A Weekend At The Lake

Joshua and I took the dog up to the lake this weekend. We thought he would have a better time up there than if we stayed at home.

And I think he did have a good time. Josh and I played with him out in the yard, and we took him on walks, and we fed him grilled steak and grilled chicken. He seemed to be entirely happy and content.

Josh and I really did not do much this weekend. We did some reading, and we swam, and we tried to catch up on our sleep. To do so, we had to go to bed early each night, because we knew the dog would not allow us to sleep late—6:00 a.m. is about the latest the dog will allow us to sleep before he starts carrying on. When he is ready to start his day, we have to be ready, too. Trying to ignore him does not work—he stands on top of me, and licks me, and after a couple of minutes he starts barking, two feet from my ears. There is no way anyone can sleep through his commotion, and he knows it.

My parents are having a nice visit in Denver. Josh and I talked to my parents last night, and they are enjoying their visit very much. My brother is a perfect host, and he is taking excellent care of them.

Josh and I also talked to my brother in New York last night. My brother and his wife have houseguests: my sister-in-law’s parents arrived late Saturday afternoon from London. They will be in New York for the next three weeks. They are there to see their grandson, of course, and they are having the time of their lives, since they have not seen him in a year. My nephew has warmed to his British grandparents very quickly this visit, unlike last year, when it took him several days before he became accustomed to their presence. My sister-in-law said that my nephew has welcomed his maternal grandparents much more easily this year because he is a year older and because she and my brother kept telling my nephew that his other set of grandparents was coming for a visit. My nephew probably did not understand precisely who this other set of grandparents was, but at least he understood the concept that someone was arriving for a visit, and he was prepared for it. I hope that they all have a wonderful visit over the next three weeks.

Josh and I also talked to Josh’s family last night. Last week, Josh’s family arrived home safely—and exhausted—from the long baseball road trip. Josh’s family enjoyed the trip, all in all, but Josh’s Dad said that none of them would want to repeat such a trip any time soon—it was a long trip, and a lot of driving, and a lot of baseball games, and a lot of nights in hotels, and a lot of restaurant food, and he said that everyone was glad to be home. He said that everyone needed a vacation after such a long trip!

Nothing much will be going on with Josh and me this week. We will have the dog with us tonight, and tomorrow night my parents will return from Denver. Tomorrow night, Josh and I will have my parents over for dinner, after which they will take the dog home. There is nothing else on our schedule for the rest of the week.