Three Funerals and a Wedding

They say deaths come in threes. We attended three funerals in the last week. The first was a three-year-old girl in our ward who died from cancer. It is the saddest of the three, but the funeral was a happy celebration of her short life.

Second was the funeral of a lady in our ward that I visit taught for several years. She was never active in the church, but graciously let us visit her. I grew to love her. She was 83 years old.

Third, we attended the funeral of Brian's grandfather, Reed Walker. We drove up to SLC this last weekend to attend and to be with Brian, Michelle, and Gabbi and Brian's wonderful family. It was a wonderful celebration of Brother Walker's life. He was 93 years old. He was physically active through his whole life. He spent his 92nd birthday on the ski slopes. It was a funeral that made you want to live your life better. He helped hundreds of young people in scouting, teaching them in school and others to ski both on the slopes and in the water. He was a teacher in every sense of the word. He lived by the scout law. "On my honor I will do my best . . . " That was read at his funeral, and you realized he took every word in that to heart and lived it to the fullest. The Prince boys- Brian and his father and brothers- sang at the funeral. They are SO good. They sing acapella and are just amazing. The other musical numbers were also top notch and the talks were also wonderful and inspiring. Brian spoke sharing memories of his grandpa as did three other grandsons. It was a wonderful and inspiring meeting. I'm already trying harder to be a better person as a result of being there. I hope the affects last!

The Prince family were so kind and gracious to us, including us in all of their family activities throughout the weekend. What a privilege it is to be in their home! It was SO good to be with Brian, Michelle, and Gabbi. They live too far away! Here are some pictures from the weekend:

At the viewing

The Prince Family at the viewing

After the viewing, we went back to the Prince home where Brian's sister, Michelle set up Girls Night- we soaked our feet and had fun getting pedicures.

The Prince boys checking out the cuticle pusher thingy

During the graveside service, Gabbi wanted to run, not be held at a meeting. So she and I explored the cemetery. She was so cute. When the ground was uneven, she would reach up for my hand. There were Canadian geese. "Hi, Duck!" she said as she ran toward them. We had a fun walk.

Ken and I went to Hires for lunch after.

The Prince family after church. They won't be all together again for a very long time as Carl is going on his mission in June.

The Princes put on a princely feast indeed for us on Sunday. They are so kind.

Michelle's BFF since middle school came up from Provo for dinner, too with her husband and cute new daughter, Ellen. Lindsey and her husband will be moving to Portland at the end of the semester, so who knows when they'll get to see each other again. It was so fun to see cute Lindsey again.

All set for dinner. (Gabbi's getting a head start)

Brian and his mom suggested we surprise Michelle since her birthday is this month and make it a birthday party. "With a bump on the head." It's a Prince family tradition.

Happy birthday to you!

It was a great weekend. Thanks again to the Prince's for being so kind to us. We loved every minute of it.

So, when's the wedding you ask? It's in a couple of weeks. Our niece is getting married in Arizona. I'll have to post about that then, but I just couldn't resist that title.