Parades mean summer.  Yesterday, Lake Stevens, Washington had their Aquafest parade.  The Golden Horseshoes 4-H club was at the end of the parade.  They specialize in showing horses, and I thought they were so delightful that they deserved to be at the top of this post.  (If you left-click on the photos in this post, each will be enlarged so that you can see all the faces and comic details.)

Summer also meant 4-H clubs when I was a kid.  The kids who lived on farms got to raise animals, but girls who lived in town were limited to sewing and cooking.  Boring.  At the end of the summer, 4-H had their annual fashion show and cooking demonstrations where our expertise was showcased and judged.  The competition was stiff.

I was delighted to discover all the fun 4-H options available to local kids now.  If you click on the photo above, you can see the beautiful chicken that 4-H challenged parade watchers to spot on their float.  I loved their sense of humor.

The girls on Lake Stevens’ Fastpitch softball team were the Junior League Washington District 1 Champions in 2012.  I thought they too deserved to be at the front of the parade.

I loved the sassy and funny slogan on the backs of some of their T-shirts: “Fastpitch. . .don’t you wish you hit like a girl?”

Vote for Girls!

I was in the parade to proudly support three outstanding female candidates: Suzan DelBene, who is running for Congress; Millie Judge, who is running for superior court judge; and Mary McNaughton, who is running for the state legislature.

I am supporting Suzan DelBene because she’s responsible for the roof over my head.  Although she’s in the 1%, she believes in the Buffett Rule.  Her success within the executive ranks of Microsoft tells me that she has the expertise to deal effectively with the insane gridlock in Washington, D.C.  Ms. DelBene was glowingly endorsed as “the clear, pragmatic choice” by the Everett Herald (a division of the prestigious Washington Post).

Her husband Kurt’s MiniCooper is more mini than the ones sold today.

Millie Judge was escorted by Gary’s super-sleek silver Corvette.   I am supporting Ms. Judge for judge because she will treat everyone with the dignity and respect we all deserve when we enter a courtroom.  She will be an outstanding jurist who we’ll all be proud to call Judge Judge.  I am beyond delighted to report that Ms. Judge was recently endorsed by the Everett Herald and the Stanwood Camano Island News.

Mary McNaughton is an oncology/surgical nurse and Army veteran. She aspires to knock on every door in the 44th legislative district before the election in November.  Throughout the parade route, she was embraced by people who have met and are supporting her. . .on her opponent’s home turf!  Since we were on his home turf, a lot of DelBene and Judge supporters walked this parade with Ms. McNaughton.  It was our fourth parade this summer.

Girls Rule!

Are you noticing a theme in this post? Girls rule! I noticed there were far more contingents of girls than boys in the parade, and it made my heart sing.  There was the Girl Scouts of Western Washington.  The Girl Scouts have been selling cookies and sending girls to camp since I was a Brownie and Senior Girl Scout.

I loved the purple signature color of the Regal Majesty Pageant:  “where every girl is royalty.”

The Starlettes dance team has members of all ages.

The Llama Lady stole the show with her llamas decked out for summer fun.

Health and Fitness

Team Fitness had one of my personal favorite entries.  Their float had a clothes line of old pants emblazoned with the number of pounds the owner lost.

They called on parade watchers to work out “until your pants fall off.”  I laughed because that’s exactly what I need to do.  In fact, it is my new mission in life.  Team Fitness offers a holistic approach to health.

Everett Clinic has been voted one of the best places to work, and they provide outstanding team medicine.

Target’s generosity bubbled up on the T-shirts of their volunteers.

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

At the end of a long parade, I was hot and hungry.  The dancers and musicians from Ixtapa in Lake Stevens entertained everyone.