Grandpa's funeral

As much as I am going to miss my Grandfather, there was a positive element to it all.  All of my immediate family lives out of town, but almost all of them flew or drove in for the funeral.  Instant family reunion!

The first people to arrive were my parents. But since my mom needed to help with all the funeral arrangements in Salt Lake and my dad didn't, we ended up just hanging out with Grandpa for a week. We had fun, but didn't take many pictures. We went bowling one night, Grandpa got to come see Ballet class, and Tyler showed off his drawing and computer skills.

The night before the funeral, my dad moved up to a hotel with my mom so they could rescue people from the airport a bit easier, and my brother Gary drove in to our house to crash with his family. The funeral was on a Friday, and they had a vacation flight leaving Vegas at 8am on Saturday, but they drove all the way up and back in 24 hours. I'm so glad they did - we always love seeing them, even if it is just one late night chat and a Chick-Fil-A breakfast!

The next morning (after breakfast, of course), we all headed up to the viewing. We set up snacks in a spare room for the kids to wander around, and that worked out really well. My kids are younger than all of their cousins, but they have a lot of fun with them. The older kids think they are cute and a lot of fun to play with, and I think Kaitlyn fancies herself one of the big girls.

We were so glad that Uncle Harold was able to make it down from Logan to come. He has not been doing well lately, but he and his family have always been really close to Grandpa's family. It was a bit sad to see such a frail man say goodbye to his last brother.

On to the funeral, and then the burial. My grandfather already had his name on a headstone with his wife, so at least that decision was made. It is a lovely spot.

After the burial, we found a shady spot for a family picture. We are missing one brother with his wife and three children, but otherwise this is the whole crew. Of course, my two kids are the only ones that looked awful in each and every shot. Sigh.

They do like getting attention, though.

We had another few minutes to chit-chat at the luncheon, and then Gary and his family had to take off back to Vegas and pack for their next trip.

As usual, kids find their own entertainment.

That night, we moved the roaming hotel to our cabin, and my parents and little brother came down. It was a beautiful fall day the next morning, and we all had a lot of fun - especially once my oldest brother Scot got their with his family. Dan took the four-wheeler out on half a dozen rides around the area.

We played on the rope swing.

Tyler spent nearly the entire day painting the rocks with water. I swear, when that kid gets hooked on a task, he never lets go.

Kaitlyn convinced everyone to swing her.

And most of all, we played Ladderball. I had only played with the kids, which was all about teaching them to throw without any real rules. It turns out the rules to Ladderball are rather involved and fascinating! We had a near tournament going.

And Kaitlyn even played her own game as well. She quickly decided that it was much easier if you moved closer, and so she would try throwing the bean bag from about 2 feet away when possible.

Here you can see it all at once - the bean bag game, the Ladderball game, and the dirt bike coming back from a trip.

After lunch, my mom, sister-in-law, and I went out on a walk. The colors are a touch past their prime, but still absolutely gorgeous.

So while I was sad to lose my Grandpa, we sure had a lot of fun with my family while they were in town! Now only my mom remains behind to finish up things with her family and spend some time with us before heading back home.