day while they were here so we went out with Clint (for work he was maning a boat to take anyone who wanted to go out fishing, he loves his job). (Yes Trail is wearing a pink life jacket, Clint was hating that, but that was the only life jacket that fit) We all caught fish and together we caught 14 in about 20 minutes! Nothing beats free entertainment!!!!! I have to brag and show my fish because it was the only bass we caught and it was the biggest fish!!!!! What would we do without family?

Watching the grass grow!!!

2009-05-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house the yard was ridiculous!!!!!!! From what our neighbors say nothing had been done with it for 10 years! Luckily Clint saw some potential because I wasn't quite sure! After 2 years we have been able to make A LOT of progress!!! Last year we planted half of the backyard in grass and this year we finished planting the rest, thanks to lots of wonderful friends who equipped us with all of the goods to get it done! What would we do without so many wonderful friends!!! It is always fun to watch it grow. One Sunday I was sitting outside with the kids and I noticed a green hue on the ground. I had to take a closer look, but sure enough after only a few weeks and some awesome rain it was coming in. It has only been a month and look how awesome it looks! We are so thankful to have a fun place for the kids to run and explore. Thanks to another generous friend I now have a swing to sit and enjoy the backyard on!!! We have been loving summer, ice cream cones, popsicles, dirty faces and bathtime!

A trip to Grandma's...

2009-05-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

Me with My Grandma Beaz
Four generations, My mom Celinda, Me, my Grandma, Trail and Brinley
At the Zoo in Idaho Falls, ID, they kids were mesmerized by all of the animals! Good idea Dad!
Papa giving Brinley a better look at the Tiger
(So this picture is random, I couldn't delete this once I put it in)
Of course Trail had to get a closer look too! Thank goodness for Grandma & Papa!

The kids and I meet my parents in Pocatello, ID and headed to Eastern Idaho for a wedding. I hadn't seen my Grandma Stone for a long time and thought it would be a great opportunity to see her too. The kids love being with Grandma & Papa, probably for the fact they get SPOILED!!! (I won't lie, they spoil me to, and yes I am the youngest!!) We stayed at a hotel with a swimming pool one night and the kids loved that! Then we went to a wedding in the Rexburg Temple (Wow, it is gorgeous) Then we stayed with my Grandma in St. Anthony for a few days! It was the first time she had seen Trail and she kept saying she wanted to keep him. When I went to Ricks College I grew really close to my Grandma & Grandpa Stone, they took really good care of me and let me do my laundry when I would go up once a week. Those are treasured memories, especially since my Grandpa passed away the summer that I left Ricks. Family is so important!!! I am so thankful for my family! The kids love spending time with them. My Mom has always been my best friend!!! She is always good at listening to me and knows what I need! Thanks for being such a good Mom! Living so far away from home can be difficult, but thanks to the wonderful Verizon Family Share Plan that keeps us in touch and any opportunities we to get to be together is special and something to definitely look forward to!!!!

Mowing the lawn with Dad

2009-05-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

I couldn't pass up on this Kodak moment. My sister gave Trail a lawn mower for his birthday so I thought he would like to be Dad's shadow when he was mowing the lawn. He loved it! Brinley had to get in on it to. She "mowed" the whole time he did our front yard. She was super excited when they were done because she had helped. She thought she was really mowed the lawn! I love watching them! They are getting so creative! A couple nights ago we were playing in her room before bed. I had just switched their toys (I put some on vacation then switch them a couple months later. It is a great trick, they have been exploring the toys a lot more than normal since I switched.) so she was playing with some puppets. One happened to be a cowboy we named, Cowboy Joe. When I went to put her to bed she said, "Mom, Cowboy Joe needs a drink too." It is amazing to watch their creativity flow! They are loving to feel my belly right now. Brinley is positive it is a girl!! I tell her there is a chance it could be a boy and she says, "No, I want it to be a girl." We will see how that turns out! It has been super fun and nerve racking at the same time to not know what we are having! I just keep thinking that it will add a new element of surprise to the whole delivery! We will let you know!

The Nesting Syndrome!!!

