Daddy Daughter Date

Andi and I went on a Daddy-Daughter date on Wednesday. We try to do that at least once a year. Andi has gotten into High School musical lately, and they had some HSM On Ice shows in Dallas this week, so Andi and I went. We had fun. Here are pictures.

Andi and I ready to go. We took the soundtrack in the car and listened to it on the way there.

Here's Andi in front of the American Airlines Center (home of the Mavericks and Stars), showing off her freshly painted fingernails. She told Sam she wanted to be pretty for our date, so she did her nails and her hair. She was pretty cute.

We went on opening night, so we got pretty good seats for $15 each. Any other night it would have cost $45. I was most excited about that.

Here's Andi enjoying some popcorn before the show. A tub of popcorn and a 32 oz drink cost something like $175. I wasn't too excited about that, but what do you do?

If you know the answer to this question and you're over 13 years old, what kind of loser are you? The answer is "Start of Something New". I didn't even have to look that up.


Woo hoo, the show started!It was pretty slick.


More skating. I got a lot of pictures of people skating, and the back of someone's head.


Intermission. Zamboni!!!


Ok, why did nobody tell me about this? This should be the lead story on the news every night. You can still get tickets for it, but the only ones still available are behind the stage and they're still full price).


Andi dancing and eating popcorn during the intermission.


And here are the main characters at the end of the show.

Easter Clothes

Our kids got new Easter clothes. Here are some pictures. Enjoy.







They keep multiplying. Last year there were only three. The year before there were only two.

I gotta learn to duck.

Well, my good friend BeckJune (I love that you go by that now, by the way.) tagged me, and since I try to be a good sport, I have decided to accept the challenge.


Here is how it works: You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details).

So, my middle name is Rae. I really love having a short middle name about this time. I'd really hate to be Andi at a time like this (Elisabeth). Okay, here it goes:


R: Really scared of birds. That's me. I used to watch General Hospital (gasp!) and a woman had a duck named Sigmond. I used to think it would be so cool to have a pet duck, until I realized that I not only didn't like birds, but I was borderline phobic. I'm also Right-handed.

A: Absent-minded. I see this in Andi a lot too. I used to wander around the store, not really paying attention to where I was going, and my family would wander ahead of me. I'm not sure if that would be called Absent minded or Airheaded, they both start with A, so I guess I'm good. I wish I could say Athletic, or Artistic, but I am neither. Hey, I didn't name my tree string bean airhead for nothing! (p.s. It's okay if most of ya'll didn't get the last statement, it was really only in there for my baby sister. Love you Boogs!

E: Earth conscious. Okay, so I am not a tree hugger, or anything, but it was a term I could come up with that started with E to bring up the fact I wrote a litter rap in the 6th grade, my team won, and we got to be on T.V. performing it. It was really pretty stupid, and I vow to burn the tape before I ever let anyone else see it, but it's a unique fact about myself. I am also Eager for Andi to start kindergarten. How's that?

So, I guess now I'll tag Shaela, Tiffany, and Mandy. Good luck guys!

Pretty Baby

Soni looked so cute at church on Sunday. One of the ladies I home teach held her through most of the meetings because she thought Soni was so stinkin' cute. Here are a couple of picture I got of her.

Four months sure goes by fast. She's learned the art of rolling over and uses it to avoid going to sleep.

She really doesn't like to smile for the camera yet. Oh well.

Another Smoker

Dylan caught the Bronchiolitis too. He actually got it last Thursday, I just haven't gotten around to mentioning it. He had a couple of days with some breathing treatments and steroids. He'll all better now. It makes you appreciate the days your kids are healthy and not having trouble breathing.

In case you're wondering, he didn't catch it from running around outside in the nude.

Basketball Bracket

I don't watch college basketball. I have no idea who is good or bad, or what goes on during the season. I blame this on my college, Idaho State, playing in Division 2 A at a home court that is smaller than my high school's gym. The only thing ISU men's basketball has ever done is beat UCLA in 1974. Woo hoo!

Despite my lack of college basketball knowledge, I like to fill out these bracket thingers every year. It's fun to see well I can guess at who will win. I hardly ever get more than two teams in the Final Four, but picking the right 12 over 5 upset is cool. Here are my Final Four picks for this year:

North Carolina vs Georgetown

Texas vs BYU (Why BYU? Because we haven't heard enough "Mormons have 4 wives" comments in the media since Mitt quit the presidential race. This would bring that back.)

Championship game:
Texas over North Carolina

St. Patrick's Day Fun Facts

St. Patrick is the patron saint of those who find joy in inflicting pain upon others.

 

More elementary school kids willingly write on themselves with green markers on this day than every other day combined.

 

The St. Patrick's day parade in Chicago has been helping innocent men escape pursuing U.S. Marshalls since 1993.

 

People in Georgia celebrate St. Patrick's day by letting their dogs drink out of the toilet bowl (assuming they have the blue cleaning tablets in their tank).

