A Whirlwind Trip (Part 2)

Last time I wrote about Afton's Birthday and mentioned my graduation.  There was actually several things in between those two events, but I had to talk about them together in that order so I could tell my "Yo Mama" joke part.  If you know me well, you know I'll do anything for a good (or in this case, mediocre... okay, lame) joke.

We stayed the night with my Uncle Jim and Aunt Lesha who were great hosts.  They have two daughters, Ashlin (8) and Olivia (15 months).  Olivia, or Livie, and Afton became instant best friends.  We joked that they must have been twins in heaven because they have an uncanny amount of things in common from their temperaments to their sleep habits to the goofy way they used to crawl.  And I don't think you can deny that they're both pretty darned cute.  It was so fun to watch the two of them play together. 

Giving "loves"

Thursday morning we headed down to Provo again to go to lunch with Ty's good friend and former mission companion David, and his wife Karin.  We really enjoyed spending time with them and getting know them better.  I also let Afton wear just a diaper and walk around in Carrabba's--something I never imagined myself doing.  But we were the only people there and her clothes got covered in sauce and I wanted to listen to the conversation.  It was worth the hit to my pride.  Sorry, no pictures.  Maybe I should be grateful we have no evidence.

We also met up with Ty's cousin Justin and got ice cream at the Creamery.  I'd met his whole family before and I really like them, but Justin was on his mission every time we saw them.  So I finally got to meet him and was so glad that I did.  We had a really enjoyable conversation and Afton loved him.

Thursday night we attended a wedding dinner for my brother Josh and his (now) wife Elizabeth.  It was small  (just the two immediate families and grandparents) and fun.  We went to Rodizio Grill, and I made a deal with myself that I had to visit the salad bar in between every few pieces of meat that were brought to our table.  It ended up being a good strategy for not feeling like I had a cheeseburger oozing out of my face later on.

My two favorite people

You can see all of the grandparents in this photo (6 are looking)

My sweet girl

Afton with my dad and his parents (the two that weren't looking before)

Afton with her new Aunt Elizabeth

Siblings

Right after the dinner, we hit the road again.  Next stop: Rigby, Idaho.  We stayed the night with Ty's cousin Haley and her husband Ryan, and were preceded in our arrival by Ty's parents by a ten-minute margin.  We stayed up visiting for awhile (Afton too... she didn't exactly stay asleep when we got her out of the car).  Haley and Ryan were fabulous hosts and we really enjoyed staying with them.  

In the morning, we had a delicious breakfast, visited some more, and Haley and I drove in to Rexburg to pick up some of my graduation stuff for that night.  In the afternoon, we were joined by a ton of Ty's family (In total: Haley and Ryan, Aunt Marcia, Ty's parents Jane and Calvin, Uncle Bruce and Aunt Chris, Charlie, Jesse, and Rachel), and my parents and siblings Jayna and Dallin.  We had a lot of fun eating delicious food, visiting, and celebrating Afton's birthday.  I wish I had pictures of everyone visiting, but I only have the pictures my mom took--which of course, all include Afton.

Getting a dog.  Perfect because dogs are a bit of an obsession for her.

Her very own cupcake

Trying to get her interested in the cupcake

Not having it

Still having fun

I think this is the part when she finally poked it and licked her finger

I love these next two pictures so much.  I think they explain Afton's personality so well.

Notice her hands too... so intense.  Her whole body is tense.

All of the traveling is exhausting.

Jayna, Dallin, and my dad.

That night was graduation, but I promised Ty I'd let him write more about it.

After staying another night at Haley and Ryan's, we took off early in the morning to head back to Utah.  We made it just in time for Cole Green's baptism.  In fact, I ran into the church in my pajamas and quickly changed in the bathroom.  Jane, Ty's mom, kindly brought Afton in, changed her diaper, and got her dressed as well.  The Greens were Ty's sponsor family at the Air Force Academy--they took good care of him while he was there.  They are also responsible for setting us up.  We consider them basically family and love them.

Jake, me, Ty, Cole, Liza, Whitney, Afton, and Mike

From the baptism, we rushed back to Uncle Jim and Aunt Lesha's to shower and get ready for the wedding.

To be continued... (if you're still even reading.  If so, bless your heart)....