We're back from our quick trip to Mankato for Grandpa's funeral. It would be so nice to spend a couple days there - at least - but right now it's just not possible between me having a paper route and Cory working weekends. As it was, the sub I had lined up for the route cancelled the night before we left. I feel awful about leaving my boss hanging like that, although I did let him know as soon as I could and had told him about a week prior to that about needing a sub. I still have a job, though, so it must have worked out okay.

We left Thursday morning, which also happened to be Ella's fourth birthday! Before we left, Ella opened her gifts. She is a huge Dora the Explorer fan and received a Dora doll as well as Dora's twin brother and sister dolls. How convenient that Cory and I had found those on clearance at Kmart not long ago. We also gave her a new bike helmet and shoulder & knee pads, which she tried out right away despite the cold, rainy weather. Last, but not least, we added to Ella's beloved Pookie book collection with the latest.

On our way out of town, we stopped for a free breakfast at HyVee. For the past several years, our local HyVee has had an annual Harvest Breakfast that is free to the public. You receive a heaping plate of scrambled eggs, sausages, a cinnamon roll, and oj or coffee. It always draws a huge crowd and was very yummy.

Ella's wish for her birthday had been to go to Chuck E Cheese, so we stopped at the one in Sioux Falls on our way to Mankato. That's also where we lunched. We ended up spending about two hours there, and all four of the kids had a blast. We hadn't been to a Chuck E Cheese for more than a year, too, so that probably added to the thrill.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we headed straight for the funeral home in New Ulm to attend the visitation. The visitation lasted about three hours, and we spent the time visiting with many friends and relatives. It was really nice seeing so many people come to pay their respects to Grandpa. After the visitation, the majority of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren headed to my grandparent's place so everyone could have a chance to look through all of the things that had been left out and pick out things they wanted. It's really an odd feeling to go through belongings like that, but it's also necessary since everything will have to find a home eventually. There were a few things I wanted for sentimental value, including one of Grandpa's bibles. I picked one out that he received in 1969, and when I was looking through it after returning home, I found some handwritten notes, including one where he listed passages he had questions about and had even written some things in Greek. I also returned home with my grandma's sewing machine and all of her sewing supplies. I've never sewed, so this will be interesting. Accalia is very excited. I think I caved in to the peer pressure of my cousin Rachel and sisters-in-law Jessica and Kathy - all sewing machine owners - staring me down and challenging me to take it. Thanks guys!

The funeral itself was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I'm not sure if it was the finality of both grandparents being gone, but it hit me harder than it seemed to with Grandma. I also had a hard time joining in singing the hymns. I would choke up every time one would start because I would immediately hear my grandpa's distinctive voice singing it instead.

We had to leave right after the service at the cemetery and made it home without incident. Cory worked last night, so that's why we were rushing once again.

Now we're preparing for the Halloween festivities! Cory is going to take the older three trick or treating this afternoon to the downtown area. The businesses always hand out candy for a couple hours, and I'm going to take that time to set up a little Halloween party I planned for the kids. Then we'll go trick or treating again in the evening. We're just going to go on our immediate block, and then Cory wanted to drive to a few different neighborhoods in town where the kids could actually walk door to door rather than trudging along looking for lit houses. Unfortunately we live in an area that is kind of hit or miss for trick or treating. I'm not sure if I'll go with them or stay home with Tylan and hand out candy. It depends on the weather and on Tylan's mood.

Now I have some party preparations to take care of while everyone is still sleeping.