1,000 Post! And American Symbols

10 years and 1,000 posts later, this blog is still alive and kicking (for the most part).

The Lime, and the rest of the first graders, have been practicing for the past month getting ready for their American Symbols play.

The Lime's class represented the eagles and, by golly, they were pretty darn cute.

Only a few kids per class got a part to say and The Lime was chosen to recite, "I saw a great seal balance a ball on its nose at Sea World once." He memorized the heck out of it and did a great job when it came time to perform.

The Lime is the black eagle  :)

After the kids recited their parts, each class sang a song pertaining to their symbol. I didn't record the Liberty Bell's song (since my kid wasn't in that class) but it was pretty cute. In fact, all the songs were pretty dang cute.

I thought I was recording the kids when they sang "You're a Grand Old Flag" but it turns out I pressed record when I was done. Thank goodness they performed it a second time so I got a chance to re-record it!

Doodlebug was anxious to see The Lime after the performance and The Lime was anxious to take a picture with his buddy, Jordan.

Trying to get a picture of 25 first graders is quite the task. Trying to get a picture of 25 eagles is just as difficult :)

Gratitude: Day 11

I'm skipping the alphabet thing this year and just picking something from the day that I'm grateful for.

Even though they're no longer with us, I want to take advantage of the time that I live near my grandparents' grave and visit them often.  I couldn't think of a more perfect day to visit than today, Veterans Day.

As soon as we pulled into the cemetery, I was in awe of all the flags.  They were EVERYWHERE!  The man at the gate asked if I'd like one to place on my loved one's grave but I graciously declined, letting him know I brought my own.  But much to my surprise, all of the military graves already had flags placed on them.

We quickly found Grandpa and Grandma and placed our flag. Doodlebug couldn't get enough of the kitty on Grandma's headstone and The Lime was paranoid about Doodlebug stepping on the headstones. He said he was afraid Grandma and Grandpa were going to reach their arms up from the ground and grab us. Oh my, does he had an imagination!

We spoke to them for a few moments before we walked around the cemetery and expressed our gratitude to all of the veterans for their service.

Our family has veterans dating back generations (I sort of feel like Forrest Gump). The tradition continues on with my brother-in-law and The Lime speaks of one day joining the military.

I'm grateful for the men and women, past and present, who make the selfless decision to join our military, fight for our freedoms, sacrifice their time with family and friends, to ensure my family is safe. They are an example to me and hold a special place in my heart.

Birthday Bash

I don't know what the odds are but in a weeks time, six of my family members have a birthday. To make things easy and fun, we gathered yesterday to have one giant celebration.

We were almost an hour behind our original arrival time but that didn't have one negative affect on the kids. They jumped right into playing the second we got there until the second we left.

My parents ordered sandwiches for everybody and we gobbled up chips, fruit, and pasta salad. Unfortunately, The Lime is a stinker when it comes to his pastrami and apparently Togos has the best. So we took his sandwich home for someone else to enjoy. Everyone did enjoy the chips, though.

A little more playing took place and then it was time to open presents!

Another round of playing after presents and then it was time for cake! My niece is allergic to eggs so my sister made eggless cupcakes for her. If you can't tell by the pictures, they were yummy!

The kids flew a kite while the adults talked for the remainder of the time.

What we thought was going to be a sweltering day turned out to be gorgeous. The park had lots to offer, was a central location for everyone, and the company was pretty dang good. The boys and I left the park feeling extremely grateful for the family we were sent to. Especially these folks who are one year older.

On our way home, my dad asked if we wanted to stop by a local base and check out their museum. Our neighbor works there and The Lime has had a desire to visit for the last three years so we took my dad up on his offer.

When we pulled up to the entrance, the guard had to check each driver's identification. My dad was in the car in front of me and handed the guard his military ID. He checked it, handed the card back to my dad, and saluted him. They do that for everyone in the military but I found it extra special and moving that my dad was the recipient.

The museum wasn't air conditioned, so it was a little miserable, but the cockpits were enough of a distraction for the boys that they didn't realize how sweltering it was.

My dad tried really hard to give The Lime his first flying lesson but his six year old mind was drawn to other things; like all of these buttons. How can you remember what each one does?!

When it was time to go, we heard a trumpet sound and wondered what in the heck was going on. My dad advised us to stop where we were, take our hats off (he and The Lime), and turn towards the music. They were retiring the flag for the evening and we were so lucky to be a part of it. We placed our hands over our hearts while The Star Spangled Banner played over the loudspeaker. This country is in a mess, and I'm afraid it will only get worse. But that minute and a half or so that we stood there, honoring that sacred flag and thinking of the men and women who have died for that flag and our freedoms, was one that I will never forget. I would have taken a photo but it was too special and I wanted to be in the moment and just have the memory in my mind.

My parents treated us to some ice cream before we parted ways.

On the way to the party, we drove by a field of sunflowers and I told the boys we'd have to stop on the way home so I could take some pictures. So that's what we did.

I ended the day with nothing but gratitude for the family I have, the freedoms I'm blessed with, and the beautiful creations Heavenly Father has provided for us. It was a wonderful day.

Memorial Day

Our Memorial Day was your stereotypical one; picnic for lunch (in our front yard, under our huge plum/cherry tree), swimming at the community pool (we got in for free because we got there 45 minutes before it closed), s'mores made over an open fire, and camping (in the backyard).

All of this was done with the brave men and women who selflessly gave their lives to defend our freedom, on our minds and in our hearts. Their sacrifice does not go unnoticed around here.

