Finding a New Normal

Since we lost Grandpa, we have still been enjoying some of the things we used to do with him.  We went out to breakfast with Grandma, Uncle Rick, and Aunt Linda at his favorite breakfast joint.

It was pretty special that they hung his picture on the wall so he can still enjoy being here.

We have been out to family dinners,

and to Carolyn's latest Art show.

Although we are going on without him, it is definitely different and his presence is deeply missed.

Saying Goodbye

Thursday March 24, 2016 was the day we said our final goodbye's to a Legend, otherwise known as Grandpa.

Grandpa's funeral was held in Fernley, at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, which is just a few towns away from us.

We have never been there, but the cemetery itself is just beautiful.  I cannot think of a prettier cemetery that I have ever been too.

Grandpa was in the Navy, and served in WWII as a gunner. 

This service was different for me in many ways.  I have never attended a military funeral, never attended a funeral with my kids for someone they were so close too, and also never been to a funeral of someone who chose to be cremated.  Everyone was in good spirits, and as the ceremony began I really thought I was going to be fine.

When we all looked out to the man holding the bugle, and he began playing TAPS...this is where I quickly realized my emotions were about to take over.  Later talking to Chase he said "that was the most beautiful music I ever heard", to which I might agree.

The folding of the flag, was so sacred and the silence was deafening.

I learned more about this part of the ceremony later, but it can almost be compared to that of a gun inspection by an outranking officer.  It was not done perfectly (per the officer), and had to be partially repeated.

When the Sergeant presented the flag to Grandma and spoke such heartfelt words, I was completely lost by my emotions.  I found it endearing that before he left he removed his gloves and knelt back down taking her hand and on a personal level gave his sincere condolences.

Matt's Dad then took a few minutes to speak a few words about Grandpa and talked about how he was "larger than life" and how much he will be missed.

Once the ceremony ended we moved to the grounds where Grandpa was to be buried.

To his final place of rest,

 We said our goodbye's.

Once the service was completed we headed to Carson City to Celebrate this wonderful life at a small reception we had helped put together.  I didn't take too many pictures as I tried to really be there in the moment.  I did make Grandma let me take a picture of her with this amazing drawing she did of Grandpa a few years ago.

They had it on display at the celebration. She really is a talented artist, and this is such an amazing likeness to the man who we will never forget.

His 2 sons and Grandma Carolyn (Matt's Dad on the left, and his Uncle Rick on the right). 

It was great to spend time with those who loved Grandpa so much, and hearing their stories about him.  All of Matt's siblings made the trip out to remember Grandpa (some traveling as far as Virginia) which was really special since we haven't seen some of them in 6 years.  We enjoyed what little time we had with them, and missed those cousins that weren't able to come.  I took a few pictures of Matt with his siblings, but this picture with his parents really captures the Denning's.

When I grow up

This week the kids had career day at school.  They were encouraged to dress up as what they want to be when the grow up.  So in a few years.....

 

You may know a certain 5th grade teacher (who apparently will have bad eyesight, because you HAVE to have glasses if your a teacher), and a certain famous Author. 

The Last Race

This past week  was Chase's last Pinewood Derby.  He had a very thought out plan for his car.  Since the first year his car won first place, the second year he took second, he decided to incorporate design details from both cars to make his final car.  It turned out awesome!

We got to the "pits" in plenty of time to weigh in, and get the appropriate weights on.

Here was the competition line up....

There were some pretty cool designs this year.  We spent the next hour watching many races.  Good thing there were so many finish line judges :)

In the end Chase took home Third place, which he said he "totally saw coming".  Along with third place, he was also awarded the Best Paint Job, he was pretty stoked about that!  We are pretty proud parents of this little Webelos.

Date Night

Early in the week,  Sadi came home from school with a flyer about a community Daddy/Daughter dance held at the high school.  She asked Matt if he would take her, to which he said YES!  She could not stop talking about it ALL. WEEK.  Friday night FINALLY came, and this kid was beside herself with excitement.

They went to dinner first, and then hit the dance floor.  I think Matt was exhausted by the time the night ended (he said they danced A LOT).  It was good she had some friends there as well to give Dad a little break. 

Because that left Chase and I alone for the night, I decided we too would have a date night.  We headed to one of OUR favorite places in town, the Pizza Factory.  We talked over pizza, and I am embarrassed to say we almost finished that whole pizza ourselves!

Then we rented a scary movie....

Although Chase had already seen this movie, it still gave him Goosebumps...and me as well.  That Slappy is one creepy dummy!

Lucky Day

St. Patrick's Day came...before my kids even knew it!  They had been talking about what kind of trap they were going to make this year for days leading up to it, and then forgot and went to bed without actually building one.  It was a long week for me, and so I forgot to remind them before they went to bed.

In the morning, it quickly dawned on Chase they forgot.  That tricky little leprechaun left them a note:

You give up?

No trap for me?

I'm still lucky,

More gold for me!

That did not keep him from dropping glitter all over the house!  He was nice enough to leave them a little treat by the door before he escaped.

We enjoyed our lucky charm breakfast, and then dressed in our pinch proof clothes for school.

They were loaded up with a lucky green lunch,

and we also made some little treats for our favorite teachers.

We ended the night with a lucky dinner...I mean how lucky are we to have each other?

College Bound

Yesterday our 5th graders took a field trip to get them excited about the future and going to college.  It doesn't get much better than right here at the University of Nevada Reno.

I went along as a parent chaperone with Chase's class.  It was ridiculously windy and cold outside.

Luckily I know my way around somewhat and was able to give directions to the teacher's who became lost quickly.  Our tour guide Cole, who is a student ambassador was good to give a lot of quizzes to our group.

We did get to see a few things I had not seen before like this replica of the atomic bomb that is ridden around the campus from time to time(love they put a saddle on it).

We got to spend just a few minutes in the School of Mines building looking at all the different rocks and minerals.  You definitely need more time to explore in there.

I'm pretty sure this is not part of the "kid" tour but our guide thought it would be cool for the kids to see the graffiti staircase in the Church of Fine Arts...it was not only colorful, but has little filter (Chase picked up a new phrase that was for sure colorful).

We got to go inside the new Pennington Student achievement center which  I had not been in yet.  I need to go back so I can test out the cool social stairs.  I think the highlight for our group is when they were allowed to roll down one of the big hills on campus....highlights of college life I'm sure :)

Once our tour was over we set up to eat lunch on the lawn.  I had Kelsey grab us some Panda and meet us to surprise Chase.  He was pretty envied by most of his buddies...especially when she picked up a little ice cream after from U-swirl and shared it with us.

It's pretty cool to have such an awesome role model!

Missing You Already

Today we lost one of the GREATS.  And I mean that in every sense of the word.  Grandpa Llama as we called him, was all that and more.

We have so many GREAT memories with him, he was just the best!  There are SO many things we will miss about him. 

We were so lucky to have spent so much time with him over the past few years, but we were also blessed to be with him in his last few days.  Each of our kids got to visit with him, and spend time with him...he always smiling. 

He loved his family so much, and never missed a chance to tell us how much he loved us.  After he was gone Grandma Carolyn decided we should take his credit card and go to dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, Saletti's.

We had just passed this restaurant on the way to his house, and it made me cry because it was the last restaurant we had shared a meal with him.  It was difficult for me not to miss him being there.

We toasted to Grandpa, and although he was ready, selfishly I wish we still had more time.