Strawberries and doggies

This weekend we had Kipper the dog stay with us for several days. Kipper is a very cute little black dog who is a second generation cockapoo -- meaning his grandparents were poodles and cocker spaniels (in other words, a mutt). He tolerated being around a five year old quite admirably, and even got to appreciate Ethan by the end of the weekend when some of the chasing and fussing calmed down. I had to remind myself that the little boy asking if Kipper could "stay long time" and cuddling with him in his bed was the same one I had brought back from Kazakhstan who screamed and insisted on being picked up whenever a dog was within a 100 feet of him.

Ethan and I also went to a strawberry festival at a nearby farm in Concord. We did a hayride, and Ethan got to climb onto a real tractor, which you can see here. We were too tired to pick strawberries, but we got strawberry shortcake and kettle corn.

Yesterday we went swimming at an outdoor pool as the guest of our neighbors. At first Ethan was clinging to me in fright. Then at some point he realized out that the outdoor pool was really just like the indoor pool, and then he happily paddled around until complete exhaustion took over.