Funeral and a Mini Vacation

This past weekend we went on a road trip to New Mexico. We went out to celebrate the life of my Grandpa Bernie. It was a sad reason to go but it was as fun a trip as we could make it. We caravan out with my Dad and his girlfriend Becky. We left Friday night at 7!! Yikes it was late and after packing all day I was already tired....but we pushed through and made it to Alamosa to stay the night. The boys fell asleep in the car but then had a tough time going back to sleep once we got there. We arrived in Alamosa around 11:15 and Brady finally made it back to sleep about 12:45! Dylan didn't make it back to sleep until after 2AM!!!! Mommy woke up very tired at 7:30 the next morning! But wake up I did. Dylan and I let Daddy and Brady sleep a little more and we went downstairs in search of coffee (A LARGE ONE) and some Orange Juice! We found it, quickly, and a little food too and had a breakfast date just him and I. It is so rare that I get some one on one time with Dylan, that I relished the moment and enjoyed talking and listening to him. Eventually Pa joined us and not long after that Brady joined too. After breakfast we put on our swimsuits and headed to the pool. The boys loved it and enjoyed it even more when Pa joined us and took the boys on shark rides!

At 10 on Saturday morning we headed out of Alamosa and were on our way to Los Alamos, New Mexico! We caravan again and Pa took us on the most scenic route!! It was a little longer to our destination but we were in no hurry and were all enjoying the beautiful changing aspen trees!! Such brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds!! It was so worth the side trip! Kent was also excited about this leg because he got to eat some real New Mexican mexican food. It was delicious and everyone of us enjoyed it!! Even if they didn't want our money!! (No credit, no debit and no out of state checks!!! YIKES! Thank goodness for a Pa that carries cash!) Towards the end of this leg of the trip we got to see an awesome canyon and the house where Pa used to live when he was going to high school in Los Alamos!! It was fun to see these places.

That night for dinner we met my Mom and brother Topher. It was a somewhat awkward dinner but I think ALL parties handled it well. The worst part about the night was that the food and service took FOREVER!!! I mean forever! And then to top it off forgot my mom's dinner! Oh man!! We finally all got our food and ate it and it was delicious so at least one redeeming quality! Then a funny thing happened.....Kent payed for dinner and didn't look too closely at the check just handed over the card and signed his name. Well I took the receipt to look at later...wanted to see if they charged for my mom's dinner that they said they were going to comp, and what did I see but a they had added a gratuity onto the check! *Jaw drops* I couldn't believe it - I mean how dare they after the terrible service they gave us! After thinking on it I realized that including our kids we had 8 people eating dinner and most restaurants add it for parties of 8 or more. So ok....I suppose that is ok. But in realizing this I looked at Kent...."Did you add a tip onto the bill"...."Of course I did." OOPS!!!!!!!!!!! Kent gave them $20 tip and they had added a $20 tip already on there. So we had terrible service and a dinner that lasted 2 hours and Kent gave them a $40 tip!!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha - NOT!!! Oh well at least the food was delicious!

Sunday morning we wake up have some breakfast at our bed and breakfast and get ready for the memorial for my Grandpa. It was held up on the Ski mountain and the view was so pretty. We ate some food and listened to some pretty awesome stories and loving memories of my Grandpa. It was a very moving time.....especially when my Dad for up to talk. I almost missed it as I was checking on the boys and Kent who were "hiking" around outside. I headed back in with Brady and saw my mom and Becky across the hall crying....then I heard my Dad talking. And I thought ok Dad is up there, and he is such a good speaker I am sure he is saying such wonderful things. But as I am listening, I hear all of that, as well as him crying. Now I don't know if you all know much about my Dad, But I have been on this earth for almost 29 years and have NEVER seen my Dad cry! I mean NEVER!!! It was all it took and I broke right down too! Brady kept asking me if I had gotten a bonky because I was crying. Such a sweety! My Dad's closing statement was "He may not have been my real father, but he will always be my father!" It was so fitting and so right and just made the tears come out more! It was interesting for me to see the emotion....I had never knew that my Dad and Grandfather were so close. It was a very nice memorial but it is always hard to say goodbye to someone that you love. If I could pass one thing on from my grandfather it would be to live everyday to its fullest and to not let a day go by with at least one I love you!

After the memorial it was time to head home. Phew!! My Dad and Becky were staying a little longer and then going a different way home so we caravan home with my Mom and Topher. We plugged HOME into the GPS and started driving. We made it to Pueblo for dinner with only 2 stops in between. Pretty good. We ate at a Cracker Barrel for dinner, YUM-O my favorite and so fun! Upon hearing where we were going for dinner Dylan says, "I like Crackers!" So cute and so funny and no he did not eat crackers! After dinner the boys got to pick out a toy for being such great boys on the trip. Then back into the car and on the way home! We made it home about 10:30 unloaded the boys into their beds clothes and all!! It was a long short trip and I am glad we made it. It was wonderful for us to be able to celebrate my Grandpa and to be there for my Dad. I hope another extended family vacation is on its way because this one was so fun! Next time a just because I hope!!