 

86% of people who buy "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirts aren't Irish, they're just lonely.

 

The Red Sox push the boundaries of annoying by wearing green jerseys.

 

It's not ok to pinch someone who isn't wearing green when you're old enough to drive (so says my boss).

 

 

Too young to "smoke"

Our poor little Soni has had a cold for several weeks. Over the last week, she got REALLY wheezy, and she would have coughing fits at night, causing us to worry enough to take her to the pediatrician. Unfortunately, our pediatrician isn't in on Tuesdays, soe we saw someone else in the office. It was a good experience, but just as I suspected, Soni was diagnosed with bronchiolitis. Basically, this just means it's a bad cold. It's a virus, that has to run it's course, but since a nebulizer treatment worked in the office, we were sent home with a nebulizer, and a prescription for albuterol. Poor girl. Here's a picture of her getting a treatment...
She should be back to her normal self in a couple of weeks, which will be nice. I just hope this isn't an indication that we have not just one "asthmatic" in our family...

"Mirror Mirror, on the wall...

...I'm like my mother after all!" That is what a shirt my mom gave me says. I always knew that I looked a lot like my mommy, and that my personality was very much like my mom's, but I had no idea how much until Thursday night when I got my hair done. You might have read about it on the Crookston blog, but Aubrey and I both got fed up with our hair, and since it was one of the things we had planned to do with our tax return, I made an appointment to get my hair cut, dyed, and styled, and to get my eybrows waxed. After I was done, I walked over to sit where Aubrey was still in the process of her beautification. She commented that my hair looked a lot like my mom's. Not that it was a bad thing. My mom does have cute hair, but it hadn't even ocurred to me until Aubrey said it. I was only disturbed because my main purpose in getting a haircut was to get rid of the "boring mom" look.

Cameron agreed with Aubrey when I got home after the appointment, so it wasn't just her. And the more I look at it, the more I have to agree, but it's different for me, so I like it. But, you be the judge...

Here is a picture of my mom for those of you that haven't had the privilege of meeting her yet...

That's It, I'm Calling Your Mother!

Tonight we went shopping. Just the normal weekly groceries, paint for the game room, that sort of thing. Well, my phone kept beeping in my pocket, but that's pretty normal when it's there, because I usually end up bumping into things, and pushing buttons. I finally looked at it, and saw the symbol that meant I had a text message. Bet you can't guess who from... Yup, Jared P.! In case you missed it, we have been in a text message war with a teenage boy for over a month now. He called a week ago, or so, and I told him (verbally) that he had the wrong number. We then didn't hear anything for a while, and we thought the case was closed, but since he sent 3 text messages between 10:15 am and 1:00 pm, I decided that our little friend really was even slower on the uptake than we had originally given him credit for. Seems we vastly overestimated our little friend's powers of retention. So, I decided to go to the higher authority. That's right HIS MOTHER! I called the number, and this is how it went:

Hello.

Hello, is this Jared?

Yes.

May I please speak to your mother?

Um, Yeah...

Hello?

Hello, my name is Samantha Carter, and your son has been texting me, and calling me thinking that I am somebody else. I have tried several times to convince him that he's got the wrong number, but I don't seem to be getting through to him.

Oh.

I'm sorry for calling, but we don't have a text plan, and it costs us 25 cents every time we send or receive a text message, and I would just really like it to stop.

I am SO sorry! What's the number?

208818....

Okay, I am deleting that number from his phone. I am so sorry again. How much do we owe you?

I'm not really sure, my mom pays the bill, but I do know it's about 25 cents each time.

Okay, well let us know, we will reimburse you. Can you hold on a minute? I would like to speak to him real quick.

There's a slight pause where I hear a muffled account of what she's telling her son. Then he comes back on the phone. (Great! I never thought I would hear his voice again...)

Hello?

Hey, I'm sorry to get your mom involved, but I didn't think you were understanding me. It's been fun though... Take care.

That's alright, bye.

Let's hope that's the last we hear of Jared P. I'd really hate to have to repeat the procedure. I still can't believe that I actually apologized to the kid, but hey, he has my number, and if he were mad, I'm sure he would use it.

I Hate Dentists Chapter 27

"Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair, and the first thing they grab is an iron hook."

(The rest of this segment can be seen here.)
Good watching if you have 8 minutes to burn.

Sam and I went to the dentist today for the "cleaning". Cleaning is a euphemism they use to lure you into their office and assault you with the tiny metal hook of death. When it was my turn in the chair, the hygienist asked the usual "are you flossing?" question, to which I gave the usual "no" answer. Flossing is one of those things like exercising and eating right that I know I should do, but I don't feel like doing. I should add it to my list of New Year's Resolutions. Apparently she wasn't too impressed with the old Jeff Foxworthy joke "I guess the last time they were flossed was when YOU did it" because soon after I said that she brought out the metal poking device and proceeded to poke me in the gums. She went around my mouth digging her metal hook into my gums next to each tooth. I guess she was measuring something because she kept saying something about the depth of something was too deep and that I needed to floss. I didn't really catch what she was saying because I was resisting the urge to head butt her.

