Here is all of the album for Vanessa and Johnny.  Aren’t they the cutest?

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, it is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.  There is evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War. 

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.  By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas (known as Confederate Heroes Day), April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.  

So there is my history lesson.  I took pictures in my yard today of some of the flowers.  I think this is the wettest spring I have seen since I have lived here.  The flowers are pretty and fit for what was once called Decoration Day, and our flag is out in honor of those brave men and women who served this great country.  I hope your day is blessed.

Something New Photography www.xanga.com/fotobydeedra shot this wedding a while back and I worked on the album for her while she enjoyed a a much deserved vacation.  Albums are fun to do, although they can be a bit tedious.  It helps when the bride and groom are as cute as Vanessa and Johnny.  What a beautiful family.  Johnny & Vanessa’s parents are wonderful people.  They have a great foundation for a wonderful life together.  Here are a few of my favorites.

I know there is a saying that say’s this.  My son Sean is becoming a great guitar player.  I was on his myspace checking out some of his stuff on there, (like Mom’s do) and saw a album cover on his page and it is called called “Punk Goes Acoustic”  I thought that would be a cool picture with his guitar, so I tried it with him….  you be the judge. 

 I actually met Mindy through bowling, then later she worked for me.  She met Eddie, fell in love and he took her away…  but that is ok, cause you can just look at them and see how much they love each other.  These are some of their engagement pictures……

On Friday night I had the privilege of witnessing the celebration of 60 years of marriage.  Jean and Vincent Hoing were married on May 10, 1947.  Their daughters Mary Ann and Karen honored their parents with a celebration with family and friends.  I was present for the blessing of their marriage, good food, great friends and the outpouring of love and respect from their daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, sisters and a host of other family members.  I have a great job….  thankyou for including me in such a wonderful event, here is just a peak of the evening.

 Let me tell you about my mother.  My mother was raised in Germany.  My parents met while my Dad was stationed in Germany.  Needless to say there was a communication issue.  Mom learned English and Dad learned German and their relationship grew.  My Dad say’s it was love at first sight for him, and the rest is history.  Growing up I remember my Mom being the one who handled things.  She was strong and confident.  I know she maintained a beautiful home and we always had great meals.  She ensured we were always dressed well and were respectful.  When Dad was overseas, Mom was both parents. She did this with grace and class.  Was it always easy?  No, but she made it look easy to me as a child, I know better now.  Several years ago my mother had a cancerous brain tumor.  After surgery and radiation she is cancer free.  She fought cancer with grace and class and as her child, I think she made it look easy, I know that it wasn’t though.  My Mom has the best sense of humor and is also very quit witted.  She always can make people laugh, she also makes people comfortable.  Everyone who truly knows Mom, loves her. We do not have the choice of who our Mom is, but I am grateful that God made sure I had her has a Mom.  If you are a Mom, have a Mom, or if all you have is a memory of your Mom, I wish you a wonderful Mother’s Day; and to my Mom…  I love you more than words can say, and I am so glad your my Mom, Happy Mother’s Day…..

 Just a few shots of Historic Downtown San Diego, what a great city.

Friday was fun.  John Boy graduated and spent some time with his Mom, Penny.  He went shopping for a few clothes and then we met up to have dinner with Uncle Al.  What can I say about Uncle Al?  He is just a great man.  When A.J. graduated from boot camp we all had dinner at his restaurant, “Veni Vidi Vici” http://chulavistabrewery.com/construction.htm, when A.J. returned from Iraq, Uncle Al hosted A.J. a quite a few Marines from his unit at his bar, “Ye Old Plank Inn”.  http://www.ib-chamber.biz/ye-olde-plank-inn.htm So while we were here we made time to see Uncle Al and his new home and my John’s cousin “John”.  (I know, we have a hard time coming up with original names in this family)  We had a few drinks at “Ye Old Plank Inn”  and walked over to the beach, right behind the building which is over 100 years old.  The beach was great and families from the neighborhood were outside enjoying a beautiful day.  From there we went to the restaurant for dinner.  While at the restaurant John Boy had a hard time relaxing as you can see.  The restaurant is really three eateries in one building. ”Veni Vidi Vici”  is fine italian dining, ”Mr. V’s” is a pizzeria and the “Chula Vista Brewery” is a bar type setting.  Doug Wilder was the entertainment that night and was very good.  John Boy had quite a few people buying him drinks and telling him congrats.    Uncle Al, thank-you for the great time and we look forward to visiting again…..

So the drive home….. first let me say, I love my hubby, but this driving everywhere is getting old.  He spent a lot of timing flying while in the Navy, so now he is afraid to fly, hence the driving everywhere.  We spent a total of 57 hours and 12 minutes in the car, for a total of 2,902 miles.  That includes the city driving while in San Diego.  We rent vehicles for the long trips, the first time we rented a Toyota Camry, we didn’t make it out of Texas before both of us were complaining about how uncomfortable the car was.  This time it was a Ford Fusion.  The car’s comfort was better than the Camry, but the car itself was not set up well.  I kept knocking off the cruise control because of the location on the steering wheel.  The mileage was good though, we got an average 30.2 miles per gallon, so, not too bad.  So far, the most comfortable car is mine…  the Chrysler 300 M.  Next time we will rent something different just to see how it is.