Trav's week at the...

As I mentioned before, Travis spent last week in Denver helping out at the Democratic Convention for his work. Here are some pictures of his (star-studded) week:

As I called it earlier, here is the Paparazzi-style pic of Charles Barkley Trav took at the Pepsi Center

Cool "Hope" sign

Tuesday night, he was invited to a private concert of Graham Colton and Death Cab for Cutie

Wednesday, he was allowed access onto the floor of the Pepsi center where he saw Melissa Etheridge rehearsing

Biff from the Late Show

Tight security


Dudes from Rage Against the Machine leading a protest

Pretty picture of clock tower- Downtown Denver

On Thursday morning, he found out he would be able to go to the historic event at the Invesco field at Mile High Stadium with some of his co-workers. They didn't have great seats (they were pretty much behind the stage), but he was able to see all the performers take and leave the stage before the big "Obama Acceptance Speech." So now, some more paparazzi-style pics:

Will from Black Eyed Peas.... and don't forget Fergie:

Spike Lee

John Legend

View of stage from from Trav's seat (that is Sheryl Crow performing)
Trav's alternative view of the performers (still Sheryl Crow)

This was the highlight of the trip for Trav. Trav was on his way back to his seat when he saw Martin Luther King III (and his entourage) walking towards him. Not only is this man the son of a legend and hero, but that day just happened to be the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream" speech. Lucky for Trav, he is not shy in these kind of situations and he took the opportunity to say hello, shake his hand... and of course ask for a picture. He said he was the only one he stopped for, and as he watched him walking away he noticed two sections of people in their seats all staring up at Travis in envy. And.... sigh of relief... the picture turned out OK!!

Stevie Wonder

And here is a little taste of his performance (just sound) and the crowd:

Although not a democrat or even an Obama fan (sorry, mom)-- he couldn't deny the feeling of pride in his country that he felt as he watched a stadium of 70,000 people cheering and waving their flags in unity.

After Obama accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination, there was a great display of fireworks to close out the patriotic event.

What was a week away from home that Travis had dreaded, turned out to be a lot more fun than he expected. He is glad he was there to experience the historic event first-hand. (Even as I watch him review this posting ... he is grinning ear-to-ear) .

Oh- two funny things he wants me to add:

He saw a funny bumper sticker that read: "Democrats are hot... Have you ever seen a nice piece of elephant?"

And a shirt that read: "Black man running... and it ain't from the cops."

Thank Goodness for Cousins!

Well "Afton and me on our own for a whole week"... has turned more into "Afton and me and Boston and Mariah and Whitney and Becca and Lyndee...."

Last night Mariah, Whit, and Boston came over. Boston and Afton decided they wanted to take a tubby. The bathroom turned into a flood zone, but they had fun!

Tonight, Bec & Lyndee came for a visit. Aunt Bec read to her while Lyndee did her whole 3 minutes of homework... and then they played, played, played! Afton is so lucky to have such great cousins to play with!


Only 2 more nights without out favorite guy around. I think we're gonna make it!! ;)

Speaking of our favorite guy (that would be Travis, a.k.a. daddy-- just to be clear)...I have to share his exciting piece of news from Denver today. He bumped into Chalres Barkley and shook his ["big"] hand!! Lucky for Trav he had his new point-and-shoot camera with him, so he took a couple paparzzi-style pics, too. (Well, Trav-- it's not quite George Clooney, but I guess the purchase has already proven to come in handy).

Too bad he forgot the camera cables... otherwise I'm sure he would have already posted the news and proof by now. (Hee Hee- J/K, lovey!). We'll just pretend this is one of his pics:

Goofing Around

It's just Afton and me on our own for a whole week! Well until Friday, at least. 

Trav is working at the Democratic Convention in Denver (no, he's not in politics, or a democrat for that matter... in case you were wondering). Somehow we'll have to keep ourselves entertained without him around. How ever will that be possible (we miss you already, dad!)?  

Well today... it's with Photo Booth:

Scooter Ride

Once again... sorry about the quality here!

The other night I was taking a walk with Afton and Jasper. Afton was riding her scooter just ahead of me, and I was following behind with Jasper... trying to contain my laughter so I wouldn't make Afton self-conscious and stop doing what she was doing. It was one of those moments where I wished I had my camera, or at the very least my phone because Afton had some serious moves on her scooter. If scooter-riding were an Olympic sport, she would take a Gold medal, I am convinced!

My lack-of-catching-the-moment regret kept lingering... so this morning I tried to re-create the moment. This, unfortunately (and of course) doesn't capture how hilarious she was the other night, but I thought I'd share it anyway. One of these days, if I get better footage I will be sure to post it. I hope you can see the her signature move at the end:

PS... speaking of Olympics... Afton had her first gymnastics class tonight. She's got potential... watch out 2020 Olympics! If scooter-riding isn't an event by then, we might have a little gymnast there!

Lake Powell (June 20 - 29, 2008)

Oh.. Beautiful Lake Powell. It's even more beautiful when there is only one storm (maybe 2... well maybe 3, but that's where I draw the line).


This was by far the best year we have been, as far as weather goes. We only had a couple small storms, and one BIGGIE (the awning on the motorhome was the only casualty). Thankfully, this year, we rented a trailer with some of Trav's family so we had shelter and A/C(!). Yay!

We had loads of fun. Memories that will stick out in years to come:

• Setting up camp three times (the water kept rising so we kept moving)


• "Ring of Fire" (not that I want to remember the million Neumann-made renditions of that song) (have a listen to it on my playlist, and tell me it doesn't stick in your head for 8 days!)


• Afton falling asleep while riding on the tube (who does that?)


• Crazy music man behind us on day 1 (another reason we had to move camp the first time)


• The word "tooty" used after the name of anyone Afton addressed (Brandon-tooty, Keyan-tooty, mommy-tooty...)


• The big wedding party on Lone Rock beach, and the nice newlweds sharing their cake (and Johnny Cash music over their loud speakers... this is where the "Ring of Fire" obsession was born)


• Afton's fascination with the lizards and frogs the boys caught


• Afton's first hike up and run down the sandhill


• Afton's insistence on not going potty in the water (sure sped potty-training along!). Her sand-toy buckets came in handy on a couple occasions!


• Lori , Afton, and I escaping death by inches! When the "Biggie" storm came upon us, we were the only ones at camp. Luckily when the micro-burst ripped the awning off the motorhome, we were a couple feet away from the "path of destruction." :)

Here are some pics of the good times!

Pretty Lake Powell:

Fun in the Sun:

Wake and Knee Boardin':

Professional Tubers (do not try this at home, these are trained professionals)

Just Chillin'