Stratton

Thursday afternoon we were Nebraska-bound to spend the weekend in one last formal celebration of my mom's life. Before she died this spring, she decided she wanted her ashes buried in the family plot in Nebraska. Since we were planning to stop and see family in the area on this road trip, the family decided to have the graveside service this weekend when we would be in town.

Dad drove out to Nebraska with the boys and Nate and I headed out after Nate was done working. It was windy, but surprisingly green in many parts of our drive. I never get tired of seeing those gigantic wind farms along the interstate.

We rolled into Stratton and found the boys already at the school playground with my Dad and Aunt Linda. Stratton is a tiny town, maybe 500 people, but the boys decided their playground is top notch. As far as the boys go, I think this trip is morphing into a pilgrimage to local playgrounds across the country. Monkey bars across the USA.

After the bug-infested stay at the Airbnb in Virginia, I was relieved and pleasantly surprised by how nice our apartment in Stratton was! It was just behind one of my aunt's houses and had a nice deck where we could watch the sunset -- not that we had much downtime while we were there.

The temperature started ratcheting up on Friday and the boys quickly tired from the heat at the playground and we walked down to my Aunt Connie's house. While the boys crashed in the living room and watched a movie, I enjoyed the spending the morning with my aunts, Connie & Linda, as they cooked for the family lunch that was planned for after my mom's memorial service. Later in the afternoon I took the boys to the local pool. The water was SO cold, but that didn't stop them too much.

Saturday morning was my mom's memorial service. Family came from Kansas, Colorado, Minnesota and the local area. It really is an incredible feeling to have so much support and to have so many travel so far to share their love and respect for my mom's life and legacy.

The service was brief with my Dad saying a few words and Ryan leading a prayer. During the prayer I heard a few quiet sobs coming from Holden. I think it really sank in for him that Nana is gone. She was such an exceptionally good Nana to the boys. I will forever wish they especially had more time with her. After the service Holden took some time by himself at the edge of the cemetery by a tree, but was back to himself before we headed out to meet family for lunch.

Lunch was a great time to catch up with family and the boys warmed up to their "new" cousins. It was HOT on Saturday so we headed back to the frigid pool waters. This time the cold water wasn't much of a deterrent compared to the baking heat. We finished up the night with more food and family and one last trip to the playground.

We also packed up with a few extra momentos. My Aunt Linda made memory pillows for Dad, Ryan, me and our kids. She also surprised us with quilts that my mom had started but not finished before she got sick. Linda finished piecing them together and had a friend quilt them. It's such a beautiful legacy gift that we will all treasure.

We rolled out early Sunday morning and to drive to Colorado. It will be a 9-10 hour drive into the Rocky Mountains where we'll stay for almost 2 weeks.Read more