Kindergarten

Today was Andi's first day of Kindergarten. Woo hoo! Sob, sniff. We were excited/nervous for her. Grandma Sloan bought her a book called "The Night Before Kindergarten" that we read to her last night. She enjoyed it because in the story, the kids had fun and the parents got sad and cried. Yeah, like that would happen. So, we dropped her off this morning, which was pretty quick and uneventful. She has a good time at school from what we heard, and she got a smiley face stamp on her behavior chart. Yeah, only 181 (or so) more of those to go!

Here are couple of pictures...

Here she is getting her hair done. I decided I need to buy a shotgun.

In front of her classroom. She's in Mrs. Owen's class. Andi said she is really nice.

Kindergarten, feel the excitement!
We figured she was a little nervous when she first got there, that's why she looked like this.

Overall it sounds like she had a good day in school. She told us about the rules of raising your hand when you want to talk and that you need to be quiet when the teacher is talking. She also told us about a girl who said "Hey friend, come here and play with me" and Andi said "I'm not your friend, my name's Andi." Guess we need to work on the meeting new people thing. I think I'll leave that up to her mother, because my idea of getting to know new people is sputtering out sentence fragments and lighting things on fire.

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!

Spare Time

Sam and the kids have gone to Wyoming and Utah to visit family, leaving me here in Texas alone with my thoughts. That's kind of scary. She mentioned the other day that I should to the "quirky" post that she did, and I thought about what I would put on it. I haven't actually written that out yet because I don't want people to read it and then look at me with the "holy frick that guy is crazy" look.

 

Luckily I have the Wii to help me pass the time. I was going to get the new Madden game, but I read that it didn't have all the cool features on the Wii that it has on X-Box and PS3, so I probably would have been disappointed with it. Instead of Madden, I got Lego Star Wars. It is freaking cool. Over the weekend I reverted back into a twelve year old and played Nintendo in every spare moment I had. I've probably played it a little too much. How can I tell?  This morning I found myself walking in the hallway at work brandishing a non-existent lightsaber and looking for piles of Lego to build into bridges, doorways, or vehicles. Yeah, when you're doing that it's a sure sign that it's time to cut back.

 

While Sam and the kids are gone, I have a list of things that I need to get done around the house. Stuff like clean the kitchen, clean the bathrooms, shampoo the rugs, wax the car, paint the fence, sand the floor. Apparently Sam wants to have a clean house and watch me beat Kobra Kai in the karate tournament when she gets back. No problem, right? The kids aren't here to pester me for snacks or destroy things that I just finished cleaning. I've got all the time in the world after work to do this.

 

At least that's what I was thinking over the weekend. The reason I stayed home instead of going with them is I have a project deadline at the end of the month, and I'm working crazy overtime to be able to meet it. This week I had planned on working 64 hours, so I pretty much will be using my spare time to sleep. Somehow I need to work all that time AND get my honey-do list finished. Using my 20-20 hindsight, maybe I should have spent some time doing something productive. Oops. Guess I better learn how to get The Force working soon so I can just make stuff clean itself.

"TWO tag"

My friend, Teresa, basically challenged me to fill this out on her blog, so I figured...why not? Here it goes...

Two names you go by:
1.Sami
2. Samantha (not very often)

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. wedding ring.
2. nail polish.
Don't worry, I'm wearing clothes too, but I thought that was just kind of a given.

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. To have Cameron in Star Valley with me.
2. To have Cameron meet me in Bear Lake.

Two People Who Will Fill This Out:
1. Tiffany (she's usually a pretty good sport)
2. Brandon (He's accepted the challenge before...)

Two Things You Did Last Night:
1. Went out to dinner with Cynthia
2. Nursed my grumpy baby twice.

Two Things You Ate Yesterday:
1. Cheeseburger with ham on it (yummy)
2. A caramel cashew shake (also yummy.)

Two People You Last Talked To:
1. Cynthia
2. Andi

Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow:
1. Going to Bear Lake
2. See my family! Wish Cameron could be there...

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving
My answers were the same as Teresa's. Although... Arbor day is a close third.

Favorite Vacations:
1. Disneyland is pretty fun.
2. I don't know if it's a favorite, but I want to go to Australia really bad!

Favorite Beverages:
1. Dr. Pepper
2. Ice Water

Well, that was pretty painless...

Ranger Game

A few weeks ago we went to a Rangers game with the Buckleys, the Crookstons, and some other people from church. Because "Any rebroadcast, reproduction, or other use of the pictures and accounts of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is prohibited", I can't tell you who won or what happened in the game, but it was fun.

Peyton, Soni, and I.

Andi, umm, looking pretty, Sam, and Dylan trying to see something.

The Buckleys, Jordan, Heather, and Jeff.

This is the view from our seats. Is my nose bleedin'?

Soni likes her some Cracker Jacks. Mmmmm.

Pictures of Kids

Catching up on more pictures...

This is one of Sam's favorite shirts for Soni. It says "Little Miss Sunshine" across the front. Stinking cute baby. (I'm not biased or anything.)

Speaking of cute little girls... I don't think the boys know what kind of ammunition they are giving me for when they are teenagers. He he he.

Here's the ringleader.

Victim #1.

Victim #2.

Back on July Fourth...

I downloaded our photos from our camera, and we had some from back on the Fourth of July.

Everyone thinks Soni is so cute. They may be right.

She's such a happy baby.

It's so nice that our kids get along.

Then again...

