Memorial Day

Memorial Day was always one of my very, very favorite holidays as a kid. For a few reasons. It was a big family reunion, camping out over the weekend, and we got an extra day off school, and it was always right around my birthday. Each year we went up above Coalville, Utah to a place we called "Flat Rock". Thus named 'cause one whole side of the mountain was solid rock. And, um, flat. The whole area had long ago been our family's property. Now, generations later, we came up every Memorial Day weekend and we'd hike up and down that mountain all day. We'd sit on that giant slab of rock and find the fossils and shells preserved in stone, high up in the mountains . . . marveling that at one point it had all been underwater. We'd climb in and out of the 'cougar caves' along the side of it. We played in the creek, each year trying to damn it off with our own little mix of sticks and mud. We, over the years, watched a giant dead cow go from a pile of gross skin and a full skelton, to the year we finally couldn't find a single bone anymore in it's spot. Hey, we were kids, that was cool. We explored the family cemetery that dated back to the early Utah pioneers. We watched Great Aunt Nancy proudly plop herself down on the ground of that cemetery, exclaiming she would be the last person buried there. The only unused plot being hers, next to her first husband who had died decades and decades ago. (This always freaked out her grandchildren, "Grandma, stand up! Stand up!" as she laid there with her eyes closed and her arms crossed across her chest. We just thought she was the coolest old lady we knew.) We trespassed into the field full of someone else's sheep to explore the small dilapidated one room shack that my ancestors had built when first settling the area. We played a big family reunion sized game of softball each year . . . with stuff like, "That big rock over there," or "The dried out cow pie," as bases. All of my Mom's cousins and family came up there. I only saw most of these people once a year. I didn't even remember all their names (and wouldn't recognize most of them if I saw them on the street now,) but I loved playing in that creek with them. Or having our side of the family beat theirs in cow pie softball.
One of my favorite parts growing up, was that I was the 'Memorial Day baby.' The only year my Mom could remember not going there during her lifetime was the year she had me. On May 30th, Memorial Day. From then on, my birthday was celebrated up in those mountains. Cousins removed and seconded and all that knew who I was. I was the birthday girl. My Mom would bring up a giant sheet cake, and everyone would sing to me. I got gifts from people who's names I didn't know. It all added to my already over inflated sense of birthday importance. :-)
It was all very, very cool.
A decade or so ago though, the property was sold, and the new owners would 'prefer' that our family no longer came up to visit. And by prefer, I think they promised that trespassers would be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And they wanted to put in a helicopter pad. Weanies.
Anyway, that ended our family tradition. And nothing has stepped in to fill it's place. Making Memorial Day a bit sad for me.
Fortunately, Greg's family does have a tradition or two in place. The last few years we've gone down to Spring Lake, in Payson to celebrate the holiday with Greg's maternal grandmother's side of the family. There's fried chicken to eat, green hills to roll down, and ducks to feed in a small lake/big pond. And all of this follows heading out to a couple different cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of the dearly departed. I like that my kids will have some sense of 'tradition' on this holiday. It's good too that they get that whole 'cemetery' thing with the family, 'cause I know I wouldn't be good at that on my own. I have no problem going to the cemetery, taking flowers on birthdays or days with special meaning. Trips to my little sisters grave on her birthday or Christmas were important to me growing up. Even more so were the times we went randomly, to cut away any overgrowth, and wash off the stone. But I have to admit though, I'm not a 'Memorial Day' cemetery person. The cemeteries are ridiculously crowded . . . and the crazy traffic trying to weave in and out on small, old roads in small town cemeteries kinda stresses me out. I'm also, admittedly, a little weirded out by the lawn chairs and picnic lunches I see around. I see that and I think, "Um, they're not there anymore. I'm sure they rather you go somewhere in the shade or something to remember them." I have a theory that if I was dead, I wouldn't want my family to come hang out at my grave side to remember me. There's other places I believe should mean more to them, more to me. If I was dead, and got to come 'hang out' around my family for the day (assuming 'Memorial Day' is some kinda 'free pass' day for the dead to come back and visit . . . I'm making this all up in my head as I go), I would rather they go to the zoo, or to Lake Powell or something. Who wants to hang out at their own graveside all day? That'd be kinda depressing, like, "Yeah, there's my body . . . right under there . . . seriously, can't we head out to Chuck E Cheese's or something and go have fun . . . " Of course, it's people like me who necessitate lectures like my sister Talina's ward got about "Young people these days not showing the proper respect for the holiday." So, what about you guys . . . what do you do on Memorial Day? Are cemeteries a big part of that? And if yes, what exactly do you do?
Anyway, Monday was a lot of fun, although Annie was crazily grumpy and Ellie (who usually takes a nap around 9:30 in the morning did not fall asleep until THREE FORTY FIVE in the AFTERNOON!) was tired, but surprisingly well behaved. Annie though . . . her grandpa made the observation, "I'm thinking that if I was to give Annie a brand new real live pony right now, she still wouldn't be happy." So true. She was pissy. We had her friend Kian with us too, and fortunately, he was a super happy the whole time (which was amazing if you consider he's under three years old, and was away from his parents the entire day, in weird places with random people he didn't really know, with a LOT of time spent in a car). When Annie wasn't being difficult though, she did have fun playing outside with Kian and the other kids there. The highlights were feeding the ducks (who were so overfed that they did not care about the bread . . . that did kinda annoy Annie and Kian), rolling in the grass, and playing with the dogs that were there.

Here's Greg and Annie watching the ducks on Spring Lake.

Annie and Kian sharing bread for the ducks.

Annie giving Kian a big ol' hug . . . he looks so resistant here, which is funny, 'cause usually both of them are quite cuddly with one another!

Greg & Ellie (who didn't get to spend too much time out in the sun, 'cause she refused to keep her hat on.)

Aunt Andrea, Annie, Greg and Ellie. Annie was having fun playing with the bell on Andrea's bike, and I liked her little 'shy' pose here . . .

Annie & Kian watching the ducks.

Kian rolling down the hill.

Annie rolling. She was doing pretty good with it, but both her and Kian would start rolling 'across' the hill, instead of down . . . which is significantly more work and funnier to watch!
Annie and Kian loved playing with the dogs there. They're pretty happy to have little Jill here with them.

More posing with Jill.

Ellie was a really big fan of the dogs too . . . she just kept reaching out for them and yelling in their general direction!

It was a long day, and all three kids did finally crash on the drive home.

And then I dominated the entire drive home at the 'Alphabet Game'. (Greg will argue this, claiming he won all three times we played . . . but I say he cheated . . . I was handing Annie a drink of water when he saw that Suzuki sign and claimed his 'Z'; and overall I just felt I played better. Sure he was the driver, putting him at a slight disadvantage, and he finished first all three games . . . but it's not so much in the destination as in the journey, and I felt my overall play and technique were superior. Or something. I'm just better at it!!)