2009-04-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

Clint has been teasing me that I have been "nesting" since I found out I was pregnant. It is interesting, but I have accomplished a lot with this attitude. It has also given Clint a deadline to get some honey do's done before the baby is born. He has been such a trooper! We have desperately needed more storage and with another Sampson coming into the house it seems more urgent. I convinced Clint to build a shed in the backyard. I am so PROUD of him! He learned tips from lots of friends and a good ole library book!!! Clint's parents, 2 younger brothers and our brother in law came and helped and one of the other officers here in Vernal came! We couldn't have done it without them! From start to finish it only took 2 1/2 days! Trail spent most of the time under foot with the boys. It was super cold, but he didn't want to be anywhere other then with , "the boys" I'm so thankful for more storage space! Now if the weather would be decent we could move our stuff into it!

Easter Weekend!!!!

2009-04-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

My favorite memories of Easter have always been a new dress (I must say my Mom even sent me an Easter package when I was in College with a new skirt and other goodies) This morning getting ready for church I was so excited to get the kids all dressed up. I think Trail looked so handsome in his little suit (Thanks Grandma & Papa) Brinley loved her dress and didn't want to take it off (Hand Me Downs are the best, Thanks Tangi) They are growing so fast and if I can say I think they were so cute! My other favorite memory was the Easter Egg Hunting. I'm so grateful for my friends Kari and Jamie that invited us to take part in their Easter Egg Hunt. We all had so much fun! I love seeing the excitement in my children's eyes when they experience things, like the Easter Bunny and Easter Egg Hunts. I think I'm more excited then they are sometimes. I'm so thankful for our children! What a blessing!

Shooting Hoops With Dad

2009-04-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Trail and Brinley love to shoot hoops! Brinley thought Trail needed a little extra protection with the football helmet, but he didn't think so. Trail is so close to being tall enough to dunk it in. He finally went and got the stool to help him out! Brinley seems to have grown so tall lately, I can't believe it! They are both so fun and always good for a laugh! I'm so glad that Clint loves to spend time with them playing! I can always appreciate a little time without little ones at my feet! Thank goodness Spring is here and they can play outside! Yahoo!!!! Hurry warm weather, we all have a little Spring Fever!

Never Underestimate Your Child

2009-03-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

Can I just say my kids never cease to amaze me? About a month ago Brinley started telling me my belly was getting bigger with my baby inside. I told her that it wasn't nice to tell people they had a big belly and went on with my day. She kept bringing it up. I was having problems and worried that we might not be able to have more kids. Interestingly I finally went to the doctor and sure enough our little sweetheart was more in tune with the Spirit. Nothing was wrong, we are EXPECTING #3. Congrats Grandma & Papa!!! I figured I better tell before Brinley spilled the beans!!!! We are super excited, but I don't think anyone is as excited as Brinley. She talks to the baby every morning!!!! She got to come with us this morning to get the ultrasound. The doctor thought I was probably 6-8 weeks. The ultrasound was a little shocking when we didn't just see a peanut, we saw a baby. We are 15 weeks and due August 24th. 11 days after Trail turns 2. I am so thankful for the blessing of another sweet baby in our family! It is just another testament that Heavenly Father knows us and will bless us in His time!

"Dad I got my hair cut"

2009-02-27T15:53:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a 3 year old telling on you. The other day I realized it was finally time to trim Brinley's hair. I haven't every cut it. She has gorgeous hair! Clint didn't want me to touch her hair, so I have waited, then the other night while he was at Mutual (he just got called into the Young Men's, he is super excited because he gets to help the boys earn their Eagle Scout awards) I got the urge and trimmed her hair. It was down to her waist, but it looks so cute now! Clint came in that night and didn't notice. Then the next morning Brinley ran into our room and said, "Dad I got my haircut" She gave me up! He wasn't too mad though! Brinley isn't the best at smiling for the camera, I usually catch her talking. I did get a few pictures of her cute hair! She is so beautiful! I look at her and think - I have been blessed with such a beautiful daughter inside and out! Today I told her she was cute. She told me, "I"m not cute" I said, "You are beautiful" she said, "No" then paused, "I'm Papa's (my dad) little sweetheart" They say the cutest things! I am so thankful for our 2 kids, they are such a blessing and joy.

Potty Training Trail!!!!!

2009-02-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

We hopped on the Potty Training Train with Trail! I call it the Train because it is a quite a ride! But worth every diaper I don't have to change or buy! He is pretty young, but he loved sitting on the toilet and being a big boy, so after getting up the courage we started. I think a lot of it was also that I was so sad, I wanted him to still be my baby, but he is growing up. He has done really well, but we are still working on it! I am very proud of him! Most of our time the past couple of weeks have been spent in the bathroom. I couldn't help but take some pictures! Trail loved putting underwear on his head and running around with his big boy undies on! He is so cute! These pictures were too cute to keep to myself! Hope they give you a good laugh!!!

