A Whirlwind Trip (Part 1)

Hello!  Michelle here.  We just got back the other day from what was probably the busiest vacation I've ever had.  It started out with Afton's first birthday.  I put that in italics and bold just to remind myself that it really happened.  We have a one-year-old.  You know, I've had several people ask me if that special day made me sad at all.  I think I can honestly say it didn't.  However, I'd be willing to bet that if we didn't have another baby coming close on her heels, I might have had a different answer.  Instead, I find myself wanting her to speed the grow-up process a little bit so I'll feel a bit more ready for the next one.  I know, I know, I'll regret it later.  Oh well.

She woke up in the morning to a delicious breakfast on the Special Plate.  I sat at the edge of my chair, ready to use my cat-like reflexes to pounce should she try to swipe it off the table like she does everything else.  But alas, she was acting more grown up already.

Next, we rushed her to open her presents.  We had a plane to catch.  She got some really sweet cards in the mail, including a $5 McDonald's card for a Happy Meal.  And Ty and I got her a rocking horse.  She seemed to love it in the 30 seconds that she got to ride it before being whisked out the door.

Then, we were off!  Afton got to take her first ride in her new big girl car seat.  She got a lot of smiles and attention at the airport and on the plane because of her birthday girl shirt.  She was pretty good on the plane, except that half an hour when she just screamed.  But being a little girl that has only been walking for about a month, I'd be frustrated too.

Eventually we made it to Salt Lake, rushed down to Provo to have dinner with my dear friend and roommate Shawney.  She had made one of my all-time favorite meals like the gem she is.  We had a blast and laughed pretty much the entire time we were there.  Of course we didn't take any pictures.  In fact, I'll admit it right now, pretty much every picture from our trip from here on out is most likely taken by my mom or Ty's mom.  So if neither of them were there, it likely wasn't documented.

And that was the end of Afton's birthday.  It is a little bit hard to believe that she's gotten this old already (hard to believe and sad are different).  Next thing you know, she'll be riding a bike, asking questions about everything, eating with a fork, and telling me jokes.  Some of my favorite jokes as a kid were the "Yo Mama" variety.  I can just picture it.  One day Afton will be standing around with some of her little buddies and say, "Yo mama's so fat, I tried to drive around her but I ran out of gas."  Her friends will laugh, then another one will say, "Yo mama's so dumb, it takes her two hours to watch 60 Minutes."  Laughter again.  Then another friend will say, "Well, yo mama's so dumb, it took her eight years to finish a four-year college degree."  Afton won't get that joke though.  Or she'll get offended.  Because that's what her mama did.

That's right.  I finally graduated!!!

Aaaaaanndd..... this is the part where I wrap up this post.  I don't have a whole lot to say about graduation except for that I. Am. DONE.  That's the best part.  No more homework, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks... right?  

And there is one more thing that I absolutely have to say.  Yes, this was difficult and I'm so glad I did it, and I do feel like it is an accomplishment.  But something that I feel has not been given justice (mostly my own fault) is how much Ty did to make this possible.  He didn't do my homework for me, but he picked up my slack everywhere else, he encouraged me, he put his own work aside and just squeaked by when possible, he cleaned, he cooked, he played with Afton, he stayed up late, and the list goes on.  He really sacrificed just as much, if not more, than I did for this to happen.  

There was a moment during graduation where the graduates were asked to stand up and turn around to applaud their families.  This was the most emotional moment for me, and it doesn't quite do justice to how I feel.  I am so grateful for a husband who is loving and supportive, who encourages me and believes in me.  I am grateful for a husband who is willing and does sacrifice to do what is best for our little family.  He is a great man, and this big event made me even more grateful for him.  

P.S.  Now I have time to do cool things.  Like write blogs.

Three, Soon to Be Four

Well, in case you missed it in the small print in the last blog post, I'll make it very apparent now.

In case you can't see it clearly, here it is again.

Here is the process leading up to this wonderful photo.

This is Afton practicing walking in her snow suit

Please excuse my boots.  They were all I had.

Apparently we did a good job making these snowmen look like us because this is the reaction of our neighbors dog.

