memorial day weekend

Warning: There are a lot of pictures in this post.

For Memorial Day weekend, we decided to head up North. Graham couldn't wait to get there.

We had a good time hanging out with Shad's family.

And the kids enjoyed their cousins.

Upon leaving the grocery store (to get some stuff for a meal), a couple guys passing me pointed out my tire was a little flat. When I got back to the house, Shad found this little screw stuck in it.

You could hear the air seeping out of it. So Shad bought a quick-fix tire kit because the tire center was already closed. He yanked out the screw and fixed it up, and it worked just great the rest of our time there.

We visited a couple cemeteries with everybody.

The kids seem to enjoy it whenever we go.

Probably one of their favorite activities is the actual cleaning of the headstones.

It's a good way for everyone to be a part of something.

Shad's grandmother always makes such nice arrangements with her lilacs and carnations.

Drake was excited to find this.

Grandma always has so many stories to share.

Her knowledge and memory amaze me.

Shad's dad took a bunch of the kids to get more water from a nearby creek to finish cleaning the headstones.

The kids had a good time and it always leads to some good discussions about life and death.

And I just thought this was funny. The younger brother really wanted to sit on his older brother's lap.

But the eldest wasn't so fond of the idea. This happened more than once.

Finally the younger of the two found something else fun to do.

Shad's mom's birthday was the same weekend, so we had a big family dinner.

Avery was excited to help with the dishes afterward.

And as often happens, Keith entertained (worked up a sweat with) the kids for a good while.

And we had birthday cake, of course. Happy Birthday!

The last big activity for the weekend was canoeing. Four canoes were rented in addition to the one Shad's parents own.

I didn't take any pictures while on the water, just in case we were to capsize. I didn't want to risk ruining the camera. So all these pictures are just after we finished.

This is Micah entertaining Graham. Her and Matt both came with us and it was fun to have them along.

It was a fun canoe trip.

At one point, a moose walked right across the water to get to the opposite bank.

And we saw plenty of beautiful birds.

Drake caught a small fish during the canoe trip when we stopped to stretch our legs. Shad tried to catch a fish under the bridge, to no avail.

After a little while, we broke out lunch.

A canoe is something that would be fun to have someday.

On the drive back to the house, everyone was exhausted.

And I mean everyone (but the driver of course).

I'm glad we got to go canoeing.

We hung out for a little while longer before heading back to our own home.

I didn't get to visit my brother's grave this year, but it was a very full weekend. It's always fun to be with family.