Independence Day

July 4, 1776

July 4, 2009

Taken while Todd watched Tanner play 3 on 3 Bball from a shady spot in a comfy chair

Taken while Charee chased Grady all over Lion's Park

Festive treats to eat with family and friends

Watching fireworks from our yard

Othello's Grand Finale

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

Our Summer So Far...

I can't believe how fast June is flying by. School has been out for a few weeks (HOORAY) and I don't know where the days have gone. I DO know that I've spent COUNTLESS hours chasing Grady around ballparks (I keep warning Todd that some day I'm going to pick up some sort of a time consuming hobby where HE will be the one getting to chase the kids around).

Grady, Todd, Grandpa Jim, and Great-Grandpa Gilbert were featured in the Othello Independent Newspaper for Father's Day.
Todd "got" to dress up as Darth Vader and made an appearance at Cub Scout Day Camp as a BIG favor for my mom. Even though he complained about it all, I think secretly he really enjoyed dressing up...he was pretty ticked when he saw the low-quality pictures I took of him.
As you can see, his costume was pretty high tech--ski gloves and all. For a small fee, you could have Darth Vader show up to your kid's next b-day party.

SEATTLE

To celebrate a day off from work, we made a last minute Memorial Day trip to Seattle. Our first stop was the beautiful Woodland Park Zoo. Our favorite exhibits included the penguins, grizzly bears, and gorillas. It probably just depends on the day, but these were the most active and exciting animals. The penguins were diving and swimming around and were just so cute (although, smaller than I imagined a penguin to be).



The grizzly bears were just huge and we were able to see one way up close as he splashed around with some fish on the other side of some plexi-glass. Grady refused to get close enough to pose for a picture with me (he didn't understand that there actually was something separating us from the bear).




And the gorillas were cute because there was a baby climbing all over his/her mom (the not-so-cute part of this exhibit was that apparently gorillas throw up and re-eat their food over and over again and unfortunately we got to see this way up close too--I think lunch was sweet potatoes or something like that--yuck).

To top off our fun Seattle trip, we made a stop in at IKEA where I was able to pick up some much needed storage items like under-the-bed storage boxes and this cubby shelf (which I must say was a steal of a deal at just $49 for the Memorial Day weekend--originally priced 99.99)

PLAY BALL

Softball season is in full swing! Todd's heart is once again focused on things like rosters, line-ups, and flashy new uniforms. For Grady and I, this softball season has meant never getting to sit down to watch the game due to endless splashing in mud puddles and making multiple trips to the playground area and/or concession stand. Luckily for him, he's pretty cute when he says "C'mon mom!" so he usually gets his way at the ballpark--oh, and I guess I really don't have a choice but to follow him around because as soon as he yells for me to come, he's off and running full speed ahead!

Birthday Boy

Grady turned two this last week and I'm just thinking that if two is really more "terrible" than 1 or 1 1/2, then we're in TROUBLE!!! He is seriously non-stop and sometimes I think it would just be nice if he'd take a little breather occasionally! He is so much fun, though, and such a sweetheart that these past two years really have been the best years of my life. His birthday was on Thursday the 7th, but we didn't have his party until Sunday since that is when all of our family would be getting together for Mother's Day anyway. We had a lot of fun with our families and hope they had fun too!

Todd and Tanner's gift to Grady--a fenced in backyard so that he can spend even more time outside!

The Pinata from you-know-where...we could not get that thing to bust open!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRADY DEAN!!!

TIMBER

For all of my Walker relatives out there or for anyone who has ever driven through Othello, you are most likely aware of the pole that has towered over the middle of town for the last 50 years or so. My grandpa put the antenna pole up as a way of communicating by two-way radio with the guys driving truck for his concrete company and I think my grandma said that he could talk to guys as far away as California. Growing up, we grandkids knew the pole as the basketball hoop holder and the jail for playing Jailbreak, but for the last several years it hasn't really served any purpose at all. Well, the pole came down last week...I think it was bittersweet for some and a huge relief for others (like the neighbors and my grandmother and now me). The day the pole came down, my grandma commented to my mom that she would finally be able to sleep in peace after worrying about that pole for MANY years.

Target is a Girl's Best Friend

I may be admitting to some sort of disorder by posting this but I just thought I'd share... My latest Target find are these cute flats that come in a million colors or so online, and at 12.99 a pair you can afford more than one color of the rainbow. I have these colors (so far)!