Happy Memorial Day!

We had a really nice Memorial Day.



The weather was beautiful.  The sunshine felt SO GOOD!

We headed to the cemetery to put flowers on Dad and Dana's headstones and see the ceremony.











This honor guard was at my Dad's burial as well.



The ceremony was very nice.  I love the music, the keynote speaker did a really nice job this year, and the people representing the military are always so impressive.  The speaker said a lot of really great things, but one of the things that stuck with me was in reference to the final scene in "Saving Private Ryan."  (Such a good movie).  He spoke about living a life worthy of the sacrifice that the men and women in the military give for us. 



Carl stood for his service in the Air Force.  Love the flag in the background.



Honoring the fallen soldier.
Such a moving image.
I am humbled by the courage of those who serve.
And the mothers who send their children into combat...I cannot begin to imagine.



My Dad's name listed with the vetrans in the program.
1004 flags lined the cemetery this year.  It was beautiful.



I always feel so grateful that my Dad's cemetery is so beautiful and so nicely maintained.



My Dad's flag.



It's still hard to see his name on it.



Katie was sitting quietly on the bench when Mom said, "Shall we go feed the swan?"



"YAY!!!!"  :)





Someone might have had their bread taken away for throwing it at the swan.

It's been a very busy weekend.   I am tired and looking ahead at a very busy week of the usual schedule plus baking and preparing for Matthew's birthday party on Saturday.  Lots to do, so my blogging will be probably spotty at best this week.  But I will keep up with my picture of the day.  I really am looking forward to Matthew's party, I just haven't slept well for over a week and am quite tired. 

I am also having trouble with my email, so I'm sorry if I'm delayed in replying to anyone...it keeps locking up when I'm trying to write/send/receive messages.  My inbox is a real mess as a result. I am more than slightly overwhelmed by it as I don't have time to deal with it right now so messages keep piling up and I can only imagine the state it will be in when I have time to figure out what is going on.

We really are doing just great though.  :) 

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and have a great week!

Memorial Weekend

Dan and I attended a wedding on Saturday night.  It was a friend of Dan's who worked at the CPA firm that Dan was employed with for 9 years.  Our favorite friends that Dan used to work with were there and we had such a nice time visiting and getting caught up.  It was so much fun to have an "adult" night out.  We really appreciated Dan's parents coming to take care of the kids so we wouldn't have to rush home.  The wedding was at 2 and we didn't leave the reception until 10!





We got up this morning and made the trip to Mom's house. Dan has been busy putting up blinds in the garage, hanging towel bars, fixing the sprinkler system, and just getting Mom's "To Do" list caught up. She does SO well managing the house by herself, but occasionally needs an extra hand. Mom made a delicious Ham dinner for us and we ate on her patio and enjoyed the nice weather (right before the big thunder and lightening storm!)

But lets back up.



The weather was beautiful, and so the kids played in the back yard. (This is the same day as the photos above...Katie just changed into a cute little outfit Mom had waiting for her...I'm not completely to blame for her ridiculous wardrobe). :) 



She also had sugar cookies waiting from our favorite bakery.



Katie said her clothes were "too hot." And took them off. :) We are not used to the heat.
It's in the low 70s and it feels hot! I'm sorry if these next photos offend anyone, but I thought they were too cute.
Katie loves her princess underwear.



The innocence of childhood.



Buidling a "sand castle" in the desert.

The boys saw Katie in her underwear and disrobed into their boxers and started squirting one another with the hose...there wasn't really anyone around so I didn't say anything, but Dan drew the line when Andrew went in the front of the house and started riding the scooter in his "boxer briefs".  Probably not appropriate, but totally cute and funny.



In the evenings the boys look in the rough (the desert surrounding the fairway and greens) for golf balls...
but ended up on the golf course tonight.



This was right before I got in trouble by a golf course employee for letting the kids play in the sand traps.

Ooops.

As I was taking the below photo, the thunder clouds were rolling in so we covered the furniture and headed indoors. It was quite a storm!





We finished the night with a sweet treat.

We'll attend the memorial service tomorrow at the cemetery and head home thereafter.
It's a quick trip, but we didn't want to miss the service.
It's a meaningful day.