My Grandpa is pretty cool.

In December, my Grandpa Steve had his 90th birthday. Naturally, we threw him a party!

Me and Grandpa Steve dressed in military garb.

My mom designed a program with music and stories about his life. It was really neat to relearn, with added details, the stories that make up my family's history.

My Grandpa's war service stories are phenomenal. He was a paratrooper in an Airborne unit, a very elite position. He was dropped behind enemy lines and spent a harrowing night in the basement of a German occupied house where they threw hand grenades down the stairs to kill him, but he survived thanks to the unevenness of the floor. During the Battle of the Bulge, he was assigned to scout ahead of his unit to draw fire, essentially used as bait. (Fortunately, Gen George Patton and his tanks made an impossible, completely unauthorized and reckless dash to capture the bridge at Remaugen before it could be blown up by the Germans, so he didn't end up scouting.) His unit was the longest serving unit in front-line duty of any unit in the war. He fought in Italy and France and served on occupation duty in Berlin for six months.

All the cousins, minus 3, with Grandpa.

But there is so much more to this man. I didn't even learn most of the military stories until I was an adult. I knew Grandpa, the creative genius, the engineer, the geology enthusiast, the gift giver, the inventor, Santa Claus, the man who would do anything for his family and friends, giving up the shirt off his back if it was needed. He's a generous man with an amazing history. I wish I could share his awesomeness with the world. I guess that's why I'm posting this blog. I'm so proud to be a part of his family.

The whole party.