Memorial Day

Memorial Day for us usually means...just about nothing. Peter doesn't take a day off, there are no get-togethers to attend, no grave sites to visit. This year was not much different. We had a normal work/school day. We did, however, plan to go for a walk in the evening and go ahead and grill some hamburgers.

The sun is going down, it's a great time for a walk at the Arboretum.

Leaving the parking lot. Eli has started reaching for objects now. He's reaching for the camera here.

It felt good to get outside. The day had been hot and we were all ready to get out of the air-conditioned house and enjoy some fresh air.

Roots of a large tree that fell over.

Walking out on the large tree was the one detour we took from the trail.

The girls just climbed up and jumped off.

A bridge over a run-off stream.

On the walk back, the boys began to read all of the labels on the trees to see how many different kinds of trees we could find.

Once they were aware, they became very interested in reading about the trees.

Rhododendron and Azalea, at the end of flowering.

A wild flower.

Amelia wanted to take a picture, so I helped her photograph these lovely white flowers. I didn't look to see what they are called.

Ready to head home now.

Potato Salad and burgers. Peter doctored them up, adding cayenne, bacon and cheddar. They were great.

One last thing. We did listen to a CD of personal accounts of D-day while we ate our burgers. Someone loaned us a book and CD called "Voices of Valor." We pulled it out and heard first-hand what it was like to storm the beach at Normandy. We ended the night with a great discussion about what men have faced to protect our freedom both physically and spiritually. We've done a lot of explaining lately about holidays and what they are for. It helps the parents remember to have to explain. :)