Wild Wild West

In early July, we took off for an almost two-week adventure out in the Wild Wild West, starting off in the wild land that some refer to as Utah.  You know, wild.  Afton did pretty well on her first flight in an airplane.  We tried to keep her pretty entertained.

While in Utah, we stayed with my mom's parents--Grandma and Grandpa Applegate.  Grandma introduced Afton to television (though her dad tried to block her vision with a book).  Grandpa thought Afton was just a hoot, and Afton was pretty fond of him as well.  My brother and sister, Josh and Jayna, also came down from Idaho that weekend and stayed with Grandma and Grandpa.

The first big event in Utah was the sealing of my cousin Olivia to her parents, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Lesha. She is adopted, and the adoption was completely legalized after she turned 6 months old.  It was such a blessing to be there with them for that special occasion.  They were sealed at the Jordan River Temple, which is the same place that my parents were married.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but we took a bunch the next day.

That afternoon we got to go to a wedding at that very same Jordan River Temple.  Ty's good friend and mission companion, David, got married.  It was a lot of fun to be there with them as well.  We were SO glad that we went.  Ty and David were really close, and David's family and wife were so happy to finally meet this Ty fellow they'd been hearing about.  It made me feel so honored to be his wife.  Again, no pictures, except for a couple that Josh and Jayna took of Afton while they were watching her while we were in the wedding.

That night we left Afton with Grandma, Grandpa, Josh, and Jayna while we went to the reception.

The next day my cousin Olivia had her baby blessing.  (If you're wondering what that is, I wrote about it in a post once, and you can read it by clicking here).  Afterwards we went back to Uncle Jim and Aunt Lesha's house and got to spend some time with family.  We had a fun time taking some pictures of the babies.  Afton is on the left, and the other two are my cousins.  In the middle is Kandice who is two days younger than Afton (yes, you read that right).  On the right is Olivia who is the main attraction with her sealing and blessing that weekend (she's 6 months).  

That night we went to my Aunt Laura's house and made s'mores around the firepit.  It was so much fun!

Monday we went up to Park City to have lunch with my mission president and his wife.  I'm still getting used to this picture-taking obligation and I blew it.  It was so fun to see them and catch up with them.  They were very generous to host us and enjoyable to visit with.  We also went out to dinner with my dad's side of the family, and of course I forgot to take pictures of that as well.  It was good to see everyone!

Tuesday we got to go to the pool with my Aunt Jenni and her son Jason, and my Aunt Shaunna and her kids Jessica and Joseph.  It was a lot of fun!  (Have I said that enough?  Maybe I should just omit the "it was a lot of fun" sentence from now on, and you can just assume that's the case unless I say otherwise.  What do you think?)

Me, Afton, and Grandpa

Jessica and Afton

Jenni and Jason

We loved our visit to Utah.  It was so good to see friends and family, and to enjoy their company.  And of course it was fun to introduce Afton to everyone.  We're so glad we went!

On Wednesday we flew to Washington State: Ty's stomping grounds.  This was an especially fun trip because his mother (who was soon to have a birthday of a significant age) had no idea we were coming.  We flew into Seattle to stay with Ty's sister Cali that night before heading over to Moses Lake (his parents' town) the next day.  Our sister-in-law Grace also flew in from Colorado.  Ty's two sisters live in Seattle, so that meant the whole family was in Washington except for Ty's brother Abe who is doing great things for our country by serving in Afghanistan. Additionally, Ty's Aunt Rachel flew in from Oklahoma.

The next day, we drove over to Moses Lake and Afton did so well the entire 180 mile trip.

Ty, Me, Afton, and Ande

I honestly feel like the story couldn't be written better than it was by Janey Payney herself.  You can read about it by clicking here and here.  Seriously, check it out.  It's a really good story.  Is that cheap of me to just refer you to her blog?  Here's my justification: She wrote it well, I'd just tell the same stories, and I'd steal all of her pictures anyways.  That's what you do when a lot of people are together... you just let one camera take all of the pictures, and then you share them. :)  Besides, if you've never checked in on Neighbor Jane's blog, you're missing out.  I'll consider this free advertising for my mother-in-law.  Justification?  Check.

We had such a great time in the Wild Wild West.  It was so good to see family and friends.  We were so so SO glad that we made the decision to surprise Jane for her birthday.  It was a trip we'll always remember.  Thanks for all the good times everyone!