4th Place & Everett Time!

My little brother, Ethan, played in the state tennis tournament this weekend in the Tri-Cities and we made the trip to cheer him on. Clara and I took off early Friday morning with my parents and aunt (and I mean early). Jono joined us late Friday night. Dev, Laris, and Everett made the trip up from Portland to round out the cheering section.

It was a great state tournament. Sadly, Eth did not get the world's best draw. He faced the three-time state champ in the second round. After losing in a hard-fought match, he came back and won three matches to earn 4th in state. They were exciting matches and I'm proud of him.

Fourteen years after first watching a child compete at the high school level (spring of 1996), my parents witnessed their last kid walk off the court wearing blue and gold. That is a really long time! They have sat at hundreds of baseball, volleyball and tennis matches throughout the years. It's not over entirely. Eth has four years of college competition ahead, and I figure by that time, Clara will be five and the joys of little league soccer will begin. So they can't quite hang their hats up yet.

Poor Uncle E. We spent two entire days at the tennis tournament and didn't manage to snap one shot of him in action. It is probably because of this little girl in pink. And this little boy in green...

Speaking of the girl in pink, Clara was slightly more challenging to contain this year than last. She was 3 1/2 weeks old at state last year and slept almost the entire time. This year she attempted to terrorize everything within sight. Thankfully, her trusty wallet kept her entertained for long stretches. Everett, on the other hand, was content, peaceful, calm, serene. All of the words that do not exactly describe his cousin at the current moment. Some pictures of the sidelines...

Sorry, Ethan. Except for one picture with the tennis courts in the background, there really is no evidence that we were actually watching you do anything. Wait. This one may not be an action shot, but there are tennis bags in the foreground, score cards in the background, and a sweaty towel in your hand...

After eating the half-melted chocolate cake that I brought along to celebrate Ethan's great season/to satisfy his chocolate cake obsession, we hit the road and followed Dev & Laris back to Portland. We spent a few nights there, hanging out and loving on little Everett. We snuck in a quick run outdoors and a walk to the neighborhood bakery, but otherwise the rain dominated. It has been pretty much dominating the entire northwest for the past week. Boo hoo, I know. I am just dying for some summer weather.

Bring on the heat. The pool. The lake. Camping. Barbeques. Swimsuits (for Clara, at least). S'mores. Biking. Sprinklers. Picnics. Priest. Lake. Please!