Memorial Day

Memorial Day has been more meaningful to me this year. I'm not exactly sure why but I just felt a lot differently this year. More reverent and more in tune with how grateful I am for those who served/serve our country and more in awe of my relatives who have passed on. The kids were both up past 11pm last night so we all got to sleep in until my MIL's 9am wake up call calling off the family BBQ. Then an hour later it was back on. Anyway, we just felt pretty good today. We spent the morning getting ready but not in a hurried fashion and I didn't go crazy straightening up before we left. Usually I clean as much as possible in case we die in a crash on the canyon because I don't want to be mortified with how awful my house would look when people came to pack it all up. Morbid I know. Today I got the kids ready, Matt made the "cookie salad" to take to the BBQ and off we went, bed unmade and all! And just a side note I'd never heard of a cookie salad before moving here and it still cracks me up that so many people refer to it and jello concoctions as "salad." Anyway moving on. We stopped at Smith's to buy flowers and I was so not surprised to see all the roses were gone and replaced with daisies that are really difficult to break up into multiple arranges. This way the stores get you to buy multiple arrangements. But the little mums were on sale and I was REALLY happy about buying them because I thought they'd look so nice on the graves so it actually worked out. We drove up to SLC cemetery where I have 9 relatives buried. Carter got out with me and I let him decide who got which color. We discussed the relatives and "what happened" to them and for some reason it just all felt closer this year. We walked around and read descriptions on some other markers and talked about sandstone, erosion, etc and even did some math to see how old a person was when they passed away. I felt like it was a really nice experience and I want Carter to know his legacy. In the car ride Carter asked us questions about death like does it hurt and we discussed the plan of salvation and shared deeply spiritual experiences that both of our families have had. I'm so grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel so that I can answer his questions. I felt badly that I couldn't get to the other cemeteries where I have relatives buried. My grandparents from my dad's side are in a different slc cemetery and I just relied on the fact that his side of the family will surely put flowers on their graves since they still live nearby. I'm the only living relative back here from my mom's side other than a cousin who owns property in Logan but doesn't stay there year round from what I've heard. I also have relatives buried in Sunnyside and Carter's namesake William F Carter buried in Santaquin. Carter and I have been there before and put flowers there. His marker is really neat and has his wives names as well since they are buried around him. I know polygamy is out of fashion now but I have the utmost respect and admiration for these obedient. amazing women who sacrificed much and endured many hardships and persecution for their faith. They should be remembered with love and respect and not made fun of or dishonored. Okay off my soapbox.

We had a pleasant visit at Matt's parents with 5 of his 6 siblings at the BBQ. Carter had a fun time exploring the land and Katherine put on quite the show with her smiles and silliness. I feel fairly rested and content and ready for the week. Tomorrow the AC repairman is coming out since our AC went out. We smelled burning something and had the fire dept over Thursday night. It needs a new motor so we've been really grateful for the nice weather this weekend! So glad it didn't get scorching hot! We've had a nice breeze so it's been totally fine. Should have library and Carter's baseball game and piano lesson tomorrow, school meeting Wednesday, Matt at Scouts Thursday, then Father/Son campout Friday/Sat so it's going to be a busy week but I'm so thankful for today and the great conversations we shared.