Another title for this post could be "Three Funerals and a Long Drive". The last week has been a full one for us. Kirk officiated two funerals in three days here in town and just before the second one, we got the news that a friend of ours in Grand Junction had passed away. Steve had valiantly battled cancer for five years and is now no longer in pain, which gives us a reason to rejoice. Our housemates were close to him as well, so we all decided to pack up and drive to Colorado on Wednesday night so that we could attend the memorial service on Friday. We drove through the night, which was great for Trip who slept for many of the 13+ hours. Having several drivers helped the adults as well, but we were all tired when we arrived late Thursday morning. It was straight to visiting friends, though because we were determined to make the most of every minute there.
On Thursday afternoon, Trip and I went to the park with our friends Kristen, Elijah, Elisabeth, and Samuel. We enjoyed watching the ducks and Trip kept asking for a bath so that he could swim with them!
On Thursday afternoon, Trip and I went to the park with our friends Kristen, Elijah, Elisabeth, and Samuel. We enjoyed watching the ducks and Trip kept asking for a bath so that he could swim with them!
The weather was beautiful as were the views. It was nice to see the wonderful views of the Bookcliffs, Grand Mesa, and Colorado National Monument again. I miss them.
It was a little challenging for us moms to chat since we were all chasing our respective sons around, but we got a few moments together.
This is the best picture I got of the three boys together. It was fun to see them interact now that they are all older, walking, and starting to talk.
Trip absolutely LOVED the playground. With the winter weather here, he hasn't had many opportunities to play on a playground since he's been mobile enough to do so. He crawled in and out of the tunnels over and over.
He was also quite fascinated with the wood chips.
Being cute
On Friday morning, Trip and I were able to visit my old school. Everyone was thrilled to see Trip and see how big he's gotten. He was being pretty shy, but warmed up eventually and had fun playing with the other teachers' kids.
It was so wonderful to see everyone, but especially Patricia (left), who was my partner teacher for five years and Andrea (right), who I mentored during her first two years of teaching and who took over for me in second grade when I left. [Sorry for the blurry picture- it was taken by one of the kids. :) ]
On Friday afternoon, we joined hundreds of other people (probably close to a thousand) at Steve's memorial service. It was truly a celebration of a life well-lived and was very moving. He impacted many lives in his years on Earth, and especially in the last five or six years as he became a dedicated follower of Christ and a pastor. We saw many friends there and enjoyed catching up with them.
After dinner with more friends on Friday night, we got a few hours of sleep, and headed home at 4:30 on Saturday morning. Trip did quite well during the long drive. He slept some, played with toys, watched videos on my phone, ate lots of snacks, and only had a few times of unhappiness and frustration.
After dinner with more friends on Friday night, we got a few hours of sleep, and headed home at 4:30 on Saturday morning. Trip did quite well during the long drive. He slept some, played with toys, watched videos on my phone, ate lots of snacks, and only had a few times of unhappiness and frustration.
Most of our drive was in the vast nothingness of Utah and Nevada. There were some great views.
We stopped several times and Trip was of course eager to get out and stretch. He liked this sign at one of the gas stations we visited.
He was very happy, as we all were, when we finally got home and spent the next couple of hours running around the house and playing with his toys.
1 comment:
Glad you had a safe trip there and back, and so glad you got some quality visiting time there :)
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