Dog Parties and Memorial Day

We've had a fun weekend! 

Friday, we had a friend come and stay with us for the weekend. She has dark hair, half-pricked ears, walks around on all fours, and sometimes whines. 

She is Arkhon's (spayed) girlfriend, and her name is Sophie.

This is possibly my favorite picture that I have ever taken.

Sophie's flexibility is impressive.

 She stayed with us from Friday -Monday. She and Arkhon had a great time. He was pretty exhausted by the time she went home. It was also really nice to have Grig home for an extra day.

Saturday, we had some friends over, and they brought Arkhon's brother along with them. For a few hours, we had four dogs in our house and backyard. It was pretty fun, but also hardened my resolve that we will never have more than two adult dogs at a time. More than that gets kind of crazy.

(I said that to my grandpa, and he told me that more than zero dogs is crazy. I laughed. He doesn't like dogs very much, but we get along just fine.)

Two brothers playing. 

Arkhon and his brother. Arkhon's brother is the one closer to the front. I gave him a haircut Friday too. 

Dakota is still the queen of the house. One bark from her, and everyone immediately calms down. 

 For the most part things went well. Occasionally, there was a bit of jealousy, but everyone played together and had a great time.

Kevin loved having Sophie over!

As always, he and Arkhon are best friends.

 Monday, we left home for a bit and went to spend time with family, both living and dead. Kevin had a really good time, which surprised me. When I was younger, I thought going to the cemetery was kind of boring. Now I enjoy it a lot more, especially since I'm beginning to know more about the people that we were visiting.

Kevin in front of some family graves. 

I had a lot of thoughts about Memorial Day, and some friends and family on my mind who I know have lost loved ones recently. I hope that the day brought joyful memories instead of agonizing pain from separation.

It is interesting how disconnecting we often are with our ancestors. We give little thought to how we got where we are today, or the people who are still influencing the way we've been raised and who've we've become.

I'm trying to learn about my ancestors. Not just their names, but who they really are. I don't always do a good job of researching, but I'm learning. The more I learn about my ancestors,the more I realize that they are real people who are quite a bit like me.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. I hope you had a chance to honor those who've gone before and left us their legacy. I can only hope I am representing my ancestors well and that they're watching me with pride, and not shame. I'm still a work in progress, but I know as I look to their examples, that I'll keep making improvements.