A Heartbreak, But With Many Silver Linings

On September 26th, I got some upsetting news from my sister. That evening, our uncle Donnie (our dad's younger brother), passed away suddenly (most likely from an aneurism). He left behind a wife and a 25 year old daughter. While we can all agree that his death came far too soon, Donnie really was lucky in many ways... he died instantly, without any suffering; he was outside in the field doing what he loved, and was with two of his lifelong best friends when it happened. Donnie was always a concerned, loving, and wonderful uncle. I miss him now, and I know we will all continue to miss this incredible man.

Later that week, my sister Kara was able to fly up to Salt Lake with her 4 month old baby, Declan. She stayed with me for a couple days, which was WONDERFUL--I miss living close to my sweet sister, and it was so much fun meeting my adorable nephew for the first time! On 10/2, we loaded up the mini van, and headed north. First, we dropped off Mya at my mom's house (THANK YOU Mom for watching Mya while we made our trip!!!), then we picked up our 17 year old nephew Ben in Ogden, then headed to Powell, Wyoming for the funeral.

While the drive took quite a bit longer than it should have (I swear, mapquest should have options to mark whether or not you're traveling with young children, and/or a pregnant lady with a pea-sized bladder--then add 3 hours to the total time!), it really was a wonderful drive with no problems. Declan (4 months old) and Max (15 months old) were absolute champs, and it was great having Ben with us not only because of his help with the babies, but for his wonderful company!

Even though Kara and I may have gotten a bit lost... a few too many times... (hey, super small Wyoming towns are surprisingly confusing!!), we are more thankful than ever for cell phones and GPS. At least when you put the correct address into GPS -- ahem, KARA ; ). Anyway, here's a great picture of my dad, Mel, and his wife, Erl, getting to meet their two youngest grandkids for the first time. These two little boys sure brought a ray of sunshine to an unhappy occasion!

My uncle Donnie was a veteran, and had a beautiful and simple memorial service. With our cousin, Kenny Good, being a part of the Honor Guard and 21 Gun Salute, there was not a dry eye at the cemetery as he presented my aunt Teri with her flag. Below is a picture of me, Max, Kara, my nephew Josh and his wife CheyAnne, Ben, Erl, and Dad.

After the funeral we all went to John and Minnie Cozzens' home (my great aunt and uncle) for a luncheon. It was wonderful to get a chance to see family that I haven't seen for many years, and to reconnect with my roots. What an incredible family I have. Here's a picture of Max having a great ride on a tractor with his great-great aunt Minnie.

The day after the funeral, we took a day trip up to the Beartooth Mountains. The Beartooth Mountains have quite a significant meaning to my dad, uncle Donnie, and the previous two generations in their line of Cozzens. Donnie wanted to be cremated. My dad was able to get a little bit of his ashes to scatter at Donnie's favorite place in the Beartooth's.

On our way up, we stopped for lunch in Red Lodge, Montana. Alex and I coincidentally spent part of our honeymoon in Red Lodge 8 years ago, and even got pizza from this same restaurant. The food was even better than I remember! And if you can't tell from this picture of Max with his aunt Kara, we all had a good time!

After a somewhat frightening (and slightly nauseating) drive up the switchbacks of this beautiful mountain range, we stopped for a potty break and photo opportunity. (It was a little cold, so we left the babies in the car.)

After reaching our destination at an elevation of 12,000 ft, we stopped for a stretch and some yummy overpriced chocolate at the Top of the World. Max loved running around in the rain, and REALLY loved hanging out with Grandpa Mel!

Our time in Wyoming was priceless. There were too many wonderful get-togethers and time with family and friends to be able to blog about it all... In a word, it was incredible. As my dad would say, we're thankful that Donnie gave us the opportunity to all be together like that.

We saw many beautiful things on our trip to Wyoming. Honestly though, I'd have to say that this was the most beautiful sight of all: BOTH BABIES SLEEPING!!!

A few days after we returned to Salt Lake, Kara flew back to Arizona, and my dad and Erl drove down to Utah to stay with Alex and I for a week. The kids had SO much fun with Grandma and Grandpa (... and their ipad ; )! ).

We had a fun-filled week with Dad and Erl here. From late nights reading books and playing games, to feeding the ducks at Sugarhouse Park--we all had a blast!

Playtime with Grandpa!

On Alex's day off, we were lucky enough to go to the temple with Dad and Erl. And really, it was VERY lucky... we had several obstacles try to get in our way that morning. But thanks to some kind friends and family that helped us out (Alex's sister Kaiti in particular--THANK YOU for babysitting last minute!!), we were able to have an amazing experience at the Salt Lake temple.

On their last night in town, we all got to go up Millcreek Canyon for a weenie roast and some s'mores. Even though I hadn't prepared things terribly well, we were able to make it all work out beautifully. Here's my handsome husband for example, using his scouting skills to make a perfect fire!

I think this had to be the funnest night of all. It was a perfect fall evening, with gorgeous changing leaves, and a slight chill in the air. We had a fantastic time making our hot dogs, enjoying the beauty of the creek and the canyon, playing, and making s'mores!

We were all sad to see Grandpa Mel and Grandma Erl leave. But we will be forever grateful for the time we had together, and the lasting memories that were created!!!