Grandma Reeves service in CA

After a few days of debating, it was decided that I would fly to CA with my siblings and Caelyn.  The boys were all on Spring Break and they could have gone, but it meant 2 days in the car and mass chaos.  Dacia was able to get us flights on her airline for free since she works for them and we were so grateful to them for doing that for us.

We flew to Long Beach where Derek joined us as we flew to Oakland.  We did our best to make it a good trip even though it was for a sad reason.  We don’t all get to be together all that often.  After we arrived we made our way one of our favorite restaurants, Dave Wongs, for some fabulous Chinese food.  Grandma would have wanted us to all hang out there and bond, I’m sure.    We spent a few days in Oakdale with family and since there was no actual funeral for Grandma, we had a family prayer at the mortuary and then a graveside service.  It was kept simple (probably good since Grandpa was not feeling well at all but somehow managed to get through the day – he nearly passed away himself a few days later due to an obstruction of some sort – it was a very crazy week).  Uncle Gary gave a prayer and Uncle Shawn gave a short talk and dedicated the grave and we sang a song.  So it was kept very simple, but it was perfect.  Afterward, the ward provided a nice luncheon for the whole family at the church.  We spent the afternoon sitting in the Hofmann’s living room and talking until late.  Dacia, Mom, Dad, Caelyn and I stayed at the Hawks and they were very kind to have us there for a few days.

The day after the funeral, the Spann kids (minus Derek who had to go back to work in Long Beach), went to San Francisco.  We crammed in Emil Villa’s Hickory Pit in Hayward, the Science Center, pictures near the Golden Gate and Pier 49 where we enjoyed yummy sourdough bread bowls with Clam Chowder.  The next day we visited Jack London square before heading to the airport.

 

In Long Beach we had a long layover so we got crazy and rented a car and found a beach where we dipped Caelyn’s toes in the Ocean for the first time.  She screamed and cried and threw a fit and ran from the water.  It was so funny!  Who knew she’d be so scared?!