So, we went on a last minute trip to Moab this week. The reason for the trip was the passing of Ian's paternal Grandmother, Marlene Bailey. While we were there we took advantage of the fact that a whole lot of Ian's family lives in or near Moab, so we had an informal family reunion. It was really great. Marlene's death was a relief. She was injured during hip replacement surgery four and half years ago. She was in a complete coma for a long time and never fully came out of the coma or regained her ability to care for herself. It was sad that such a loving family person passed away, but nice to know that she isn't struggling anymore. During our Moab trip we had the good fortune to stay at Ian's cousin Dustin's house. Dustin and his cute little family are on a trip to Disney world for his son's wish for Make-a-Wish, so they couldn't make it back for the funeral. Also at Dustin's house was cousin Lacy and her honey Ephraim. I just want to thank everyone for making us feel so welcome and at home, even though we haven't been down to Moab in four long years. Enjoy many pictures of our lovely trip:
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| This is Marlene at my baby shower for Aven, a little over 5 years ago. I really enjoyed the time i was able to spend with her. |
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| On a hike to Corona Arch with the fam. |
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| Etta's first big hike went well! She had a brief run-in with some barbed wire, but otherwise came out unscathed. |
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| Daddy is the best horse ever! |
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| With Patty Grandma. |
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| Aven saw this cairn on the trail and immediately said "look! it's a pirate ship!" That's my creative little thinker! |
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| Corona arch. |
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| L-R: Ephraim, Lacy, and their dog Lucas, Joe, Amber, Pearl, Dennis, Me, Aven, Ian, Christine, Etta, and Brance |
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| Love :) |
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| My girls and I. |
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| Brance with "his" girls. |
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| Shooting some hoops. |
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| Family barbecue. |
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| Cousin trinity and Aven posing. |
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| Throwing rocks into a mud puddle with cousins is the BEST fun! |
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| Grandpa Sug and Ian. Sug is almost 90 and used to be as tall as Ian. |
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| Eating frozen yogurt the cool way. |
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| I literally kept Etta entertained during the last hour of the drive home by crunching up graham crackers with my front teeth and blowing the crumbs at her. Literally non-stop laughter. Anyone who have ever been stuck in a car with a wiggly baby for any extended period knows that laughter is a million times better that crying, even if it means spitting cracker crumbs in your kid's face. |
Thanks Bailey clan for a great time, hopefully we'll be back soon, but just for fun and not a funeral!
