Memorial Day commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. It began as a ritual of rememberance and reconciliation after the Civil War, but has since become a more general expression of memory, as ordinary people visit the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they served in the military or not.
It's an important day for my family because almost every generation has served in the military. My dad served in the Vietnam War, and my grandfathers and great-uncles served in WWII and the Korean War. My dad is active in the legion and regularly participates in military graveside services. He spent the morning performing two military ceremonies at local cemetaries in rememberance of fellow soldiers.
But...after the ceremonies were over my family got together at my house for a day on the lake!
Yum...look at that good food!
We only got a short boat ride in and a little swimming before the storms started to roll in.
If you look closely, you can see the rain drops at the end of the boat.
So, because of the storm we had to take the party inside. The kids still managed to have a great time playing with all of Hadley's toys.
Julianna and Gabe enjoyed a story from Aunt Melissa while Hadley preferred to play with her ball instead.
...and playing with daddy!
Later Hadley decided to read her puzzle book with cousin Gabe and her daddy.
...or more like chewing on the puzzle pieces while Gabe attacked Uncle Austin with the bird.
While it was a rainy and wet Memorial Day, we all had a great time spending the day together as a family!