Picture MeMe

Here's a MeMe that Tiffany tagged us with. I have some time while Sam is out with Aubrey spending all my hard earned money on booze or whatever, so I'll do it. Here's the deal: Go to Google images, type your answer in the search. Using only the first page choose one of the pictures that comes up.

1. What is my first name? Cameron
Oh goody, I get to choose from a variety of pictures of Cameron Diaz. Here's a non-skanky lookin' one.



2. What age will I be on my next birthday? 31 (Holy crap!)
This was too awesome to not pick


3. What High School did I attend? Star Valley High
We had a pretty good rasslin' program. Yee haw!


4. What is my favorite food? Pizza.


5. What is my favorite color? Blue
Ok, maybe blue isn't my favorite color any more


6. Who is my celebrity crush? Sigourney Weaver is one sexy woman.



7. What is my favorite drink? Mountain Dew


8. Where is my dream vacation? I don't know, Hawaii?


9. What is my favorite dessert? Cheesecake. I can't think of anything sarcastic to say about cheesecake. Hmmm. Give me a minute. Nope, I got nothin'.



10. What do I want to be when I grow up? Batman



11. What do you love most in life? My family, of course.

12. One word to describe me. Sleepy



13. What is my favorite thing? Here are a few of my favorite things:



14. Where is my favorite place? I don't have one in particular, so I'll pick Jackson Lake. I spent a lot of time there as a kid fishing.



15. What is the name of my pet? Sadie


16. What is my favorite flower? Here we go


There you go.

Me Quirky? Nah.

My friend Teresa posted this on her website, and although she didn't tag me specifically, I thought it would be fun. I know some of the things will make you laugh at my expense, but that's okay. I found myself laughing at Teresa's answers just because I remembered her doing some of them... Anyway, here's the deal. List 6 quirky things about yourself. Sounds simple enough. Hard part is, that the things that are "QUIRKY" to others are either just good sense to you, or "normal", so it's harder than you would think. Anyway, here it goes:

1. I always eat my M&M's in the same order.- It's true. It all started when I was a kid, and my older sister told me that the green ones were lucky as long as you ate them last. Then, my little sister and I sat down one day, and did a "blind" taste test to see which ones tasted the best (the red ones, in case you were wondering) and my order just sort of fell into place after that. For those curious, it goes: Brown, Orange, Yellow, Blue, Red, and Green. Don't even get me started on the "seasonal" M&M's. Yes I have an order for them too. There is a method to my madness, but nobody gets it but me.

2. I always save my "favorite part" for last. - For example, I will eat the entire outiside of my cheesburger before eating the middle (where all the good stuff is), or I'll save the cookie crumble from ice cream cake until the rest is gone, so on and so forth. That is why I eat the red m&m's next to last. I would eat them last if not for the whole "lucky" thing. This doesn't just apply to food though. When doing a craft, I'll start with the part that I don't want to do, to get it out of the way, and then I only have to do the stuff I like at the end. See, to me, good sense. To someone else...quirky.

3. I am OBSESSED with the way my laundry is done. Not just washed and dried, but folded as well. Those who know me best (Aubrey, especially) will know that they can come and help me with anything at my house, except laundry. One time, my sweet Mother In Law came to help me after Dylan was born. She folded a load of my linens (I think) and I literally had to leave the room so she wouldn't see me cry. Like I said, obsessed that it be done a certain way. I think my mom is the only one who could actually do it for me, because she is the one that taught me how, after all.

4. I am very particular about "having a spare". Not just tires, but of everything. It used to drive Cameron nuts because I wouldn't just buy one tube of toothpaste, I would buy two. When there was no longer a spare in the cupboard (even if we'd just opened one) I would insist on buying a spare the very next time we went to the store. Like I said, it USED to drive Cameron nuts, but now he realizes that we have never once ran out of essentials like shampoo, toothpaste, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. We also always have batteries and stamps. Maybe I was a boy scout in a former life...

5. I have a photographic memory for commercials. If a commercial held any interest for me from two days ago, or 12 years ago, I can remember the jingle. Cameron's favorite is when I sing the "Kodak Disc" jingle from back in the 80's. My mom once bought me a game called "adverteasing jr." because I was so good at remembering products and their commercials. Does anyone else but my little sister remember the "Crayola Draw and Do Desk"? If so, then you can probably list this as one of your quirks too.

6. I cannot have anyone or anything touch my feet right after I get out of the shower. Something about them being all wrinkly and stuff, I don't know, but you cannot come near my feet when they are freshly cleaned. In fact, in the winter time, I can't even stand to have the blankets touch my feet, so I wear socks to avoid this. I know what you're thinking, because Cameron has asked how I can stand then to have the socks touch my feet, and the answer is...I don't know. But it works, so I go with it.

Okay, so there are 6 things you now know about me that you probably wish you didn't. To Teresa: I would just like to remind you that you also eat Kit Kats funny, how do I know? Because we eat them the same way...but that's for another day. I now tag anyone reading this that feels like giving someone something to laugh about. GOOD LUCK!

Proud Papa

The other night Andi came up to me and said: "I want to watch one of your movies". I asked her which movie and she said "Star Wars". I was so happy. Sam reminded me that it wasn't the happiest day of my life because there was the day we got married and then the births of our children. We sat down to watch it, and I told her to pick one. She picked "The Empire Strikes Back". She actually watched the whole thing.



When we were in the car today she asked "When are we gonna watch the other Star Wars movie where the hero gets the guy out of the statue?" Woo hoo! My kid's a nerd just like me!!!