Memorial Day

It was a great Memorial Day weekend. Not only did I finish my marathon, but I got to spend time with family. Dad organized a little trip to Holden to put flowers on graves. Here in Utah, people like to visit cemeteries on Memorial Day and decorate graves, not just of military heroes, but of family members. I've gone with mom and dad a few times and really enjoy it. Holden holds a lot of memories for me, since we spent a lot of time visiting grandma and grandpa Hunter there. We would walk to Wood's Market and buy soda and penny candy. We would explore around grandma and grandpa's property. We would ride Brog, their horse. We also played the Cootie Game a lot. I think it's the only game they had.

Sidney Teeples, rescuer of Martin Handcart Company and Nicholaus Gourley Teeples, member of same company.

My grandma and grandpa, Allie and Otto 

Kamiko and Mel enjoyed the swings at the park...until Kamiko got sick to his stomach.

How could you not enjoy a road trip with these cute faces? Allison East DeVuyst, Melia, Allie and Kamiko

I offered a dollar to whoever found dad's grandparent's grave. Dad found it and I paid up!

Me, Debbie, Dad, Mom, Allison, Kamiko, Allie and Melia in front of Allie and Otto's grave

mom wants a grave marker like this one. It is lovely

Just cute Allie in the cemetery

Kamiko, Allie, Melia and Allison East DeVuyst came in my van. Mom and dad and Debbie and Mark Amundson were in another car. We had soda, candy and chips and talked and listened to music. We had a great drive. In Holden, we put flowers on graves and told the kids stories. We then went to the pavilion near the church to eat lunch. The scouts were just cleaning up from a fundraiser. They gave us some cupcakes, chicken and potato salad. We, of course, made a donation. I asked the lady who brought us the food if she knew my grandparents. She did. Her family had moved her there from Mapleton when she was 16. Now, that would be a challenge. It's a town of about 500 people. She has since returned with her husband after college and they raised their kids there. Her husband is a dentist in town. She commented that you can't buy gas or milk in town, but you can get a root canal. I introduced her to my Allie, who was named after my grandma and the lady asked if my Allie was ever going to have blue hair like my grandma. Grandma used to go to the "beauty operator" every week for bluing that they put on her hair. My grandma had great dimples, too. The lady from Holden also remembered that grandma used to file her fingernails to a point. It was so nice to talk to her. What a great place to have ties to. We headed home and got ice cream in Nephi on the way back to grandma and grandpa's, where we had bbq hamburgers to finish the day. It was awesome!