Flag Retirement Ceremony

Last night I took Andrew (after MUCH begging on his part) to the flag retirement ceremony here in town. I have to say that even though I really wasn't looking forward to it at the beginning, it was an extremely amazing, patriotic experience (although very hot) and I'm very grateful I took him. The evening started out rough since Ally wanted to come with us but then didn't like the fact that we had to sit kind of high up on the bleachers. I finally got her calmed down and entertained taking pictures with my camera when she noticed cannons out on the grounds and heard someone say they would be lighting the cannons sometime during the ceremony. The panic hit and there was no calming her down after that. She was leaving and heading home whether I took her or not. Luckily we were sitting with some people from our ward so I left Andrew and ran her home to be with Jim and Vanessa. I missed the majority of the talks but got there just in time to hear the last talk and see the retiring of the flags. This experience made me so proud to be an American and you couldn't help but feel patriotic. In the talk I heard the gentleman talked about the flag and what it means to the many people that have and currently serve in the military when they see it flying in the foreign country they are fighting in, it means they are safe. I couldn't help but feel the same way looking at the flag. We are safe here in our country because of the many men and women who leave their families and go and fight so we can have the freedoms we enjoy and many times take for granted. It made me remember being at Ground Zero in New York and seeing all the flags hanging everywhere, from buildings and every single crane working on the sight. I am so thankful for the many families that sacrifice so I can have the freedoms I have and the safety my family and I enjoy each and every day.

They called all the Scouts down on the grounds and started the ceremony. The first flag they retired was the large flag that hangs at the rodeo grounds where the ceremony took place.







Then they retired one more large flag and started handing flags to all the scouts that were in line.



The scouts then took the flag to one of the guardsmen standing by the fire and handed it to him.



(these pictures look grainy but that's seriously how smoky it was)

Then the guardsmen all turned at once and put them on the fire. The scouts would then race back to the line for another chance. It was so fun to see the excitement on their faces and also see the respect and reverence they had for the flags they were carrying.

In the end, this is what you got...



They then raised a new flag at the rodeo grounds,



everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance and then they shot off the cannons.



I was really glad Ally had gone home before that, they were very loud. It was an amazing experience that I won't forget for a very long time. I hope Andrew remembers it and the feelings he had there too.