Another Weekend at Home

Since cases are really going in the wrong direction, even on Vashon, we are just staying home. So we made the best of another weekend at home. At least MLB started up on Friday. Mariners didn't win, but it was great to have baseball back. Ever since Fourth of July when we watched Sandlot, Tommy has been on a big baseball kick. We watched Angels in the Outfield and Field of Dreams since then as well. And we did our baseball cheering we sent to the Mariners to go along with our cardboard cutouts. So he was pretty excited Friday when there was baseball again. He couldn't believe it when I told him the story of the Astros being in trouble for cheating. He keeps calling them cheaters. He has been looking through all his baseball cards trying to find good ones and asking me all about the stats. And of course he wanted us to throw him pitches in the yard.

But in true Sandlot form, Jake said it was too hot for baseball. So while Tommy played ball Jake went on the slip and slide and played in the pool. And yes Tommy joined in after a while. Summer is still not the same as when we could head to the beach, go to the park and play with friends. But we made the best of it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y46mDdyCraGgohTx5

Flat Stanley

At the end of the school year, Jake sent his Flat Stanley to his cousin Lena to have an adventure. He wanted to send it to Lena because Tom also sent it to Lena. Today Jake go Flat Stanley back with some pictures showing the adventure that he went on. Thanks Lena.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4qpQgkJYEA5NwwHk6

Star Wars Thumb Print Drawings

I have been shopping online at grannies a lot. Found this fun star wars drawing book with thump prints. Tommy is loving it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JQfdNNWKv22SmVjW6

Way to Go King County

Way to go King County. We failed. I hope your summer has been fun. Back to online school.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/43A9PqBFCzNHAaEa7

Pen Pals

The boys have been writing a lot of pen pal letters lately. Our neighbor girl Sadie likes writing them. So they have been writing back and forth. And also to her brother Lucian. And they also wrote another letter to grandma and grandpa and received a reply back.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x6FUwRe6kKamMkNt9

Slip n Slide

I got the boys a slip n slide to keep the cool and entertained. I think they had fun.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sbixn2u17urXMnNp9

Archaeologist

Tommy starting digging a hole. He dug it a couple feet deep. And then he hooked up a rope so that he could crawl in and out of it. He found a rock. He was pretending he was an archaeologist and dusting the rock with a brush. It was pretty funny.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rm6NxURcXS9E5GJL7

Go Mariners

Today we were getting ready for opening day with the Mariners. You can purchase your own cardboard cutouts that they will put at the stadium. If your cutout catches a ball they will send it to you. And you can also send them a video of cheering and singing take me out to the ball game. Can't wait for the opening day. Hope everything works out and they will be able to go on with the season.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rLHXsJFMQhne1Vi79

Sprinkler Race

The boys wanted to turn on the sprinkler because it was hot out. It turned into a running race that went through the sprinkler. This went on for over an hour.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WGwumQhYoQ4xcr7s6

Mixing Concrete

Eric was mixing a bag of concrete and had a little bit left. So he made up a little bit for the boys to stick there hands in.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jWHnoBMPrvTtr5GC9

Neowise Comet

We took the boys to the golf course to get a view of the Neowise Comet. We got there a little too early, but it was also a beautiful sunset. There were other people there as well, which we distanced from. We walked down the path a bit to follow the group. It took a while of looking for it. When it got dark enough we were able to spot it. It looked kind of fuzzy from the naked eye. Like a fuzzy looking shooting star that wasn't moving. You could see it better with binoculars. I was also able to get a cool picture using night mode with my cell phone. I could get my good camera to a setting that would get a picture of it.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/z3tzPVJzM4cbHMAk6

What Is It Winter?

I asked the boys to put their ball caps away. And then they come out wearing all the winter hats and scarves. So I video chatted Grandma and Grandpa in to see their weird show. They would dress up and the dance until all of it would fall off. Oh boredom.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iR3KqjSLhv1vpax89

Saying Goodbye to Laurie

Eric high school classmate Laurie Gateman has been battling cancer for a number of years now. She took a bad turn and doctors told her she did not have much longer in this world. So she decided to choose her own date to leave. She had a goodbye party. The boys and I stayed home. Eric went and said a final goodbye.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4NEPDGv5d2Wau7uF9

Eric's Hip

Eric has been talking to his doctor again about getting his hip done. He has bone on bone on one hip and bone spurs as well. Doctor told him he needs to lose 25 pounds before he will let him get surgery though. So diet here we come. I can't say Eric cooking since COVID-19 started has really been helping us be healthy. I guess I will have to do the cooking.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/233zQjWczdVip7FUA

4th of July

It was a bit of an odd Fourth of July for us. We did wake up for the hydros. The boys were super excited to go. We did not go to Jensen Point. We went to Dockton where there were only a small handful of people. It was not really the same, but we got the idea. There were 6 boats this year. They circled the harbor so many times waiting for all the boats to get going. It was cool to see so many take off at once. Then we drove to the portage to see if there was a better view of the finish. It was a little better view. There was also a float plane and one other small plane circling which was pretty cool. Then we headed home to go back to bed.

After some breakfast the boys and I hung out in the yard a bit and then waited in the driveway for the Fourth of July Pop Up Parade. Due to the fact that Strawberry Festival was not going on this year the community wanted to do something fun for the residents. So they brought the parade to all the residents. The boys had fun with their pop-its in the driveway while we waited. And did some waiving of their flag. And then finally it arrived. The lead car was the fire truck driven by Uncle Tony with Aunt Susan and Cousin Lena riding along. So that was pretty cool. It wasn't the longest parade, but it was fun for the boys to have something to do.

We didn't have a whole lot else planned for the day until it was time to light fireworks. So I set up the tent in the yard since the boys had been asking. We made up the beds in there and then we watched a Sandlot and Angels in the Outfield. The boys really liked hanging out in the tent, even if it was a little hot in there.

Finally after hours of them asking we started doing some fireworks. The boys pretty much lit all their own fireworks this year. We did not really get any big fireworks. Mostly tanks, parachutes, small stuff and some fountains for the finally. There was one bigger firework that the firework stand snuck in there. Then the boys and I slept in the tent which they loved.

It wasn't the funnest Fourth of July we've had. It was a little depressing and angering to see that we were sacrificing and staying at home when others were just going out and pretending that nothing was going on. Um Eric.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Kzc82TyrJTnTEgpM7

Beach Walk

It was a very low tide today so I took the boys on a beach walk. It was nice because it was low tide at 10:00 so there was almost no one out there. We saw some sea creatures and some birds. The boys played a little in the waves. And then we took off before the crowds came in.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hxAQkvLpeTS3tbqF6

Tommy's Camera

I found my old digital camera in a box. It still works. Eric had been using it but stopped when he got a phone with a camera. It is still a fairly good camera. So I gave it to Tommy. He had fun running around taking pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xQbSxpEHakbzn8eX6