On Memorial Day, CK headed out to the airport around 8am to get ready for his flyover. Everyone was still sleeping, so I took Buddy for a walk and then returned and made pancakes and scrambled eggs for all the kids. In my usual fashion, I realized we needed to leave in 30 minutes and I had yet to shower, so I hurried and got ready and we all loaded up into my car and I drove CK's car. I had Olivia and Jillian in CK's car and Jay followed behind me with all the rest of the kids and Cynthia. The memorial service that CK was to fly over memorialized several British and Canadian servicemen who died near Fort Worth while training to fly for WWI. Apparently, a dentist who is also a pilot found the area where the WWI servicemen were buried in disrepair several years ago and has held a memorial service every two years since. CK's Stearman is similar to what the servicemen would have been learning how to fly, so the dentist contacted CK and another man who agreed to do a flyover at the end of the memorial service.
We made it to Greenwood Cemetery and I was impressed with the number of people attending as well as the foreign military officers who were there. Once we arrived, the kids walked over to the monument together and read who was buried there. The next day, a photo of Chandler, Sofia and Olivia looking at the monument would be in the Star-Telegram newspaper. The memorial service got started and it was very thoughtful and interesting. It started off with a bagpipe band coming over the ridge and stopping next to the memorial to play several different songs. Once they finished and sat down, each of the military officers spoke and the Catholic priest talked about sacrifice. Finally, each of the military officers laid a wreath at the monument. Our kids all sat on the grass and were very quiet and respectful. Jillian and Olivia played together while Sofia and Chandler whispered and played. Without warning there was the 21 gun salute, which was actually only the 18 gun salute since one of the soldiers passed out during the memorial service. Sofia actually noticed the soldier slump to the ground and asked me what was "wrong with that one?" He was quietly escorted to the van while I explained that he likely passed out for some reason.
Just after the 21-gun salute, CK and his pilot buddy flew over the cemetery in formation. It was really cool! They did two passes before his buddy pulled up and away in the "missing man" and CK flew on toward the airport. It was a great way to end the memorial service and a photo of CK's Stearman would be in the next day's Star-Telegram, as well!
Once CK and his plane were gone from view, we all headed toward our cars and got a photo of all the cousins together. Jackson was not interested, so he isn't in any of them. The pictures turned out cute though and Olivia and Jillian wrapped their arms around each other! They are such good buddies!
We loaded up and started back to the house. The plan was that we would meet CK at our house, load up all their luggage, which was packed and waiting, grab a fast snack and CK would drive Jay, Cynthia and the kids to the airport. We had a little bit of extra time, but not much. Unfortunately, we used up that time when I hit a pothole just outside downtown Fort Worth and ended up with a flat rear right tire! We pulled into a parking lot and Jay was cool as a cucumber as he got out the spare and figured out how to put the jack under the car frame. I was so thankful to have him with us, since I would have NO idea what to do otherwise. On the far side of the parking lot was a group of homeless guys and one of them made their way over to offer advice. He was very friendly and actually tried to help Jay, who changed the flat tire in record time. Meanwhile, the kids played and made up their own games. We got the spare on, and headed toward home. I drove around 50 mph since the spare can't go faster than that. Just before reaching our exit, our front right tire went flat! I had NO idea what to do, but decided to keep going until our exit and parked at the gar station. I figured that was far better than stopping with two car loads of kids on the freeway.
We left the car there, piled into my car and drove through In-N-Out to grab a quick bite before we made it home. The bags were put into my car once again and we said our quick goodbyes! What a bad way to end a very fun and relaxing weekend! After they were heading to the airport, I worked on getting our car towed to the dealer and fixed. Aside from two flat tires, we had a great visit and I love how much fun the cousins have together!
The memorial and graves of those who died
The memorial
The British, Canadian and American military officers who attended and spoke
Love this picture
The bagpipes have such a lovely sound
The gunman marching in for the 21-gun salute
The memorial service starts
The American wreath is placed at the monument
CK and his buddy start the fly-over
CK heading back
Cousins! Jackson was having none of it
These two are BIG buddies
So cute
Jay changing our back tire with all the kids watching
Yikes!
Getting a little "help" from a homeless guy
The kids made up their own fun while Jay worked
The article in Tuesday's Star-Telegram!
