A Utah Whirlwind Celebration for Grandpa

We were so happy to be able to spend some time in Utah this weekend to attend Joe's grandfather's funeral in Provo. It was wonderful to both celebrate Grandpa's life and reconnect with so many family and friends.....and PorkBurritosEnchiladaStyle. The longer we're away, the more we realize that--when you go to BYU and live in Provo for an extended period of time--you really sell part of your soul to Happy Valley. Driving around, it's like we never left. (Bonus: never getting lost in Utah County).

Ian wanted to eat his goldfish crackers like...well...actual goldfish. Perfect layover time-killer, if you ask me.

For the first couple of nights, we stayed with our friend, Steve--a fellow MAGICCian and former co-worker of Joe's at SSCI. Because Steve is so full of awesomeness, Ian went into his room to find a tent and a sleeping bag just for him. Suffice it to say, I was bumped to #3 on Ian's ListOfFavoritePeople.

For the first time ever, we checked out the dinosaur museum at BYU (but only after all-you-can-eat French toast at Kneaders....come on, who wouldn't?). It was the perfect size and scope for Ian (especially after I took him to the MOS in Boston and basically traumatized him when he realized that dinosaurs weren't the actual size of his toys).

This would be Joe's best Giant Sloth impression. I give it a 10. I've always loved him for his inner Giant Sloth.

Silly Joe...I'm so glad he noticed that the curvature of the saber-teeth matches my belly perfectly. There's a little-known fact for ya. P.S. Wish I could tell you I was exaggerating that belly. Nope. Standing up perfectly straight, thankyouverymuch.

I don't know about your alma mater, but mine has a door with this sign on it. I'm 100% sure that the BYU Fudge Lady works behind this door. I was tempted to knock. But didn't. The elevator came instead. Someday.

One thing that will never, ever shock me about the BYU Bookstore is the type of item that they will sell and/or put on sale. Ian found these extendable mirrors (you know, the kind that the security people pass under your car to look for bombs) on a 90%-off shelf...so we got him 2. For like $0.20/each.

And what would a trip to Provo be without getting an ice cream cone at Macey's? There's a family feeling at Macey's, you know. We had to get some groceries for our flight, and were happy to find things all well and good at the store when the cones were still $0.50 apiece.

Do you see the excitement in Shara's eyes? Do you? Do you? It's because she's eating at Cafe Rio. That sort of excitement could only be found in one place.

And Ian was so excited about it, that he and Grandmama decided to color in his Curious George coloring book.

While Shara and I made a jaunt to the Distribution Center, Joe took Ian to the Bean Museum. I think it's a major rite of passage for BYU babies...and this one involved quite a number of in-depth conversations between Joe and Ian about taxidermy and why it's necessary. I hope he saw the liger.

Special thanks again to Steve (the tent guy). We wish we could have spent more time with you! Though, Ian will forever be grateful that he got two bowls of cereal at Steve's house. =)

I love this picture more than I can say. Joe has some pretty rockin' cousins. Here we have (l-r) Wendy, Peggy, Paul, and Jenny (who was unanimously voted 'hottest cousin' by Shara and me when she walked in wearing Grandma Jackson's dress and looking stunning).

Joe was standing on a chair. I will give it to him that it's a nice body-minimizing shot, however. =)

At the end of the night, Ian was ready to go. And here's where we found him--propped up against the door, waiting for us to take a hint. ADORABLE.

Thanks also go to friends Travis and Kelly, who not only let us stay at their house, but gave us their bed while they slept in sleeping bags in the living room. Oh, and thanks to them for also having toy versions of Luigi and Guido from Cars. They were right up there with Steve's tent in Ian's mind. We had a great time. (p.s., Kelly, I need the instructions for both the oatmeal and the lemon bars. Need being the operative word). =)