Celebrating Uncle Paul and Aunt Janne

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Oahu. I am going to split the trip into two posts because the main reason we went on this trip was to  celebrate the lives of my Uncle Paul Bailey (73) and Aunt Janne Bailey (80).  My Uncle Paul died in 2009 and my Aunt died this past February. They were married for 50 years and raised a fantastic family of the most fun and kind people. My Uncle Paul was 12 years older than my Dad, so most of their kids were a bit older than my sisters and I, but we always had so much fun together. On the Friday of the trip we gathered at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

The service was so beautiful.

When the ceremony was over, the boxes with Paul and Janne's ashes were still on the table, and my cousin Jenny asked aloud, "Do we take Mom and Dad?" Erik said that was the saddest thing he had heard. I wish they were still with their beautiful daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren. It is hard to say goodbye to such loving people. I am grateful they created such a large and loving family so they can lean on one another.