Sally's Journey to Buffalo

Once upon a time, a pretty little baby named Sally boarded a plane to journey across the country to meet her Auntie Natalie (and surprise her for her 35th birthday!).

Actually, Sally's journey started a few hours before she boarded the plane--it started when she and her mother left their comfortable home in Twin Falls, Idaho and drove three hours across the barren wasteland of southern Idaho so they could catch their plane in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Honestly, whose idea was it to move to a small town without a major airport??)

Our cute little heroine didn't mind the drive too much--she only cried a little--and she was thrilled when her mother stopped in the middle of nowhere to feed her a bottle and give her a turn behind the wheel.  (The driving age in Idaho is much lower than it is in other parts of the nation.)

After their road trip, Sally's mother was exhausted--so Sal promised to be good on the flight.  She kept her promise, but she was just so excited that she couldn't stop wiggling!  Mommy and Baby did a lot of bouncing, juggling, walking, patty-cake, and playing with toys as they flew across the country.  It was exhausting.  Thankfully, Sally finally napped a little.

They stopped briefly in Minneapolis--but the stop was so brief that they had to sprint across the airport and didn't have time to stop for dinner or a diaper change.  Sally was so hungry that she decided to eat her foot.

Needless to say, when they finally arrived in Buffalo, they both rejoiced.

And Sally did a little yoga to loosen up after her tiring day of being crammed in airplane seats.

Eleven hours of traveling were all made worth it when they saw the look on Auntie Natalie's face.  SURPRISE!  We are here to celebrate your birthday with you, Auntie Natalie!  They spent a fabulous birthday weekend with her, going out for a girls' lunch, getting pedicures, and shopping for Christmas presents for friends and family.  

Sally also got to meet many other very important people, such as her Uncle Adrian (who sponsored their surprise visit--thank you, Adrian!) and her other "aunties," including Laney, Deborah, Sherry, Danielle, Kristen, Julie, and Melissa.  (I'm sad we didn't get photos with all of them.  How could I have forgotten to take a quick photo with my former work colleagues at the Cheesecake Factory?)

Sally wished she could have met even more people whom her mama loves in Buffalo, but it was a very short trip!  Next time!!

The journey home was much easier than the way there because the Daytons were actually headed to Utah on the same flight so they could celebrate Christmas with their families.  Having a few more helping hands on the way home made things much more manageable and fun for Mama.

Sally's only regret was that she didn't come home from Buffalo with an awesome track suit to match the Dayton boys (who, by the way, clearly got their love of track suits from Rachel).

All in all, it was a fabulous trip to the Buff, and Sally was truly a trooper.  She was so good, in fact, that this airplane journey might not be her last.

The end.