Happy Anniversary! (Part II)

The day turned out even better than I thought because:

(1) Afton did take a long nap (it's amazing what you can get done in 3 1/2 hours!),
(2) My thoughtful in-laws decided to bring me some dinner from our favorite Mexican restaurant (Lonestar Taqueria in Sandy), and
(3) Tony didn't have to work until 10 o'clock afterall! He was home by 6:30 and we got to enjoy dinner together (mostly without Afton crying).

Now we'll get to celebrate again on Saturday.

Finally...she smiles

The moment we've all been waiting for: the smile. After sleepless nights and hours and hours of wondering if all the diaper changing, bathing, feeding, toting around, and cuddling even registers, she finally gives us a bit of encouragement by looking--for a brief moment--as if she likes at least something about us. (Were it not for camera delay, the smile would look a little bigger). Now we'll just look forward to the arrival of the giggle.

Happy Anniversary?

Today is our third anniversary and we will celebrate by ... well Tony will probably be at his office until 10 o'clock tonight (big appeal brief due this week) and I'll be hanging out with you-know-who seeing if I can convince her to take another long nap this afternoon. Tony and I will have a lunch date on Saturday.

Honestly, I don't mind the fact that this anniversary will be pretty low-key because I plan on having at least 47 more chances to celebrate. "50 years or bust" is my marriage motto. Each time I say it, though, Tony looks at me as if I'm crazy. He can't imagine why anyone would want to live that long. I try to inspire him a bit on the subject. I remind him that he'll be only 78 at that point and my grandma is 78 and still going strong. I talk about the kids, the grandkids, the joy, the memories, the lifelong friendship. When this fails to perk him up, I usually resort to motivating him with "You're not going to want to run into me on the other side if you short me on that 50th anniversary party." (I don't think he's that scared.)

Needless to say, Tony's view on marriage length and anniversaries is a little different. He has informed me that he sees marriage as a contract that is renewable at the end of each 10-year term. (I wonder where he got that from the sealing ceremony at the temple... must have forgot to look in the mirrors.) He has some very "logical" explanation that has something to do with planning too far ahead and bad luck. All I know is that I'm only guaranteed a decade at a time. Incidentally, a while ago he told me that the chances for contract renewal in 2015 are "looking good." Ah, the romance...

All that aside, I think we feel fortunate to still like each other after three years and are looking forward to many more.

I See Check Writers

I don't like to brag, but I have to admit that I have somewhat of a sixth sense when it comes to choosing the right grocery store check-out line, gas station line, movie theater line, really any kind of line which will have the person directly in front of me paying for his/her purchase with a check. Considering there are probably about 28 people left in the modern world who are using checks for purchases such as, say a banana, I consider it quite a gift that I am able to seek them out.



Take this morning for an example, I left my hearing at the Bankruptcy Court and decided I needed to contribute to the Saudi GNP by buying gas. So I headed over to Costco and found lines somewhat similar to the above photo. My brow began to sweat (not just because the immortal Camry has given up the Air Conditioning ghost) as I tried to choose which line would move fastest. I ultimately chose the far right lane. As I patiently waited, the kindly woman in the massive Cadillac filled up and then approached the poor Costco gas station attendant with a check. A check. Has anyone since the inception of the automated gas pump paid with a check? What ensued would have been comical had I not been beginning to experience heat stroke symptoms. Unreal.



On Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. after my run, I went to the grocery store to buy a few things and only the self check-out line was open, sure enough, the elderly woman in front of me was paying for her $3.57 purchase with a check. I suppose that one is partly my fault, since the only people in grocery stores at that early hour are typically the more experienced generation who tend to write more checks.



Finally, I have to go to the bank today, so I fully expect to find myself behind this guy.

Cousins!

The past three weeks have been eventful for little Afton and full of many firsts -- first trip to Oregon, first plane ride, first delayed flight (the plane hit a bird...she cried for two hours in the airport while we waited), first wedding attendance, first time sleeping six hours in a row (which unfortunately has been repeated only once), and of course, first introduction to many of her family members, including her cousins. We're sure she'll become good friends with Gavin, Bailey, and Audrey, as well as Elsa and Gibson.

Ghetto Bath

These photos are from Afton's bath in a hotel sink in Portland. She was just the right size.

Tony tried to bathe in the sink as well. The attempt resulted in pending legal action.

Four Generations

Here is Afton with her mother, her grandmother (her mother's mother), and her great-grandmother (her mother's mother's mother) at her Uncle Josh's wedding in Portland, Oregon.