Funeral for Marjorie Whiting

Bryant's grandmother passed away at the end of September so we made the trek to Taylor, Arizona for the funeral. We drove down on Friday and were pleasantly surprised that it only take 9 hours to get to Taylor if we drove through Moab rather than take the 89 to Flagstaff and catching another freeway to Holdbrook and then to Taylor. 9 hours in the car is easy cheesy :) We stopped in Moab to stretch our legs while I fed Connor. The kids had lots of fun at the park and I was glad that it was not far off our path. This park had some interesting toys like this weird insect/creature that Tucker was climbing on 

They also had these toys to ride on. I loved these when I was little.

This four way rocker was my favorite thing. 

Hunter had lots of fun climbing up :)

Taking the path we did, we went through the heart of Navajo country and we found a rather ominous face in one of the mountains. We also learned not to stop in Many Lands for gas. We likely could have made it without stopping on the reservation but someone had to pee. Then someone had the need of another bathroom break only 10 minutes later so we stopped in Chinle as well. It was an interesting adventure to say the least and now we know to make a stop before the reservation and then again after if necessary. 

Amazingly our children traveled well. Normally, I am stuck sitting on the middle bench of the van helping the children be happy but with 5 children there are no seats for me other than in the front. Tucker and Hunter took turns on the middle bench helping Connor and passing food to the back row when needed. Gunnar had a moment where he was super upset and would not calm down without a hug, not even an air hug (blow a hug like blowing kisses) would not suffice. Otherwise everyone got along and helped each other be happy. 

Here are some pictures from the funeral taken by Hunter and Tucker. 

After the funeral we all went to Grandma Whiting's house to reminisce. We left there right after a major rain storm hit and drove to Flagstaff to visit with Michelle and Daniel. After learning about the 9 hour drive through Moab I had second thoughts about traveling 3 hours to Flagstaff to travel 9 hours to home the following day but I'm glad we stopped there. It was so nice to stay up and chat for awhile and then visit more Sunday morning. Family sure is the best!