I'm Proud to be an American

On the 4th of July we traveled up to the Kaysville parade so we could see Grandpa Great ride with the veterans in the Humvees. I was a bit frazzled trying to get my family to walk 4 1/2 blocks to meet up with Grandma, my parents, & some cousins. We were walking up the parade route as the band came toward us. The Humvees were at the very front of the parade, so we stopped in an open spot and pulled out the cameras to get the pics before finding the rest of the family.

I got real emotional, straining my eyes to see which of these white haired war heroes was my grandpa. I saw the truck labeled Air Force, but didn't notice that grandpa got to ride in the passenger seat instead of in the sunny bed of the truck. Special thanks to my cousin Kami who darted across the street to capture grandpa waving out of his window.

I was so full of pride and gratitude. My grandpa is a war hero, but he is also a personal hero of mine. How grateful I am that he was not among the fallen war heroes, but he has been able to stand as a leader and example to me in our family. He is a man of honor and kindness. He is a true patriot. There is nothing sweeter than to see his face light up when he greets one of his 36 GREAT Grandchildren. I'm so thankful that I have known him all my life. He's the only one that has gotten away with calling me Jenny or JennyJo. How cute is that?

As the veterans passed, we realized that we were standing just 6 feet from the rest of our family that we were rushing to meet up with. It was sweet to be with others who are such fans of Grandpa.