Good to be Home!

As many of you know, I was out of town with the kids for a week and a half on a "vacation". I flew to SLC on August 14th, and was met by my inlaws. Our flight got in at around 10 in the morning. We decided to take the kids to a splash park to give them a chance to stretch their legs and relax. I don't, however, have pictures of any of the kids enjoying themselves because I was sitting on a deserted bench in the shade guarding the beach towels, and keeping Soni cool. While sitting there (for at least 2 hours) I snapped a few pictures of Soni...

I think she was cute, but I could be a little biased. Of course she doesn't look as tired as I felt, having gotten 2 hours of sleep the previous night...but it was nice to get some fresh air. We did a lot of stuff that day, and didn't pull into Star Valley until after 10 that night. Needless to say, my nerves were pretty strained by then...

After a run in with the zipper of my luggage, I was able to settle in for a good night's sleep, in about 3 hour increments. Yeah, Soni was not too keen on the change of scenery, so she let her opinion be known. The next day we went to Jackson to see Grandma's work, and have old time pictures taken. The pictures turned out to be too pricey, so we spent $50 at the candy store instead. I don't have any pictures of this outing, because I'm not used to manning the camera...that's Cameron's job.

Saturday, we were supposed to go to Idaho Falls to the zoo and such, but I was just too exhausted, so we opted to stay around home and let the kids swim in a couple inflatable pools and do the slip and slide. They had fun, and I finally got to relax. I have a CD somewhere that has pictures Great Uncle Mark took of the festivities, but I seem to have misplaced it, so I'll post those pictures when they become available.

Sunday we went to church, which aside from Dylan having some issues with Primary, and landing his butt in time out in the hall with mom, was uneventful. Sunday afternoon we went to a combined birthday party at Grandma Great's house for Dylan and Great Aunt Dena. Dylan got some birthday money, and loved his Cars cake. I loved that people wanted to hold Soni. Whiney baby... Again, no pictures because I'm retarded, and forgot the camera.

Mixed in here also there were many eveings of good conversation with my SIL Cynthia. I really enjoyed her company, and it was really nice to get some one on one time that didn't involve the phone. It was also nice to give everyone a chance to meet Soni and see the other kids. I don't think most of the relatives had seen Peyton since he was 2 months old, so a lot had changed.

Monday morning my brother, Brandon, came to pick me and the kiddos up to go to Bear Lake for the "Sloan Family Christmas in August Extravaganza". We reached Garden City at 1 (as planned) and not a single other member of the family had even left Ogden yet. So, we found a pizza joint to sit in and eat while Uncle Brandon played You Tube videos for the kids to keep them entertained for 2 hours. Finally some other family members arrived, and we were on our way to the condo where we would be staying for a week. That night we had another combined birthday party for my nephew Jonas (his birthday was August 17th) and Dylan. I actually do have some pictures and video from this event, so I'll post the pictures and let Cameron handle the video at a later date.

Here is Dylan with Jonas and their Elmo Cake. It was made up of cupcakes with impossible to clean icing. They loved it!

"Hey Jonas, You're one Buddy!"

Time to blow out the candles

Aunt Boogs helping Soni eat a cupcake. I'm not sure who ended up being the bigger mess!

Okay, maybe Soni won that contest!

So, those are the only pictures I took of the trip to Bear Lake. My siblings were much better, and I hope to get a CD of more pictures to post later, but I was a slacker. I'll post the rest of the story of my trip as I get pictures, and have a few minutes. Until then...thanks to everyone in the fam that took such good care of me and my kids while we were there without daddy. I'm glad my siblings love me, and wouldn't take "no" for an answer. You guys are the best!