Travel and Loss

Earlier this month, we got the news that Shawn's grandfather had passed away.  He had been in a nursing home for several years due to Alzheimer's but had deteriorated quite a bit over the past year.  Shawn had always been very close to his Grandpa, so we decided we needed to fly to Indiana for a couple of days for the service and funeral.  

This would be Nora's first trip on an airplane and I was really worried about how she would do.  Especially since the last minute travel arrangements made us get really early flights with layovers to Indiana and back.  Don't know why I worried because Nora did amazing!!!

We weren't sure if we should use her car seat on the plane, so we decided to use it for the first flight because we thought she would be more comfortable seeing as she is already used to her seat.  She fell asleep as soon as we got on the plane and then slept through the take off and the first hour of the flight!  She was so good that we gate checked her seat after the layover and let her sit in the seat like a big girl!  She did amazing with everything...this girl!!  She loved the airplane rides and the airport. I think she is looking forward to flying again.

Shawn's family was so glad that we were able to come home for the funeral, especially his mom.  She really loved having Shawn there with her as she mourned the loss of her father, and she got a nice distraction in Nora!

Nora enjoyed the church where the service was...she collected all the pencils from the pews several times!  There was a nice nursery too that she got to play in during the actual service.

The family went to the grave site later that day.  Nora picked some dandelions and put them in the grave with Grandpa Phil's ashes.  I think Grandma Shirley thought that was about the sweetest thing!

We went to the dime candy store in Wakarusa afterward and Nora got a sucker!!  And Nana bought her a Nemo stuffed animal...she's been sleeping with it since then.

Nora had a nice time playing with Shawn's cousin Scott's kiddos too!

Nora was so glad to see her Uncle Pat!

And Uncle Guy...I mean Uncle Shane :)

It was a nice trip to Indiana...although it would have been nicer under better circumstances.  Nora enjoyed playing with the other kids and she enjoyed Grandma Shirley's backyard.  I forgot how nice the soft, green grass in the Midwest is compared to the crunchy, brown grass in Texas!  Nora loved this little deer statue, although she kept calling it a kangaroo.  She also counted the rocks several hundred times...she does pretty good counting and can pretty consistently count to 10.  She amazes me everyday.

I know that Shawn was happy that he got to be with his family to say a final farewell to Grandpa Phil Bowers. I hope that next time we are able to visit it is under better circumstances.