Yahoo Finance Vanessa Bryant Enjoys Outing with Daughters After Marking One Year Since Loss of Kobe and Gianna
Vanessa Bryant Mourns Kobe and Gianna Bryant on First Anniversary of Fatal Accident
"I will never understand why/how this tragedy could’ve happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings," Vanessa Bryant captioned an Instagram post of a moving note from Gianna's best friend
Vanessa Bryant enjoyed a snowy getaway with her girls after marking one year since their loss.
On Instagram Wednesday, the 38-year-old mother posted a series of photos and footage from an outing with her daughters, in which they wear masks while sled-riding down a snow-covered slope. Vanessa also shared a selfie, posing in winter weather gear alongside Natalia, 18, and Capri Kobe, 19 months. Four-year-old Bianka wasn't pictured, but another snapshot shows Vanessa sitting in the inner tube with her youngest on her lap.
The outing comes as the family marked one year since the untimely deaths of patriarch Kobe Bryant and one of their daughters, Gianna. She was 13 and he was 41 on Jan. 26, 2020, when they and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
On Tuesday, Vanessa mournfully marked the first anniversary, sharing a moving note written by one of Gianna's best friends.
"Today I received this sweet letter from one of Gianna's best friends, Aubrey," Vanessa began in her caption. "I love you Aubz (as my Gigi would call you). Thank you so much for beautifully sharing some of your memories of my Gigi with me and allowing me to share them here on my ig."
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She continued, "My Gigi is INCREDIBLE and I truly appreciate your thoughtful letter. She loves you so much. I miss my baby girl and Kob-Kob so much, too. ♥️ I will never understand why/how this tragedy could've happened to such beautiful, kind and amazing human beings. It still doesn't seem real. Kob, we did it right. Gigi, you still make mommy proud. I love you!"
The emotional note from Aubrey honored Gianna as a friend who pushed her "to be better," and praised Vanessa as a mother.
"... If I ever become a mother, I hope my daughter turns out exactly as yours did," Aubrey wrote in the note. "[Gianna's] love of life is something I admire endlessly ... She would smile up the rest of the world."
Later in the letter, Aubrey wrote: "There are times I get into a pit of despair thinking about her and what she could've accomplished had she had a couple more years. But recently I have been thinking about the mark she did leave on this earth. Her fights for equality in sports made the world reconsider [their] opinions, she along with Mr. Bryant, set the wheels in motion."
Concluding her note, Aubrey told Vanessa that she "did it right" when it came to raising Gianna. "I am so, so blessed I got to have time with your angel of a daughter, and thank you for giving me that chance," she said, adding, "I love you and am thinking of you as we remember an honor her life."