After that was finally done, she brought out the scraping hook to scrape the whatever it was off my teeth. I don't think there was anything there, I'm guessing she was having fun and wanted a reason to poke me some more. Hey, my eye was pretty close by, why didn't you just poke me there too while you were at it? Punk.

After that was all said and done, she mentioned something about needing to schedule a "deep cleaning" to clean below my gum line. I didn't really catch what she was saying because I was trying to figure out where she lives so I can toilet paper her house this weekend. So in two weeks I get to go back to get poked some more. That's something that you can't say is better than a poke in the eye, because at least with the eye poke it's one poke (maybe two if they're mean) and it's over, whereas with the teeth poking you have like what, 47 teeth and they poke each one 50 times? That's a lot of poking.

I Would Like a Minute to Rebut

Ok, time for me to correct some of Sam's misconceptions from her "Husband Meme" post.

 

What is his name? Wow, that's a tough one. Last time I checked, it was Cameron Lee Carter.

My middle name is "Danger", dang it!

How old is he? The old man will be 30 in July.

You're only as old as you feel, so that makes me closer to 64.

Who sings better? Well, I like to sing, so I hope it's me, but I'm not signing up for American Idol anytime soon.

What are you talking about? I fill in for Josh Groban when he's out sick.

Whose temper is worse? I think we're the same when it comes to day to day things and the kids. The dog on the other hand...Cameron is way worse than me.

In my defense, I'm pushing 30, I'm baldish, and the 49ers were 5-11 last year. I can't internalize everything.

 

Who mows the lawn? Cameron does, as he should.

Wrong, the lawn mower does it. Har har.

 

Who is more stubborn? I hate to say it, but probably me.
I have to concur with this.

 

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I've never had need to admit it...

I do not concur with this

Who has more friends? I do.

Wrong! I'm the most popular guy in the neighborhood (on The Sims). You must not be counting friends from high school, because in high school I had a lot of friends. Like five. Wow.

Break Out the Snow Shovels

We woke up this morning to a blanket of snow on the ground. I'm guessing that there's about two feet worth of snow out there. It is the first snow of the year for us that has stayed on the ground. Last weekend it was in the 70's, and today we have snow. Weird.

The kids were amazed by the snow. They're hoping to build a snowman. Hopefully Dylan will put some clothes on sometime today.

Here's what our front yard looks like. Did I say two feet of snow? I guess I meant .002 feet of snow.

I don't know how I'm going to get out of the driveway with it looking like this.

Husband Meme

So, Becky tagged me with the questionairre all about my hubby. I guess I can give it a whirl...

What is his name? Wow, that's a tough one. Last time I checked, it was Cameron Lee Carter.
How long have you been married? It will be 8 years in June.
How long did you date? Let's see, we met in August, went on our first date in January, said I love you in February, and decided to get married shortly thereafter. Wow, does that mean it was only 2 months?
How old is he? The old man will be 30 in July.
Who eats more? Probably Cameron, but I am no lightweight.
Who said I love you first? He did. First in a note, then out loud. "Nothing says 'I love you' like the gift of a spatula".
Who is taller? Cameron is, but not by too much if I'm wearing shoes and he's not.
Who sings better?Well, I like to sing, so I hope it's me, but I'm not signing up for American Idol anytime soon.
Whose temper is worse? I think we're the same when it comes to day to day things and the kids. The dog on the other hand...Cameron is way worse than me.
Who does the laundry? I do, but Cameron is willing to switch loads out for me if I ask him to.
Who does the dishes? I would say that's pretty much split evenly. I usually unload the dishwasher, though.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? From which perspective? If it's from while you're lying on the bed, that would be me, but if it's from standing at the end looking at the bed, it's Cameron.
Who mows the lawn? Cameron does, as he should.
Who pays the bills?We pretty much pay them as a team. I write the checks, since Cameron seems to have a little trouble with that part, while he worries about balancing everything.
Who cooks dinner? Actually, Cameron does almost all of the cooking, while I tend to enjoy baking more. I do tend to do most of the holiday cooking, except the ham, which involves a blow torch.
Who drives when you are together? Absolutely him. If I ever got my license it might be different, but I doubt it.
Who is more stubborn? I hate to say it, but probably me.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? I've never had need to admit it...
Whose parents do you see the most? That usually depends on the year. Now that all the siblings are married, we see both families equally as much.
Who proposed? Technically, he did, but we mostly just decided to get married.
Who has more friends? I do. I'm a very social person, and have more need for friendship than he does. It helps that I still speak to many friends from growing up, and college, while he doesn't. What's the point? That's what he says about it.
Who has more siblings? I do. He has 2 brothers, while I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. When we were first married I really wished that he would have grown up with sisters.
Who wears the pants in the family? Well, I think he would agree that I'm the boss.