Nightmares

So the other night around 10:30, we heard Samantha wake up and she was crying. The crying got progressively louder until Brandon went in there. Was she dreaming of monsters like any normal kid having nightmares would? Brandon came back in our room a little while later and I asked him what was wrong. He said when he went in there, she was saying, "I can't do it! I don't know what to do!" And then asked him how to spell some words like "moon". Apparently nightmares for Samantha are not knowing how to spell words.

Samantha's First Talk

Samantha gave her first talk on Easter Sunday in primary. I had warned all of the members of the presidency that if she was ever asked to give a talk, she would just stand there, mute, and her mom would have to give the talk. Well, much to my surprise, last Sunday she came home with a slip of paper that said she was assigned to give a talk next week. Didn't anyone listen to me? Apparently her teachers were the ones who made the assignments and I hadn't warned them. Well, what could we do? I decided that we should pick something that she was familiar with and would like to talk about, so we picked one of her favorite scriptures that she recites every night and went from there. We practiced everyday for a few days until she had it memorized, and got her all excited for it. Well, the big day came and it just so happened that I was teaching Relief Society the same day, so I got to end my lesson early to go into primary. When I walked in, she was already sitting up front and a couple of people said that she went up there confidently, so that was encouraging. Then she spotted me and smiled and waved. Okay, good--she's in good spirits. They announced that it was time for the talks and a little boy was going to go first, followed by Samantha, and then a scripture. Well, I guess Samantha didn't care, because the next thing I knew, she was standing up at the podium, waiting for me to get up there. She totally cut in front of the other boy! I started her going, and then she took off and did the whole thing! I was so proud of her--not at all what I was expecting! So when we went home, I had to video her so I could always remember how she totally dominated her talk. Love you Samantha!

Happy Easter!

I've been trying to download some videos, but they aren't working, so I'll have to add them in later. Anyway, here's a peek at our Easter Sunday:
We woke up and had a french toast breakfast and opened Easter baskets.
Amy got some cool sunglasses and both girls got some fun notepads and pens, sidewalk chalk easter eggs, and the movie Enchanted--LOVE IT!
Then we did a Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Amy caught on quick and Samantha of course loved it. After Daddy hid the eggs, Samantha hid them over and over for her and Amy to find.We went to church where I had to teach Relief Society and Samantha gave her very first talk in Primary! (that post is coming soon!)
Then we had Joe & Jana over for Easter dinner with lots of yummy fattening food. And after dinner, the girls all went in the backyard for more Easter egg hunting!After it was too cold to be outside any longer, we came in and decorated cupcakes and then let the girls play while we watched "Dan in Real Life". Not an Easter movie, I know, but Steve Carell is so funny!Hope your Easter was as great as ours!

1st Easter Egg Hunt

We went with our friends, Josh & Dana, and their girls (Samantha's best friends) to an easter egg hunt at a high school.
It started at 9:00 a.m. and we got there around 8:20, so we had to stand in a line outside and it was REALLY COLD! The girls didn't like that so much...especially Amy! There were a lot of tears.

They separated everyone into age groups, 0-3, 4-6, 7-11, but we didn't think it would be very fun to separate Samantha and Amy, so we just brought Amy over to the 4-6 group. Everyone waited until they said go, and then it was madness! Kids rushed the field all at once. There were eggs and candy scattered all over, and some of the eggs had a number inside them, which meant you could win a prize. The prizes ranged from an easter basket filled with goodies, to a car! Samantha was one of the youngest in her group, and she wasn't aggressive enough to get any eggs, but she did get candy and didn't seem to care. We were just happy that she braved all those other kids without us!

And you think your day's gone to poop!

Okay, okay. I just can't wait any longer. This story happened to Brandon a couple weeks ago, and I know some of you know it already, but it is just too dang funny to not share, so here goes:

Brandon goes out to lunch with a friend quite frequently and on this particular day, it was no different. Well, there's something about going to lunch that gets his system going, if you know what I mean! He made his way to the bathroom and went about his business and when he went to stand up, he heard an unbelievably horrible sound that no one would want to hear. It was the sound of his phone falling. Falling into the depths below into uncharted territory. First came the sound of a clank and then a splash. Yes, it's true. His phone fell out of its pouch, bounced off the toilet seat, and landed....right in the middle of something that no one would want to touch. Shocked, he stood there, staring at his phone. What was he going to do? Granted, this is the phone he shoveled out some $$$ for, so getting a new one wasn't just going to be a piece of cake. Ask yourself, what would you do? It's not like it's going to easily flush away. And so, in a brief moment of hesitation, Brandon reached into the abyss and pulled out his now soiled phone. He dried it off and later sanitized it, and ironically, the only thing that doesn't work on his phone now is the letter "P". So, if you ever are around Brandon and need to use the phone, I'd think twice before asking him! :)

August Rush

I just bought this movie today without seeing it, and it is FABULOUS! If you're looking for a movie without a lot of junk in it and something that makes you feel good, go rent it today!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

What fun things do you do for St. Patrick's Day? I thought besides obviously wearing green, maybe we'd watch Shrek and eat green M&M's. One year, my roommates and I did a green dinner....it was kind of gross, but still fun. I'm not into corned beef and cabbage. Maybe green eggs & ham?

