Memorial Day and a Picnic in the Park

We had a nice Memorial Day weekend close to home before Dru started his job the following day.

Fin was ready to go!!


We visited the local Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa - definately worth the price of admission and the time to visit. They had amazing exhibits and extremely personalized accounts of war from different servicemen, all displayed very well.


Dru, checking out some ammo


Me and Finny in front of a glider from WWII

In front of a wedding dress made from a silk parachute from WWII - the guy was in the army and he and his fiance were too poor to afford a dress, so a local dressmaker made the dress from his army parachute!

Fin in front of the little boy uniforms and kids toys from WWI and II

Enjoying the sites

Checking out one of the many planes...sadly, I can't remember which kind

Fin thought the guy wandering around answering questions from museum-goers was hilarious

Our family

Then we visited a memorial stone up on a bluff outside of Emmett, Idaho

The view was spectacular - this is a lovely part of Idaho

Then we went to a BBQ that my aunt Sharon planned to celebrate both Memorial Day and the "decade" birthdays in our family - there was a family member born every decade from 1920 through the baby we're expecting this year.

Fin found the toy room and had a blast playing with his 2nd cousins

And of course playing with Poppy is always a hit

Little ham

Mommy and Finny

My cousin, Jerald, and I comparing bellies...I think there's a clear winner here, Jerald - you need to lay off the junk food!

All the decade birthday folks!

The next weekend, we decided to have a picnic at Lake Lowell, a fairly large lake not too far from our house. It was a lovely day, and we found a nice shade tree on a lawn overlooking the lake

Fin enjoyed playing on the blanket - he wasn't too sure about the grass because it was so prickly

And of course he enjoyed eating with us - our traditional picnic fare of hard bread, sharp cheddar cheese, fresh strawberries, and sparkling cider

After lunch it was time to play airplane with Daddy

Whhhheeeee!!!!!!

He played some with Mommy, too

Especially if he could use her as a prop stand

Overlooking the lake

The boy scouts had put a nice little garden in

Fin enjoyed the day...but he was a tired little bug!

Sea Pines...Anniversary Trip Part 3

One afternoon after classes, we headed to a nearby hotspot called the Sea Pines Plantation, a 6-mile stretch of land that borders Cabilouge Sound and extends into the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the original plantation has been preserved as a forest preserve, complete with the original wetlands. If you head all the way to the end of the peninsula, there is a little Harbour town with a lighthouse. That's where we headed first, and had a nice lunch overlooking the bay where 75-million dollar yachts were bobbing.

Our favorite thing...FOOD


Then we toured the Harbour Town Lighthouse

We climbed to the top, and along the way they had several interesting Civil War museum-like pieces

Fin liked hiking up, as long as he was carried!

When we got to the top, this was the view of Cabilouge Sound

...and the bay with the yachts

Mom and Finny at the top

Daddy and Fin enjoying the views

Then we took a stroll out on the dock extending into the ocean - there were bottlenosed dolphins frollicking in the ocean about 200 feet from where we were standing on the dock!

View of the lighthouse from the dock

Fin was a trooper - he loves being outside and exploring

Then we hiked into the forest preserve - it was dense & swampy, and we were really hoping to see an alligator, but we didn't

We hiked into an Native American monument called the Ring of Shells, where native tribes would hold meetings within a ring of crushed shells - the shells offered protection and good fortune - you can still see parts of the original ring of shells if you look closely at the ground

Standing in "the ring"

The trees were an odd mix of deciduous, palm, and swamp

Dru is getting anxious about meeting and alligator...he was a little jumpy! :)

The end of our hike...aw, just like the old days. Happy Anniversary, Babe!