Sunday, January 20, 2008

A trip up north

On January 7th my great-grandpa Ellis passed away. My family drove up for the funeral, and Natalie and I tagged along leaving Mark behind. He was 94 and had lived a long, full life. I visited him a lot while I was at BYU and grew closer to him there, and was able to record him talking about his life to preserve for posterity. It was a special experience and I was glad to be able to know him. Natalie even visited him a few times in her short life, and we've got the 5 generation pics that only come along once in a while. We will always remember his stories, rib-cracking hugs, and his love for the gospel. What a great man.

Natalie with her great-great grandpa Ellis, taken last April.

5 generations: Great great Grandpa Ellis, Great Grandma Gillie, Grandma Barnes, mother, and baby Natalie
Natalie and I in front of the casket. We admired the beautiful flowers.
Natalie being shy with her cousin Enoch.
My beautiful mother and her gorgeous sisters: Christine, Lynette, my mom, and Denise.
Sweet little Brooklyn!
My amazing sister Melanie with her baby Brooklyn. Oh, and me and Natalie.

On the way home we stopped to stretch her legs and she sat down on this rock. Adorable!
I'm really glad I was able to go. We had a fun time visiting with rarely-seen family members and divvying up Grandpa's stuff.
That's it for now. There's another new post below, in case you are wondering.

3 comments:

Steph (and Bryant) said...

I am sorry to hear about that. I am glad that you were able to make the trip though. Natalie is getting so big!

Amberly said...

i think i'm the only person that hasn't gotten any of grandpa's stuff... oh well. that looked like a fun rock.

Brandis said...

What a special thing for Natalie to have those 5 generation pictures! Not too many people get to have those. Isn't it strange how funerals are sad but at the same time it's so fun to see all of your family & friends that you haven't seen for a while?