Christmas morning, Steve called his parents to wish them a Merry Christmas and learned from his dad that his Grandpa Johnson had passed away. He was 93 years old and had been in and out of the hospital with pneumonia lately, but was finally able to get his lungs clear and go home. Unfortunately, it had taken too great a toll on his heart and lungs, and he suffered a heart attack at home around 3 or 4 a.m. Christmas morning.I first met Gordon and Hazel when they came to our wedding in 1998. I remember that a tornado had just gone through their town (luckily while they were on vacation) and totaled their house. Gordon was the epitome of a "grumpy old man". He liked to growl- literally- and when Jared was little, he called him a "little mugwump". You could tell that he was harmless, though, and that was just his way. I always liked him and thought he was an interesting character with a good heart. When I was pregnant with Jared, Steve and I flew to St. Peter, Minnesota to visit them. They came down to visit us in Waco when Steve's brother got married. (At that time, they 
owned a motor home and would winter in Arizona.) We saw them in California when Ron got married, and we drove up to Minnesota again one summer when Jared was 2 or 3, and went to the Mall of America while we were there. Gordon had a workshop out back where he tinkered with and fixed lots of things...mostly lawn mowers at that time. I remember him letting Jared drive one of the riding lawn mowers- I thought that was pretty neat! He was on oxygen, but was otherwise in pretty good health! I was amazed at how well he could still get around and even drive!
owned a motor home and would winter in Arizona.) We saw them in California when Ron got married, and we drove up to Minnesota again one summer when Jared was 2 or 3, and went to the Mall of America while we were there. Gordon had a workshop out back where he tinkered with and fixed lots of things...mostly lawn mowers at that time. I remember him letting Jared drive one of the riding lawn mowers- I thought that was pretty neat! He was on oxygen, but was otherwise in pretty good health! I was amazed at how well he could still get around and even drive! Steve looked into flights to Minnesota, but also wanted the kids and I to be able to go and visit his grandmother (we hadn't seen since before Lauren was born when Jared was about 2 or 3) and dad (who we hadn't seen since last Christmas in California). So, he looked at the weather reports and decided that they looked favorable enough to drive. 16 hours and 1000 miles one way, according to the interet.
We left Monday after Steve got home from work around 6 p.m., and stopped in Wichita, Kansas around 1 a.m. We hit the road 
again around 8:20 a.m. and drove the rest of the way through Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Jared got a kick out of getting to see Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Des Moines, etc... Places he had heard of, but never been. When we got into northern Iowa, it started to snow. Steve was driving, the kids were asleep, and I was watching the snow blow across the road. (Mom...you can skip to the next paragraph now) When we crossed the Minnesota border, I noticed the roads looked different, and the snow wasn't blowing anymore, but starting to stick. I asked Steve if that meant there was ice on the road now, and he assured me that we still had good traction. Well, about 1 minute later, we started to skid. I hung on for dear life, Steve managed to steer into the skids and keep us on the road, and the kids woke up wondering what the heck was happening. I was so scared, but could only laugh. We made it to our turn-off at Owatonna around 5:30 p.m. and stopped at a gas station to ask about putting chains on the tires. Of course, they informed us that we couldn't put chains on in Minnesota...so we drove the last 30-4
0 miles going about 25-30 miles per hour. Luckily we made it safely to his grandma's house around 7:20 p.m. (1030 miles so far!)
again around 8:20 a.m. and drove the rest of the way through Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Jared got a kick out of getting to see Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Des Moines, etc... Places he had heard of, but never been. When we got into northern Iowa, it started to snow. Steve was driving, the kids were asleep, and I was watching the snow blow across the road. (Mom...you can skip to the next paragraph now) When we crossed the Minnesota border, I noticed the roads looked different, and the snow wasn't blowing anymore, but starting to stick. I asked Steve if that meant there was ice on the road now, and he assured me that we still had good traction. Well, about 1 minute later, we started to skid. I hung on for dear life, Steve managed to steer into the skids and keep us on the road, and the kids woke up wondering what the heck was happening. I was so scared, but could only laugh. We made it to our turn-off at Owatonna around 5:30 p.m. and stopped at a gas station to ask about putting chains on the tires. Of course, they informed us that we couldn't put chains on in Minnesota...so we drove the last 30-4
0 miles going about 25-30 miles per hour. Luckily we made it safely to his grandma's house around 7:20 p.m. (1030 miles so far!)
We visited with Steve's dad and grandma and ate dinner at his grandma's house, then headed to the hotel. Wednesday morning, the viewing started at 9 a.m., and the funeral was at 11. It was a balmy-9 degrees when we got up! It was a very nice service and several people shared stories about Gordon. Outside, we saw the military honors (21 gun salute and taps). Then, lunch was provided at the local "Red Men Club". We got to visit with several of Ron's cousins and 
meet some other friends and neighbors. After a little nap back at the hotel, we went back over to Hazel's house and ate pizza and Steve took the kids to play out in the snow. We celebrated New Year's Eve a little early- around 10:30 p.m.. The kids stayed up until midnight at the hotel for the countdown, and then we all fell asleep. Thursday, we went back to Hazel's and Steve got some of his grandpa's tools from the shed. We visited for awhile, and left around 12:30 p.m. 
The kids did great on the trip! We brought plenty of movies, their new MP3 players, and snacks. I read them most of The Tale of Desperaux before it got dark. We stopped for dinner at Chili's in Kansas City, and then they fell asleep around 9 p.m. Steve and I ended up deciding to press on, and we arrived home around 6:20 a.m. Friday morning! Home Sweet Home! (Friday afternoon, we took the kids to see the movie The Tale of Desperaux. Saturday, we took down the rest of the Christmas lights and tree, and it was 
84 degrees outside!) Hopefully we'll be home for awhile!Ice Fishing Huts on the lake near Waseca:
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