Hey everyone! We finally made it back home! The girls are all safely home with happy parents. My daughter-in-laws, Heather and Danna, had never let their children be away that long. I’m glad they allowed them to spend this delightful time with me!We certainly crammed a ton of memories into our little memory books.

I unpacked around noon Thursday. The garden was not dead, but it sure looks as if bad things have happened to it while I was gone! I threw out overgrown okra, squash, cucumbers and pulled weeds until sundown.

Friday I popped into Hair It Is to get my hair cut. Marilyn filled me in on the scoop around town. We had a laugh over our grandkids.

It seems her grandson was given a puppy last week and he was just delighted. Day three, he went to his mom Bethany and said, “The puppy wet the bed.” She told him to put a towel on the bed until she could see to his problem. A little while later he came down the hall carrying the puppy and announced he thought the puppy was dead.

We can all imagine the look on his little face! Those kind of events leave children with many questions. We have those same questions when things go wrong. Sometimes the answers just don’t seem good enough. At any rate our young man was going to get a new puppy if all went well. I’m hoping to see a picture of “Buddy” the next time I get my hair cut.

We wore ourselves out in Washington. Actually, we wore ourselves out everywhere. The Capitol Building of Canada was an impressive Neo-Gothic building that we toured extensively. We went horseback riding through the woods of Quebec. The girls were introduced to horse and deer flies.

My sister Bev showed the girls how to send her dogs through an agility course then let them put the dogs through the course. The dogs were slightly confused, but the girls were ecstatic! Kaitlynn was trying to figure out how she was going to get her Lab, Coda to run agility. That should be worth watching. Bev also taught the girls a style of painting called wash painting. They came home with really good bird houses.

We fished everyday we were on the lake. Dave and Dee showed the girls the best spots but they could often be found at the dock fishing for Sunfish and small Bass.

Day one the girls were letting Uncle Dave bait the hooks. On day two the story changed! Kaitlynn became the worm Queen and Sarah was the minnow princess. I doubt either Mom would believe me if I told them how the girls baited everyone’s hook just because they could! Danielle was content to let the girls handle the wiggly things! She liked catching but not fishing. Dee taught the girls to crochet, so they had an artistic holiday, as well as an

educational holiday.

We went into Montreal for the day and took the Metro around

town. The stations are nicely decorated and the train is tremendously fast. Kaitlynn was passing some Girl Scout badges so she followed the route on the map.

We explored the underground city. Obviously anything that involves shopping works for girls. To combine that with underground was a new experience. We had Montreal smoked meat, and of course “poutine.” The girls were pretty good about trying different foods.

They all discovered and liked curd cheese. We call it squeaky cheese because it squeaks in your teeth. Should you ever get to Canada, don’t ask for a corndog ask for a pogo; same thing different name.

We visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Canada and in Washington. I must say I was very disappointed in the Canadian rendition. The soldiers were just hired for the summer, they worked until 5:00 p.m. and there was no tradition attached to their “guarding.” Contrast this with the two year commitment made by American soldiers on guard. The changing of the guard ceremony was so special it brought tears to my eyes.

Although they identified one soldier from Vietnam with DNA, the other “unknowns” are still that, unknown. God bless our soldiers.

All in all we had a wonderful trip. I’m back in time to start workshops and get my classroom ready. Yes. School starts in just a few short weeks. VBS is the 2nd through the 5th of August. The theme this year is down

under.

We have our Elm Grove and Richland Springs Rodeo/Play days coming up. They usually signal the end of summer. This summer has just flown by and I haven’t had much down time. The tomatoes are in jars ready for the canning bath, the quilt is down to the last few stitches, and the house is clean. I think I can take a deep breath and relax for a few days.

I hope everyone has had a great summer. No doubt we have a few sick folks needing our prayers. Jerry Benton is home after a bout with pneumonia. Elisa Draper is scheduled for gall bladder surgery, but must gain strength before the operation can be performed. Kara Lee Fike’s dad was given the positive news that his lymphoma is in remission. As I suspected, the prayer list was long.

We have had a spate of celebrity deaths, including Walter Cronkite. I came back to all kinds of rumors about the health plan they are planning to pass. Some of the issues seem so far fetched I can’t believe our legislators would even consider passing this bill.

Still, you never know, so we had best pray for our government, our President and our precious troops around the world. I may have been born in Canada, but I’m proud to be an American as well. Have a great week everyone.