Missionary Homecoming and Memorial Day Remembering

Paul and Kim reported their mission on Sunday, 27 May.  They invited us to come to their Sacrament Meeting to hear them speak and then to stay for a delicious taco bar lunch afterward.  We had fun playing and visiting and relaxing with the Wihongis, and we even were treated to a slide show of Paul's mission to South Africa!  

We're happy to have them home!

The spread.  YUM!

Playtime!

Fruit snack time!

Slideshow time!

Since the next day was Memorial Day, and we haven't ever visited the Gallagher or Blanchard graves as a family, I thought it would be fun to turn it into a weekend event.  We stayed overnight (the kids loved having a sleepover!), ate a yummy waffle breakfast, got to peek inside Paul's treasure box (containing, among other things, pieces of a kamikaze plane that hit his father's ship during WWII),  and then journeyed to Utah County to visit three cemeteries and twelve ancestors: Gregg's Grandma Joan Gallagher's grave in the Highland City Cemetery; Gregg's Great Grandpa Carr and Great Grandma Margaret Greer in the Eastlawn Cemetery in Provo; and Gregg's Grandpa Don and Grandma June Blanchard, Great Grandpa John and Great Grandma Sanova Swearingen Blanchard, Great-Great Grandpa Benjamin Thomas and Great-Great Grandma Susannah Alleman Blanchard, Great Grandpa Charles and Great Grandma Olive Carleton Whiting (plus an uncle Jesse and his wife Virginia Whiting (June's brother and sister-in-law), and an aunt Helen Carleton (Olive's sister)) all in the Evergreen Cemetery in Springville.  Paul brought along cleaning supplies and clippers, and Callie especially liked to help tidying up the gravestones.  After our cemetery tour, we came back to South Jordan for a hot dog roast deck lunch.  A perfect end to a wonderful weekend with the fam.

Story time!

Breakfast time!

Show and tell time!

Sprucing up Grandma Joan Shirley Greer Gallagher's
(Kim's mom) headstone in Highland City Cemetery.

The Eastlawn Cemetery in Provo was situated
in such a pretty place and looked so festive.

These are Kim's grandparents (Gregg's great, CalandSam's
great-great) Carr and Margaret Greer (Grandma Gallagher's,
from above, parents).

Sneaky bunnies coming in for a snack.

Evergreen Cemetery in Springville was also
decked out and beautiful.

Callie loved working those clippers to trim the
grass around the headstones.

Here is where Grandma June Whiting Blanchard
(Callie's namesake), and Grandpa Donald Alton
Blanchard (Paul's parents) are buried.

More Blanchards across the way.

John and Sanova Blanchard (Paul's grandparents,
Gregg's great, CalandSam's great-great)

Benjamin Thomas and Susannah Blanchard,
Paul's great grandparents (Gregg's great-great,
CalandSam's great-great-great!)

Someone is getting sleepy.

Charles Leonard and Olive Carleton Whiting
(Grandma June Blanchard's parents, Paul's
grandparents, Gregg's great, CalandSam's great-great)

Olive Carleton Whiting's sister Helen Carleton.

Lunchtime in the new fire pit.

And what campfire would be complete without
a s'more?

Perfect ending!