Samantha James Rowley

4 month checkup

12 lbs 5 oz 24 1/2 in long

My baby is growing. She is at such a fun stage. She smiles at whoever will pay attention to her. She is starting to play with toys that she can grasp. I am enjoying cuddling with her and am trying to savor this time that she is small. I have nicknamed her

"My Chubbers"!

I thought this yellow outfit with the hat was cute on her, so I snapped some shots. I know Jim won't like the hat on her.

I tried to prop her so she was sitting up. There is a watermelon on the front of her outfit that she kept trying to get, so she wouldn't look up.

She fell asleep holding onto her toys and slept that way for over an hour.

A long road home!

We made it back from Carson City a week ago. We were supposed to start home on Friday afternoon, but things changed for Jim at work and he ended up working all day Friday and Saturday, so we started home about 6 pm on Saturday. We thought we would try to get to Elko and stay the night there. Around 12:30 am we see the lights of Elko. Before we exit the freeway we see an over head sign that says check your blind spots for motorcycles. We kinda thought that was wierd, then as we got into Elko we see why the sign said that. There were motorcycles everywhere. We saw hundreds of motorcycles.....at every motel. Just our luck, there was a motorcycle rally going on and there were no rooms available. This meant another 1 1/2 hours of driving to the next location. We hit Wendover about 2:30 am. We thought it would be fun to try to stay at a casino motel. Guess what? There was a car show going on. Every room in all of the casino's were full. We did find a room in a motel 6. It was a very small room. The beds were even small. My feet hung over the edge of the bed. It was a short nights sleep, but we had fun. We made it home Sunday afternoon. I'm anxious for our next trip out just because I get to be with Jim!

I'm an Aunt again!

I just wanted to show off my new niece! This is Jessica Carene Norman. She was born on June 17th weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz. Proud parents are Ryan and Shannon Norman. Excited siblings are Tyrel, Bailey, Wyatt, and Ryder.

I'm a Utah'n!!

We have loved being here in Carson City with Jim. We have found some fun things to do while we have been here. First though, some of the things that make me smile and say to myself..

"I'm from Utah".

I got my first "Are you Mormon" question!!;)

Asked the deli lady at the grocery store if they have jello parfait (not sure on the spelling) and got a funny look. I was told to look by the milk.

Lot's of looks and comments about my kids. I had Samantha in her carseat today and a lady watching all of us said, did you finally get your boy? It's kind of humorous to me to see peoples' reactions to us.

I'm sure there will be more things for me to laugh at!

We have gone to a couple museums and a few tourist areas.

Here are the girls at the Children's Museum. They have already asked to go back here.

We visited Virginia City which is an old mining town that they have turned into a tourist attraction. I bought some taffy at a candy store in Virginia City. I looked at the price thinking it was by the pound. When I paid for it, it was by the 1/2 pound. That stuff must have been what they were mining (gold). We sure have enjoyed it though!

We have also gone for a ride up to Lake Tahoe. Very beautiful. The girls played on the little beach we found, and I gathered some pinecones. Jim took some pretty pictures with our new camera.

Jim took us to the ward he has been going to. There were actually more babies in Relief Society here than at home. The sister that gave our lesson was hispanic. She struggled with pronouncing some of the English words, but she did very well presenting the lesson in English. Everything she put on the board was written in English and Spanish. They sing some of the hymns in Spanish also.

Today we went to the Nevada State Museum. I forgot my camera here, so we will have to make a trip back. It has a variety of displays from a mammoth replica to a display of an outfit that show girls wear. The girls didn't understand why these sparkly bra and panties were on display.

After the museum we went and picked up Wendy's then headed towards a park that I had seen from a distance a few days ago. We pulled up in the parking lot all ready to sit on the grass and eat our lunch. One thing wrong though. There are about 25 dogs running around. It's a dog park!! Normally that would be ok, but with my girls, there was no way we were going to try to have a picnic when there were dogs running everywhere. Luckily on the other side of the park there was a "fenced in playground". We enjoyed our lunch there while we watched the dogs on the other side of the fence. I've never seen that many different kind of dogs at once. It was almost like a movie. Dogs catching frisbies and rolling around in the grass. It was fun and made for a good laugh!

We miss our home and the girls are anxious to see their friends, but we have enjoyed the time we have had with Jim. Hopefully we can get settled soon so we don't have to be away from Jim.