He went on like this for about 10 minutes.

Happy Holidays!!!

Special Day

uper special day today!  Yep, it is my wife's birthday.  She is twenty-six and that means we get to be the same age again.  Also, after casually dating for a few months and then stopping when Michelle went to Provo, I sent her a text on this day three years ago to wish her a happy birthday and look where that got us.

In honor of my wonderful wife (notice the alliteration) who is a marvelous mother (there I go again), I am going to tell you about some of her "S" qualities.

Sweet.  Michelle is kind and generous and very thoughtful.

Smiley.  Her nicknames in high school was smiles (hence her email address).  She smiles a lot and she has a beautiful smile too.

Sappy.  She says some pretty sappy things sometimes, but I'm a sucker for it.

Sexy and Stunning.  She is beautiful.

Solid.  I can always count on Michelle to do what is right and to support me.

Sanguine.  I had to check the dictionary to make sure I was right in thinking this one.  I was right.  She is an optimist who finds the good in life.

Strong.  She has strong faith and a strong love for God.

Stylish.  Michelle recently had a mini-makeover.  She finally spent some money on herself to update her wardrobe and she is looking pretty good.

Sagely.  She is very wise and is always coming up with great ideas.

Successful.  She does extremely well when she is involved.  She is about to graduate from college with a Bachelor's degree.  She has worked hard and been successful (assuming her finals go well).

and Simple.  In a good way.  She likes the simple things in life and chooses to be that way herself.

I am so lucky.  My wife is the best.  Happy Birthday Sweetheart.  I love you.

Rabbits

Rabbits.  Because there were a few different comments about rabbits, I figured I would give you some insight into my methodology.  It was quite simple.  First, I assumed that all off-spring would be female and that there were plenty of males to go around.  I assumed all female because the number could have gotten way to big if I tried to factor in a male's offspring.  Second, I assumed that all litter sizes were at the high end with 12 kits.  Third, I assumed that all kits began breeding at the earliest possible age (6 months).  Fourth, I assumed that the rabbits stopped nursing at the age of 1 month.  This means that each doe can have a litter every 2 months (1 month gestation).  Fifth, I assumed that the rabbits lived in an environment free of predators (such as coyotes) and had an ample supply of food and a lack of disease (basically, they all survived for the entire time between the blog posts).  I invite any of you who wish to figure out how long between the posts using this information (it would be lame to go look at the dates).

Well, in honor of rabbits, here is a shout out to some of the rabbits that have done their species well.

My Favorite

Return to the Alphabet

Productive and Perspective.  40,551,060 seconds ago (as of me drafting this blog), I posted the first in an alphabet catch-up series titled Ketchup.  31 hours and 31 minutes later (cool huh?) I published, 2nd Installment, number two in the series.  0.0589250381 years later, I published Part 3 (I know, such an original name).  I was doing quite well--3 posts in 3.2601 weeks.  Almost once a week.  2.011 lunar cycles passed before I added Just One.  I was slowing down.  But then, I added a whole new letter! After only 1,153,378,221 vibrations of Middle C, I posted Q.  I let P slide because Michelle got impatient and posted a P for me but I didn't forget about it (this post is witness to that).  Between my most recent alphabet post and this one, I think a doe rabbit could have had 72 kits and 864 grandkits. (I've made some assumptions in this calculation.  If you want to know what they are, ask in the comments and I'll provide you with my methodology.)  I'm averaging one post every 135,716.2 minutes, or one alphabet letter every 31.28939 days (that's almost one a month), or from my perspective, 30.95 characters or pictures per day.  I've been pretty productive when you look at it that way.  I've produced 14,527 characters or pictures in the last 469.3409722 days and I didn't even count spaces or your comments.  Let's see the rabbit keep up with that!  My productivity is based completely on perspective.

P.S.  Here is the promised picture of the quilt.

Plus a baby baller

P.P.S.  I made all of the p's in this post bold (except the one in the title, blogger won't let me).

P.P.P.S.  Blogger also may not show the bold text.  I don't think I like blogger very much.

Indestructible

Afton will never be intimidated

or dehydrated.