Still in Georgia

To get out to Georgia, I bought a "buddy pass" from a friend in Georgia. Now, they are relatively inexpensive, but you have to fly standby, so you never know for sure if you will get on the plane. A friend of ours said that he calls buddy passes "friend or enemy passes," and I think that he has it about right. We have been trying to fly back to Utah standby for several days now, and it just hasn't worked out. No one can use buddy passes over the Fourth of July weekend, so we're pretty out of luck. It looks like we may be driving with my family to Amarillo, Texas and trying to catch a flight home from there. What fun. I guess it is just more time to spend together, but Ashlyn and I miss Brad!

Bryon's Open House

Sunday, Bryon gave his homecoming talk and he did a great job. After church there was an open house so that people could come by and talk with him. It was so fun to see family, neighbors, and friends and to just enjoy visiting. I was especially happy to see Cami and her sweet daughter, Mikayla. It was the first time that I had seen Mikayla and I thought that she was adorable and so friendly! Mikayla is 3 months younger than Ashlyn and I really hope they grow up being friends like Cami and I have. Cousins are the best!

Family Fun

This past week has been so enjoyable-we've had all the Cheney children together for the first time in over two years. This first picture was inspired by our realization that we are all different heights. Mom is 5'6", Lorie is 5'7", I am 5'8", Juston is 5'9", Bryon is 5'10", Michael is 5'11" and Dad is a whopping 6'2". I'm not sure how long it will last, but it's pretty funny. The second picture shows what we spent the majority or our time doing, talking. It was great to hear more about Bryon's mission and to ask all the questions that I wanted to the moment I thought of them. Ashlyn has been practicing her walking, and whenever she would take steps, we would clap for her, so she got in the habit of clapping for herself. The last photo is just a cute one of Ashlyn and Michael-they sure have spent a lot of time together!

Ashlyn in a Russian Hat

Bryon came home from Russia with quite a few Russian hats. We decided to try this one on Ashlyn, and although she typically doesn't like things on her head, she kept it on for quite awhile. Bryon said that they sell little child size shopkas (fur hats) and he bought her some tiny knit booties that I'll have to take a picture of some time. She is holding on to Michael's fingers. It was so funny . . . when we first saw the family in the airport, she wanted Michael right away, and she didn't want to go to anyone else and she has been attached to him the whole trip. It's really cute.

Georgia!!!

I was pretty sure that there was no chance that any of us would make it to Georgia for Bryon's homecoming talk, but as of today Ashlyn and I are going to be there! Unfortunately, Brad will be staying behind and we are going to miss him so much. Ashlyn can't wait to meet Uncle Bryon and we are both excited to see the whole family. Woohoo!

At the Pool

After two weeks of swim lessons and a couple visits to the pool, Ashlyn is a pro swimmer! Well, not exactly a pro, but she seems to be much more comfortable in the water. She actually kept her hat on the entire time, as well as her shades (I think she liked not having the sun in her eyes). The sunglasses are a lot like goggles because they velcro around the back of the head, so they are tougher for her to pull off. Her and her friend, Natalya, seemed to enjoy crawling around the pool the most! The last picture is of them playing together while we took a food break. They are just too cute!

First Steps

I am excited to inform you all that Ashlyn took her first steps two days ago. She took three steps to be exact. She has not stepped at all since, so I'm not sure if it was a fluke thing or what. She does, however, enjoy standing up on her own! She doesn't even need furniture or anything to help her out-she just goes from sitting to standing by herself! As soon as she stands up, she starts clapping, so I assume that she is very proud of herself. We are very proud of her too!

Easter Dress

Grandma May got matching Easter outfits for all the grandkids, and tonight they dressed up to pose for an outdoor photo shoot (compliments of Allison). Brad took this picture of Ashlyn, and although she isn't smiling . . . I think it's pretty cute. Apparently, she didn't smile for any of the pictures. Stinker!

Bees Game

Brad's work had a party at the Bees Game (Salt Lake's minor league baseball team). We ate dinner there and then watched part of the game. Ashlyn really enjoyed playing on the seats and clapping whenever anyone else was clapping. It was the perfect night for a ball game and we had fun!

What Next?

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, it's right at her level and probably pretty interesting.

So Bummed

My brother gets home from his mission to Russia in one week. We have been looking for tickets for awhile now and I think we've missed out. We are probably not going to be there when Bryon gets home or when he speaks in church and I am bummed! Here is a picture of the handsome young man before he left on his mission. I wonder what he looks like now. . .

10 Months

Ashlyn is 10 months old today! She is growing up too fast. Her most recent achievements are learning to clap, blow kisses, and say "baby." Also, we recently discovered that her top two teeth are starting to come in. What a big girl!

Swimming Lessons

Ashlyn and I are doing a mommy and me swim class. Today was her first time and these are some pictures of her before the lesson. In the first one she is smiling because she sees the camera. Then I put a hat on her and she did not like it. After that I took the hat off and put a cover up on her and that did not make her happy either. I promise I'm not a mean mom. The class went pretty well. She was pretty tentative at first, but seemed to warm up to the water. I had to hold her pretty close the whole time, but I think she'll get more and more daring as she gets used to it.

Sleeping Sitting Up

Last night, Brad and I were sitting on our bed watching TV. Ashlyn was sitting in between us. After a while, I noticed she wasn't squirming around any more, so I looked down. She had fallen asleep sitting up. So, I ran to get the camera, and we took these three shots. Bless her heart!