San Diego after Christmas...

  The day after Christmas we left at 4am for San Diego. We drove straight there with only a few stops. The kids had DVD players, iPod Touch, iPhone, and an iPad to occupy their time in the car. It was a surprisingly pleasant drive. Jared decided to ignore the MPG and make getting there in a good time more important. Thank goodness!
  We arrived around 3pm at our hotel. We got checked in and decided to play around San Diego for the rest of the day. We had dinner at Cheesecake Factory in Seaport Village. Then we headed back to the hotel to let the kids swim before bed.

  We got up early the next morning and headed to Newport Beach to do some whale watching. We had so much fun! As we were heading out of the marina we saw some Sea Lions swimming and sun bathing. Once we got further out we came upon a pod of about 50 Bottlenose Dolphins. They usually see Common Dolphin, which are smaller. It was so neat to see so many dolphins and they were big and playful. They were jumping up out of the water and landing down on their sides like whales usually do. One of them landed close to the front of the boat and soaked one of the passengers. The guide decided to play a bit with the dolphins and sped up and said they would jump through the wake behind us. The dolphins did do this but there were about 5 that hung up by the front of the boat and sped up with us and were swimming and jumping just 6 feet below where we were standing. It was amazing to see them up close and to see them being so playful. One of them was albino and had a whole bunch of white patches all over it. Then as we turned around and were heading back we saw a California Grey Whale. It was so big that it was most likely a pregnant female heading to Mexico to give birth. It only surfaced every so often but it was amazing to see. We drove back to San Diego and went shopping for a bit and had dinner before heading back to the hotel.

   The next morning we got up and had breakfast at Denny's before heading to the San Diego Zoo. We saw so many different animals and the kids loved it. Livvy got bored and was misbehaving a bit but Dad took care of that by pretending to take her out to the car, she behaved the rest of the time. We got to see the baby Panda Bear after a pretty long wait. The kids thought the animals were pretty neat. We had dinner and headed back to the hotel exhausted.

  The next morning we got up and left for home at 4am. It was another long car ride but Dad made good time driving. Mom slept most of the time in the car and the kids played with their electronics and watched movies. All in all, it was a great road trip for the family!
 

Halloween 2013

Halloween is my least favorite holiday. I would honestly rather buy my kids each a bag of candy and skip the rest. Here is a pic of my kiddos and a few friends. Tailor was a gypsy, Tyler was a ninja, Camryn was a Monster High girl, and Livvy was a Barbie witch. (yes I'm aware this is overdue, I've been sick)

CA Road Trip

So we decided to take a road trip. Tyler didn't want to go so we left him at Grandma and Grandpa's with the two dogs. So after trick-or-treating we loaded up the car and left with the 3 girls. They had no idea where we were going. We drove to St George that night and got some sleep. We woke up in the morning and headed to Long Beach, California. We checked into the hotel and since we had time to play, we headed to the Santa Monica Pier. We let the girls play at the beach for a bit and then decided to let the girls check out the pier. After wandering for a bit and watching the sunset, the two little girls talked us into riding the roller coaster with them. Tailor was too scared so it was just Jared and I with the little girls. Camryn cried and almost threw up on me until just before it ended and she decided it was fun. Livvy had a blast. She was laughing the whole and Jared video taped it. Her expressions were priceless! We went to Huntington Beach on the 2nd day and played there for awhile. The kids had so much fun playing in the water. Jared was brave enough to get in with them. We saw some fins as we were finishing up and realized they were shark fins. Good thing it was at the end, none of the girls would've gotten in the water otherwise. We spent some time on Rodeo Dr and ate at The Cheesecake Factory in Hollywood. Tailor was awed because they sat us in a secluded back area that they usually sit the stars at. We got back to our hotel room and decided to swim for a bit. As I was sitting in the hot tub, a few guys joined me. After talking for a few minutes we realized that the were MMA fighters. One of them, Travis Lutter, was the winner of the 4th season of The Ultimate Fighting Championship and has fought a few UFC fights and now has his own fight gym in TX. Tailor and I had to get a picture with him before we left. I'm sure my hubby thought we were nuts but he offered to take the pic for us. The next morning we got up and left around 5am to drive all the way back. The drive home was almost uneventful. Camryn started to get car sick but I got her to close her eyes and fall asleep. Then I started to drift off until I heard Livvy puking in the back. She threw up in her lap and all over the seatbelt of the new car. Trying to clean everything up at the gas station was entertaining for others to watch I'm sure. The girls were great the whole time in the car. It was so good to get home that night though!

Road trip w/ Dad and kids... 10/27/13

While I was in the hospital this last weekend, Jared took the kids on a road trip by himself. Yes, he is amazing!


"We had fun starting our trip at the rocket display just outside of Corinne, Utah at ATK/Thiokol. The build rockets for the military and NASA. The large rocket is used as a booster for the Space Shuttle. After playing on the rockets, we drove a little further to Promontory Point. Promontory Point is where the trains came together, bringing the east coast together with the west coast. The kids had fun looking at the artifacts and the two replica trains."   -Jared


I was so sad that I missed out on this road trip with my family! Good thing it won't be the last one we do!

The Beginnings of the Sampson Family

  The Sampson family is made up of 7 people and 2 dogs. Our family was officially united on September 20, 2013.
  Jared is 41 yrs old and is a Deputy with Davis County Sheriff's Office. He brought Jeremy and Munie to the family. Jeremy is 20 yrs old and out on his own. Munie is a 2 yr old German Shepherd that is incredibly smart, well trained, and a great family dog.
  I am a 30 yr old Medical Assistant for the University of Utah Urology Clinic. I brought Tailor, Tyler, Camryn, and Alivia with me to the family. Tailor is 12 yrs old, in 7th grade, and in Young Women's. She is loving the freedoms of being a pre-teen. Tyler is almost 10, in 4th grade, and is a Bear in Cub Scouts. He is enjoying his new friends in the neighborhood. Camryn is 7 yrs old, in 2nd grade, and in Primary. She is loving her teacher and new school. Alivia is 4 yrs old and loving being the baby of the family.
  We bought Ryker, our yellow lab puppy, as a family. He is so chill and very smart, although he does like to talk back quite a bit.
  We are so excited for the journeys ahead as a family!!!