One Last Time

Last fall we decided on a date for our annual trip to Iowa to visit my grandmothers and other family members. It's a trip we look forward to each year.

When my maternal grandmother passed away at the end of May, it was doubly difficult, because we knew we were just weeks away from our next visit. I kept hoping and praying that she would make it, so we could see her just "one last time". That seems to be Lauryn's thinking as well, because she mentioned it many times before and during the trip. She just wanted to see Great Grandma one more time.

At the funeral, we knew we would be back in just three short weeks, so that made things a little easier on one hand. However, we knew we still needed full closure, which meant going back to her house one last time. She had many things in her house that she would try to encourage us to take every single time we visited. It never felt right going through her house and loading her things in the car. We always just told her that we'd take things home "next time".

"Next time" was really difficult. And reality can sometimes be a hard thing to accept. So this time around, we did take things from her house that reminded us of her. Blankets and pictures and dishes and artwork. She did a lot of needlepoint and made more pictures and pillows than you can imagine. The girls were so excited to get some of her old high heels (shoes that hadn't likely been worn in decades!) as well as some of her everyday jewelry. Of course having her things to remember her by will be helpful. But going through that empty house one last time...not quite the trip we had planned last fall.

It was nice to visit with relatives and family that we don't see often. L & A had a great time playing with my cousin's little girls.

We LOOOVE holding babies :)

My sister and I spent many summers throughout our childhood walking around the downtown square in my grandparents' tiny town. That one last time around the square was tough.

I am so lucky to still have my paternal grandmother. She is in an assisted living facility, though, so our visits aren't the same as they used to be. I miss getting to talk and visit with her the way I used to. But I know she is thrilled to see us when we visit, and I love that the girls are continuing to make memories of their great grandmother. During our trip, we drove a few more hours to her town to visit her as well as extended family on my dad's side of the family. They have an adorable museum in town and the girls had the best time...could have spent and entire day there!
They had a little farm/general store/cabin set up. That was all they needed to get the ball rolling. They had a whole "game" going in a matter of minutes!





When visiting my dad's family each year, we had a tradition to go to a particular park in town. The picture does not do this slide justice. As a kid, it seemed as though that staircase would never end. I had to work up the courage to climb to the top.

Let's just say that some things never change. I went down the slide for "old time's sake" and quickly regretted that decision about halfway up. BUT...my girls are more brave than I am and climbed to the top over and over again. Although they did have a motto each time they started up the ladder and would chant, "Just don't look down!!" Great advice :)
The last day of our trip we drove back to my grandma's house. I took the girls around the house, taking pictures in each room. It was tough taking the "couch picture" without Grandma sitting next to us.
I have so many wonderful memories of this house. I'm so thankful that my children were able to make memories of their own.