Friday August 31, Heather and I traveled to Miramar Air Fore Base to say farewell to our very honorable Uncle and Marine. It was amazing! The amount of respect and honor that you feel just driving onto the cemetery is just overwhelming. Heather was very excited to see all the American Flags and said “HI” to every Marine she saw, it was really cute and made them smile. Although words cant explain how much we miss our Uncle but are grateful for the time we did have together, it was quiet the experience to be part of this honorable farewell to such a great man.
this is the avenue of flags(the entrance)
Heather and I went to check out a POW statue they had just put added to the location
the statue is a POW that is expressing his liberation. Heather and I met a lady that was a nurse during WWII and told us that inside the statue are the time capsules from POW’s..her’s and her late husbands were inside there and in 2045 they are going to open them to ready.. I would love to be there for that! The sweet lady and her friend gave Heather a dollar for ice cream since it was her birthday too.. she made them smile and when they asked how old she was she announced it was her bday and she was 3! The ladies said they really needed her bright smile and were so happy we met each other. I felt very honored to meet them too
the final farewell is in a horse drawn carriage.. the Marines are just amazing with the amount of respect they have in each move
all the flags
the Marine that played the bugle stayed back from the rest to play TAPS
I lost it here! the flag folding ceremony is .. speechless..
The Marines stepping away after the 21 gun salute
look in the crowd.. this General is a very decorated General and a good friend of my Uncle.
When ever you see a white dove flying they are on their way to send love to our loved ones
the shadow box on the left is one my Aunt made for my cousin.. its of my Uncle’s western wear he had as a child. The box on the right is of my Uncles many medals
this 1972 Ford Galaxy was my Grandmas! My cousin has restored it and drove it that day.. it was so fun talking about the fun we had in that car. The back seat is so long we could slide from one end to the other
Here is Heather patiently waiting for the ice cream man to come =) thanks to the lady we had met earlier
Heather and her little neighbor friend Alice.. they were running around being silly!
It may seem strange that I took pics of the service but there were a few reasons I did. My Mom and Sister were not able to make it because they live out of state and also it was to remember the amount of respect and honor others showed for my Uncle. I had explained to Heather that the “box” was just a place an Angel keeps their things in case they need them later. We put them in a safe place for them because now they are angels with God looking over us. Heather liked that a lot! I did not attend the viewing simply because there was no way I was going to have Heather see something like that at a young age. It was hard to explain but she believe in angels and likes that she can send hugs and loves on the wings of the white doves to say HI to our angels above that always look over us.
We all Love and Respect Uncle Jimmy D Vandever and now he continues to look over us from above. Semper Fi! Amen!
this is Manny.. he's a little praying mantis that visited us for a few weeks.. he was quiet friendly
this is Manny.. he's a little praying mantis that visited us for a few weeks.. he was quiet friendly
One day Heather just decided she was going to ride her bike! She had been doing good with pedaling and steering but the connection of doing both at the same time was quiet there.. until... it just clicked one day and she walked right over to her little bike got on and started riding! We were so proud! 
and she's off... 
everywhere around us was getting some kind of rain storm..we just a got a little humidity and this gorgeous rainbow
Heather's buddy Dan-elle (aka Danielle Uncle Boo's girlfriend) Heather just loves her!
we got this amazing bouncy house w/ water slide for the birthay girl this year.. it was so much fun! 
Heather and her Great Grandpa Jerry..belive it or not he's 97! 
no real theme to her party this year, it was all about having fun. She picked Tangled for her cake =) 
her little friends helped blow out the candles
Heather checking out the goods
the next day we had to clean out and re-fill the pool.. Kev and Heather enjoyed playing as it filled up =) 