Salt Lake with Grandma & Papa

2009-02-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

My parents came down to Salt Lake to go to a Jazz game so we decided to head down to see them while they were so close. Brinley was so excited to go to Salt Lake to see them! We had a great time! We stayed at a hotel, Trail loved exploring it, he loved the mirror and kept kissing his image. Super cute!! We spent a lot of time at Temple Square and had some really neat experiences. Brinley tried going under the ropes of the Christus. She was so upset because she wanted to give Jesus a hug. What a precious girl! We walked out one day and Clint said wow it is noisy! There is such a amazing difference after you walk out the doors of Temple Square. They are doing TONS of construction right across the street, it always amazes me that you can't hear noise inside of Temple Square. It is such a peaceful place!!! We did a little shopping too, but the most important thing was spending time as a family. Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful time!!!! It is always great to be together!!!

Brinley is 3!!!!

2009-02-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Brinley is 3, it seems so much older than 2. I got out the video from when she was born and teared up remembering how special that day was. Looking back Clint and I were so young, it is amazing how much we have grown since that day! Brinley is such a blessing in our life! She is learning and saying so much! A few of my favorite things she has said lately are, "We're best friends huh Mom?" "I have an idea...." "Mom I'm helping remind Trail not to poop his pants." "Let's go back to the Hoytel" She is such a Joy in our life! We are so thankful for her! She shares a birthday with Mark Kremin one of our good friends. All day on her birthday we would say, "Who's birthday is it?" She would quickly reply, "It's Mark's" She loved helping decorate her Princess birthday cake and playing with her friends that came to her party. Wow, we have a 3 year old!

It's Snow Much Fun Sledding!!!!

2009-01-15T14:04:00.000-08:00

I took the kids sledding with our friends Larry and Kari. I wasn't sure how they would do. Brinley & Trail loved it! Brinley wasn't apprehensive at all! She hoped right on and down she went! Trail laughed the first time he went down, but he got snow in his eyes with me and he wasn't quite sure about it! He would laugh when other people went down though. Brinley would run down the hill after the other kids that were taking a turn in the sled! Needless to say, it is a great way to wear her out! It was super entertaining to watch their little hats bob up and down as they went down the hill. I couldn't help but laugh! That is some awesome entertainment!

We love babies!!!

2009-01-07T14:21:00.001-08:00

I just started watching a friend's baby 2 days a week. She just had to go back to work after maternity leave. We are lucky to get to have baby Kallie come play with us. She is 3 months old and super cute! I was a little nervous to see how the kids would handle her. I have been amazed to watch Brinley as her motherly instincts have kicked in! We fight over who gets to hold her! Other than the first day and a scratch on her face, Trail has done well. He will hold out his arms to hold her and he gives her loves. He also had to get in on feeding her too! Brinley loves to feed her too! When she wakes up they both run to get to her first! It has been such a joy and has filled some of the baby hunger I was feeling! The other night we were at Family Home Evening with a group of friends. Brinley apparently told one of our friends that we were going to have a baby at our house! We do have one come, but just in case if Brinley tells you we have a baby at our house or one is coming. No we aren't keeping anything from you, it is KALLIE! I thought these pictures were so precious I just had to share!!!!

Caught ya Trail...

2008-12-18T12:19:00.000-08:00

Trail is always on the go or into something. You know your in trouble when you haven't heard him for a while. The other day I got a feeling he was up to something and went into the bathroom and found him sitting in our sink with books, toothbrushes and toothpaste. I don't know why but he loves to hang out in the bathroom. He will stand on the toilet and put things in the sink. Thank goodness our faucet is hard to turn on or I would be in a lot more trouble than I am now. I couldn't reset sharing these adorable pictures. It is amazing the things that will keep them entertained. I was worried about him falling out, so between him figuring out how to open the toilet seat and climbing into the sink, we keep the door shut now! I was telling my Mom today that he was actually sitting on my lap for more than one minute. I can't remember the last time he did that. He keeps me on my toes! Thank goodness he is so cute! He is starting to talk, his favorite word in Ball, the other day at Walmart he said Ball and I looked around and sure enough they had football on the TV. He can say duck, horse and Been Been for Brinley and of course Dad, but to this day he will not say Mom for me if I ask him to. Luckily my Mom boosted my self esteem about the situation by telling me that when I'm not around he will say Mom! When he is upset though he will say Mom. The other day Brinley was upset and he went up to her and patted her on the back and gave her a hug! So sweet! Those times are erreplacable! He is such a treasure in our home!

