The Summer of Family

Himself and I were chatting about how fast the summer has gone and reminiscing about all the wonderful events and activities and decided that this was indeed the 'Summer of Family.'

It really started with Memorial Day. We had the big (BIG) family cookout (both sides and my new daughter - in - law's family too). Then came the bridal shower. Then my eldest son's wedding. Then himself had surgery (lost 4 weeks there). Then in there somewhere was a July 4th family picnic. Then the Warren Dunes-Beach trip with my family. Then a 50th Wedding Anniversary weekend for my Aunt and Uncle.

Then this past weekend we went camping with himself's sister's family. With all the above events, this was literally the first opportunity we had to go camping. Take in the picture:
Himself, me and our three dogs.
**** please remember here that I have very large dogs.
His sister, her husband and four daughters under the age of 10.
**** all of the girls are very frightened of dogs!!!

Well, needless to say with the girls having so much fear of dogs, we were very careful to keep our beloved pets on our own site. This plan worked most of the time -- except when the girls wanted to be with Auntie Lisa -- that's when the two would get camps would get a bit fuzzy. I purposefully stayed on my site for two reasons -- first, my dogs really are our family and we spend most of our time with them; and second, I really wanted to girls to become more comfortable around dogs and to learn that not all dogs are bad!!!

As it was our first camping trip (new sights, sounds, smells) and as there were so many children running around (we don't have any small children around on a regular basis), the dogs were not as comfortable as normal. Neo and Brin did okay -- they really like children and wanted to play with the girls. Pru, on the other hand, did not do well at all. She was very afraid of the children -- they were running around too much - darting here and there. She then became nervous and afraid of almost everything. Bless her heart, she really did not have a good time at all. As soon as the girls had packed up and gone, all three dogs were back to their normal selves.

The Summer of Family is nearly over. But then we will head into the time of year when we spend most of our time out and about and with family. So, maybe this was just a warm up!! I have truly enjoyed all the family times - such strong memories and bonds have been deepened. Maybe such memories could be made in times much more spread over time -- what's that old saying? 'Too much of a good thing........"

Next year? We're already planning a trip to Vegas for Memorial Day! Next summer will be the Summer of Travel for us!!!!