Happy Memorial Day!

I never really thought about Memorial Day or Labor Day other than the fact that it made for a 3-4 day weekend and a break. That is until I became a Navy girlfriend and then a wife. In the past 10 years as each holiday has passed I have taken more and more time to reflect upon the true meaning of these holidays and really appreciate the days for what they stand for.

Yesterday in church Ian stood and gave a talk and spoke about the true meaning of Memorial Day and how important it is to remember its meaning and not forget those who have served our country and are now serving. He shared some amazing stories of soldiers who are serving and the things they are doing for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan that go way above and beyond their normal duties. It is inspiring to hear some of the things that have been done for the villages and children there. In preparation for his talk he went to the bookstore and got a book called "Faith in the Service" which tells of inspirational stories of LDS Service Members. The stories are really incredible. One quote that I absolutely loved was:

"Freedom is not free, and securing it is not a spectator sport. You are either paying for freedom with support, sacrifice, and service, or you are free because someone else has paid the price for you." ~ Chaplain Mark Allison

I am so proud of my husband and proud to be a Navy family. While it has definite challenges in the lifestyle it also has great rewards.

This weekend we spent time as a family up in Wisconsin and with our neighbors, the kids playing and a lot of laughter. We ended the weekend today at a pic nic with friends from church. Owen enjoyed the swings and people watching....Jacob and Nathan enjoyed a 3 hour water gun fight (in 60 degree weather. ...:) and Ian enjoyed a great game of baseball while I got to chat with friends. Here are a few pictures and then added for you enjoyment some videos from this past week. One is of Jacob finally making it across the monkey bars. Talk about one proud kiddo!!

**Jacob and Nathan were off running everywhere so I did not get any pictures of them today at the park...next time:)**







So these two pictures were too funny not to post. We got home from church and were heading up to change clothes and had laundry to bring upstairs so Ian improvised and brought both baby and laundry in one load....:)

PROUD JACOB!!!


OWEN VIDEOS:)