Memorial Day

 We had beautiful weather yesterday for Memorial Day.  This is not usually the case.  Normally it is snowing :)  We took the boys up to the cemetery for the service the VFW puts on.

 I want our boys to know this is not just another 3-day holiday weekend.  It is so important to remember our heritage and the sacrifices that have been made so we can enjoy the life we have.

I always love the 21 gun salute, and I always cry during Taps.  I don't know how you could not.

Because the five year old has autism, I always try to give him a warning of noises to come.  He's very sensitive to them.  I told him before the ceremony even began that the guys with the guns were going to shoot them and that it would be loud, but that I would warn him when it was time.  He immediately plugged his ears.  It took quite awhile to convince him that they weren't going to shoot right away.

And here are my two favorite military men...  My dad

 And our oldest son.

And because I know he doesn't like his formal picture, here's one he should like better :)  I'm very proud of both of them.  My husband's grandfather and uncle both served in the military too, as well as my uncle, and then we have others in our extended family that also served.  His grandfather fought in WWII.

 I loved seeing this old jalopy at the cemetery.  It just seemed to fit the mood of the day.

After the service, we wandered around to all the family gravesites.  Some years we have gone with my mother-in-law to decorate the graves.  That's always such a rich experience as we get to hear all the family history and see who all we're related too.  This year we didn't get to do that, but we still enjoyed our tour of the family sites.  Some of them have very unique grave stones.

 This is his uncle's grave.  The stones are a section from a petrified tree. I didn't get a good picture of it, but the shorter one has crystals or something on it - it glistens beautifully in the sun.

 By the end of the hike the boys were ready to rest for a bit.  If you look close, you'll see that the two year old has gathered up another pine cone.  He can't go anywhere without coming home with one of those. :)

 This is the view of our town from the hilltop cemetery.

Here's the pine cone.

 After the service we went to lunch and ate outside.  The boys found a ton of dandelions.  When we loaded back up, the two year old thought his puppy would like to smell one :)

 He's quite a character.  That's a pencil case on his head.

 I just love how much our sky changes from day to day.

 And these pictures are posted at the request of the ten year old.

He tried explaining it to me but I might get it mixed up.  There are three sections - house, playroom and workshop, and a garage underneath.