Celebration of Gramma's Life

This past weekend we celebrated the life of G. It was a hard weekend of good-bye, but we know G is in Heaven with Jesus.Saturday the family said good-bye at her grave site with flowers and songs.

Walking with D.

Two beautiful girls!

On Sunday, friends and families had a chance to give their final good-byes at her Memorial Service. After the service the family released balloons in G's memory.

M, C and I put tattoos on her right arms to honor G and remember her fight against breast cancer.

G's sisters.

What a beautiful family!

Random sock buddies...even in the midst of our mourning we had some humor. All the sisters, daughter-in-laws and granddaughters wore mismatching socks to G's memorial service in honor of her love of themed parties (she threw a mismatched sock party for Aunt J upon finding that Aunt J hated socks that didn't match exactly!). Socks were chosen at random out of a bag and M found that by chance her matches were worn by D's aunt and cousin.

The Leivestad cousins with Granny Marie.

The Lalonde cousins.

Family of boys!

Memories of Gramma

G was loved by all and will be greatly missed. She was a big part of our hearts and lives. I especially loved camping with her and sitting around the campfire!

G and her twin boys sharing a birthday party.

I love you and miss you G!

Below is the link for an amazing video that Uncle B put together for G's memorial service.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMQMlgnD3Hs

Time with Family and Friends

G has been sick for a long time, but at the end of August we knew time with her was short. I always love to go visit and entertain her. The last few times I have helped clean because so many people have come to visit G.

Making sure all the floors are clean and spotless.

G and P on their back porch, which is one of G's favorite spots.

Sometimes the visits would get late into the evening and C or I would start to fall asleep. Here Uncle S is busy talking while B rocks C to sleep.

With lots of family and friends visiting, there was no shortage of good food. C especially loved the chocolate cupcake!
Reading with Cousin A while M&D visit with G in her bedroom.

Labor Day camping

Since we were staying close to home for Labor Day weekend and I was begging to go camping, M decided to let me camp in the backyard. The first thing to do when camping is to get the tent up. But then you have to take all your favorite blankets to it.Ready to spend the night?You bet!I slept really well and had lots of fun. M on the other hand was kept awake by the wind howling Friday night and the coyotes howling the next night. So we slept inside Sunday night and woke up Labor Day in our own beds!

Too funny!

Yesterday on the ride home from Y school, M and I were discussing various things. I asked her a question and her answer was, "I don't know." I corrected her, "You're the Mommy, you know everything!" She just laughed and replied, "Remember that in 10 years."

For some reason she wanted to share that with all of you!

Corn Fest Parade

At the end of August was the annual Corn Fest Parade in Loveland. My cousins and I went to it.

M thought this float was kind of cool. She liked the kids swinging in their harnesses from the crane.

Even D's work had a float! He wasn't on it though--he was content just to watch with us.What parade would be complete without an old-fashioned fire truck!What a fun day!

Turkey, turkey, turkey.....

M has lots of wildlife visit her office. This summer it has been the summer of the birds. The IT Director put out 6 bird feeders to attract all types of birds. The last week or so it has attracted more than we expected.M thinks she found Thanksgiving dinner!!!

Utah weekend

Two weekends ago, we headed to Utah for a quick family reunion with M's family. With the current health of G at home, we didn't want to be out of town for too long. So Friday morning we got up at 5 am and were in Park City by noon. The cabin was decorated for Christmas! M's suspicion was that the owners only come and stay and Christmas time, but just leave the decorations up year-round for everyone to enjoy!

