Memorial Day and The Beach

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.

To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."

Both my side and my husband's side of the family have veterans and active military. We appreciate them and thank them for keeping America the land of the free and home of the brave.

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This has been one of the hottest Memorial Day weekends here in Northern Indiana that I can remember.

I stayed inside most of the day after I got the grass cut first thing this morning. I believe it got to 96 degrees which is too hot to be outside unless you're close to a body of water; which I wasn't.

However; speaking of water, tomorrow Olivia and I are heading to Lake Michigan for the first time this season. And, we cannot wait. We'll head to New Buffalo, MI. It's fairly close, only about 40 minutes away. We love it there. We enjoy the beach, the ice cream shop and a restaurant called Redamak's.

Later in the day, we're going to have some family over for an informal get-together. All in all, it's going to be a great day.

I hope you and your family have a peaceful and fun Memorial Day.

Whatever Wednesday

For my "Whatever Wednesday" blog I'm just going to randomly write things that are on my mind. Since I can't seem to consistently blog about "real" things, this is what's going to work for me. So, here it goes:

• I've been sick for over a week with bronchitis. I went to the doctor last Thursday thinking I would be diagnosed with a sinus infection. Wrong. An antibiotic, inhaler and steroid prescription later I was leaving the office. My last day of meds was yesterday; thank goodness.
• Say a little prayer for my friend, Susan. She's got some major stress going on right now with planning her son's graduation party and just life in general pertaining to her son reaching this milestone.
• I haven't watched Leighton for a couple weeks. I get to on Friday and can't wait. He's full crawling now AND pulling himself up on furniture. Oh boy...let the baby proofing begin at Grandma Tara's!!
• Our weather here in Northern Indiana has been perfect lately. Just the right amount of sunshine and heat. Bring on summer!
• My vacation is 3 weeks from Friday. Talk about can't wait. Holy cow it can't get here quick enough. Best part is that it's paid for except for spending money once we get there. Praise God.
• Olivia had her last choir concert of the year last night. I took the camera (yay for remembering), but forgot to put the fully charged battery in it before I left the house. Yeah, I wasn't happy about that.
• A small group recently went out to listen to Tom's band a couple weeks ago. It was a great time. Can't wait to plan a fun night out again soon.
• We're American Idol fans at our house and have been since season 2. It's hard to believe tonight is the end of season 11 already. My house really wants Phillip to win. How about you? Do you watch?

I hope you're having a great week. Until next time....

It was a great day

Yesterday was a great Mother's Day. We spent the day at my mom's house with family. Nothing better than that! 

Gifts were exchanged. We talked. We ate. We laughed. We took pictures. Lots of pictures.

Here just a couple pictures that I grabbed from my niece's facebook page (I haven't downloaded mine yet). I just love them. Simple treasures, that's for sure! 

My younger brother Tate, older brother Todd, my mom and me

My mom with the Grandkids that were able to make it. My niece Aubrie (yellow shirt), my step-daughter Emily (dark hair/glasses), my nephew Evan (red shirt), my mom and my daughter, Olivia (blue shirt)

I hope your Mother's Day was sweet, peaceful and everything you hoped it would be.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all of you bloggers out there a Happy Mother's Day.

The picture above is from a couple years ago but it is still one of my favorites.

Link to win

Head over to In This Wonderful Life for your chance to win baby orajel naturals. Even if you don't have a little one at home, maybe you have a grandchild or a friend/family member that you could enter for.

Leighton is teething (2 cute ones on the bottom so far) so I'm hoping to win for him!!

Good Luck!