We Love You, Grandma Esther!!
This weekend we travelled to Minneapolis where we buried my Grandma's ashes next to my Grandpa Victor at Fort Snelling. She passed away in Pella, Iowa, where we celebrated her life back in November. We have had this trip planned for a few months, and it was great to have everyone together. I know my dad was really looking forward to this trip, and he would have been pleased by the quality time we all spent together. It's the second time in three months that we have been together, and man, does it feel good.
Pat and I met my mom in the MSP airport and we got into our rental car to head for our hotel in Vadnais Heights. We spent some time with family, then crashed into bed.
The next day was Friday. We spent the morning trying to figure out where to go in the Mall of America for lunch, then racing there and eating fast enough so we could make it to Fort Snelling for our 25 minutes in the shelter we were assigned. That is quite the operation ... they have you in and out; must have something to do with the high volume of folks who reside there (lots of white tombstones).
After our 25 minutes reminiscing and praying in the shelter, we wanted to wait in the neighborhood while they put her ashes into the ground. So we tried to hang out in two hotel lobbies (we ended up at the Holiday Inn) where those of us who hadn't eaten at the MOA were able to get some food. Then back to the cemetery where we visited Grandpa and Grandma's site together. You can see the pictures below.
That night we ate pizza together at Warren Olsen's house, my Aunt Pam's dad. He was a gracious host to a huge group of people. I think we numbered at least 21 at that point! We went back to the hotel where Pat and I joined our youngest cousins, Joshua (14), and Jakob & Brita (10) in the pool, having a blast on the water slide. My body is still scolding me for acting so young! All this time, Graham was sleeping, with Grandmother Kathy watching over him.
On Saturday, we had a shelter/pavilion rented for the day at Bald Eagle Lake, so we enjoyed hanging out together in the not-as-warm-as-we-had-thought weather. I got out on the water for a while, but realized too late that I had forgotten to buy the all-important fishing license! At least I got to watch my cousins catch fish!
Graham enjoyed crawling around with his Baby Legs on, going from loving cousin to loving aunt, back and forth and forth and back ... one highlight of the day was when our long-lost cousin "Neil" came to visit us from the Oshkosh overall factory where he worked as a midget model for their suspender pants. Amazing how much he looked like Andy! Graham wasn't too sure about this new character and cried when we tried to get him to share a hug with cousin Neil.
On Sunday we visited Woodland Heights church, where my cousin Brittany goes, then went to lunch at Perkins. Then we said our lengthy goodbyes and headed for the airport. Before we left, we talked about doing this again next year ... and I am already looking forward to it.
There are a lot of photos in this post, and I hope you enjoy them ... I am putting them here as much for me (and Graham!) as for all of you ... it's good to have a record of our times, and this is our record.
Headed for the rental car, riding with Grandmother Kathy -
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With cousin Caitlin, waiting for the Fort Snelling associate to come and take us to our assigned shelter.
Daddy catching Graham's eye in the mirror. Even now G is laughing at this picture as he sees it on the computer monitor.
With cousin Tim as we were waiting at Fort Snelling ...
This is us in the shelter as we're sharing thoughts and memories of Grandma. Also in the picture is my cousin Brittany and her boyfriend Matt.
This is my littlest cousin Brita, who played a recorder version of Grandma's favorite song.
Graham with Grandma's box.
Hanging out in the hotel lobby ... with Brita.
The girl cousins! Molly, Brita, Brittany, and Caitlin. Go ladies!!
Our sweet family.
I had to ask for this picture to be taken ... Graham is not a cuddler, but for about 5 minutes while we were at the graveside, he totally nuzzled in and took comfort ... Mr. Monkers and I took good care of him.
Top row: Left to right, Cheryl (dad's baby sister), Ken (dad's second brother), Pam, Ryan, Joshua, Andrew, Mom, Carol, Caitlin, Tim, Michael, Dan (dad's third brother), and Shelly
Bottom row: Jakob, Molly, Pat, Graham, Brita, Brittany
One night, Graham woke up in the middle of the night and the only thing that would placate him was Uncle Andrew singing "I'm My Own Grandpa," over and over (so long that Andrew fell asleep singing, words slurring as he neared slumber). I set Graham down on Andy's couch bed for the rest of the night, and you can see a picture below of all the men-folk resting together in the morning.
Aunt Shelly and cousin Brittany kissing and loving on Baby G.
This is Brittany working on her unofficial assignment to help Graham learn to walk ... I helped her learn many years ago!
And here, for your enjoyment, is our long-lost cousin Neil!
1 comment:
You summarized well. I am so glad you recorded what we did and when. Aunt Toni and Uncle Walter will be interested to read about that weekend. Nathan, Greg & Sarah Jane also. Thank you for getting all this down. The photos are fun.
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