Today at the local mall, Dora the Explorer made an appearance. Having a four year old son we had little choice but to take him.
Dora was to be there from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, near the food court. The layout of the mall is kind of like a square donut, a ring of stores on the exterior wall, and a core of stores at the center. The line up started at the stage (food court) wound it's way along the exterior stores almost back to the food court again. Now, the mall is used for indoor walking before the stores open, you follow the exterior wall exactly you'll walk 1 mile. We got to the mall at 10:30 am and waited at about the 1/2 mile mark. That's a SHITLOAD of kids.
Me, Logan and the famous Dora the Explorer!
I was quite impressed, very few cranky kids were there. By noon we had advanced to the 1/4 mile mark and still all but the youngest kids (under 2) were still very well behaved. Mine included. We finally got to the stage at 1:00 pm. I still can't believe that we spent 2.5 hours in line for 30 seconds on stage with a geek in a costume. The things we do for our kids!
Now for the Pride.
Friday we went to my moms to do the laundry. When we got there I wandered into my grandmothers living room to she how she was doing. She was doing a cross stitch so I took a look around.
She's a typical old lady, all her stuff is this old antique type stuff, Hummel figurines, clocks, that sort of stuff. But the one thing I ALWAYS, look at is something on her wall.
I don't know exactly what to call it. She has a box on the wall, with a glass front, like a frame. Inside, centered from left to right, but above the mid point from top to bottom is a photo of my grandfather. It was taken shortly after he entered the army, but before he went over seas. Below the image is a small plaque with his birth year, and the year of his passing, as well as the years he served in the military. Below the plaque are his medals, and surrounding the picture are his pins. It looks fantastic and it's a wonderful way to remember him.
I also found out that these items were offered to my uncle, my mom's brother, and he refused them. I can't understand why. My grandmother said, "I guess he just wasn't proud of his father." That just crushed me. I told her I'd be honored and would love to have it hanging in my home. I think she was ready to cry when I said that.
It also got me thinking about my dad's dad. I'm going to call my other grandma at the beginning of July (more long distance minutes for my phone plan) and see if she still has all of grandpa medals. I like to have a display for him in my home as well.
Once I have them both, they'll be passed down to Logan, along with a third. The third won't be ready for sometime, at least not until I'm done my years in the army. I just hope I get in and can do the memory of both of these men proud.
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