Princess Wishes

Back in January, I was talking to my mom on the phone and she said that there was going to be a princess on ice show in Sacramento and she wanted to fly the girls out and take them. Well, seeing that Fed-Ex wouldn't allow children to be shipped and flying them was too expensive, it didn't happen. A couple weeks ago, she found out that she was going to go to Idaho to take care of my grandpa and grandma for a little bit and then she came down to Utah to play with us for a week. It just so happened that the same Disney on Ice show was playing the exact time she was here, so I got tickets for all of us. Outside the Arena, they were giving out little princess wands so I got 2 for the girls.Amy thought it was more fun to eat hers, and then she thought that it was a bubble wand and wanted daddy to blow bubbles.There were tons of little girls dressed up like princesses. It made me so happy to have my girls! I'm kind of cheap, so our seats were pretty high, but the girls didn't seem to care. When tinkerbell came out on the ice, they were just staring. Then came Jasmine & Aladdin--they were probably the best. I must be a little kid at heart because I was thoroughly entertained in the whole show. I would get all excited when they would do their twirls and spins. Samantha must have thought I was just a cool mom! After that was Belle--the beast wasn't even there. What's up with that? And then Snow White--not my favorite--have you HEARD her sing?Here's the 7 dwarfsThen came Ariel--Ursala looked pretty cool, Mulan, Sleeping Beauty--there was a dragon that came out and it breathed out fire on the ice and burned some it, and finally Cinderella--she came out in a cool carriage that shot off fireworks in the end.We're so glad Grandma could come with us!Amy did really good, and we kept the snacks coming, and Samantha loved EVERY minute of it. She asked me today if we could go see the princesses again. If only I were made of money!

When Grandma Comes

I absolutely LOVE pink and brown.
When we first moved into our house, I wanted to paint Samantha's room pink and brown, but when I did, it didn't look so great. So now it's just 2 shades of pink.
Anyway, my mom came into town unexpectedly and, of course, brought presents for the girls.
She made these incredibly cute skirts and now that I've seen them, I want one for me!What do you think? Could I look as cute as these girls?

What's Up?

SERIOUSLY!!! Either I am just having really bad computer luck, or something is wrong with blogger. I've tried uploading pictures one at a time, clearing my cache (thanks for helping me with that Reni! I'm kind of retarded!), even using Brandon's laptop to see if it was really my computer that was being dumb. And still, NO PICTURES!!!!

Am I alone in this frustration? I've seen a couple people be able to post pictures today and I'm just wondering WHAT YOUR SECRET IS!!!

Okay, okay, the pictures aren't that great and they can definately wait, but still--I AM ANNOYED!

Okay, I think I'm done venting for now! If anyone has any insight or feels the same way, let me know!

Dianne has a blog!

For all of you that know my good friend, Dianne, she has a new blog! Check it out and leave her a comment so she can figure out what she's doing!

The Queen Mess Maker

This morning I woke up not feeling so hot after not sleeping all night. The girls and I are sick AGAIN. Where is spring already? So I was laying in my bed most of the morning, realizing that I should be keeping an eye on Amy, but not having enough energy to get myself out of bed. Then Samantha yells, "Mom, Amy is STICKY!!!" Uh oh. What could that mean? Oh ya, I had given Samantha a waffle for breakfast and she probably left it on the table within Amy's reach. And sure enough, when I found Amy, she had syrup plastered to her forehead and hair. The only way it could have gotten there was if she was pressing her face into the plate licking it. I wouldn't put that past her! So a little later, I put her in her highchair, with a bib on and some yogurt. I know what you're thinking....and it's true. Amy + yogurt = mess. I think Amy + ANYTHING can equal a mess! It's just what she was born to do! Good thing she's cute!


And just so you know, when I was titling this post, it took me 3 tries to spell "queen" right. I think I need a nap!

Buddies

Amy LOVES to wait by the window and watch for Daddy's car to come home.

And, once again, notice the tongue...in both pictures!
She hears the doorknob turn and comes running...
...and gives Daddy a great big kiss. It sounds just like the primary song, doesn't it?
There's nothing quite like a special Daddy!

The Tale of 2 Bikes

Thanks to Grandpa Stoddard's Christmas gift cards, we were able to get Samantha her very first bike! I picked out a 10 inch one, thinking that it might be better for Samantha and her coordination. Well, the picture in the catalogue did not do the bike justice and when we put it together, it fit Amy better. Amy was all for that, and she took it over right away.

And it wouldn't be Amy without a little tongue!
So the next day, I took back the other bike and got Samantha a 12 inch one, hoping that this would be a better fit.

Well, a fit it was when Amy saw Samantha riding it and not her!

Tigger was very sad that he couldn't come out and ride a bike too!

And please look past the fact that the girls look like they just rolled out of bed....because it's not far from the truth!




Aren't they cute?!