Memorial Day, Our Town's Style

This year was the first year that Dallas was ready for attending a parade and public event. The children have sort of trained him to ignore other dogs and to not try to eat the little ones for a snack. They are not big chipmunks.

Last year we were visiting some of Roger's family up in Wisconsin.

Our family tradition is to eat breakfast at the park. We used to try and get the charcoal going and cook it over the coals, but we found that it took too long and was too stressful. We all seem to enjoy it more when it is cooked at home and brought along.

DH bought and brought the OJ. He knows that otherwise we don't have it unless it's a birthday or holiday. He likes to get the children treats.

Michelle and JoAn were big helps in preparing the food.

It was really delicious. Scrambled eggs, grits, sausage, and GF coffee cake that was made in muffin pans instead of a 9x13. They cooked quicker that way. Easier to handle also.

Then we walked down to the big road to see the parade.

Michelle used Dallas as a back rest. He didn't seem to mind.

The ground was so wet and muddy, that it was hard to find a place to perch.

Recognize these faces? Any long term blog readers will see that they are Chance and Ulysses. The two little guys that joined us for homeschooling last year. They are doing well. Chance is going to a Christian School and Ulysses is home with his mom.

Our parade is pretty basic. The marching band, Brownies and Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Softball teams and some old cars and fire engines.
There are plenty of politicians throwing candy and dog bones too. It is a real dog friendly event.

The gentleman in the light blue coat is Al Smith my principal from Junior High. He was a nice guy, but very strict, an ex-marine I believe. He swung a big paddle when students misbehaved. It was displayed prominently in his office. Such things were legal back then. Every year I am sort of anxious to see if he is still around. His traditional job is to read the names of all the soldiers who died in the military from our town. They go back to the civil war.

This year the speech by the honored guest was a little strange. The Pentagon wrote the speech and ordered everybody giving a speech on Memorial Day to use theirs. I'm not crazy about that idea. It is not very personal and I kinda feel like it's a little 'Big Brotherish'. (You think?!!!)

This was definitely the wettest Memorial Day in the park that I remember, and it didn't even rain. There was standing water everywhere. The mud splashed up to our knees as we walked. I think the local farmers might be better off planting rice than corn.

~Mom