Memorial Day 2010

I will be the first to admit that in the past Memorial Day to me was just a day to swim and eat and play.  But the past few years I’ve tried to take a little quiet time and remember the sacrifices that others have made so that I can live in a land that is free.

I also saw this picture of Grandma Johnson’s headstone on my cousin’s facebook page (thanks Meggane for posting those) and thought it was a neat way to remember and honor her.  I love that it says, “Oh, garbage” on it b/c she would say that all the time.  She was such a neat lady.

This morning I got up and went over to my house (Autumn & I slept at Mom & Dad’s last night in their closet) to make the sheet cake eclairs for dessert and to fry up some onions for the fajitas.  After I was all done cooking I came back to Mom & Dad’s and got in the pool b/c it was so stinkin’ hot outside.  It is so cute to watch Autumn & Mou interact together.  She sat down on the ledge next to him and just started jabbering away and telling him how she has a Snow White bandaid on her leg (not b/c she’s hurt but just b/c she wanted one on) and that she can swim w/ her face in the water and on and on.  Mou just sat there and listened to her so intently.

At 12:30 Monzingos came over to swim and eat.  Maggie made fajitas and they were INCREDIBLE.  The chicken & beef meat was so flavorful and the tortillas were so soft and the homemade guacamole and salsa were mouthwatering.  We also had some fruit like watermelon and grapes and strawberries which were all so sweet and juicy.  I love how when I tell my family to smile for a picture they all look the other way…little stinkers!

We had a blast just swimming and playing games and talking and soaking in some sun.  Nate wanted to try and see if he could lift me on his shoulders.  I didn’t think he could do it b/c I weigh a ton, but he was able to lift me out of the water (and w/out breaking his neck)!

The boys wanted to have a cannon ball contest.  Nick M & Nate did pretty good, but they had NOTHIN (Na-Na-Na Nothing on you babe…LOL) on Mou.  Look at the picture on the right…his splash filled the whole entire area of the picture and sent big waves through the whole pool, which the kids loved.

I put on sunscreen twice today, but as you can see in this picture I was already burnt to a crisp so I stayed in the shade the rest of the day.  We put a big umbrella over the hot tub area so the kids could walk around and play in there.  Andrew did SO GOOD and would put his whole face down in the water and walk around the hot tub seats.  Autumn was getting cranky by this point of the day b/c she had been out in the sun too long and hadn’t had a nap.

I got this picture w/ Mou & Emma (on the right) and then went back and found the picture of the day we first got Emma (on the left) back in May of 2004.  Look how little she was!  She could fit in the palm of Mou’s hand.  And look at how much she’s grown.

Mou was so cute and attentive to Autumn all day.  When we finally made everyone get out of the pool b/c we had all had too much sun, she could barely walk b/c she was so tired, so he wrapped her up in her new Dora towel that Mom got her and carried her over to the shade, where she laid down on his chest and went to sleep for a minute.  I L.O.V.E this picture so much.  It just pulls at my heartstrings and makes me happy.

We all came in and put the food away and got showered and by this point we were all ready to eat again b/c it was dinnertime.  So, Mou & I went and got some Little Ceasar’s pizzas and then stopped by CVS to get some Tylenol for Autumn b/c she was running a slight fever and to get me some aloe vera rub b/c I was so burnt.  We came home and ate and watched the TV show Hoarders.  Then Autumn wanted to put some lotion on Mou’s arms and legs.  But after she did, she decided it was her turn and wanted Mou to put some lotion on her back.  She’s such a little diva.

Here we are before taking Mou home.  On the way home we sang Primary songs to keep Autumn awake so she would sleep when we finally got back to our house. 

It was a WONDERFUL Memorial Day and I am so thankful for all the courageous men & women that put their lives on the line everyday to protect the freedoms that I am blessed as an American citizen to enjoy.