Memorial Day Weekend 2009

We started Memorial Day weekend with a 24-hour whirlwind trip to the cabin to celebrate the birthdays of Dawnae's boys Spencer and Joey. Spencer turned 13 in May and Joey is now 1. Janae's family & Mike and Karla came up as well.



Along with the birthday celebration, we also spent Saturday doing a little spring cleaning around the cabin. My mom had several projects she wanted accomplished, and she put us all to work. My dad worked outside and recruited several of the older cousins. They washed windows and cleaned cobwebs off the desk, and seemed much happier working outside rather than inside. Janae and I cleaned out the pantry and Katie and Lilli worked on a few organization projects.

And while the rest of us were cleaning & working, Madi and Lexi escaped after helping Poppy outside for a while and had their own little photo shoot with Lexi as model and Madi as photographer. The pictures turned out really cute, even though they were supposed to be working :)!




Katie stayed at the cabin for a couple of extra days with my parents and the cousins, and Brad & I and the rest of the kids went home to fulfill church obligations on Sunday. Then on Sunday afternoon we went to visit our grandparents' graves. My maternal grandparents & Brad's maternal grandfather are all buried at the same cemetery. It is a peaceful little place surrounded by neighborhoods. The cemetery also has a veteran's area, so it was very well decorated for Memorial Day. It was really a beautiful sight.

Ben and Daddy by Granddaddy Cornell Stewart's grave.

Lacey looks over the grave of my Grandma Katherine Bode Knotts Foscarini who passed away 3 years ago.

Daddy talks to the kids as they overlook Granddad Cornell's grave.

Ben made up a game as he walked between the flags and gravestones. I tried to tell him to not walk on the stones, but to him, the cemetery was one big playground.

We also went to my Grandpa Herman Zobrist's grave, which was at a different cemetery. It was not quite as peaceful since this cemetery is right under the path of airplanes as they land at McCarren Airport.

I was thankful for our little afternoon outing to reflect on the lives of our grandparents and the legacy they left behind. We are blessed to come from wonderful families and we truly appreciate our heritage.

We ended our weekend on Monday evening with a pretty mean meal cooked up by Madi and Brad. We had BBQ ribs and chicken with homemade french fries, beans, corn, cornbread, and pineapple. Madi told me that she & dad would cook everything & I didn't have to do anything. I did make the cornbread, that was about it. Everything tasted so good! It was the perfect way to end our Memorial Day weekend.