Grandma Sue's Funeral

I'm so grateful they waited for our family to get home from Italy, before having Sue's visitation and funeral. I knew when we left for our trip that she would most likely pass while we were gone. Leaving for Italy and not canceling our trip was definitely a tough decision. One we debated and prayed about. However, one of the things that Sue kept saying was "live your life". In true form, she felt bad that we, her kids, were taking so much time away from our own families to be with her at the hospital. No matter how many times we told her that by her side was where we wanted to be. She didn't want us to cancel our trip. She knew it was Kaylee's graduation gift. 

Getting to the visitation was a bit rough. We landed in Miami on the 15th and by the time we got home it was 6 pm. Our flight to Cedar Rapids was at 7:00 am, which meant we were at our house for less than 12 hours before leaving again. Then our connecting flight in Dallas kept getting delayed to the point that we showed up an hour into Sue's Visitation Service. Thankfully, Jonathan recorded the stories people told for me, so I was able to hear what people said about her, which was special. We walked in right as the line started for others to offer their condolences. I'm thankful we got there in time for that. It was very special seeing so many family members I hadn't seen in years. I got to see Aunt Joanne, Uncle Gary, Kevin, Dee Dee, Kristin, Darin, Aunt Barb, Jason, Sean and Nate. I'm pretty sure I hadn't seen them since Grandma Gaskill's funeral in 2012, so it was great catching up with them. Just wish it was under better circumstances. 

I'm just so thankful I was able to be with her and my dad when it counted and that Debi and I were able to trade off being with our dad. Trevor, Trace and Kianna are flying home on the 19th and Kaylee is staying with me until the 25th and then I'm staying with my dad until the 30th. He's going to have a tough time. He's never been alone. I can't believe she's gone. I'm just glad she's not in pain anymore and that I get to see her again in heaven one day!

Italy

In between all the chaos going on back home, our family was blessed with a 17-day trip to Italy. We let Kaylee choose the location as her senior trip. Being that she's our pasta lover, she chose Italy. I had the pleasure of planning our trip. We were gone May 30th through June 15th. We flew from Miami to Rome. 

Sorrento- From Rome, we took a train to Naples and then hired a driver to Sorrento. We spent three nights there and took day trips from this picturesque town.

Capri- The first day, we took an 8 hour boat ride around Capri Island, went into the Blue Grotto and rode a gondola to the top of Capri Island. It was one of our favorite days!

Pompeii- We explored the amazing ruins of Pompeii. 

Caserta- On our way to Rome, we took a stop in Caserta to see the Royal Palace of Caserta, one of the largest palaces in the world. It is known for its beautiful staircase. "Star Wars" and "Angels and Demons" were filmed there. Our highlight was renting e-bikes to explore the Palace grounds. It was really fun. 

Rome- We spent our next three nights in Rome where we explored the Colleseum, Old Roman Forum, Peter and Paul's Prison, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel and Vatican City. 

We had a great few days in Rome. However, as we were leaving Rome, Trevor had his phone stolen while riding the subway. It was super crowded and they took it right out of his pocket. He knew it was gone as soon as he stepped off the train, but it was too late. We lost our pictures of the Vatican City, which was a bummer. Trevor had to have his phone wiped clean and shut down. Then we were off to Florence...

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Peter and Paul's Prison

Roman Forum

Colleseum

Pasta

Vatican City

St. Peter's Basilican

Sistine Chapel

Florence- We spent three nights in Florence. We explored the Uffizi Museum, the Academia Museum, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo. We ate lots of gelato and lots of pasta. The girls and I attended a cooking lab where we learned how to make pesto, ravioli, fettuccine, and tiramisu.  

Pisa- From Florence, we went to Cinque Terre, but before that we hopped off the train in Pisa for a few hours.

Cinque Terre- We spent three nights in Monterossa al Mare, the northern most village in Cinque Terre. It is absolutely beautiful there. We spent one day hiking on the famous trail between Monterossa and Vernazza and then from Corniglia back to Vernazza. We hiked 10 miles that day and were absolutely exhausted. We rewarded ourselves with gelato and the beach. The next day, we went on a four hour boat ride so that we could see Cinque Terre from the sea. We got to swim in the Aegean Sea. We spent the rest of the day on the beach. We loved our time in Cinque Terre. 

Venice- We spent the next two nights exploring the beautiful city of Venice. We explored St Mark's Square, the Doge's Palace, the dungeons, the Bridge of Sighs, the Rialto Bridge, and via gondola and water taxi.

Rome- We took a train back to Rome and from there flew home full of wonderful memories and lots and lots of pictures. We are blessed!