Sad times for Jacob

The one man in this world that I could thank for helping mold my husband into the man that he is was taken from this earth way to early.  My father in law, Vance, passed away February 1st unexpectedly.  He was an amazingly strong man who went through plenty in his life but he was a very caring, tender man who always cherished his family and grandkids.  He was a fantastic father in law and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Jacob took a flight out immediately on the 31st to be there with his father for his final breathes.  So the girls and I road tripped up to join him on the 2nd.  The 3 of us, car packed, food in reachable locations, a short detour, and 14 hours later we made it.  Marli got to switch her car seat around early, since 2 is the new norm for rear facing, so she could watch the DVD player.

Emmi helped put together the memory boards of all the pictures that Vance had kept in a drawer at his house.  There were some oldies of when I was in college hanging out with Jacob's family as well as other cool pictures of Vance since he was never one to pose for pictures.

Jacob likes to try to take the good from the bad. So to lead by his example the girls got to spend plenty of time with their cousins. Jacob's Cousin Chris and Emmi bonded while they ate Vance's famous Spaghetti and Cheese Sauce. If you have never had his cheese sauce it is amazing.

Marli had fun playing with her cousins especially Jace. He is Jacob's sister Jen's youngest son.  Not the best pic since I took it with my phone.

While we were away we had to make our own Crossfit Gym at the local global gym.  Nothing like a good workout to help keep the body both physically and mentally strong to deal with all that was going on.