Ms Claus at the Library

2008-12-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

Can I say I love our library here!!! They have Story Time every Tuesday. Ms Melinda is a wonderful lady who loves the kids and does so many fun projects with them. The best part is that it is free. She is so creative and it gives Brinley and opportunity to be in a learning environment. A few months ago I started taking Brinley's friend Easton and then we finally convinced Kendyl to come too. They are so cute together. They always hold hands. One day we were walking to the car and this man saw us and just smiled. He said it looked like a bunch of ducks following their Mom. They are pretty fun! Yesterday they had Ms Claus come. She gave them each an orange (Trail wouldn't let go of his for the next hour) Then they were able to make a Christmas card, they had so many different things for them to choose from. Luckily for me Clint was able to come with us! He said he enjoyed watching all the kids work on their projects. They are so creative! Then we were having so much fun we decided to come home and make cookies and donuts! It was crazy but fun. I'm so glad Brinley has such cute little friends to play with. They are actually all in the same nursery class which makes it even better!

Hubby Tag

2008-12-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

1. Where did you meet? A blind date when I was a senior in High School. My friend moved to Pleasant Grove, so I flew down for Spring Break and she set us up. Good pick!

2. How long did you date before you got married? 3 years - 2 of which he was on his mission (Yes we wrote each other while he was on his mission)

3. How long have you been married? We just hit 5 years in July

4. What does he do to surprise you? He likes to send me flowers! I am very lucky!

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His height and muscles (Cheesy I know, but I know he will protect me)

6. Does he have a nickname for you? Nope! Tina is it!

7. What is your favorite quality? He is very calming and easy going about things. I will stress about talking to him about something and when I finally do he will say "it will be fine." It is amazing how you can equal each other out.

8. What is his favorite food? He loves pretty much anything, which makes my job easier. His favorite would be steak though!

9. What is his favorite sport? That would have to be FOOTBALL, but he loves pretty much any sport!

10. When and where did you first kiss? We kissed on our first date. I swore I would never do that, but Clint just planted one on me when we were at the movie. He says it was too boring. It was Mission to Mars. He said I was egging him on. The rest is history!

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love to watch TV and relax together. We also like to cook together.

12. Do you have children? We have a precious little girl, Brinley and little boy Trail.

13. Does he have any hidden talents? I can't think of any! He is pretty willing to share his talents!

14. How old is he? 27 (It's hard to keep track)

15. Who said I love you first? He did. I doubt he would admit that. But he told me before we hung up the phone. I was smitten!

16. What is his favorite music? He loves Johnny Cash and the old boys. He also likes the hard rock music too!

17. What else do you admire about him? He has an amazing ability to make friends wherever he goes.

18. What is his favorite color? Blue all the way!!!

19. Will he read this? I doubt it! I don't think he has ever looked. I guess I can say whatever I want to about him that way!

20. What side of the bed does he sleep on? The right. It used to be the left but when I was pregnant our bed was against the wall and I couldn't get out in the middle of the night, so thus we switched!

I tag Jaycie & Jennilynn

Tis the Season....

2008-11-29T12:30:00.000-08:00

It is no secret that Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year! I love the music, lights, the anticipation and being with family. You can feel a difference in the air! Clint knew how much I loved Christmas time and decided to make it even more special by proposing on Christmas Eve 2005. It was a huge surprise!!! The night before he had jokingly put on bow and tag on me that said "To: Clint" Little did I know what he had up his sleeve. Wow have things changed since then! We went up in the mountain with some friends to cut down our Christmas tree. Trail & Brinley loved it! It is so fun to see them having fun! Trail kept falling over with all the weight of his snow suit, but it was so adorable I couldn't help but get a few pictures! I'm so excited for this Christmas, they kids are so excited. Brinley will come up to me and say, "Mom I want to tell you a secret. Santa's going to bring me a bag with a puppy!!!" Everything is brighter through your children's eyes! Trail doesn't know what to expect but I'm sure it won't take long for him to figure it out! Wahoo, it's Christmas time!!!!!

