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| (8/24) Making pretzels on a Sunday afternoon |
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| Poor Hannah with dough on her nose |
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| Sometimes it's hard having big brothers |
My children and I hitched a ride to Idaho with my parents in August (8/26-30) to attend my aunt Connie's funeral. Connie, my dad's oldest sister, was mentally handicapped. She had quite the exuberant personality and would get SO excited at the mention of Pepsi, Coke, licorice, gum, and wedding rings. In fact, she had a very large collection of rings and would always say she was going to get married to "Jeff" in Heaven. Connie loved singing primary songs. She would often make my cousins and brothers and I laugh our heads off with her animal imitations. Meow! One of my last memories of Connie was our most recent trip to Idaho when Beau was a toddler. Connie was irritated by Beau and told me she wanted to "punch that little boy!" She could get pretty feisty sometimes! I also have memories of my grandma putting Connie's hair in curlers and Connie sneaking a pop saying "don't tell Mom."
The most tender part of the funeral, for me, was seeing Connie's roommate overcome with emotion. When the viewing was coming to a close, Teri embraced Connie's body with the biggest hug and said, "I love you, Connie." She was so pure and sincere and did what all of us wanted to do. At the gravesite, Connie's caretaker Leah arranged a "Pepsi Sendoff" where we all signed some balloons that were tied to a bouquet of empty Pepsi bottles. We then released the balloons to give Connie a Pepsi in Heaven.
My parents made the trip really fun for my kids and I. We went to a little amusement park and to the zoo, and everyone gathered at Grandma's one evening for dinner. Dan and Tam made homemade scones and we all hung out in Grandma's beautiful backyard to chat and play games.
My favorite part of the trip was having a little bonding time with Grandma. Her feet were aching and I was able to give her a foot rub as we talked in the living room. I am so grateful for my Grandma Joy and her wonderful example of motherhood, cheerfulness, and faithfulness to the gospel.
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| Hanging in Grandma's living room |
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| So excited about all the rides! |
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| Beau gives a wave to the crowd |
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| Cute brothers taking a ride! |
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| Hudson is beaming! |
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| Hello world! |
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| The only ones on the train! |
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| Beau looks like a little me in these train pics |
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| This amusement park was so cute and tiny - like it was straight from "The Notebook" movie set! |
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| Oh man ... ferris wheels are scary! |
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| Corn dogs on the ferris wheel - woo hoo! |
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| Beau and I had to hold each other tight ... I was scared! |
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| The octopus ride: worst decision ever! |
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| This ride was absolutely terrifying! We were both screaming to stop the ride! |
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| I think Hudson's height was deceiving - he was way too young for this ride! |
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| Serious Beau enjoying the creek |
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| Loving the crashing waterfall! |
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| What a fun park! |
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| My handsome guy! |
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| Love those little hands behind his back |
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| Yeah, yeah! |
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| Love Beau's happy face! |
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| Three month old Hannah was a great traveller! |
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| My attempted bang grow out ... it didn't last long, folks! |
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| Three generations! |
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| Check out that snake! |
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| Ooh! Freaky! |
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| My little snake charmer |
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| Enjoying the petting zoo |
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| Up close and personal with the lion |
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| Hannah did a lot of screaming at the zoo! |
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| I lost Beau for awhile and found him shoeless, resting under this mosquito net |
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| Cool water fountain |
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| Beau's impression of the angry monkeys |
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| Hanging out in Grandma's backyard ... such nice grass! |
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| Aunt Tammy's delicious scones! |
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| Everyone catching up |
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| Hudson and Noah getting to know one another |
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| I love Grandma's flowers! |
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| Beautiful Aunt Julie, the baby whisperer |
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| Heather's sons, Dreyden and Sklyer, are the nicest boys you'll meet! |
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| Playing games with Grandma! |
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| The boys had fun tying one another up |
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| I enjoyed getting to know darling little Mila and Kina as we played games outside |
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| Enjoying delicious breakfast-to-go from Dan and Tam |
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| What great travelers! |
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| One car-stopping-blow-out from my little darling - not bad! |
1 comment:
Your photos are so BIG compared to mine! Another fun posting Jess. I'm glad you came with us to Idaho!!
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