Memorial Day

The Trents had a fabulous Memorial Day long weekend. It rained most of the time however, yesterday morning was absolutely beautiful with zero clouds in the sky and not a drop of rain. Hollon and I took a trip to downtown Stuart to watch the parade (which we missed, bummer!) and to see the City of Stuart's Memorial Park. But first, our morning started out with Hollon and her most prized possessions....her naynay (blanket), bear and milk!

Hollon enjoyed the park where the city had placed hundreds of crosses with dogtags naming all of the deceased veterens from the Stuart area. Though Hollon does not yet understand, we believe it is important that she grow up to understand the meaning behind Memorial Day, Veteren's Day, the 4th of July and all the other days honoring our armed forces and our country. After all, her great-grandfather, Clarence Dauby, and her great-great uncle Donald Skaggs*, both served in World War II. Her grandfather, Ronald Dierolf, Jr. (my dad) served in the army and the reserves, but thankfully never had to see combat (he entered at the end of the Vietnam war and was on stand-by for the Gulf War). Her ancestors served in the American Revolution and she can one day join the Daughters of the American Revolution society. I am sure there are many, many more family members in her lineage that has served at one poit or another. They all served to give her and to allow her to keep her freedom of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Here are some pictures from our day at the park. (Family members, help me out here. Stuart says Uncle Donald may have served in Korea, not World War II. We want to honor him properly, so does anyone know for sure?)

It was a beautiful day!

Later, we went over to Tom and Jana's house for a Memorial Day BBQ. The kiddos had a fabulous time playing, running all over the place and playing in the pool!

At the end of the day, Hollon gave everyone a piano concert. She hopes you enjoy