A Trip Down Memory Lane

The girls were only in school for 2 or 3 days before we headed back to Utah for Grandma's funeral. Thankfully I was able to leave the babies or it would have been really hard. Brett had to work so between he and Jane and Julia we were able to have everything covered. 

This is really sad to say but I had SO much fun with my girls. It was so much fun to spend time with just them. I just wish it would have been under different circumstances. 

We left Bakersfield pretty late so we only made it as far as St. George. We stayed at Kelsee and Dave's house which was so fun because I hadn't even met their 6 month old baby Carter yet! Their home was beautiful and it was fun to see them. We got up the next morning and went to the Bear Paw for breakfast. They have the best hot cocoa and French toast. 

Then we went on a tour of the Brigham Young home. It was fun to do a few things in all these towns that we usually blow right through on a mad dash to get home.

The girls LOVED everything about this tour. They told me it was one of the funnest things they have ever done!

I enjoyed every second with them.

Then we stopped in Cedar City and I showed them around all of our old stomping grounds. This was one of the apartments we lived in. It had avocado green counter tops. We lived there for about a year and a half right before moving to Pullman.

Then we went on a tour of SUU. We bought some souvenirs at the bookstore and I showed them the library. I never really went there (except to visit Brett). This was the table on the 2nd floor that he always studied at. I send him this picture and he said he almost had a panick attack just seeing it again! He worked So hard in school and we are both so glad that part of our lives is over. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday and sometimes it seems like it was a million years ago.

This was my old freshman apartment (the buff chicks of 46). The next generation?

This was the first apartment we lived in after we were married. We were the managers and we have lots of stories from there. We worked for a dirty crook so we were only there for just over a year.

Then we went to lunch at the Pizza Factory. LOVE those breadsticks.

Then we went to Holly's store to pick up a new dishwasher. Then we headed to Beaver for the viewing.

These 3 were at home working hard while we were off playing. They cleaned my mom's house and made dinner for her.

This is a cake my cousin made on honor of my Grandma. She loved all things fancy. She loved shopping and clothes and jewelry. Stef is a lot more like my grandma than I am!

The funeral was AMAZING. It was such a nice tribute to her. All of her children spoke and it was captivating. The highlight for me was the closing song. My mom and Kenzie played the violin "I Know That My Redeemer Lives". The spirit was so strong. 

What amazed me most was how my girls and Mia acted at the viewing. They weren't afraid of touching her body. I think they handled it better than I did. They would go up and hold her hand. They had questions but they understood so much about the afterlife. It was a special time for me to be able to bear my testimony that families are forever and it's really more happy than sad. I miss my grandma so much but I'm so happy for her. She is with my grandpa now who died 23 years ago. She didn't have to suffer long. I will finish this post with something Stef showed me when I was at her house last time. It's a note my grandma left after staying at her house a year ago. Mom, grandma, Stef, and I were able to spend a few days together last spring. It says, "Stefanie, I sure had fun. My favorite thing to do is be with family. Thanks for everything. Grandma. 

Well said!