Memorial Day Weekend Happenings and Such

 Happy Memorial Day sounds a bit like an oxymoron... it is a day of remembrance and mourning of soldiers - not really a happy subject... and like most holidays, the true meaning tends to get lost in the shuffle. Memorial Day is basically a kick off to summer which made it into kind of a national BBQ weekend... maybe attend a party and a parade and start your summer. We, following suit, attended not one, but two BBQs in this weekend and also the town parade. We really did have a great weekend... Maris actually asked me what Memorial Day was for and asked why flags were everywhere (she said she loves Memorial Day bc of all the flags now... the kids are rather obsessed with "America Flags") I took it upon myself to read up on Memorial Day so I could better explain it to her and came across a few facts... 

**New York was the 1st state to officially recognize Memorial Day. (Go NY!)

** The south refused to honor the dead on Memorial Day until after World War I when the meaning of Memorial Day changed from honoring civil war dead to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war. (The Civil War fascinates me... I blame my Mom's obsession with Gone With The Wind...)

**President Bill Clinton issued a memorandum in 2000 on the White House Program for the National Moment of Remembrance that encouraged Americans "to pause for one minute at 3:00 p.m. (local time) on Memorial Day."

**President Barack Obama will pay tribute to the nation's fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, attending a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. When it comes to Presidents, many visit Arlington on Memorial Day and some don't.
Ronald Reagan spoke at West Point one year, and went to his California ranch another year.
George H.W. Bush, a war veteran, did not go at all.
Bill Clinton went to Arlington all eight years of his presidency.
George W. Bush attended from 2003 onward.

**Why is Memorial Day celebrated on May 30? Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. This date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

 

**Ever wonder who started the custom of wearing red poppies? In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
She then came up with an idea of wearing red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.


(I wore mine!) as shown below... I chose that picture bc my daughter had my camera and I thought it was an amusing shot :)


 

 The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend kicked off with my yard sale adventures in a previous post... then onto a BBQ at my friend's house. We got to meet Tina's new baby Owen as well!

 

Sangria, friends, great food, and fireworks.. it was a great day.

 Sunday was a laid back day of recuperating and getting things done around the house... Monday was back to the busy schedule. It was crazy hot so we went outside in the sprinkler. The kids LOVE this 3" ball that sprays water. its amazing :)

 our little ballerina in the water haha

 Here are the kids lounging in the sun drying off before we head to the parade.

 Check out the patriotic socks! :)

 the rare family portrait of ALL of us. We ended up running into friends at the parade (the same from the BBQ the day before) and were invited back over to help finish up the aprty food leftovers and to have some kiddie pool fun. It was insanely hot out... Early 90's in the spring. phew its going to be a hot summer.

Love America and Love our Life :)

Revisiting...

this memorial day weekend, my sister and cousin (and their s/o s) and I went yard sailing... there was a town wide yard sale in the town my father moved to after the divorce... my sister actually saw on a listing on craigslist with his old address and we decided we MUST go check out the state of the house... I miss that house terribly sometimes and it got me all nostalgic about spending some of my adolescence there. Not everyone gets to have more than one "hometown" but I guess that is a rare "perk" if you will of being a child of divorce.... what a weird way to put it... haha all I mean is that when I drive through PB, I get this happy nostalgic feeling and recall memories and that kind of thng. Same with my hometown where my Mom still resides.... still in the same childhood home. I adore that house too. BUT back to my story... we drove up to the old house and I started to get all nervous... like I was tresspassing or something. Even though they were having a yard sale, I really didnt care about their stuff. All I wanted to do was see the house and stand in the yard and let me tell you... just driving down the drive way brought so many memories back... I took pictures at the yard sale like a freak would.... haha 

 that is what it looks like now. The couple was really really nice and said it was a unique house and they loved living in it. My plan was to infiltrate to see the inside again by asking to use their bathroom, but before I could ask, my sister blurted out that we were the original owners of the house and my plan was shot to hell. I was already taking pics like a creeper and now knowing I lived there, I surely couldn't ask then... but we had  nice talk with them and told them funny stories about building the house and what was used as filler under the koi pond gardens.... (you'd be surprised haha) and how my dad built this house for our stepmom... how the gardens were gorgeous... I ended up buying a framed Beatles print picture and Josh bought some walkie talkies and we were on our way. Just seeing our old house was so cool. I really wish I got to see the inside one last time. This was a moving sale so I guess there is always the possibility of a realtors open house to crash! hehe

so I started going through my boxes and boxes of photos and came across a few of the house in the time that we had it. My Dad has since moved to Virginia and it sucks, but they like it down there so I guess it all worked out. Enjoy!

 I used to sit out here and watch and draw and take pics of the koi fish all the time. If you sat on the bridge and stuck your toes in the water, they'd nibble on them :) I know koi tattoos are stereotypical but I really do love these fish. so hypnotic and soothing to watch.

 prom pics... haha

 

my little nieces Alyssa and Madison. Alyssa fell off the trampoline and broke her arm and still wanted to go back on... tough chickie.

  

 my Dad put in horseshoe pits :)

 more koi pond shots... check out my Dads 'vette and my old car in the driveway haha

 like I said, lots of time spent sitting out by the ponds.

 my Grandmother on my Dad's side. She passed away last year... look at her smile :)

 we had rabbits. Chole and Ringo. Dad build an outdoor hutch and they tunneled into each others cage and made billions of rabbits! I cant seem to find those pics but they are somewhere!

 If you've been to my Dad's house, you've heard the screech of this bird. The thing I miss the least. Uncle Rob and I used to joke about the ways to get rid of this bird.... Sue loves him so though

 the giant turkey that got so fat it couldnt walk. Most delicious turkey I ever ate actually

 my old room with my buddy Andre

 I love this family shot!

 Dad loves the ponds

 old shot of my sister and I in the kitchen

Dad :)