Memorial Day

Today we followed our Memorial Day traditions.  We raced down to Austin this morning for the parade.  (Dear future Peder, the parade starts at 845a.  Please refer to this next year and forever after.)  This meant that we left our house at 630a.  I was done with work about 130a, so you do the math.  Ugh.
Anyway, we made it there on time and met up with gobs and gobs of family.  We might have made up 10% of the parade attendance.  The parade, by the way, took an entire 14 minutes.  DF liked the fire trucks most of all.
Then off to the cemetery.  My dad took over chasing duty with DF and Relia waited anxiously for the spent shells of the 21 gun salute.  She got two of them and gave one to DF.  Leo didn't care for the loud noises but he took it all in stride.
After that we looked at my grandparents graves.  Got to see where mom and dad will be at some faraway date.  And again told the FP Gal that I am to be cremated and the ashes should be spread in the shortstop area of Comiskey Park (or wherever the White Sox are playing then).  She isn't sure this will be allowed.  I told her that she may have to hop the fence during a game and do it anyway.  (The best way to picture this, is if she is in her 80s by then.)
Next we needed to go to a park so the kids could run around.  It was bright and sunny and we very much wanted some shade so it was off to Todd park and the giant robot.  Relia climbed it like a champ.  I expect next year she'll climb it on the outside or some such.  DF went part way up but he's just a bit too small to really do it.  Especially the climbing down part . . .
Lunch time and we met my mom's side of the family at Culvers.  Between them the kids ate about 1/100 of a cheeseburger and two orders of fries.  Leo was passed around and around and held and held and held.  He seemed fine with it.  I haven't mentioned this but he has striking dark blue eyes right now.  The FP Gal says that they will probably change but I hope she's wrong about this.
Time for more family and that's what we got at my aunt and uncle's house.  Well, not the only thing.  The two older kids scored a big wheel and a scooter from my uncle's bicycle reclamation project.  And we did get some brief (too brief!) time with cousins and such. 
Even though it's a holiday, I still have to work tonight.  The FP Gal gamely drove us back up.  We got here just in time for me to kiss them all good night and go upstairs.  It was a good day and frankly we're all tired.

I spoke a bit with Relia about Memorial day and why we remember our soldiers and sailors.  I don't think she really gets it yet but I'll keep working on it.