Grandma Christian's Funeral

 Joe's work fiasco came to somewhat of an end (relatively speaking) around the same time Joseph's Grandma Christian passed away.  We all really wanted to spend some time together since we hadn't spent much time all together the previous couple of months.  We also wanted to pay tribute to a woman who had been so kind to us during our time living in the Northwest.  We were blessed by so many yummy meals and caring phone calls during our time there.  The trip turned out to be exactly what our family needed to get reacquainted and reconnect after a rocky couple of months. 

The funeral was a great tribute to Grandma and a celebration of the devoted life she lived.  It was really nice for us to connect with all of the family members who took such great care of us while we lived near them during law school.

We stayed at a great place with a pool, so when we weren't with family, we were able to spend time playing with our kids.  We loved every minute of it.   

Last Visit with Grandma

We were in a hurry to get on our way after we left the lake, but we had to stop and see Grandma Christian again before we left town because we knew that it might be the last time we would be able to visit with her here on earth.   Grandma was having dinner with Aunt Carol so we stopped by there to have a quick visit. 

Grandma's Zoo Birthday!

For mom's birthday in June, we spent the day with the grandkids at the zoo.  They've done some amazing improvements at the Hogle Zoo.  It was great to see all of the new exhibits and we look forward to other new exhibits to be completed this year.  If we only had the climate we did in Southern CA year round.  We all had a great time. 

Independence Day 2011

We spent the fourth of July with Joseph's family at his mom's house. The kids young and old had a great time on the giant slip-n-slide. We had a yummy dinner and then did a few fireworks on the basketball court and then when it got dark we headed for Adam's culdesac to see some of the big fireworks. It was great and low key to not have to deal with large crowds. That morning I had a breakdown of sorts, wondering what we were doing in Utah. I felt so lost, but after I got going and visiting with family, things got better.