The cabin even had a play area, with slides and playhouses. C and I found that right away and played most of the weekend there (when we were at the cabin).
Picnic area--big enough for the whole family.
The cabin with the basketball hoop in front.
Since we were the last family to show up, most of the bedrooms had been claimed already. So we took over the movie theater room (since the projector wasn't working anyhow) and had the whole basement to ourselves. C slept in one corner.
I slept on the loveseat by the door, behind all the seats.
There was a hide-away bed, but the futon cushion on the floor was much more comfortable for M&D. Upon arriving in Park City Friday at noon, we headed to the state park to enjoy an afternoon at the lake.
We had kayaks and paddle boats to enjoy. C started off with M and then because she didn't like getting her hair wet whenever M paddled we switched spots. I went with M and C went with Aunt R. It was fun with M until we tipped over and went for an unscheduled swim. After that I just wanted to head back to the beach to G. M did convince me to head out later that afternoon though.
My first ride with Aunt M.
The kayaks and paddle boats on the lake.
Hanging out on the back porch the next morning, enjoying hot air balloons in the sky. With Aunt M enjoying the beautiful morning and the hot air ballons in the sky on the back lawn.
After watching the hot air balloons land, we headed out for a long hike. The original plan was to let the more experienced hikers go on a really long hike, while the rest of us started and turned around when tired. M's heels were still hurting from her previous hike and she didn't really think that C and I would make it very far. After consulting maps, it was decided to start at the ski hill and hike the mountains around there.Taking a much needed water break in the shade.
Cousin D and I resting while we waited.
As the hike progressed and I continued to lead the pack for most of it and C was carried by M, Aunt R and Aunt M, it was decided that maybe a hike up and a free gondola ride down would be the way to go.
Another deciding factor for continuing was finding out that there was a lake near the top that we could stop at and rest.
Another break on the slope of one of the ski runs.
C did get carried most of the way, but sometimes she got down to walk. I walked over 4 miles before I needed to be carried the last 1/4 mile uphill before we turned to the lake and headed back down to the gondola ride. I guess all that walking I did at day camp this summer really helped!
In total, we hiked 4 1/2 miles, over 4 of that being uphill, before a short descent from the lake down to the gondola. M was really proud of me for how well I did hiking. I guess next summer maybe we will have to try some of the mountains around CO!

The hiking crew taking a break in the shade before heading back down the easy way! M was surprised how busy the Mid-Mountain lodge was. It was a haven for hikers, mountain bikers and those who paid for the gondola ride up just for the views!

The gondola was the way most mountain bikers came up the mountain. Then they continued up a chair lift and rode the many trails down the mountains.
D and C getting on for our ride down the mountain.
Four hours after we started, enjoying a water break and beautiful views on the way back down the mountain!
The ski resort at the bottom, with Park City to the left.
M and G enjoying the easy way down!
G&G
The whole family. We all look a little tired!
Last stop!
After the hike, we met up with the non-hikers of the family at Olympic Park, ate a quick and late lunch in the parking lot before going in to sightsee. We were able to watch the ski jumpers practice. What--skiing in the summer, how is that possible? The ski jumpers land in a pool of water! Pretty cool actually--see the video at the bottom.
After the ski jumpers, we went into the museum. Pretending to ride the bobsled!
All that walking makes one tired!
Carrying the torch!
D being silly while he pretends to ski.
C had to have her turn skiing!
After such a long day, we went back to the cabin and got cleaned up for family pictures since Aunt R was flying out that evening. We missed the group pictures Friday morning before an uncle took off. But thanks to Facebook--here is the Kellogg family reunion! The Boerner clan.
Our family--with the newst member Teddy being displayed. This was the bear that I had brought along for the weekend, but somehow C took him over and even now he is the favored bear in her crib collection!
The Boerner sisters! Uncle W was missed, but we know he is doing his job well serving our country.
Even though we were in Utah for only 47 hours, we had lots of fun family time together. C and Cousin H reading with Aunt M.
Then G had to have a turn reading to C.
Enjoying the warm evening on the deck,
while the rest of us enjoyed the hot tub!
Sunday morning we relaxed at the cabin after eating breakfast, before we packed up and headed home.
Again, it was a whirlwind of a trip (13 hours in the car and 47 with family) but it was well worth it seeing family and enjoying the Utah outdoors. Since coming back we took Aunt R to the airport so she could go to grad school and I realized that I wanted to go on an airplane and go on another vacation to see G&G and all my aunts and cousins. Even last night I asked M when we could go on our next vacation. I guess I have the travel bug like M does! I know I definitely like being with family--where I am usually the center of attention!

Ski jump video

Even the little kids get to jump!