Memorial Day 2010

It is a tradition for us to pitch a tent and sleep in the backyard for Memorial Weekend. That way we don't have to fight crowds for a campground and we have all the luxuries of home just 10 feet away.The kids LOVE to build a fire in the fire pit and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.
Monday morning we headed out to the Payson Cemetery for a Memorial Day service. And can I just say that I was REALLY impressed. It was an awesome service and will definitely become part of our Memorial Weekend Tradition.

These balloons were released to represent the 8000 MIA soldiers.

The Payson City Royalty performed a musical number along with a poem. I watched one of the WW II vets sitting in front of me sobbing (his shoulders were literally shaking) because he was so touched. It was a beautiful song.

This father, mother, daughter trio sang "I'm Proud to be an American"
The father is a 5th grade teacher at my kids' school.

This man was one of about 5 servicemen present that served in WW II. He spent 3 FULL years on a minesweeper. He shared several stories of his service with us. I was impressed with how well he remembered everything. I can't even remember what I did last week.

Believe it or not, but we actually have a GGGGgrandfather buried in the Payson Cemetery. So we took a few minutes to hunt down his grave and take a pic.