Our handsome little boy and precious little princess!

2008-11-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

So I think every Mom has a hard time letting their little kids grow up. Trail has started his transformation to a little boy and not my baby anymore. It has taken me a while to give him a little boy hair cut, but he was getting pretty shaggy so this morning I cut it. He did really good. A sucker and Dad's lap was all he needed to sit still. He is such a fun little boy! He loves balls!!!!! He even takes one to bed and gets upset if you don't get it out for him! He is definitely a Momma's Boy which I love. (Most of the time that is) He is such a blessing! His smile can brightened the darkest days!

Brinley is such a big girl! She reminds me of that everyday. She has been potty trained for a year! Wow, isnt' that the best?? She is getting so tall! It is hard to keep her in pants. She is so skinny though that if they aren't highwaters, they drown her little waist! She is such a big helper! She is so mothering! When someone gets hurt she always tries to help. She even kisses my owies, even though they have been better for quite a while. She loves to dress up and rough Dad up when she gets the chance! We love her very much! I am so thankful for the ability to have 2 beautiful children in our family. Each one is such a treasure!

Happy Halloween and other random pictures!

2008-10-29T23:05:00.000-07:00

My Mom sent me the cutest ideas for Halloween! I came to Pleasant Grove for a doctor's appointment and took the opportunity to get a Halloween party going with my friends that live in the area. So I decided to make these cute cupcakes! It was so fun to make them and feel creative (even though I got the idea from a book- Thanks Mom!) Of course we all think our kids are so cute and love to share pictures when we can. Trail wore his first tie to church on Sunday. He looked so grown-up and cute, so I had to get a picture! Brinley's hair was super curly too, so even though Sunday's are pretty hectic we got a few pictures in! Hope you enjoy them! And by the way the chair the kids are sitting on was an awesome find at the DI ($40), can't beat that for a practically brand new chair!

The New ME!!!

2008-10-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

So I needed a change. My hair has been bugging me! You know when whatever you do - you still don't like your hair? Needless to say I haven't been feeling cute lately. So today with a little protest on Clint's side I decided to cut my hair. I definitely needed a boost! My friend Jaime cuts hair and so she kindly did mine today. I LOVE IT!!!! I feel cute and sassy! It is so nice to look into the mirror and see something different! It was just the boost I needed! Thanks Jaime!!! Sometimes we just need to take time to do things for ourselves!

A Bountiful Harvest

2008-10-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

So being from Idaho I LOVE potatoes!!!! Clint is a MEAT and potatoes guy! I could be happy with just POTATOES!!!! We decided to plant some potatoes in our garden! I am so amazed how they grew! I like to think it is some of my Idaho blood wearing off on the Utah soil! We got some HUGE ones!! We found one that even looked like Mickey Mouse. After that Brinley would say, this is Goofy, this is Donald. Kids say the darndest things! We are so thankful for everything we were able to receive from our garden this year. It was much more work than I ever thought it could be. But looking at a freezer full of vegetables and a cupboard full of them also, it was worth it.

Here fishy, fishy!!!!

2008-10-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

A perk of Clint's job is that we are able to use the equipment they have, such as boats, camp trailers, etc. The other day he brought home one of the fishing boats. We are super lucky that we live 10 minutes from Steinaker Reservior. Being the way I am I was dragging my feet because I had a HUGE list of things I "needed" to get done. I've been trying to work on this, feeling like I have to do everything!!!! So I took a leap and let go of a little anxiety and went. It is just like Clint to help me with things like that. Sad to say the chores were still there when I got home, but the lesson I learned is that they still got done. We all had so much fun and the best part was that it didn't cost anything, just a little time. The kids LOVED fishing!!! Clint let me drive the boat which I really enjoy!! Well Brinley wasn't quite sure when the fish was on the hook. But she kept calling out "Here fishy, fishy!" "Where are you?" She is so cute! Trail loved holding the fishing pole! I can tell he and his Dad are going to be great fishing buddies!!!! At first Trail was just sitting on my lap, then he got brave and by the end was all over. He decided it was a fun game to throw things overboard. Oops, was that jar of salmon eggs supposed to go in the water!!! Clint almost had to jump in the lake to save the fishing pole! But it's all good! We are missing a pair of pliers, Oops, they must have gone in the water too!!! He is like his sister, we were missing a lot of silverware and then one day we caught her throwing it in the garbage can! Oh kids!!! It's good for a laugh right? I'm thankful for those little moments we get to ENJOY life! It is amazing to watch life through a child's eyes! It sure changes your attitude doesn't it? Thanks Clint for allowing me to realize that it is ok to let go and relax sometimes!

