Backyard Dog Park
Yesterday Sydney ‘adopted’ one of Maggie’s toys and we ended up outside playing fetch with it for quite a bit. Syd was in heaven and full of energy that by the time evening rolled around, she’d about had it with the day. You’d think we took the poor girl to the dog park or something, but instead her day included a boring walk and a game of wrestle/fetch in the backyard.
I love our yard and our garden, but lately it has started to overwhelm me because everything is so overgrown and daunting. I was in spired by my mom last time she was down and did some whacking back….I’ve vowed to fill up the wheelbarrow with yard waste daily in hopes of getting rid some of the extra foliage until I can’t stand it anymore. Today was day two and you can hardly tell where I worked, but I figure slowly but surely we’ll make a difference.
I say WE because Maggie was super helpful today, grunting right along next to me. Her newest phrase is uh-oh, but doesn’t quite have the correct usage down, so there were a ton of ‘uh-ohs’ between tugs on leaves.
Both Maggie and Barry have spent time recently working on the Birch tree that we’ve got in our yard. Barry sawed some extra branches off and Maggie’s newest hobby is to peel the bark off and deliver it to the nearest adult. I’m sure, like Sydney, the tree is happy to have someone pay attention to it rather than be left alone.
Funnily enough, we also got our fancy brush out and have been giving Syd pretty strong brushes because the girl sheds and who wants to live with dog hair up their nose? Not us. Maggie is equally excited to try to brush Syd as she is to peel the bark of the tree. I have no doubt that Syd would rather Maggie spend time helping the tree shed some extra layers than get near her rolls with the brush, so we brush Syd next to the Birch tree so we can kill two birds with one stone and we’re all happy because of it.
Carry on!
I Blame the Weather
Last week we met up with Charlyn, Beth and their kids at the zoo on a rainy day and I thought we were all pretty cool for being there when the weather was so nasty. We donned rain jackets, sweatshirts and Beth’s kids busted out their umbrellas. We were living the Pacific Northwest Dream, raindrops and all. It was a fantastic day and Maggie enjoyed seeing all the different animals that we’ve been reading about. There were no complaints about the weather and we all enjoyed following the lead of the older boys, who were in charge of the map.
I started this week out with a bit more hope about the weather and we spent some time outside Monday while visiting Caroline & the rest of the crew for a couple hours. We even had a picnic dinner outside in our yard and scrubbed out the Sandy Lagoon thinking that surely the weather will become SCORCHING anytime now because 40 other states are melting in the heat. MELTING.
We’re not melting. Not even close. I keep looking at the popsicles in my freezer and think that it is just too dang cold to enjoy a popsicle in JULY. I’m no longer proud about going out in the rain and doing stuff. Instead I’m grumpy about doing activities inside that I thought I’d reserve for special Fall and Winter days. Maggie inherited a play kitchen from the Merks (as Barry calls them) and has been happy enough to do some work from time to time. I’ve found her in there a few times busily stacking cups and plates; however, I also found her in the bathroom unraveling the toilet paper, so I’m pretty sure she is starting to get stir-crazy too.
