July 4th Parade

Here we are getting ready to walk downtown to our awaiting seats for the annual Eatonville 4th of July Parade. Gracie has her Itty Bitty Baby on her back and we're just waiting for Dan. Man, he takes a long time to get ready.... ;-)


Here's a majority of the gang, the girls are waiting for the next batch of candy to get tossed their way.

Grandma Sue is "Proud to be an American". Get's her every time...



Grandma Sue and Gracie watching the cars and horses go by...


So the Tacoma Rainier mascot accosted me from behind, the least he or she could do is pose for a pic!


Gracie trying to pick up every last piece of candy and holding up the Mount Rainier float. At least Grandma Sue has her back.


A great pic of the gang enjoying some shade and great company. Little Jackson loves it!


What a fantastic pic!

July 4th Dinner @ Grandpa & Grandma's

Post meal lounge session, everyone is too full to move and the sun was hot!

Jackson making his newest face, discovering yet another function for his little lips... so cute!


The littlest cuties chillin' in the pool.

It's too hot to move.


This game of Mexican Horseshoes took a long time to get started and then...

I was too slow to get the camera out for the wrestling match that led up to Papa Dan getting "gently" placed in the kiddie pool. However, here is the final result. It took both Danny and Jim to get him in there. It all started with some water guns and escalated from buckets, to hoses and finally the drenching. With everyone present, I think the only people who escaped the water were, Grandma, Sue and myself. Denny, Grandpa, Jim, Danny, Haley, Grace, Kelsey and Dan were the instigators for this portion of the day. Poor Jan, Jeff, Jeri, Jackson and Miranda were caught in the crossfire.

Dan Sr. and Dan Jr. "hugging it out"


Uncle Jeff protecting poor little Jackson during the mayhem.

Haley getting the hose... upside down no less.

and then Papa Dan, poor Jackson doesn't stand a chance.

Grandpa in on the action... defending himself from Gracie who's ready to bean him with a soaked foam ball.

Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky... on the perimeter ready to strike.

Miranda kicking butt in horseshoes. Look at Denny, having a chuckle. He spent the entire time squirting people from that seat~ no one had any idea until the end. Too funny!

Grandma back there smiling, I have it on good authority she supplied those water guns.



Once the sun set, Gracie, Sue and I went over to the Doll's house to light some sparklers and other minor fireworks in the back yard. They have a spectacular view from their deck to watch the fireworks that people light off themselves throughout town. It was a great weekend.

One of Jake's All Star Tournaments

Jake's position for the All Star team was 3rd base. He did a great job and the kids were really a fun team to watch. It will be interesting to watch them grow up and hone in on their skills together as a team. This tournament was in Ellensburg. During the season, the kids went to Potlatch,Idaho, Pendleton, Oregon, Moses Lake and Ellensburg. The guys placed 3rd in just about every tournament. They would end up losing their first game out of two the 1st day and then win on the 2nd day. This was a very emotional season, the guys have so much heart and give so much of themselves. It was about learning to move on to the next inning and letting go of any mistakes on the previous inning.


Jake @ bat. He had some really great hits.

Good eye, this pitch just about got him.

Summer's here & too much time on our hands...

This is what happens when there's no more school and the kids say their bored...


I think it's time for Jake to get a haircut...


I have no words for this one. :-) But, I think I've figured out what we're doing as a costume for Halloween. Time to watch the Grinch again.

Jake's 3 on 3 Basketball Tourney

Jake's team started at 9:30 in the morning, as you can see by the photos, the courts were set up down the streets, 3 or 4 courts on each. There were kids to adults in all age groups playing against each other. It's called the Dru Gimlin Tournament. From what we were told, Dru was a very talented basketball player who died in a car crash about 5 years ago, this tournament was started in his honor as a scholarship program. There's all kinds of food and activities, including face painting, music, sidewalk chalk art on a street, etc. As you can see, it was a beautiful day and just enough of a breeze to keep the spectators comfortable (as long as you were in the shade).

Meeting up for the coin toss


The other team won the toss

Gracie got her face painted at the cheerleaders booth, Celia's friend, Ciara painted a sun with sunglasses on her.

Here's her sun. Oh yeah, she also wanted everyone to see what a brave girl she was. She got her ears pierced the day before and made sure everyone got a peek. She picked little gold balls.


The boys played three games total, unfortunately, got spanked every time. We're hoping they learned how to communicate with each other and had a great time anyway. How often do you get to play basketball in the middle of town? In all fairness, they were playing against kids that were at least a grade older as well.


Here are some action shots of Jake, I wasn't quick enough to take the pic as the ball was leaving his hands.


We were in the shade for most of the tournament, but still got fried. Gracie took this picture of us.



Here are the boys on Jake's team, left to right: Phillip, Wyatt, Joshua and of course Jake. This was right after their last game & it was very warm by the time they were done.