Speaking of which, I took the boys to visit the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall today. LaVor and I were blessed with the opportunity to see the actual wall six years ago, during our trip back East. Since I don't know when our boys will have a chance to see the real thing, and I want to instill in them an appreciation for such things, I wanted to share this experience with them.

On our way out of the park, we stopped at the playground for The Lime to play for a little bit. I sat on a bench next to two veterans and thanked them for their service. They were both gracious and said they appreciated it, especially since they received much less than that after coming home from serving in Vietnam. "We were yelled at, cursed at, spat on, had things thrown at us. It was awful," they said. Thankfully I had my sunglasses on because tears began to fill my eyes, as I thanked them again for their willingness to fight for those who did not support or appreciate them, especially because they were fighting for those peoples' free speech. We chatted for a couple more minutes before their legs were rested enough to finish the walk back to their car.

I'm forever indebted to my parents for being great examples of how to treat veterans, how to honor our flag and country, how to show gratitude for all we've been blessed with.  I hope I can provide that same example for The Lime and Doodlebug.

Today was the perfect ending of our Memorial Day week, remembering those who gave up everything so we can enjoy our lives in this great land.

4th of July

We were anticipating July 4 this year, mainly because LaVor had the day off and we couldn't wait to spend that extra time with him. Nothing major was planned but I did want to attend the parade downtown.

It started at 9:00 and I think we got there at 9:05, just as the motorcycle cops were doing their routine. We were setting up our chairs when they went by so I didn't have a chance to take any pictures. But I did have the camera out when the hook & ladder went by!

The rest of the floats were average - mostly businesses promoting themselves, and the occasional dance team.

This little guy caught my eye and I thought the license plate was too darn cute.

The Lime would quickly turn his head away before I could snap a photo of him, but I caught him once! He wasn't very happy with me.

Doodlebug slept through 90% of the parade and from what he saw, he wasn't very amused either.

The last float made "Legos" to resemble servicemen from each branch of the military. Thought that was cute, too!

And just like that, the parade was over!

There was a family from our ward that was sitting nearby and they came over after it finished to see Doodlebug. We chitchatted while the crowds dispersed, in hopes of avoiding traffic. Unfortunately, our 20 minute chat wasn't long enough and we got to our car only to find a huge line of cars also trying to leave the parking garage. So I grabbed Doodlebug and fed him while we waited.

We arrived home literally a second before our friends, Jason and Nicole, pulled into our driveway. They were passing through the area and stopped by for a "quick" visit. We ended up spending several hours catching up, eating lunch, and letting the kids play their little hearts out. We love their family to pieces and miss being close by!

The rest of the afternoon was laid back. All three boys took naps while I got things ready for our weekend in the Bay Area. The Lime couldn't wait until it was time for fireworks but the poor thing had to practice lots of patience. The second it got dark enough, he was outside, rarin' to go.

Our neighbor's husband wasn't able to do the fireworks they bought for their family, so the wife asked if her girls could come over to our place and LaVor do their fireworks (in addition to ours). I think The Lime liked having little friends to enjoy the show with and I know the girls had fun.

It was a little too loud and smoky for Doodlebug so he and I enjoyed the show from the living room.

When things settled down, we went back outside and watched our neighbor set his off, while another neighbor brought the most delicious popcorn over to share. Have I mentioned how much we love our neighborhood?

Have I also mentioned how much I love America? Because I do. A lot. I count my blessings often for all of the freedoms I am able to enjoy because of the great land I live in.

Freedom, Food, Family, & Fireworks

No surprise that I was extremely excited to celebrate the Fourth!  With a new town comes new traditions.  We woke up early to get to the parade route to stake our claim.  We also learned our lesson after many years of being unprepared at parades - the camping chairs came with us this year.  LaVor found the perfect spot under a tree, that provided us with plenty of shade the entire time.

The motorcycle unit from the police department started off the parade with some loopty loops in the intersections.  They were loud and smelled of exhaust, both of which got The Lime riled up.

Following the officers were the veterans carrying the flags as well as a couple super heroes. Not sure how they were incorporated into everything.

The Lime could hardly contain himself when he saw the fire trucks coming, especially because the hook and ladder was leading the pack.

Several other floats followed, throwing out candy, waving, and wishing us a happy Fourth. The couple sitting next to us commented that the parade was much shorter this year than in previous years. It was over in about thirty minutes.

We had thrown around the idea of seeing a movie but after arriving at the theater, we discovered it was sold out. We grabbed a bite for lunch and returned home so The Lime could take a nap and I could get started on the potato salad.

Within a few hours, family arrived and The Lime and Laina were overcome with giggles and excitement. They dressed up, played and played, then it was time to eat.

It was still outrageously hot after dinner so we blew up some water balloons and the kiddos threw them at each other. The Lime tried to reenact our events from earlier this week, and attempted to throw a bowl of water on Auntie Amy. Despite being pregnant, she still has cat-like reflexes.

In between water games, we gobbled up some decked out ice cream sandwiches and popsicles.

LaVor bought some water guns at the store a few weeks ago, and although they're fun and shoot far, they're a little hard for three year olds to pump. So instead, they sucked the water out of them.

It wasn't long until it was dark enough to start the fireworks! Our city was putting on a show at the fairgrounds but we opted to shoot some off in the neighborhood. We got our chairs lined up and enjoyed the show.

The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday and I look forward to instilling the same love and pride that I have for our country, in The Lime. We are so blessed to live in a free land and I love celebrating it!