No matter what happens as long as you have your family and do it together, you can do anything.

Am I raising ELEPHANTS?

AHHHH! I am trying to exercise some patients and also learn to not let what others say bother me so much, but I wanted to cry lastnight. We have tried really hard to keep the kids quiet since we have neighbors so close to us. All day long I am constantly saying SHHHH! Lastnight we went up to the store/office here at the RV park. The guy staying next to us works in the store. I asked him if we were too noisy. He told me we weren't bad, it just sounded like a heard of elephants. A lady working in the store told us another guy had said something about the noise. Apparently this guy works at night and sleeps at day. I guess the 11 dogs (barking) and 3 cats in the 5 other trailers right next to us don't bother him much. The lady asked us if we wanted to trade spots....making it sound like it would be better for us so we wouldn't have to be by the barking dogs. I jumped at the chance, so before Jim even got his dinner, we hitched up the trailer and moved sites. We have an empty spot on both sides of us. Hopefully my elephants won't bother our new neighbors as much. It's just hard because I feel like I can't even let them giggle. They really are being good. They are trying hard, but come on, they are just kids. I think today we will leave for awhile and try to find a park to play at. There are a few museums also that we are going to go check out.

We made it....

We made it to Carson City on Monday.  Jim got us all set up in an RV park.  It is a nice park other than our neighbors are really close.  The guy behind us has his little area all set up with flowers, trees and other weird stuff.  I'll have to sneak a picture of it.  When ever I hear him talking to someone, he reminds me of Frank Gallada.  People from Koosharem should remember him.  Anyway,  Carson City is nice.  Different from Logan (Hyrum).  I found the Walmart today and noticed they had a whole isle just for wine.  I took a few pics of our trip out, so when I

 can get them transfered to the computer I will post them.  

I also had the opportunity to meet the people Jim has been working with for the last several months.  It's good to put a face to the names.  It's also neat to see the respect they have for Jim.  I know Jim has worked very hard in the time he has been out here.  I am so glad that we can be here with him for awhile!

We are surviving in the trailor.  A few days before we left Lexie was saying the blessing on the food and blessed that we could go camping every night.  Well, by the time these two weeks are over I'm sure she will be glad to sleep in her bed at home!  

We ran out of seating...

For quite awhile now we haven't had enough seating at the table for our family. We usually just pull a bar stool up. I even thought of getting a new table and chairs, but knew that wasn't possible. Finally after looking at buying another chair and looking at other possibilities, I finally decided to get a bench. I found a place in town that would order one for me that would match my table and was $20 less than any other place. It looks soooo good! I love it!

So instead of doing the thing I need to do, I decided to take a break. My neighbor put a bug in me....a sewing bug. She made a cute sundress for both of her youngest girls. I know buying one is just as cheap, and alot easier, but sometimes you just need the distraction from those things that are weighing so heavy on you (my neighbor also helped me realize this). I already had some fabric and a pattern that Mom gave me years ago, so I made Lexie a sundress. She loves wearing dresses and pretending she is a princess. My sewing isn't the best, but Lexie loves it! I even found a shirt in her drawer that match the flowers on it so she can wear a shirt under it.

I just need a moment.....

Suzanne was here yesterday to help me do a little packing. We did get some done, but I am still overwhelmed with what is left. I know I have alot of junk, but it's my junk, and I want to keep it!!!! Anyway, after Suzanne left I was playing on the computer. As I got up to go upstairs, I faced the wall where my family pictures hang, only, they weren't there. I told Suz she could take the pictures off the wall but didn't realize how it would effect me. The wall is empty now............ I guess I have been living in la la land because I never thought I would be packing up my house after living in it for only two years. I have accepted the move. I am even excited for the new adventures we are going to have. I have accepted that I will be moving away from my friends and family and am excited to make new friends. The thing that I have had the hardest time with is my home. When we moved here we felt so strongly that this house was meant for us. No it's not fancy or updated like most, but it fits us and our style. I remember after we made the offer on our home, we would drive by almost every night just to check out the house that hopefully was going to be ours. So, for the next few weeks, I am going to enjoy my home. That might mean leaving everything else where it is and not packing until that moving truck is parked in the driveway!! Ha Ha like I can let that happen.