Saluting Those Who Served Our Country

First of all, Happy Memorial Day to all those who served our country...and those who still are.

Second, I had a lovely day. After breakfast, I went to Oaklyn's Memorial Day Parade. The "parade" ended up being the American Legion, the VFW, and the Fire Department. (Maybe everyone else thought it was going to rain, after the weather we've had all week?) Since the parade was only ten minutes and I had at least two hours before work, I walked down to Uncle Ken's house to see what they were doing today. Uncle Ken and Dolores were on the porch. Uncle Ken told me they were going to his son Mark and Mark's girlfriend Vanessa's house for a Memorial Day barbecue and I was welcome to join them after work.

I told them I would and went straight home after that to make a Pina Colada cake for the barbecue. Less than 10 minutes after the cake came out of the oven, I was on my way to work. Work, thank goodness, was absolutely no trouble whatsoever. It was busy, but that's to be expected on the first major holiday of the summer season.

Jodie picked me up shortly after I came home, and we headed for the barbecue. I had a great time. Mark and Vanessa made barbecue chicken, ribs, and corn, potato salad, baked beans, cut melon with sweet cream cheese dressing, and a simpler spice cake. I enjoyed everything, even a little of the potato salad, which I don't normally eat.

After dinner, I went outside to watch Jessa and Vanessa's daughter Brittany play badminton. The girls were absolutely hilarious. It was still windy, and every five minutes, one girl or the other would hit the birdie into the next-door neighbor's yard and have to retrieve it. (Good thing their neighbor didn't appear to be home.)

Mark, Vanessa, Dad, and Jodie eventually joined us. Jodie, Vanessa, Jessa, and Britt played badminton, then volleyball when they got tired of chasing the wayward birdie. When Jodie finally got tired of playing, I joined Vanessa for a round, then played the girls on my own. That was fun! I haven't played volleyball since high school. I miss it. I'm slow to go after the ball, but I have a killer serve.

After the girls got tired of volleyball, we went inside for cake. Mark showed Jodie and me his collection of tropical fish, which he breeds, including a huge and gorgeous angel fish.

I had a fun day. I hope this bodes well for the rest of the summer! ;)