And now, the long awaited second installment of our trip...
We spent the 2nd half of our trip "out West" in Utah, visiting Michael's family. None of Shaelyn's cousins on that side had met her up until that point, and two of Michael's 4 sisters had also not had the opportunity to see Shaelyn in person. So hopefully she didn't disappoint!
We stayed with Michael's sister, April, and her family. April has a little girl, Autumn, just a little over a year older than Shaelyn. They were so cute playing together, and were very intrigued by each other. Here they are right after we arrived checking each other out.
April and her family live really close to BYU (our Alma Mater) and get to go to sporting events all the time. We were totally psyched when they said they had extra tickets to the basketball game that night. Shaelyn's a little (more than a little) scared of basketball games, but we loaded her up in the cold anyway and headed for the game. She had fun before the game started watching the cheerleaders (of course!) and dancing to the band. I had a blast from the past just being there. I realized that Michael and I haven't been back to BYU since we graduated - 6 years ago!!!! I couldn't believe it had been that long! It was so fun to see our old stompin' grounds and show Shaelyn where we fell in love.
Once the game started, Shaelyn was too scared to stay in the arena, so my SIL April and I took turns walking through the halls with Shaelyn. She had fun people-watching and smelling all the the yummy concession smells (or maybe that was just me).
April and I left early to put our little girls to bed, and had to bundle up before going outside to keep from freezing in the 15 degree cold!!!!! One reason why I'm grateful I don't live in Utah anymore! But Shaelyn sure was cute as a little Eskimo baby!
Later that weekend, we had a family party with 3 of Michael's 4 sisters and their families, as well as Michael's parents. We ate Cafe Rio (again!) and played "Help Your Neighbor". I'm trying to arrange a game night for us to play here with our friends. Details coming soon...
Shaelyn LOVED all the attention she got from all of her older cousins (she has 8 older cousins). Surprisingly, the most attentive cousin was Tyler, who is 10. He was so sweet with her and she really enjoyed his company. I think she was a little enamored. He spent the majority of the night with her, making her laugh and keeping her out of trouble. What a great babysitter!
Tyler, you'll be a great dad one day!
We had a blast in Utah, but we were very happy to get back home to our own beds, our own toys, and our own routines. And we were especially grateful to get away from the FREEZING Utah weather. Thanks to all our family who put us up and feed us while we were visiting. It was great to see you!
Look for more of Shaelyn's hilarious shenanigans while we were traveling in our upcoming installment of Baby Talk.
