Devin's Pictures

Alex Runyan: Devin's Cousin.

Minecraft pig he got for Christmas with his Money from Grandma Vickie.

Tulip Selfies

We stopped at the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival on our date night tonight. It was nicer than we thought it would be. In fact, we're going to take the kids back tomorrow to spend a couple of hours there while the sun is still up.

Hope of America

Garrett got to participate in Hope of America last night. The traffic was bad getting there and getting home and they started 50 minutes late, but they all did a really good job.

Goodbye Grandma

My final grandparent passed away on early Easter morning (April 5th). She was 88 years old. She hadn't been feeling well and so Kurt and Stephanie took her to the hospital. The did a CAT scan and discovered she had cancer that had spread throughout her body (lungs, liver, intestines, spleen, etc.). The doctor said she would have at most 6 months to live.
Two weeks later she was gone. She passed away peacefully in her sleep after her kidneys shut down. We held her funeral last Saturday and it was a nice service attended by a lot of family members. My dad shared memories at the funeral and here is what I submitted:

My memory of Grandma Brunner is really an overall impression of her over the years. For me, Grandma was truly a matriarch. She, with Grandpa, presided over the Brunner family in a very real sense. While Grandpa would let you know if you disappointed him and you needed to repent, Grandma was always there beside him showing a perfect example of love and service.

I didn't understand what that meant until a few years ago when I was asked to help take care of David for a few nights. Kurt had had surgery and so he wasn't able to lift much and so I got to help get David in and out of bed, and go to the bathroom. Knowing that Grandma did that every day for 38 years helped me know her better. I never heard her complain and I've never met a more saint-like person. I have no doubt that she is resting now in heaven and was greeted with a hero's welcome.

We held the internment this morning. It's an odd feeling to realize that all of your grandparents have passed away.

Going Home

On the ride home we spent 7 1/2 hours in the car from California to Vegas.  Traffic was horrible.  Then we spent 6 more hours in the car from Vegas to Saratoga Springs.  We were all pretty tired of being in the car.  But we would stop and eat lunch or dinner at parks to let the kids run around a bit.  We had a great family trip.   The fun thing is that Andi turned 15 months old on April 7th, our 2nd day in Disneyland.  I hope this trip will bring the the children fond memories for a long time.

Yes, I know that Andi won't remember any of it but she can always go back and look at the pictures.  We took over 600 pictures between my camera, Jeremy's phone, Livvy's phone, and the photographers at Disneyland.

Disney Day 3

We went to Disney for a third day and we got to redo all of our favorite rides again.  Jeremy and the 3 older kids even stayed until Midnight to ride extra rides.   Andi was tired and ready for bed so I took her back to the hotel.

Day 3 Events:
Splash Mountain 2 times, Astro Blasters, Indiana Jones 2 times, Space Mountain 2 times, Mark Twain Paddle Boat, Thunder Mountain 4 times, Carousel, Pinocchio, Disney Railroad, Mickey Map show, Space Mountain 2 times, Toon Town play areas, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Tarzan’s Treehouse, Classic Mickey Movies, Mike and Sullivan Ride, Bus to car, Haunted Mansion, Finding Nemo Submarine, Star Tours, Splash Mountain