Grandpa's Funeral

I apologize for being so behind on my posts. We have done so much these last couple of weeks and so there will be many new posts and pictures! :)

First of all, I need to continue with my posts about my Grandpa. His funeral was on Thursday, November 19th. As you can see it was a BEAUTIFUL day! We go to Star Valley, WY for Memorial Day almost every year and it is almost always cold and rainy. Here we were in the middle of November and it was perfect! The funeral was incredible! I loved listening to the life sketch of my Grandpa. The one word that I heard over and over again was WORK. My grandparents both were hard, hard workers. Their stories sure made my day of laundry sound a little less daunting. I have thought of Grandma and Grandpa daily as I do my "chores" around the house. I think of Grandpa "enjoying the work". I try not to complain and I tell myself, "just keep working, just keep working." (yes, much like Dory...."Just keep swimming...just keep swimming". :)

Another amazing part of the day was when the hearse drove up to Grandpa's home and the casket was transferred into the horse drawn hearse. Then my Uncle and cousin drove the team up the hill to the cemetery. A couple of people along the way stopped and removed their hats as we went by and all of the other horses along the way rushed to the fences almost as a tribute to Grandpa. It all was very sweet. So very special!

I don't think I have ever taken pictures at a funeral, but we all were taking pictures, wanting to capture every moment. Grandpa loved our kids! He would give them treats every time we came to visit. Us older kids would steal the treats if we could get past the cane. :) This time the kids gave Grandpa the tootsie rolls.

I LOVE this picture! I have learned so much from my Dad, Aunts and Uncles. The stories of how they took care of Grandma and Grandpa are beautiful! They never left Grandma or Grandpa alone--especially in the hospital. They gave everything to care for their Mother and Dad!

After the funeral Matt and I had talked about leaving because we still had our big trip to Houston. However, once we started just hanging out with everyone I could not leave. I wanted to take in every minute of being with family again. I had another great video of BethAnn singing and playing the guitar and a better one of Jessica but they were too long and I can't get them uploaded. :( If I ever figure it out I'll add them because they were soooo good! I also have a great one of Wynn, but he told me his lawyers would come after me ;) so hopefully Elton, Brent and Dale and everyone else won't mind me posting some of my favorite memories of being with family! :)