Jack and Cate Update -- July, 2010

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Jack and Cate marched in the Lakewood Fourth of July parade with the Hansen kids -- Lisa and I both took the year off and sat on a curb. This year's parade theme: "Lakewood Shows Its Stars!" Our parade theme: "The Kids Wear Bandanas!"

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Jack can be fairly tough, but only for a fairly short time.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

If there's a horse in the crowd (hey, it can happen), Cate will find it. She patiently explained to me that this is most certainly *not* a pony.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

If it's the Fourth of July, Mary must be boiling post-parade lobsters (and [sending leftovers home in ZiplocTM bags](http://yfrog.com/jxgiaxj)). It makes me wonder what the common people do after the parade. Luckily, it rained a lot and our kids didn't have the sense to come inside.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Jack is built like his Dad and his Grandpa Dick. This amply demonstrates why the Nelson men tend to keep their shirts on.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

After some debate, I had the privilege of escorting Cate to [*Wicked*](http://bit.ly/9kN6Oh) last month. Even in the rain, Cate continues to perfect her "[toss toss](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEEuDY-yEx0)."

Saturday, July 3, 2010

She may look all sweet and innocent, but the look says it all: 'I'm up to no-good.'

Saturday, July 3, 2010

When coming indoors doesn't seem like a sensible option, try a big 'ol bucket over your head. It's just like the hill-billies taught us...

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Since a game of blind-folded lawn darts didn't seem quite dangerous enough, Cate rode her [Razor scooter](http://www.newyork-injurylawyers.com/pages/razor_scooter_injury.html) on the rain-soaked driveway.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Meanwhile, Shriver went native.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

And Jackson. Jackson definitely went native too.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

What does a rain-soaked party *really* need? Clearly, a garden hose.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Uh oh. This isn't going to end well.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

If rain is this much fun, you'd think it would be easier to get them to shower.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

And just about the time Jackson and Shriver found the mud pit, the rain started to let up. Providence.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Nothing spells fun quite like mud oozing into your underwear. Good times. Good times.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

My manager at salesforce.com, Stephanie Kinser, hosted a Fourth of July fireworks party. Cate liked the climb-inside-should-be-in-the-pool-blow-up-thingy while Jack was just a little too cool for the whole thing.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

This is her disapproving look. I get that a lot.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Where else would you play with a climb-inside-should-be-in-the-pool-blow-up-thingy except on the trampoline? What could possibly go wrong?!?

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Stephanie organized games for the kids including tug-of-string and a relay sack race. Jack decided he's a little too mature for such foolishness.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Jack did, however, participate in the water balloon toss with an older boy. Now that's a man's sport.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

This is the very definition of slack-jawed concentration.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Cate befriended the astonishingly photogenic Kendall Holland. She's the daughter (and future ulcer-inducer) of my salesforce.com colleague, [Glenn Holland](http://followtheblind.com/).

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Amazingly photogenic...

Sunday, July 4, 2010

I hadn't really planned to take photos of the fireworks, but the [lake in the foreground](http://bit.ly/cmUqHu) was too perfect to pass up.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Since I was working in the dark and not looking through the viewfinder, I bumped the focus for some of the shots. I thought the effect was still kinda cool...

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Jack decided he wanted to play (read: hang with his friends) in a Summer basketball league. There was a rule forbidding team practices between games, but it sometimes felt like we were the only team following this rule. We learned Will Price and his family are moving to Washington before the start of the school year. While Jack was bummed, Cate was ***really*** bummed -- Will's Mom, Sharon, has the horses and runs the stable where Cate took her first riding lessons.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

To distract the opposing team, Jack will sometimes flash them a little leg. A little bony leg.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Taking the ball up court, Jack demonstrates some moves. Later in the game, Jack demonstrates some waiting-to-move.