Memorable Memorial Day Weekends...

This past weekend was so nice...and long...and it actually seemed long, too...(because sometimes those 3-day weekends just seem to speed right on by...but not this time) There have been other nice Memorial Day weekends in my recent past... Here are just a few:

2004:

We spent the weekend with the Hummel's down in Bavaria in the Alps... It was gorgeous! It was the first time Scott had ever been to see Neuschwanstein castle, and he was amazed...(although, a little bummed as well, seeing as how the castle was never finished, so you only get to tour certain parts of it...) We stayed in a tiny German hotel that served a fresh, traditional German breakfast downstairs every morning...and had a not-so-traditional hot tub room upstairs...(absolutely wonderful to soak in after a long day's hike to see the castles of crazy King Ludwig!) It was also on this trip we found out the exciting news that the Hummel's were expecting! Tristan was born that following December...sweet boy! This was just one of many, many trips that we shared with the Hummel family... They were our "travel buddies!" We had so much fun...

2005:
This was another trip spent with the Hummel's... We visited the American Memorial Cemetery in Luxemburg... It was a cold, hazy, wet day...typical of Europe...(my favorite kind of weather!) And, perfect weather to be somber and reflect on the lives that were lost during WWII, defending our nation while in a totally different country, far away from home... They'd put flags out in front of each marker to celebrate the holiday... We all walked around in silence for about an hour...just thinking...and being thankful...

2006:
We stayed at home this year and just went exploring nearby, going on "adventures" down roads we hadn't ever driven down... We visited the small castle-home of Malberg, a village just down the road from where we lived... And, we discovered the ruins of another castle down the road even further...one we didn't even know existed before that trip... That's one of the wonderful things about Europe - there are surprises around every corner!

2007:
Our first Memorial Day back in the States in a while, and it just happened to be the weekend my high school class had planned to have our 10-year reunion... Scott and I drove the long 14-hour trip to the Gulf Coast of Florida to attend the reunion and enjoy some much-needed visiting time with friends from the area, most of whom we hadn't seen since the summer of 2001... We ended up staying a little longer and visiting a little longer...and it was really, really pleasant... It was SO good to see everyone! Not to mention, it was really exciting for us, as we got to share our news about Baby Ross coming...(and we'd only just found out I was pregnant the Monday before we left!)

2008:
We had a nice, relaxing weekend... We watched a bunch of movies...some not-so-good...and one great one... We spent Sunday with my family at my parents' house, eating some good ole' country cookin'...and piggin' out on some delicious homemade ice cream...and swimming and cooling off in the pool... Kassia played for the first time in the baby pool her Nonie and Papa got for her, and she had a blast trying to chase after all the little water toys! And, Monday, our small group got together for the second installment of our "preparing-for-the-new-Indiana-Jones-movie" marathon...and watched "The Temple of Doom"... It was great having everyone over...

These past few years have been great...so, I can't wait to see what's in store for us over the next Memorial Day weekend!