20 pics for a funeral
1. My lavender irises. They opened up and started blooming on the day we left for Michigan. She passed away on Wednesday, but we didn't leave until Sunday, the service was Monday and returned Tuesday. It was a strange, sad, quick trip.
2. Iris - My Grandma gave me some Iris bulbs when she moved from her house in Indiana to Michigan, just over a decade ago. I planted them at the old house. When we moved to this house, I dug up bulbs, and we planted them here.
3. Still blooming. There's Hope in flowers that come back every year.
4. The boys actually held up quite well for the drive. Guess our trip to TX was a good preparation. They knocked this 6 hour trip out like it was nothing. The read books, shared their screens, and generally acted like superchamps.
5. When we arrived, we checked into our hotel, then went over to Uncle Bob's place to just hang out and yuck it up. Though with the kids we didn't stay long. That's where my Seestor was crashing with my Mom. She'd flown into Detroit, and was staying just long enough for the funeral. Even though we'd just seen her last month over Spring Break. That's not enough. She accused Jacob of being disobedient, rightfully so, for he didn't obey her order to stop growing.
6. We arrived a little early for the funeral, so we stopped at Biggby's Coffee for drinkies. We'd been staring at the billboards for miles. And while pretty yummy, they weren't as good as Starbucks. But the kids liked getting some snacks before the service.
7. The Service was small, just the family, and held at the Funeral Home, for she didn't have a church. It's weird to not have lots of music and praise during a service, like I've gotten used to attending other services. Still, it was good to be with Family. The boys held up pretty well. Of course, we bring the noise everywhere we go. Aunt Lisa showed them Grandma and Grandpa's gravestone.
8. The gravestone. United at last. Their graveside in Evergreen Cemetery in Lansing.
9. Oma and Opa's grave. My Grandfather, Kurt's parents, are buried nearby. We left Oma one of the roses from Grandma's casket bouquet. And someone found a full beer on another grave, so we 'shared' it with Opa. He would've gotten a kick out of that.
10. The kids - All 5 Pryzma kids together in one room. It doesn't happen very often.
11. Grandma lived right across from Michigan State University where Uncle Bob and my cousin Robbie attended, and Grandpa did his undergrad. (His grad work was at Michigan, so he and Uncle Bob would 'battle' for years.) So Uncle Bob picked one of their favorite pub-style restaurants for us to dine after the Service. It was very Green, drinkies were good. Grandma would've just been happy we were together.
12. My boys clean up good. Being a funeral, I didn't take a ton of pictures. But the boys held up well, and looked pretty good. After lunch, they got pretty tired, but held up during the drive back to Detroit area, so we could all Nap.
13. Perks of the hotel - IKEA. As it turned out the Comfort Inn and Suites I chose closest to Uncle Bob, was right across the street from IKEA. Last summer, in Chicago, we discovered that IKEA is Awesome. So we decided to take the kids over there for a play break, and Eric and I did a little shopping. Lisa had to fly out right away, and no one wanted to join us. So it was a nice destressing break.
14. Checkout - When we left IKEA, through the warehouse to the checkout line, we found the boys were having a great time checking some of the stuff out, doing their own check out. Maybe someday they'd like to join us on a trip through.
15. Tuesday morning we headed back home. We stopped in Coldwater, MI for lunch at Culver's.
Jacob was a big fan. He likes ice cream and sweets as much as I do.
17. Grandma's Rose - I saved this rose from the casket, and it miraculously survived the trip home.
18. Pretty in Pink - Another view of the rose that we brought home, it's just Pretty.
19. Blue hydrangea - I remember my Grandma taking great pride in her garden, I remember her azaleas were the only ones that bloomed in Memphis. She had a giant hydrangea bush at Oma and Opa's home in Lansing, and a small one at their place in Columbus, IN.
20. The Hydrangea - We bought this blue hydrangea for the Service, then we got to be the ones allowed to take it home. That's partly why I chose a live plant. I wanted it to carry on, to become part of our garden. So Eric planted it this weekend in the front yard. And that way I'll be able to smile and think of my Grandma when I look at my garden too.
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