I am so woefully behind on blog posts that I brought my laptop along to Franklin, thinking that without a house full of chores calling my name, maybe I’d have more time (and motivation!) to blog! I even have a topic list! :)

Right now, however, I am sitting on the front porch, with my feet propped up on a milk can, under the beautiful glow of the full moon, waiting for Mema, Tom, and Greg to get here. The kids are upstairs, maybe asleep or maybe still chatting sweetly with one another. I figured I’d do a quick post about the day, then shut down for the evening.

We decided to take a quick trip to Franklin this week, since Greg will be in town and we haven’t been to the country in awhile. Alan had meetings he couldn’t miss, so I took advantage of the extra space and decided to try Arlo on his first long car trip with us. We packed all our stuff in the front seat and put Arlo and his stuff in the back. It worked out really well!!

We got Arlo all snugged up in the back of the car. I think it’s a pretty nice way to ride. I think Eve wanted to ride back there too. :)

He does not like the car and has trouble settling down. He usually just shakes and pants so hard he gets drool all over the car. I gave him a mild sedative in the hopes of making his trip less stressful. He still had some trouble settling down, but the panting was much gentler and he was able to relax off and on. I think the fact that each time we stopped he easily got back in the car again is a good sign that it wasn’t too awful. As soon as I opened a door he’d jump right in.

Arlo prefers to drive!

Rosy met us when we got there and I enjoyed my big kids heading upstairs to play while Rosy and I sat on the porch, chatting and overseeing doggie interactions. The puppies were not immediately friends, but they’ll come around!

We took a walk to the pond, of course, because that’s what we do around here. I let go of Arlo’s long lead and he ran like a stallion around the pond. He loved it! Everyone had fun until Lex wrapped Arlo’s lead around his leg (why?!?!?) and got pulled right off his feet!  He fell flat on his back, bumpted his head, and got the wind knocked out of him.  The fun was kind of over after that.  He’s fine fortunately, but we headed home.

One of many ponds around here.

Arlo isn’t interested in ponds any more than he’s interested in rivers. He is not a water dog.

The dogs were not fast friends (Arlo having just suffered a five hour car ride and the effects of minor sedation just wearing off), but after a little time they warmed up to each other… a bit.  (Eddie’s look says, “Really?! Another dog?!”)

I got the kids in bad late, as usual on the first night, and listened to them talk and giggle for a long time. Later I went out to walk the dog and was awed by the full moon and fireflies. I couldn’t resist getting the kids up (they weren’t sleeping anyway!) and invited them out for a moon light walk. It was perfect.

The full moon tonight is so beautiful. I couldn’t resist taking the kids out for a moon-lit walk.

Pointing at fireflies. It’s hard to take pictures in the dark!

Eve picked daisies and we discussed fireflies and it was a perfect outing. They eventually fell asleep, late, but that’s ok. We have no plans tomorrow. :)