The Heber Creeper

2008-10-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo..... Brinley was so excited to ride the train. I didn't think Trail would even know what was going on but he loved riding the train too. We were able to seat in an open car and he loved to stand up on the side (with me close by of course) and watch out the car. Brinley of course loved being with all of the other kids. Our friend's little boy, Kyson, LOVES trains so they had his birthday party on the Heber Creeper. We were lucky enough to get to tag along. It was so fun to see his reaction! We went on the Solider Hollow Express (1 1/2 hour ride up by Deer Creek Reservior). It was a really pretty ride with all of the fall colors. It was definitely a worthwhile experience!!!! The conductor even looked like Sir Topum Hat (you can see him in the picture with Brinley riding on the side of the train)

Oh no, he's walking!!!

2008-09-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Trail has finally decided to walk!!!! I'm am so excited, but with that also comes a lot more work, right? He is into everything. He figured out how to move our kitchen chairs and climb up on the table. He can rearrange my cupboards, oh so fun! I feel like I'm constantly keeping him out of things! It's quite exhausting. It is so sad when they start walking because they aren't a baby anymore! He is such a fun little boy though! Nothing compares to having him walk to me smiling the whole way! He will stand up and start clapping! He is pretty excited that he is figuring out this walking stuff, for a while I think he thought, I can crawl faster than that walking stuff! We just spent some time in Pleasant Grove and I'm sure that watching his cousin, Skye (she is 10 days older) walking around (she just started walking) helped him along the way to walking. Thanks Skye! Trail has the best laugh and is oh so cute! Last night he put on the football helmet and was walking around. He will run into walls with it on! I guess he realizes he needs some extra protection! I couldn't pass up on pictures of this! He is definitely a Sampson Boy! Brinley is a little jealous with all of the attention to Trail walking. She will say, Mom, help me walk! She is a good sister and loves Trail! Every morning she gives him loves before me!

TAG --- Quirks of Mine

2008-09-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to name 6 quirks of mine. It has actually taken me a few days to think of some. It has actually been fun to pick them out of my daily life. It has made me realize that these random things make me unique, which is always nice to feel unique when you feel like sometimes you are just a boring Mom! So here goes...

1 - Holding hands... I remember telling Clint when we were on one of our first dates that my hand had to be behind his. I get the chills thinking of holding hands the other way. I know it is random, but it's me.

2 - Crunchies on the floor... I can't stand stepping on little (crunchies - I don't know what else to call them) on the kitchen floor. If it is too bad and I don't have the time to sweep, I will put my shoes on. Hence the fact that I have been sweeping 3+ times a day. Along with this I can't stand to have dusty feet! Yuck!

3 - Fuzzies in my socks... If I put socks on and they have fuzzies in them, yes I have to take them off and empty them even if my shoes are already on.

4 - Pants of first... I guess I just have the habit, but I have to put my pants on first and then my shirt.

5 - Unplug the blowdryer... I don't know if it is just a phobia, but I always have to unplug the blowdryer after I am done. I think I'm afraid of the kids pulling it down on them, I also worry about it using too much energy. Weird I know.

6 - Water on my toothbrush... I only now this because Clint pointed it out... I also put water on my toothbrush, then the toothpaste, then water again. Do you do that Mom? I think it is just habit, because I conciously try not to, but too much pulls me to do it.

I tag Tangi, Kari, Whitney and Jen.

*Link the person who tagged you.*Mention the rules on your blog.*Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.*Tag fellow bloggers by linking them. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged!

Random moments at the Sampson House

2008-09-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

These are just some random pictures I have taken lately and wanted to share. We did our first garden this year! It has been so exciting to watch things grow (even though the weeds grew along with our plants) They kids were big helps in tasting it as fast as we picked it. If Trail had his way he would've taken a bite out of every cob, just to make sure they were all good. It is nice to have lots of jars and freezer bags of garden goodness. I also had to post the cute picture of the kids ready for church! I didn't think Trail was going to have curly hair, but he does! Brinley and Trail are so fun!!! They keep life interesting that is for sure! After a long day I had the kids in the bath and pulled Trail out, he was reaching for a toy, but I though he couldn't get into the tub! Oh was I wrong! Then Brinley had to be funny and hop back in the tub with her towel! I had to find the humor and capture the Kodak moment for fear I would lose it!

