Funeral Fun

How's that for an oxymoron for you?

I've been putting off this post for about a month now & since I now have a backlog of other posts waiting on this being posted...I will post.

The end of February brought on a death of the best variety. And while a death is always saddening, it really was of the best variety. My grandfather passed away peacefully on a Thursday evening. He had lived a good long life & his suffering was kept to a minimum...two things that are difficult to be sad about. My dad was able to time his arrival just right & was able to spend the final 2 days with him bedside. They were able to connect spirit to spirit & say their good-byes.

All my siblings & I booked flights & gathered to pay our respects. We visited. We cried. We ate. and we laughed...a lot.

It has been a long time {10 years?} since it has just been me, my siblings & parents together for an extended amount of time...no spouses or kids. And let me tell you, despite the circumstances, we had some serious fun together planning & attending a funeral.

Upon our arrival my mom & I promptly started trying on hats. My grandma has an extensive hat collection & as a young girl this was one of my favorite activities. I have a few I've managed to convince my grandma to give me stashed away in Olivia's room for her when she gets older.
This one I actually wanted to keep for myself! Cute, huh?
Amazingly enough, every single one of my cousins was able to be there for the funeral as well. Here we all are {minus 1, who had a 4 week old baby}. It has been a long time since we've all been together.It was a beautiful day for a funeral. I have to admit, I was surprised how nice the weather was for February. The services were just perfect. My dad is the 2nd of 4 boys & they each played their role & took their part remembering their dad & our grandfather. I have choice memories going to their house every summer growing up. My grandpa always had a HUGE garden in his yard & I was always willing to help pick {eat} raspberries!

A couple hours after the funeral & graveside services we came back to the grave to make sure everything was squared away. I have to say my grandparents picked perfect spots! It was so peaceful & pretty.

And while the circumstances were sad, the celebration was not. It provided a wonderful family weekend. Filled with really random laughter...that was probably a result of lack of sleep!
Lindsey was our chief comedian. Seriously? She is hilarious. Who does this? And then, even better, puts it back? Think of that next time you have yourself some gas station food.
Needless to say there were plenty of these stops. 5 minutes beforehand I was making fun of some people that were taking pictures in line at the Costco snack bar...I suppose we are just as lame.
And every meala sans children! Oh man oh man! I forgot what that was like!