Memorial Day

Most Americans have no idea what Memorial Day is all about.  From my vantage point, I think that most Americans consider it another day off from work, and have a big ole party/BBQ.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with BBQ’s and parties (said tongue in cheek), BUT do we know what we are or rather ARE NOT celebrating?
Quoting from Wikipedia.com:  (copied and pasted)

This article is about the American holiday. For the holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, see Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador) .
Also called
Decoration Day
Type
National
Date
Last Monday in May
Observances
Remembrance of American war dead
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 25 in 2009). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at National Cemeteries.
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations^[2] for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day; the poppy's significance to Memorial Day is the result of the John McCrae poem "In Flanders Fields."
In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also used as a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events. One of the longest-standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.
The National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol. The concert is broadcast on PBS and NPR. Music is performed, and respect is paid to the men and women who gave their lives for their country.
Some Americans view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season.
Memorial Day formerly was observed on May 30. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address:
“
Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.^[3]
”
Since 1987, Hawaii's Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has repeatedly introduced measures to return Memorial Day to its traditional date.
So anyway….not preaching at ya….seriously, I am not.  All that to day, I want to thank the soldiers who have died for me to be able to live free.  We didn’t have a BBQ this year as we normally do. 
It’s been a nice day here.  It was 89* when I checked the temperature around 3:30 or so…the warmest it has been this season for us in Germany.  I am a little fearful that we are going to have a rather warm summer….we don’t have Air conditioning here….One summer in Stuttgart, it was SO miserable the whole summer.  :(
I made two LO’s today while the older kids were working on school work and after I exercised and showered.  Here ya go:
Kylie gave me most of this stuff…the pearls and ephemera came from my stash. 

This next LO is a group picture of the kids in 2005 with their Easter baskets…except Emily…she didn’t get an Easter basket that year.  Seemed silly….so we didn’t buy her one.