Good for a laugh...

2008-08-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

So having dogs in the yard always allows for something to get ruined. Well, Brinley left a ball outside and BIG SURPRISE, it is now flat! I just took the kids outside to swing and I looked back and Brinley was very proudly wearing her "hat." I couldn't resist to run in and grab the camera. It was one of those moments were I was sitting there by myself (well the only one that could understand the humor) laughing so hard! Poor Brinley, I was laughing at her expense. She was so proud of her hat though she didn't even realize!

Brinley's 1st "Date"

2008-08-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

If you ask Brinley if Easton (Moon) is her boyfriend she will say Yes. But it goes both ways, because he will say that Brinley is his girlfriend. We just love to tease them! They are only 6 days apart, so it makes it super cute especially when they hold hands. I took them to the library story time on Tuesday and they held hands walking in to the library. Where was my camera when I needed it? Last night he decided to take her out on the "town" in his gator. Kari and I were laughing the whole time. They did take Kyson, his brother, with them so they weren't alone. Nothing like little kids to brighten your day!

Goodbye Saturn, Hello Pilot

2008-08-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

I finally have moved from my college car to a grown up car. After dreaming of a Honda Pilot for the past 2 years, (Clint would say he has heard way too much about a new car) I have one in my driveway. We were definitely snug in the Saturn. Clint has been a trooper to squeeze into the Saturn our whole married life. It has been an awesome car, but 90,000 miles, 7 years a husband and 2 kids later it is time to move on. I'm so excited to have more space, cruise control is a HUGE bonus for those long trips home and the DVD player are HUGE upgrades from the Saturn. We were so blessed to be able to get such a nice vehicle, my sister in law CC's dad owns a car dealership (Steve Francom) and helped us out a lot. We are looking forward to lots of many wonderful memories in our new car!!!! Thanks Clint!

Another party at Grandma Cindy's

2008-08-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

On our way home to Vernal we stopped at the Sampson's and Trail had another birthday party. Lucky boy! He had a fork on his plate and decided to be proper with this cake and use his fork. He is learning something! I can't believe my little baby is 1. He is on his way to walking, that is a crazy next step! Thanks for Grandma Cindy he has his first pearl button cowboy shirt and Levi pants!

On the Road Again

2008-08-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

We decided to take (I guess I decided) that I wanted to take one last trip to Idaho before the hunting season kept us in Vernal. Brinley loved playing with her cousins. Her cousin Sarah got her to run around saying, "I Superhero" with her blanket cape. We were able to celebrate Trail's birthday which is always fun. It's always hard to leave, but we are glad we were able to go home. Thanks to Aunt Angie for the awesome Honey pot cakes!!!! And thanks to Grandma and Tangi for the fun presents, they kept him entertained on the trip home! Thanks! Clint being the loving husband he is, thought he would be funny and dump me in the pool, fully clothed. If he would've waited 20 minutes I would've had my swimsuit on and it would've been a much more pleasant experience for both of us. It didn't help that he jumped in after me and did a Will Smith move from Hitched and hit me in the head with his foot. So Romantic!

Perks of the Job

2008-08-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

Today we were able to chalk another bear to our list of animals we have seen up close and personal. This summer so far we have seen a boy & girl moose, a yearling bear, a baby fox, red tail hawk and the 2 year old bear today. It always adds a little excitement to our life! Clint loves his job especially when he can share experiences like this with our family. Brinley wasn't sure what to think of the stinky bear. (He was stinky!) Trail on the other hand was ready to touch him if we would've let him.

I finally have a blog....

2008-08-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Kari has been trying to convince me to join in the blogging fun. So here I am. We just enjoyed a trip to Grand Junction, CO with our friends Larry & Kari Moon. It is always fun to get out of the "Basin", as it is called here. I felt like a little fish in big waters. There were so many stores and restaurants to choose from. It was wonderful. The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool. Once they got used to it they were little fish. Brinley loved using Easton's floaties. I can't believe she can float by herself. She is growing up so fast! Trail will be 1 on the 13th. Oh how time flies!