Memorial Day

We had a fun Memorial Day. It ended up being fairly busy, but we had a good time! We started the day visiting cemeteries to take flowers to some family members. Then Ryan, Alli, and I went to the mall to get some shoes for Alli (since she had lost one of a pair and we like the shoes) and to look for some brown shorts for her (we weren't successful). While at the mall, Alli fell in love with the "dah" which is her word for dog which represents any furry animal. She LOVES dogs! She is really sitting next to the lion in the car, but she was happy to give the "dah" kisses (these pics are on Ryan's phone so when he gets home I can put them up). After the mall we had a pizza party at my mom's with my oldest brother's family. Ryan and Phil decided to "perfect" the trick (they started on Sunday) of jumping from the trampoline to the roof of my mom's house. It quickly went from simply jumping up to doing it on like 2 bounces to repeated jumps quickly after each other to turning while jumping up to handstands to break dance moves. It was pretty entertaining! I didn't to possibly delete the videos by moving them so they are at the end of the post. This was followed by some 4-wheeling. Alli had her first ride and at first she wasn't sure what to think, but quickly wanted to drive! After all that fun we planted pretty much all of our garden and if it all does well we are going to have a lot of stuff-especially tomatoes! A lady in our ward was there when I was buying so we split packages-of 4 different kinds- so I gave some to my mom, but I think I still have at least 10 tomato plants! O/well hopefully I can bottle some salsa! Alli was super helpful in the whole planting process as she ate globs of dirt (no joke I turned once and she had a glob of dirt she was taking a bite of) I quickly took it away and washed her off, but she was still super messy! Does that qualify me for the bad mom club? Hopefully not, she was enjoying herself! I am so thankful to live in America where we have so many freedoms and are so blessed with so many opportunities! Listening to the radio yesterday there were programs about all those who have served and currently serve our country and I am grateful for their sacrifices. One story was about a medic in Iraq and she helped a group of little boys whose arms were covered with chemical burns and she said how grateful the little boys were and how they kept saying they love America and thank you etc. I think Heavenly Father inspired men to found our country on certain principles so it would be a place where freedom could prosper as well as share that freedom with others who are not fortunate. I also think that we have a responsibility to do what we can to ensure that freedoms continue here and elsewhere even as people try to take them away. So there you have it, my two cents (or 5) about Memorial Day and Freedom! Congratulations if you made it all the way to the end!