Memorial Day

Today was Memorial Day.

Cover them over with beautiful flowers,
Deck them with garlands, those brothers of ours,
Lying so silent by night and by day
Sleeping the years of their manhood away.
Give them the meed they have won in the past;
Give them the honors their future forcast;
Give them the chaplets they won in the strife;
Give them the laurels they lost with their life.
~Will Carleton

We spent the morning preparing for the afternoon by cleaning and cooking. Rebekah and Rose were a great help today with picking up, which made cooking much easier for Mom. Unfortunately they weren’t in the mood to help cook, but perhaps another day.

Then we headed out to have a picnic with some friends in the ward. Thankfully, it was sunny and mild temperatures, not too hot, cold or windy. We all brought enough to feed our family and then shared as we wished. The kids had fun playing together while the dads grilled and the moms chatted. It was nice to socialize with friends that we know love us for us and we don’t feel like we have to put on a front for.

Robin really seemed to enjoy the sunshine. She was very content to lie on her blanket and wiggle with excitement while different children and adults took turns paying her attention. Her excitement even carried over to going home, I have never seen her so playful and alert.

Rachel had fun pigging out on corn on the cob and rice crispy treats while chasing her older sisters and the other children, especially the two year old son of our friends. She wore herself out and took a long nap this afternoon.

After the picnic, we drove to the city’s veteran’s memorial at a local park. As it’s a small town, the memorial encompasses the local veterans for all the major conflicts the US has been involved in. It was nice to explain to the girls what the plaques meant and show them how many men and women had sacrificed their lives for our freedoms.

Then we got snow cones and drove around a little bit before returning home just in time to unload the car before it began to rain. Though we had used sun block, all of us were really worn out. The winter here has just been refusing to let go, so to actually be out in the sun for a few hours was draining on our winterized bodies. But it’s a good drain and we are very thankful for our lives today.