A Ball & A Pumpkin

This past weekend was a fun one around here. Friday night, Aaron and I attended the 1-40 CAV ball at the Hilton. It was a lot of fun! There were great decorations, food, drinks, music and of course people! There is a lot that goes into a military ball. I love all the traditions of the CAV! But there are also sad parts of the night like the playing of taps for the fallen. And the empty place setting explained below:

"The following may be used when appropriate to present the Toast to fallen Comrades and to explain the significance of the dedicated place setting when it is used:

"You may have noticed the small table set for one that is off on its own - it is reserved to honour our fallen comrades in arms. This symbolizes that they are with us, here in spirit. We should never forget the brave men and women who answered our nation's call [to serve] and served the cause of freedom in a special way. We are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured the agonies of pain, deprivation and death.

I would like to explain the meaning of the items on this special table.

• The table is round - to show our everlasting concern for our fallen comrades.
• The tablecloth is white - symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to duty.
• The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of our fallen comrades, and the loved ones and friends of these comrades who keep the faith.
• The vase is tied with a red ribbon, symbol of our continued determination to remember our fallen comrades.
• A slice of lemon on the bread plate is to remind us of the bitter fate of those who will never return.
• A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by the families of those who have sacrificed all.
• The Holy Book represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country.
• The glass is inverted, they cannot toast with us at this time.
• The chair is empty because they are no longer with us."

There is also a grog. A giant bowl filled with whatever the different troop commanders want to put in it. I have seen liquor, beer, dried spices and even socks. Yes, it is gross! It all has special meaning which makes it interesting and this year I even tasted it. It was so disgusting! But it was fun none the less. Here are some pics from the night:

 Aaron and his XO and 1SGT.

 The ladies and I having fun!

 Most of you know I am not this tall. Aaron is usually at least a good 5-6 inches taller than me. I forgot to get my dressed hemmed so the day before I went on a shoe run. My friend, Heather, was gracious enough to come shopping and help me find the tallest shoes we could find. It worked! They were actually not to uncomfortable and they did the job! I didn't trip on my dress at all that night. Surprising.

Taken with our tri-pod and remote at home. Not bad if I would have remembered to move the sippy cup and blanket. Such is the life of parents I guess!

Saturday, we woke up and decided to go to the reindeer farm for a pumpkin. Alaska is nothing like home when it comes to fall. There are no cider mills, pumpkins patches or apple orchards. So for the past 2 Halloweens, I have bought my pumpkin out of a cardboard box from Wal-Mart. So depressing! 

So this year the reindeer farm in Palmer decided to step up to the plate and have a little 'pumpkinville' moment (those back home know what I am talking about here. But it was no even close to as good!). They had a hayride, hay maze, pony rides and a pumpkin patch. Well sort of...the lady told us she was going to buy pumpkins from Sam's Club and toss then out into a field. It was still better than a Wal-Mart pumpkin!

Below were the some pictures from the adventure:

 

A great fun family day!