So much to share...

 

   I sadly share that our dear Aunt Helen passed away a few days before we left for our planned trip down to Utah to see our son Josh, our Lauren and our grandkids Tate and Peyton.  These last few months have been a real whirlwind of emotions for us all with Helen's rapidly declining health, her passing and all the legal hoops we are now having to jump through to gain access to her checking account so we can pay some of her final expenses.  Her social security checks got messed up for the last few months also, so we are hoping that gets straightened out so the wonderful care center that she was at gets paid and hopefully there will be some money left over to help cover the other part of her final expenses.  Even if it does, we will still have to come up with some money of our own to help and be able to claim her ashes. We still have not had time to grieve our beloved aunt and have learned just what a mess death is when there is no will and final expenses have not been prepaid.  Jeff and I have not made a will yet, and are definitely getting it done soon.  We do not want our kids to have to deal with all of this when we pass.

   Our trip to see our kids and grandkids was a L>>>O>>>>N>>>>>G drive, over 10 hours and we did it both down and back in one day each.  Jeff and I both did surprisingly well. We got there in the evening and took the next day to rest and do some shopping before the kids and grandkids got home from work and daycare.  The next 2 days we had the grandkids with us all day while their parents worked and that time bonded us so deeply with them.  Josh took Jeff, Lauren and Tate golfing on Saturday while Peyton and I had some "girl time".  She fell asleep on my chest at her nap time and I soaked it all in, knowing that this was a moment in time that was so special and I would most likely not have again with her since she is growing up so quickly.  She definitely is a Gpa's girl though. ;)  Tate on the other hand is a total Grammie's boy.  He was right there with me most of the time and we had so much fun together!  That is not to say that all of us did not deeply bond because we did and on the way home I wanted to turn back around and go back to my youngest grandkids. ;)  Josh and Lauren spoiled us rotten while we were there taking us to see some wonderful things like the aerospace museum, a really cool sporting goods store that has a Ferris wheel, aquarium, restaurant, candy store, cool animal mounts and lots of guns in it.  They also took us on a beautiful drive to see the fall colors and to see Bridalveil Falls. Josh also smoked a pork butt and made pulled pork for us that was beyond delicious! Jeff and Josh got building project done and I made homemade mac and cheese and got a stuffed whale that my mom made for the kids mended since they had "loved" it a lot. :)  We squeezed a lot into a week and it went way too quickly for all of us.  Jeff and I both cherish every moment we spent with all of them and they made us feel so loved the whole time we were there.

   We have been trying to be "frugal", but our trip did cost us a  pretty penny and it was so worth it!  It is because we are so frugal that we were able to do this.  Between gas, boarding the dog, paying for someone to come in to take care of our home for part of the time (Shannon stepped in to cover the other part that our house sitter was unable to do), some fun money for the trip, and doing some frugal shopping while there, the costs definitely added up.  We hit some thrift stores, a Mormon food store and a Big Deals Outlet where we found some amazing deals!  I came home with a brand-new down pillow, clothing for both Jeff and I, some holiday decor, Sambucol for the cold and flu season, and many food items to add to our pantry.  I menu planned based on what we have in our pantry and freezers on the way home, and we will be sticking to that for the most part for awhile so that we can bank some money to add back to our savings.  

   Thank you all for being so kind and patient with me...it really is a huge blessing that does not go unnoticed.  Be blessed!