Dog Days of Summer

The library scheduled four programs related to dogs for this week and next week. We're going to skip the one that involves making dog biscuits, but we attended two today, and I plan to take the kids to once next week about military dogs. The first program today was held indoors and included three therapy dogs. The kids really enjoyed those dogs and the various tricks they did including making baskets with a small ball and basketball hoop. Then we went outside and participated in a program with five K9 Search and Rescue dogs. The program included helpful tips regarding what to do if you are every lost. Nadia always raises her hand when anyone asks for a volunteer, and she was picked twice. First she was used to demonstrate how a garbage bag can be useful to keep in a little survival pack, and then later in the program she was one of the two kids who went and hid behind some trees so a dog could show us how they search for a person and what the dog does when they find the person. She was then able to reward the dog by throwing the dog a couple of tennis balls.

The dog ready to go find Nadia

The highlight of our day though was a surprise visit from Gabby and Alexis. They were our neighbors the first almost four years we lived in this house, and they (plus their mom) were our babysitters during that time as well. They moved to Oklahoma three years ago, and it had been two years since we had seen them. Gabby, Alexis, and Alexis' best friend (Chelsea) came over today. Alexis called me ahead of time, but she asked me not to tell the kids so Nadia and Ian were very surprised to see them. We love these girls and their mom so much. It was wonderful to spend an hour with them today. All three girls just graduated from high school. Gabby graduated a year early. She and Alexis are going to be roommates together at college. Gabby wants to be an aeronautical engineer, and Alexis wants to be an orthodontist. They are hoping that Paul gets a job in Oklahoma starting in 2016.