Warsaw and Family History

My Grandpa was drafted during WWII, like so many other men of his generation, and was sent off to Germany after some time at Fort Bening.  While he was gone, he wrote his parents a letter every day.  And I do mean every day.  There are hundreds of letters and my great-grandmother saved every one.  There are a few missing due to censure, but for the most part it's a complete diary of his experience.  My mom and my aunt have been scanning them to preserve them.  Last month they went to the Dimmitt's cabin in Warsaw, MO for a scanning party.  Two sisters, two scanners and a whole lot of letters.  My aunt invited the four of us down since Derek and Stephanie were going to be there as well.  Charlotte always has a blast playing with Derek, so we jumped at the chance.  

My mom and Shirley made a lot of progress and I read a lot of them.  It was interesting reading them.  I never really knew my grandpa- he died from Parkinson's Disease when I was 7- so this gave me a window into who he was in a truly fascinating way.  The irony of it, though, was that he never talked about the war.  My grandma never really painted him as a veteran because she felt he wouldn't want to be remembered that way.  Despite that, though, the only chance I get to know him is through the letters he wrote while serving our country.  Anyway, while his daughters scanned, my daughters had a blast playing with their cousin and the puppies.  We had a great time.

Charlotte and Tanner.  She loves Tanner!

Tanner is the best babysitter.  He would not let the kiddos out of his sight!

Discovering a turtle

Audrey not so excited about sharing space with Toby.

Kid toy, dog toy, whatever.

Stephanie and I took Charlotte and Derek to the hatchery.  They played a little inside before heading out to fish.

Headed to the hatchery pond.  Only the little ones get to fish and they use hot dogs as bait.  It was hilarious watching these two carry out their poles.

Nothing was biting today.  :)