Friday, April 18, 2008

Our Family-Filled (Business) Trip (CAUTION -- LONG POST, but lots of pics!)

Well we've been back for a week and as you can see its been crazy getting my life back on schedule (not only is it always a challenge for me to get the laundry done after a trip, but I also started working again last week), so here is the post from our trip to Nevada/Utah. Sorry for the delay (because I know you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting from a new post from the Buckleys).

On April 5 we headed to Las Vegas for a conference Bryan needed to attend for work. Eleanore and I tagged along so we could visit my Grandma who lives in Vegas. Then we were going to go to Utah to visit Bryan's Grandma who had been sick for quite some time. The airplane ride there went perfectly -- Eleanore slept the whole way (the trip home was a slightly different story as she threw up way more than I knew a baby tummy could hold) -- but when we landed we received the very sad news that Grandma Buckley had passed away. We were heartbroken that we didn't get to see her one last time and that she never got to meet Eleanore, but we were also happy knowing that she is no longer suffering that she is again with her sweetheart, both of them free of the physical bodies that restrained their spirits during the final years of each of their lives. One thing to note about Grandma B. was that she loved her family very deeply. She treated all of us fantastically. A great example of her love was the way she cared for her husband, Bryan's Grandpa, during the last eight years of his life while he lay in a bed. We will definitely miss Grandma and are grateful for the legacy she left behind. It was great to be able to spend time with the entire Buckley family as we celebrated her life.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF VERA ETHEL ROSS BUCKLEY

I had never seen thse photos of Bryan's grandparents from when they were young. Grandma B. was a beauty and I can definitley see what she saw in her husband (he looks like a movie star!).

While we were in Las Vegas, before heading to Utah, we got to see my Grandma Jolley, my brother Tim, his wife Nancy and their son Gabriel, my Aunt Millie and my Uncle Jim. We also got to see Bryan's sister Jodi and her family.
Emily, Grandma 'Eleanore' Jolley, Eleanore and Bryan -- it was so fun to have Grandma meet her namesake. I was also happy to get a lot of time to just sit and visit with my Grandma while Bryan worked.Emily, Eleanore, Nancy and Gabe in our Las Vegas hotel room (isn't Gabe the cutest?) we loved seeing them!
Eleanore and her cousin Josh and Aunt Jodi at their house in Vegas.

Once we got to Utah it got even busier with lots of people to see! We first stopped and saw Bryan's Grandma and Grandpa Flint in Syracuse. Then, throughout our visit we ended up seeing all of Bryan's siblings (Kim and her family from Nebraska, Rob and Catherine from Florida and Jodi and her family from Vegas), his parents, a bunch of his aunts, uncles and cousins on both sides, my parents, my brother Josh and his wife Miri from Wyoming, Sarah, Travis and Sydney from Idaho and Ryan, Miriam and Milly also from Idaho. I was so excited to meet my new neice Milly (we took pics, but I forgot my camera so I am waiting for my brother to send me them...I'll post them later, she is super cute!). We also got to hang out with some of our great friends, the Harpers and the Ferrins, from the neighborhood we lived in a couple years ago in Smithfield. It was great to see everyone!

Grandpa Flint, me and Eleanore (I see a striking resemblance between Eleanore and Grandpa...acutally it makes sense, Eleanore looks like Bryan who looks like Grandpa).

Eleanore and Nana

Eleanore being entertained by her cousins Jordan and Audrey.

Grandma Toy and Eleanore

Grandpa Toy and Eleanore

Finally home (it was great to visit, but it is always nice to come home)!
Eleanore and Dad (I thought this was a cute pic!)

2 comments:

Catherine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Catherine said...

Looks like you got some great pics. It is crazy how many people you were able to see on such a short trip. I am glad that your parents and grandmother were able to meet baby Eleanore.