Denver

The beginning of May, I flew to Denver, Colorado for my grandma's funeral.  She passed away in February, but since she was cremated, we didn't need to have the funeral right away.  We figured out when my parents and all of my siblings could make it, and that happened to be the first week of May.  I got in on Thursday evening, the 3rd.  Audrey and Sam had already arrived, as well as my parents.  We went to dinner with them and my uncle Doug, although I couldn't eat anything since it felt like 1:30 or 2:00am to me, coming from England.  

After dinner, we chatted with the Savages for a while.  They are currently serving as mission presidents in the Denver North mission.  Sister Savage was one of the missionaries that taught my parents and key to them joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We met one of the other missionaries a few years ago, but had not met Sister Savage.  It was fun to hear her perspective about teaching my parents.  We are so grateful for her service and decision to serve a mission.  Those choices have made a huge impact on our lives and our happiness.  Here they are with all of us on Saturday evening:

   

I jumped ahead... on Friday, I hung out with Audrey, Sam, and the boys.  We went for a hike, had lunch at the Cow Eatery, and went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  We watched Pandas at the I-Max at the museum.  The rest of my siblings arrived on Friday afternoon/evening, so we got to have dinner with all of them on Friday.  

 Saturday morning was the funeral.  While not the ideal for happy family gatherings, it was a nice little reunion with my siblings, parents, and extended family.  The funeral service was nice - we sang How Great Thou Art  during the service. 

On Saturday evening, we enjoyed dinner with family and the Savages.  It was good to see my cousin Enola and my aunt Angela and Uncle John (my dad's brother).  My mom's brothers, Gary and Doug, were also there of course.  I also got to see my cousin Justin and his family. 

On Sunday morning, some of us went to church.  Others headed back home.  It was a short visit!  By the afternoon, it was just me and my parents.  After church, we headed over to the Denver Temple and wandered around the temple grounds.  It's not open on Sunday, so we couldn't go inside, but the flowers were beautiful and we enjoyed the peace of the temple. 

The necklace I'm wearing in the picture below was my grandma's.  (On Saturday afternoon, my sisters, Stephanie (Justin's wife), and I went through her jewelry and picked out what we wanted.  It's fun to have some mementos of her.)

On Monday morning, we drove by two of my childhood homes in Aurora and my elementary school.  We also got to have lunch with Sharon, who was our next door neighbor - she still lives there!  Fun to chat with her and take a little trip down memory lane.  

I flew out on Monday evening, arriving back in England on Tuesday the 8th.  Long flights for just a few days in the states, but fun to see family and friends!