…And Back Again

Kira’s father’s burial was on Monday morning. He was buried at a new veteran’s cemetery in Colorado Springs, and so he had a very nice service there, complete with the playing of “Taps,” and a soldier presenting the folded flag to Kira’s mother. Immediately after the service, Kira stayed around to help decide what to put on the headstone while I took the kids back to my mother’s to change clothes and get ready for the rest of the day. 

We ate lunch at the Copes’ and then I went back to pack us up for the drive home the next day. When I was finished, I went back to join Kira’s family until it was time to get kids to bed. It was so nice to see them getting along with each other; we were sad to leave. 

The drive home was arduous, though not as difficult as the drive there. The kids did very well, considering their youth and how limited their entertainment options were. The worst part for me was my stupid aching back. It’s still not quite back to normal yet. We had a great time at the hotel. We got there around 5, so we had time to swim in the pool and watch some of a movie on T.V. What made it a rough night was that Hakan was having some tummy problems. They had made their way around with many of the family that came for the funeral, so no one is really sure where it started. Anyway, after soiling two pairs of pants, I was very nervous that he would have an accident during the night, but he was just fine until we were about 6 minutes from home…

It was so nice to get back to our own place. We got the car unloaded and are still not all the way unpacked. The poor school kids had to still get to bed at a reasonable hour because they had school the next morning. Avey stayed up with us a little bit just to unwind from the whole trip.

The weather has been nicely mild since we got home, so I took advantage of it and washed the van from all of the road grime. Merritt and Hakan could not pass up a chance to make a mess, so they joined me and got thoroughly wet, along with several other mishaps.

The kids’ last day of school was on Friday, so we’ve been working to finish up our Christmas preparations, including some last shopping and lots of wrapping of gifts that were mailed here. Now that my semester is completely over, with grades all entered and everything, I’ve been working to make the finishing touches to the upstairs bedroom. I’ve got the curtains installed now, and I finally decided to patch up an unsightly coaxial cable outlet that doesn’t fit. All that’s left is to clean up my construction mess, patch up the ceiling paint, and move the bed in there.

We’re all excited for the rest of this week. It will be our first Christmas in our own home, and the first one away from extended family in a long time. We’ll keep you all in our thoughts as the kids trash the house, though.

#Happenings