MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND.

I was SO excited for Memorial Day weekend this year. Not only because there was a holiday to celebrate, but because Nick took FOUR days off! Well, technically two, but coupled with the weekend it made four, and we were all excited to have the Daddy around, with no work to do!

We spent Friday around the house, tidying up this, fixing that, working a bit in the garden, and just hanging out together.

Saturday we ventured just down the road a bit to a flea market. It was awesome. I could have spent the whole day there. Sadly, we only made it about a quarter of the way through when the rain came pouring down.

Much like everyone else, we sought refuge in one of the covered buildings. But it was so crowded and we could barely maneuver our stroller around, so we called it quits earlier than we expected. Nick did manage to snag this license plate through. He's been looking for just the right one to put on his '69 Dodge truck. We also picked up two vintage street signs, one to hang in each of the kids' rooms. Walnut Street for Doodey's room, and my fave, Main Street, for Nugget's play room.

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Sunday we took a mini (two hour) road trip to go explore White Water State Park. Wouldn't you know that Dude feel asleep with less than five minutes to our destination? Seriously! I hung back at the car to let him get a little cat nap in, while Nugget and Daddy did some fishing.

They didn't catch anything, but she sure does make one cute lil' fisher girl.

Foggy lens, it was a hot one that day!

When Dude woke up, we set out on a little hike.

The trail was just over a mile, uphill for a good part of it, and our little Nugget girl hiked the whole thing by herself! She didn't even complain or ask to be carried once! What a trooper.

Once we hit some flat land, she was so proud to lead us with her map. "Go six eight, then right." Which, lets be honest, would have led me straight into the river, but we played along and she was none the wiser.

Nugget worked up quite an appetite on our hike, so we rested while we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Doodey also made a little caterpillar friend. Nugget and I were all squeamish about it (I know, but I just can't help it!) while Dude didn't hesitate for a second to touch it, and pick it right off his leg and place it back on the ground. He did however, shake his head 'no' when Daddy told him to eat it! Good choice Buddy, good choice.

Nick told me not to pack swimsuits earlier that morning, as we didn't think we'd actually have enough time to go for a swim. But it was a hot, hot day, and the suits I had stashed away in our summer emergency car kit came in quite handy. We still had to dry off with our picnic blanket, but at least the kids got to splash around and cool down a bit before we made the voyage back home.

It was a super fun day, and it has us really excited to explore more state parks this summer, and hopefully try some camping with both kids!

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Monday was Memorial Day, and with Nick being a veteran and the Commander of the local VFW, our morning was spent participating in our small town's special events.

Nick spends all morning with the veterans, visiting all the local cemeteries and reading the names of the deceased veterans. We met him at the last one, right behind our house.

After the short memorial, we walked down to Main Street to watch the parade, then found a shady spot in Memorial Park to listen to the Mayor deliver a short speech on the day's importance.

Bumped into our friends, the Clarks, whom we watched the parade with.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, we also invited several friends and neighbors over for a bbq that afternoon! The kids had a ball running around and playing, and we always enjoy visiting with other adults, not to mention eating lots of delicious food!

 Avery and Nugget, Twins!

Palmer and Doodey.
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On a random, unrelated note, we learned this weekend that when Brother gets a mosquito bite near his eye, he's going to wind up looking like this the next day:

A call in to the doctor and a follow up visit at his 15 month well-child check up this week left us with the simple answer of "leave it alone, it's just a minor reaction to the bug bite." It's still makes me sad to see, especially when it's on your own kid, but I'm happy to know its nothing to be alarmed over. They said we could put ice on it, but yeah, what fifteen month old is gonna let you hold an ice pack to his face? Not mine.

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It was a busy, chock full weekend that passed entirely too quickly, but I am so grateful for the time with my family and the fun we shared. And of course, I'm forever grateful for all the service men and women who sacrifice to serve our country. We are blessed, and we don't take our freedom for granted. Thank you to you and you and you.