Sam's 2 Year Pictures

For Sam's 2 year pictures I had my friend Andrea Hanks take them. We met her in American Fork at a place called Star Mill. It was awesome because Sam was having so much fun exploring everything on the lot, that he had no idea his picture was being taken. She did an amazing job!

24th of July Utah Fun

Three little boys not sure if they should enjoy this petting zoo at the This is the Place Monument, or if they should just keep their distance.

We made another visit to Logan with Grandma Carol to see Sam's great grandma. We visited with all of Grandma Carol's family and Sam was spoiled with Elmo Cupcakes by Aunt Cathy.

These three little tikes are fully confident that they are a great help to their Granpda Bean with the gardening.Enjoying the 24th of July Parade with Grandma Carol, in NO heat and NO crowd. It's the way to go!!
In this heat wave Ashley decided it would be fun for Suzie and I to bring our boys to a mini lake in Day Break where her sister-in-law lives. What little boy wouldn't mind playing in the sand?!

A little family fun to celebrate the 24th as the day comes to an end! Tom is showing the little ones firework snakes.

A little goodbye gift to Sam from his Aunt Ash, he is using it as a disguise from the camera.

Escaping to Utah

After making our move to California and spending some time in the March Air Force Hotel, I decided it would be a nice change to get to Utah and have some kid quality time for Sam. Not many kids living in the hotel there to play with.
My little Sis. Ash had a break from work and flew out to help me make the drive to Utah with Sam. Of course we spent a little quality time at the Irvine Spectrum with Ashley before leaving to Utah! What mother doesn't love an amazing merry go round to distract her child during a shopping spree!

To keep up with the family tradition, one of the first things we needed to do to enjoy our family time was to head to the canyons for a bbq.

Dad & Mom
Little rascal cousins
Sam, Luke, Liam, Tristan

Enjoying the red punch a wee bit much!

...and the results, cherry stained lips!

Quality Time With Our California Family

Dan's brother Jeff and his family live here in Southern California and while we have been here they have been amazing to us. Sam absolutely loves them. He may not always act all warm and fuzzy to them but he still tends to be a little shy. When we are not with them he asks about each one of them constantly. I think he adores them so much because they are so loving to him.
This is a marble roller coaster of John's that Jeff and Jenny setup just for Sam. He LOVED it!

This is Caroline and Sam at their ward 4th of July Kid Parade. Jen gave us decorations for Sam's wagon and Caroline pulled Sam in the parade. Sam loves his cute cousin!

After the parade we came back to Jeff's house and the guys had a water fight with the kids! I wonder who won?

Later that night at the RSM Lake, they had a fireworks display. We laid out our blankets and enjoyed!

Sam with his cousins, John and Caroline (Kate was off with a friend.)

The Bike

Before we were about to become "House Poor," we thought we should invest some money into a good mountain bike for Dan. I knew this would be important so he could have some good quality male bonding time with his brother. His brother is huge into mountain biking and goes several times a week. Let's just say he has put some good use to it already and he is looking forward to more bonding time with his bike, once the move is over! And of course, once he got the bike, he decided he needed new shoes, shorts, gloves, helmet, etc... I thought I was bad with clothes.
One of the many trails.

Jeff (brother) Dan

Danno and his bike on the trail.

Yay, We're a Family Again!

After a month and a half, Dan flew in to SLC Airport and met Sam, his mom and me. This meant that we were now going to be back as a family again and on our way to California to start a new adventure.
Just like most boys, Sam has a fascination with cars. Sam also loves his grandparent's cars. It almost became a bit annoying because day and night, night and day, Sam would ask to see their cars. It might have only been 2 seconds to pass by and Sam would ask to see them again, but to Sam it must feel like an eternity. Even now as we are away he talks about their cars.

More Visiting While in Utah

This round of visiting Utah, since I had a little more time on my hands then others, I was able to visit with the family a lot as well as visiting with friends I had not been able to see for several years. During my days of working and creating memories at Party Land, I developed several friendships. A few of those friends were able to make it to a get together for some much needed catching up time. Ele and Jen are just as beautiful as ever and it was amazing to see where life has taken each of us. Two amazing mommies!
Sam is fortunate to have both of his grandmas in Utah. So when he comes for a visit, he has a lot of spoiling time provided by them! Grandma and Grandpa Stromberg love this kid and when we're at their house Sam gets his story time with Grandma every night. Special moments I want to capture, so he remembers how loved he is.

Something we always try to arrange is for Sam and I to get together for lunch with both grandmas. So this time we went to the Sandy Aquarium and then did lunch.

My brother Joel has a little girl Samantha that is a few weeks older than Sam and they also share a similar name. Something special for those two to share. We went for a BBQ at at the park with them while we were there. I think we had to bribe the two with cookies to get them out of the swings. Fun memories!

Finally, my parents discovered that I had not been to the Thanksgiving Park. So since the tulips were at peak, we ventured to the park for a stroll. Something I want to be remembered is how amazing my dad is with his grand kids. He is always right by their side discovering, exploring and playing with them. Every one of the 7 grandchildren LOVE their grandpa because of this genuine interest and love he shows them. I love that about my Dad!

My beautiful Mom and me with Sam!

I Love My Family

I feel very lucky to have an amazing relationship with my extended family on both my Mom's and Dad's side. That is why I feel I should document it, so my Sam will realize how much it means to his Mom. It seems my family is always finding excuses to get together. So because of that something is always being celebrated. We have a great time when we're together and their is always lots of laughter and teasing. What I really love about my family is that we are always there for each other in times of joy or despair, we can count on our GREAT family. LOVE them!
Party time spent with the Johnson side.

An Easter in Utah

During Sam and my stay in Utah, we enjoyed a beautiful Easter with the family. Of course it would have been better if Dan was with us, but he was busy in CA training for his new air frame.
Sam was spoiled by the Easter Bunny with a 4- wheeler Quad and a Football Easter Bunny. The 4-wheeler became a quick love, not only for him but his little cousins as well.

Sam's cousins Tristan and Liam were also nice enough to share their toy vacuum. It became a cherished item for Sam. We still don't understand what Sam's fascination is with vacuums, but he nestled right up to it and found some zzz time.

Moving Time!

It's a good thing the Air Force has trained us to be vagabond gypsies, because it is time to move again. This time, however, it was of our own accord. Since Dan left active duty, and Continental furloughed him, we decided to take up the offer of a friend to join the California Air National Guard, destination March Air Reserve Base, Riverside California. We decided to do the move ourselves, and to let the Air Force reimburse us. We stood to make more money this way, but unfortunately that money was at the expense of sweat equity as we were soon to find out. We finished packing up the house, and loading the trailer around the first couple of days in April. Here Sam stands on what was once our lives, all boxed up and ready to go.
We moved with ABF, and with the help of our good friends the Hulses, Palmers, the missionaries and our brother in law Mr. Hix we actually made it happen. It was weird to see our entire life boxed up in a trailer, but we were glad that part of the journey was over.

Sam and I flew to Utah, while Jordan and Dan drove our two cars across the country, starting in New Jersey and ending in California. While in Utah Sam was able to play with cousins, and I was able to get some much needed rest.

Here Sam and Tristan show off their matching PJs. TROUBLEMAKERS!

Much needed play time with Grandpa in the sandbox.