Saturday, June 23, 2012

Oregon


So...a couple weeks ago my family went to Oregon for Grandma's funeral. It was actually a pretty good trip! Mom, Hannah, and I went up together and then on the way back it was all five of us. A little crowded, but we made it. It was a very long drive. Thirteen hours there, fifteen back (we took the boys to Pocatello, then a friend of Jord met us there to pick them up...if he hadn't done that, it'd have been a good 17 hours). I hadn't been to Medford in years, so it was fun to go again. On the way there, we got to drive down the cliffs of insanity. Seriously, the road is crazy. It's not particularly wide, pretty much a straight drop down off the mountain, and no guardrails. And there was construction. Fun times. We also had a little adventure with a deer on the way back. Fortunately, dad had slowed significantly when he saw it on the side of the road. Anyway, we traveled safely and the scenery in Oregon is absolutely gorgeous. So green and luscious!
As for our time not spent on the road, it was really nice. I haven't seen some of my cousins in many years, so it was fun. Almost everybody was there. Even my cousin who currently lives in Austria! We were missing one on a mission in Brazil, one in China for a family reunion, and one in Canada, but pretty much, this picture is everyone. All the women wore scarves that belonged to Grandma. I wear several of her scarves frequently anyway, so that was fun for me! I love scarves. :)
The funeral was really nice. It was very pleasant and our musical numbers came together pretty well. Hannah and I sang a duet called "Beyond the Sunset," which is a beautiful song, but when I first listened to it, I got pretty emotional, so I was worried about being able to sing it. But it worked out and we sounded great. So all was well.
We spent a few hours telling stories about Grandma and then a few more hours having Grandpa tell stories. He's the best storyteller I know. I absolutely love his stories. Especially his cowboy ones...or the ones that start "When I was a little girl..." So it was a nice trip! I'm grateful I was able to go and participate and see everyone!