HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!

Samantha's Birthday was Monday, July 21st and she turned 20! No longer a teenager. This was the first year she wasn't home for her birthday. She was finishing up at school on the 18th and I was going to go get her but we had a change of plans at the last minute. It turned out that she needed to be in California for a job interview the day after her birthday. Lucky for us her roommate Kathryn happens to be from there and had room in her truck for Samantha and all her stuff. Thanks Kathryn! That helped a lot! Samantha was a little sad to not be spending her birthday with the fam but she was not neglected for sure. On Sunday Grandma Roskelley had a big bash with the whole extended family for Samantha and Hans (my nephew) who share a birthday. Then the next day she went out to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa and more extended family then that night she went out with her friends from college. The next day she had her interview with The Gap call center. (She got the job yay!) Then the next day she came home. She also went to church with Grandma Roskelley on Sunday. She says she always forgets how awesome she is until she hears Grandma brag about her to everyone.

So she is home now for a short time and will be back in California being roommates with Grandma. So if your ever in the neighborhood stop in the swingin single pad and see what is the haps.

Here is the picture of her from the hospital.

Everyone told me how their babies were not so pretty when they were born but I thought Samantha was beautiful. She didn't look scrunched or anything. Her original due date was June 23rd. Then they changed it to July 7th. Then she was two weeks late and had to be induced and then she still took 23 hours of labor to get here. Maybe she was a little anxious about the whole earth life thing.

I always hated this picture because I was fat and not dressed so beautifully. If I only knew. Looks great to me now.

Todd and I were the typical over the edge first time parents. We thought she was the best, smartest most beautiful baby ever. (And who is saying she wasn't?) Everything had to be perfect all the time. Now I lovingly call her our test child. I mean you gotta practice on someone, right? She has always been very smart and pretty. She learned to read at a young age and always did well in school. She has a quick wit and is very observant of what is going on around her. She picks up on things not everyone does. She has become our flower child. She is saving the world and loves politics and recently became a vegetarian. She likes to march to the beat of her own drummer.

She always loved to have her picture taken. Here she is at about 6. I remember this day. The photographer didn't have to pose her. She kept coming up with her own. I know this is one she posed all on her own.

Samantha is a complex being. I am not sure I can capture her completely in one post. For those who know her, feel free to make your observations about Samantha in the comments.