After Jonah's baptism, we learned that Grandma Marva had passed. We decided to pack up the van and drive to Utah for the funeral, even though we had just made that trek to Wyoming the previous month.
We ended up stopped behind a car accident for about an hour. Which meant we hit Sacramento traffic, too. It was a brutal way to start the drive, but we were grateful we weren't the ones in the accident. We stopped so the kids could use the bathroom at this turnoff and ended up at this beautiful river. They ran around and threw rocks for a while before loading back up.
We made it in time to get cleaned up and head to the service. There was diet coke in Marva's honor.
It was nice to be able to say our goodbyes.
Then the cousins started pouring in.
John spent a few hours meeting and catching up with members of his dad's family. I met everyone, then tried to keep kids out of mischief so he could be free to mingle. His sisters helped.
The grandkids taking Marva to the cemetery.
So many little cousins and second cousins.
Alan gave a very nice tribute to his mom about how she wasn't perfect, but she tried her best and she loved her kids. I shared how nice it was to live near a grandparent and get to know her in a way I never experienced with my own grandparents. It came at a great expense to John's parents' freedom and sometimes sanity and I know Marva struggled with losing her independence and her memory, but it was something I appreciated and hopefully my older kids will remember her because of their sacrifice.
Sweet Jonah was very solemn and took his flower placing seriously.
Jane wanted to keep hers.
She was giving Katie some love. I think having so many unfamiliar people around made her latch on more to the people she did know.
All 8 kids came from all 4 states.
Jane and her cousin (with 4 brothers) bonded quickly.
Jonah loved the littlest of the cousins.
Lots of playtime. I brought laser tag, which was a big hit and kept the kids outside for hours. Super helpful when we're all in one house and it's loud. It was not without its fights, of course. We switched it off with some board games and tv shows.
My favorite part of a big family is sitting around and visiting with everyone. It's like people watching but with people you love instead of strangers.
Foosball was a big hit. We split an airbnb rental and the house was enormous and cheap.
So many cousins to play with. I have 4 cousins total and never spent much time with them. I think all but one or maybe two of the cousins came, so 21+ of them.
Sarah got a turn snuggling the littlest one and got him to nap.
Hang out time.
Constant board games.
Jane crashed.
When she got up, we went to a nearby water feature park.
It was incredible.
I wish we had something like this in our public parks.
Eventually they got cold and we forgot towels, so they used the beach blanket in the car.
Then we picked up Cafe Rio because we were in Utah and the kids had a movie night.
The older kids played more games.
We planned to stay longer, but everyone else was heading back to real life, so we split early, too.
Such a quick trip to soak up a few more memories.
We should really do more summer family gatherings.
Marva was the last of our living grandparents. When we got married, we had 5. Time passes so quickly.
