Memorial Day

 

 Memorial Day we drove into Leesburg with Grandma and Grandpa Boyd. 

We stopped by Leesburg's Memorial wall honoring all those who have served their country.

 Looking for Great Grandpa Ponder's name.

 Anne's dad, (Grandpa Ponder) served in WWII. 

I never got to meet him but later that day we went to visit Grandma Ponder and she told me a few stories about their travels together while he was in the Air Force.

She told me they were living in Japan when the war ended. They had three children and had to take a boat to get home. She said the boat was a type of transport boat and even though their husbands were traveling on the same boat, they weren't aloud to be with their families. The men were kept below deck while the women and children stayed in the cabins above deck. When I asked her how long they were on the boat she said about three weeks!!! 3 weeks on a boat with three young children that you have to handle all by yourself? I can barely handle one for 9 hours! 

Women whose husbands serve in the military are made of tough stuff.

(Anne check my facts and set em' straight :)

 It started to rain towards the end of our visit so we had to make a mad dash to the car. Somebody looks cozy.

 We dried off back at Grandma Ponder's house and had dinner with her.

 Then Grandpa Boyd and Collin went missing. When we looked out the window we saw them across the lake. See the little blue and red dot on the other side? They walked around the whole thing :)

 We ended up eating WAY too much watermelon, apple pie, and mint Oreo cookies that day.

I'm so glad we were able to visit the memorial wall. Even though it was such a small amount of names in comparison to how many men and women have served our country, it really touched my heart and made me extra grateful for my life.