Time Flies When You're in the Valley

The Salt Lake Valley that is...

Our trip to Utah went by far too quickly. There is just never enough time to visit everyone in Aaron's family. We arrived at Jon (Aaron's brother) & Katie's house late evening, Weds the 3rd. I must say the drive was very pretty and one can't help but talk about the trek Aaron's ancestors made across country in search for a better life and the pursuit of happiness. After 12 hours, I certainly wanted out of my air conditioned car and more to eat than beef jerky and fast food, but thinking of handcarts and starvation certainly puts you in a thankful mood instead. 

Jon & Katie recently purchased a new home further outside of town into the countryside, and I must say it was a little slice of heaven. Katie has started pursuing a career in therapeutic horse riding and has several horses at her disposal. They're new home also has an outdoor pool in the backyard that was calling our names! 

We spent most of Thursday and Friday resting up from our long trip and focused most of our attention on contacting our congressmen up in Montana trying to get further attention to our recent denial for AJ's travel on Aaron's orders. Thankfully, the people of Senator Jon Tester (D) agreed to meet with us the day after our immigration interview for AJ. We have continued follow-up with Representative Zinke and Senator Daines, but haven't had much luck yet. 

We had to take a time-out from all the obsessing about our travel troubles and take the kids to the Loveland Aquarium. If you know my AJ, he LOVES "shark and rays"!!! There is an enormous whale shark in the entrance and you ought to hear AJ greet this gigantic animal. "WHALE SHARKKKKKKKK!" His enthusiastic cries would put a smile on anyone's face. Children with autism have a special relationship with animals. It's almost like they don't feel the pressure to act a certain way or say certain things. They can just be who they are and say what they want to say; animals love unconditionally. AJ always becomes more vocal around creatures, therefore I keep a regular practice of visiting these type of attractions at every opportunity. In this instance, AJ frequently exclaimed, "MOM! I'm so happy! I can't wait to see my shark and rays! I'm so excited!" Not only is AJ initiating a conversation with me, but he is expressing his emotions and feelings which isn't always easy for a child on the spectrum. 

We came home and Katie, Jonathon (nephew), and I excused ourselves from the rest of the group and went on a long trail ride into the sunset with three of her beautiful horses. It had been a long time since I had ridden a horse, but after a half an hour I was BACK! It was just like old times. I think if everyone would just take an hour to themselves every night to check out of the busy world and enjoy the company of such a majestic creature, life might seem a little bit simpler, a little more peaceful. The sunset over the mountains helped, too! 

Saturday was Aaron's birthday and took on a much different pace. We drove south to Provo for the morning to check out Aaron's old stomping grounds at BYU. He drove us around campus while reminiscing about his old job as a ground's keeper, buildings where he practiced the most ballroom dancing, and even discovered many changes and improvements to the campus. Of course we made a pit stop at the Wilkinson Student Center to visit the BYU store. We had to stock up on our cougar gear before moving to England for three years. 

We headed up to Morgan to see Aaron's sister, Jane, and meet our new grand-niece, Sophia. Seeing a three day old baby made me realize little Channing isn't so little anymore. Ugh! Be still my heart and freeze time please! We enjoyed some yummy cake and celebrated our annual birthday shenanigans with his sister and of course stole a few kisses from our new baby, Sophia. 

Later, it was time to party with the old man! Aaron's a big fan of sushi, so we found a quaint sushi restaurant in Lehi and feasted on some delicious Japanese cuisine and miso soup. The evening was topped off by another trail ride with his brother and sister-in-law through the backside of their country paradise. 

Sunday was met with a little sadness knowing it was a short 24 hours before we would be heading north to my hometown. We attended church and then made a mad dash home to get ready for more family to arrive. Katie always puts on a grand production of a meal and hosts the whole Celaya clan every time we come to town. Swimming, diving tricks, and ruthless ping pong matches ensued and fun was had by all. I'm sure going to miss this family time over on the island. I believe the first words out of Paisley's mouth every morning were asking for her cousin, Kade. Talk about two peas in a pod!

But alas, Monday morning came, and we began the long 12 hour drive back to the {406}. Every time we are in Utah, there is a special spirit there that begs us to retire and plant some roots in it's beautiful borders. Until we cross the Montana border...Later, Y'all. ~K