2017 :: week 28

SUMMER 2017 :: WEEK 8

the week of Grandaddio's funeral

July 9

My maternal grandfather, affectionately known as Grandaddio, passed away Saturday evening. We went to my parents' house for dinner and then discussed logistics for the upcoming week. Emily and I looked through old pictures and I found this one of my and my grandpa when I was about one.

July 10

We've been taking advantage of the free lunches offered by the school district a few days a week this summer. The kids favorites are chicken nuggets, popcorn chicken, chicken sandwiches, cheeseburgers and corn dogs. Elliott loves having his own tray. I like running into friends and not having to figure out to feed the kids and having a place we can stop in for lunch when we are out and about.

July 11

Tuesday we participated in Chick-fil-A's customer appreciation day and dressed up like cows to get free dinner. We've done this the past several years and Will has always looked forward to it. As we were getting ready he told me, "This is really embarrassing." I am very curious to know if someone said something to him about it being embarrassing or if he came up with it by himself. We met up with his classmate Soren and family and saw several of his peers decked out in cow gear so even if he was embarrassed he was in good company.

July 12

We went to the kiddie swim Wednesday morning. It was so hot! I think it was close 100 degrees with a heat index of close to 120. Whatever it was it was noticeably hot. Several friends from church were at the pool too, which was fun for the kids. Will played catch with Jack and Holden while Lauren help court with Kenni, Gretchen and Ava. Elliott didn't like venturing too far from my bag and tried to scavenge snacks. I enjoyed talking to my friends in the cool of the pool.

July 13

Thursday evening we traveled to Hurricane, Utah, via Las Vegas. We had a direct flight to Vegas, rented a car and drove the two hours and twenty minutes to my grandparent's home in Utah. It was weird being there without them. My grandpa passed away and my grandma now lives in an assisted living facility. She is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's. The kids behaved very well on the flight and were troopers carrying their backpacks and car seats across the airport and to the rental car pick-up (which is farther away than usual at LAS).

July 14

We are rarely in Southern Utah, and decided to take advantage of our proximity to the Grand Canyon and make a day trip out of visiting. The drive there was different than I expected. I was anticipating desert and it was really quite green with lots of birch trees and wildflowers. Will guessed that we were passing through a "temperate forest." We met my sister Melanie and her family at the North Rim Visitor's Center and hiked the Bright Angel Point Trail. The Grand Canyon is amazing! It was beautiful and so different than anything I have seen before. The kids were so good and it was great adventuring with the Staritas. Even though we were exhausted by the end of the day it was well worth the trip.

July 15

My grandpa's funeral was Saturday morning at 10am. It was a nice service and I learned impressive new things about him. He had been in a lot of pain in the weeks leading up to his death, but it was still a shock to see his body so thin and old. In my mind he will be eternally 70. It was nice to see family that we rarely see and spend time thinking about my grandparents.