Memorial Day Weekend

After spending the day out with Thomas the Tank Engine, we made it to my parents house in Star Valley. My entire family arrived on Friday evening so we could all make it to my Grandpa Heiner's funeral. We haven't all been together since Christmastime last year, so it was good to be together.

The next morning we all got dressed and headed to Bedford for the funeral service. I got to take my boys to the church building that I went to when I was a little girl and watch them walk around, which was a bit nostalgic for me. We got to the church early because they were having a viewing before the service. Since we couldn't make it to the viewing the previous night, we went that morning.

It was good to see Grandma Allene and spend a moment talking to her. It was good to see Grandpa Heiner looking so peaceful, laid out in his beautiful ceder casket and to say goodbye to him. It was wonderful to hear Dad and his brothers practicing the songs they would sing later at the service. It was nice to see so many of my cousins, many of whom I haven't seen in years. It was moving to see the love we all shared for our grandfather, who was a truly great man.

While we were waiting for the service to begin, the kids played outside for a little while. Here is a picture of Jacob and Ephraim and their Heiner cousins.

Here are Autumn, Kaylee and Ashlee on the front steps.

Before the funeral began, I had the opportunity to be there for the family prayer and closing of the casket. It was a tender moment that I will never forget as my father, his brothers, and Grandma Allene said goodbye to Grandpa Heiner.

The funeral service was wonderful and heartfelt. We got to hear some really fun stories about my Grandpa's life and some of the things that he and his brothers did together. He definitely had a sense of humor! We also heard of his love for the gospel, and the kind of life that he chose to live. We were all laughing and crying and remiscing together. Then Dad and his brothers got up and sang "Did You Think to Pray" and "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy". To their credit they managed to hold it together, even though the rest of us were crying by then.

When the service ended we went to the cemetery in Bedford for the graveside service. Afterwards we went to the luncheon back at the church. It was fun to be able to visit with some of my cousins and other relatives for a while before heading back to my parents house. The boys were pretty tired at that point:


That weekend we also had the opportunity to visit Grandma Heiner at her house on Sunday after church. I have fond memories of my grandparents house, and we took some pictures to remember what it was like. Here is their house from the street.

Here is a glimpse of the inside of the house.

And here are the infamous stairs that lead to the door in the ceiling, that we spent so much time playing on as children.

It was good to see Grandma and get to spend some time in their house again. It really got me thinking about my childhood and all the fun memories that I have. That evening some of us stayed up until 1 a.m. talking about things we remembered from our childhood, and it was a whole lot of fun. I am going to have to write down some of those stories because my childhood growing up on the farm is more interesting that I realized

Monday when my Dad met to talk with his brothers about Grandpa's estate, I was ecstatic to discover that they had found my baby pictures, which had somehow gone missing from my parent's album. So here is a picture of it Joe took for me.

I'm such a cutie, huh?

We took a lot of fun photos over the weekend. Here is one of Grandpa and Ephraim. For some reason Ephraim just likes his Grandpas. He would run over to Grandpa and climb up on his lap.


That's not the only thing Ephraim climbed up on. He found the old rocking chair and figured out how to get up on it. Isn't he cute?


Speaking of cute, here is Jacob using Andrew's iPod. He thought it was pretty cool to listen to music in the headphones. I wasn't in the room, but apparently Andrew told Jacob that he needed to ask his Daddy for an iPod.

No thanks! I am not ready for my three year old to turn into a teenager just yet!

One afternoon all the kids wanted to play outside, but most of the adults didn't. Somehow it ended up that Uncle Joe went outside and was playing tag with all the kids. I have some funny photos of them running around the yard, chasing Joe and being chased by him.

Here is a picture of the kids and Uncle Joe taking a break. (My sister-in-law Tiffany would not be happy I posted this picture because Ashley (far right) is doing such a goofy looking pose!)


We really did have a great time hanging out with everyone at my parents house. Joe even said it was probably the best time we have ever had hanging out with my entire family, which is quite a large group.

A few more photos... here is a photo of Ephraim checking out Grandma's laptop. Ephraim is just fascinated by computer technology. We have the hardest time keeping him away from the laptop and mouse!

This photo just cracks me up. Dylan (my brother Shon's youngest) was having a rough day. Just check out the look on his face... poor guy!

Our boys were so good the entire weekend at my parents house. They behaved themselves, shared the toys, and had a great time with their cousins. They slept in the car pretty well, too. They made good traveling companions, and we were proud of them!